Support for Teaching & Learning activities at UCC: Presentation to SHEQA Delegation

Professor Grace Neville, Vice President for Teaching and Learning, UCC;

Dr. Marian McCarthy, Co- Director, Ionad Bairre, The Teaching and Learning Centre, UCC

April 7, 2011

University College Cork – the Context

• University College Cork – a constituent university of the National University of Ireland (NUI) – one of 7 in the Republic of Ireland. Located in Cork City in the province of Munster – a southern port city with a population of c. 200,000.

• UCC founded in 1845. Strong research profile. Student population of 18,000, 20% of whom are graduate students and 2,000 of whom are international students. A third of our staff are from overseas.

Ucc context Ionad Bairre : The teaching and learning centre

“Where Finbarr taught let Munster learn”

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The four Colleges of UCCFour Colleges• College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social

Sciences• College of Business and Law• College of Science, Engineering and Food

Science and Technology• College of Medicine and Health Sciences

Extract from UCC’s Strategic Plan 2009-2013 “ [UCC gives] parity of esteem to teaching, learning and

research…

High quality research-led teaching is at the core of our mission. We will enhance innovative and inclusive teaching and learning activities and strengthen the fundamental linkages between research, teaching and learning. We will maximise opportunities for students’ intellectual and creative development so that our graduates are effective as lifelong learners and inquirers. We will provide access to the best affordable learning facilities where students and academics will work in communities of scholarship; where opportunities are created for all students to engage in and be challenged by appropriate scholarly activity from their first year of undergraduate studies; and where students will enjoy the highest possible quality learning experience…”

Research and Teaching“We need our best scholars to be our teachers, and we need them to give the same creative energy to teaching as they give to scholarship. We need to identify, support, and reward those who teach superbly. There is no antithesis between teaching and research. Great teaching can in fact be a form of synthesis and scholarship.”

(Frank Rhodes “The University and its Critics” in W.G. Bowen and H.T. Shapiro (Eds) Universities and Their Leadership Princeton, 1998)

Support for Teaching and Learning“This support often takes quite small forms as well as large ones: setting aside spaces where faculty from within and across fields can convene and exchange ideas and practices …. ; providing modest budgets for food and drink that can nurture the bodies as well as the souls of participants; finding ways to make the collaborative intellectual and creative work of team teaching an attractive option; providing recognition and reward for scholars of teaching that are comparable to those afforded more traditional scholars; setting the expectation that teachers gather evidence of their students’ learning that goes beyond the students’ responses to end-of-course evaluations”.

(Lee Shulman’s Foreword in Mary Huber and Pat Hutchings The Advancement of Learning San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005).

Support for Teaching and Learning in UCC

1. Ionad Bairre – The Teaching and Learning Centre

2. The Teaching and Learning Teams:

a) A small number of key people who assist with the running of the accredited programmes & lunchtime seminars

b) A large cross-university team of people from units central to the teaching & learning agenda

3. Reporting academically via a sub-committee of UCC’s Academic Council (1 & 2a)

4. Reporting administratively via the Vice-President for Teaching & Learning (1 & 2a)

Support for Teaching in UCCPractical steps taken in UCC to demonstrate parity of

esteem between teaching and discipline-based research:

• Accredited Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters in T&L• Module for postgraduate students who teach (5 credits)• Support sessions (usually, lunchtime seminars) on T&L ‘open to all’

(leading to dissemination of research on teaching and learning from faculty from different disciplines.

• President’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching & Awards for Research into Innovative Forms of Teaching

• Explicit recognition of teaching in promotions• Regular “Quality Review” of teaching by departments• UCC-led National Academy for the Integration of Research and

Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL)

Professional Development: Certificated Courses for Teaching Staff

• Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

• Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

• M.A. in Teaching and

Learning in Higher

Education

Professional Development:Support for Teaching and LearningLunchtime Seminars (open to all)

• Regular 2-hour lunchtime sessions

• In 2009/10 over 220 UCC staff attended a T&L session

• Examples of topics:– Using technology in the

classroom– Reflective practice – ‘The Student Voice’– Developing online learning

Lunchtime seminars held on Learning Technologies

Another example of a T&L lunchtime seminar on Learning Technologies: Interactive whiteboards

Awards for Research into Innovative Forms

of Teaching (same assessment process)

President’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching (applications are internally & externally reviewed)

Institutional recognition for commitment to Teaching in UCC:

Certificated courses for staffSince 2004 (not inc 2010/11 registered figs):• 217 staff have completed the Postgraduate Certificate in

Teaching and Learning in Higher Ed• 111 have completed the PG Diploma• 32 have completed the Masters, with dissertations on a

wide range of topics e.g. integrative learning; legal education; the use of ICT in language learning.

• Staff who completed the various courses are from all 4 UCC Colleges and all major disciplines– Medicine, Law, Business, Arts, Science, Engineering etc. as well as at all levels – Professors, Senior Lecturers, Tutors etc.

The Postgraduate Certificate

The council room The Course

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• The Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education :

• TL 6003: Theories of Teaching, Learning and Assessment

• TL 6004: Practice Approaches to Teaching, Learning and Assessment

• 24 contact hours• 24 study hours • Each course is worth 30 ECTS

Credits

Programme Learning Outcomes • Learning Outcomes (Postgraduate Certificate)

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Recognise teaching as a valid form of research and scholarship;

• Participate in discussions on teaching, learning and assessment as a community of scholars;

• Design modules based on principles of student-centred learning;

• Critique planning and teaching practice in the light of student learning/feedback;

• Engage with a diverse, multi-cultural student population;

• Hold a professional commitment to teaching and student learning.

Assessment as sotl opportunityIntroducing SotL : First Term

The Course Portfolio as a method of inquiry and of documentation

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• Methods of assessment : • Reflective essay on the

theme: “A teacher affects eternity, he can never know where his influence stops”

• A reader-response approach to the reading of three key articles on SoTL ( Bass, Schon and Shulman)

• A CAT scan – the muddiest point /the minute paper

• The Hutchings (1998) model: • Faculty select a course they

are interested in and review it under three headings

• Course Design • Teaching /Enactment • Student Learning /Results • All assessments have a rubric

which faculty get in advance • Faculty volunteer to share their

portfolio entries in the second term

• Throughout faculty engaged in discussion

The postgraduate Diploma

The class of 2009 The Course

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• TL 6005 : Disciplinary Approaches to Teaching and Learning

• TL 6006 : Diversity in Student Learning

• 24 contact hours • 24 study hours • 30 ECTS credits

Programme Learning Outcomes• Learning Outcomes (Postgraduate Diploma)

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Investigate their teaching as an integral, ongoing part of their research;

• Appraise what is distinctive and integrative about their disciplines in promoting student learning;

• Generate new approaches to teaching, learning and assessment to maximise student learning;

• Evaluate module design to harness diversity and integrative learning;

• Value the contribution of students in developing research, teaching and learning.  

Assessment : Assidere – to sit beside

self & peer review of practice

The Inquiry Portfolio bernstein

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• Professors make a video of their classroom practice and decode this according to a specific set of signs/criteria, guided by a rubric outlining these . This must be peer reviewed by a critical friend and the class

• Professors write a discursive essay on Lee Shulman’s concept of Signature Pedagogies, relating this to their own discipline and the video of practice

• Professors write a course portfolio focusing on one question they wish to research

• They write three memos documenting the research

• Defining the question • Developing a hypothesis and

research method • Presenting the findings• Then a Reflective piece on the

portfolio process and its implications for their practice and research

The Masters programme The First Masters Class 2007

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• The Masters in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

• TL 6001: Research Methods

• TL 6002: Dissertation • In the first term there are a

a series of sessions on research methods - which are lead mainly by the faculty through their research presentations

• The focus in the second term is on researching and writing the dissertation

Programme Learning Outcomes• Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Identify and apply principles of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) approach in the college classroom;

• Critically evaluate their teaching in the light of their students' learning;

• Design a research project around a teaching and learning issue; • Apply appropriate research methodologies to harness data about

student learning; • Write a thesis on a teaching and learning issue to a professional

standard, equivalent to that of a publishable paper; • Communicate effectively with other scholars in the field of

teaching and learning; • Peer review their teaching within a SoTL community.

Courses for Postgraduate students

• PG6003 – 5 Credits “Teaching and Learning for Graduate Studies”

• ‘SIF’ grants from the Irish Government enabled this provision – collaboratively delivered by Ionad Bairre with UCC’s Graduate Studies’ office & with 2 other higher education institutions

Scholarship and Teaching

For an activity to be designated as scholarship, the American Association for Higher Education suggests that three characteristics are needed:

• It should be public• It should be susceptible to

critical review and evaluation• It should be accessible for

exchange and use by other members of one’s community

• (Lee Shulman, in P. Hutchings The Course Portfolio 1998)

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Theoretical Lenses facilitating SoTL: Multiple Intelligences

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The Dimensions of Disciplinary Understanding

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A rubric should reflect the four dimensions of understanding, thereby showing students not just what they should know, but why they need to know it and how they can show understanding.

PROCESSES

How

PURPOSESWhyKNOWLEDGE

What

FORMEvidence/Products

National Co-operation

• Publications and scholarship• Networks e.g. the Teaching & Learning Strategic Plan

was drafted in consultation with internal and external stakeholders, such as:– Cork Institute of Technology– Cork City Vocational Education Committee– National Association of Principals & Deputies (second

level education)• The National Academy for Integration of Research

Teaching & Learning (NAIRTL)

Bologna Implementation

Ireland top of scorecard 2008 and second in 2009

Publications

Bologna: Qualification Recognition and Staff Mobility – Proceedings of the 1st and 2nd Symposia in the NAIRTL Bologna Series

Writing and Using Learning Outcomes: A Practical Guide

International Summer School 2010 (attracted delegates from 28 countries)

Annual Conferences

2007 UCC International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

2008 WIT Teaching and Learning in Higher Education – Challenging Assumptions

2009 TCD Research-Teaching Linkages: Practice and Policy

2010 RCSI Flexible Learning

2011 NUIG Intellectual Engagement

2012 TCD Threshold Concepts

International Co-operation• Europe: UCC was a member of the European University Association’s

Quality Culture initiative on Teaching and Learning – (Learning Outcomes) in 2005/6.

• Collaborations with European universities through summer schools and visits

• U.S.A. UCC is a member of the U.S. based Carnegie Foundation’s CASTL (Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) Institutional Leadership programme.

• UCC works with researchers in Project Zero in the Harvard Graduate School of Education on projects such as Multiple Intelligences, Teaching for Understanding etc.

• Australia: research collaborations on SoTL (Brew, Boud…) • South America (Chile) Introducing Learning Outcomes and their

implications for Teaching, Learning and Assessment • Publications and Scholarship: Extensive publications in NAIRTL books

and proceedings and articles in journals and books internationally on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Teaching for Understanding and Multiple Intelligences Theory

Ionad Bairre: Select Publications

• Cronin, J., Higgs, B., McCarthy, M. and McKeon, J. (2010) In at the Deep End: Postgraduate Students’ Experiences of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: University College Cork: NAIRTL

• Higgs, B. and McCarthy, M. (2005) Active learning: From lecture theatre to field work. In G. O' Neill, S. Moore & B. McMullin, (eds) Emerging Issues in the Practice of University Learning and Teaching (pp. 37-44). Dublin: All Ireland Society for Higher Education.

• Higgs, B. and McCarthy, M. (2008a) Introduction to poster presentations. In N. Ryan (ed.) International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (pp. 60-64). University College Cork: NAIRTL.

• Higgs, B. and McCarthy, M. (eds) (2008b) Emerging Issues 11: The Changing Roles and Identities of Teachers and Learners in Higher Education. University College Cork: NAIRTL/EDIN.

Select Publications 2• Higgs, B. and Potter, J. (eds) (2008) In at the Deep End: Starting to

Teach in Higher Education. University College Cork: NAIRTL.• Higgs, B. and Murphy, J. (eds) (2009) Teaching and Learning in

Higher Education: Challenging Assumptions. University College Cork: NAIRTL.

• Higgs, B., Ryan, N. and Kilcommins, S. (eds) (2010) Making Connections: Intentional Teaching for Integrative Learning. University College Cork: NAIRTL.

• Hyland, A., McCarthy, M. and Higgs, B. (2007) Fostering, recognizing and rewarding scholarly teaching at university college cork: three perspectives. In C.O’ Farrell (ed.) Teaching Portfolio Practice in Ireland: A Handbook. Dublin: Centre for Academic Practice and Student Learning (CAPSL).

• Hyland, A. and McCarthy, M. (2009) Multiple intelligences in ireland. In J. Q. Chen, S. Moran and H. Gardner (eds) Multiple Intelligences Around the World. San Francisco: Jossey –Bass.

Select Publications 3• McCarthy, M. (2002) Where finbarr taught, let munster learn. In N. Lyons, A.

Hyland and N. Ryan, (eds) Advancing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Through a Reflective Portfolio Process: The University College Cork Experience (pp. 27-32). University College Cork: The Staff Enhancement and Development Committee.

• McCarthy, M. (2004) Reflections on a mentoring programme in a university context. In A. Hyland (ed.) University College Cork as a Learning Organisation (pp. 43-50). University College Cork: The Staff Enhancement and Development Committee.

• McCarthy, M. and Higgs, B. (2005) The scholarship of teaching and its implications for practice. In G. O' Neill, S. Moore and B. McMullin (eds) Emerging Issues in the Practice of University Learning and Teaching (pp. 5-10). Dublin: All Ireland Society for Higher Education.

• McCarthy, M. (2008a) Poster Presentations. In N. Ryan (ed.) International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (pp 64-138). University College Cork: NAIRTL.

• McCarthy, M. (2008b) Teaching for understanding for lecturers: Towards a scholarship of teaching and learning. In Emerging Issues 11: The Changing Roles and Identities of Teachers and Learners in Higher Education (pp. 101-115). University College Cork: NAIRTL/EDIN.

Select Publications 4• McCarthy, M. (2008c) The scholarship of teaching and learning in

higher education: An overview. In R. Murray (ed.) The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (pp. 6-16). Berkshire: OUP/ McGraw - Hill.

• McCarthy, M. (2010a) The Arts in education as an integrative learning approach. In B.Higgs, S. Kilcommins and T. Ryan Making Connections: Intentional Teaching for Integrative Learning (pp115-127). University College Cork: NAIRTL.

• McCarthy, M. (2010b) Certification as a sotl process: some steps along the way. In Research – Teaching Linkages: Practice and Policy: Proceedings of the National Academy’s Third Annual Conference (pp. 139-144). University College Cork: NAIRTL.

• McCarthy, M., Neville, G., Higgs, B., and Murphy, J. (2010) From dry ice to plutarch’s fire: The integration of research and teaching and learning. In R. Kennedy and S. O’ Flynn (eds) Medical Education: The State of the Art. New York: Oxford: Nova Science.

Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Bibliography

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• Bernstein, D., Burnett, A., Goodburn, A & Savory, P. (2006). Making Teaching and Learning Visible: Course Portfolios and the Peer Review of Teaching. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Co.

• Blythe, T. (1999) The Teaching for Understanding Guide • Cross, K. P. (1996). Classroom Research: Implementing the Scholarship of

Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. • Hetland, L. (2002). Introduction to TfU video resources, Harvard: Project Zero

Classroom, 1-5. • Hutchings, P. (ed.), (1998a). The Course Portfolio: How Faculty Can Examine Their

Teaching to Advance Practice and Improve Student Learning, Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education (AAHE).

• McKinney, K. (2004). The scholarship of teaching and learning: Past lessons, current challenges and future visions, in C. Wehlburg & S. Chadwick- Blossey (eds.) To Improve the Academy: Vol 22. Resources for Faculty, Instructional and Organizational Development (pp.3- 19). Bolton, MA: Anker.

• McKinney, K. & Jarvis, P. (2009) Beyond lines on the CV: Faculty applications of their SoTL research. IJSoTL, Vol.3. No 1.

• Shulman, L (2004) Teaching as Community Property: Essays on Higher Education • Wiske, M. (1998) Teaching for Understanding: Linking Research with Practice

Assessment in Higher Education: Bibliography

• Angelo, T.A., Cross, K.P. 1993. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. US: Jossey Bass

• Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., and D Wiliam. 2003. Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice. UK Berkshire: Open University Press

• Burke, K. 1999. How to Assess Authentic Learning, 3rd edition. Illinois: Skylight • Demetriou, A., Valanides, N. (2009). A Three-Level Theory of the Developing Mind: Basic

Principles and Implications for Instruction and Assessment, in Sternberg, R.J., Williams, W. M. (Eds). (2009). Intelligence, Instruction, and Assessment. US N.J:Routledge

• Gardner, H. 1991. The Unschooled Mind. New York: Basic Books• Gardner, H. 1999. Intelligence Reframed. New York: Basic Books• Goodrich Andrade, H. 2000. Instructional Rubric for a Persuasive Essay. Educational

Leadership, Vol. 57 No.5.• Huba, M.E., Freed, J.E. 2000. Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the

Focus from Teaching to Learning. New York: Allyn & Bacon• Sternberg, R.J., Williams, W. M. (Eds). (2009). Intelligence, Instruction, and Assessment. US N.J:

Routledge• Wilson, D. 2001 The Dimensions of Understanding. Assessment for Understanding,

http://wideworld.pz.harvard.edu• Web sites• http://www.thinkinggear.com/tools/rubrics.cfm• http://learnweb.harvard.edu/ALPS/thinking/docs/rubricar.htm• http://opd.mpls.k12.mn.us/Dimensions_of_Understanding2.html

More information at:• Office of the Vice-President for Teaching & Learning, UCC

www.ucc.ie/en/PresidentsOffice/SeniorManagement/tandl/

• Ionad Bairre, UCC’s Teaching & Learning Centrewww.ucc.ie/en/teachingandlearning/

• The UCC-led National Academy for the Integration of Research and Teaching & Learning www.nairtl.ie