Enhancing university teaching and learning through mentoring

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Pleschová ◽  
Lynn McAlpine
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Development ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Teachers

Purpose – Mentoring has been increasingly used in educational development to facilitate transfer of knowledge from programs for higher education teachers to their pedagogic practice. However, studies are missing which would critically assess the outcomes of mentoring in programs for university teachers. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review existing research on mentoring in the context of educational development in higher education. Design/methodology/approach – Using a careful search strategy, 17 relevant scholarly sources were selected and analyzed to document the results of mentoring at individual, departmental and institutional levels. Findings – Among the striking findings was the lack of clarity or definition surrounding mentoring and similar terms, coaching and tutoring and the lack of methodological rigour in many studies. However, those methodologically more advanced studies suggest that mentoring can become a valuable component of educational development programs. As reported by previous research, mentoring can: enhance university teachers’ cognitive abilities, beliefs and attitudes; improve the effectiveness of teaching; increase teachers’ capability to research teaching and learning; enhance mentoring skills; and improve the overall teaching climate at universities. Practical implications – Categorization of different types of outcomes of mentoring in educational development can help the practitioners engaged in introducing or re-designing educational development programs with a mentoring element. Originality/value – This is the first systematic review of the studies discussing the process, value and outcomes of teacher mentoring to improve pedagogical practice at the university level.

scholarly journals What do university teachers do all day (and often into the night)?'

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-23
Author(s):  
Josie Arnold ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Personal Narrative ◽  
University Research ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Teaching and the student experience are interlocked. This paper takes a personal look at the pleasures and pressures of teaching in contemporary higher education. In doing so it adds to the definition of teachers’ work in higher education, surveys some of the creative and positive sides of University teaching and shines a light upon the impact of increased commercialisation and managerial approaches upon academic work. It focuses upon the teaching and learning activities that academics undertake in the service of the university, including the research that adds to and updates their own knowledge, and hence underpins their teaching, so as to enable and enrich the learning journeys of their students. This paper has been written as a personal narrative, as what I have come to call a ‘subjective academic narrative’. The ‘subjective’ refers to acknowledgement of the inevitability of the personal being an integral part of research; the ‘academic’ refers to the analytical and the intellectual ambience in which university research takes place; and the ‘narrative’ refers to the story, that is, the way in which we re-tell all of our research. Above all, this paper contributes to a sense of understanding some of the elements of teaching that are involved in student engagement.

scholarly journals Communication and didactics, the difficult but needful symbiosis in higher education systems

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Stefano Mustica
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The University

Abstract The first purpose of the university system is to deliver qualitative education through solid didactics/educational, but not many university structures seem really interested in the subject. Sets of laws, measures, rules, and prescriptions of all kinds are in fact relegating it to a corner, making it less and less central and effective while also increasing the difficult to decipher, update and innovate it. As a matter of fact, the issue of modernization of teaching methods has been tackled decisively by the European Commission, which has placed it among the priorities of its agenda. By acting in this way, EU is manifesting the conviction that a better quality for higher education will determine a growth in development and competitiveness not only for the Union itself but also for the individual universities that will define a strategy to improve the level of their teaching and learning and to give equal importance to research and teaching. In its report on the theme of modernization and quality of teaching and learning, the European Commission summarizes its conclusions in 16 recommendations, including: - the need for adequate teaching training for teachers; - the need for the merits of teachers who make a significant contribution to improving teaching and learning methods to be recognized and rewarded. But in order to achieve such quality prospects, it is necessary for university teachers to combine the knowledge of their discipline with specific communicative, cognitive and, more generally, relational skills. All this must become a principle of the university teaching of the future. However, on a practical level, it is not uncommon to meet teachers who are not sufficiently attentive to these dimensions of the teaching-learning dynamic, failing to identify the “language” capable of transferring their theoretical/practical knowledge in the function of real learning of the student.

scholarly journals PÉDAGOGIE UNIVERSITAIRE RÉNOVÉE À L’ÉPOQUE DE LA PANDÉMIE : COMMENT PASSER DE L’AUTRE CÔTÉ DE L’ÉCRAN ?

Neofilolog ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 249-264
Author(s):  
Jolanta Sujecka-Zając
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The State ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Virtual Classes ◽  
Pedagogie Universitaire ◽  
The University

The 2020/2021 pandemic year has been difficult for teachers at all levels of education including higher education. There was a need to switch quickly to another type of education that would achieve the same objectives as before. How did the university teachers face this challenge? What consequences have been drawn for university teaching in general? We propose to take a global perspective of the state of current university pedagogy to highlight the need to renovate its approaches and to put the learner at the center of the process so to provide pedagogical support in his learning. We will analyze the results of three surveys concerning remote teaching and learning in Poland and in Europe. Finally, we will show what tools can be used to better monitor students` learning in virtual classes. 

scholarly journals University Teachers’ Opinions about Higher Education Pedagogical Training Courses in Slovenia

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 141-161
Author(s):  
Katarina Aškerc Veniger
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Present Survey ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Pedagogical Training ◽  
Training Courses

Pedagogical training courses (PTCs) for university teachers have often been discussed and have become a widespread trend in recent years in many countries. Many university teachers consider pedagogical training (PT) as a valuable tool in their teaching practice. In Slovenia, however, there is little evidence of teachers’ opinions and beliefs regarding PTCs.2Many authors consider the effect of PTCs in higher education (HE) on teaching questionable, but there is also evidence of the positive impact of PTCs on university teaching. The results of the present survey show that there are statistically significant differences in teachers’ opinions on initial and sustained PTCs. Formal education for teaching in primary and/or secondary schools is often considered as appropriate for teaching in HE. The respondents with higher titles attributed the lowest importance to sustained PTCs. Those involved in (short) PTCs attributed less importance to PT, as well as to the certificate of participation in PT in comparison to the respondents who were not involved in PTCs. On the other hand, the respondents with the highest participation in PT (51 hours and more) are more in favour of PTCs, which confirms the preliminary findings that courses of longer duration provide more opportunities to affect teachers’ pedagogical thinking and conceptions of teaching and learning in comparison to shorter courses.

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS: THE FREQUENCY AND VARIETY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO ONLINE INSTRUCTORS

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Heather Herman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Faculty Development ◽  
Online Instruction ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Learning Development ◽  
Printed Materials

Online education is no longer a peripheral phenomenon in higher education: over one-third of faculty have taught or developed an online course. As institutions of higher education expand their online education offerings, administrators need to recognize that supporting faculty through the use of incentives and through effective faculty development programs for online instruction is important to the improvement of the quality of educational programs. This quantitative study used an online survey to investigate the types and frequency of faculty development programs for online instruction at institutions with an established teaching and learning development unit (TLDU). The average TLDU offered about fifteen different types of faculty development programs, the most common being websites, technical services, printed materials, and consultation with instructional design experts.

Features of Preparation of Teachers of Higher School: Flexible Management Technologies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
А.Н. Лебедев ◽  
О.А. Бурукина
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Modern Management ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Flexible Management ◽  
Applied Knowledge ◽  
Modern Technologies

авторы рассматривают консерватизм вузовских образовательных программ в качестве одного из препятствий в подготовке потенциальных преподавателей университетов. Рассмотрены особенности подготовки педагогов высшей школы по направлениям социально-гуманитарного образования. Авторы презентуют результаты анкетирования магистрантов и аспирантов, свидетельствующие о дефиците прикладных знаний респондентов в области современных технологий, таких как Agile. Обоснованы предложения по интенсификации программ повышения квалификации преподавателей, насыщению образовательных программ вопросами применения современных технологий менеджмента. the authors consider the conservatism of university educational programs as one of the obstacles in the preparation of potential university teachers. The article discusses the features of training higher education teachers in the areas of social and humanitarian education. The authors present the results of a survey of undergraduates and graduate students, indicating a lack of applied knowledge of postgraduate and graduate students in the field of modern technologies such as Agile. The article substantiates the proposals on the intensification of teacher development programs, the saturation of educational programs with the application of modern management technologies.

scholarly journals COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption on university teaching and learning and competence cultivation: Student evaluation of online learning experiences in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 221258682110070
Author(s):  
Ka Ho Mok ◽  
Weiyan Xiong ◽  
Hamzah Nor Bin Aedy Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Student Evaluation ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Digital Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has forced online teaching and learning to be the primary instruction format in higher education globally. One of the worrying concerns about online learning is whether this method is effective, specifically when compared to face-to-face classes. This descriptive quantitative study investigates how students in higher education institutions in Hong Kong evaluated their online learning experiences during the pandemic, including the factors influencing their digital learning experiences. By analysing the survey responses from 1,227 university students in Hong Kong, this study found that most of the respondents felt dissatisfied with their online learning experiences and effectiveness. Meanwhile, this study confirms that respondents’ household income level and information technology literacy affected their online learning effectiveness. Moreover, this study highlights the significant contributions of the community of inquiry, which places social presence on the promotion of a whole person development that could not be achieved when relying mainly on online learning. Findings encourage university leaders and instructors to search for multiple course delivery modes to nurture students to become caring leaders with the 21st century skills and knowledge set.

scholarly journals Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysi Rapanta ◽  
Luca Botturi ◽  
Peter Goodyear ◽  
Lourdes Guàrdia ◽  
Marguerite Koole
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Expert Advice ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Science And Education

AbstractThe Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for rethinking assumptions about education in general and higher education in particular. In the light of the general crisis the pandemic caused, especially when it comes to the so-called emergency remote teaching (ERT), educators from all grades and contexts experienced the necessity of rethinking their roles, the ways of supporting the students’ learning tasks and the image of students as self-organising learners, active citizens and autonomous social agents. In our first Postdigital Science and Education paper, we sought to distil and share some expert advice for campus-based university teachers to adapt to online teaching and learning. In this sequel paper, we ask ourselves: Now that campus-based university teachers have experienced the unplanned and forced version of Online Learning and Teaching (OLT), how can this experience help bridge the gap between online and in-person teaching in the following years? The four experts, also co-authors of this paper, interviewed aligning towards an emphasis on pedagogisation rather than digitalisation of higher education, with strategic decision-making being in the heart of post-pandemic practices. Our literature review of papers published in the last year and analysis of the expert answers reveal that the ‘forced’ experience of teaching with digital technologies as part of ERT can gradually give place to a harmonious integration of physical and digital tools and methods for the sake of more active, flexible and meaningful learning.

Transforming higher education in Ghana in times of disruption: flexible learning in rural communities with high latency internet connectivity

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Barton Essel ◽  
Dimitrios Vlachopoulos ◽  
Dickson Adom ◽  
Akosua Tachie-Menson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Cell Phone ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Internet Connectivity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Video Teleconferencing ◽  
A Cell

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone. In addition, the study aims to identify the associations between the audio teleconferencing and video teleconferencing in a 12-week postgraduate course. Design/methodology/approach The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted at the Department of Educational Innovations at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from March to June 2020. The purposive sampling technique was used to sample 100 postgraduate students who registered for a course in the department. The data for the study were collected using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and 17-item self-administered eQuestionnaire. Multiple Linear Regression analysis, ANOVA, Independent sample T-test and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to estimate the differences in course achievements of students who experienced education through audio teleconferencing and those who experienced education through video teleconferencing. Findings In total, 59% of the participating postgraduate students chose to attend the synchronous online lectures via audio teleconferencing (dial-in). The participants gave a high SUS score (SUS > 80.3; Grade A; Excellent) for audio conferencing service. Among the students in the audio teleconferencing cohort, the results evidenced a strong positive linear correlation, (r (57) = 0.79, p < 0.05), between the individual adjective ratings and the SUS scores. There was marginal significance among demography of students in the audio teleconference (AT) cohort with regards to their perception about the dial-in lecture. There was no statistically significant difference, (t (98) = 1.88, p = 0.063), in the achievement test for AT students and video teleconference (VT) students. The instructors and the students were satisfied with the AT. Practical implications Based on the students’ preference, AT offers equal benefit as VT with regards to system satisfaction and perceived quality of online teaching. AT, as teaching modality, should be an option for students who reside in communities with high latency internet connectivity. It is recommended that instructors are trained on how to engage and motivate students via AT. Originality/value Higher education institutions in Ghana are facing decisions about how to continue learning and teaching through flexible pedagogy, while keeping their faculty members and students protected from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these institutions have canceled the brick-and-mortar education and other conventional learning practices and have instructed faculty to adopt online teaching through synchronous video teleconferencing platforms. However, the learning experience is not the same for students who reside in remote or rural communities with low bandwidth. There is very little research in this topic, especially in developing countries like Ghana, and the present study aims to bridge the gap in the literature by exploring the characteristics and potential effects of teaching and learning through audio teleconferencing (dial-in) with a cell phone, in the context of a 12-week postgraduate course.

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