Enhancing research through academic staff development

Abstract

In the past few years, research has been an increasingly important focus of academic staff development, but there is little documentation of this new area of development. The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution over four years of a programme to develop research skills. The experience of planning and implementing this programme illustrates how changes in higher education and university priorities (such as amalgamations of institutions, increased pressures on staff, increased competition between institutions for funding, and universities’ growing corporatization) have interacted with staff development objectives to shape changes in the programme's purpose, format, mode of participation, and planning approach. A collaborative approach to planning is seen to be appropriate in the current climate, maximizing sensitivity to the distinctive needs of the various faculties, departments or schools. Current scholarly discussion is recognized as providing support for a move toward collaboration and context‐sensitivity.     

论学术编辑的编辑与学术

学术编辑的编辑工作与学术研究应是良性互动关系,编辑工作既是对文稿进一步优化的过程,也是一个学习积累知识的过程。编辑工作带动了学术研究,学术研究提升了编辑水平。一个优秀的编辑应以编辑工作为主,以学术研究为辅,主次分明,专杂并举,才能更好地传播先进文化、科学知识和学术思想,实现学术编辑作为"文化人"的自我人生价值。     

Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment

Two lines of thinking are becoming increasingly important in higher educational practice. The first derives from constructivist learning theory, and the second from the instructional design literature. Constructivism comprises a family of theories but all have in common the centrality of the learner's activities in creating meaning. These and related ideas have important implications for teaching and assessment. Instructional designers for their part have emphasised alignment between the objectives of a course or unit and the targets for assessing student performance. Constructive alignment represents a marriage of the two thrusts, constructivism being used as a framework to guide decision-making at all stages in instructional design: in deriving curriculum objectives in terms of performances that represent a suitably high cognitive level, in deciding teaching/learning activities judged to elicit those performances, and to assess and summatively report student performance. The performances of understanding nominated in the objectives are thus used to systematically align the teaching methods and the assessment. The process is illustrated with reference to a professional development unit in educational psychology for teachers, but the model may be generalized to most units or programs in higher education.     

Enhancing student learning of research methods through the use of undergraduate teaching assistants

By using a quasi-experimental design, in this study, we test the effect of undergraduate teaching assistants on student learning. Data were collected from 170 students enrolled in four sections of a quantitative research methods course, two sections without undergraduate teaching assistants and two sections with undergraduate teaching assistants, over two semesters. Results indicate that having undergraduate teaching assistants in the classroom can result in higher student performance. Students in the sections with undergraduate teaching assistants earned higher grades, were more likely to pass the course with a C or higher and performed better on half of the student learning outcomes than students in the sections without an undergraduate teaching assistant. Based on the overwhelmingly positive results on student learning, we would recommend the active use of undergraduate teaching assistants in the classroom, but especially for courses that students find challenging.     

Struggling to handle teaching and research: a study on academic work at select universities in the Chinese Mainland

In order to raise the international reputation and quality of higher education in China, the Ministry of Education initiated new university employment reform, which pressed academics to produce more research. Recent employment reform has aggravated the conflict between teaching and research. This study uses mixed methods to investigate how academics perceived the employment reform and how they employed various strategies to handle teaching and research. Our study indicates a trend of deprofessionalization in academic work and an increasing tension between teaching and research. Handling teaching and research required a strong and conscientious effort on the part of academics. Concerted efforts should be made to offer a more supportive environment for academics to balance teaching and research.     

学业困难学生帮扶工作的实践与研究

随着高校的不断扩招,90后大学生成了学校本科生的主体,而大学在我们心中的含金量也大不如以前,不再是社会精英的聚集地,而是大多数学生的选择地。本文从多个方面对学业困难的学生帮扶工作进行了深度的实践和研究,对学习困难的学生进行深度辅导和帮扶,最终使学生学有所成,更够拥有积极健康的心态和性格融入社会。     

论高校学报与教学科研工作的互动作用

高校学报是教学科研工作的重要组成部分，对教学科研有推动和导向作用，教学科研工作是高校学报发展的动力和源泉。高校学报与高校教学科研工作互相促进，共同发展。高校学报应提高质量，扩大影响，更好地为教学和科研服务。     

Enhancing undergraduate teaching and research with a Drosophila virginizing system

Laboratory exercises using Drosophila crosses are an effective pedagogical method to complement traditional lecture and textbook presentations of genetics. Undergraduate thesis research is another common setting for using Drosophila. A significant barrier to using Drosophila for undergraduate teaching or research is the time and skill required to accurately collect virgins for use in controlled crosses. Erroneously collecting males or nonvirgin females contaminates crosses with unintended genotypes and confounds the results. Collecting adequate numbers of virgins requires large amounts of time, even for those skilled in virgin collection. I have adapted an effective method for virgin collection that eliminates these concerns and is straightforward to use in undergraduate settings. Using a heat-shock-induced, conditional lethal transgene specifically in males, male larvae can be eliminated from a culture before adults eclose. Females thus eclose in the absence of males and remain virgin, eliminating the need to laboriously score and segregate freshly eclosed females. This method is reliable, easily adaptable to any desired phenotypic marker, and readily scaleable to provide sufficient virgins for large laboratory classes or undergraduate research projects. In addition, it allows instructors lacking Drosophila expertise to use this organism as a pedagogical tool.     

Enhancing the status of peer observation through the scholarship of teaching and learning

In this Reflection on Practice I argue the case for using the principles of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to serve as a framework for evaluating and designing peer observation programmes in higher education contexts. I suggest that for peer observation to be an activity worthy of SoTL, it should be systematic, collaborative, rigorous, peer reviewed, and focused on learning about teaching to improve teaching. Using a set of criteria to critique a current peer observation programme I account for its strengths and weaknesses and suggest a way forward for elevating the status of peer observation.     

聘任制下的体育教师教学与科研工作现状分析

为了探索在新公共管理运行下的高校体育教师聘任制中科研与教学的现状以及存在问题,进一步建立科学全面的绩效考核机制,探索出一套行之有效的高校体育教师聘任管理制度.文章采用访谈、问卷调查等方法对高校体育教师聘任制下科研与教学的现状进行了研究.结果发现:郑州市高校教师在聘任期内需要完成一定的科研工作量,主要把在中文核心期刊和一般中文期刊发表学术文章、出版著作、承担科研课题、获得各级科研奖励等作为体育教师科研量化的依据,而科研成果在确定等级的情况下只采用计数式的量化.多数体育教师认为,在高校对体育教师业务能力的评价应以教学能力为主线,只有少数体育教师认为以科研能力为主线.建议高校体育教师应该根据自己业务的特点,了解自己的业务能力取向,并以此为依据选择岗位,从而达到对教师资源的合理配置,发挥各种类型教师的潜能.     

Enhancing teaching competence through bidirectional mentoring and structured on-the-job training model

ABSTRACT

This study employed conventional and reverse mentoring to form the theoretical basis for bidirectional mentoring. Using the analytic hierarchy process, the relative weights of bidirectional mentoring functions were measured and analyzed. A focus group method was employed to plan a structured on-the-job training course framework for bidirectional mentoring. Analysis of research data indicated that role modeling is the most crucial bidirectional mentoring function, followed by psychosocial support and career development. Psychosocial support, role modeling, teaching, teamwork, and communication skills were the most crucial elements of career development. This paper proposes seven training courses, totaling 59 h, based on the mentoring development plan. This study intends to use the proposed structured on-the-job training framework for bidirectional mentoring to promote career development and psychosocial support for new teachers, to improve role modeling for senior teachers, and to enhance the teaching skills of new and senior teachers.     

实践教学与学科竞赛相结合,促进创新人才培养

实践教学与学科竞赛相结合,以学科竞赛为载体,搭建学生创新平台,培养学生的创新意识和创新能力,促进学生综合素质的提高。学科竞赛是促进高等教育教学改革的有力抓手,还将引领实践教学改革,开发新型的实践教学方法和手段,推进学校形成具有实践教学特色的人才培养模式,提高教学质量,最终提高培养创新人才的质量。     

Actors and act-ers: Enhancing inclusion and diversity in teaching and teacher education through the validation of quiet teaching

We find that Teacher Education attracts, in addition to those outgoing students who are at ease in front of a group of people, a number of student teachers who are often quiet, reserved, shy, or not at all comfortable being the center of attention. Many times these aspiring teachers have gifts and talents that are not readily apparent, yet comparable to their more outgoing peers. Often, they are caring, passionate, and reflective.     

车工实习项目教学法的应用与研究

车工实习采用项目教学法进行教学,可以打破＂教师以讲解为主、学生以听讲为主、知识以教材为主＂的传统教学模式,让学生可以参与到整个项目,并充分发掘学生的聪明才智和动手能力,培养学生综合知识的运用,提高分析、解决问题的能力,将理论学习和实践操作紧密结合起来,真正体现了在＂做中学,学中教＂的教学理念。     

浅谈新课程背景下的教研工作

教研员是在教育行政部门领导下并服务于教育行政部门 ,具有一定行政管理职能的专业研究人员。乡镇教研员是以中小学教师为工作对象 ,以承担学科教学研究、教学指导和教师培训为主要任务 ,以教学管理和教学评价为手段 ,以全面提高教育教学质量为工作目的。教研员是实施素质教育     

大力加强教学工作切实提高教学质量--在第二次全国普通高等学校本科教学工作会议上的讲话

这次高校本科教学工作会议,采取网络视频会与集中座谈会相结合的形式举行:开幕式采取网络视频会的形式,主会场设在教育部,各省、区、市教育厅和教育部直属高校设立分会场;开幕式之后,各地、各校分别召开研讨会;然后,各地派代表到北京集中讨论,交流认识和意见;最后,举行网络视频