“Good Teaching Practice” at DTU Systems Biology - Sustaining quality in teaching and learning

“Good Teaching Practice” at DTU Systems Biology - Sustaining quality in teaching and learning

M. Kilstrup, L. Hellgren, P. Andersson (2011).  “Good Teaching Practice” at DTU Systems Biology - Sustaining quality in teaching and learning . 11.

Success in developing teaching and learning in engineering education in general, as well as in a CDIO context, depends on continuous development of teaching competences among faculty members. Thus, it is essential to develop systems that promote understanding of how teaching and assessment can support student learning within disciplinary knowledge as well as development of professional skills. Development and maintenance of high quality teaching and learning furthermore requires that teachers have the ability to reflect critically on their teaching activities and understand its impact on the students’ learning process. To succeed in reaching these goals, development of teaching competences and knowledge in the fields of teaching and learning must be combined with continuous possibilities to reflect on teaching practise in a structured way. Development of successful teaching also requires that faculty members are inspired and encouraged to try new ways and methods in teaching, and gaining an extended understanding in how students learning can be efficiently supported.

In this paper we describe a novel initiative, a concept of Good Teaching Practice, that has been developed through a process involving faculty at the department of Systems Biology at the Technical University of Denmark. The GTP initiative addresses important factors for effective teaching and enhancement of student learning. On the surface GTP is structured as an online tool, which makes six statements about important factors that support student learning that the teachers at the department are supposed to consider. This is coupled to a wiki-based web resource for sharing good examples from teaching practice among faculty. By formulating a teaching and learning profile at the department level the importance of teaching for the department are emphasized and at the same time, the wiki-based resource for sharing teaching experience shows that teaching is a shared responsibility among the entire faculty. On the website, the theoretical framework underlying GTP provides a shorthand introduction to the important prerequisites for students learning and provides definitions that provide the faculty members with a common language to use in discussions of teaching and learning. The GTP concept addresses standard 10 in the CDIO context which focuses on the enhancement of the development of teaching and learning at department level and provides the teachers with tools to conduct teaching proficiently.

 

Authors (New): 
Mogens Kilstrup
Lars I. Hellgren
Pernille Hammar Andersson
Pages: 
11
Affiliations: 
Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Keywords: 
Teaching and learning development
teaching competences
enhancement of quality in engineering education
Year: 
2011
Reference: 
Land R., “Educational Development”, Open University Press, 2004.: 
Biggs J., Tang C., “Teaching for Quality Learning at University”, Open University Press, 2007 (3th Ed.): 
Bowden J., Marton F., “The University of Learning – Beyond quality and competence”, Routledge, 1998: 
Vescio V., Ross D., Adams A., “A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning”, Teacher and Teacher Education 24 pp 80 – 91 2008 (Electronic, available oneline).: 
Crawley, E., Malmqvist J., Östlund S., Brodeur D., “Rethinking Engineering Education – The CDIO Approach”, Springer, 2007.: 
Kolmos A., Vinther O., Andersson P., Malmi L., Fuglem M., eds., “Faculty Development in Nordic Engineering Education”, Aalborg University Press, 2004.: 
Boyer E., “Scholarship Reconsidered – Priorities of the professoriate”, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1990.: 
Sheppard, S. D., Macatangay K., Colby A., Sullivan W. M., “Educating Engineers- Designing for the Future of the Field”, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2009.: 
Lave J., Wenger E., “Situated Learning – Legitimate peripheral participation”, Cambridge University Press, 1991.: 
Southwell D., Morgan W., “The impact of academic staff development, leadership and leadership development on student learning outcomes in higher education: A review of the literature”, Paper presented to the International Consortium of Educational Developers (ICED) Conference: Enhancing strategies for global quality learning in higher education, 28 June, 2010. Barcelona, Spain.: 
Wenger E., “Communities of Practice – Learning, Meaning, and Identity”, Cambridge University Press, 1998.: 
Marton F., Booth S., “Learning and Awareness”, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1997.: 
Go to top
randomness