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This book draws on the experience of award-winning university teachers to identify approaches and strategies that lead to exemplary teaching practice.
Inspiring Academics draws on the experience and expertise of award-winning university teachers to help identify the approaches and strategies that lead to exemplary teaching practice. It is structured around five core themes: inspiring teaching, developing quality curricula, assessment for independent learning, student development and scholarship. Whilst celebrating individual teaching success, the book draws out core strategies which can be developed and replicated by others and which are not simply dependent on personal charisma and dynamism. Contributors reflect on approaches and initiatives that did not work for them, thus highlighting the inherent messiness and complexity of teaching and the difficulties of providing a blueprint for success. Contributors Gerlese Åkerlind, Donna Boyd, Ian Cameron, Jane Dahlstrom, Brian Detweiler-Bedell, Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell, Lisa Emerson, Sally Fincher, Rhona Free, Iain Hay, Mick Healey, Welby Ings, David Kahane, Sally Kift, Dennis Krebs, TA Loeffler, Ursula Lucas, Roger Moltzen, Bernard Moss, Kate Regan, Wendy Rogers, Peter Schwartz, Fred Singer, Michael Wesch, Carl Wieman, Susan Wurtele.
Teaching excellence is a topic of international significance, having importance for higher education worldwide, yet is generally considered to be poorly defined and understood. The current discourse of teaching excellence is narrowly framed, instrumental and performative, with an onus on measurement and quantification. Wood and Su investigate and rethink excellence in higher education, connecting this to the understanding of the role and purpose of higher education. Stakeholder perspectives on teaching excellence are explored, and the authors argue that it is through engaging with higher education constituencies, to examine teaching excellence from different angles and stances, that more inclusive understandings may be built. These stakeholder perspectives, which form the central chapters of the book, include higher education institutions, academics, students, employers and parents. The importance of a commitment to engaging with understandings situated in the diverse experiences and contexts of stakeholders for an 'inclusive perspective' on teaching excellence is affirmed. At the close of the book, the Coda examines some of the implications of the responses to the COVID-19 global pandemic for inclusive perspectives on teaching excellence in higher education.
"This is an accessible and insightful book about how to achieve a successful academic career. Wise and witty, easy-to-apply, it presents advice and guidance on teaching, research and networking … A much needed book." Dr Ming Cheng, Senior Research Fellow, the Centre for Learning and Teaching, University of Brighton, UK "All academic staff should get a copy of this book on day one as part of orientation! It is well written, practical and easy to read. I will use this book as a road map for my whole career." Dr Rhonda Clifford, Deputy Director, Division of Pharmacy, University of Western Australia, Australia "This is a book that is long overdue! While it will be particularly appealing to early career academic and should be recommended reading for all 'new academics', it will also have wider and broader appeal for all academic leaders and managers interested in building a culture of effective, engaged academics who can achieve their full career potential, and thereby contribute to the success of the institution.” Professor Lorraine Stefani, Director, Centre for Academic Development, University of Auckland, New Zealand "This is a timely and welcome guide to orient new academics to the complexity of higher education in the 21st century ... Dr. Debowski has a gift for clear thinking and concise and lively writing ... If I were to give one work to faculty members new to higher education, I would give them this work to help launch their academic careers." Deborah DeZure, Assistant Provost for Faculty and Organizational Development, Michigan State University, USA Are you looking to build a successful academic career? Written by an experienced author, this insightful handbook gives a comprehensive overview of academic work, from the starting point of seeking employment to moving into leadership roles. In today's competitive academic environment, you need to be able to operate strategically as a teacher, researcher and leader to establish yourself and progress. This book shows you how to take ownership of your career, build a strong support base and integrate regular evaluative and reflective practices to monitor the success of your career strategy. The book: Explains the broader higher education context and the way academics are assessed and evaluated Explores the key support strategies that can be accessed, including mentors and sponsors Includes practical checklists and tips on academic practices, including grant seeking, publishing, teaching, networking and managing research projects Examines critical issues such as dealing with difficult academic cultures and bullying
This volume explores, in twenty-one concise chapters, perspectives on teaching for the tertiary sector. Divided into three sections, Character, Context and Conduct, this book is written from a practical perspective with up-to-date scholarly references. It provides guiding principles and advice for teachers at the tertiary level. In addition, it explains ideas such as “What makes a good teacher?”, academic freedom, student retention, and moderation, enabling the student and experienced teacher to easily understand complex concepts in teaching and learning. As such, this accessible, extensively researched book will appeal to teachers and learners, at any stage in their tertiary study.
This thoroughly revised second edition draws on the author’s decades of observations and experiences in academia, Written in a clear and concise style, the book provides fully updated, forthright and practical counsel on achieving and maintaining a successful, balanced career from PhD to retirement.
A considerable amount of money is invested in an ongoing basis on large scale projects to enhance the quality of teaching and learning within the higher education sector. Examples from the UK include the Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund and the creation of CELTS - Centres for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. Similar initiatives can be found in most other Westernized countries. These projects (and other, smaller institutional projects) require evaluation, but the higher education sector has not conceptualized such evaluation work and therefore the opportunity to understand the value of such projects is frequently missed. Reconceptualising Evaluative Practices in HE aims to aid understanding, drawing on a set of evaluative practices from the UK and internationally to foster understanding, which will be of genuine value and relevance to higher education over an indefinite period of time.
Looks at how stories & imagination come together in our daily lives, influencing not only our thoughts about what we see and do, but also our contemplation of what is possible and what our limitations are.
This book evaluates the impact of projects to improve teaching and learning in Higher Education, focusing on evaluative practice.
This book explores disciplinary teaching excellence through a diverse range of student-staff partnership research projects. Despite being a highly contested term, ‘teaching excellence’ is something that universities aspire to and are expected to have. However, the editors and contributors argue that not only are definitions of excellence often broad and generic, but they lack nuanced understandings of disciplinary excellence in higher education. This book begins by unpacking some of these contested definitions of teaching excellence, followed by a series of co-authored chapters produced by students and staff who have undertaken research projects where they examine teaching excellence in their respective disciplinary areas. These chapters demonstrate that teaching excellence may be better understood as a process of becoming that is achieved through partnership between teachers and students. This book will be of interest and value to students, educators, and policy-makers concerned about teaching excellence, as well as scholars of student-staff partnerships.
