tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/office-of-learning-and-teaching-16982/articlesOffice of Learning and Teaching – The Conversation2018-10-10T18:41:11Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029092018-10-10T18:41:11Z2018-10-10T18:41:11ZWhy block subjects might not be best for university student learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238612/original/file-20181001-19006-f3nd4c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It isn’t clear whether or not block subjects are a form of cramming or not.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/students/enrolment/block-mode-subjects">Block subjects</a> is a model of teaching students one subject at a time over two to four weeks, rather than several subjects at a time over ten to 13 weeks in a semester. </p>
<p>For some, like <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/university-profile/teaching-learning-at-vu/innovative-approach-to-tertiary-education">Victoria University</a>, the model is a stunning success. There are already tangible <a href="https://online.vu.edu.au/blog/vu-transformative-block-model">improvements in pass rates</a> in the first year of implementation.</p>
<p>What’s less clear is what the long term implications of these approaches are for student learning. It may seem, on the surface, that focusing on shorter subjects one at a time is better than the traditional semester model. But research on effective learning shows learning over a long period and studying multiple subjects at a time is more effective.</p>
<h2>Massed vs. spaced learning</h2>
<p><a href="http://psychologicalresources.blogspot.com/2015/01/massed-vs-spaced-learning.html">Research</a> on learning shows “massed” learning is inferior to “spaced” learning. In other words, when learning is spread out over a longer time-frame, the retention of and capacity for using the knowledge is better than when it’s blocked together. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/revising-for-exams-why-cramming-the-night-before-rarely-works-67459">Revising for exams - why cramming the night before rarely works</a>
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<p>The best example of massed learning is cramming – as in “cramming” for an exam. Information might be adequately stored for a short time – enough to complete an exam – but it doesn’t stick as well as it would if it had been studied over a longer period. </p>
<p>Research consistently shows <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071009104548/http://www.bmb.psu.edu/courses/psu16/troyan/studyskills/cramming.htm">cramming</a>, <a href="http://ojphi.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/7729">bingeing</a> or otherwise learning for a short, focused period isn’t the most effective way to remember new information.</p>
<p>In addition to spacing study out, there are also benefits to mixing up study across different topics. This process of switching is called “<a href="https://academicaffairs.arizona.edu/Interleaving">interleaving</a>” and it might also point to a benefit provided by studying multiple subjects at the same time. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238613/original/file-20181001-19012-1222oat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Research shows ‘cramming’ for an exam is less effective than learning over a longer period of time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>The advantages of spaced practice and interleaving are shown in <a href="https://theconversation.com/study-habits-for-success-tips-for-students-89147">robust findings</a> in the psychology laboratory. But basic <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325415789_Learning_lab_to_lecture_hall">research</a> on learning in the brain and mind is difficult to make sense of in the real world. There are many complexities in university education that cannot be tested or controlled for in laboratory studies. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.slrc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/HELF-isbn.pdf">evidence</a> about what constitutes quality learning is difficult to see in the university classroom. </p>
<p>This makes it difficult to know if studying subjects in short blocks will lead to the same problems as cramming or not. Students might pass, might report greater levels of satisfaction but might not be able to remember and use what they have learned as effectively long-term. </p>
<h2>The evidence problem</h2>
<p>It isn’t clear whether block subjects are a form of cramming or not. So it’s not certain there are any long-term negative effects of this approach. </p>
<p>The recent national discussion about effective delivery of higher education has been dominated by economists, consultants and accounting firms. Economic indicators provide a crude but easy proxy and have been <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=2438">prioritised</a> over quality learning in policy and practice. In the process, the link between indicators such as completion rates or student satisfaction and learning is being lost. </p>
<p>This means universities are making substantial changes without necessarily knowing what they mean for student learning. University students might be satisfied, complete their degrees and get a job. But there is a real risk they may not have the necessary knowledge and skills to <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/HIGHER-ED-ITION/Articles/2016-2017/The-Future-of-Work-and-Learning">thrive and adapt</a> in the 21st Century. </p>
<h2>Testing innovations</h2>
<p>The role played by the now disestablished <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-office-for-learning-and-teaching-and-why-does-it-matter-59079">Office for Learning and Teaching</a> (OLT) was critical for this kind of problem. The OLT provided a vital mechanism for testing out innovations such as the block model. </p>
<p>An OLT project could have examined under what conditions the model is most effective, for which students and how to get it to work best in different disciplines and year levels. While important, crude indicators such as <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/measures-of-college-quality/">pass rates</a> and <a href="https://www.campusreview.com.au/2017/03/opinion-is-it-time-to-retire-student-experience-surveys-in-universities/">satisfaction</a> are not enough to provide this kind of evidence base.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/238614/original/file-20181001-19009-16nszem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Innovations in student testing need to be rigorously examined to ensure they’re effective.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Sadly, the small investment in a mechanism for ensuring these kinds of questions could be answered was deemed <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/media-releases/Abolition-of-Office-for-Learning-and-Teaching-a-loss#.W5i0dS1L1N0">too expensive</a> for the federal government. It’s now difficult to systematically figure out whether approaches like the block model are good for learning in the long term and whether they’ll work elsewhere. </p>
<p>This lack of a mechanism for rigorously testing innovations also risks our global reputation for high quality higher education. <a href="https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/innovative-credentials-turning-a-drop-in-the-bucket-into-a-transformative-tidal-wave/">Micro-credentials</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-must-prepare-for-a-technology-enabled-future-89354">artificial intelligence</a> and other innovations are poised to have a substantial impact on higher education in the near future. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/six-things-labors-review-of-tertiary-education-should-consider-93496">Six things Labor’s review of tertiary education should consider</a>
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<p>There is <a href="https://theconversation.com/innovation-in-learning-and-teaching-is-too-important-to-cut-58629">currently no mechanism</a> to fund rigorous, national studies into how <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/media-releases/Record-numbers-confirm-Australia-as-international-education-powerhouse#.W5i8Ui1L1N0">Australian higher education</a> can remain competitive in this rapidly evolving environment. </p>
<p>There is every likelihood the students who complete their studies in a block model are receiving quality instruction, leading to quality learning. The results at Victoria University certainly <a href="http://paidcontent.theage.com.au/victoria-university/first-year-victoria-university/article/living-learning-victoria-universitys-new-model-first-year-students/">look promising</a>. But it’s difficult to determine this until student learning and development are made the priorities over crude economic indicators.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason M Lodge works for The University of Queensland and has an honorary appointment with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at The University of Melbourne. Statements made in this article do not represent the official position of either institution and have not been made in order to promote or endorse learning and teaching practices at either. Jason has received funding from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council and Office for Learning and Teaching. He was also employed as part of the Science of Learning Research Centre (SLRC). The SLRC was funded through a Special Research Initiative of the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Block subjects at university are receiving a lot of attention, but research says they may not be as effective for learning.Jason M Lodge, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, School of Education & Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/586292016-05-15T22:59:00Z2016-05-15T22:59:00ZInnovation in learning and teaching is too important to cut<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122193/original/image-20160511-18168-p4cstn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Coalition made the decision to close the Office for Learning and Teaching.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Office of Learning and Teaching will today (May 16) announce the twelve <a href="http://www.olt.gov.au">Teaching Fellows and the Innovation and Development Grants</a> for 2016. They will be the last as the OLT will cease operation at the end of June due to <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-budget-2016-education-experts-react-58592">cuts announced</a> in the recent federal budget.</p>
<p>The closure of the OLT, as well as the loss of its grants and fellowships, removes from Australian higher education the national commitment to innovation and improved performance in learning and teaching. It’s a commitment that dates back more than 20 years to OLT’s predecessor bodies, the Carrick Institute and the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. </p>
<p>The final cut “saved” some A$20.9 million. Compared to a total cut to higher education estimated to be around $2 billion in the same budget, it is a trivial amount. But it matters - and its impact is larger than the dollars involved.</p>
<p>Without a commitment to innovation in university education, how do we expect to nurture future innovators? How will we support collaboration and change in learning and teaching across the sector?</p>
<p>Without a peak agency and focused programs there is no national drive to spread innovation and change in learning and teaching across university education.</p>
<h2>Far beyond the club</h2>
<p>Some in the sector claimed the OLT was a “club”. The slur was repeated in the media and heard by government. It provided support for the argument that not much would be lost by the OLT’s demise. </p>
<p>It’s also untrue. Figure 1 shows the distribution of funding for OLT grants and fellowships over the period 2012-2015. </p>
<p>It shows how the funding was spread, unrelated to size or research intensity, from large public universities to small private higher education entities. If this is evidence of a club, it is large and dispersed, showing none of the signs of elitism implied by that word.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122559/original/image-20160515-10691-11g98hf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122559/original/image-20160515-10691-11g98hf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122559/original/image-20160515-10691-11g98hf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122559/original/image-20160515-10691-11g98hf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122559/original/image-20160515-10691-11g98hf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122559/original/image-20160515-10691-11g98hf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122559/original/image-20160515-10691-11g98hf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Source: Office of Learning and Teaching.</span>
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<p>And the funding diagram conceals that every large grant and fellowship required collaboration across universities. </p>
<p>Networks of innovation were built across the sector and cut across the usual groups such as the Group of Eight (Go8), Innovative Research Universities (IRU) and Australian Technology Netowrk (ATN).</p>
<p>And the fellows made themselves available beyond their fellowships to share their findings - to help others improve curriculum, teaching methods and policy or pursue professional development. </p>
<p>All the resources produced with funding from the OLT are open to all - held on the web. This is the open access to innovation hoped for in research but achieved here in teaching and learning. One of the last acts of the OLT was a project to build a digital repository of resources for future use.</p>
<p>This is large scale and far-reaching innovation from a small amount of funding. The areas explored remain vital. Figure 2 shows the fields explored by OLT grants and fellowships. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122560/original/image-20160515-10663-1q7y2kz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122560/original/image-20160515-10663-1q7y2kz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122560/original/image-20160515-10663-1q7y2kz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122560/original/image-20160515-10663-1q7y2kz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122560/original/image-20160515-10663-1q7y2kz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122560/original/image-20160515-10663-1q7y2kz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122560/original/image-20160515-10663-1q7y2kz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=685&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Source: Office of Learning and Teaching.</span>
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<p>How do we engage with the digital in learning and teaching and for our students; reframe our curriculum to prepare for employability for a different age; bring the ability to work at the research cutting edge into undergraduate education; embed more independent creative problem solving within our curriculum; ensure academic integrity; address global perspectives? </p>
<p>These questions were explored in OLT programs for change. Proposals for immediate action in more than one university were funded. The OLT didn’t merely support research on learning and teaching, it also implemented real reforms.</p>
<p>We cannot provide brilliant and relevant university education for the over 1.3 million students now enrolled in Australia by pretending we teach in small 19th-century universities. </p>
<p>We need programs to make systemic change. We cannot rely only on a cohort of legendary teachers as the answer. </p>
<h2>What will happen now?</h2>
<p>Each university invests to support excellent teaching, innovation, and improved education performance and change. </p>
<p>The level of their investment varies with capacity. Through OLT each time an applicant submitted a grant or a fellowship application there was a specific endorsement from university leadership to provide institutional support. </p>
<p>The OLT made each university a partner in better teaching and learning for the sector as a whole. Without such a scheme it’s highly likely constrained resources will be diverted to other ends.</p>
<p>And what of the motivation of academics to invest the time and bear the risks that innovation and change in education bring? Few academics will receive a job offer from a desirable university on the basis of their teaching. </p>
<p>Universities in the US, UK, Europe and Asia hire academics largely on the basis of research outcomes. Against these international pressures, focus on innovation and change in university education, requires investment and recognition. Australia’s small national agency and its programs spoke to this goal. </p>
<h2>The price of everything, the value of nothing</h2>
<p>All budgets are political because they signal what the government of the day values. In this case a small national investment was considered beyond our means and quality university education has been impoverished. The value of a small national body that builds collaboration for innovation and systemic change appears to have been poorly understood.</p>
<p>The Office of Learning and Teaching was a small but vital statement of our national priorities, of the importance we placed on innovation and excellence in university education. Its value far exceeded its price. </p>
<p><em>Some of the material in this article was presented in <a href="http://www.monash.edu/about/structure/senior-staff/vice-chancellor/profile/vice-chancellors-speeches/2016-olt-conference-dinner">a speech</a> given at the last OLT Conference, 28 April 2016.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58629/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Gardner is President and Vice Chancellor of Monash University. She is the Chair of the Expert Panel of the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) until June 2016. Some of the material in this article was presented in a speech given at the last OLT Conference, 28 April 2016. </span></em></p>Closing the Office of Learning and Teaching removes Australia’s national commitment to innovation and improved performance in learning and teaching.Margaret Gardner, President and Vice Chancellor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/432432015-06-23T01:42:07Z2015-06-23T01:42:07ZAustralia’s declining investment in quality university teaching<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85010/original/image-20150615-5846-5m0ze5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How content is taught at university is just as important as what is taught. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Teaching is at the core of what Australian universities do, yet it receives nowhere near the attention it should, and is in danger of receiving even less. </p>
<p>In part this neglect can be traced back to university ranking systems that focus predominantly on research. In part it’s a product of increasingly inadequate funding.</p>
<p>In Australia quality teaching is served by a program called Promotion of Excellence in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PELTHE), administered through the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT). </p>
<p>Funding for learning and teaching has suffered cuts in most federal budgets over the last seven to eight years. In the 2015 federal budget the Office for Learning and Teaching had its funding cut by over 36%, or A$16.1m, for the period 2016 to 2019.</p>
<p>This cut is likely to severely constrain our ability to answer challenging questions commonly faced by university lecturers. For example: how do we help students with different levels of preparation to learn chemistry in large first year classes? How do we teach students to understand what they don’t know, and help them improve? </p>
<p>Responses to these questions were developed through the Office for Learning and Teaching and made available for all higher education institutions in 2015. It’s uncertain how much of this work will continue.</p>
<h2>A culture of excellence in education</h2>
<p>A comparatively small investment by the federal government in grants, fellowships and awards through the Office for Learning and Teaching and its predecessor bodies, has led to national innovations in the quality of learning and teaching across higher education.</p>
<p>There is now a significant alumni of national teaching award winners and national teaching fellows. This has benefited students, universities and communities immensely, but unfortunately there are few ways of seeing this success because there are no international rankings devoted to learning and teaching. </p>
<p>Instead, we measure the success of Australian universities increasingly through international rankings that, while important, largely reflect research excellence.</p>
<p>Student retention and success in Australia compares well with similar countries. A <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/why-closing-the-office-of-learning-and-teaching-is-wrong/story-e6frg9if-1227380148945">recent article</a> in The Australian argued the review of learning and teaching for the British Higher Education Academy suggests that the Australian OLT and predecessors has </p>
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<p>produc[ed] and disseminat[ed] a vast body of knowledge and good practice throughout the higher education sector […] with achievements increasingly […] seen as exemplars for other countries.</p>
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<h2>How excellence is promoted</h2>
<p>The competitive peer-review system for learning and teaching excellence is as rigorous as that which distributes competitive research funding.</p>
<p>Each year between 750 and 900 applications are received from across the higher education system for grants, fellowships and awards. </p>
<p>Around one quarter were successful in 2014 - although success rates vary from a low of 12% for grants (similar to the success rates for research grants from the Australian Research Council) to 46% for awards which are given to the best teachers in a field of study and tend to attract a small number of applications from any particular institution.</p>
<p>Funding received by institutions for teaching and learning innovation and excellence is spread across a broad range of institutions. By my calculations the top 10 universities received 46% of total funds awarded.</p>
<p>This is a much lower concentration than seen in research grant funding distributions, where the <a href="https://go8.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/go8policynote4_researchperformance.pdf">top eight universities receive around 70%</a> of competitive funding between them.</p>
<h2>Evaluating impact</h2>
<p>The evaluation processes say much about how impact is valued. Grants are evaluated on the creativity and innovation of their plans. </p>
<p>How will this add to what we understand about and how we undertake effective learning and teaching? What does this mean for the quality of learning and teaching in a specific discipline? How will it address an issue such as academic integrity, building particular graduate capabilities, or increasing retention of students?</p>
<p>Teaching awards go to the best teachers nationally in particular disciplines, such as science or law or nursing, and to the best teaching teams, whether they are delivering improvements to the first year experience or improving learning outcomes from laboratory work. </p>
<p>The applications require evidence of student evaluations over time, how teaching and learning has improved over a number of years, and of how the innovations and excellence in teaching have influenced others beyond their own classroom or institution.</p>
<p>Fellowships are about how a particular academic will lead a program to have a direct impact on improving the quality of learning and teaching in their institution or across institutions. </p>
<p>To win such a fellowship the program must show what change will happen and how. A key part of these learning and teaching fellowships is ensuring that innovations in learning and teaching are disseminated across many institutions, courses and classes. They must have an impact.</p>
<p>It is time we talked more about what excellent teaching in higher education means for students. Dedicated national investment in learning and teaching in higher education will be just A$28m over the next four years – this is much less federal funding available than at any time over the previous decade. </p>
<p>Quality and innovation in learning and teaching should grow along with increased student numbers and advances in technology. Instead it is diminishing.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85820/original/image-20150622-3369-1rezxbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Promotion of Excellence in Teaching and Learning Funding by institution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author Provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Gardner is Chair of the Expert Panel of the Office for Learning and Teaching and was a member of the Board of its predecessor body, the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.</span></em></p>Teaching is at the core of what Australian universities do, yet it receives nowhere near the attention it should, and is in danger of receiving even less.Margaret Gardner, President and Vice Chancellor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/418902015-05-17T20:05:34Z2015-05-17T20:05:34ZNeutral teaching centre won’t be so neutral once opened for tender<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81793/original/image-20150515-8749-19d7qo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Promoting and funding teaching projects needs to be national, and not favour the elite universities.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week’s budget included a substantial cut to the government’s own <a href="http://www.olt.gov.au/may2015-new-institute-promote-excellence-learning-and-teaching">Office for Learning and Teaching</a> (OLT), which exists to support research into learning and promote good teaching. </p>
<p>What is surprising is that the axing has met with so little resistance and less public outcry than is warranted.</p>
<p>According to its website, the OLT is being disbanded to “ensure that the Commonwealth’s investment in improved teaching and learning practices is driven by the higher education sector”. This basically says the government is telling universities to look after the quality of teaching themselves.</p>
<p>The duties of the office will be opened for tender to an Australian university, with a small proportion of the funding the OLT used to receive.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/81795/original/image-20150515-8719-ss5tr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who will get the tender?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/36199303@N04/3826306914/">Geoff Penaluna/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The amount it costs to have a genuinely national body that oversees, supports and showcases outstanding teaching that responds to the changing needs of students and employers and results in empathetic and global citizens is small compared to the benefits.</p>
<p>The recent announcement that it was being put out for tender suggests the government has a flawed understanding of what the role of the office was:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>From 1 July 2016 a new institute will be established, with $28 million in funding, to promote excellence in teaching and learning. This will involve administering the grants, fellowships and awards under the Promotion of Excellence in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education programme.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But the OLT and its forerunners were meant to be much more than simply “dolers-out-of-money”: it was meant to provide resource-rich support to all who teach in all universities in the country. Importantly, it was meant to be neutral.</p>
<p>By announcing that “universities will be invited to bid to host the new institute”, it seems that one lucky player is going to win the big prize. Only a handful of universities have the facilities and capabilities to host such a centre. </p>
<p>Among the likely candidates is the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education. Despite it being the place of my employ, I have no idea whether it is throwing its hat into the ring. My prediction is that the tender will be won by one or other of the elite Group of 8 universities.</p>
<p>The body that represents Australia’s universities, <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/news/media-releases/Teaching-and-learning-excellence-set-to-be-budget-loser-for-higher-education#.VVQQNYvYkyF">Universities Australia</a> has been muted in its response to the abolition of the OLT. </p>
<p>Its CEO, Belinda Robinson, claimed somewhat feebly that the sector as a whole had not been consulted about the changes and that the organisation </p>
<blockquote>
<p>will strongly oppose any moves to downgrade the government’s commitment to teaching and learning excellence in higher education.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s not exactly a call to the barricades; more like resignation and the hope that as long as the new centre gets a new home somewhere, things might still turn out okay.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://the-scan.com/2015/05/12/the-budget-in-their-own-words-regional-universities-network/">Regional Universities Network</a> doesn’t seem all that perturbed either. </p>
<p>Whichever university wins the tender will be hard pushed to be seen as maintaining even-handedness in which initiatives it supports. The OLT not only supported research into teaching and learning, it was a neutral national champion of excellence. That is something the country can ill afford to do without if it wants all its universities to prosper.</p>
<p>I suspect that the move ultimately has little to do with ensuring Australia’s reputation of a leading and progressive higher education sector is enhanced. </p>
<p>Rather, it shows the government is still determined to create a two-tiered higher education sector in which a handful of universities, probably about eight, are free to exploit their international standing by attracting the best and brightest students for the highest fees, while the others service the rural, regional and vocational students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41890/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrys Onsman works for the Centre for the Study of Higher Education which could be a potential candidate for housing the new Office of Learning and Teaching. </span></em></p>A government office to support teaching has been put out to tender, but will the university that wins the contract be fair in doling out funds and projects?Andrys Onsman, Lecturer, Centre for Studies of Higher Education, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.