Principles of integrating research knowledge into

teaching: a knowledge transfer perspective

Dilanthi Amaratunga & Sepani Senaratne Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment

The University of Salford

13th September 2006

BEECON 2006

Background Why do we need to explore

strategies to transfer research into teaching? Changes in higher education system Evidence that research is inadequately

fed into teaching Absence of an automatic link Need to enhance student learning and

research skills

Background to research on R&T Link

Quantitative approaches Vs. Qualitative approaches

Quantitative approaches have proved there is very little or no correlation (e.g. Hattie & Marsh, 1996)

Qualitative approaches - depict a strong belief in the existence of a symbolic relationship (e.g. Robertson and Bond, 2001), but fails to diagnose an explicit relationship between R&T

Presentation Outline

Research objectives Research Methodology Literature and Case Study

Findings Generic Principles

Research Objectives-1 Phase I:

Review existing state of the art literature on transferring mechanisms of research knowledge into teaching

Identify gaps between the current practice and future requirements

Develop a framework including guidelines to transfer research knowledge into teaching for Built Environment (BE) discipline

Research Objectives-2 Phase II:

Testing and validation of the framework (BE perspective)

An in-depth literature review beyond BE Application of the framework in other

disciplines Identification and development of

generic principles to enable effective transfer of research knowledge into teaching practices across a wider community

Phase I - Work Plan

WP1

Literature Review

WP2

Exploratory CaseStudy

WP3

Generic modeldevelopment

WP4

Validation

Phase II - Work Plan

WP2

Literature update

WP4

Stage 01 - DataAnalysis

Development ofgeneric ‘principles’

& process maps

Stage 02- DataAnalysis

Interview sampleselection

WP3

Case Studies- Stage 01

Case Studies- Stage 02

WP1

Conference &workshop feedback

ILTHE conference2004

SCPM’s L&T week2004

Salford L&Tconference 2004

Other updates

Validated model &guidelines for BE

WP5

Final Report

DisseminationWorkshop

Conferences(ILTHE 05 &Cobra 05)

Journal papers

Disseminationin networks(CEBE, L&T)

Policy Issues - 1 Separation of quality assessments

mechanisms for research and teaching RAE, TQA

Inequitable Funding Mechanisms Research being more rewarding? More focus on research, as it leads to

career advancements

Policy Issues - 2 Changes in Higher Education

Focus on Learning - Dearing report (1997)

HEA (formally ILTHE) – improve teacher's standards

LTSN Network - to disseminate best teaching practice

R&T Relationship-1 Different types (Badley, 2002)

Re

se

arc

hT

ea

ch

i ng

Marital relationshipMalepartner

Femalepartner

Impending divorceResearch-onlyinstitutions

Teaching-onlyinstitutions

Scholarly relationship

Research as ascholarship

Teaching as ascholarship

Holy alliance

Research as agenerator ofuncertainty

Teaching as away to address

uncertainty

A really useful linkResearch

interact withteaching

Teaching interactwith research

R into T as a knowledge transfer process - 1

R&T link as a knowledge transfer process - Initiating the R&T link in a department and feeding research knowledge into teaching is insufficient; the transfer needs to ensure that such knowledge is absorbed and used by students after a transmission

KT factors - Absorptive capacity, Strength of tie, Causal ambiguity, Reliability of source, Motivation, Organisational context

For an effective transfer and learning, providing students with learning opportunities is insufficient; it is equally important to evaluate student learning

Knowledge Transfer & Learning-2 In the knowledge society research and

teaching are no more separable activities The impact of the knowledge society has

been to make research and teaching even more transgressive (Scott, 2004).

Research and teaching are seen as activities where individuals and groups negotiate meanings and build knowledge within a social context (Brew, 2003)

Phase II - Work Plan

WP2

Literature update

WP4

Stage 01 - DataAnalysis

Development ofgeneric ‘principles’

& process maps

Stage 02- DataAnalysis

Interview sampleselection

WP3

Case Studies- Stage 01

Case Studies- Stage 02

WP1

Conference &workshop feedback

ILTHE conference2004

SCPM’s L&T week2004

Salford L&Tconference 2004

Other updates

Validated model &guidelines for BE

WP5

Final Report

DisseminationWorkshop

Conferences(ILTHE 05 &Cobra 05)

Journal papers

Disseminationin networks(CEBE, L&T)

Key Issues-1 Formal processes vs. informal processes

“the ideal situation is to transfer research indirectly to teaching. I believe that people who do research are better at teaching. Academics need to be practitioners as well as teachers.”

However,“it is practically difficult for lecturers to be on the cutting edge of research on every subject that they lecture due to the diversification of subjects.”

Key Issues-2 What aspect of research that needs to be

transferred “it is not necessarily about gaining research

knowledge but more importantly gaining skills like critical thinking… If you give research knowledge it just give them a list of answers. But, research skills will facilitate students’ thinking process.”

“what is more important is to teach students the research process i.e. how to do research. Research results could be used as a vehicle.”

Key Issues-3 Matching teaching modules with staff

research “it is often difficult to have an exact match

between the actual real world research and the teaching module objectives.”

“research what we are doing is not directly relevant to teaching programmes. Most of staff here is researching on social science aspects. The teaching programmes are aimed at technological subjects …”

Key Issues-4 Transfer at different levels and students

groups “broadly, research expertise should increase

with the level of studies.”

“part-time students expect practical knowledge more than research knowledge.”

“some students are struggling to find a strong link between their objective of getting a marketable degree and the introduction of cutting-edge research to the curriculum.”

Key Issues-5 Influence from quality assessment

mechanisms “TQA considers research-informed teaching.”

“organising teaching around research is easier. RAE does not hinder this activity.”

However, “RAE has made academics to mainly focus on research output, i.e publications. What is needed is staff to undertake good research and disseminate their knowledge to society in a broader sense.”

Key Barriers-1 In teaching-biased departments

Absence of a research culture Less funding and support

In research-biased departments High workload, time restrictions and

resource limitations Less motivation and financial

incentives to do teaching

Key Barriers-2 Less interaction and the division between

research-active staff and teaching-only staff “research staff do not have opportunities to

work with others and discuss and disseminate their research.”

Student motivation and participation “student motivation is a barrier to a degree.

It is difficult to get good participation of students for certain subject modules.”

Key Enablers-1 Mission statement

“our school strategy is geared to enhance research-informed teaching. It is central in our mission and a core part of what we do.”

Research strength and staff motivation External links with professional bodies Opportunity to use students in labour-

intensive research Interdisciplinary working

Key Suggestions-1 Creating a cultural change

“I do not think that RtoT transfer should always take place by researchers going into students’ classroom to teach. Students should be provided with access and awareness of current research through effective dissemination.”

“research-active staff members and research-

inactive staff members team together to deliver undergraduate and postgraduate modules.”

Key Suggestions-2 University level drivers Using research staff effectively in

teaching activities Create a balance between teaching and

research Departmental support, in terms of

resources allocation, changing policies, valuing teaching and changing recruitment policies

Principles of RtoT Transfer-1 Principle one

Academics need to be effectively research-active so their teaching will be naturally research-informed. 

Principle twoAcademics need to consider effective teaching methods such as student-focused teaching; and, stimulate students’ critical thinking by providing them with research training and knowledge.

Principle threeAcademic departments need to appropriately balance an academic’s research and teaching workloads so that experienced research-active staff are engaged in teaching across all levels.

Principles of RtoT Transfer-2 Principle four

Academic departments should consider formal processes to transfer research into teaching to stimulate research-informed teaching. Guidelines are developed to aid such a formal process (see Generic guidelines, 2005).

Principle fiveFollowing such a formal transfer process, academic departments should maintain and evaluate its success; especially student-learning followed by such a transfer.

Principles of RtoT Transfer-3 Principle six

Research into teaching should not be a separate process; it should take place everywhere across a department so that it is built into the culture of that department with an appropriate balance between formal and informal processes.

Principle sevenAt a broader level, the university should create an academic community of practice where academic departments, disciplines and, a university as a whole or networks of professionals interact through face-to-face settings to disseminate research knowledge to a wider community.

Principles of integrating research knowledge into

teaching: a knowledge transfer perspective

Dilanthi Amaratunga & Sepani Senaratne Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment

The University of Salford

13th September 2006

BEECON 2006