Abstract
The current higher education environment presents multiple challenges for academics. In their teaching, academics face larger classes, an ever-changing student cohort, and for many, institutional pressure to teach online. We address how this final challenge is tackled by reflective practitioners who are confident and skilled in classroom teaching. Our study focuses on academics as learners of teaching, rather than evaluating a particular program. We report here on one aspect of a full-year ethnographic investigation of 9 academics from various health and science disciplines at an Australian regional university to identify what and how they learn teaching. All the academics were engaged in unit level curriculum design as part of their teaching responsibilities. The data presented here comes from initial interviews with the academics that explored their conceptions of teaching and learning, how they became the teacher they are today, and their goals for the year ahead. Participants revealed limited vision and conceptions of learning design for online teaching, largely viewing their online space as a repository for recorded lectures and other resources. Universities therefore need to be aware that successful transition to the online learning environment will require complex and multi-faceted support for staff, beginning with developing a vision of effective curriculum and learning design for online teaching. Skills development alone will likely result in a simple translation of existing approaches to the online environment.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Research and Development in Higher Education |
Subtitle of host publication | Curriculum Transformation |
Editors | Ruth Walker, Simon Bedford |
Place of Publication | Hammondville NSW Australia |
Publisher | Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia |
Pages | 221-228 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Volume | 40 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780994554666 |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Event | Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Annual Conference 2017 - International Convention Centre, Sydney, Australia Duration: 27 Jun 2017 → 30 Jun 2017 Conference number: 40th https://conference.herdsa.org.au/2017/ |
Conference
Conference | Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Annual Conference 2017 |
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Abbreviated title | HERDSA Conference 2017 |
Country | Australia |
City | Sydney |
Period | 27/06/17 → 30/06/17 |
Internet address |