‘Innovations in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education’,

Susan English & Andrew Hannan, University of Plymouth

EXTRACT

We asked 103 people in our survey what had driven them to introduce new methods of teaching and learning (‘Why innovate?’). Many gave more than one reason, in which case one person’s response contributed to more than one of the groups given below. The three main categories, viz ‘personal’, ‘improving student learning’ and ‘external’ reasons, were a way of grouping both pro-active and reactive reasons. The illustrative quotations are generally taken from our interview notes, but those in italic are verbatim from the interviewee. In each category the reasons appear in descending order of frequency.

1. Personal reasons:

• Something in their own experience or career background.

29 people - 28%

These comments refer to experiences as a student, as a teacher or in industry.

'He hated the way he was taught which was why he became interested in teaching'

'Why student-centred? Partly my experience in primary school (as teacher)'

• Interest and love of the job

          24 people - 23%

'I care passionately, I wanted students to respond passionately'

'…he always had that interest in different ways of educating engineers'

• Dissatisfaction with the way things are

9 people - 9%

These comments refer to unhappiness with the way things have been done previously.

'…disillusioned with standard textbooks'

          'He was desperate to find another way'

 

2. ‘Improving student learning’ reasons:

• Student-driven

24 people - 23%

Comments include inspiration arising from overt student problems and dissatisfaction or from their own belief in what the students need in a particular course or for future employment.

'Students have been short changed by being denied the creativity of maths and being fettered by the drudgery of slavish repetition of standard questions - they deserve better'

'Main drive - to prepare students for when they leave’

• Boredom

10 people - 10%

These comments include:

student boredom (5) or their own boredom (4) or

both student & teacher relief from boredom (1) as a motivating influence.

'Main aim to make students like accounting'

'It's great fun….drudgery removed'.

3. External reasons

• Institutional or subject changes

27 people - 26%

These influences include TQA, new course assessments, modularisation, subject pressure and other re-organisations such as semesterisation. Some comments also refer to industrial influence on the institution or subject.

'Innovation is more and more in response to external demand and less as a result of one's own aspirations'

• Student numbers

26 people - 25%

These people thought that the increase in student numbers was a driver for change. In addition, 4 people specifically referred to student numbers as not being a motivating factor.

'Student numbers have more than doubled. From 25 she now has 61, and this has major impacts on the way I teach'

• Institutional or departmental culture

16 people - 15%

These people have been influenced by their department or the ‘climate’ of the institution to introduce change

'… more active learning approaches common across the department.'

'Breaking new ground, supported by university but driven by department.'

• Contacts and 'Ideas around'

17 people (contacts) - 17%

Inspiration and motivation by people they have met (or friend of a friend) or read about.

'Someone had been to Australia and seen Problem-Based approach'

'He discovered the co-operative learning approach of Carl Smith at Minnesota'

14 people (ideas around) - 14%

All these examples refer to ideas that came from other institutions or countries - outside their own university.

                    'She did some reading around to solve the problem'

• Student Diversity

10 people - 10%

These comments relate to the increasing diversity of student backgrounds.

'There were around 100 1^st yr students with a wide spectrum of abilities. So, he designed a course that was self-paced and self-directed.'

• Funding

7 people - 7%

Most of these comments refer to the possibility of funding being available as a motivating factor, others mention the need for resources

'The drivers of the scheme are firstly…..and third EHE money'

• Training and courses

5 people - 5%

This refers to both staff development workshops in own institutions or others.

                    'Attended ‘Computers in Teaching Initiative’ sessions'

• Lack of space and resources

2 people

Lack of adequate space inspired new methods of teaching.

• Research

2 people

Making more time available for research or using own experience of research were motivating factors for changing the way they taught.

 

From these findings it is apparent how important tutors’ personal commitment to teaching and to their students is to their individual efforts to innovate. However, there were many who needed to change their methods due to circumstances beyond their control, eg modularisation or an increase in student numbers. The weakest drivers included those strategies that institutions may use to ‘persuade’ people to change - staff training and the possibility of funding. There was, noticeably, no mention in this particular context of promotion or other conspicuous rewards.