Dorothy Spiller, February 2015
Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
Teaching Development Unit, Wāhanga Whakapakari Ako
INTRODUCTION
This booklet invites you to explore and begin to articulate the beliefs and
values that shape your practices as a tertiary teacher. Your vision of yourself as
a teacher, and of the kinds of learning you aspire to for your students, provides
an important touchstone for designing, implementing and evaluating your
teaching and assessment practices. This vision is not a static idea and needs
regular reviewing in the light of the insights provided by your practice, the
quality of the students’ learning and engagement, discipline and contextual
imperatives and the scholarship of higher education teaching and learning.
Vision
Beliefs
Values
Design
Teaching approaches
Assessment
Reflection
Reflection
Reflection
Formative and
summative feedback
and evaluation
Scholarship of teaching
and learning
Vision and beliefs
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WHERE DO OUR TEACHING BELIEFS COME FROM?
All teachers are guided by particular understandings of what constitutes an optimum learning
experience for their students. For some people these notions are informed by theories of
learning or by professional training as educators, but there are many influences that shape
our thinking around teaching and learning and our subsequent practices. Often, we do not
articulate these influences and beliefs explicitly and their influence on our teaching behaviours,
but understanding our teaching identity is an important element in the teaching and learning
process.
INFLUENCES ON OUR TEACHING BELIEFS
Personal history: “known stories” (Moon & Fowler, 2008)
Personal history may include: history as a learner in formal and informal settings; previous
work history and experiences; family and cultural experiences
Stories about how things are done
“Not personally known stories” but shared stories in or outside the institution (Moon &
Fowler, 2008)
“Professional knowledge landscapes” (Clandinin & Connelly, 1996).
Fiction, mythology, narrative fragments (Boje, 2001,)
Formal learning/research about education/higher education
Values/beliefs
Political, social, cultural
Nature of knowledge
Goals for learners
Formal learning/research about education/higher education
Theoretical perspectives
Narratives from external stakeholders, for example, government and employers
TASK
Choose any one of these influences and discuss how you believe it has shaped your ideas
about teaching and learning.
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
IDENTIFYING YOUR BELIEFS
Many people find this a difficult exercise and confuse beliefs with teacher behaviours. It is
helpful to focus on our goals for our students. Here are some questions that may help:
• Do I have a theory or theories about the learning process which is important for my practice?
• To what extent is my teaching shaped by goals for my students once they have left
university?
• How important is the delivery of content information to me?
• How do I prepare my students for work?
• How do I prepare my students for participation in society?
• Do I want to challenge my students to examine their values and assumptions?
• What are my beliefs about the nature of knowledge?
• What are the respective responsibilities of teacher and learners in the classroom?
• Is it important to me to build a relationship with my students?
• Do I have any responsibility for the quality of the learning environment?
• Am I interested in the backgrounds and identities of my students?
• Is learner self-efficacy important to me?
• Do I have a role in helping the students to develop academic competencies?
• Is my discipline important to the way I want my students to learn?
• Do I think that research is important in my teaching?
All of these questions touch on important components of our teaching beliefs. In the following
sections we will consider the issues around some of these questions in more detail.
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PERSPECTIVES ON LEARNING
(1) The learning process - what happens for the learner?
Theories about how learning happens have a long history (since the late Nineteenth Century)
and have often evolved in conjunction with other disciplines such as Psychology, Philosophy,
Sociology and Science. From a personal perspective, I have been influenced in my educational
thinking by a range of theorists at different periods of my educational career. My own
theoretical perspective is constructivist. Constructivist theories focus on the way learners build
their own mental structures when interacting with the environment. Currently, I find the work
of Illeris provides a theoretical framework that informs my teaching belief usefully. Illeris’s
thinking about how we learn (Illeris, 2009).
For Illeris, the basic process involves two core dimensions, the “external interaction process
between the learner and his or her social, cultural or material environment” and an “internal
psychological process of elaboration and acquisition” (Illeris, 2007,p.8)
CONTENT
INCENTIVE
acquisition
interaction
INDIVIDUAL
ENVIRONMENT
Figure 1.2 The fundamental processes of learning.
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
The interaction dimension “provides the impulses that initiate the learning process” (Illeris,
2009, p.11). This can be any form of learning opportunity including delivery of lecture material,
observation, participation, modelling and experience. Many of these opportunities occur
in ordinary life on a daily basis, but in formal education they are the teaching or learning
approaches that we design or undertake.
The content dimension is what we are aiming to teach, which can include, skills, knowledge,
behaviours, attitudes, dispositions and modes of inquiry.
The incentive dimension refers to “the mental energy that is necessary for the learning to
take place” (Illeris, 2009, p.11). Incentive includes intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, affective
aspects and will.
The process is constructivist because each learner constructs his or her own mental map and
also connects the new learning with existing schema in the brain.
Illeris’s model provides a helpful basic template which can be further developed and informed
by the specifics of our own teaching and learning vision. For example, I might add learning
to investigate our teaching practices as one of my content dimensions, and for interaction
dimension I would want to emphasise collaborative learning and conversation. For the
incentive dimension I might include relationships and relevance.
EXERCISE:
Begin to fill in Illeris’s model with some of the specifics of your own teaching and learning
beliefs.
TYPES OF LEARNING
Illeris (2009) categorises 4 types of learning, which may be helpful for you when you are
thinking about the nature of the learning that you want for your students, of specific material,
as well as more broadly:
Cumulative or mechanical learning. Isolated learning which is not part of anything else. For
example, a PIN number
Assimilative learning. In this type of learning, new learning is added on to a pattern that is
already learned. For example, learning about the structure of the heart which is followed by
learning about the circulatory system
Accommodative learning. In this type of learning the learner has to make changes to existing
mental structures in order to take on the new learning. This learning can be experienced as
troublesome, but tends to be retained and can be applied under different circumstances.
Transformative learning. “this learning implies what could be termed personality changes, or
changes in the organisation of the self” (Illeris, p.14).
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
(2) Learners’ views about the nature of knowledge
Considerable research has been conducted on learners’ understanding of the nature of
knowledge. This research can provide useful insights into the learning that we plan for
our students and the teaching and learning approaches that can support these goals. It is
commonplace to see the goals of critical thinking, critical evaluation, managing multiple
perspectives and developing argument in course outlines. Most of us would concur with
the notion that such attributes are essential for informed participation in society and for
developing personal ethics and social responsibility. However, research in this area shows how
difficult is for learners to manage uncertainty and that this ability needs to be developed much
more deliberately by teachers than perhaps we once understood.
Examples of this research includes an early study by Perry (1970) with male students at
Harvard University. His study showed that in the early stages of higher education students
tended to see knowledge as “dualistic” moving through a “multiplistic” understanding and then
to a “relativistic” understanding. Perry observed that it was difficult for students to grasp an
understanding of knowledge as relativistic. Work by Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger and Tarule
(1986) focused on women in higher education and the challenge of finding one’s own voice in
higher education. An extended (20 year) longitudinal study conducted by Baxter Magolda led
her to identify four key “domains” of knowing and understanding.
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These domains are:
Absolute knowing
In this stage knowledge is seen as certain or absolute. It is the least developed stage
in Baxter Magolda’s scheme. Learners believe that absolute answers exist in all areas of
knowledge. When there is uncertainty it is because there is not access to the ‘right’ answers.
Such learners may recognize that opinions can differ between experts but this is differences
of detail, opinion or misinformation. Formal learning is seen as a matter of absorption of the
knowledge of the experts (e.g. teachers). Learning methods are based on absorbing and
remembering. Assessment is simply checking what the learner has ‘acquired’
Example:
I find those lecturers so confusing. The lecturer keeps muddling us by telling us about different
interpretations. Surely he could just give us clear information?
Transitional knowing
There is partial certainty and partial uncertainty. Baxter Magolda describes the transitional
knowing stage as one in which there are doubts about the certainty of knowledge - learners
accept that there is some uncertainty. Authorities may differ in view because there is
uncertainty. Learners see themselves as needing to understand rather than just acquire
knowledge so that they may make judgements as to how best to apply it. Teachers are
seen as facilitating the understanding and the application of knowledge, and assessment concerns these qualities, and not just acquisition.
Example
I am starting to realise that there are different views about the subject, but it is still very confusing.
It is making me think.
Independent knowing
Learning is seen as uncertain - everyone has her own beliefs. Independent knowers recognize
the uncertainty of knowledge, and feel that everyone has her own opinion or beliefs.
This would seem to be an embryonic form of the more sophisticated stage of contextual
knowing. The learning processes are changed by this new view because now learners can
expect to have an opinion and can begin to think through issues and to express themselves
in a valued manner. They also regard their peers as having useful contributions to make. They
will expect teachers to support the develop­ment of independent views, providing a context
for exploration. However, ‘In the excitement over independent thinking, the idea of judging
some perspectives as better or worse is overlooked’ (Baxter Magolda 1992: 55).
Example:
I think that I really need to try and arrive at my own conclusion and stay with that.
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
Contextual knowing
This stage is one in which knowledge is understood to be constructed, but the way in
which knowledge is constructed is understood in relation to the consideration of the quality
of knowledge claims and the context in which they are made is taken into account.
Opinions must now be supported by evidence. The view of the teacher is of a partner in
the development of appropriate knowledge.
Example
I will listen to all the perspectives, read the evidence and then try and come to my own position
based on the evidence.
(3) Long term goals for student learning
As educators, we need to consider how the tertiary learning experience that we offer our
students is sustainable and helps to prepare our students for the workplace and to contribute
to society. There are also many external stakeholders such as employers, governments and
taxpayers who have their own agenda or ideas about the purposes of tertiary education.
The influence of these stakeholders has increased markedly over the last decade with the
emergence of the accountability agenda when tertiary institutions are regularly required
to demonstrate their quality and document students’ performance. The dominance of this
agenda is evidenced in the proliferation of audits, surveys, research performance measures
and league tables. From the perspective of these stakeholders, the primary aim of tertiary
institutions is to prepare students with skills for the workplace. I suggest that this view
has serious limitations. In the first instance, the rapidity of technological advances means
that workplace demands are constantly changing and that traditional boundaries between
different types of work and work roles are blurring all the time. Training in specific skills
alone will not give our students the tools that they need to respond to change or manage
complexity. They will also need to acquire habits of thinking, inquiry and problem-solving as
a well as the knowledge and ability to access appropriate information in order to manage this
complexity (Barnett, 2000; Magolda & King, 2005
Tertiary educators have a responsibility to set up students for the future, but not only in
terms of specific skills and more general habits of inquiry and problem-solving. The challenge
is also to accommodate other higher education goals and values such as developing the
self-efficacy of learners and nurturing future citizens that will challenge society’s values and
assumptions and contribute to improving the quality of living for all people. One of the
major challenges facing contemporary educators in the tertiary sector is to reconcile our role
as teachers of subjects and skills with the need to develop critically aware future citizens. Our
view of ourselves as educators needs to take account of all of these requirements.
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HERE ARE SOME BELIEFS ABOUT OUR ROLE IN SOCIETY WHICH
MAY PROMPT YOUR OWN THINKING
“ That is the premise upon which the university is based: thinking this or that through from a
variety of perspectives, and drawing on the knowledge and insights available, one’s capacity
for right action is likely to be enhanced” (Nixon, 2008, p32).
“Universities exist in part to ensure …..the disenfranchised and the oppressed - have a voice”
(Nixon, 2008, p.38).
“ To educate is to guide students towards more truthful ways of seeing and being in the
world” (Palmer, p.6).
“In my teaching I aim to contribute to the development of society by discussing issues
of social justice and what it means to safeguard our democracy. To this end, I encourage
students to think critically about their world, the knowledge they are gaining in the university
and about themselves” (University of Waikato, award-winning teacher, 2011).
“When I teach I do so with a belief in the relevance of my material to the understanding of
society” (Faculty teaching award winner, University of Waikato, 2011).
“A genuine higher education holds the promise of the attainment of authentic being, albeit
a particular kind of authentic being. The authentic being offered by higher education is the
state of being in which the student becomes her own person. She is able to take up stances
in the world, either in her propositional claims or her practices, and is able to do so with
a measure of authority even though she recognizes that any position she holds has to be
provisional” (Barnett, 2007, p.31)
“The skills, creativity and research developed through higher education are a major factor in
our success in creating jobs and in our prosperity” (Department for Education and Skills, cited
in Rowland, 2006,p.14).
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
“The enquiring university, then, would speak of itself in terms that are more closely
rooted in the human values that it seeks to promote. Such values reflect the needs of
employment in an enlightened democratic society as well as the values of intellectual
enquiry. We must therefore be wary of any simplistic dichotomy between intellectual and
vocational purposes” (Rowland, 2006, p.9).
(4) Learning relationships
University academics have traditionally focussed on their discipline and on being
research- informed. However, as Illeris’s dimension of incentive reminds us, affective
and motivational factors play a major role in learners’ capacity to assimilate learning.
Extensive research also demonstrates the importance of engagement, participation and
active learning for the learning to have a genuine impact on the students (Biggs, 1999).
For all of these reasons, creating an hospitable environment and building connections with
students are an integral part of effective teaching and learning. Students come to tertiary
study with a wide range of differences in background, histories, cultures, prior learning
experiences and approaches, and personal interests. Finding out as much as you can about
your students is important because:
• You can help to connect with your students and combat the sense of alienation that
many learners experience in the academic environment
• You can use examples, illustrations and vocabulary to help accommodate these
differences
• You can help make the learning relevant to different learners by connecting the material
to their world or frame of reference
• You can find out about students’ expectations of the subject and of learning more
generally so that your teaching can be responsive to and build on what students bring into
the classroom.
These strategies will help you to develop what Palmer (1998) sees as one of the cardinal
elements of good teacher. He says:
“Good teachers join self and subject and students in the fabric of life”
(Palmer, 1998, p.11).
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It is common to hear academics observe that students are not fully present in classes and we
recognise that students have multiple concerns and responsibilities that can easily distract
them. However, teachers can enhance student involvement by paying careful attention to the
environment and our own ways conducting ourselves in the learning space. Here are some
questions to prompt your thinking in these respects:
• If you arrive early to class do you take time to mingle with students and chat to them?
• Do you make it possible for students to chat to you?
• Do you try to use students’ names?
• Do you encourage the students to talk with each other?
• Do you greet your students?
• Do you thank your students for contributions they make to class?
• Do you give the students opportunities to draw on their own experiences?
• Do you share information about yourself and your experiences?
• Do you make use of narratives and analogies that may connect with learners?
• How do you respond to student questions?
• Do you acknowledge students’ different cultural backgrounds?
• Are you transparent about paper and assessment requirements?
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
Associated with the question of relationship is the way you conceptualise the respective roles
and responsibilities of teacher and students.
TASK
Consider each of these statements and suggest what they say about the respective roles
and responsibilities:
• Teaching involves a well-taught basis of factual knowledge
• Teaching is a basic thing. Get people’s interest and then explain it to them.
• I challenge students to learn independently and engage in critical reflection
• I am a Facilitator, maybe some scaffolding too. Bring the students to the subject rather
than that’s how it is.
• I come from a background in which lecturers impart information and students aren’t
expected to respond to it
• I like to communicate things clearly. I ensure there is no ambiguity.
• Students and teachers facilitate each other’s learning
• I want students to be knowledgeable reflective practitioners in their field
• I teach the knowledge and the principles to the students for the curriculum, the course
content
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TEACHER BELIEFS - WHAT DOES THE LITERATURE SAY?
Considerable research has been undertaken around tertiary teachers’ beliefs or conceptions
and scholars have tried to categorise these beliefs.
For example, Ramsden (2003) synthesises earlier research on the subject and identifies
three broad categories:
TEACHING AS TELLING OR TRANSMISSION
“Many university teachers implicitly or explicitly define the task of teaching undergraduates as
the transmission of authoritative content or the demonstration of procedures” (Ramsden,
2003, p.109).
TEACHING AS ORGANISING STUDENT ACTIVITY
“...the focus moves away from the teacher toward the student. Lecturers see teaching as
a supervision process involving the articulation of techniques designed to ensure that the
students learn” (Ramsden, 2003, p.109).
TEACHING AS MAKING LEARNING POSSIBLE
“Teaching is comprehended as a process of working cooperatively with learners to help them
change their understanding” (Ramsden, 2003, p110).
Another group of categories was devised by Pratt (1998) based on extensive interviews with
academics in a number of countries.
His five categories are:
• a Transmission Perspective
• an Apprenticeship Perspective
• a Developmental Perspective
• a Nurturing Perspective
• a Social Reform Perspective
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
REFERENCES
Barnett, R. (2000). Realizing the university in an age of supercomplexity. Buckingham, UK: SRHE
Baxter Magolda, M. (1992). Knowing and reasoning in college: gender-related patterns in
students’ intellectual development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey bass
Belenky, M., Clinchy,B. and Tarule. (1986). J. Women’s ways of knowing . The development of self,
voice and mind. New York: Basic Books
Boje, D.M. Narrative methods for organizational and communication Research. UK: Sage
Clandinin, D.J & Connelly, F.M. (1996). Teachers’ professional knowledge Landscapes : Teacher
stories. Stories of teachers. School stories. Stories of schools. Educational Researcher, 25
(3) pp.24-30.
Illeris, K. (2009). A comprehensive understanding of human learning. In K.Illeris (Ed).
Contemporary theories of learning.p7-21. Milton Park, UK: Routledge.
.
King, P. & Kitchener, K. (1994). Developing reflective judgment. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Mahlios, D., Massengill-Shaw, D. & Barry, A. (2010). Making sense of teaching through
metaphors: a review across three studies. Teachers and teaching: theory andpractice, 16
(1) p.49-71.
Moon, J. & Fowler, J. (2008). There is a story to be told….” ; A framework for the conception of
story in higher education and professional development. Nurse Education Today. 28,
232-239
Moon, J. (2008). Critical thinking. London & New York: Routledge
Nixon, J. (2008). Towards the virtuous university. New York: Routledge
Palmer, P.J. The courage to teach. San Francisco: Jossey Bass
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Perry, W. (1970). Forms of intellectual and academic developments in the college years. New
York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston.
Pratt, D.D. (1998). Five perspectives on teaching in adult and higher education. Florida: Krieger.
Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education.2nd Edition. London &
New York:Routledge Falmer
Rowland, S. (2006). The Enquiring university. Maidenhead England: Open University Press
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Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
Make a space at your place
for teaching.
The University of Waikato
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton 3240
New Zealand
Website: www.waikato.ac.nz
Teaching Development Unit
Centre for Tertiary Teaching and Learning
Phone: +64 7 838 4839, Fax: + 64 7 838 4573
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu
©The University of Waikato, February 2015.