H 9.1
Session: H
Parallel Session: 9.1
Research Domain: Reshaping Academic Practice, Work and Cultures
Digby Warren
London Metropolitan University, London, United Kingdom
Enhancing Educational Practice?: An Exploration Of The Impact Of
Formal Professional Development In Holistic Curriculum Development
In the context of the contemporary drive to enhance the student experience (Yorke &
Longden 2004; McNay 2005; D’Andrea & Gosling, 2005) and the professionalism of
teaching in higher education (Walker 2001; Higher Education Act 2004; Trowler et al
2005; Ashwin 2006), theorists, practitioners and researchers have stressed the
importance of holistic curriculum development as a focal arena for aligning teaching
with learning (Biggs 2003; Ramsden 2003; Laurillard 2001; Hartley et al 2005); for
creating imaginative learning spaces for fostering student engagement (Barnett &
Coate 2004; Jackson et al 2006); and for linking teaching with research (Breen et al
2002; Brew 2003; Nicolls 2005; Barnett 2005; Rowland 2006; Jenkins et al 2007).
Other studies have pointed to the beneficial effects of university teacher development
courses on the educational conceptions, practices and roles of participating staff (Rust
2000; Gibbs & Coffey 2004), although resistance might also occur where participants
subscribe to “teaching and learning regimes” at variance with the approaches in which
such courses are rooted (Trowler & Cooper 2002). This incongruity may arise from
epistemic, practice-related, structural or ideological dissonances (Fanghanel 2004).
Conflicting higher education policies and institutional, departmental and discipline
contexts may act to obstruct change (Trowler et al 2005) and constrain teacher agency
(Fanghanel 2006).
Building on an earlier investigation |(2003), this study seeks to ascertain ways in which,
and the degree to which, an accredited professional development course for lecturers,
that foregrounds holistic curriculum development via an integrative real project,
subsequently influences their educational practice. Reflecting on his impact study,
Rust (2000 p.260) noted that “the changes may be more obvious to the course
participant later, looking back”. Hence, this study will involve staff from cohorts who
completed the course two or more years previously. Using an open-ended
questionnaire and focus group(s), in its preliminary phase of inquiry, the study will
explore the relative impact of the formal course on lecturers’ pedagogical thought and
practice as well as salient issues of agency and identity (see Blake 2005). Main
findings and implications for teacher development programmes will be presented.
Blake, A (2005) Time Being: Metaphor, Identity and Probation in Early Professional Learning. M.Ed thesis
Fanghanel, J (2004) Capturing dissonance in university teacher education environments, Studies in Higher
Education, 29 (5), 575-590
Gibbs, G & Coffey, M (2004) The impact of training of university teachers on their teaching skills, their
approach to teaching and the approach to learning of their students, Active Learning in Higher Education,
5 (1), 87-100
Rust, C (2000) Do Initial Training Courses Have an Impact on University Teaching? The Evidence from
Two Evaluative Studies of One Course, Innovations in Education and Training International, 37 (3), 254-
262
Trowler, P & Cooper, A (2002) Teaching and Learning Regimes: Implicit Theories and recurrent practices
in the enhancement of teaching and learning through educational development programmes, Higher
Education Research & Development, 21 (3), 221-240
Trowler, P et al. (2005) Freeing the chi of change: the Higher Education Academy and enhancing teaching
and learning in higher education, Studies in Higher Education, 30 (4), 427-444.