scholarly journals A vision of You-topia: Personalising professional development of teaching in a diverse academic workforce.

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Lisa Thomas ◽  
◽  
Kathryn Harden-Thew ◽  
Janine Delahunty ◽  
Bonnie Amelia Dean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Student Diversity ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Technological Advances

The higher education (HE) sector in Australia is in a state of flux due to a range of social, political and economic factors. Increased competition, greater student diversity, tautening of industry exigencies, reduced funding, and rapid technological advances are key drivers of change in this environment. Within this period of transformation, HE institutions remain steadfast in maintaining quality teaching and learning practices. Challenges are therefore presented on the traditional role and function of the teaching academic, creating opportunities to explore how staff can be better prepared to teach into the new era of HE. Professional development for learning and teaching is one approach that can support staff to enhance teaching practice. Professional development programs however that fail to meet the contemporary needs of HE or consider the academic’s professional requirements, may be at risk of becoming extraneous. A move towards a more flexible approach to professional development may be necessary to meet these requirements to provide appropriate, timely support for teachers. This paper problematises approaches to professional development which adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model and introduces a new, innovative program Continuing Professional Development (Learning & Teaching) (CPD [L&T]) at the University of Wollongong . The CPD (L&T) model supports the professional development of all teaching staff – from casual teacher to professor level, academic and professional staff. The model is externally referenced and features self-nominated activities for accreditation. CPD (L&T) enables multiple, ongoing methods of engagement across a professional’s teaching career, supporting a new, You-topic vision of professional development in learning and teaching.

scholarly journals Facilitating reflective practice: developing built environment educators’ capacity for teaching and learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gesa Ruge ◽  
Lara Mackintosh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Teaching Philosophy

The international literature on higher education emphasises the importance for academics and professional staff to develop their disciplinary teaching and learning practice. Teaching staff in built environment degree programs tend to focus on ‘what’ subject content is taught and less on ‘how to’ improve and innovate teaching and learning contexts and students’ skills development. To investigate these trends, this research reviewed the higher education literature and relevant international studies on strategies to enhance quality teaching and student learning. Findings highlight that reflective practice and engaging in a personal teaching philosophy and teaching profile provide an important link for individual professional development and basis for improving teaching and learning. The objective of this study was to apply findings from the literature in facilitating professional learning workshops, with a pedagogy for collaborative reflective practice and the development of a teaching philosophy. This research reports on the first stage of professional development for staff in built environment programs to establish a teaching profile through reflection on their personal and discipline specific pedagogies. Initial findings highlight the positive impact of reflection and collegial conversations about learning and teaching, as well as future opportunities for individual and discipline based capacity building for improving educational practice.

scholarly journals Digital equity: Considering the needs of staff as a social justice issue

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 150-160
Author(s):  
Julie Willems
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Digital Equity ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Technology In Teaching ◽  
Tertiary Teaching

The rollout of technological advances in tertiary teaching and learning continues unabated. Concerns around staff lag in acceptance and adoption may overlook hidden influences. While considerations to address the digital divide and digital equity for tertiary students has been a growing social justice issue since the 1980s, what of the academic and professional staff who facilitate their teaching and learning? They are the other side of the coin and, as a cohort, are as diverse as the students they teach. Today, building staff capacity in the implementation of technology in teaching and learning in higher education still remains a key need. Yet a one-size-fits-all approach may miss the differing needs, views and capabilities of staff. It may also be built and developed upon explicit assumptions relating to staff access, skills and ability. For an equity-based approach to building staff capacity through professional development, empathy is required in purveying staff values, abilities, and needs. To address such issues and empower staff, a robust professional development program on digital technology is but one means to help stem the digital divide between staff haves and have-nots.

scholarly journals Adaptation for a Changing Environment: Developing learning and teaching with information and communication technologies

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Kirkwood ◽  
Linda Price
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Changing Environment ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Information And Communication

This article examines the relationship between the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and learning and teaching, particularly in distance education contexts. We argue that environmental changes (societal, educational and technological) make it necessary for Higher Education in general, and distance education in particular, to adapt those systems and practices that are not appropriate for the changing environment. However, the need to adapt is often perceived by academic and support staff to be primarily technology-led and with a requirement for them to develop their technical skills in using ICT. We provide a critique of continuing professional development (CPD) in respect of using ICT for teaching and learning that does not address these wider environmental changes. In particular, we oppose CPD that concentrates on the individual teacher and their use of ICT. Instead, we contend that professional development should focus upon the scholarship of teaching and learning and a concern for understanding the characteristics and needs of learners. Further, CPD should reflect the organisational context within which ICT is managed and produced and so it must involve institutional managers as well as individual academics and associated staff members.

Professional Development In Kosovo – Research Of Training Programs And Tests

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bekim Samadraxha ◽  
Veton Alihajdari ◽  
Besim Mustafa ◽  
Ramë Likaj
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Career Structure ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
And Training

Vocational Education Teachers are one of the main important assets for workforce development. This study of the workforce of VET teachers in selected partner countries has two main goals. The aim of this research is to evaluate the level of teacher’s development and training programs and test as well, to inform national policymakers about the situation and the needs of the VET teachers and, secondly, to help monitoring the implementation and the change of the teacher professional development. The methodology to be used is based on qualitative research methods, including interviews und surveys. A major focus of the survey is to enable policy makers to understand what is required to bring along improvements in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) quality, effectiveness and responsiveness, as well as factors affecting teacher effectiveness in general, such as their motivation and career structure. Professional development for teachers and trainers is widely recognized as a vital tool for the educational reform (Bicaj, 2013). Research shows that the professional development can enduring improve the quality of teaching and learning, enhancing the effectiveness of education and training and providing added value to students, teachers and employers. There is no doubt about the importance of the Continuing Professional Development of VET teachers. Kosovo has for many years developed extensive policies to address this issue, and currently these policies are being implemented.

scholarly journals Transforming Teaching and Learning for Quality Teacher Education in Ghana: Perspectives from Selected Teacher Trainees and Stakeholders in Teacher Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Kwabena Ntim
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Student Diversity ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Teacher Trainees ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Education In Ghana

This survey measured the perspectives of teacher trainees, classrooms teachers and stakeholders in teacher education regarding factors that could enhance teaching and quality teacher education in Ghana. Findings from the survey indicate that teachers’ content knowledge was considered appreciable, but more emphasis needed to be paid to cultivating critical and inquiry skills among Ghanaian teachers. Additionally, efforts were to be made in teacher education towards a more constructivists approach to teaching, with focus on student-centered teaching and attention to student diversity, as well as enhancing teacher professional development, especially in the area of academic research. Implications for policy and practice suggested among others, are that teacher education in Ghana needs a more professional development that is both data-based and standard driven, as well as collaboratively developed, as criteria to assess teacher quality and possible certification.

scholarly journals Cross-cultural effects of COVID-19 on higher education learning and teaching practice: A case study from Greece

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 73-89
Author(s):  
Margarita Kefalaki ◽  
◽  
Michael Nevradakis ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
Global Pandemic

COVID-19 has greatly impacted all aspects of our everyday lives. A global pandemic of this magnitude, even as we now emerge from strict measures such as lockdowns and await the potential for a ‘new tomorrow’ with the arrival of vaccines, will certainly have long-lasting consequences. We will have to adapt and learn to live in a different way. Accordingly, teaching and learning have also been greatly impacted. Changes to academic curricula have had tremendous cross-cultural effects on higher education students. This study will investigate, by way of focus groups comprised of students studying at Greek universities during the pandemic, the cross-cultural effects that this ‘global experience’ has had on higher education, and particularly on students in Greek universities. The data collection tools are interviews and observations gathered from focus groups.

scholarly journals The teacher’s main competencies in modern higher education

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (I) ◽  
pp. 30-42
Author(s):  
Надія СМОЛІКЕВИЧ
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Creative Potential ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Professional Activities ◽  
Teachers And Students

The article has analyzed the problems of teaching and learning at a higher educational establishment, reveals the specifics of the teacher's professional activities, the components of his or her teaching skills and deals with the issue on the necessary competencies of the teacher to provide a favorable and successful learning environment for diverse students. The emphasis has been concentrated on the specifics of teaching, research and professional development of the teaching staff, etc. It has also been emphasized the importance of creating the appropriate conditions for the full realization of the creative potential of teachers, ensuring their professional development, etc. The important characteristics of a favorable university environment have been singled out. It has been noted that teachers and students should be free in scientific research, study, evaluation, accumulation of new knowledge and its understanding. The main tasks, professional abilities and responsibilities of teachers in the global educational environment have been identified in order to help recipients of academic services to succeed in the adaptation and academic process. The successful experience of the American centers of pedagogical skill has been described in order to borrow it by the higher education system of Ukraine to ensure the development of the professional and creative potential of the teaching staff of universities. The main competencies of teachers have been determined and described, because they are necessary for providing high-quality educational services based on the educational philosophy of social-constructivism and postmodernism, which support an active role of students, social interaction and diversity in the class.

scholarly journals Research into the diversification of university careers in learning and teaching and intentionally closing-the-loop on graduate employability

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-212
Author(s):  
James Arvanitakis ◽  
Madelaine-Marie Judd ◽  
Shelley Kinash ◽  
Trina Jorre de st Jorre ◽  
Trish McCluskey
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Senior Lecturer ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Graduate Employability ◽  
Occupational Patterns ◽  
Closing The Loop ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Teaching Positions

 Universities are both a source of employable graduates and careers. This paper examines universities as developers and employers of their own graduates from the perspective of employees and recruited positions. Research questions were: what do learning and teaching careers look like at universities, and; what are the occupational patterns, satisfactions and concerns of the staff in those careers? An autoethnographic account of employees’ career journeys (all of whom were employed in learning and teaching or closely related areas) from five different universities were shared, compared and contrasted. Two of these universities are profiled as having a large proportion of students from target equity groups and therefore have intentionally recruited learning and teaching staff to widen student participation. A desktop review of six months of university employment vacancies from these two universities was conducted. A consistent theme across the autoethnographic stories was a feeling of being an outsider. The authors’ hypothesis is that this is related to haphazard preparation for learning and teaching positions. Of the 322 university vacancies, 84% were for professional staff, 23% of which were in learning and teaching, with the most prevalent role being Coordinator. Fourteen per cent were for academic staff, 64% of which involved learning and teaching, and the most prevalent title was Lecturer/Senior Lecturer. Key takeaways include recommendations for universities to intentionally enhance the employability of graduates who pursue learning and teaching positions within universities, and for prospective university learning and teaching staff to enhance their employability.

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