2017-03-29
Third meeting of the FMHS TLC in 2017: Guest Workshop with Professor Graeme Aitken - How do we know what makes quality teaching?
Update and input on the U21 Education Innovation Steering Group (U21 EISG) Project: Proposed Conceptual Framework for Teaching
(a.k.a What constitutes excellence in teaching in research-intensive university settings)
2017-03-29 (Weds)
503-024
12:00-1:00
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Facilitator: Welcome from Mark Barrow, Louise Carrucan-Wood
Note-taker: Lynne Petersen
Meeting Agenda
12.00-12.05 Welcome from Mark Barrow
12.05-12.35 Group discussion with Dean Graeme Aitken
Dean Aitken is here to share current developments that he has been involved with through his U21 Education Innovation Steering Group work. This collaboration amongst U21 university leaders has been focused on developing an internationally recognised Conceptual Framework for Teaching. This Framework aims to offer higher education institutions support in developing and applying a “… better range of indicators, metrics and standards for reviewing and recognising teaching in research intensive universities”. (U21 Discover, Issue 35, April 2016, p. 6)
Graeme will be seeking input from today's participants to contribute their own thinking to this ongoing framework development.
Graeme's ppt slides: FMHS_TLC_Graeme Aitken Guest workshop 29 March 2017.docx Download FMHS_TLC_Graeme Aitken Guest workshop 29 March 2017.docx
12.35-12.45 Q&A / Next steps
12:45-1:00 Networking, discussion & wrap up
Meeting Notes
Welcome from Mark Barrow to all in FMHS and other staff from other faculties.
Academic programme work is underway across the University - Graeme is part of a group leading the development of this framework for teaching capability.
Kim Dirks is a supporting representative on the academic programme development work within our FMHS - any feedback you may have around this type of teaching frameworks can go to her about input/ideas in relation to teaching capability and this proposed conceptual framework.
Graeme will first provide an overview of the work he has been part of with Universitas 21 and then we will work as a group to provide feedback from our faculty about the framework he is part of developing.
The overall question Graeme is interested in exploring is:
How do we, and can we best, describe teaching capability across a diverse, research-intensive university?
Origins of the Conceptual Framework of Teaching
This project arose 2 years ago via the Universitas 21 ("U21")- a group of Research-intensive universities across Australasia, UK, Canada, Singapore (also Lunn and Fudan Universities).
Graeme is part of the Educational Innovation Cluster Links to an external site.(http://www.universitas21.com/article/educational Links to an external site.) that meets twice a year globally.
The work began 2 years ago from a particular problem - many of the U21 universities are developing a "Professor of Teaching" track where teaching is the predominant focus of the individual's contribution, rather than solely their research. The U21 members found it was very difficult to get external referees of this type of teaching-based promotion application.
The Aim of the U21 Educational Innovation Cluster group:
- To establish A College of Referees to be able to provide feedback and overall 'assessment' on the individuals interested in this sort of a Professorial track for teaching-focused promotions at Professor level
Background comments from Graeme
Graeme is interested in the development of this framework being an iterative process.
Graeme and a colleague (Jennifer) in the Faculty of Education analysed documents available in participating U21 universities about their teaching policies, promotion application criteria/documents etc. to extract elements that seemed significant in relation to excellence/effectiveness in teaching that might inform the development of an overarching framework of teaching excellence at Professor level.
The proposed conceptual framework then arose out of this process. Next, they then tested this draft frameowrk with the DVCAs of the participating U21 universities about the elements identified - this has resulted in the proposed Conceptual Framework for Teaching Graeme is sharing today (see ppt slides below) - it is targeted first at Professorial level but should apply across all levels underneath that (i.e. Senior Lecturer, Lecturer and Graeme is also wondering/hoping Professional Teaching Fellow).
Part of what he is interested in feedback about includes the elements in the framework but also people's thoughts about to what extent it could be seen as relevant across all teaching levels (PTF through to Professor) and to what extent it applies equally across different faculties/disciplinary areas in the UOA.
The Proposed Framework for Conceptualising 21st Century Teaching
Graeme then shared with the group the Proposed U21 Framework for Conceptualising 21st Century Teaching that has been developed with 4 broad dimensions and 3 "forms of expression":
4 broad dimensions:
- Learning Facilitator
- Educational Designer
- Reflective Teacher
- Scholarly Teacher
3 forms of expression:
- Practitioners
- Leaders
- Managers
Graeme then drilled down to deeper detail to look for evidence across the U21 university documents/policies to see what evidence could be found in these four broad dimensions above. His ppt slides provide "numbers" in each of the cells in the table above to show which aspects seem to be well covered within the U21 universities and which ones seem less evident.
The most significant and evident area of finding across the U21 document/policy analysis was the Dimension of "Scholarly Teacher" and the form of expression "Leader" e.g. "engaging with and contributing to the scholarship of learning and teaching" (the final row on the framework).
An area of potential gap was the Dimension of "Educational Designer" and "Reflective Teacher" in relation to the forms of expression of "Leaders" and "Managers".
Looking deeper at the framework
Next Graeme and Jennifer looked at what evidence they could find in promotion documents for specific cells in the proposed framework. What they found was the evidence went well beyond the "SET Evaluation" data that is the current 'norm' in many promotion applications.
Graeme is interested in the question: How can we disseminate this as a richer conversation about how we can know we are effective in our teaching - rather than just considering what is our "SET Score"?
Graeme then discussed with the group and highlighted elements of the framework in relation to the progression of detail across elements/cells in each of the four dimensions in the framework. See his ppt slides for examples.
Next steps with the framework development
Graeme is about to go back to London in a few weeks' time to further the next round of developments in relation to this framework with the U21 Education Innovation Cluster group.
Graeme and the group will next analyse 9-10 professorial applications using the conceptual framework to see if they can apply the elements to determine how effective the teaching is within the presented applications.
Graeme is also interested to see if this framework also speaks to PTFs/largely teaching-only roles in the University. And does it speak to the type of work in teaching in FMHS.
Does it do enough to capture that?
Feedback/comments on the Proposed U21 Framework for Conceptualising 21st Century Teaching
Feedback on the framework from FMHS can be forwarded to Kim Dirks and/or Mark Barrow.
Follow up/ Resources/Links to Explore
Download the powerpoint shared by Graeme:
U21 Conceptual Framework for Teaching March 2017.pptx Download U21 Conceptual Framework for Teaching March 2017.pptx
Next TLC meeting
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Next meeting: Wed 12th April 12.00-12.30pm 502-001 |
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