Reflectiveteachingandsevenmythsofteachingexcellence
PaulAshwin,[email protected]
@paulashwinUKCouncilforGraduateEducationAnnualConference,
Liverpool,4th July2016
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Thepursuitofexcellence
Excellentteachingneedstoflourishacrossthesector;lacklustreteachingandunacceptablevariabilityinquality
needtobeaddressed.
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Myth1:Excellentteachingisaspontaneous,individualactivitythatislargelyaboutinspirationalperformance;
Myth2:Excellentteachersarealwaysgood,whilsttheold-fashionedneverchange;
Myth3:Innovativemethodsareatthecoreofteachingexcellence;
Myth4:Beingstudent-centredandstudentengagementarethe keyelementsofteachingexcellence;
Myth5:Teachingexcellencecaneasilybecapturedthroughmetrics;
Myth6:Thesemetricswillbeshapedbyourdefinitionsofteachingexcellence;
Myth7:Weshouldchangeourteachingpracticestofitwiththesedefinitionsofexcellence.
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AKeyTensionforHEPractitioners
Thelegitimacyofthecallforgoodteaching
Thedistortingtendencyof‘excellence’
ThechallengeofchallengingteachingexcellenceØ Whocanbeagainstit?Ø Notengagingwithexcellencehashugecosts;Ø Wecancontrolhowweengagewith
excellence;Ø Wecanensurewedothisinawaythatis
congruentwithscholarlyteachingpractices.
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