Strategies to enhance learning and teaching in a research-extensive university

Challenges confronting those who seek to bring about change within large organizations include the need to engage with the values and beliefs held by those involved. In universities with academic cultures that have traditionally lauded and rewarded disciplinary research, attempts to enhance the status and effectiveness of teaching and learning practices must take account of the ongoing power of the research culture. In Australia and elsewhere, prestigious research-extensive 1 universities are now seriously committed to improving the educational experience of student learners from their first year on campus. The focus on teaching and learning is buttressed by another aspect of cultural change - one which values the scholarship of teaching alongside traditional disciplinary research. To the need to re-emphasize teaching, and the need to value that teaching as a scholarly, research-based activity is added a third dimension of change - a focus on the student rather than the teacher. This paper will utilize Fullan's (1991) model for educational change in outlining strategies for change within a large research-extensive university in Australia. While it is too early to ascertain whether those strategies have effectively enhanced student learning, indications are that the strategies have had an impact on the beliefs, behaviour and teaching practice of academic staff. It is suggested that the culture of a university can and will shift given the right conditions for institutional change.     

First footing inter-faith dialogue

As higher education and universities become a more mainstream interest in society, pressures mount to invent new curricula and new and more appropriate ways to support the curriculum invention process. This article offers an account of the experiences of one such double-barrelled invention process associated with a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice offered by a research-intensive university. A coaching process was enacted within a first-and second-order action research framework involving central support from an academic development unit (ADU) for area-based teaching staff. It is suggested that: (a) approximately three or four iterations of course design, development and implementation are required to substantially complete the transition to a flexible (e)learning curriculum; (b) the provision and use of appropriate theoretical curriculum frameworks in combination with practical means for acquiring, interpreting and acting on formative student feedback in a timely way is central to this process; (c) the use of a curriculum consultant working in a ‘coaching’ capacity to support first-order action research may be a costeffective means to achieve substantive, sustained and valued educational change; (d) this second-order curriculum consulting process may, itself, benefit from being supported by an first- and second-order ‘coach-the-coach’ structure; and (e) there may be value in further exploring issues of academic and academic development identity as universities continue to experience increased pressures to change and adapt their teaching activities and functions.     

Teaching Quality After the Massification of Higher Education in Taiwan

To explore whether teaching quality was improved by the Taiwan Ministry of Education's implementation of the Teaching Excellence Program after the massification of higher education, the authors used data from a 2007 student survey to build a Teaching Quality Assessment Model to analyze university students' views of the Teaching Excellence Program's improvements in teaching, identify problems with teaching quality, and compare differences between the viewpoints of students from different backgrounds regarding teaching quality. This research from the student perspective indicates that universities receiving Teaching Excellence Program grants failed to meet the expectations of students in terms of teaching equipment, training and internships, teaching evaluation systems, graduate employment and career counseling, fair evaluation of instructors' teaching, and building a learning culture. Once universities received the teaching improvement funding, they made immediate improvements in teaching yet failed to fully meet the expectations of students. After universities expand in size, we recommend that the leadership of such universities deeply examine and establish a more comprehensive teaching quality mechanism to continuously improve teaching quality.     

中国地方高校对外汉语教学模式的探索与实践——以中国浙江省台州学院为例

随着来华学习汉语人数的剧增,中国越来越多的地方高校接受留学生学习汉语。地方高校在学校影响力、教学条件诸方面缺乏优势。为了克服先天条件的不足,提高质量,地方高校非常重视留学生的针对性教学和过程性管理。中国浙江省台州学院在对外汉语教学中努力探索,逐步形成了符合学校和地方实际、富有成效的教学模式。主要特色是：以非线性思维进行师资的整合和优化,打破专业、课程的壁垒,有效凸显语言学习的专业性,提高课程教学的有效性,体现课任教师的适用性,实现教学配置多元化;充分利用校园文化资源、地方经济资源、地方文化资源等课外资源,为留学生学习汉语、了解中国经济和文化提供开放性的学习平台,实现教学平台开放性;在留学生常规管理之外,开展“1＋1”活动。使留学生快速融入汉语氛围,了解相关规则。体验人文情怀。实现教学管理针对性。     

民族院校图书馆教育职能浅议——以中央民族大学图书馆为例

民族院校图书馆是学校教学科研的重要阵地,是教学实施过程的重要环节,是在服务中实施教育的重要场所.随着教学改革的不断深入和学科建设的快速发展,作为大学基础教育的教学工作逐渐从以“教”为中心转变为以“学”为中心.这种自主学习的理念对大学生学习能力提出了更高的要求.图书馆是学生自主学习的重要场所,它为学生提供文献资源、信息资源、服务资源、环境资源等服务,其职责和功能是不可替代的.     

Active learning not associated with student learning in a random sample of college biology courses

Previous research has suggested that adding active learning to traditional college science lectures substantially improves student learning. However, this research predominantly studied courses taught by science education researchers, who are likely to have exceptional teaching expertise. The present study investigated introductory biology courses randomly selected from a list of prominent colleges and universities to include instructors representing a broader population. We examined the relationship between active learning and student learning in the subject area of natural selection. We found no association between student learning gains and the use of active-learning instruction. Although active learning has the potential to substantially improve student learning, this research suggests that active learning, as used by typical college biology instructors, is not associated with greater learning gains. We contend that most instructors lack the rich and nuanced understanding of teaching and learning that science education researchers have developed. Therefore, active learning as designed and implemented by typical college biology instructors may superficially resemble active learning used by education researchers, but lacks the constructivist elements necessary for improving learning.     

跨学科协同教学——密歇根大学本科教学改革的新动向

密歇根大学是美国著名的研究型大学,一直以开展跨学科研究著称,近年来,除继续支持跨学科研究外,还积极致力于将大学的跨学科文化融入本科教育过程中,推进本科教育中"跨学科学习与协同教学的融合"--跨学科协同教学.本文即在分析密歇根大学推进跨学科协同教学背景基础上,全面介绍了跨学科协同教学开展的情况、面临的障碍及解决的建议等,希望能对我国研究型大学本科教学改革有所启示.     

Students' perception of university teaching behaviours

The purpose of the paper is to explore Students' perception of university teaching behaviours in Pakistan. Three hundred and fifty students from the six public sector Pakistani universities returned questionnaires. Assessment framework, learning activities and instructional strategies emerged from factor analysis as common factors. Students' views on five conceptual variables were also analysed: instructional design, active teaching, learning activities, questioning styles; and assessment framework. University teaching in Pakistan was found to be driven by assessment. This is a matter of concern for all stake holders, including the administration of the universities, teachers, students and the Higher Education Commission. A teaching behaviour paradigm shift is required, switching from knowledge-oriented teaching behaviour focused on successful passage through assessment, to teaching behaviour focused upon the development of transferable skills demanded by external markets.     

Faculty consulting in natural sciences and engineering: between formal and informal knowledge transfer

Academic consulting is a form of knowledge and technology transfer largely under-documented and under-studied that raises ethical and resources allocation issues. Based on a survey of 2,590 Canadian researchers in engineering and natural sciences, this paper explores three forms of academic consulting: (1) paid consulting; (2) unpaid consulting for companies and; (3) unpaid consulting for government agencies. The results of this study show that academics tend to engage simultaneously in paid and unpaid consulting. Two patterns of consulting emerged from the results: a first pattern regarding engagement in paid consulting for companies and government agencies, and unpaid consulting for companies is positively associated with industry funding, size of research laboratories, large-sized research universities, technical validation of knowledge, protection of IP, and strong ties with people in companies. By comparison, a second pattern regarding engagement in unpaid consulting services provided to government organizations is positively associated with size of research laboratories, teaching, large-sized research universities, technical validation of knowledge, and with strong ties with people in government organizations. Knowledge and technology transfer policy should pay more attention to the contribution of academics engaged in consulting activities because they likely significantly contribute to help companies and government agencies solve practical problems that improve their productive and innovative capabilities.     

大学英语教育中中国文化缺失问题调查及对策研究

为深入研究大学英语教育中中国文化缺失的深层次成因,并探索中国文化教育在英语教学中的突破,实现英语教学与中国文化的科学结合,课题组针对湖北第二师范学院的非英语专业学生与英语专业学生共计185人展开抽样调查,结果显示造成中国文化缺失的主要原因为高校教育体制与内部环境问题,我们认为目前高校需要从中国文化英语教学内容、英语文化与中国文化的比较和英语教学过程中中国文化的主动反思等方面切入,实现大学英语教学的中国文化渗透与教育提升。     

论大学阶段方言学教学

作为语言学的一个分支,方言学的教学和研究应和其他语言学科一样,在不同的阶段有不同的要求。对大学生进行方言学教学是摆在高校语言学工作者面前的一个重要任务。在遵循学科教学论的基础上,大学阶段方言学教学应把握四个方面的问题:一是足够的重视是这门学科得以普及和发展的前提;二是行之有效的"教""学"方法是学习和研究方言学的基础;三是与地域文化携手教学,让学生的学习"理趣合一";四是现代化教学手段的运用,使方言学教学变得直观和简单。     

中国英语教学与研究的新构架：感知、实践与范式

本文通过对英语教学与研究相关文献的审视,指出了当前中国英语教学与研究所存在的误区,即忽视或摒弃自身语言文化和身份特性。在教学中,刻意模仿第一语言英语,试图达到英语为母语说话者准确、流利、自如地使用英语的程度。在科研中,一味效仿西方英语研究模式,其关注点往往是有待完善的学生英语。与此同时,本文结合中国英语教学与实践的现状,对中国式英语进行反思,在此基础上,对中国式英语重新定义。运用传统的中国儒学原理,并融入相应的西方学习理论和语言学习理论,笔者提出了全新的中国式英语教学模式,旨在于帮助中国英语学习者在本土化双语学习语境中更有效地掌握和运用语言知识,提高语言能力,达到最大的学习效果。更重要的是,以儒学原理为指导的教学模式,将使我们在教学和科研过程中进一步完善自我,不失民族及文化特征,对学生和教师都提出了一个明确可达到的学习和培养目标。     

FIF口语软件在成人英语口语教学中的运用探究——基于泛在学习视角

口语的习得过程是输入、交际、产出的过程,要学好英语口语,就要建立一个系统的语言学习环境。移动学习作为泛在学习的具体实施手段之一,打破了传统学习范式,使口语学习方式多样化。文章对FIF口语训练App在开放大学英语口语教学中的运用进行深入研究,以"移动终端+线下辅导"的方式破解学生口语学习难题,将泛在学习的个性化、碎片化、即时性、情境性等特点融入口语教学过程中,是开放大学英语教学改革的新尝试。     

Inside Out: Action Research from the Teacher–Researcher Perspective

Teachers enrolled in the master of natural science program for high school science teachers at a large research university must complete a year-long action research study. This account, by the program’s action research coordinator, describes both process and outcomes of this research experience from the perspectives of the research coordinator and the teacher–researchers, shedding light on the organizational learning that takes place, and the ways in which the research experience affected individual teacher–researchers. Teachers reported that their action research experience changed them in fundamental ways, providing them with a framework for deepening their understanding of student thinking, challenging their folk wisdom about teaching and learning, building confidence in their abilities and renewing their commitment to teaching as a vocation.     

Promoting Reflection in Tertiary Teaching through Collaboration

Recent years have seen the emergence of international concern about the quality of teaching and learning in universities, and consequently also interest in the investigation of models of staff development for improving teaching and learning at university level. This study monitored the reflective deliberations of a tertiary chemistry lecturer engaged in peer collaboration with other university lecturers for the purpose of improving teaching and learning in his classroom. The research method was based on an adaptation of the clinical supervision model. The lecturer's practice was found to be influenced strongly by his images of and beliefs about his lecturing role. Reflection occurred on a number of themes, both within and across different reflective cycles, and was facilitated by collaboration with his peers and by video replay feedback. Further, personal observation of and reflection on his classroom experience were found to precede changes in the images and beliefs influencing his classroom behaviour.     

Institutions,Individuals and Talk: The Construction of Identity in Fine Art

This paper is based on research in a university department of Fine Art. It is an exploration of the ways in which learning takes place - or fails to - in the spoken interchanges between tutors and students known as ‘cross-section crits’. The discussion draws on Harre's model of social and personal development and on a notion of argument to understand the place of shared knowledge and discourse, as well as conflict, in the construction of distinctive personal identity. Three examples of ‘crits’ are examined. These suggest insights into the culture of the fine art institution and offer implications for the role and conduct of talk and language in the teaching and learning process.     

地方院校非英语专业学生文化学习现状调查与分析——以楚雄师范学院为例

英语教学越来越重视文化的地位和作用,学生的跨文化意识也逐渐增强。然而像楚雄师范学院这样的地方院校,由于种种原因,与重点院校相比仍存在着很大差距。为促进大学英语教学综合水平的提高,基于对楚雄师范学院200名学生文化学习现状的问卷调查,采用SPSS数据分析系统对调查结果进行研究分析。     

Learning to Teach Offshore: Pre-Departure training for lecturers in transnational programs

The internationalisation of higher education in Australia over the past two decades has brought about dramatic changes in Australian universities. Growing numbers of international students have enrolled in Australian universities and the number of students studying offshore has also increased dramatically. While considerable material has been published on the ramifications of the increased numbers of onshore international students studying at Australian universities, there is relatively little published research on the specific challenges facing academics participating in offshore programs. The aim of this project was to examine the current pre-departure cross-cultural training taking place in the business faculties of three Australian universities in order to gain a better understanding of the adequacy of the support given to Australian academics teaching offshore. Twenty staff involved in offshore education were interviewed as part of this project, including academics with considerable offshore teaching experience, senior academic managers and cross-cultural trainers. While these institutions engage in little formal preparation for offshore teaching, a great deal of informal mentoring and briefing is taking place. We consider the implications of the new quality assurance framework for Australian universities, which requires that institutions be able to demonstrate the ways in which they ensure the quality of teaching and learning. Under this new system, universities are bound by the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee's guidelines for the provision of education to international students. It appears that Australian universities will need to establish more formal mechanisms to ensure that offshore staff are adequately prepared for offshore teaching posts.     

美国大学教师教学发展项目的评估研究

20世纪70年代中期迄今,美国研究者就诸多教师教学发展项目进行了大量评估。在评估内容上,基于不同目的,以及评估活动的各不相同,评估对象以教师与学生为主,对管理者的评估日益受到关注;在评估方法上,多采用严谨的对照实验与前后测实验设计,使用问卷、观察、访谈以及混合方法等实证研究方法,戏剧表演、学习评估工具等也是常用评估方法;在评估效果上,很多项目不仅改善了教师教学,也促进了学生学习。其项目评估可以给我国以借鉴:扩展项目评估对象,丰富项目评估活动;加强实证研究设计,提高评估的科学性;重视形成性评估,确保评估的连贯性。     

论高校学习型党组织建设路径

高校学习型党组织建设存在着党组织成员学习动机不强,学习内容缺乏更新,学习形式老套陈旧,学习管理机制不稳等问题。高校应在了解个人学习与团体学习相结合,理论学习与实际教学和科研工作相结合,文化建设与营造浓厚学习氛围相结合,理论研究和理论学习创新相结合等学习型党组织基本要求的基础上,明确学习目的、合理安排学习内容、创新学习方法、完善学习机制。