Academics’ experiences of understanding of their subject matter and the relationship of this to their experiences of teaching and learning

In this paper we focus on the issue of how academic staff experience the understanding of their subject matter and the relationship of this understanding to their experience of teaching. In recent years there has been a substantial amount of research into how academic staff conceive of teaching and learning, how they approach their teaching, and how their approaches to teaching relate to how their students approach their learning. In our present project this research is being extended by looking at the way 31 academics from four broad fields of study experience their understanding of their subject matter and how this relates to the way they experience their teaching. Using a phenomenographic approach we show that academics who experience their subject matter in atomistic and less integrated ways experience their teaching in more information transmission and teacher-focused ways, while those with a more integrated and holistic experience of understanding their subject experience their teaching in more conceptual change and student-focused ways.in final form: 9 September 2004     

The development and alignment of pedagogical conceptions of health education

This study examined the development and alignment of conceptions of health education as a subject, and of its teaching and learning, among Finnish health education student teachers (n = 20). Longitudinal phenomenographic data (essays, interviews) were collected at two time points during health education studies, and at one time point after the participants had gained 1–3 years of work experience. The proportion of participants expressing the most sophisticated pedagogical conceptions decreased during teacher training, but increased after the gaining of work experience. Moreover, fewer than half of the participants expressed pedagogical conceptions that advanced in broad alignment with regard to the subject, the teaching, and the learning. Some methodological considerations and suggestions for teacher training are presented.     

Comparing variation theory with Piaget’s theory of cognitive development: more similarities than differences?

ABSTRACT

Lo’s variation theory is a learning and teaching theory based on Marton’s phenomenographic approach and is one of the most important backbones of learning studies. The proponents of variation theory demarcate their approach from constructivist learning approaches, stressing constructivism as philosophical framework, but not as learning theory. At the same time, the phenomenographic approach emphasizes the importance of Piaget’s work about the cognitive development, which should be considered when talking about learning and teaching. We argue that – from a theoretical point of view – Piaget’s theory of how cognitive schemata are developed and how variation theory proposes that learning can be fostered entails many similarities which are not apparent at first glance. We demonstrate the similarities and differences using a teaching example from an English as second language classroom and show the implications for practical instructional work. Finally, we discuss concrete suggestions how variation theory could benefit even more from Piaget’s theory.     

Towards an Understanding of Individual Acts of Teaching and Learning

This article uses a phenomenographic perspective to interpret and integrate the results of relational research, including phenomenography in particular, in analysing the experiences of teaching and learning in higher education. In this analysis the experience is conceived of as temporal and not extended over time. We describe conditions associated with two qualitatively different approaches to teaching which, as suggested by other research results, are associated with differences in the quality of student learning. Such an analysis can help explain the variation in the experience of the same lecturer in different teaching contexts or of different lecturers in the same teaching context.     

Using Habermas to Evaluate Two Approaches to Negotiated Assessment

Recent discussions about learning and teaching have been strongly influenced by phenomenographic theories which focus on students' experience of learning. This theoretical orientation underestimates the importance of the tutor/student relationship. Habermas's theory of communicative action provides a model of student-tutor interaction which holds out the prospect of an 'emancipatory' adult education. By comparing two courses, both aimed at HE staff and both using forms of negotiated assessment, this paper examines the possibility of approaching the Habermassian 'ideal speech situation'. The course participants' experience of negotiated assessment is evaluated against the declared philosophy of the tutors. Although many of the ideals of the tutors found confirmation in the experience of the participants, the paper explores the factors which influenced the greater success achieved by one of the courses in approaching the Habermassian ideal than the other.     

Learning Computer Science and Engineering in Context

The growing tendency away from transmissive pedagogy to a broadly constructivist pedagogy in higher education is characterised as a cultural change which lacks a strong theoretical foundation within the culture. In this paper, learning is considered from a phenomenographic perspective, which teachers can ground in their own experience of teaching and work with to gain insights into their students' experience of learning. Thereby the theoretical foundation of the culture can successively be strengthened. The message is illustrated with the results of empirical research into students' experience of learning in groups in a project-focused induction course to a computer science and engineering programme.     

Conceptions of learning among Nepalese students

The paper presents a phenomenographic study of conceptions of academic learning among Nepalese students. Students from various disciplines at the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu were interviewed about their understanding and experience of learning. The results are related to previous studies in Nepal, using Biggs Study Process Questionnaire and written responses to open questions. They are also compared to similar phenomenographic studies carried out in the East as well as the West. The present study indicates, among other things, that Nepali students look upon memorising and understanding as interlinked in a way not usually found among Western students. The results are described within a two-dimensional outcome space, derived from previous studies of learning experience conducted in various cultural settings, and providing a general framework for different conceptions of learning.     

Metacognitive, cognitive and affective aspects of learning styles and strategies: A phenomenographic analysis

This paper addresses the following questions: how do students perform metacognitive, cognitive and affective learning functions; how is the execution of learning functions regulated by internal and external sources; what learning styles can be discerned from the viewpoint of learning functions and regulation? Subjects were students from an open distance university and a regular university. They were interviewed extensively about their learning strategies, mental models of learning, learning orientations and interpretations and appraisals of instructional measures. The interviews were analyzed in a phenomenographic way. The results indicate that there are large differences among students in the manner in which they carry out learning functions, that these differences are associated with internal and external sources, and that four qualitatively different learning styles can be discerned: an undirected, a reproduction directed, a meaning directed and an application directed learning style. Mental models of learning and learning orientations turn out to be related to the way in which students interpret, appraise and use instructional measures to regulate their learning activities. It is concluded that in many instances instructional measures do not have the intended effects. Suggestions are given regarding the implications of these results for the improvement of teaching practices in higher education.     

Teaching and Learning Regimes: Implicit theories and recurrent practices in the enhancement of teaching and learning through educational development programmes

This paper uses the concept of teaching and learning regimes (TLRs) to help explore a set of questions about why some academic staff in universities thrive on and benefit from accredited programmes designed to improve HE learning and teaching practices ("educational development programmes") whilst others experience periods of resistance or some drop out altogether. "TLR" is a shorthand term for a constellation of rules, assumptions, practices and relationships related to teaching and learning issues in higher education. These include aspects of the following salient to teaching and learning, each of which we elaborate and illustrate in the paper: identities in interaction, power relations, codes of signification, tacit assumptions, rules of appropriateness, recurrent practices, discursive repertoires, implicit theories of learning and of teaching. The argument presented here is that academic staff on educational development programmes ("participants") bring to programmes sets of assumptions and practices rooted in TLRs. Educational development programmes themselves instantiate TLRs which may be more, or less, compatible with those of individual participants. Where there are incongruities between the two they need not be fatal if participants are able to, or are encouraged to, surface and reflect on previously tacit assumptions embedded in their TLRs. Similarly, there may not be a problem if participants are able to exercise discretion over the application of aspects of different regimes; applying them in different contexts as appropriate. Evidence from participants' writing, participant observation, secondary sources and data from eight interviews inform the paper and form the basis for illustrative vignettes.     

‘I'd rather be seen as a practitioner,come in to teach my subject’: Identity Work in Part‐Time Art and Design Tutors

This article explores issues of identity as part‐time tutors engage in teaching in further and higher education. It is based on a phenomenographic research approach that examines variation in experience. Based on interviews with 16 creative practitioners who also teach, it draws on the narratives of identity resulting from the interview process. The five possible ways that the relationship between practice and teaching can be experienced can also be associated with five different experiences of identity. The research also draws on case studies more aligned with one category of experience than another, enabling aspects of identity work to be related to the worlds of practice and teaching and to individual histories of participation in these worlds. Factors that help to contribute to particular forms of identity are therefore discussed, as well as the impact that tutor identity can have on the students' learning experience.     

Teaching‐learning specialists' conceptions of their role in the design of distance learning packages

A phenomenographic study of the conceptions that teaching‐learning specialists working in distance education in Australian universities hold of their role in contributing to the development of distance education packages is described. The study identified eight conceptions labelled instructional editor, educational process consultant, instructional process consultant, transformer, critical reviewer (surrogate student), joint venturer, distance education development facilitator, and staff developer. The conception, distance education developer, differed from the other conceptions insofar as it reflected a greater concern with organisational as compared with teaching‐learning issues. The remaining conceptions were able to be distinguished, according to whether they indicated a macro level (structural) perspective or a micro level (process) perspective. The former included the educational process consultant and staff developer conceptions. The latter were able to be further distinguished according to whether they indicated an understanding of the learning package as dialogic text (critical reviewer) or as an instructional medium (instructional process consultant, instructional editor, joint venturer, and transformer). Finally, the four conceptions which reflected an understanding of the learning package as an instructional medium could be distinguished according to the way in which the teaching‐learning specialist saw his or her relationship with the subject specialist in terms of power.     

Conceptions of e‐learning and professional development for e‐learning held by tertiary educators in New Zealand

The conceptions an individual holds about a phenomenon can influence and determine associated behaviours and perspectives. Consequently, they have a bearing upon how learning about a phenomenon is undertaken and how that phenomenon is experienced and applied in context. A phenomenographic research approach was used to gather the expressed experiences of e‐learning and professional development for e‐learning held by teachers and support staff from institutions across New Zealand. Five conceptions of e‐learning (as tool and equipment; as a facilitator of interaction; as learning; as a reduction in distance; and as a collaborative enterprise) and four conceptions of professional development for e‐learning (as training; as opening up possibilities; as collaboration; and as relevant and purposeful) were discovered. In this report, we discuss the conceptions, and show how they are interrelated through outcome space. Implications for the professional development of tertiary teachers and teaching support staff are outlined. The study provides some insights for individuals, institutions and those responsible for planning and implementing professional development programmes to help them to support the development and progress of e‐learning in appropriate and rewarding directions.     

Student and teacher perceptions of learning and teaching: a case study

Exploring student and teacher perspectives on approaches to learning and teaching reveals interesting insights and new understandings for practice by involving the two key groups of participants in the learning and teaching story. Do students understand and experience learning and teaching similarly or differently from the way teachers intend them to? This paper describes the findings of a study that explored perceptions of learning and teaching in one discipline of an Australian dual-sector university from both a student and staff perspective. Teachers’ conceptions of teaching are also explored and provide extra insight and understanding of the approach to learning and teaching taking place. Key findings of this multifaceted study employing a case study with a mixed method approach include a difference between students’ and teachers’ perceptions of approaches to learning and teaching. Implications for broader practice are highlighted and explored.     

On Phenomenography,Learning and Teaching

Phenomenographic research has tackled questions concerning the variation in ways in which people experience the phenomena they meet in the world around them. The empirical work directly addressing educational issues has to a large extent focused on describing qualitatively different ways in which particular sorts of students understand a phenomenon, or experience some aspect of the world, which is central to their education, and setting the results into the educational context of interest. Learning is viewed as being a change in the ways in which one is capable of experiencing some aspect of the world and other research has been linked to attempts to bring about such changes by utilising certain approaches to teaching. This article will outline principles for teaching based, on the one hand, on the body of empirical phenomenographic research and, on the other hand, on an emerging picture of the nature of human awareness. The principles will first be drawn, explicated with the help of a number of empirical studies in the phenomenographic tradition, and then the whole will be illustrated through an example of a study of learning and teaching programming at university.     

Elementary Teacher’s Conceptions of Inquiry Teaching: Messages for Teacher Development

This study explored practicing elementary school teacher’s conceptions of teaching in ways that foster inquiry-based learning in the science curriculum (inquiry teaching). The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the teacher. That students should be able to discover answers themselves through active engagement with new experiences was central to the thinking of eminent educators such as Pestalozzi, Dewey and Montessori. However, even after many years of research and practice, inquiry learning as a referent for teaching still struggles to find expression in the average teachers’ pedagogy. This study drew on interview data from 20 elementary teachers. A phenomenographic analysis revealed three conceptions of teaching for inquiry learning in science in the elementary years of schooling: (a) The Experience-centered conception where teachers focused on providing interesting sensory experiences to students; (b) The Problem-centered conception where teachers focused on engaging students with challenging problems; and (c) The Question-centered conception where teachers focused on helping students to ask and answer their own questions. Understanding teachers’ conceptions has implications for both the enactment of inquiry teaching in the classroom as well as the uptake of new teaching behaviors during professional development, with enhanced outcomes for engaging students in Science.     

Learning to support learning together: an experience with the soft systems methodology

An action research approach called soft systems methodology (SSM) was used to foster organisational learning in a school regarding the role of the learning support department within the school and its relation with the normal teaching‐learning activities. From an initial situation of lack of coordination as well as mutual misunderstanding and distrust among some of the actors in the situation, eight months of work yielded as a result a better working environment among the participants, the creation of a volunteer discussion group functioning on a permanent basis, and a clarification and modification of some of the learning support activities. This change can also be described as learning by learning support staff, school teachers and administrators on how to work together, as well as on how to support children's learning in a better way. Nevertheless, another event that occurred after the intervention shows the importance of considering a wider system than that limited by the participants in the intervention.