scholarly journals Framed autoethnography as an approach for uncovering pedagogic frailty

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Kinchin ◽  
Lyndon B. Cabot
Keyword(s):  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Quality Enhancement ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Instructional Discourse ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractPedagogic frailty has been proposed as a concept that can be helpful in bringing a number of key ideas into simultaneous focus, with the aim of helping to integrate elements of teaching quality enhancement within a university (Kinchin, 2015; 2016). These elements include the relationship between personal values and the instructional discourse; the relationship between the discipline and its pedagogy; the nature of the research-teaching nexus; the proximity of the locus of control to the teaching environment. Key to the application of pedagogic frailty is the personal appreciation (at the level of the individual academic) of the ways in which the elements of this concept are connected. This must acknowledge the emotional aspects of teaching and learning and also the rich, subjective nature of personal professional identities within this context (Clegg, 2008). We have therefore investigated the potential of autoethnography (e.g. Anderson, 2006; Chang, 2008; Denshire, 2014) as an approach to uncovering the rich complexity of pedagogic frailty perceived at the level of the individual. We have combined this with a concept mapping approach (Novak, 2010) to frame the autoethnographic narrative and to help the autoethnographer to focus on connections between elements as these connections will determine how the framework functions in practice. This combined approach helps overcome the difficulties associated with writing about academia from the insider’s perspective (Archer, 2008). This paper offers reflections upon this process as a method for professional development of university teachers and institutional quality enhancement.  Keywords: Autoethnography; concept mapping; faculty development; quality enhancement

Quality Teaching Quality Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 26-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Prosser
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Quality Teaching ◽  
Quality Enhancement ◽  
Good Teaching ◽  
Recent Developments

The aim of this chapter is to outline the results of over 20 years’ research into university teaching from a student-learning perspective, how teaching from this perspective relates to student learning (its processes and outcomes), and the implications of this research for supporting quality assurance of, quality enhancement of, and the recognition and reward of teaching and learning in higher education. These results have important implications for how we develop and implement quality assurance and enhancement processes in teaching and learning and how we recognise and reward quality teaching in higher education. If the outcomes of good teaching are quality student learning, then quality assurance, quality enhancement, and the recognition and reward for good teaching needs to focus on the students and their learning. This is a student-focused view of quality teaching. Some of these implications are described by examining some recent developments in quality assurance, enhancement, and recognition and reward at the University of Hong Kong.

Teachers of Future Teachers and Their Conception of Teaching

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-65
Author(s):  
Hana Kasíková ◽  
Josef Valenta
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Life Paths ◽  
Conception Of Teaching ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Project Life ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The text presents a partial output from a broader research Teachers of Teachers: Careers and Teaching Conceptions (part of the research project “Life Paths, Lifestyles and Quality of Life from the perspective of individual adaptation and relationship of actors and institutions”, solved at the Faculty of Arts in Prague). The research focuses on the personal views of academics from faculties preparing teachers for their careers and on the profession itself and its key themes or issues. It also monitors the tendencies that appear in these statements. The fundamental question of this probe is: What is the conception of teaching for teachers teaching teachers? The theoretical part brings an overview of already known opinions and findings from Czech and foreign research. The survey shows that empirical research relating to university teachers who teach student teachers and their readiness for the profession is modest in our country. The presented survey is based on interviews with ten academics (deliberate selection) of different status, title and length of practice. They all teach pedagogical, respectively, psychological disciplines. The interview was partially structured by questions in five areas of inquiry. The method of thematic analysis was used to process the results. Since the aim of the research is not to create a new theory, and because of its qualitative nature, both the individual views and some summaries of accordant views are used in the conclusions. The conclusion that our respondents sensitively perceive the problem of the relationship between theory and practice in teaching future teachers at a university and strive to solve it in different ways is significant. The opinions on the relationship between research and teaching at faculties preparing teachers are interesting as well.

scholarly journals Aristotle’s Pambasileia and the Metaphysics of Monarchy

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Atack
Keyword(s):  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
Abstract Thought ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Universe

Aristotle’s account of kingship in Politics 3 responds to the rich discourse on kingship that permeates Greek political thought (notably in the works of Herodotus, Xenophon and Isocrates), in which the king is the paradigm of virtue, and also the instantiator and guarantor of order, linking the political microcosm to the macrocosm of the universe. Both models, in separating the individual king from the collective citizenry, invite further, more abstract thought on the importance of the king in the foundation of the polity, whether the king can be considered part of, or separate from, the polis, and the relationship between polis and universe. In addressing these aspects of kingship theories, Aristotle explores a ‘metaphysics of monarchy’, part of the long-running mereological problem of parts and wholes in the construction of the polis, and connecting his account of kingship to his thought on citizenship and distributive justice within the polis.

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 Teacher Self-Efficacy and Teacher Burnout: A Study of Relations

2015 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 83-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Gholami
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Burnout ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Reverse Relationship ◽  
Spss Software ◽  
Teacher Self Efficacy ◽  
The Relationship

In any teaching and learning setting, there are some variables that play a highly significant role in both teachers’ and learners’ performance. Two of these influential psychological domains in educational context include self-efficacy and burnout. This study is conducted to investigate the relationship between the self-efficacy of Iranian teachers of English and their reports of burnout. The data was collected through application of two questionnaires. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach& Jackson 1981, 1986) and Teacher Efficacy Scales (Woolfolk& Hoy, 1990) were administered to ten university teachers. After obtaining the raw data, the SPSS software (version 16) was used to change the data into numerical interpretable forms. In order to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and teachers’ burnout, correlational analysis was employed. The results showed that participants’ self-efficacy has a reverse relationship with their burnout. Keyword: teacher self-efficacy, teacher burnout

University teachers’ action research: An adventure into uncharted waters?

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 262
Author(s):  
Ali Rahimi ◽  
Ahmad Madani ◽  
Hamid Rahimi
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Research Skills ◽  
Practical Action ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Diagnostic Skills

One of the main approaches of educational systems in enhancing the teaching quality has been increasing teachers’ action research skills. The objective of this study has been identification of university teachers’ action research skills in higher education in Iran. The population under study has been all teachers at University of Kashan, Iran (283) from which 189 teachers have been randomly selected. The instrument employed has been a self-made questionnaire which assessed teachers’ action research skills based upon four factors (diagnostic Skills, attitude towards action research, data collection skills, and practical action research abilities). The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach’s Alfa as 0.852 and this is indicative of the high reliability and internal consistency of the instrument. This study clearly showed that a large number of university teachers have no information about the role of action research in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Data analysis showed that even noticeable differences are not observed in the behavior of teachers familiar with action research and those who are unfamiliar with it. The most interesting finding of this study was the discovery that all university teachers were able to recognize the issues and topics related to their profession (topic recognition skill) and are deeply preoccupied with such issues (attitude towards action research), but they lacked the necessary skills to cope with these issues and make the relevant practical decisions (data collection skills and practical action research). To overcome this deficiency, the researchers suggest in-service educational programs organized by university authorities with the aim of turning teachers to researchers familiar with action research skills.Keywords: Action research, Teaching, Educational Supervision, Enhancement of Teaching Quality,  University Teachers.  

Applied Linguistics and Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Kettle ◽  
Susy Macqueen
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Resources ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
National Education ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Educational Inclusion ◽  
The Relationship

Language is fundamental to teaching and learning, yet is prone to invisibility in education systems. Drawing on work from applied linguistics that foregrounds language use in education, a “power” heuristic can be used to highlight linguistic privilege and its implications for students and their individual language repertoires. Language can be understood as a tool for performing particular interpersonal and ideational functions; its structure and uses are determined by context. For most students, experiences of language that is education-related reside in three core domains: the home and community, the school, and the nation state. Language expectations in these domains vary and position the linguistic repertoires of students differently. A key consideration is the student’s first language and its relationship to the expectations and privileged varieties of different institutions, for example, the local school and the national education department. By foregrounding linguistic privilege in education, the alignment, or misalignment, between students’ language resources and the prevailing language norms of educational institutions is made visible and open to change. Inherent in the level of alignment are issues of educational inclusion, access to powerful language forms and genres, and academic achievement. The concept of power affordances can be used to refer to the enabling potential of the relationship between language status, language affiliation and a student’s linguistic repertoire. Power affordances can operate as three broad potentials, capabilities or statuses: socioeconomic power, which resides in the language of global and state institutions ranging from government to schools and manifests in instruments such as national standardized tests; sociocognitive power, which enables the capacity to learn and recognizes the language intensity of knowledge; and identity power, which references social belonging and is strongly indexed to language. Conceptualizing language and its power affordances in education provides a useful framework for understanding the relationship between students’ language resources and the often implicit linguistic demands and practices of education systems. It also highlights the rich potential of applied linguistics in understanding education.

The Humboldtian ideal meets employability? University teachers and the teaching–research relationship in marketized higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 303-311
Author(s):  
Nikos Macheridis ◽  
Alexander Paulsson ◽  
Håkan Pihl
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Critical Research ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Research Relationship ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Conflicting Objectives ◽  
Teaching Research ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines how university teachers in two Swedish higher education institutions grapple with the challenge of connecting research and teaching. With the increasing pressure in higher education to improve graduate employability, teaching is expected to include skills-oriented, vocational training which may (or may not) conflict with the more traditional Humboldtian ideal, in which teaching is built on research. Drawing on the rich bodies of literatures on employability and the teaching–research relationship, the authors find that university teachers practice the relationship in four ways: by using scientific articles in the curriculum; by teaching students a critical research attitude; by lecturing about their own research results; and by relying on the formal skills of fellow teachers. These practices of establishing a close connection between teaching and research are, this study suggests, met with resistance from colleagues, who are perceived to favor vocational training and emphasize employability; from students, who are also perceived to worry about employability; and finally from other policies that target partially conflicting objectives, including those for employability.

scholarly journals The Salutogenic Management of Pedagogic Frailty: A Case of Educational Theory Development Using Concept Mapping

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Kinchin
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Concept Mapping ◽  
Concept Maps ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Educational Theory ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Deficit Model ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
The Relationship

This paper explores the development of educational theory (pedagogic frailty) that has emerged through the application of concept maps to understand teachers’ conceptions of their roles within the complex higher education environment. Within this conceptual paper, pedagogic frailty is reinterpreted using the lens offered by the concept of salutogenesis to place the model in a more positive frame that can offer greater utility for university managers. This development parallels changes in the consideration of mental health literacy (MHL) across university campuses and avoids misapplication of a deficit model to the professional enhancement of teaching quality. For a detailed explication of this wider perspective of pedagogic health literacy (PHL), the connections with related and supporting concepts need to be explained. These include ‘assets’, ‘wellness’ and a ‘sense of coherence’. Links between these concepts are introduced here. This reframing of the model has used concept mapping to explore the relationship between two complex ideas—pedagogic frailty and salutogenesis. It emphasizes pedagogic health as a continuum operating between frailty and resilience. Brief implications for academic development are included.

scholarly journals How to operationalise holistic academic development – The case of a Danish center for teaching and learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rie Troelsen
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Development ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Quality Teaching ◽  
Quality Enhancement ◽  
Leverage Points ◽  
Individual Teacher ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
The University

AbstractCenters for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) are at the forefront of many quality enhancement activities aimed at teaching and learning at universities and do not solely focus on supporting individual teacher in conducting quality teaching but are also playing a strategic role in the university. CTLs provide in other words holistic academic development. This article provides examples of how a CTL at the University of Southern Denmark has operationalised holistic academic development using Holt et al.’s points of leverage as a starting point. The leverage points are combined and exemplified to suggest a model for enhancing teaching quality which entails five levels; definitions, descriptions, documentation, evaluation and recognition of quality in teaching.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document