Academics’ Perceptions of Good Teaching: Assessing the Degree of Parity with Student Evaluation of Teaching Questionnaires

ABSTRACT

There is a dearth of studies on academics’ perceptions of good teaching in transitional economies such as Uganda and the degree of parity between academics’ conceptions of good teaching and the items in the student evaluation of teaching (SET) questionnaires. Against this backdrop, the article reports on a study that explored how academics at Makerere University, Uganda, perceive good teaching and compared the resultant perceptions with the items in the SET questionnaires. The study employed a qualitative approach and data was collected by using semi-structured interviews and reviewing documents. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data from the interviews while the data from the documents was analysed using content analysis. The findings showed that academics perceive good teaching as: being knowledgeable; being student-centred; demonstrating good communication skills; undertaking research-based teaching; demonstrating professionalism; being approachable; and being organised. Finally, the findings demonstrated a convergence between academics’ perceptions of good teaching and most of the items in the SET questionnaires.     

Teaching styles and conceptions of effective teachers: Tibetan and Han Chinese academics compared

The principal objective of this research is to ascertain if the “research–teaching dichotomy” as revealed in the relationship between conceptions of effective teachers and teaching styles among Han Chinese academics can be found among Tibetan academics. As a preliminary objective, this research examines the appropriateness of the Effective Teacher Inventory (Zhang, 2003) for evaluating Tibetan academics' conceptions of effective teachers and compares the conceptions of effective teachers between Tibetan and Han Chinese academics. The Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory (Grigorenko & Sternberg, 1993) and the Effective Teacher Inventory (Zhang, 2003) were administered to 162 Tibetan academics. For the purpose of comparison, data from 93 Han Chinese academics in Zhang's (2009) study were integrated into the present research.The results warranted two conclusions. First, the Effective Teacher Inventory was appropriate for assessing Tibetan academics' conceptions of effective teachers; and there was no substantial difference in the conceptions of effective teachers between the two samples. Second, as it was among Han Chinese academics, the apparent “research–teaching dichotomy” was identified among Tibetan academics. Limitations and significance of this research are discussed and directions for future research are proposed.     

Tertiary pedagogy encounters the technological imperative

In one of the most challenging periods to confront tertiary education, we examine the impact that technology is having on the experience of one open and distance education university: Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. This paper considers how the espoused pedagogical views that were expressed by the academics interviewed, individually and collectively impacted on their attitudes to information technologies and to their reactions to exposure to and experience with various technologies. The first part of the paper explicitly considers the interview as a research method and situates the interviews we undertook within current scholarship. The focus of the interviews was to seek perceptions of what constituted good teaching as well as the relevance of technology for teaching: as each academic defined it; the discipline concerned and the mode of delivery (i.e. on and/or off‐campus). The research did not provide definitive answers but suggested themes and implications which are considered in the Conclusion. Although restricted to the perceptions of five academics at one university, the extent to which each of the ‘case studies' resonates with the reader's experience takes it beyond the experience of the one tertiary institution.     

What parts of teaching do academics see as feasible to delegate?

This paper investigates Australian academics' views about teaching by asking them about the aspects of their job they could contract to other. In particular, it contrasts the views of 26 academics the Humanities with those of 26 in the Social Sciences. The results showed no differences as a function of level of appointment or gender but a significant difference by teaching area: academics from the Social Sciences were more likely to approve in general the practice of buying out time. When asked about contracting out specific aspects of teaching, the only area of difference was for marking (Social Sciences were more often in favour). In all other respects, the viewpoints expressed by academics from the Humanities and Social Sciences were very similar. Such approval was rarely given unconditionally, however. Concerns were expressed about the need to maintain some degree of supervision or responsibility for teaching. Academics agreed on their overall goals in teaching, on whether or not lecturing, tutorials and student consultation could be contracted to others and on the ideal amounts of time to spend on teaching, research, and administration. It is argued that this pattern of results is more likely to reflect a difference in implementation of goals rather than a difference in baseline ideas as a result of different cultures in the two teaching areas.     

Teachers’ perceptions towards using Web 2.0 in language learning and teaching

This paper aims at exploring the perceptions of teachers towards using Web 2.0 in language learning and teaching. To this end, a study was carried out among language teachers serving in different Moroccan higher education institutions. The result of the research study demonstrated that just like students, instructors are also immersed in these web-based applications and have recourse to them for both personal and educational reasons. However, it has been noticed that though the vast majority of the surveyed teachers claimed that Web 2.0 technologies have a positive impact on language teaching and learning, many of them are still reluctant in effectively incorporating them in education settings. Indeed, it was found out that less than 15% of the respondents use these platforms to interact with students and no more than 2.4% of the subjects are actively involved in creating educational content and uploading it on Web 2.0 applications. However, given the various benefits of these online communities, we recommend that more teachers should embrace them as fully as possible to support classroom goals.     

Perceptions of pedagogical formation students about Web 2.0 tools and educational practices

This study aims to examine pedagogical formation students’ perceptions about Web 2.0 tools and educational practices. A case study approach forms the methodological framework of this study. This study was conducted with 42 pedagogical formation students of an Instructional Technology and Material Design course during the 2014–2015 spring semester. During the course, the students created digital materials such as puzzles, concept maps, worksheets, presentations and posters by using software including Prezi, Glogster, and Webspiration. Furthermore they were introduced to numerous Web 2.0 tools which were required learning for the purpose of the course. The data for this study was collected by the researcher through a questionnaire and open-ended questions developed in order to identify students’ views on Web 2.0 tools and educational practices they will face in their future professional life. Content analysis, frequency and percentage were used in the analysis of data. Answers to the following were sought from the data analysis: (1) which Web 2.0 tools do students use or planned to use in their current and future professional life (teaching profession); (2) what are the reasons students want to use Web 2.0 tools in their professional life as a teacher; (3) what are the views of students about their use of Web 2.0 tools in the educational context; and (4) what are students’ views about Web 3.0 technologies and the changes and innovations that will be brought about by these technologies in the field of education.     

Online undergraduate students’ perceptions of the impact of Web 2.0 on higher education / Percepciones de estudiantes de licenciatura en línea sobre el impacto de la Web 2.0 en educación superior

Abstract

Although Web 2.0 has changed students’ roles, placing them at the centre of the teaching-learning process, attitudes towards Web 2.0 have been observed to have a relation with its use in a formal academic context. An instrument was applied to higher education students in Mexico to explore their perceptions by collecting information on students’ attitudes, training and use of Web 2.0, and its impact on higher education. The findings showed that training in Web 2.0 determines use of it, as well as the attitudes towards it and the possible impact these can have on teaching-learning processes. No differences were found regarding participants’ gender in relation to their perceptions of the use of Web 2.0 as a learning environment.     

Investing in teaching development: navigating risk in a research intensive institution

It is often assumed that academics working in a research intensive university are unlikely to invest in the professional development of their teaching. Institutional structures and culture tend to undermine investment in academics’ teaching role. This study, conducted at the University of Cape Town, draws on an analysis of the environment within which academics make decisions to invest in their role as teachers. While acknowledging the privileging of research embedded in the institution, a significant group of academics have found ways to assert their academic identities as teachers despite the possible consequences and risks that this position entails.     

Finding time for quality teaching: an ethnographic study of academic workloads in the social sciences and their impact on teaching practices

University workloads, their impact on staff and how they can be managed, are the subject of considerable research and discussion. This paper addresses strategies to deal with the impact of workloads on teaching practices in higher education. In particular, it aims to discover the implicit theories and tacit assumptions that underlie perceptions of what constitutes quality teaching in the social sciences. Using an ethnographic approach, the research revealed that the strategies used by staff are linked to how they identify themselves: as researchers or ‘good’ teachers, and highlights a mismatch between the value academics place on quality teaching and what is rewarded by universities. The paper illustrates that strategies rely on assumptions about the nature of time, and the links between time and quality. Academics have little opportunity for critical reflection on teaching practices in order to be responsive to the changing contexts of higher education.     

Higher education curriculum orientations and the implications for institutional curriculum change

This research is based on an empirical study exploring how academics make curriculum decisions and their perceptions of the influences that shape their decisions. Interviews were held with 20 academics from diverse disciplines, who were both research active and committed to teaching. The higher education curriculum was conceptualised as a field of decision-making shaped by academics’ beliefs about educational and contextual influences. The study identified five distinctive curriculum orientations representing coherent patterns of curriculum decisions aligned with academics’ beliefs about educational purposes. Case studies are presented to elucidate each of the curriculum orientations. Curriculum orientations were also found to shape academics’ responses to educational change. The following higher education change drivers are explored: graduate employability and the skills agenda, teaching–research relationships, changing understandings about teaching and learning, educational technologies and flexible delivery. The findings suggest implications for institutional curriculum change initiatives and academic development programmes.     

Unearthing white academics’ experience of teaching in higher education in South Africa

The real and imagined racial differences and similarities between groups of students and staff have consequences in everyday experiences in South Africa. One aspect of engaging with the challenges facing higher education transformation post-Apartheid is through understanding how the racialized context interacts with the experience of teaching. This paper reports on what the narratives of four white academics reveal about their experience of teaching at the University of Cape Town (UCT). It analyses indicators of their identity as white academics and how they are both positioned and actively position themselves in relation to students and other academics at UCT. Their narratives reveal how academics simultaneously grapple with the privileges and limitations that accompany identifying as white. These tensions are explored through issues of black student development amid an alienating institutional culture and opposition to the behaviour of their white colleagues.     

Teaching style,ICT experience and teachers’ attitudes toward teaching with Web 2.0

Emphasis on 21^st Century Skills development has increased expectations on teachers to take advantages of emerging technologies to support student learning. Yet it is not clear whether teachers are well equipped with the necessary skills, support, and positive attitudes toward integrating them in their practices. Even though student-centered teachers are considered receptive to collaborative technologies and likely to use technology meaningfully in teaching, to what extent teaching style influences their Web 2.0 adaption requires further investigation. This study attempts to identify K12 teachers’ attitudes toward the use of Web 2.0 technologies in their teaching. 161 teachers from eight middle and high schools in both rural and urban locations of West Virginia participated in this cross sectional survey study. Overall, the findings indicate that while teachers are fairly proficient in their computer and internet skills and have fairly high computer self-efficacy, their workload and a structured and standardized curriculum were inhibitors of Web 2.0 adoption. Age, self-efficacy, workload, and views about Web 2.0 in teaching were observed to be significant factors predicting teachers’ likelihood to find Web 2.0 appealing for teaching. Teaching style was not a significant predictor. The findings suggest infrastructural improvements, workload adjustments, and increased professional development opportunities allowing teachers to observe, discuss, and practice Web 2.0 technologies in their particular disciplines.     

Academics’ perceptions of the impact of internal quality assurance on teaching and learning

Internal quality assurance systems are expected to improve the institutions’ core mission of teaching and learning. Using data gathered through an online survey, distributed in 2014/2015, to the teaching staff of all Portuguese private and public higher education institutions, this paper examines the impact of internal quality assurance systems on teaching and learning from the perspective of academics. Findings suggest that Portuguese academics feel that, despite the positive contribution of internal quality assurance towards an increased awareness of teaching quality issues at their institutions, the practical effects of these systems have been more related to increasing bureaucracy than to substantive improvements in teaching and learning. The use of information with a view to improvement and teaching staff involvement in the development of quality assurance were found to induce positive changes in teaching and learning, in academics’ perceptions. Based on the findings, the paper makes recommendations for institutional practice.     

Scholarship of teaching and learning: ‘what the hell’ are we getting ourselves into?

Academics must be encouraged to reflect on their teaching, to apply new pedagogies to support student learning and to report on the results of these actions, which really forms part of programmes relating to Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). However, there seems to be resistance among some academics to get involved in these programmes due to fear of change or discrimination. The purpose of this article is to highlight the perceptions of four academics from different engineering fields towards such a programme from a University of Technology in South Africa. A qualitative study is employed where a focus group interview was used to gather data which are correlated to the SoTL unicycle detailed in the article. A benefit of joining an SoTL programme includes ‘developing a teaching action plan’ while a key challenge relates to time concerns. An implication may be to stimulate awareness among non-participating academics about what an SoTL programme really engenders.     

Academics Hard at Work: the place of teaching and professional development related to teaching

Abstract

Recent studies of academic work have identified increasing pressures on universities and academics throughout the world. These pressures relate to such factors as diminishing resources available to the higher education sector, widening diversity of the student clientele, moves for increased accountability and tensions between the research and teaching goals of academic work. Among the pressures being placed on the teaching component of academic work are the need for increased accountability of teaching performance and the need to update professional competence related to teaching. This paper reports a study of a selected group of academics — relatively junior staff who have participated in significant professional development activities related to their teaching. The data provided by the interviews with these academics allow a glimpse at their academic lives and how they fit teaching and professional development related to teaching into their working lives. The study highlights how these academics structure their work around their teaching commitments and how, although they make time available for professional development related to their teaching, this is done in response to the activities offered rather than as a proactive component of their career planning.     

Modern Language Teaching in Australian Universities

This paper reports the attitudes of academics teaching languages other than English in Australian universities. The data are derived from a national survey in 1984 which asked a range of questions ranging from background details on students, characteristics of course structures, methods of teaching, and perceptions of the attitudes of students to numerous issues relevant to the teaching of languages. The responses of these language teachers are analysed with respect to theories of language teaching. The matters of major concern to language teachers highlighted by the study are shown to be relevant to current debate about the future of modern, especially Asian, language teaching.