TDU Talk
ISSUE 3 ▪ MAY 2009
TEACHING IN AN ENQUIRY-BASED MODE
Strengthening Research-Teaching Linkages
to Create Graduates for the 21st Century
Dorothy Spiller
Research-Teaching Linkages Framing Tool
Professor Ray Land & Professor George Gordon, University of Strathclyde
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Kia ora koutou
Welcome to the May edition of TDU Talk. This month
we focus on the notion of teaching in an enquiry-based mode
and the graduate attributes and dispositions that learners can
develop through these learning approaches. The theme is
inspired by the visit and presentation of Professor Ray Land,
from Strathclyde University, who argued that setting up student
learning opportunities that require research-minded responses, helps to bridge
research and teaching activities and also enables students to develop qualities
that will enable them to engage effectively with the complexities and
uncertainties of life in the 21st Century. An encouraging sub-theme was that
setting up learning in these ways does not necessarily demand radical, time and
labour-intensive changes to our classroom practices, but can often be achieved
through simple, but imaginative, modifications of what we are already doing.
Some of the highlights of Ray‘s talk will be summarised in this edition and
practical examples are also included to suggest possibilities that you may want
to try or modify in your own teaching. You can also access Ray‘s full
presentation at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/. We hope that these ideas will
stimulate you to think about imaginative ways for your own students to engage
with the ideas of your discipline, help you in harmonising research and teaching
imperatives, and provide tools for thinking about programme design and
graduate attributes.
We would also like to thank Ako Aotearoa for the support for Ray‘s
presentation and in particular their generosity in providing the tea.
Best wishes
Dorothy, Trudy and Preetha
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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Hello everybody,
This is Trudy the Appraisals Administrator here.
It is that time again, the end of the semester approaches,
and of course that means giving some thought 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 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.
For any type of appraisal please consider whether teaching colleagues
will be included in the appraisal. Please consult with them before
ordering.
Envelopes have been sent out to your administrators. Included with the
envelopes are Appraisal Coversheets. These are to be filled in by one of
the teaching team. 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
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
Presentation by Professor Ray Land, Director of the Centre for Academic
Practice and Learning Enhancement at Strathclyde University, 25 March 2009.
―Everybody‘s talking about it‖ – this was a phrase that I heard on
numerous occasions after the presentations by Professor Ray Land.
We were thrilled to see the enthusiasm that Ray‘s visit generated and
to notice that his talk had excited people at different levels of the
University including senior managers, those academics who are
typically primarily focussed on research matters, and those who
always attach strong importance to teaching. In part this was because
of the great personal gifts and qualities that Ray brought to the
occasion-extensive experience as a Lecturer in English Literature and
subsequently in academic development, a highly respected research
and publications record and a leadership role in the Scottish Higher
Education sector. Additionally, he engaged the audience in
stimulating and intellectually challenging ideas, but was equally able
to describe and explain the micro level of classroom practices. He
comfortably travelled the terrain of higher education research and
practice and communicated in a relaxed, clear and accessible manner.
I think his talk also captured the imagination of so many different
people in the University, because the substance of his talk provided
forward looking ideas for people at different levels of the institution
and individual academics to reflect on the best ways in which we can
prepare our learners for critical and effective engagement with the
complex environment of the 21st Century. Furthermore, the talk
promoted one way of harmonising a dichotomy that is currently
troubling universities: the relationship between teaching and research.
The first half of Ray‘s talk provided the broad theoretical context for
the notion of teaching in an enquiry-based mode as well as the
background of the Scottish Higher Education study of researchteaching linkages. In the second half of the talk, Ray outlined some
practical examples of this approach from a number of academic
disciplines. I will highlight some of the key points from the first half
of the talk and some case studies will be outlined in a separate section
of the magazine.
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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The springboard for Ray‘s discussion was a study of researchteaching linkages in the Scottish higher education sector which Ray
and a colleague led at the institutional level. The enhancement theme
was identified by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher
Education in Scotland, who were also interested in the potential
impact of research-teaching linkages on the learners and the qualities
with which they emerged from the research-informed environments
of the universities. The investigators were charged with finding out
what a research-informed environment can mean for learners and
what the implications of this are for pedagogical practices. An audit
framing tool was given to institutions to identify the ways in which
research-teaching linkages occurred in their institutions. (The
framing tool is included on pages 16-18 of this magazine for your
interest). A complementary study was also done with the different
disciplines. The related concern of the research study was to identify
graduate attributes that a research-informed environment was
uniquely equipped to develop; these would be higher order skills and
attributes that are arguably not generally obtainable in other
educational contexts. (A detailed account of the Scottish study and
of case studies from a range of disciplines can be found at
www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/themes/ResearchTeaching/
default.asp)
Ray briefly outlined the context of the current university focus on
research production as well as some of the historical debates about
the nature and goals of a university. Interestingly, he noted that the
emphasis on research production is relatively recent and even in the
1950s at prestigious Oxford University, about 60% of academic
staff, while involved in scholarly production, did not engage in
research in the way we have come to think about it. Citing Barnett
(2005), Ray observed that the Research Assessment Exercise in the
UK has done more than anything else to place teaching and research
in a mutually antagonistic relationship. However, the main thrust of
the talk was to argue that enquiry-based teaching and learning, while
not changing the current culture, can provide one productive way
forward. From the historical perspective, Ray referred to Newman‘s
work on the idea of a University and the work of the German scholar
von Humboldt who took antithetical positions on the nature of
learning at a university. von Humboldt contended that the
distinctive feature of universities is that ―they treat higher learning
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
always in terms of not yet completely solved problems, remaining at
all times in a research mode‖ (cited by Land, 2009). The associated
view is that engagement in research is in itself educative and fosters
ways of being and examining the world that are valuable, and that
from the outset the teacher can invite the students into the learning
process as co-researchers. Ray‘s talk then elucidated what it means
to teach in an enquiry or research mode as a way to optimise the
teaching-research linkages and develop important graduate
attributes.
The enquiry-based mode of linking teaching and research was
distinguished from other notions of this linkage. The four main ways
of thinking about research-teaching linkages are:
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Students learn about the research of their teachers
This is the usual definition of research-informed teaching. While
studies indicate that students like to know their teachers are active
researchers, there is no conclusive evidence that this in itself helps
to develop graduates in particularly useful ways.
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Learning to do research-research methods
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Enquiry-based learning
This approach was the focus of Ray‘s presentation and
is linked directly to the development of important
graduate attributes.
The approach involves teaching students to work in a
―research-minded‖ way. Students are invited and
encouraged to formulate questions, to respond to what is
only partially formulated, to negotiate different
perspectives. Healey (2005) argued that lecturers need
to work less in the traditional content-based curriculum
and move to one in which the curriculum emphasises
students undertaking enquiry-based learning.
Pedagogical research
This involves research-based enquiry into practice by
the teacher. Teachers who want to initiate enquiry-based
learning approaches can draw on pedagogical research
to inform their strategies and approaches and to reflect
on and evaluate them.
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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The argument is that enquiry-based teaching is not just training for
academic careers but can develop attributes that will be crucial to
successful coping with the complexities and uncertainties of the 21st
Century. Ray cited a number of educational theorists, intellectuals and
scholars who voice this view. Here are some representative examples:
(Hammond, 2007, 1)
(Royle, 2003, p.52)
(Barnett, 1992, p.623)
(Scott, 2002, p.13)
Contact Preetha Pratapsingh ([email protected]) or book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
Ray summed up his overview of the idea of enquiry-based learning by
suggesting the higher graduate attributes this learning approach could
develop at undergraduate level. The following list emerged from the
Scottish study and it includes intellectual as well as dispositional
attributes:
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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Interestingly, Ray concluded this section with a list of qualities that
employers of large multi-national corporate organisations wanted from
future employees. This list had surprising correspondences with that
formulated by academics.
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
The attractiveness of enquiry-based learning is that it can both provide the
intellectual challenges we want for our students, and potentially equip
students for a sophisticated intellectual and moral engagement with society
and the workplace. But this kind of learning is of necessity unsettling,
because it invites students from places of safety into terrains of uncertainty.
It is best introduced incrementally from the beginning of study, and
students must be invited to share its rationale and approaches. Students
need to be supported by appropriate pedagogy and assessment. Working in
this way may not involve major practical changes for teachers, but it does
require a shift in being which they too may find unsettling and uncertain.
We invite you to look at the complete video of Ray‘s talk and to consider
the examples in this edition as an exciting way to enhance research–
teaching linkages and develop graduates with the capabilities to cope in our
contemporary society.
June 2009 Teaching workshops
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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The following examples may give you some ideas for your own practice.
Many case studies are also available on the enhancement themes website. A
common underlying theme is that students are engaged as participants
rather than as audience, and learning to generate questions is an essential
ingredient. If you want to introduce similar approaches in your own
practice, it is best to introduce them progressively, starting in very small
ways right from the beginning of their studies. It is also important to share
the rationale for your approach with the students and alert them to the
graduate attributes that they will be developing.
Faculty of Engineering Level 1
This exercise happened in induction week right at the beginning of
the students‘ university study. They were formed into groups of
three and each group was given an item (for example, a mobile phone or
spectacles). They were then instructed to knock on any door in the faculty
over the next seven days and ask faculty members about their research and
what impact it could make on their particular object in ten years time. (All
the faculty members had been prepared for this.) The students had to ask
for explanations to be given in language that they could understand. In the
following week student groups explained their findings to the rest of the
class. In this exercise the students got a first-hand encounter with
researchers and research, acquired a feeling for their academic home, and
began to think about the sorts of questions that needed to be asked.
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
English Studies Paper Level 2
This learning initiative took place at an all women‘s liberal arts
college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The college as a whole strongly
emphasised enquiry-based learning. The students were studying ―Jazz‖ by
Tony Morrison, a novel with strong sexual content. The women were given
a scenario to address. In this scenario, the novel had been set for 16 year
old students at a Milwaukee girls‘ school. The students were told that the
parents had objected to their daughters studying the text on the grounds of
obscenity. The teachers had said that the book would stay on the
curriculum because of its literary merits. The students were invited to work
in groups to provide a report for the parent-teacher authority which advised
on these matters.
In order to respond to this exercise, the students had to read the book, had
to investigate the relationship between obscenity and literature (and
possibly the historical and legal precedent), arrive at some agreement as to
what constitutes literary merit, and then decide how they arrive at a
judgement about literary merit. They had to work collaboratively, and they
had to write a report for a particular audience—the school governing body.
Finally, one member of each group had to give a presentation, but they
were not told beforehand which one it would be.
The exercise encouraged the students to develop a whole range of researchminded skills, such as question formulation, identifying and documenting
evidence, and persuasive communication skills.
The students enjoyed this learning process, although when asked if they
liked working in this way, they said ―what way?‖ as they were so used to it
that it did not seem remarkable. This is because the College spends a lot of
time developing these ways of working and students learn them from the
outset.
8 June
1.00-3.00
Workshop 1: Getting started with resources
15 June
1.00-3.00
Workshop 2: Paper Settings & Communication
22 June
1.00-3.00
Workshop 3: Assessment tools in Moodle
29 June
1.00-3.00
Workshop 4: Groups and Groupings
Contact Teresa Gibbison ([email protected]) or book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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Level 1 Psychology
This involved a large class. The traditional three lectures per week
were replaced by one lecture and two online classes. In the online
work done in groups, students had to investigate a topic and produce three
different interpretations of it. Initially the online discussions were quite
basic, but as time passed the students were asking more questions of each
other, linking, comparing and commenting on different postings. By the
end of three weeks discussion of some substance was taking place. The
tutor observed that the quality of the students‘ contributions improved and
their discussion was eventually closer to second year quality.
Applied Chemistry Level 2
Here students were given a forensic report of a fictitious death. They
were only given some very basic information and the scenario was
deliberately very incomplete. The only thing the students could do was to
request lab reports for more information and these were just made up in
response to students‘ requests. The students thus had to engage in continual
questioning and problem formulation and be thinking about the questions
that needed to be asked. An example of an ill-formed scenario was the case
of a Vietnamese couple who ran a take away shop in Edinburgh and lived
upstairs above a dry-cleaning business. The woman was pregnant. The
students had to move from this flimsy starting point to work out what was
going on and what questions needed to be asked.
The students apparently loved this learning exercise.
First year Mechanical Engineering
Dissection of a car
In this exercise the students had to take a car to pieces and subject the
parts to microscopic examination. The students worked in groups, and each
group chose a part to examine in detail. They were invited to think about
questions to ask such as what the part was made of,
what its mechanical properties were, how it was
manufactured, etc. A draft of their work was shown to
the tutor who may ask more questions or prompt
further thinking. The students enjoyed the work and
commented that ―they really felt like engineers‖.
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
Not only does this type of learning experience help to develop important
intellectual and dispositional attributes, but these examples also meet
many of the criteria that have emerged as important from studies of the
first year experience:
Synergies with 1st year experience
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emphasis on success
engagement (not just retention)
empowerment
‗personalisation‘
strong influence of peers
students as co-creators of their own learning experience
desire to be challenged
overcoming isolation and boredom factors
promoting research skills for later professional roles
higher status of final year teaching
making large classes feel small
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6 May
10.00—12.00
ICT Induction for New Staff
22 May
10.00—11.30
The Waikato Experience Morning Tea
2 June
10.00—12.00
ICT Induction for New Staff
Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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Barnett, R. (1992) Linking Teaching and Research: A Critical Inquiry, Journal of Education,
63.6, p.623
Barnett, R (ed.) (2005) Reshaping the University: New Relationship between Research,
Scholarship and Teaching, pp. 66-78, Maidenhead: SRHE and Open University Press
Hammond, N. (2007) Preface to Jenkins, A., Healey, M and Zetter, R. Linking teaching and
research in disciplines and departments. York: Higher Education Academy, p.3. Available
at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/
LinkingTeachingAndResearch_April07.pdf
Healey, M. (2005) Linking Research and Teaching: Exploring Disciplinary Spaces and the
Role of Inquiry-Based Learning, in Barnett, R (ed.) (2005) Reshaping the University: New
Relationship between Research, Scholarship and Teaching, pp. 66-78, Maidenhead: SRHE
and Open University Press
Royle, N. (2003) The Uncanny. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p.52
Scott, P. (2002) A lot to learn: we are all researchers now, Education Guardian, 8 January,
p.13. Available at: education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,628918,00.html.
7 May
9.00—12.00 Effectively Managing Change
13 May
9.00–12.00 Committee Servicing and Minute Taking
19 May
9.00–12.00 Professional Goal Setting (PGS) for Managers
26 May
9.00–12.00 Photoshop for Image Manipulation
29 May
3.30–4.30 Research Conversations: Cycles of curriculum change
Book through iWaikato (My Work > Staff Development > Coming Events)
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
Does the institution currently have any
strategic plan that links research with
teaching?
cf University of Sunderland: An Integrated
Strategy; cf Malaspina University-College
Building design to link research and teaching
Does the institution employ any current
framework or model for the development of
graduate attributes? Which attributes are
identified?
Is Roberts Funding currently being deployed
to foster R-T Linkages or graduate attributes?
If so, in what ways?
Do Research-Teaching Linkages feature in key
policies? (Are specific resources applied to
these and if so by what criteria?)
Does the institution have any programme to
promote undergraduate research?
cf University of British Columbia:
Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research
Program (MURP); cf Massachusetts Institute
of Technology: Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program; cf McMaster
University: Petro-Canada Young Innovator
Award
Is there any system of scholarships that might cf Undergraduate Research Scholarship
foster R-T Linkages?
Scheme (URSS) at Warwick
Do institutional excellence in teaching and
learning awards emphasis R-T Linkages?
cf: Auckland University of Technology, cf:
University of Victoria, Wellington: Awards for
Have there been any recent ‘strategic shifts’
cf Southampton Solent University: Advanced
in the institutional ‘game plan’, e.g.
Scholarship Strategy
organisational systems, committee structures,
revised policies, that might prioritise R-T
Linkages or graduate attributes?
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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Are there any institution-wide policies on
Inquiry Based Learning?
cf Australian National University: Introduction
to Inquiry; cf McMaster University: Inquirybased courses available across the curriculum;
cf University of Calgary: Student inquiry
Have there been any specific events or
awareness-raising initiatives to draw
attention to R-T Linkages?
cf University of Alberta: Institution-Wide
Project ‘Research Makes Sense to Students’
Are there any specific scholarly award that
recognize the promotion of R-T Linkages?
cf Southern Illinois University: Paul Simon
Award; cf University of Toronto: Northrop Frye
Awards
What are the patterns of reward or
recognition for engaging in R-T Linkages?
e.g promotion criteria, professorial
recognition.
Has there been any redesign of module or
semester structures which emphasis R-T
Linkages
cf Oxford Brookes University: Building the
linkage into the curriculum
Is there any use of performance indicators to
foster R-T Linkages?
cf University of Sydney: Strategic use of
performance indicators to stimulate linkage
Is there any use of institutional targets to
foster R-T Linkages?
cf Griffith University: Identifying programmes
including research-based learning component
Have there been any initiatives to benchmark, cf Monash University and University of
either within or outwith the institution?
Sydney: Teaching and Research Nexus
Are Research and Teaching linked in any way
in Accredited Postgraduate Courses on
Teaching and Learning in Higher Education?
cf University of East Anglia (UK): Research-Led
Teaching; cf University of Plymouth: Teaching
Research; cf Durham University: Use of
How are institutional policy decisions linked
with Faculty policy formulation? Have these
been used in the dissemination of ResearchTeaching Linkages?
How innovative work relating to ResearchTeaching Linkages be reported to the main
University committees?
What mechanisms are in place to monitor the
development of Research-Teaching Linkages
at at Faculty/Departmental Level?
Are strategies on employability and
professional skills aligned with R-T Linkages in
any way?
How are Research-Teaching Linkages visible in e.g. Teaching and Learning Strategies,
strategic documents and implementation
performance reviews, promotion procedures,
plans for the Faculty or individual Schools and patterns of reward and recognition
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
In what ways has research into teaching been
supported within the Faculty in the last five
years?
How are Research-Teaching monitored and
evaluated within undergraduate and
postgraduate teaching within the Faculty?
What are methods of dissemination and what
resources have been used to raise staff
awareness of Research-Teaching Linkages
Are Teaching and Learning courses integrated cf Stanford University (USA): The 1-Rite
into Doctoral Programmes?
Program; cf Madison University: Centre for
Integration of Research, Teaching and
Learning; cf University of Oxford: Centre for
Excellence in Preparing for Academic Practice
What might be the incentives or disincentives
for engaging in R-T Linkages?
Is Personal Development Planning (PDP) used
in any way to foster R-T linkages?
Do current quality measures for the approval
of curriculum design take into account R-T
Linkages or graduate attributes?
Are there any systematic ways of modelling
expert practice within modules and courses?
e.g. through learning outcomes, aspects of the
student experience, placements, particular
learning methods such as enquiry based
learning.
Are there any curriculum policies on ProjectBased Learning or Enquiry-Based Learning?
cf University of Roskilde, Denmark
Is there developmental sequence or ‘through
line’ for Research-Teaching Linkages from first
year to final year and postgraduate study?
How are course teams helped to develop and
embed Research-Teaching Linkages for a new
programme?
How are Research-Teaching Linkages
monitored and evaluated at course or module
level?
Are there informal opportunities for students
to engage in Research-Teaching Linkages
e.g. resources to develop new teaching
approaches, materials preparation, staff
development, use of pilots, provision of
appropriate learning space.
e.g. research seminars, acting as observers in
research teams, student conferences, student
© R. Land and G. Gordon, University of Strathclyde 2007
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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Protocols for Renewal of New Zealand Teacher
Practising Certificates at the University of Waikato
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MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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I am prepared to act as an endorser for other staff seeking renewal of their practising certificates.
(Please tick (P) one)
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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?
MAY 2009 • TDU TALK
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ĀHANGA