Research-informed teaching

Last updated

Research-informed teaching refers to the practice of linking research with teaching in Higher Education. Most universities in the world are organised into teaching and research divisions. Professors and lecturers will normally be contracted to do both and, in theory at least, course syllabi are structured around the teacher's research interests. Since the 1980s, there has been a growing movement to further integrate the two activities. This has led to a new interest in undergraduate research, where students enrolled on bachelor's degrees are given the opportunity to participate in research projects or undertake their own research.

Contents

This concept is also coined as Teaching-as-Research or Research-based Practices in Teaching in higher education. There are growing number of activities supported and sponsored by inter-university organizations such as the National Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Network.

Worldwide

This practice was pioneered in America, where there is now a nationwide Council for Undergraduate Research, and in Australia. Recently, the UK Government funded several 'centres of excellence' which focus in different ways on undergraduate research. One of the most important is the Reinvention Centre for Undergraduate Research, which was set up in the Sociology department at Warwick University in partnership with the School of the Built Environment at Oxford Brookes University under the directorship of Mike Neary. The Centre's journal, Reinvention, launched in September 2007. In 2006, the UK Government also invested c.£25m into universities across the country to strengthen research-informed teaching. Key publications by Alan Jenkins, Roger Zetter, Mick Healey and Angela Brew have further developed the research base for research-informed teaching. In April 2007 the University of Central Lancashire appointed the first ever Chair in Research-informed Teaching, Stuart Hampton-Reeves, and in September 2007 launched a Centre for Research-informed Teaching.

Efficacy

While university instruction is optimal when grounded in empirical findings, some concerns have arisen regarding the efficacy of university instruction at research focused institutions. A growing number of these higher education research institutions focus on the researching prowess of the potential professor (and, in many cases, the grant-writing ability of prospective employee) while often paying substantially less attention to one's ability to disseminate the information. Of course, those talented instructors who are both strong in research and instruction have the potential to really impact their students.

Scientific studies on the teaching-research nexus

According to conventional wisdom, university professors must engage in both research and teaching because these activities are believed to be mutually reinforcing. [1] However, numerous empirical studies have shown that teaching effectiveness and research productivity are nearly uncorrelated. [2] In a meta-analysis of 58 studies, Hattie and Marsh (1996) conclude that the common belief that research and teaching are inextricably entwined is an enduring myth. [3] This finding might not be surprising, given that research and teaching require quite different talents and personality traits. Stappenbelt (2013) concludes that in order to facilitate student learning, teaching and research activities of academics should be unbundled. [4]

Given these empirical findings, it is a puzzle why universities force researchers to teach. One explanation can be given by contract theory. Research efforts are unobservable and their outcome is highly uncertain, so there is a moral hazard problem. When wages cannot be negative, universities must leave economic rents to researchers in order to motivate them to exert high effort. Schmitz (2023) has shown that bundling research with verifiable teaching duties can be a (welfare-reducing but) profit-maximizing strategy for universities. [5] Some teaching duties can be used as a punishment for bad research outcomes, and even teaching duties that are not conditioned on research outcomes may be used to inefficiently extract rents from researchers.

Related Research Articles

A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has take into account the learner, the nature of the subject matter, and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about.

Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student; this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning, which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than many other common teaching strategies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Problem-based learning</span> Learner centric pedagogy

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defined solution, but it allows for the development of other desirable skills and attributes. This includes knowledge acquisition, enhanced group collaboration and communication.

Rod Ellis is a Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize-winning British linguist. He is currently a research professor in the School of Education, at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. He is also a professor at Anaheim University, where he serves as the Vice president of academic affairs. Ellis is a visiting professor at Shanghai International Studies University as part of China’s Chang Jiang Scholars Program and an emeritus professor of the University of Auckland. He has also been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Cooperative learning is an educational approach which aims to organize classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. There is much more to cooperative learning than merely arranging students into groups, and it has been described as "structuring positive interdependence." Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively can capitalize on one another's resources and skills. Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher-order thinking tasks. Cooperative learning has also been linked to increased levels of student satisfaction.

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Learning management systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. The first introduction of the LMS was in the late 1990s. Learning management systems have faced a massive growth in usage due to the emphasis on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. While seemingly obviously desirable, the proposal has been controversial, with some arguing that results may not specialize to individuals as well as traditional practices. Evidence-based practices have been gaining ground since the formal introduction of evidence-based medicine in 1992 and have spread to the allied health professions, education, management, law, public policy, architecture, and other fields. In light of studies showing problems in scientific research, there is also a movement to apply evidence-based practices in scientific research itself. Research into the evidence-based practice of science is called metascience.

Mastery learning is an instructional strategy and educational philosophy, first formally proposed by Benjamin Bloom in 1968. Mastery learning maintains that students must achieve a level of mastery in prerequisite knowledge before moving forward to learn subsequent information. If a student does not achieve mastery on the test, they are given additional support in learning and reviewing the information and then tested again. This cycle continues until the learner accomplishes mastery, and they may then move on to the next stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemistry education</span> Study of the teaching and learning of chemistry

Chemistry education is the study of teaching and learning chemistry. It is one subset of STEM education or discipline-based education research (DBER). Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn chemistry and determining the most efficient methods to teach chemistry. There is a constant need to improve chemistry curricula and learning outcomes based on findings of chemistry education research (CER). Chemistry education can be improved by changing teaching methods and providing appropriate training to chemistry instructors, within many modes, including classroom lectures, demonstrations, and laboratory activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery learning</span> Technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education

Discovery learning is a technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education. It is also referred to as problem-based learning, experiential learning and 21st century learning. It is supported by the work of learning theorists and psychologists Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seymour Papert.

The National Survey of Student Engagement is a survey mechanism used to measure the level of student participation at universities and colleges in Canada and the United States as it relates to learning and engagement. The results of the survey help administrators and professors to assess their students' student engagement. The survey targets first-year and senior students on campuses. NSSE developed ten student Engagement Indicators (EIs) that are categorized in four general themes: academic challenge, learning with peers, experiences with faculty, and campus environment. Since 2000, there have been over 1,600 colleges and universities that have opted to participate in the survey. Additionally, approximately 5 million students within those institutions have completed the engagement survey. Overall, NSSE assesses effective teaching practices and student engagement in educationally purposeful activities. The survey is administered and assessed by Indiana University School of Education Center for Postsecondary Research.

A course evaluation is a paper or electronic questionnaire, which requires a written or selected response answer to a series of questions in order to evaluate the instruction of a given course. The term may also refer to the completed survey form or a summary of responses to questionnaires.

Direct instruction (DI) is the explicit teaching of a skill-set using lectures or demonstrations of the material to students. A particular subset, denoted by capitalization as Direct Instruction, refers to the approach developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley C. Becker that was first implemented in the 1960s. DI teaches by explicit instruction, in contrast to exploratory models such as inquiry-based learning. DI includes tutorials, participatory laboratory classes, discussion, recitation, seminars, workshops, observation, active learning, practicum, or internships. Model includes "I do" (instructor), "We do", "You do".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Computers in Education Conference</span>

This National Conference is the biennial conference of the Australian Council for Computers in Education (ACCE). The conference opens to anyone who in interested in sharing their digital teaching experiences. The first conference took place in Melbourne, 1983. Between 1983 and 1996, the conference was held annually across Australia. After 1996, the conference became biennial. From 1994, a series of frameworks were launched in Australia to integrate Information and Communication Technology(ICT) into education. Western Australia's 2001 Competency framework for Teachers identified teachers as an important component in developing computer education. In 2010, Education Minister Julia Gillard, proposed an education agenda to provide Australia a better education system. Besides ACCE, there are many organizations and conferences supporting the development of computer education in Australia. Technology in education consists of two major approaches: Learning with technology and learning from technology. Technology in education learning and traditional classroom learning have different focuses and defining features. There are also four types of computer education:Bring your own device(BYOD), blended learning, online learning, and flipped learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evidence-based education</span> Paradigm of the education field

Evidence-based education (EBE) is the principle that education practices should be based on the best available scientific evidence, rather than tradition, personal judgement, or other influences. Evidence-based education is related to evidence-based teaching, evidence-based learning, and school effectiveness research. For example, research has shown that spaced repetition "leads to more robust memory formation than massed training does, which involves short or no intervals".

Supplemental instruction (SI) is an academic support model that uses peer learning to improve university student retention and student success in high-attrition courses. Supplemental Instruction is used worldwide by institutions of higher learning. SI is also called "Peer-Assisted Study Sessions," "PASS" or "SI-PASS" in parts of the Africa, Europe, North America, and Oceania. According to an article in the peer-reviewed journal, Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, "Since its introduction in 1974 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City by Deanna C. Martin, Supplemental Instruction (SI) has been implemented, studied, and evaluated for its effectiveness across a variety of disciplines and institutional levels." The article further noted that for some students,

"SI is a program that works. Since SI is an enrichment program designed to target high risk courses, it takes the emphasis off the individual student's projected performance. A high risk course, as defined repeatedly in the literature, is any course in which unsuccessful enrollment exceeds 30%."

Learning by doing is a theory that places heavy emphasis on student engagement and is a hands-on, task-oriented, process to education. The theory refers to the process in which students actively participate in more practical and imaginative ways of learning. This process distinguishes itself from other learning approaches as it provides many pedagogical advantages to more traditional learning styles, such those which privilege inert knowledge. Learning-by-doing is related to other types of learning such as adventure learning, action learning, cooperative learning, experiential learning, peer learning, service-learning, and situated learning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flipped classroom</span> Instructional strategy and a type of blended learning

A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning, which aims to increase student engagement and learning by having pupils complete readings at home and work on live problem-solving during class time. This pedagogical style moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. With a flipped classroom, students watch online lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home, while actively engaging concepts in the classroom, with a mentor's guidance.

Instructional leadership is generally defined as the management of curriculum and instruction by a school principal. This term appeared as a result of research associated with the effective school movement of the 1980s, which revealed that the key to running successful schools lies in the principals' role. However, the concept of instructional leadership is recently stretched out to include more distributed models which emphasize distributed and shared empowerment among school staff, for example distributed leadership, shared leadership, and transformational leadership.

Co-teaching or team teaching is the division of labor between educators to plan, organize, instruct and make assessments on the same group of students, generally in the a common classroom, and often with a strong focus on those teaching as a team complementing one another's particular skills or other strengths. This approach can be seen in several ways. Teacher candidates who are learning to become teachers are asked to co-teach with experienced associate teachers, whereby the classroom responsibilities are shared, and the teacher candidate can learn from the associate teacher. Regular classroom teachers and special education teachers can be paired in co-teaching relationships to benefit inclusion of students with special needs.

References

  1. Neumann, Ruth (1992). "Perceptions of the teaching-research nexus: a framework for analysis". Higher Education. 23 (2): 159–171. doi:10.1007/BF00143643. ISSN   1573-174X.
  2. Marsh, Herbert W.; Hattie, John (2002). "The Relation Between Research Productivity and Teaching Effectiveness: Complementary, Antagonistic, or Independent Constructs?". The Journal of Higher Education. 73 (5): 603–641. doi:10.1353/jhe.2002.0047. ISSN   1538-4640.
  3. Hattie, John; Marsh, H. W. (1996). "The Relationship Between Research and Teaching: A Meta-Analysis". Review of Educational Research. 66 (4): 507–542. doi:10.3102/00346543066004507. ISSN   0034-6543.
  4. Stappenbelt, Brad (2013). "The effectiveness of the teaching–research nexus in facilitating student learning". Engineering Education. 8 (1): 111–121. doi: 10.11120/ened.2013.00002 . ISSN   1750-0052.
  5. Schmitz, Patrick W. (2023). "Incentivizing research with (un)conditional teaching duties: Punishment or rent extraction?". Economics Letters. 224: 111012. doi:10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111012. ISSN   0165-1765.