TDU Talk
ISSUE 7 ▪ SEPTEMBER 2009
INTEGRATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ LEARNING
SKILLS INTO TEACHING & ASSESSMENT PRACTICES
Teaching Strategies to Promote the
Development of Students’ Learning Skills
Dorothy Spiller, TDU
TDU Matters:
TDU Review
Teaching Network Report
Dr Trudy Harris, TDU
Photo courtesy of the University of Windsor
“
Greetings from the University of Windsor Ontario where
I am currently a visiting fellow in the Centre for Teaching
and Learning. It is the first week of the new academic year over
here and the campus is full of the energy and excitement of the
start of the new term. From my office I can see the procession
of students going to classes and they look remarkably like our
own students! I am appreciating this opportunity to write and
teach in a different context, to converse with colleagues and to
reflect on and refine my own practice. I also feel confident that we have made
great strides in relation to our own teaching and professional development at the
University of Waikato and that, if we can build on our strengths, the University
of Waikato can attain the teaching excellence that is central to its mission.
Much has been written about planning academic programmes so that students
will emerge from them with the ability to engage with their discipline in a range
of ways. Often these attributes are higher order competencies such as critical
thinking, research competencies or problem-solving. A well-designed set of
graduate attributes which have been agreed on by all the teachers in a
programme is an excellent starting point for a review of all the courses that
contribute to the programme. Each course can be evaluated for its contribution
to the final goals both in terms of the subject content and ways of engaging with
the content.
ā
It is coaching, supporting and enabling students to engage with our course
content in a range of ways that is the focus of this edition. The magazine focuses
on pedagogies for enhancing academic writing, reading and critical thinking.
Efficient and purposeful reading of academic material and the competent
management of ideas in writing are the foundation stones for higher order
critical engagement with course ideas. We do not suggest that academics run
skills classes, but that they find ways of enhancing these competencies through a
range of simple stratagems that they can introduce into their day to day teaching
and their modes of assessment. The long term outcome is possibility of students
who not only know the content of their subject, but can engage with it in a
rigorous critical fashion. We hope that you find the pedagogies for developing
these competencies helpful in your own practice.
Best wishes for the final weeks of teaching and the exam period.
Dorothy
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
.”
•2•
“
Hello everybody,
The end of the semester approaches, and of course that means that
some thought will have to be given to the evaluation of your
teaching and papers. There are a number of ways that you can go
about getting a questionnaire for your paper and teaching
appraisals. They are outlined below:
The Standard University Appraisal
If you want to use a standard appraisal, that is the eight paper questions and eight
teacher questions, then simply go to http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/pdf/appraisals/
stdappraisal.pdf and print off the form. You will need to fill in the paper code and
teacher names.
If you would like your standard appraisal personalised with your name and paper
code, or if there are large numbers of tutors/teachers then please contact me and I
will prepare a standard appraisal for you. Please be aware though that this could
take a couple of days, especially during the busy period at the end of the semester.
A Customised University Appraisal
If you want to customise your questionnaire by adding, removing, changing
questions or adding more formative open questions, then you can go to http://
waikato.ac.nz/tdu/customised.shtml. Here you will find the TDU itembank, and
also an online order form. You can put your selected items in the order form, or in
an e-mail and send to me at [email protected]
Online Appraisals
If you require an appraisal to be online then please contact me directly.
oc
als
pprais
han, A
L
Shant
nt
Assista
For any type of appraisal please consider whether teaching colleagues will be
included in the appraisal. Please consult with them before ordering.
Envelopes will be sent out to your administrators. Included with the envelopes are
Appraisal Coversheets. These are to be filled in by one of the teaching team on a
particular paper. This coversheet provides some basic information about the paper
and whether the members of the teaching team want to view the original
questionnaires after processing.
Regards
Trudy
•3•
.”
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Dorothy Spiller, Senior Lecturer (TDU)
Introduction
Many course learning outcomes and the associated assessment tasks require
some level of proficiency in a wide range of generic academic skills. Some
of these capabilities are so embedded in academia that we may assume
student competency and not explicitly help students to develop them.
Academic reading, academic writing and all its associated components,
research strategies and the ability to engage with ideas critically are core
expectations in most fields of study. Teachers can help to enhance these
abilities by using simple strategies that can form part of their day to day
teaching. Complementing these generic competencies are the unique
requirements associated with reading, writing and methods of inquiry in
particular disciplines. Teaching and assessment approaches can also
integrate initiation and coaching in the conventions and nuances of
particular disciplines. This booklet suggests some strategies that you may
like to incorporate into your teaching to help your students to develop these
important attributes. These strategies are not extra coaching but can be
woven into your teaching and also deepen your students‟ engagement with
content.
Academic writing
Simple in-class strategies to improve writing competency
Bean (2008) suggests a number of simple in-class writing strategies. These
include asking students for a written response to a question at the beginning
of a class-based on the readings or anticipating a significant idea in the
forthcoming class. Similarly, Bean (2001) and Angelo and Cross (1993)
suggest inviting students to ask questions about something that they have
found confusing or difficult to grasp mid-class. Bean (2001) also suggests
asking students to write something down when discussion palls or when
things become over-heated. Angelo and Cross (1993) and Bean (2001) also
recommend that students can summarise their understanding of something
in writing at the end of a class. All of these strategies help students to
deepen their intellectual grasp of a subject and develop the capacity to
manage complex ideas in writing. They also offer the additional bonus of
helping to make the students‟ learning visible to the lecturer so that they
can respond appropriately.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
•4•
Task instructions
Students are often baffled by task instructions. Discussion of typical
assessment instructions can be easily built into a lecture, tutorial or online
teaching component:

A theme for a lecture or set of lectures can be readily framed as a
typical essay question-such as inviting students to apply a theory to a
practical context, or compare and contrast perspectives. The question
can be asked at the start of the lecture(s) and returned to at different
points in the discussion. Students can also be invited to talk briefly in
pairs at a number of junctures in the lectures to share ideas on how they
would respond to the question as the lecture unfolds. This simple
process can help students to get insights into task instructions and
deepen their engagement with content by sharpening the focus and
forcing the students to take more of an active questioning stance.

In small group work, give all students some content such as a section of
a reading, a set of data, a scenario or a case study. Get the students to
work in smaller groups - each group has the same content but a different
set of instructions. The students can then share the outcomes of their
discussions. This exercise can help students to get inside commonly
used instructions such as analyse, apply, critique and evaluate.

One of the most effective ways of helping students to understand the
requirements of an assessment task is to spend time with the class on
task criteria. A helpful strategy is to provide students with a range of
past examples of the task and ask them to evaluate the examples in
groups according to the given criteria. Each group needs to explain their
decisions to the class and discuss how they applied the criteria. The
exercise helps students to engage more deeply with task criteria and
requirements and may also enable the lecturer to recognise criteria that
are not transparent or ambiguous. This exercise can be a process of
learning for both students and lecturer.
Writing a thesis statement
To encourage students to think in terms of a thesis or position statement, a
theme could be introduced and a number of possible position statements in
relation to the content could be given out at the beginning. Students are
invited to bear these statements in mind as they listen to the lecture and
take note of evidence which appears to support a particular stance. The
lecture could be paused at intervals to invite students to keep returning to
the statements and assess possible supporting evidence. At the end of the
•5•
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
lecture or series of lectures, students have to select a thesis statement and
list the supporting evidence that they have found. In order to encourage
student participation in the exercise, students need to hand in their thesis
statement and evidence with a related assignment and earn a small
percentage for completion. Students could also do this exercise in groups in
the lecture or in the tutorial. The exercise will promote more thoughtful
engagement and improve students‟ understanding of how to take a
particular stance and support it with appropriate evidence.
In a related strategy, Bean (2001) reports on an alternative approach to
writing assignments in which students are required to write short essays in
which they must argue either the positive or negative side in relation to a
contentious topic. The thesis statement involves students engaging with
core course concepts, using research skills to access appropriate evidence,
and provided a logical and well-supported argument. Students are given
formative feedback and are not able to undertake the next thesis assignment
until the lecturer has signed them off as meriting the set allocated
percentage.
Writing for an audience
One of the barriers to successful student writing is that assignments are not
directed towards a particular audience. Students often try to write for the
lecturer which is problematic as it is difficult to gauge level of complexity
and know how much one can assume. Additionally, one of the best ways of
promoting understanding of a concept is to invite students to communicate
the concept to a specific audience. For example, students can be asked to
discuss an idea or concept in the form of a letter to the newspaper,
materials for school learners, or a presentation to a community body. A
major advantage of this strategy is that students are compelled to move
away from the borrowed vocabulary of lectures or resources and distil the
essence of an idea in the effort to communicate it to a specific audience.
Marshalling evidence
Students can be divided into groups and given a few materials on a courserelated contentious topic - for example, sustainability issue, an educational
perspective or theory, a legal decision. The volume of resources can be kept
relatively slim and readily accessible (newspaper articles, simple statistics,
etc). Students have to make a decision on the issue and simply list the
supporting evidence in order of importance. This exercise can be done in
class or subsequently as an early formative part of a more extended piece of
assessment.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
•6•
Learning to structure ideas
To help students develop a good grasp of paragraph structure, students
can be placed in groups and each group is given a paragraph from a key
reading. Each group needs to analyse the structure of their paragraph and
then explain the content and structure of the paragraph to the rest of the
class. This exercise helps them to see the principles of paragraph
formation as well as requiring them to engage actively with reading
content. To add to the incentive, the reading could be one that is essential
for a forthcoming assessment.
The lecturer can frame up the content of a particular lecture as a response
to an assessment question and then model the structure of a response, that
is demonstrate the basic format and ordering of ideas. A tutorial exercise
could follow this lecture exercise by inviting the students to draw up a
plan for a response to a different task on the same topic. The task could
be discussed in class and could be used as the first stage in an assessment
task. The key principles are to develop learning skills through a
combination of modelling, practice, conversation and feedback. Students‟
interest and engagement can be heightened by tying these preliminary
formative stages into the formal assessment.
Developing a logical progression
One of the simplest strategies to help students reflect on the order in
which they present ideas is to get them to work in groups on a short piece
of writing related to a current topic, pull out the key ideas of each
paragraph and then explain the sequence in which they have been ordered
(for example, chronological, comparative, general to particular). Another
version is to give students a short piece of writing on the topic in which
the ideas are organised in an arbitrary fashion and invite them to arrange
them in a more logical and convincing sequence.
Editing and revision
 Much of our assessment procedures tend to focus on the final product.
However, the editing and revision process is a key part of effective
written communication. Students need to recognise that an extended
editing and revision phase is a core part of developing written
communication skills. Teachers can model their own writing revision
process in the course of teaching a particular piece of content, even
by showing the differences between an early draft and a final polished
product.
•7•
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK

Organise students into groups and set up a peer
editing session. Provide a clear template for
feedback and require students to bring in a specified piece of writing.
This is most effective when the draft is part of a larger assignment.
Students need to include an explanation of the way they incorporated
the feedback into the final assessment. You can build a culture for peer
feedback gradually, for example, by getting students to swap notes on a
section of a lecture and explain the key point to each other.
Academic integrity
There are numerous practical exercises that students can undertake both to
develop their understanding of the concept of academic integrity and to
equip them with the requisite skills. A very simple exercise which will also
invite them to engage more deeply with content is to get students to
practise writing passages of texts or articles in their own words. The
exercise can be done in groups or individually and handed in as part of a
larger assignment.
Another strategy is to show students a range of writing samples and get
them to identify different kind of plagiarism such as cutting and pasting
from the internet or books, paraphrasing without acknowledgement, and
interweaving words from a source with the writer‟s own words. Students
can then be asked to rewrite the relevant sections in ways that avoid
plagiarism.
For an early part of a larger assessment students can be invited to hand in
two pages of writing with a required number of references to be woven
into their discussion and an appropriately laid out reference list. Students
could also be invited to comment on this process and any questions or
difficulties that they encountered. The lecturer can then discuss sample
issues online or in class before the students continue with the assessment.
Referencing
Many lecturers tend to assume student familiarity with different types of
source material, their particular conventions and uses for researchers.
Lecturers can readily make this transparent by comparing the usefulness,
relevance, merits, and appropriateness of different sources of information
on a class topic. The benefits of taking students behind the scenes like this
are numerous. Students will not only learn directly about the different types
of materials they can consult, but they will also get an insight into how
materials are selected and evaluated and how the evidence is used to build a
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
•8•
position in relation to a topic. The deliberate reference to multiple sources
can also deepen students‟ understanding of a topic and invite critical
engagement through exposure to different perspective.
A related assessment might be to select a range of different types of
references on a topic and write a short commentary on their pertinence for
the topic and their merits. This exercise can be part of a larger assignment.
Research skills
Formulating a research question
For many students, there is an almost mysterious process about the passage
from reading to writing. It is as if a random selection of materials vaguely
related to the topic and extensive jottings will gradually shape themselves
up into a more or less acceptable response to the assignment topic. One
very useful suggestion is to coach students to approach their sources with a
core question and associated sub-questions. In the first year, this may
simply involve getting students to turn their assignment topics into a
question and sub-questions. Turning a topic into questions and subquestions is a process that can be done regularly with students in large or
small class settings in relation to different class content. In later years a
class exercise can be to discuss a particular concept in class with students
and then get them to work individually or in groups to formulate a possible
research question and sub-questions. These exercises can be linked into a
subsequent assessment task and also tied into library sessions on searching
databases. From a learning perspective, the practice in posing research
questions (in a discipline-appropriate manner) is an important preparation
for postgraduate studies and for working life.
Making research notes
An equally important aspect of active and focussed engagement with
source materials is taking notes in an organised and systematic manner. It is
easy to require students to hand in a sample of their notes on readings in the
early stages of the assignment process and give them an assigned
percentage for the satisfactory completion of this requirement. Lecturers
will probably advise students to organise their notes according to a number
of suggested templates. One such system is to organise notes in relation to
the different sub-questions or categories so that the assignment materials
are already organised around key points or questions. Students need to note
their understanding of the relevance of the selected material, its relation to
•9•
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
the topic as a whole, and how it may support or contradict other materials
encountered thus far. Students need to take down all details of their source
material and clearly distinguish between quotes, paraphrasing and their
own commentary.
Evaluating material
This can be readily practised in the context of a small or large class. Again
the exercise can be integrated into ongoing discussion of a topic and can
deepen engagement. The lecturer or tutor can bring some short extracts
from different resource materials relating to the class topic. Students can
work individually or in pairs/groups and use a few set questions to evaluate
the material. Examples of questions can include:

What details are available to confirm the reliability of the material?

How current is the material?

Are the claims in the source supported by convincing evidence?

Is the material pertinent for the particular topic and context?

Is the argument presented in a logical way?
Academic Reading
Introduction and general principles
Reading academic material is so interwoven with the processes of academic
life that it is difficult for lecturers to remember the enormous challenges
that reading academic material poses for most students. Students are
unfamiliar with the different forms of academic writing and their unique
conventions, formats and language. Students will also not generally have
any insight into the way in which writing in journal articles is designed for
communities of scholars in different fields. There are other more general
factors to bear in mind. Academic articles are completely different from
most students‟ prior experience of reading and students are baffled by the
notion of reading material that is not necessarily immediately accessible
and may need teasing out. Furthermore, the current generation of students
have been nurtured on highly visual material and instant messaging. This is
a long way from the level of travail often associated with making sense of
an academic reading.
Another difficulty for students is that they are frequently required to
evaluate reading materials even in first year. This is extraordinarily
challenging for students when they are just initiates in the discipline and in
the academic domain generally.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 10 •
Bearing these challenges in mind there are some
useful principles for lecturers when trying to
develop students‟ academic reading
competencies within the context of their
teaching and assessment practices. Some general
principles are:

Limit the amount of required reading so to
allow students time and opportunity to
develop their reading competencies.

Model effective reading strategies in the course of your teaching.

Use in-class time to focus on sections of reading as part of your
engagement with the content.

Set assessments which help to coach students in the development of
reading competencies.

Be explicit about different types of academic reading and their
conventions.
Types of material
Students can be exposed to different types of reading material and their
conventions in a range of ways. One simple way is to show the particular
source in the context of a topic discussion in a lecture. For example, the
lecturer could show a few slides of a particular journal, indicating the
layout, talk about the journal article selection process, typical readers etc. It
is also helpful to draw attention to common article formats to help students
focus their attention when they read for themselves (For example,
Introductory/contextual section, literature review, focus of research,
method, results and discussion). This can help students recognise basic
templates that lie behind the words. The difference between a think piece
and a research investigation can also be shown. Other kinds of reading,
their respective uses and strategies for making sense of them can also be
discussed- for example, text books, government reports, statistical data,
media reports. All of these can be readily linked to the in-class discussion
of content. A follow-up assessment exercise can require students to look at
these different materials and answer some key questions in relation to the
lecture.
• 11 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
The reading process
▪
Lecturers and tutors can model their own reading process during class
by using a key piece of reading related to the class content. One strategy
is to show students a copy of a page or two of a reading with your own
annotated comments. These comments can include basic questions such
as:
▪
What is the main idea in this paragraph?
▪
What is the evidence used to support this idea?
▪
Or include notes – such as links with other course ideas, comments
about unresolved ideas.
You may want to give students a stage by stage set of guidelines as to how
you approached the reading of a key course reading introducing them to
notions such as using all the cues like title and headings to get a „big
picture first‟ reading and then looking more closely at how the different
parts fit together.
Set students regular reading exercises as part of their assessment and link
them to ongoing class content. A percentage should be given for the
completion of these exercises to encourage students to take them seriously
but the main focus should be on formative feedback to simultaneously
promote better understanding of content and enhance reading
competencies. In order to cultivate useful habits of reading and appropriate
question asking give some focus questions for students to use with the
readings. These can invite them to perform different reading tasks such as
finding the central argument, locating and defining core conceptual terms,
finding a number of supporting points and identifying the corresponding
evidence or illustrations. At a later stage, the exercise could be changed to
ask students to set useful reading questions. Keep the volume of reading for
these exercises limited as the aim is to develop reading competencies and
help students to gain an in-depth understanding of core course concepts.
Reading exercises followed by formative feedback can also be articulated
into a subsequent assessment task.
Require your students to keep reading logs. Reading logs require students
to record their responses as they engage with a reading. Bean (2001)
explains that in reading logs “Students can summarise the text, connect it to
personal experience, argue with it, imitate it, analyse it or evaluate
it” (p.144). A reading log is usually relatively unstructured as the primary
aim is to elicit students‟ personal responses to a reading.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 12 •
Evaluating reading
This is a very difficult process for students especially in their early stages
of study. Students are unfamiliar with academia and the discipline and also
lack the more general academic vocabulary with which to manage and
articulate evaluation and judgement. In the early stages of study (Perry,
1970), students are more likely to see knowledge as absolute. For all of
these reasons it is difficult for students to immediately respond with an
evaluative and questioning stance. The process of evaluation should be
introduced and coached very gradually and initially most effort should be
directed to getting the students to extract the essential meaning of a
reading. Evaluative tasks can be introduced gradually initially through the
use of one or two questions - for example students can be asked to find the
evidence to support key points or to examine the way in which certain key
words are used. It may be that in an entire course the practice of and
coaching in evaluation can focus on just one or two key competencies.
Critical thinking
Introduction
Critical thinking and associated attributes (such as evaluation, judgment,
and reflection) feature widely in accounts of the defining features of higher
education, in lecturers‟ accounts of their aims, in graduate profiles and in
assessment instructions and criteria. However, we very seldom incorporate
the teaching of critical thinking into our programmes. As Moon (2008)
observes, “Although thinking must surely be at the heart of education, it is
not often explicitly taken into consideration in pedagogy. Critical thinking
does, however, feature in the rhetoric of education, particularly higher
education” (p.vii).
Moreover, there are widely different understandings of what the term
means and also debate about possible disciplinary differences in the
understanding and usage of the term. It is likely that for some of us the term
critical thinking is an inherited and relatively unexplored part of higher
education rhetoric. Before we think about ways to help enhance our
students‟ critical thinking competencies, we need to clarify our own
understanding of the term and any discipline specific manifestations of it.
Moon (2008) explores the term critical thinking from a range of
perspectives - teachers‟ views, students‟ perceptions, what she terms “the
common sense” view (p.25 ) and extensive discussion of the term in the
literature. She uncovers a range of views, considerable confusion as to its
meaning, different foci and emphases as well as certain common themes.
There also appears to be crossover between conceptions of critical thinking
and forms of representation of critical thinking. Moon provides a helpful
overview map of the territory of critical thinking and its representation
(p.30).
• 13 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Critical Thinking and subsets of it—tools
for the manipulation of knowledge
Forms of Primary and Secondary
knowledge
Critical thinking—which includes critical:
Oral representation—debate, discussion and
other oral representation
Appraisal
Evaluation
Written representation—critical reports,
reviews, critique, satire, essays, metaphor -
Reflection
Understanding
Analysis
Graphic depiction—cartoon, pastiche, sketch
Review
Appreciation
Management
Awareness
Critical Incident Analysis
Forms of action—assertive action; critical or
professional practice, reflective practice,
dramatic or theatrical representation, etc.
Problem-solving and decision-making are forms Various forms of representation
that can be broadly similar to critical thinking
when there is no one fixed solution to be sought
Table 1: Critical Thinking and its subsets (Moon, 2008, p.30)
Moon‟s explorations lead her to a summary statement of the essential
features of critical thinking which she reminds readers is not definitive. It is
worth including her statement in full as it provides a foundation for
teachers to clarify and articulate their own understanding, communicate
their expectations to students and design their teaching and assessment
activities to align with these goals.
10 November
12.00—2.00 Teaching Network meeting
3 December
9.00-12.30 Celebrating Teaching Day
Contact Preetha Pratapsingh ([email protected]) for details. Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 14 •
Towards a critical statement about critical thinking—final
statement for this book
Critical thinking is treated here as a general term that tends to be used to cover both
the mental activities of thinking and the various representations of the thinking that
include action, speech, writing and so on. We should see the various terms such as
‘critical appraisal’, ‘evaluation’, ‘reflection’ and ‘understanding’ as elements of critical
thinking where there is an emphasis on specific kinds of mental activity.
Critical thinking is a capacity to work with complex ideas whereby a person can make
effective provision of evidence to justify a reasonable judgement. The evidence, and
therefore the judgement, will pay appropriate attention to the context of the
judgement. Critical thinking can be seen as a form of learning, in that new
knowledge, in the form of the judgement, is formed in the process.
The meaning of a ’judgement’ may relate to a judgement of one thing against
another or others (like a decision) or the judgement of the merit of one thing
(sometimes in relation to a purpose or set of criteria that have been agreed). The
idea of effective judgement implies effectiveness in the thing, reasoning or
argumentation and in the quality of the representation of the thing in writing, speech
etc. It is an important characteristic of deep crucial thinking that the thinker takes a
critical (metacognitive) stance towards her actual process of critical thinking and its
representation.
The fully developed capacity to think critically relies on an understanding of
knowledge as constructed and related to its context (relativistic) and this is not
possible if knowledge is viewed only in a dualistic or absolute manner (i.e. knowledge
as a series of facts).
The notion of depth in crucial thinking is closely associated with the level of
epistemological development of the thinker. Generally speaking, deep crucial
thinking can be equated with ‘good-quality thinking’ which involves analytical
thinking rather than surface description of issues. The variation of depth and it
association with epistemological development indicate that critical thinking develops
as a capacity and that this development may need to be taken into account in
pedagogical thinking.
There is a sense of precision, good organisation, effective reasoning, and the ability
to work reflectively among other skills in critical thinking, but it is much more than
the deployment of a set of skills. There is also a concern with ‘standards’. ‘Standards’
can be interpreted in relation to the standard or quality of the thinking, or the
sufficiency of the quality of the outcome or conclusion to the thinking.
• 15 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Critical thinking and its representations are affected by the personal characteristics
of the thinker. For example, emotion is recognized to play a part in crucial thinking
as it does in all cognitive processing. There appear to be different ways in which
emotion interacts with cognitive activity but the thinker should monitor its various
influences, articulating this where appropriate and where possible. Similarly a
person’s ability to use language skilfully is relevant to the language-based
representations of critical thinking and the thinker needs to be sensitive to different
usages, connotations and understandings of words and ideas. Intellectual curiosity
and interest are relevant to the willingness to pursue a line of critical thinking and in
addition the effective critical thinker will be reasonably effective in the capacities
that have been grouped under the term ‘academic assertiveness’ - having due
courage and effectiveness in the assertion of ideas and a willingness to ‘change her
mind’ if necessary.
There are different representational activities within which critical thinking is
applied. They may include: the review of someone else’s argument; the evaluation
of an object; the development of an argument; critical thinking about the self; critical
thinking about an incident; a constructive response to the arguments of others; and
the disposition of crucial thinking as a habit of engagement with the world.
There are different approaches to the teaching or presentation of critical thinking
and its representations. While as a whole the presence of various approaches
enriches the general conception of critical thinking, it also contributes to confusion
about its nature and identity. There are approaches, for example, that focus on logic,
on skills, on pedagogy, on personal dispositions, and so on.
The notions of objectivity and subjectivity are not clear-cut in critical thinking. The
naïve view would say that critical thinking yields objectivity—but a more
sophisticated thinker can comprehend that to be objective, she needs to take into
account the essential subjectivity of the process of knowing. In a sense, objectivity is
sought through the understanding of, and ability to work with, subjectivity.
There should be a recognition that critical thinking and its representation is a
culturally influenced process. There is evidence to suggest that it is essentially a
Western way of processing ideas, and that learners from other cultures may confront
difficulties in understanding it because they work in different ways.
Moon, J. (2008), pp. 126,127.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 16 •
Critical thinking enables learners to navigate and manipulate knowledge, to
transform ideas, conceptions and processes, to challenge norms, make
decisions and forge new pathways. The development of critical thinking
requires a corresponding pedagogical approach and teaching and
assessment strategies. Moon (2008) argues that becoming a critical thinker
also requires the development of an accompanying dispositional shift from
learners who need to acquire what she terms “academic assertiveness”
which is about claiming one‟s own voice in academia.
Moon also links the development of critical thinking to questions about
academic development. Starting with Perry‟s study with Harvard students
in the 1970s numerous research studies have documented the difficulty
students have in moving from absolutist to relativist notions of the world.
This needs to be an important consideration for lecturers who are
frequently too optimistic about the level and quality of critical thinking that
students are able to acquire in the early stages of their studies.
With this contextual framework in mind, some strategies for promoting
critical thinking (and academic assertiveness) will be outlined.
Pedagogies for Developing Critical Thinking
Introduction - General strategies
Many of the in-class and assessment strategies that are pertinent to the
development of students‟ academic writing and reading ability are equally
appropriate for promoting critical thinking. If we look at some of the
attributes outlined by Moon (2008) we need to ask ourselves whether our
teaching practices model the processes of testing, rigorous evaluation,
exploration of alternatives and problem posing that characterises the critical
thinking process. Perhaps even more fundamentally, do we actually share
our thinking processes with our learners and show them the steps we take
in a process of intellectual inquiry or do we simply present them with the
final product? If we want students to become metacognitive, we need to
invite them to consider the shape of our own thinking processes.
Using Examples
Give students a number of different examples of writing about the same
event/idea/ writing. The examples should display varying degrees of critical
engagement. Students can be asked to identify examples of critical thinking
in the accounts, explain the reasons for the sections they identify and
possibly rank the different pieces of writing according to the quality of their
critical engagement (adapted from Moon, 2008).
• 17 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Use examples from everyday life
Moon suggests that a gradual understanding of critical thinking can be
developed by inviting students to practise evaluative and questioning skills
in relation to examples from everyday life.
Use reflective journal assessments
Create thinking time and spaces
Moon (2008) suggests that we can deliberately design thinking time and
spaces in our teaching and learning environments to develop students‟
habits of more active thinking and engagement. She suggests that
teachers can develop a recognisable terminology to alert students to
these moments, such as “think time” or “stop and think” (p147).
Collaborative learning
According to Bean (2001), one of the most effective ways to coach
students in the development of critical thinking skills is through
focussed small group work. Bean suggests that small group work of
this kind needs to be carefully planned and usually involves students
having to work in groups to respond to a discipline-related problem or
issue, record their process, their different perspectives and conclusions and
then report their findings. This exercise can be linked to a subsequent
written assignment if desired. See attachment from Bean (2001) on pages
21-24 for a number of ways of posing questions or problems for group
discussion and resolution.
Creating dissonance
Creating a sense of discomfort/dissonance or unease is a good stimulus to
thinking. Sometimes this can be done through very simple strategies such
as framing a lecture with a provocative question, a problem scenario which
needs to be approached in the light of lecture material or creating a critical
incident. Other prompts can include critical incidents, unresolved
questions, or an invitation to respond to hypothetical possibilities.
For an extended list of strategies and resources, see Moon (2008).
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 18 •
Conclusion: Strategies Teachers can Use to Help Students
Become Better Readers
The following list summarizes teaching strategies that address the reading
problems discussed in this chapter.
Students’ Problem
Helping Strategy
Poor reading problem
▪ Give tests or writing assignments on readings that you don’t cover
in class.
▪ Require students to write expressively in response to texts
(reading logs, summary/response notebooks).
▪ Require marginal notes.
▪ Show students your own reading process.
Failure to reconstruct
arguments as they read
▪ Assign summary writing.
▪ Have students make outlines, flowcharts, or diagrams of articles.
▪ Help students write “gist statements” in margins summarizing
main points as reading progresses.
▪ Go through a sample text with students, writing “what it says” and
“what it does” statements for each paragraph.
Failure to assimilate the
unfamiliar; resistance to
uncomfortable or
disorientating views
▪ Explain this phenomenon to students so that they can watch out
for it; point out instances in class when students resist an
unfamiliar or uncomfortable idea; draw analogies to other times
when students have had to assimilate unfamiliar views.
▪ In lectures or discussions, draw contrasts between ordinary ways
of looking at the subject and the author’s surprising way.
▪ Emphasize the “believing” side of Elbow’s “believing and doubting
game.”
Limited understanding of
rhetorical context
▪ Create reading guides that include information about the author
and the rhetorical context of the reading.
▪ Through lectures or reading guides, set the stage for readings,
especially primary materials.
▪ Train students to ask these questions: Who is this author? Who is
he or she writing to? What occasion prompted this writing? What
is the author’s purpose?
Failure to interact with
the text
• 19 •
▪ Use any of the response strategies recommended in this chapter—
reading logs, summary/response notebooks, guided journals,
marginal notations, reading guides.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Unfamiliarity with cultural
codes
▪ Create reading guides explaining cultural codes, allusions,
historical events, and so forth.
▪ Show students the function of cultural codes by discussing the
background knowledge needed to understand cartoons or
Unfamiliar vocabulary
▪ Urge students to acquire the habit of using the dictionary.
▪ Create reading guides defining technical terms or words used in
unusual ways.
Difficulty with complex
syntax
▪ Have faith that practice helps.
▪ Refer severe problems to a learning assistance centre.
▪ Have students “translate” complex passages into their own
words; also have students practice rewriting particularly long
sentences into several shorter ones.
Failure to adapt to different
kinds of discourse
▪ Explain your own reading process: when you skim, when you
read carefully, when you study a text in detail, and so forth.
▪ Explain how your own reading process varies when you
encounter different genres of text: how to read a textbook
versus a primary source; how to read a scientific paper; how to
read a poem; and so forth.
27 October
29 October
3 November
24 November
9 December
10.00-12.00 ICT Induction for New Staff
8.45-12.20 Introductory Session for New Staff
8.45-4.30 Kanohi ki te Kanohi
10.00-12.00 ICT Induction for New Staff
8.45–12.20 Introductory Session for New Staff
Contact Mike Bell ([email protected]) for details. Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 20 •
1. The Problem-Posing Strategy
In this approach, the instructor gives students a disciplinary problem framed as an
open-ended question to which students must propose and justify an answer. To
keep students on task, I often ask groups to summarise their answers in onesentence “thesis statements,” which they write on the chalkboard. Recorders then
present justifying arguments supporting the thesis when they make their reports.
If groups cannot reach consensus, I ask for a majority thesis and at least one
minority thesis.
We have examined four alternative approaches to the design of a digital data-recording device for
Company X’s portable heart defibrillator. Which solution should be chosen and why?
In what way, if any, is Jackson Pollack’s Autumn Rhythm different from the results of a monkey
throwing paint at a canvas?
According to Fullinwider, three theories are frequently used to define preferential hiring for both
African Americans and women: compensatory justice, social utility, and distributive justice. Using
one or more of these theories, address this question: Is the legislature’s proposed veterans
preference law just?
Your author has quoted Peter Berger, an important American sociologist, to the effect that we are in
“bondage” to society. Elsewhere that same author says, “In sum, society is the wall of our
imprisonment in history.” Your friend, I.M. Punker, rubs his hand through his orange hair, touches
his nose ring and says, “Nonsense, I am my own person, free to do whatever I want.” Which of these
two views does your group most agree with? Defend your choice with arguments.
2. The Frame Strategy
Using this strategy, the instructor gives students a mapping sentence that predicts
the shape of a short essay but not the context. Students have to create content topic
sentences to head each predicted section and develop a supporting argument for
each one. Often the instructor can include in the task a blank tree diagram or an
outline indicating the slots that students‟ ideas must fit. This task requires not
only that students generate ideas but also that they place these ideas within a clear
structure. (For further examples of frame questions, see Chapter Six, pages 115116, and Chapter Seven, pages 115-116, and Chapter Seven, pages 115-117, and
Chapter Seven, pages 126-127.)
Based on the data about the Pabst Brewing Company that you studied last night, what do you now
think are the causes for this company’s precipitous loss of market share? Place your solution into a
frame that begins with the following sentence:
“There are X main causes for Pabst’s loss of market share. First, [state the cause and support it…
Second,… Third,…” Continue with as many causes as your group determines.
Although Krauthammer’s argument for rebuilding state mental institutions is persuasive in a number
of ways, our group finds potential problems with his plan. First, … Second, … [Third,… Fourth,…]
• 21 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
3. The Question-Generating Strategy
This strategy is particularly effective for teaching the art of question asking in a
discipline. After instruction in the kinds of questions asked by a particular
discipline, the teacher breaks students into groups and has them brainstorm
possible questions related to topics that he or she provides. After this phase,
groups must then refine their lists into the two or three best questions and explain
why each question is a particularly good one. (This is the strategy used in the
earlier Crito example.)
Carefully observe this [poem, graph, statistical table, painting, advertisement]. What aspects of it
puzzle you or intrigue you? As a group, pose three good questions that emerge from your
observation of the item.
Now that you have studied the six levels of questions in Bloom’s taxonomy, use the taxonomy to
develop test questions about Chapter Six in your text. Ask at least two questions at each level of
taxonomy. Recorders should be prepared to explain why you think each question fits its respective
level.
Scientists often pose research questions that have the following generic structure: “What is the
effect of X and Y?” For example, “What is the effect of varying amounts of light on the growth of
Escherichia coli?” or “What is the effect of an improved freshman advising system on students’
retention rate between the freshman and sophomore years?” Using these examples as models,
develop three good research questions that you could ask about each of the following topics:
steroids, day-care centres, the human immunodeficiency virus, gangs.
4. The Believing and Doubting Strategy
The “believing and doubting game,” coined by Elbow (1973, 1986), asks students
first to enter imaginatively into the possible truth of any statement, arguing in its
favour (the believing game) and then to stand back from it, adopting a healthy
scepticism (the doubting game). To use this strategy with small groups, the
instructor gives students a controversial thesis and asks them to generate reasons
and supporting arguments for and against the thesis. Angelo and Cross (1993, pp.
168-171) discuss a similar strategy using pro and con grids. (For further
discussion of the believing and doubting game, see Chapter Seven, page 124, and
Chapter Eight, pages 142-143.)
The overriding religious view expressed in Hamlet is an existential atheism similar to Sartre’s.
Baccalaureate engineering programs should be extended to five years.
The eighty-three-year-old stroke victim described in the case study should be informed of her
daughter’s terminal cancer.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 22 •
5. The Evidence-Finding Strategy
The instructor‟s goal here is to have students find facts, figures, and other data or
evidence to support a premise. In my own discipline of literature, this task often
means finding textual detail from a poem, novel, or play that might be used to
support an argument. In other disciplines, it might mean using data from library,
laboratory, or field research. Such tasks teach students how experts in a field use
discipline-appropriate evidence to support assertions. (Note that this strategy is
ineffective if it leads simply to students‟ thumbing thought their books or lab notes
during a collaborative session. I usually assign data-finding tasks several days in
advance so that students can find the evidence as homework. Collaborative groups
then work to sort, classify, and evaluate the evidence gathered in advance by
participants.)
“Our design group recommends the choice of air bearings over conventional steel bearings for this
application because air bearings will give better performance at a lower cost.” Support this claim
with the evidence needed to make it persuasive to both engineers and managers.
“Although Hamlet claims to be putting on an antic disposition, at several places in the play he goes
over the line and seems to lapse into genuine madness.” What places in the text could be used to
support this assertion?
Your textbook describes typical kinds of problematic behaviours that children exhibit in
kindergarten. You believe that a particularly unruly child– we’ll call him Martin— would benefit
emotionally from repeating kindergarten next year rather than entering first grade. Martin’s parents
are adamantly opposed to holding Martin back. What evidence might you use to help Martin’s
parents appreciate your side of this issue?
Note that in working on an evidence-finding task, students usually discover what
teachers already know: that the evidence is ambiguous and that a strong evidential
case can often be made against the thesis as well as for it. Such ambiguity
generally unsettles beginning college students, who expect the “experts” to know
the right answer and who have not yet realized the extent to which arguers select
and shape data to support a point. (See the discussion of Perry‟s developmental
theory in Chapter Two.) Teachers need to help students confront and endure such
ambiguity, confident that doing so helps them move higher on Perry‟s scale of
intellectual growth.
6. The Case Strategy
Among the most popular ways to use small groups is to devise cases that require
decision-making and justification. If a case involves different roles, each group
can initially be assigned one or two of the roles and asked to devise the best
arguments it can from the assigned perspectives. (For further discussion of cases
and for an example, see Chapter Seven, pages 130-131.)
• 23 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
7. The Norming Session Strategy
This strategy, which is also discussed in Chapters Thirteen and Fifteen, helps
students internalise the criteria by which the instructor will judge their formal
essays. The instructor passes out three or four student essays from previous classes
(with names removed) and lets students, in groups, rank the essays and develop
arguments justifying their rankings. Later, in the plenary session, the instructor
reveals his or her own rankings and initiates a general discussion of grading
criteria for essays. Often teachers discover that students have erroneous notions
about what teachers look for in a formal essay, particularly when they are learning
the thinking processes and stylistic conventions of new disciplines. (See also
Chapter Thirteen, page 219, and Chapter Fifteen, pages 259-262.) For an excellent
illustration of how a sociology professor conducts a collaborative norming session
(complete with examples of student essays on the topic of ethnocentrism), see
Bateman (1990), pp. 110-116. For examples of norming sessions based on
freshman placement essays, see White (1973-1981, 1992).
8. The “Rough Draft Workshop” Strategy
Perhaps the most common use of small groups in writing courses is the “rough
draft workshop, “in which students read and respond to each other‟s work in
progress. The goal of these workshops is to use peer review to stimulate global
revision of drafts to improve ideas, organisation, development, and sentence
structure (Chapter Thirteen, pages 222-225, gives detailed suggestions for using
small groups for peer review.)
9. The Metacognitive Strategy
Another effective use of small groups, discussed in detail by Bruffee (1993, p.47),
is to ask students to consider their own thinking and negotiating processes
metacognitively. This strategy is especially useful when small groups produce
solutions that strike you as off-base or just plain wrong. Our authoritarian impulse
is to tell the groups that their answers are wrong and show them the right answer.
Another approach, is however, is to say instead that the class‟s solutions differ
considerably form those of most experts in this field. A subsequent metacognitive
task is to send students back into small groups to analyse the differences in
reasoning processes between themselves and the experts. According to Bruffee,
“The task is to examine the process of consensus making itself. How did the class
arrive at its consensus? How do the students suppose that the larger community
arrived at a consensus so different from their own? In what ways do those two
processes differ?” (p. 47). The effect of this approach, in my experience, is to
deepen students‟ understanding of how knowledge is created: instead of accepting
(and perhaps just memorizing) the “right answer” based on the teacher‟s authority,
students struggle to understand the principles of inquiry, analysis, and problem
solving used by the experts to arrive at their views. They consider an answer not
only a product but also the result of a process of disciplinary conversation.
Bean, J. C. (2006), pp. 146-148. 155-159.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 24 •
References
Bean, J. C. (2006). Engaging Ideas. San Francisco: Jossey Bass
Moon, J. (2008). Critical Thinking. Routledge: London & New York
Perry, W. (1970). Forms of Intellectual and academic development in the college
years. New York: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston.
Make a space at your place for teaching
Some of the best learning happens through conversation and most of
the working life of academics is focused around the department. So
why not make the occasional space for conversation about teaching
in your department?
9 October
16 October
19 October
9.00-11.00 Frontline Management Skills 6: Induction, coaching and on-the-job training
9.00–3.00 Frontline Management Skills 7: Managing Change
Professor Geoff Scott
3 November
9.00-10.30 Professional Goal Setting (PGS) for Managers
1 December
9.00-10.30 Professional Goal Setting (PGS) for Managers
Contact Mike Bell ([email protected]) for details. Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
• 25 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Report prepared for Teaching Quality Committee by Dr Trudy Harris,
Appraisals Administrator
In July 2009 a survey was conducted to determine staff perceptions about the Teaching
Development Unit (TDU). This survey was designed as part of a quality assurance and
continuous improvement process to evaluate the work of the „new‟ TDU, eighteen months
after the re-organisation of TLDU. The survey was conducted prior to the release of the
proposed New Organisational Structure (version 1).
Questions that were asked included:
 what TDU services the staff had made use of,
 what problems they had had with their interaction with the Unit, and
 what services staff thought the Unit should be supplying.
The survey sample chosen comprised general and academic staff who had accessed the
TDU, in the past year. The sample size was 152. The response rate to the online survey
was 49%. The responses came predominantly from the Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences (24%) and Waikato Management School (19%). Very few responses came
from the School of Māori and Pacific Development and the School of Law. In terms of the
Divisions most staff came from the Library or Human Resource Management. The staff
who responded tended to be relatively new to the University of Waikato with 37% of staff
having worked 5 years or less at the Institution.
The Findings
The overall findings from this review of the Teaching Development
Unit were overwhelmingly positive. What is interesting is that some
staff still do not realise that the Teaching and Learning Development
Unit (TLDU) had split in 2008, and that TDU does not provide
support for students. These comments were probably meant for
Student Learning.
On the next few pages is a
report submitted to the TQC
on the Review of the TDU
conducted in July 2009. We
would like to thank all those
who participated. Their
feedback has provided us
with much food for thought.
Regards, TDU
There is obviously still a need to find alternative ways of
communicating key messages to staff. In 2009 TDU is
endeavouring to use the Official Circular, TDU magazine and the
Teaching Network to improve communication.
Concerning the rest of the report, what follows is a breakdown of some of the quantitative
and qualitative responses to questions asked in the review.
Is it important for you that the advice you get from the TDU is independent of
University Management, Faculties and Schools? Please explain your answer.
In response to the question, 80.8% of staff indicated that it was important that the TDU is
not identified with a particular faculty or school. Staff consistently gave feedback that
they saw it as critical that the TDU is perceived as working across and for the University,
not a particular school or faculty in order to maintain safety, confidentiality, integrity,
unbiased service and our reputation among staff.
“TDU must be seen as working for the University (NOT a particular school or faculty) –
and its structural independence is critical to this perception.....What must not happen
is that it is „hidden‟ under the umbrella of a particular school or faculty – this would
compromise its critical independence.”
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 26 •
The TDU is committed to
building the Teaching and
Research nexus, as evidenced
by the TDU Talk issue dedicated
to Teaching in an Enquiry Based
Mode (Issue 3, May 2009) and
by the visit by Professor Ray
Land in March 2009.
One of the tensions that the TDU always face is balancing a service role in relation
to all our colleagues and the need to conduct research and provide a scholarly basis
for our endeavours. As reiterated by one staff member:
“The separation and independence of TDU ensures the focus on teaching [as
opposed to research] is given a strong voice”
Much of the TDU‟s best work is done through informal networks that have been built
across campus over a period of 20 years. The independence of the TDU allows the
development of these relationships as indicated by staff feedback on our survey. A
comment in the TDU review was,
“...I can talk to TDU staff without implications on my job”
The TDU manages the administration of teaching and paper appraisals for the entire
University, a central tool in the measure and evaluation of teaching quality in the University.
It is perceived as critical that this process is not associated with any faculty so that TDU
maintain the trust of staff and the integrity of the appraisals process.
What aspects of your interaction with the TDU have been most valuable? Please
explain what and why.
Most of the responses in this area revolve around support and development of teaching
through workshops, resources and evaluations. While these are mainly related to the
provision of services there are a number of comments that relate to the teaching
environment developed by the TDU and the provision of the Postgraduate Certificate in
Tertiary Teaching (PGCert(TertTchg)). What is clear from the feedback is that academic
staff seek out a confidential environment where shortcomings can be identified, techniques
practised and improvement can be achieved. This is an essential component of any quality
process.
The following comments highlight this perfectly:
”The teaching workshops have provided an excellent space for in-depth discussion and
insights into teaching practices and innovative ideas...”
“...My experiences with doing the PGCERT have also been very positive. The two
courses provided an invaluable opportunity to reflect on my teaching practices and
teaching philosophy. Finally, Dorothy has been a fantastic resource person whose
enthusiasm and dedication have made the high-calibre TDU services what they are.”
There were a large number of comments concerning workshops, one-to-one sessions and
the pedagogical knowledge that staff had obtained and used in their teaching practice. This
comment links all these practices together:
“The training workshops and individual sessions with TDU staff. Personal training in
understanding the teaching scholarship and aspects of ethical and innovative teaching
practice, as well as practically receiving comments on sustainability of assessment
tasks. Also really find hearing from other teaching practitioners at the Uni and beyond so
invaluable – collective wisdom and experience gives us new ideas and helps us to
realise some of the pitfalls/traps etc.”
The resources produced by the TDU also came under scrutiny by staff, especially the
monthly TDU Talk:
“...I also like the monthly newsletter because it keeps teaching in my agenda.”
“...I do enjoy the issues of TDU talk and have saved them for reference.”
• 27 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
There were a large number of comments concerning the Appraisals System. Most of the
comments were positive and genuinely encouraging. For example:
“...I have found the appraisals staff to be extremely helpful and efficient – beyond my
expectations of them”.
“Being able to talk to Trudy, discuss format and possible questions, to understand how
the forms are processed...”
What is useful to note is that some of the staff members who responded to this question
obviously could see the linkages between using appraisals to inform their teaching
behaviour and ultimately student learning. For example:
“Professional development and teaching appraisal have been equally valuable and are
of course linked.”
There are staff who find the appraisals process unnecessary. The comment below
reflects the views of some teaching staff here:
“It is good to get student feedback on teaching performance, although I do not think that
we should be letting students evaluate teaching performance at a University. Students
attend lectures, they should learn how to take notes, stand on their own feet and
practice self discipline over their learning.”
In your opinion, what is the best time for TDU to run its workshops? Please explain
why:
There were a number of suggestions around timing of workshops. Currently workshops run
in February (before the start of A Semester) and in June (during recess). From the review it
was evident that most staff wanted the workshops to run outside of teaching time either
between semesters or during the summer similar to our current practice. It was also
suggested that multiple offerings of workshops be made and at different times of the day,
so early morning and late afternoon.
What coaching by the TDU has been most valuable in your teaching/work? Please
explain what and why:
The main focus of the staff responses to this question indicated the areas where staff had
gained the greatest knowledge for their teaching. These related to such issues as
assessment practice, learning outcomes and alignment with assessment, the PGCERT
(TertTchg) and general teaching practices. The following comments are typical of those
received:
“Assessment design and delivery. I am now providing students with more creative
assessments which they enjoy and the feedback I have received is that these
assessments are a more effective way of learning...”
“General conversations around pedagogy.”
“Studied for a PGCERT which gave me great strategies to improve my teaching,
improved my motivation.”
“PGCERT TertTchg – Substantially improved my skills and confidence as a teacher and
has helped expand my research output.”
“Hearing other people‟s experiences and broadening my options through this ...”
“...I am part of the mentoring programme and am impressed with the quality of support,
resources etc from TDU.”
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 28 •
What other services do you think the TDU should provide? Please explain what and
why.
While the majority of staff were happy with the current provision of services by TDU, a
number of ideas and thoughts were put forward for future consideration. Namely:
Visits from external scholars
“Get good scholars out here like the guy (Ray Land) who did the talk on the researchteaching nexus.”
Further collaboration with WCeL
Visits from external scholars
Plans are being prepared for visiting Scholars
in 2010, specifically:
Phil Race and Sally Brown – Assessment
matters
Professor Jean McNiff – Research in Teaching
using Action Research
A Presence in Tauranga
Plans are being developed to increase TDU
presence in Tauranga in 2010.
Evaluations and following up
In 2010 Evaluation workshops will be a
compulsory workshop for the PGCert
(TertTchg).
Discipline specific teaching/presence in
schools
In response to this comment, TDU is to
conduct in Department days, where staff can
access TDU expertise.
Compulsory short courses for new staff
TDU has developed ‘Starter Strategy’
workshops for new and continuing staff.
“...the TDU run courses to bring staff up to speed with technology/software applications
to consolidate work by WCeL?”
Note: Significant developments have occurred in this area in 2009 and further plans are
in train for 2010.
A presence in Tauranga
”We need a person in Tauranga, although we do receive a good service at a distance.
This is probably a function that cannot be outplaced to the Polytechnic.“
Evaluations and following up
“...although a prickly and political issue, there are clearly lecturers out there who have
miserable pedagogy and TDU should be more proactive about intervening.”
Workshops
e.g. “Evaluation workshops.”
“How to assess written work.”
“Adapting teaching and learning styles to facilitate for the diverse students we are now
teaching.”
Discipline specific teaching/presence in schools
“... I would suggest that all schools have a programme of engagement with TDU, some
sort of formalised process whereby there are regular sessions throughout the year which
the staff within schools must attend (or be strongly encouraged to attend)...”
“Department approach – or cognate discipline approach – would be really useful in our
context to provide exchange of ideas around best practice.”
Compulsory short courses for new staff
“I think an introductory short course in education, teaching and presenting information
should be compulsory for all new staff, and should also be made compulsory (over a
time span) for all teaching staff.”
• 29 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Teaching Development Unit is committed
to supporting academic staff in their
teaching practice. If you would like
information about the services offered
by the Teaching Development Unit or
would like to comment on the TDU
Review, please contact the Teaching
Development Unit. Email Preetha
Pratapsingh at [email protected].
Would you recommend the services of the TDU to your colleagues? Please explain
your answer.
94% of the respondents replied in the affirmative to this question. The comments noted that
in most cases staff already do this:
“Absolutely, without a doubt. I already recommend TDU‟s services to my colleagues
because I think there is a bit of a blasé attitude towards teaching and learning
development. I have already encouraged my colleagues to look at the workshops and
consider the PGCERT in TertTchg.”
“I believe we are very fortunate to have this expert unit. I believe my teaching has
improved as a result of the ideas I get through the workshops and one-to-one. There are
always areas of my teaching that I would like to improve TDU provides successful, „tailor
made‟ suggestions for improvement.”
A number of TQC working parties
are considering aspects of the
appraisals system, to develop
improvements.
Have you had any interactions with the TDU that have not been helpful? Please
explain what and why:
57% of the staff who answered this question responded with „No‟ or „None‟. The comments
were quite sparse and tended to focus on the running and facilitation of workshops. There
were a few comments that reflected the limited resources and staffing of the unit:
„My only comment is that I wish there were more staff and more support.‟
There were also a number of comments about the Appraisals Office and the Appraisals
process in general:
„One lost appraisal even though I know it was handed in thus the loss of results for that
paper. The office did their best to find it.‟
„The system of getting appraisals from students and using them for applying for
promotion is not helpful; the whole process is distressing , and (by association only)
does not reflect well on the unit.‟
TDU is developing plans to have a
more Department base approach
to Teaching Development this
will include Faculty ‘Roadshows’.
There were a number of comments that reflected the need for more school based teaching
development opportunities:
„..in some ways (TDU) need to come to us and work with our departments on different
topics..‟
6 October
9.00-12.00 Dealing with People More Effectively
7 October
9.00–12.00 Effective Meetings
8 October
9.00–12.00 Kompozer for Web Maintenance
8 December
9.00-12.00 Dealing with People More Effectively
Contact Mike Bell ([email protected]) for details. Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 30 •
Dr Trudy Harris, TDU 2 September 2009
This meeting on 2 September 2009 was to discuss methods of providing evidence of, or
documentation around achievement in teaching.
There was some excellent discussion around personal practice. Conversely
there was some disturbing evidence of the lack of consistency of quality
assurance around effective teaching at School/Faculty/College levels.
Formative methods of Assessing Effective Teaching
Peer observation
A large number of the staff present were in favour of the use of Peer
Observation of their teaching. A number of issues were raised in relation to
this form of evaluating teaching practice namely:



The Teaching Network is a network for
all enthusiastic teachers with a passion
for teaching and improving teaching
practice. The purpose of the network is
to provide support for teachers,
exchange ideas on effective teaching
practice, network across a range of
disciplines and promote change in the
University.
We meet once every 6-8 weeks over a
brown bag lunch (12.00-2.00). The next
meeting will be held on Tuesday, 10
November 2009, 12.00-2.00.
If you are interested in joining the
teaching network or would like more
information, please contact Preetha
Pratapsingh [email protected].
• 31 •


There has to be a level of trust and understanding between the observer/
observee around the outcomes and goals of the observation.
The observer should be someone outside the department who has been
invited to observe the teaching. The observer should have a sound
understanding of pedagogy, and is trained in giving constructive
feedback.
It was highlighted that those practitioners of reflective practice would be
more likely to engage with peer observation than those with a poor
teaching practice.
It would be good for practitioners of effective teaching to be observed to
build confidence in this form of teaching evaluation.
There was a suggestion that if observers were to be „in-house‟ people,
they should be trained in providing sound pedagogical and constructive
feedback prior to commencing observations.
Reflective practice
This arose around discussion of appraisal data. One teacher used the
information supplied to address the main themes, wrote them down and
addressed them at the next iteration of the paper. Then with the next
appraisal questionnaire, she loaded it with questions that would allow the
students to respond about the changes.
A representative from ITS talked about the use of technology to record
teaching for the purposes of reflective practice. It was pointed out that the
video would capture only one aspect of the teaching and would not show
student participation. That technology was already available in some
lecture theatres and was being added to others.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
Another member of teaching staff talked about the use of student reps to
gain information about a paper and to use this as a basis for reflective
practice.
There was some discussion around assessment and that reflective practice
needs to make sure that there is clarity around assessment principles.
Assessment tasks are designed to avoid levels of plagiarism and those
workloads for students especially postgraduates should not be too high.
Paper Outlines
There was an inconsistent use of paper outlines within the University. Some
Departments used paper outlines to let students know what changes had
been requested by the previous cohort of students, and the changes in the
paper/teaching that had been made in response to the requests.
Some interesting ideas were put forward that perhaps that there has to be a
level of quality assurance around teaching effectiveness that is compulsory.
If teaching is not effective how can the University‟s qualifications have
integrity?
Where to now?
This information will form the basis for development of a ‘toolbox’ of formative
evaluation methods. Guidelines for these methods will be developed as part of the work
plan for the Teaching Quality Committee.
4 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle One: Getting Started with Resources
11 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle Two: Paper Settings & Communication
18 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle Three: Assessment Tools in Moodle
25 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle Four: Groups and Groupings
December TBA
WCELfest
Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
• 32 •
Same places,
different spaces
ASCILITE 2009, the 26th conference in the series,
is in Auckland City, Aotearoa New Zealand for the
second time in the history of the Society.
Ascilite 2009 reflects on the emergence of
multiple spaces in our personal and learning
environments. The themes are:
BlendedSpace
Virtual Space
SocialSpace
MobileSpace
WorkSpace
ASDUNZ 2009
Annual conference for academic staff developers of the Universities of New Zealand
26, 27 NOVEMBER 2009 ▪ IBIS TAINUI HAMILTON
Hosted with pleasure by the University of Waikato Teaching Development
Unit, together with Ako Aotearoa.
Featuring presentations and discussions on a variety of topics including:
appraisals ▪ research on teaching ▪ organizational issues around teaching and
learning ▪ graduate attributes ▪ higher education to develop creativity
TEACHING DEVELOPMENT UNIT | UNIVERSITY OF W AIKATO | [email protected] | 07 838 4839
December 6-9, 2009
www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/auckland09/
ascilite 2009
2009 TERNZ CONFERENCE
AUT University, in association with the Higher
Education Research and Development Society of
Australasia (HERDSA) and Ako Aotearoa is pleased to
host this year’s TERNZ conference – a forum for
enquiry into learning and teaching in the New
Zealand tertiary education sector.
The TERNZ conference is highly participatory.
Sessions are of two kinds: host sessions, and
workshops. Host sessions are groups which meet
three times during the conference to discuss issues
of common interest and share responses to the
various parallel workshop sessions. Workshops
(which may also take the form of open discussion
around a theme or other activity) can cover any area
within tertiary education research.
Date: 23-25 November 2009
Venue: AUT University, North Shore Campus
Guest speaker: Dr Peter Coolbear, Director of Ako
Aotearoa
Cost: $160 (registrations close 9 November)
Submission of Abstracts: If you would like to run a
workshop (a participative session or open forum for
discussion) please refer to the TERNZ website: http://
www.herdsa.org.nz/Ternz/2009/home.html
Electronic registration is available at the above
website, or for further information about the
conference, please email Pam Wyse at
[email protected] or Stanley Frielick at
[email protected]
9th Quality in Postgraduate Research Conference
Educating Researchers for the 21st Century
13-16 April 2010
Adelaide, South Australia
Stamford Grand
QPR conferences provide opportunities to:
 Discuss policies affecting postgraduate education
 Exchange views on current research and good practice in the field
 Link special interest groups of supervisors, students, researchers,
administrators and policy makers
The QPR conferences are of great value and interest to policy makers,
supervisors, postgraduate administrators, educational researchers,
postgraduate students and academic developers working with both
students and supervisors.
http://qpr.edu.au/2010/index.html
• 33 •
SEPTEMBER 2009 • TDU TALK
6 October
9.00-12.00
Dealing with People More Effectively
7 October
9.00-12.00
Effective Meetings
8 October
9.00-12.00
Kompozer for Web Maintenance
9 October
9.00-11.00
Frontline Management Skills 6: Induction, coaching and on-the-job
training
16 October
9.00-3.00
Frontline Management Skills 7: Managing Change
19 October






Professor Geoff Scott
27 October
10.00-12.00
ICT Induction for New Staff
29 October
8.45-12.20
Introductory Session for New Staff
3 November
8.45-4.30
Kanohi ki te Kanohi
3 November
9.00-10.30
Professional Goal Setting for Managers
4 November
12.00-2.00
Postgraduate Supervision Conversations
4 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle One: Getting Started with Resources
10 November
12.00-2.00
Teaching Network
11 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle Two: Paper Settings & Communication
18 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle Three: Assessment Tools in Moodle
24 November
10.00-12.00
ICT Induction for New Staff
25 November
1.00-3.00
Moodle Four: Groups and Groupings
1 December
9.00-10.30
Professional Goal Setting for Managers
3 December
9.00-12.30
Celebrating Teaching Day
8 December
9.00-12.00
Dealing With People More Effectively
9 December
8.45-12.20
Introductory Session for New Staff
December TBA
WCELfest
Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
Professional Development Unit: Contact Mike Bell ([email protected])


Postgraduate Supervision: Contact Giselle Byrnes ([email protected])
Waikato Centre for eLearning: Contact Teresa Gibbison ([email protected]) for Moodle workshops
Teaching Development Unit: Contact Preetha Pratapsingh ([email protected])
ĀHANGA