Supporting faculty to research, write about and present on their teaching work

1. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Supporting faculty to research, write about and present on their teaching work Gavin Sanderson, PhD Deputy Director Learning and Teaching Unit University of South Australia

2. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Go to the wiki for information relating to this presentation … http://stlhe2011.wikispaces.com

3. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Context setting I 1/ UniSA 2/ Graduate Certificate

4. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Formed in 1990 from institutes and teacher’s colleges but with roots going back to the 1870s33,000 students of which 10,000 are international students (6,000 located overseas)Equity mission enshrined in legislationStrong link with ‘the applied professions’, e.g. business, health sciences, engineering, teaching, social work, journalismStudent satisfaction ratings generally at the middle-to-lower end of the scale comparatively speaking

5. City East Campus, Adelaide city centre

6. City West Campus, Adelaide city centre

7. Magill Campus, 8km east of Adelaide city centre

8. Mawson Lakes Campus, 12km north of Adelaide city centre

9. Whyalla Campus, 384km north-west of Adelaide

10. Mt Gambier Campus, 437km south-east of Adelaide

11. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Context setting IIUniSA and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) SoTL position Rewards for academic papers Grants and Awards (inc dedicated faculty) Occasional Papers on Learning and Teaching Community of practice initiatives

12. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Context setting III Graduate Certificate & EDUC 5124 Negotiated Project in University Teaching

13. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon ▪ Introduced as Graduate Certificate in Education (University Teaching) in sem II 2007. Program awarded by School of Education but largely taught and administered by Learning and Teaching Unit (a centralised unit).▪ Mandated from 1 Jan 2007 for all new faculty, Levels A (tutor) to C (senior lecturer) who join the University on a continuing position or contract greater than 3 years. ▪ Tuition fees (approx $2,200) paid by divisions (faculties / colleges) or schools (discipline areas within divisions).▪ Approx50 faculty involved. (either currently enrolled or graduated). Half mandated, half not mandated but sponsored by schools upon request. One faculty member paid their own tuition fees▪ Change to Graduate Certificate in Education (Academic Practice) in late 2010.▪ For information, see http://www.unisa.edu.au/academicdevelopment/what/gce.asp

14. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon The anonymous, online survey Distributed to 30 faculty members on 10 May 2011 who successfully completed EDUC 5124 Negotiated Project in University Teaching between 2008-2010 21 responses returned (approx 66%)

15. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q1:Approximately how many years (full-time equivalent) have you been teaching in • higher education? • Option 1: Less than 1 year • Option 2: 1-2 years • Option 3: 3-5 years • Option 4: 6-9 years • Option 5: 10 years or more

16. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q2:What is your highest completed tertiary qualification? • Option 1: Bachelor degree • Option 2: Master degree • Option 3: Professional doctorate • (e.g. Doctor of Education, • Doctor of Business) • Option 4: Doctor of Philosophy • Option 5: Other

17. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q3:An objective of EDUC 5124 is to facilitate the development of a theoretical or data driven topic of your own interest in learning and teaching in higher education. Was the Project Report you completed for EDUC 5124 your first experience in researching learning and teaching with a view to developing your work into a conference paper or journal publication in the area of learning and teaching? • Option 1: Yes • Option 2: No

18. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q4:Did you end up taking your completed (or further developed) EDUC 5124 Project Report to an external audience after the course finished? • Option 1: Yes • Option 2: Not yet, but I plan to • Option 3: No and I currently have no plan to

19. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q5:If 'yes' to the previous question, please indicate the format of the developed EDUC 5124 paper. (You can choose more than one.) • Option 1: Internal report or paper (non-refereed) • Option 2: Conference (non-refereed paper) • Option 3: Conference (refereed paper) • Option 4: Journal article (refereed • paper) • Option 5: Other

20. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q6:Are you actively supported by your line manager(s) in your School to research your teaching / teaching-related topics? • Option 1: Yes • Option 2: No • Option 3: Unsure

21. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q7:What are the greatest barriers for you to research your teaching / teaching-related topics in your current position? (You can choose more than one) • Option 1: Little time due to competing demands • Option 2: Inexperienced in researching learning • and teaching • Option 3: Inexperienced researcher in general • Option 4: Lack of confidence as a researcher in • learning and teaching • Option 5: Actively discouraged in your School • to research teaching / teaching-related • topics

22. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Q8:Of all of the barriers you listed in the previous question, which one is the most significant for you? Time constraints (15 references) due to competing demands Actively discouraged (2 references) Low confidence to research T&L (1 reference) “The lack of time is the main constraint. I have to juggle between completing the course, PhD study and teaching part-time. This is why I have decided to focus on linking the topic of my PhD research to the learning and teaching-related issues. Hence, this is how i manage to complete the final assignment of the course.” “Limited time due to competing demands. more specifically, teaching and learning is not my core research area. I want and need to focus my research on my core area of interest and expertise - it is enough of a battle to get to that as it is.” “The current focus on ERA [Excellence in Research Australia] where we need to publish within our FoR[Field of Research] code (i.e. Business and management 1503). Education is outside our field and highly discouraged.”

23. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q9:What would be some enablers for you to research your teaching / teaching-related topics in your current position? (You can choose more than one) • Option 1: Recognition of workload to include research time for researching and • publishing in learning and teaching • Option 2: Opportunity to work with an • experienced research mentor in • learning and teaching • Option 3: Being part of a team to research • learning and teaching • Option 4: More experience in researching learning • and teaching • Option 5: Assistance from academic librarians to • find relevant literature on learning and • teaching

24. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Q10:Of all the enablers you listed in the previous question, which one is the most important for you? Recognition of workload (9 references) Being part of a team (6 references) Work with mentor (5 references) “Recognition of workload and the value of researching and publishing in learning and teaching.” “Opportunity to work with a mentor as I doubt recognition of workload will EVER occur.” “Really probably none of these enablers would lead me to do research in this area to any great extent because it is not my main research area. To be honest, I resist getting involved in research out of my core area as I have found it increasingly important to be focused about research in order to attract funding and to be able to publish in good quality forums.”

25. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Q11: Briefly, what does the ‘scholarship of teaching and learning’ mean to you? Researching teaching (7 references) Dissemination (6 references) Research-informed teaching (5 references) Research literature (4 references) Evidence-based practice (3 references) Reflection / Critical self-reflection on teaching practice (3 references) Researching student learning (3 references) Theorising teaching and learning (1 reference) Improves student learning outcomes (1 reference) “Means maintaining my own inspiration to learn and inspiring others around me (students) to do the same.” “Being prepared to implement and research new T&L methods and then to disseminate to others those which are most effective.” “The SoTL should motivate me to remain humble and motivated to further advance my thinking and understanding of connecting the minds and hearts of my learners.”

26. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon • Q12:Do you see a strong link between EDUC 5124 and the notion of the ‘scholarship of teaching and learning’? • Option 1: Yes • Option 2: No • Option 3: Unsure

27. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Q13:Please identify the main benefit(s) you got out of undertaking EDUC 5124. Confidence to research and disseminate (5 responses) Topic of own interest (5 responses) Influences practice (3 responses) How research informs teaching (2 responses) Enabled focus on T&L (1 response) Exposure to research methodologies (1 response) Has led to changes in course (1 response) Influences writing style in my doctorate (1 response) Interdisciplinary opportunities (1 response) Led to 'best paper' at conference (1 response) Publication opportunity (1 response) Raised profile of T&L research (1 response) Reflection on own teaching (1 response) Research opportunity (1 response) Researching and analysing relevant literature (1 response) Stimulated interest in researching T&L (1 response) Strong understanding of TR nexus (1 response) “The development of my first research paper was an excellent skills development exercise, which has since led to authorship/co-authorship of four other papers.”

28. STLHE 2011, Saskatoon Where to from here?