Developing top-quality lecturers: A great way to lift student learning
At most universities, "student-centred" approach is now a catch phrase. Lecturers want their students to become motivated and strive harder to learn. But what have lecturers done on their part? Are they motivated and trying to improve their teaching tec
The answer, to many educators’ concerns, is probably not.
According to the 9th International Consortium for Educational Development (ICED) 2012 in Bangkok, the concern was addressed at the “Across the Globe Higher Education Learning and Teaching” forum. Hosted by the Association of Professional and Organisational Development Network of Thailand Higher Education (ThaiPOD) and the Office of Higher Education Commission, it attracted educators from across the world.
Many of course highlighted the need for lecturers to improve their teaching skills.
From my years’ long work experience, I have also found first hand that great teaching techniques will allow students to learn the content easily. Good lecturers are thus not just those who have solid academic knowledge but also those able to pass on their knowledge to others.
The lecturers should be keen to explore pedagogical and didactics processes.
To improve students’ learning ability, lecturers should constantly seek best teaching techniques available. According to Fink Consulting, lecturers should search for new ideas on teaching and learning. Those “new ideas” also must have a high potential for “making a difference”.
Presently, a large number of universities have had a “Centre for Teaching and Learning” or “Faculty Development Training Centre” up and running for the purpose.
The Centre for Teaching and Digital Media at Aarhus University, for example, has run the “Faculty Metro”. Created by and for faculty members, it is the Web resource for university learning and teaching. It has provided lecturers with a channel to exchange their best practices in teaching and learning activities. Faculty members may contribute their tried-and-true teaching practices such as written teaching instructions, podcasts and sound recordings, targeting their colleagues as users of the resources.
At Oklahoma City University, all fulltime lecturers are encouraged to join faculty development activities, including workshops, consultations, teaching portfolio training, Faculty Teaching Academy Fellows Certificate program, and Faculty Learning Communities.
At the National University of Singapore, there is a programme for new faculty members, so-called Professional Development ProgrammeTeaching (PDPT), to enhance faculty members’ teaching performance, particularly those with less than three years of teaching experience.
Such teaching and learning centres at the higher educational institutes have not yet made any big impact, though. The key problem is that very few lecturers have showed up there to reflect on their teaching and to improve their teaching proficiency.
How will universities motivate their teaching staff into improving their teaching skills? This is a big question that all higher educational institutes must answer. At ORT Braude College, it is suggested that a unique framework be created for an institutional dialogue about teaching and learning. The framework should identify the needs of each faculty, draw up training plans, outline processes such as peer review, methods of assessment quantification, and also prepare rewards for faculty excellence.
It is necessary that universities boost their lecturers’ enthusiasm in participating in the faculty development centres. Such places, after all, can serve as useful tools to improve the quality of not just the lecturers but also students.
When lecturers get together at such centres, they can share their valuable experiences and knowledge from their fields. The centres with multidisciplinary environments, Helen King of the University of Bath pointed out, would enrich the lecturers’ experiences, viewpoints and teaching techniques that would in turn benefit their students.
I can’t agree more with King. Seeding the “faculty development programme” can cultivate the success in teaching and learning at universities. Wherever the teaching skills improve, so will students learning.
Priyakorn Pusawiro
Learning Scientist
Computer Engineering Department
King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
[email protected]
