Michael Lower's Blog

Sally Patfield, Jennifer Gore, Elena Prieto, Leanne Fray & Kristina Sincock (2022) Towards quality teaching in higher education: pedagogy-focused academic development for enhancing practice, International Journal for Academic Development, DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2022.2103561

This article gives an account of an academic development innovation in an Australian university.

Participants took part in a two hour workshop based on a ‘Quality Teaching Model’ (QTM). This draws on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to give a theory and evidence-based account of the principles of effective teaching.

Participants then used the QTM over a term to reflect on their teaching and learning practices.

They found that it helped them:

• to analyse their practice;
• in course planning;
• to engage in collegial collaboration; and
• improve the student experience.

‘Quality’ is now associated with improving teaching and learning and not merely with accountability. The innovation was a practical way of engaging teachers with SoTL.

This model is similar to the Legal Education Practicum which will introduce RPG students (emerging academics and future teachers) to SoTL in the form of the Principles of Reflective Teaching and then invite them to use that framework to appraise aspects of pedagogy, plan a teaching session and comment on the teaching approach of the teacher they shadow.

The article strengthens my feeling that the Practicum would benefit all colleagues.