Teaching using the Web: Conceptions and approaches from a phenomenographic perspective

Research undertaken in 2000–2001 in one modernScottish university shows that most currentuniversity teachers' conceptions of andapproaches to using the Web for learning andteaching are far removed from the concept of`networked learning'. The argument is made thatuniversity teachers' preferred approaches toteaching and learning are informed by theirconceptions of teaching and learning. Ifapproaches to using the Web are to move closerto definitions of networked learning, teachers'conceptions need to develop from instructivist,information transmission mode toconstructivist, learning facilitation mode. Therole of experience and contextual factors arediscussed in achieving the development ofconceptions and networked learning.     

Teaching with technology in higher education: understanding conceptual change and development in practice

Research indicates that teachers’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching with technology are central for the successful imple-mentation of educational technologies in higher education. This study advances this premise. We present a 10-year longitudinal study examining teachers’ conceptions of and approaches to teaching and learning with technology. Nine teachers on an online Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and a Master of Pharmacy programme at a Swedish university were studied using a phenomenographic approach. Results showed clear differences between novice and experienced teachers. Although novice teachers initially held more teacher-focused conceptions, they demonstrated greater and more rapid change than experienced colleagues. Experienced teachers tended to exhibit little to no change in conceptions. Supporting conceptual change should, therefore, be a central component of professional development activities if a more effective use of educational technology is to be achieved.     

Variation in Students’ Experiences of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’

This paper examines Oxford University students’ conceptions of the role of the tutorial in their learning. An analysis of interviews with 28 students constituted four qualitatively different conceptions of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’. These ranged from the tutorial involving the tutor explaining to the student what the student did not know, to the tutorial involving the tutor and the student in exchanging different points of view and both coming to a new understanding of the topic under discussion. These different conceptions also appeared to be related to variations in students’ views of the role of the work done in preparation for the tutorial, their view of the student’s and tutor’s roles in the tutorial, and the conception of knowledge that students adopted in relation to the tutorial. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of the relations between students’ conceptions of tutorials and their anticipated learning outcomes and its implications for contexts outside of Oxford in terms of students’ conceptions of academic tasks.     

Development and Use of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory

This paper describes how research into approaches to university teaching, from a relational perspective, has been used to develop an inventory to measure the key aspects of the variation in approaches to teaching. The Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) is one of several that derive from the research perspective applied by Marton and colleagues in Europe (Marton, F., Hounsell, D., and Entwistle, N. (eds.) (1997). The Experience of Learning, 2nd edn., Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh) to student learning. A feature of these inventories is that they measure the response of a group to a particular context, rather than more general characteristics of individuals in that group. Studies using these inventories have consistently shown relations between students' approaches to learning and the quality of their learning outcome. The question of interest to many university teachers is whether there are relations between the way teachers approach their teaching and ways their students approach their learning. This question was answered in a study published in 1999 that used the ATI to show that teacher-focused approaches to teaching were associated with students' reproducing orientations. Subsequent research revealed that in subjects where teachers adopted more student-focused approaches to teaching, their students adopted a deeper approach to learning. Some recent research using the inventory is reviewed along with an analysis of the validity of the ATI. The current version of the inventory is reproduced in this paper.     

The role of transnational networking for higher education academics

Amidst rapid socio-economic change, higher education (HE) academics across the world face major challenges to its organisation, finance and management. This paper discusses the role of transnational networking in higher education. Data from 40 interviews with geographically distributed academics engaged in learning and teaching transnational networks (TNNs) were analysed. The findings show that in an increasingly globalised higher education system, transnational networking goes beyond conference attendance to entail multiple combinations of offline and online activities. We do not think that current concepts of communities of practice or networks of practice accurately describe these phenomena. Instead, we suggest that these activities entail different and varying levels of tangibility, more accurately defined by us as TNNs. Moreover, we argue that the term ‘network’ in this context facilitates the individualistic pursuit of a career increasingly essential in a pressurised higher education environment.     

教师的教学观--一个重要而崭新的研究领域

教师的教学观是一个重要而崭新的研究领域 ,本文综述了目前国内外教学观研究所采用的研究方法以及所取得的研究成果 ,并对后续的研究进行展望 ,以期对国内学者有所启示。     

A phenomenographic study of students' conceptions of quality in learning in higher education in Rwanda

The aim of this study is to understand the different ways that university students conceptualise quality in learning by drawing on a phenomenographic approach. A total of 20 students in higher education in Rwanda were interviewed and analysis of the interviews generated an outcome space of conceptions of quality in learning as transformation, practice, knowledge durability and employability. The findings illustrate the importance of the relationship between education and work as an important aspect of conceptions of quality in learning. This relationship connects to the discourse of employability in which graduates are expected to become flexible and adaptable to changes in context and over the course of time.     

Improving publication: advice for busy higher education academics

A major challenge for higher education academics is to research and publish when faced with substantial teaching responsibilities, higher student numbers, and higher output expectations. The focus of this piece is to encourage publication more generally by educators, and to build publication capacity, which academic developers can facilitate. The author’s experience as a busy social work educator highlights the potential for educators in such fields as teacher-training, nursing, medicine and other professional disciplines, to make better use of their daily work material in publication.     

The development and validation of a framework for teaching competencies in higher education

In higher education, approaches to teaching are becoming more student-centred, which demands different teaching competencies. Therefore, it is necessary to have an adequate framework of teaching competencies that can be used for evaluation purposes. The weaknesses of the existing frameworks are that they do not pay attention to the person as teacher, they are too narrowly defined, they are not validated and they are not adjusted to modern approaches to teaching. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a framework of teaching competencies in higher education. A framework for teaching competencies was therefore constructed containing the following domains: The Person as Teacher, Expert on Content Knowledge, Facilitator of Learning Processes, Organiser and Scholar/Lifelong Learner. The framework was validated using a Delphi method. Educational experts (N = 63) were asked: ``How important are the following teaching competencies in each domain for an experienced teacher in higher education?'' A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the adequacy of the domains. After two rounds, the shift in ratings was minimal, so the results were considered stable. The response rate was 82%. From the original list with 134 items, 30 items were omitted because many experts failed to respond to them. The experts reached consensus on 61 out of the resulting 104 items (59%). A confirmatory factor analysis on the three best scoring items in each domain confirmed the model. A framework of teaching competencies was developed and validated that can be used as a starting point for teacher evaluation in higher education.     

Spectrum Approach to Mentoring: an evidence-based approach to mentoring for academics working in higher education

Anecdotal and empirical evidence indicates that mentoring can be a successful strategy for supporting professional learning, yet limited literature exists on approaches to mentoring designed specifically for academics working in higher education. The aim of this study was to create an approach to mentoring tailored to the needs of academics and underpinned by evidence from the literature. Participatory action research was chosen as the methodology for the project as this enabled a process of inquiry to be embedded within academic practice. The outcome was the development of the Spectrum Approach to Mentoring (SAM). This three-step approach is goal orientated, and encompasses mentoring relationships that may be ongoing and sustained over time through to those that are short-term and aligned with a particular task or focus. SAM provides a suite of resources that can be used by academics to promote valuable opportunities for professional learning through the initiation of mentoring relationships.     

Measuring perceptions of the learning environment and approaches to learning: validation of the learn questionnaire

While focus on quality in Danish higher education has been growing in recent years, limited attention has been devoted to developing and thoroughly validating instruments that allow collecting data about university students’ perceptions of the teaching-learning environment. Based on data from a large sample of Danish university students, a Danish version of the Learn questionnaire was validated using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. Analyses confirmed the existence of three scales reflecting students’ approaches to learning and six scales reflecting students’ perception of the teaching-learning environment. The results suggest that the Danish version of Learn is a valid instrument to be used for evaluation of the teaching-learning environment as well as for research into Danish university students’ learning strategies.     

Measuring learning: discrepancies between conceptions of and approaches to learning

This study is framed under the student approaches to learning tradition. The aim was to identify convergence in quantitative and qualitative responses of individuals when measuring their conceptions of and approaches to learning with a mixed methods design. A sample of 1110 Spanish Master’s level teacher education students completed a scale on approaches to learning (R-SPQ-2F), and a randomly selected subsample of 111 answered an open-ended question on how they learned. Overall, the qualitative and quantitative data did not support each other, as inventory responses showed a clear predominance of a deep, non-surface approach to learning, whereas qualitative answers reflected a tendency towards lower-order conceptions of learning. Inconsistencies in the results suggest future research ought to use a combination of techniques when exploring constructs such as learning should they wish to draw valid conclusions.     

Impact of an Ethics Programme in a Life Sciences Curriculum

Choices in science--allocation of research funds, selection of research topics, interaction with research subjects (animals, environment, other humans), etc.--often, if not always, include some ethical considerations. Future scientists need skills to deal with and discuss ethical problems, and for that reason we have developed and evaluated one approach to including ethics in a life science curriculum. Our aim has been to support the development of students' ethical sensitivity. The key element in our teaching choices has been the importance of nurturing students' personal moral agency, i.e. their individual skills and responsibilities in moral decision-making, with an interactive teaching approach. The ethics programme was evaluated by extensive course evaluation and using three moral development measures: TESS, DIT and Perry questionnaire. The short ethics programme of three discussions was found to support the development of students' ethical sensitivity.     

Feedback on feedback practice: perceptions of students and academics

While feedback is widely considered central to student learning, students across the higher education sector commonly report dissatisfaction with the feedback they receive. In contrast, academics often feel they provide quality and informative feedback. This article explores and compares the perceptions of students and academics with regard to feedback practice. The paper presents the results of questionnaire surveys conducted with academics and students at the School of the Built Environment, Liverpool John Moores University. It highlights the perceptions of academics and students with regard to preferences for different types of feedback, timeliness of feedback, students’ engagement and interest in feedback, quality feedback and satisfaction with current practice. The findings indicate a significant discord between staff and students in relation to certain aspects of feedback practice, namely opinions on students’ engagement and interest in feedback, satisfaction with current practice and feedback preference. Similarities in viewpoints were also found in relation to quality feedback.     

教师的教学观对学生学习的影响(下)

三、数据分析结果第一项分析是计算教师的 SPTCT分数 (教学观 )与他们的学生的 L PQ分数变化 (学习方式变化 )以及成绩测验的 z分数变化间的相关 ,如表 4所示。表 4　教师教学观与学生学习方式的改变以及学习成绩的变化间的相关样本数传授观应试观能力观态度观育人观灌输倾向互动倾向表层式学习 885 .13* .0 0 .0 4 .0 2 .0 3.0 7 .0 3深层式学习 889- .0 1.0 4 .0 3.0 3- .0 2 .0 3.0 2成就式学习 888.0 1.0 1.0 7.10 * .0 8.0 1.10 *常规测验成绩 10 34- .2 5 * .0 2 .0 1- .0 2 .0 9* - .13* .11*开放性测验成绩 90 5 - .19* - .0 7.…     

Emergent interactions: rethinking the relationship between teaching and learning

The relationship between teaching and learning is represented in contemporary higher education research which has looked at the correlations between students’ approaches to learning and teachers’ approaches to teaching. This article proposes a rethinking of this relationship, building on a critical realist perspective. Here, the teaching–learning interaction is argued to be emergent from the activities of teaching and of learning, and it is this emergent property which provides the explanatory mechanism for the relationship between them. Support for this position is located in recent work by Paul Ashwin and also in the sociology of Margaret Archer.     

A longitudinal study of learning for a group of indigenous Australian university students: Dissonant conceptions and strategies

Conceptions of learning andstrategies used by 15 indigenous students inthree Australian universities were studiedlongitudinally over three years. Their academicachievements were good, but at a high cost interms of time and effort. In spite of the factthat almost half of the students expressedhigher-order (qualitative) conceptions oflearning in the first year and more in thesecond and third years, all of the studentsreported using highly repetitive strategies tolearn. That is, they did not vary their way oflearning, reading or writing in the beginningof their studies and less than half of them didso at the end of the three years. It is arguedthat encountering variation in ways of learningis a prerequisite for the development ofpowerful ways of learning and studying.