tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/lecturing-19106/articlesLecturing – The Conversation2021-05-20T19:52:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1582172021-05-20T19:52:44Z2021-05-20T19:52:44ZGood riddance to boring lectures? Technology isn’t the answer – understanding good teaching is<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401467/original/file-20210519-23-e9scot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4315%2C2866&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bored-male-student-listens-lecture-university-1077839498">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With some universities returning to face-to-face teaching this year, ANU Vice Chancellor Brian Schmidt <a href="https://campusmorningmail.com.au/news/lets-it-hear-for-live-and-in-person-lecturing/">noted</a> that, while his university was one of them, lectures would be much less common and not a “crutch for poor pedagogy”. Since then many have <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8996">discussed the issue of lectures</a>, including the deputy vice chancellor of University of Technology Sydney and the director of the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education in Western Australia, with ideas ranging from <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8377">embracing the lecture to removing it entirely</a>.</p>
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<p>Condemnation of lectures is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/may/15/ten-reasons-we-should-ditch-university-lectures">nothing new</a>. However, the sudden, massive shift to reliance on technology due to COVID has brought increasing calls for ending the venerable lecture. Lectures will, we are told, be replaced by superior, <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-killed-the-on-campus-lecture-but-will-unis-raise-it-from-the-dead-152971">technology-enhanced substitutes</a>. </p>
<p>Underlying these messages are two tacit assumptions: that lectures make for bad teaching and that using technology improves it. But are these reliable assumptions? Rather than simply rejecting lectures and embracing technology, perhaps we should be looking more closely into both, and their relationship to each other.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-killed-the-on-campus-lecture-but-will-unis-raise-it-from-the-dead-152971">COVID killed the on-campus lecture, but will unis raise it from the dead?</a>
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<h2>Our love-hate relationship with lectures</h2>
<p>Discussions about getting rid of lectures follow predictable patterns. The most common complaints centre on lectures as <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/05/lectures-arent-just-boring-theyre-ineffective-too-study-finds">didactic, learner-passive and boring</a>. Accompanying these critiques is the oft-cited rule that students’ attention span has a limit of <a href="https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/short-attention-span-class-structure/">10-18 minutes</a>. </p>
<p>While there is <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00109.2016">little to no evidence for this claim</a>, we can all identify with struggling to remain awake as we are droned at from a lectern. But most of us can also recall times we were spellbound by a lecture. Anyone who has attended a great TED Talk or even watched one on YouTube knows what it’s like to be captivated for that <a href="https://www.ted.com/participate/organize-a-local-tedx-event/tedx-organizer-guide/speakers-program/event-program">3-18 minutes</a>.</p>
<p>Can lectures hold people’s attention beyond 18 minutes, though? The late Professor Randy Pausch was well known for the power and quality of his lectures, especially his final one, “<a href="https://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/">Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture</a>”, which he delivered after receiving a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. That lecture comes in at a little over one hour and 15 minutes, and many consider it to be a masterwork of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/health/08well.html">powerful teaching and communication</a>. </p>
<p>Clearly, extended lectures can have great impact. Achieving that impact, however, requires understanding what makes for good lecturing and then committing to improvement. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
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<h2>Push the boundaries and reflect on your practice</h2>
<p>Pausch challenges the stereotype of what a lecture is. He uses <a href="https://www.talkingaccounting.com/2019/01/07/using-props-in-the-classroom/">physical props, multimedia and other resources</a> to push the boundaries of the lecture beyond a typical, didactic engagement. The result is a lecture that periodically shifts how the audience is engaged and, in doing so, captures and keeps the audience’s attention.</p>
<p>Lecturing at this level requires more than just experience. We must <a href="https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/ReflectiveTeaching">reflect on our teaching practice</a>, evaluate the quality of our lectures in relation to our intentions, and then commit to developing both our lectures and ourselves. </p>
<p>Professor Eric Mazur describes how, while teaching physics at Harvard in the 1990s, he came to the painful realisation that <a href="https://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/twilight-of-the-lecture">his lectures were failing</a> to keep his students engaged or serve the educational objectives of the subject. He used this realisation as a springboard to improve his lectures and develop his pedagogical knowledge and skills. </p>
<p>Since then, Mazur has become a recognised expert in improving student engagement. He has created a variety of solutions for academics to keep students actively engaged in lectures, even those that go beyond the apocryphal 18-minute limit. The techniques <a href="https://mazur.harvard.edu/presentations/keynote-twilight-lecture-peer-instruction-active-learning">Mazur advocates</a> range from <a href="https://youtu.be/Z9orbxoRofI">integrating peer instruction into lectures</a> to <a href="https://youtu.be/iisnPrQLcNU">using a high-tech, collaborative platform</a> to promote students’ pre-lecture preparation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-tips-on-how-unis-can-do-more-to-design-online-learning-that-works-for-all-students-144803">5 tips on how unis can do more to design online learning that works for all students</a>
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<h2>Lose the assumptions, not the lectern</h2>
<p>So then what about the claim that technology is making the lecture obsolete? This seems doubtful for a couple reasons. </p>
<p>Pausch and Mazur’s methods can be transferred to an online space, even if we don’t label the result a lecture. We see many examples of how this works in well-regarded online learning platforms like <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org">Khan Academy</a> or <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/">LinkedIn Learning</a> (formerly <a href="https://www.lynda.com">Lynda</a>). However we label these engagements, it’s obvious technology can actually help lectures rather than just supplant them.</p>
<p>Now let’s turn the question around: does using technology guarantee or even increase the likelihood of good teaching? Technology can make good practices easier, like the use of <a href="https://elearning.uq.edu.au/guides/virtual-classroom/using-zoom-tips">polls and break-out rooms and timers</a>. Technology can even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6798020/">open new possibilities and paradigms</a> for teaching. But there are no guarantees. </p>
<p>The list of ed tech failures is <a href="http://hackeducation.com/2019/12/31/what-a-shitshow">long and dismaying</a>. Examining what goes wrong, we see some <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/why-most-ed-tech-fails">common misunderstandings</a>. </p>
<p>One of these is that adding technology equals enhancing teaching. Technology carries no inherent pedagogical value. Swapping an iPad for a lectern does not, in itself move learning from a boring, didactic experience to interactive, lively engagement. </p>
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<img alt="Distracted student struggles to watch an online lecture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&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">A didactic, boring lecture is poor teaching whether delivered online or in person.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bored-unhappy-woman-watching-lon-online-1873189777">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Just like lectures, our uses of technology and the resulting impact must first come from thoughtful commitment to improving both teaching and teacher.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-unis-eye-more-instagram-worthy-campus-experiences-they-shouldnt-treat-online-teaching-as-a-cheap-and-easy-option-156585">As unis eye more ‘Instagram-worthy’ campus experiences, they shouldn't treat online teaching as a cheap and easy option</a>
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<h2>Be critical, be reflective, be better</h2>
<p>Technology can never substitute for critically reflecting on the pedagogical value of our practice. And while technology can assist a major transformation, it should never be a requirement for improving how we teach. Whether you’re a high-tech or low-tech teacher, you can give a good lecture or find useful alternatives if you remember to put the pedagogy before the technology.</p>
<p>We need to reject the notion that lectures will sink our students and technology will save them. Instead, let’s dig deeply and critically into both, reflect upon how to improve our practices, and apply sound teaching methods and practices to create learning engagements that are captivating and profound.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some students may wonder why they bothered returning to campus. Others are struggling online. But lecturers who do engage students think deeply about how they do it, using all available tools.Christopher Charles Deneen, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Curriculum & Assessment, The University of MelbourneMichael Cowling, Associate Professor - Information & Communication Technology (ICT), CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1529712021-02-14T18:49:39Z2021-02-14T18:49:39ZCOVID killed the on-campus lecture, but will unis raise it from the dead?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383924/original/file-20210212-13-10bjxj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C41%2C3932%2C2570&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sleeping-student-414549313">Markus Pfaff/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://eprints.utas.edu.au/34123/">Throughout the world</a>, COVID-19 health regulations have made the on-campus lecture mostly defunct. And <a href="https://www.acode.edu.au/pluginfile.php/9235/mod_resource/content/7/white%20paper.pdf">most Australian universities</a> won’t be offering on-campus lectures in 2021.</p>
<p>The Australasian Council on Open, Distance and e-Learning (ACODE) recently published a <a href="https://www.acode.edu.au/pluginfile.php/9235/mod_resource/content/7/white%20paper.pdf">white paper on lectures</a>, based on survey responses from 43 member universities (91% response rate). About two-thirds indicated they would not be conducting on-campus lectures this year.</p>
<p>University of Southern Queensland (USQ), for example, sent a document to all staff and students announcing on-campus classes, such as tutorials, lab work and small-group seminars, will continue in 2021, with the notable exception of the traditional lecture. At USQ, when didactic content does need to be delivered, it will be done online, in smaller <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/more-universities-planning-drop-lectures-after-pandemic">chunks</a>, with student learning activities interspersed.</p>
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<img alt="half-empty lecture theatre" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383927/original/file-20210212-15-1avrv5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383927/original/file-20210212-15-1avrv5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383927/original/file-20210212-15-1avrv5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383927/original/file-20210212-15-1avrv5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383927/original/file-20210212-15-1avrv5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383927/original/file-20210212-15-1avrv5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383927/original/file-20210212-15-1avrv5y.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">Traditional lectures are often poorly attended and several universities have already decided to abandon them permanently.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
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<h2>The lecture was ailing before COVID</h2>
<p>Now that COVID-19 has forced universities to cease on-campus lectures, many report that they will not return after the pandemic. Only 23% of <a href="https://www.acode.edu.au/pluginfile.php/9235/mod_resource/content/7/white%20paper.pdf">ACODE</a>-surveyed universities said they would return to full lecturing. </p>
<p>Times Higher Education <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/student-profile-key-lectures-future-australia">reported</a> last month that Curtin, Murdoch and Victoria universities believe in-person lectures are a mode of the past.</p>
<p>Some universities started “killing off” lectures long before the pandemic. In 2012, for example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/lecture-theatres-to-go-the-way-of-the-dodo-9893">The Conversation</a> reported the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) was tearing down its lecture theatres. </p>
<p>Many new and redesigned tertiary campuses are not including blueprinted lecture theatres. The University of Tasmania, for example, is in the process of creating the <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/northern-transformation/inveresk-campus/precinct-plan">Inveresk Precinct</a> with non-traditional teaching and learning spaces. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-tips-on-how-unis-can-do-more-to-design-online-learning-that-works-for-all-students-144803">5 tips on how unis can do more to design online learning that works for all students</a>
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<h2>Why are lecture theatres on the way out?</h2>
<p>Mostly this is happening because there are better ways to learn and to prepare for employment. In 2014, <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/partners-and-community/initiatives/city-campus-master-plan/campus-development-news-archive/2014-news/april-2014-news/its-whats-inside-counts-guide-new-learning-spaces-uts">UTS explained</a> its rationale for demolishing lecture theatres was not physical, but educational. </p>
<p>For universities, a primary reason for cancelling lectures is to improve pedagogy or teaching methods. In the <a href="https://www.acode.edu.au/pluginfile.php/9235/mod_resource/content/7/white%20paper.pdf">ACODE survey</a>, only 7% disagreed with this rationale. </p>
<p>Times Higher Education <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/lectures-dont-work-but-we-keep-using-them/2009141.article">reported</a> that, by 2013, more than 700 studies had all found lectures are an ineffective teaching approach. There is little <a href="https://pure.bond.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/27948857/Does_digital_scholarship_through_online_lectures_affect_student_learning.pdf">empirical evidence</a> to prove that lectures are an optimal way to learn or to develop graduate career skills.</p>
<p>Lectures are passive. They seldom get students to do anything, beyond listening and perhaps taking notes. Lectures fail to foster deep learning and student engagement. The purpose of the lecture is called into question.</p>
<p><a href="https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/60852">Australian students</a> have been voting with their feet. They have continually chosen to <a href="https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol3/iss2/3/">forgo lectures</a>, <a href="https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol17/iss5/15/">preferring</a> content delivered online. </p>
<p>This learning mode particularly appeals to mature-aged students, who are working while studying and have difficulty fitting long lecture blocks into their schedules. And this <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/student-profile-key-lectures-future-australia">description</a> fits a high proportion of university students today. </p>
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<img alt="young woman takes notes as she sits in front of a laptop at home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383926/original/file-20210212-21-xc98qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/383926/original/file-20210212-21-xc98qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383926/original/file-20210212-21-xc98qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383926/original/file-20210212-21-xc98qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383926/original/file-20210212-21-xc98qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383926/original/file-20210212-21-xc98qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/383926/original/file-20210212-21-xc98qx.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">University students with busy schedules clearly prefer to engage with much of the traditional lecture content online.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">fizkes/Shutterstock</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lecture-recordings-mean-fewer-students-are-turning-up-does-it-matter-131988">Lecture recordings mean fewer students are turning up – does it matter?</a>
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<h2>Are students or employers concerned?</h2>
<p>Early in the pandemic (June through September 2020), i-graduate conducted a <a href="https://www.ieaa.org.au/blog/i-graduate-covid-19-survey-results">survey</a> of Australian domestic and international students. Of the 24,000 respondents, 70% were satisfied with how the universities adapted to COVID-19 and 68% with their overall online learning experience. </p>
<p>While students expressed current satisfaction with online lectures (about 70%), only half thought they should remain. Notably, students were not surveyed about their preference for the online recorded long-form lecture versus alternatives.</p>
<p>A recent FutureLearn <a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/info/do-employers-value-online-learning">survey</a> of just over 1,000 American employers asked: “Are you more likely to hire applicants with online education since the pandemic?” While 75% responded yes, 63% said they would need to “rethink” the hiring process.</p>
<h2>But how will students learn what they need to know?</h2>
<p>The questions within these surveys are asked in a Shakespearean binary: to lecture, or not to lecture. On-campus or online. The reality is not so simple. </p>
<p>Lectures are not the only approach to university education. Furthermore, the choice of on-campus or online learning is now mostly redundant. </p>
<p>All students spend a lot of their time within online “learning management systems”. Even before the pandemic, curriculum without an accompanying website was rare. </p>
<p>The lecture is still the lecture, whether on-campus, or recorded and posted online. The lecture does not teach any better just because it is digital.</p>
<p>Searching for, planning and booking travel is flourishing online (or at least it was during non-pandemic times). Streaming services have radically changed how people watch television. It is time for universities to catch up to other industries and take full advantage of the opportunities of the internet. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-train-lecturers-in-online-delivery-or-they-risk-students-dropping-out-133921">Universities need to train lecturers in online delivery, or they risk students dropping out</a>
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<p>It might be time to let the lecture die, now that other modes of learning and interactions (<a href="https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/issue-briefs/improve-learning/teachers-and-pedagogy/effective-and-appropriate-pedagogy">pedagogies</a>) can thrive.</p>
<p>The University of Southern Queensland, for example, is rolling out a <a href="https://digitalfirst.usq.edu.au/">suite of alternative teaching approaches</a>. Most of these are available online. Examples include panel discussions, animated explanations, online experimentation, problem-solving demonstration videos and website hunts. </p>
<p>Such approaches are a sign of the nature of educational change brought forward by the pandemic, which was perhaps long overdue in the higher education sector.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152971/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>About two-thirds of Australian universities won’t be offering on-campus lectures in 2021. But that’s not all the pandemic’s fault – it simply accelerated a shift away from the traditional format.Shelley Kinash, Professor of Higher Education, University of Southern QueenslandColin Jones, Associate Professor and Senior Academic Developer, University of Southern QueenslandJoseph Crawford, Lecturer, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/760222017-05-04T14:59:12Z2017-05-04T14:59:12ZThere’s pressure on academics to learn how to teach. But they need more support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167470/original/file-20170502-17245-1dc3o5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">University lecturers must keep learning new ways to teach.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Academics are under increasing pressure to learn to teach well, better or differently than before. There are many reasons for this. </p>
<p>Society’s <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sarah-macdonald-3/uni-expectations_b_7671864.html">expectations</a> of higher education are changing. People want more students than before to successfully complete their degrees, no matter how prepared they were for academia when they started studying. There’s also an expectation that students should not just pass exams and receive a certificate or diploma. They must also attain real skills that will serve them well in the workplace. And, crucially, their tertiary education is expected to instil in them a willingness to contribute as both global and local citizens.</p>
<p>In South Africa, calls to overhaul and decolonise the curriculum adds an extra layer of expectation. This may not sound like it’s directly linked to teaching since it’s really about the curriculum. But as many scholars have <a href="https://theconversation.com/decolonisation-academics-must-change-what-they-teach-and-how-68080">argued</a>, a decolonised curriculum requires decolonised teaching methods. Redesigning the curriculum <em>is</em> a “teaching” practice.</p>
<p>Despite all this, few academics are enrolling for anything as extensive as a postgraduate diploma in higher education and learning. This sort of training would give them the understanding needed to teach and respond to the enormous expectations being placed on their performance. But not even half of South Africa’s 26 public universities offer such programmes. And while informal learning, too, is invaluable to develop academics’ teaching skills, the conditions aren’t always in place for such interventions to flourish.</p>
<p>The country’s <a href="http://www.nrf.ac.za/">National Research Foundation</a> funded <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/higher-education-monitor/higher-education-monitor-14-learning-teach-higher">a study</a> at eight universities to investigate these questions. From the research findings it would seem that a variety of ways of learning is required. Formal and less formal approaches can complement each other positively. </p>
<p>The conditions must also be right for academic teachers to continue learning, but given the extreme inequalities when it comes to conditions at public universities this isn’t always the case. <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/Financial%20and%20Physical%20Planning/Report%20of%20the%20Ministerial%20Committee%20for%20the%20Review%20of%20the%20Funding%20of%20Universities.pdf">Uneven funding and resourcing</a> means there are some institutions where lecturers can use top of the range electronic facilities to experiment in their teaching – and other universities where massive lecture halls don’t even have basic sound or projection equipment.</p>
<p>These inequalities greatly influence what and how lecturers learn to teach. </p>
<h2>Formal and informal approaches</h2>
<p>The study <a href="http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/higher-education-monitor/higher-education-monitor-14-learning-teach-higher">found</a> that academics learn to teach through both formal and informal methods. Formal support might include centralised academic development units or academic development staff in faculties and occasionally departments. Other formal approaches include PhD and Masters programmes related to higher education, or postgraduate diplomas in the subject.</p>
<p>Some universities offer financial support so staff can attend teaching and learning conferences. Others might favour incentive oriented schemes – grants for innovations or research related specifically to teaching. Some institutions and individual faculties have teaching and learning committees that encourage debate, collaboration and giving direction to academics. Student feedback systems are also a formal way to improve academics’ teaching.</p>
<p>Informal approaches tend to be more individualised. Academics might engage in self-reflection to better their teaching, or chat to colleagues and supervisors to improve their lectures. They also watch senior staff and those who are known as excellent teachers, learning from their examples. These approaches are extremely powerful; sometimes even more so than the formal programmes. But they are more unpredictable. They depend on the expertise of one’s peers and more senior colleagues.</p>
<h2>Contradictory views</h2>
<p>The study also found a big disjuncture between how universities talk about excellent teaching and how they support, recognise or reward it. </p>
<p>At all eight institutions, whether they focused on research, were more teaching-oriented or were vocational in nature, the general impression was that research was valued – and rewarded – more highly than teaching. One academic told the study authors:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I use my research money more often to buy in replacement teachers to free me to do research than I would if there [were] more benefits attached to teaching for me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Several vice chancellors and deans told the authors that teaching was very important. But middle managers like department heads were quoted as saying that too much attention to one’s professional development as a teacher, or to research about teaching and learning, would be a form of “career suicide”. </p>
<p>The interviews with academics uncovered surprising depths of sincere commitment to enhancing teaching and to teaching well. These views were often expressed despite adverse social or material conditions at universities. In fact, this commitment was more evident in extremely adverse conditions. This underscores the point that an important feature of an academic’s intention to teach well is intrinsically motivated or internally driven.</p>
<h2>Lessons</h2>
<p>This study offers several lessons. The first is that it takes a combination of formal and informal learning to equip academics to become better teachers. Universities are under <a href="http://citizen.co.za/news/news-national/1480842/rhodes-university-financial-difficulty/">enormous financial pressure</a>; some are <a href="http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/c42433004c093a5789628bf0bca466af/UCT-warns-of-possible-staff-retrenchments-within-two-years-20161503">mulling retrenchments</a>, particularly of support staff. Universities should think carefully before cutting professional development staff, given the role they can play in boosting teaching and thereby keeping quality high.</p>
<p>A second lesson is that the general conditions in which academics teach, be these material or social, affect teaching and learning. More attention must be paid to funding and resourcing, and to the training of middle level managers such as heads of department. This is often where the message about the importance of learning to teach well is inconsistently relayed, and heads of department are closer to the academics, that require their support.</p>
<p>It’s also important that policies and incentive systems should not overplay the importance of research at the expense of teaching. </p>
<p>And, finally, given that so many academics are intrinsically motivated to teach well, they should not be viewed as mere instruments of policy and strategic exigencies. Instead, they must be treated as academic partners whose role as professionals should be respected. Their importance must be acknowledged and they must be seen as accountable, responsible, thinking and feeling beings – not workhorses chasing global rankings for the benefit of their institutions’ reputations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brenda Leibowitz receives funding from the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>It takes a combination of formal and informal learning to equip academics to become better teachers. Universities need to encourage both approaches.Brenda Leibowitz, Professor of Teaching and Learning, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/500842015-11-19T04:24:56Z2015-11-19T04:24:56ZTop lecturers share their teaching secrets: passion, focus and flexibility<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101236/original/image-20151109-7504-xn80fs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What sets brilliant university lecturers apart from their more average peers?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Omar Faruk/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What makes a great teacher? Globally, university teaching is often dismissed by academics as being <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11851642/University-lecturers-more-worried-about-research-than-teaching-minister-warns.html">secondary to research</a>. But, for the 2015 winners of South Africa’s <a href="http://heltasa.org.za/">National Excellence in Teaching and Learning Awards</a>, teaching comes first. </p>
<p>I was a member of the selection committee for the 2015 awards and sat down with the winners to find out what makes them tick as teachers.</p>
<h2>Enjoyment factor</h2>
<p><strong><em>What makes teaching so central to your own academic identity and what parts of your teaching bring you the most enjoyment?</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Tania Hanekom</strong>: Having the privilege to shape and support the future of the intellectual youth of our country and in this way help to build a better future for all far outweighs any conventional incentives [such as financial rewards for research output].</p>
<p><strong>Andri Prozesky</strong>: Being an astronomer, my research is far removed from human experience and immediate benefit to society. Teaching bridges this disconnect and gives me an opportunity to connect with people. All teachers are in a position where even small gestures can have a substantial effect on students’ confidence, outlook and thinking. Most people will easily be able to recall specific teachers in their lives who, usually unknowingly, had this effect on them. </p>
<p><strong>Marianne McKay</strong>: Even during my own undergraduate experience 30 years ago, the lecturer who took charge of teaching the first and second years in Chemistry was “only” a doctor. He was quietly chortled at by the rest of the department, although none of them would ever have agreed to take on his enormous workload. I would say the majority of my current colleagues probably view teaching as a necessary chore, too. </p>
<p>From an intensely personal viewpoint, when I’m with a class I’m completely present. Everything else disappears. There is no space for anything except the learning. I have to find ways to do, describe, discuss, present, that haven’t been done before. Every single time, even with the same material, it is different. </p>
<p>The other part, of course, is that if I succeed in helping them to learn the students will become professionals and go out and achieve even more. I have contributed to the foundation of a person’s career, and helped them – a little – to build a life and a future. That is a great feeling.</p>
<p><strong>Mike Savage</strong>: Teaching is an essential part of the fabric of academic life. The young minds of today are the researchers of tomorrow. Without good teaching, the future of research is not sustainable. </p>
<p><strong>Carolyn McGibbon, Gwamaka Mwalemba and Elsje Scott</strong>: Teaching is the mirror that reflects the research done to inform one’s teaching practice. The one cannot exist without the other. Teaching is the joy of planting a seed and seeing it flourish. It is the excitement of accepting the challenge to unlock boundless potential.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tv2fCWk4-ZI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Members of the 2014 awards panel reflect on what ‘good teaching’ is.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Excellence</h2>
<p><strong><em>What does excellence in teaching mean for you in your context?</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Andri:</strong> At its heart, I think excellence is about not accepting the status quo, but actively deconstructing, interrogating and improving it. In the teaching environment excellence is necessarily closely related to outcomes. But by its nature this concept is very hard to quantify in a meaningful way. It would be short-sighted to measure excellence purely on things like pass rates, student numbers and student experience. I think excellent teaching means to be inclusive, while at the same time having high expectations of your students. </p>
<p><strong>Marianne:</strong> I teach oenology, which is the chemistry and science behind wine making. The wine industry is, of course, far bigger than wine making and encompasses everything from soil science and water management to being able to manage exports, sell your product at trade fairs and deal with people from all sorts of situations and circumstances. It is impossible for an undergraduate academic programme to address everything.</p>
<p>So for me, excellent teaching in oenology will involve providing as many opportunities as possible for all our students to become well-rounded professionals who can make an excellent range of products, but can also solve problems, manage, innovate and empathise. I imagine this definition could encompass contexts other than oenology?</p>
<p><strong>Mike:</strong> Excellence in teaching means connecting – very quickly – with students. With passion. This involves understanding the students’ learning difficulties – working, talking, and communicating with students using a very empathetic approach in lecturing and at the same time imparting more than just knowledge. </p>
<p><strong>Carolyn, Gwamaka and Elsje:</strong> Excellence in teaching incorporates passion and courage to take both the teacher and students though a journey on learning and sense making that involves engaging various complex challenges facing our communities. These kinds of teaching and learning challenges also empower scholars. It encourages the kind of thinking, practice and innovation that is meaningful, socially embedded and relevant to address challenges as well as enforcing the values embraced within society.</p>
<h2>Society</h2>
<p><em><strong>How do you think your own teaching approaches and curriculum content attend to the concerns raised in 2015 by student movements?</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Tania:</strong> Transformation to me means to destroy the grounds for biases by empowering everyone to contribute to the building of our country, including those seeking a career in higher education. Being a woman in engineering I find it degrading to even consider that I might be appointed because of my gender or just for the sake of transformation; being a woman is coincidental. I want to be recognised for my abilities and the contribution I can make. </p>
<p>My mission is thus to prepare all my students, whoever they may be, to be recognised for their effective, high-quality skills. Only then can there be equality and only then can real transformation take place.</p>
<p><strong>Andri:</strong> South African universities are increasingly run as businesses and financial sustainability informs almost all their decisions. In our recovering society, the social impact of universities should be prioritised and they should be leaders of change. </p>
<p>In my teaching, I emphasise critical thought and the construction of valid arguments based on evidence. In a democratic society, solutions necessarily start with informed debate. Our graduates should be engaged thinkers who can struggle with complex issues, appreciate larger context and ultimately bring about positive change</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101237/original/image-20151109-7528-1uezd9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101237/original/image-20151109-7528-1uezd9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101237/original/image-20151109-7528-1uezd9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101237/original/image-20151109-7528-1uezd9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101237/original/image-20151109-7528-1uezd9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101237/original/image-20151109-7528-1uezd9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101237/original/image-20151109-7528-1uezd9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Great lecturers give their students time and attention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Marianne:</strong> I have started to make space for social justice issues in my modules. Regular changes to the curriculum are an excellent opportunity to adopt and adapt, too. But it really is a tough call to raise what are seen as “social” issues of transformation in a technical or scientific context. It is possible, but takes some creative thinking and careful de- and re-construction of curriculum content to find the right space to do it without it appearing tacked-on and affected.</p>
<p>We don’t have a choice, though. To use a scientific analogy, not transforming is like defiantly sticking to only Newtonian physics, while the world outside the classroom is being rebuilt using quantum concepts. </p>
<p><strong>Mike:</strong> Most of my students have a mother tongue other than English. Many of the terms we use in lectures do not exist in their language. I call this language stagnation. We have approached scientific societies with a proposal that a technical glossary of terms for isiZulu and isiXhosa for the Atmospheric Sciences be created – but we need help.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>More information about the awards and how the winners were selected is <a href="http://heltasa.org.za/awards/2015-call-for-applications/">available</a> on the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa’s website.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50084/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sioux McKenna does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Teaching often comes second to research in universities. A group of award winning lecturers explains why teaching is the best part of their work.Sioux McKenna, Professor and Higher Education Studies PhD Co-ordinator, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/452892015-08-05T20:16:44Z2015-08-05T20:16:44ZCan good teaching be measured and should it be rewarded?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90398/original/image-20150731-11809-1fkxul3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How do you judge a good teacher?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent budget in the UK <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/osborne-signals-rise-9k-fee-cap-tef">announced plans</a> to allow universities that exemplify good teaching to increase their caps on fees, meaning they will be financially rewarded for good teaching practice. But how do you measure good teaching at university level? Student grades? Satisfaction surveys? Peer review?</p>
<p>I did my university education in the 1960s and, like all students even today, experienced the highs and lows of teaching ability. In one instance I was unfortunate enough to have the same lecturer (in mathematics) for three different subjects. </p>
<p>I never saw his face. The lectures consisted of him walking through the door and making a beeline for the blackboard where he wrote copious incomprehensible notes and formulas for 50 minutes before hastily retreating, while we were still copying them down. No questions please. If you did have a question, the response was always the same: “look it up in the library”.</p>
<p>Fortunately those “golden days” of teaching are long gone, including those lecturers who simply sat in front of the class and read the textbook, punctuating their monologue occasionally with “any questions?”. But it was irrelevant, as almost everyone was thinking about or doing something else. Curiously, in those days, lectures were still well attended despite their obvious shortcomings.</p>
<p>In the 1970s students at Macquarie University were fed up with poor teaching and set up their own system where anyone could submit comments and rate their lecturers. It was published annually as a magazine and was free. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90408/original/image-20150731-11791-2pcsj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90408/original/image-20150731-11791-2pcsj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90408/original/image-20150731-11791-2pcsj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90408/original/image-20150731-11791-2pcsj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90408/original/image-20150731-11791-2pcsj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90408/original/image-20150731-11791-2pcsj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90408/original/image-20150731-11791-2pcsj2.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘golden days’ of teaching, where lecturers simply sat in front of the class reading the textbook, are long gone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-203936089/stock-photo-business-woman-lecturing-at-conference-audience-at-the-lecture-hall.html?src=dhomVAWCo-7cHjHrsNlvLw-1-54">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the administration may have been appalled and the outcomes heavily skewed (usually only unhappy students made submissions), there was no other “official” method of determining student satisfaction or measuring the ability of individual lecturers.</p>
<p>Some 50 years on and everything has changed, although good teaching can still be hard to define and there is no single way of measuring it. In my own experience as both a teacher and a student, I’ve found there are some key skills that <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-good-teacher-20715">good-quality teachers</a> have in common. </p>
<p>They need to be creative, enthusiastic and clear, while keeping the information relevant and challenging. Those tired lecturers, who never vary from the same worn lecture notes or PowerPoint slides year after year until they reach retirement, do a great disservice to themselves, the students and their profession. Class discussion and participation are essential.</p>
<p>For the last decade I have lectured MBA students with an average age of 30, many of whom are in middle to high management positions. They do not want simply to be entertained, but actually want to learn something of substance that can be applied in the “real world”. Otherwise they see a course as a waste of their time and money.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90402/original/image-20150731-11791-f92vw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90402/original/image-20150731-11791-f92vw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90402/original/image-20150731-11791-f92vw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90402/original/image-20150731-11791-f92vw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90402/original/image-20150731-11791-f92vw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90402/original/image-20150731-11791-f92vw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90402/original/image-20150731-11791-f92vw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lecturers need to be creative, enthusiastic and clear. Class discussion and participation is essential.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-145684748/stock-photo-professor-picking-out-student-for-an-answer-in-lecture-room.html?src=pp-same_model-145684757-2&ws=1">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Student surveys can be an imperfect indicator, but mature students can usually distinguish a “quality” teacher from a “popular” one, who might present an easy course that can be passed with little effort. </p>
<p>In this sense these students’ judgements generally coincide with what academic colleagues feel about the teacher as well. If they felt that a lecturer is delivering poor value for money they will be the first to complain to the Dean. I have always found student feedback very useful in shaping my lectures.</p>
<p>When it comes to undergraduates it is a little trickier. Lecture attendance can be as low as 20% as there is a multitude of material available on the web and attendance is not recorded. It wouldn’t make much sense to survey the small percentage who attend as they may well be biased in favour of the lecturer or else they wouldn’t be there. </p>
<h2>Local rewards best</h2>
<p>There needs to be a mechanism for surveying all enrolled students, perhaps online, although this may also mean you get answers from students who have never attended a lecture.</p>
<p>There is a school of thought that suggests any lecture survey results be published and freely available. Such public shaming of lecturers means that students, if there is a choice, will not enrol in their offerings but select classes taken by more highly fancied teachers who will then be overloaded with many more students.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90413/original/image-20150731-11823-1pzyy8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90413/original/image-20150731-11823-1pzyy8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90413/original/image-20150731-11823-1pzyy8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90413/original/image-20150731-11823-1pzyy8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90413/original/image-20150731-11823-1pzyy8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90413/original/image-20150731-11823-1pzyy8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/90413/original/image-20150731-11823-1pzyy8a.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">Apart from job well done, rewards best come from the lecturers’ institution or department.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-225178372/stock-photo-professor-giving-presentation-in-lecture-hall-at-university-participants-listening-to-lecture-and.html?src=9p_b_aI9PIxDgnpktiHkTQ-1-0">from shutterstock.com.au</a></span>
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<p>This leads to the question of how excellent teachers can be rewarded for their efforts. On a national scale, there are currently the Australian Teaching Awards administered by the <a href="http://www.olt.gov.au/">Office for Learning and Teaching</a>, but these are very difficult to win and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-declining-investment-in-quality-university-teaching-43243">their future is uncertain, with changes</a> to the Office for Learning and Teaching around the corner.</p>
<p>And so, apart from an inner glow for a job well done, rewards best come from a local level, most likely the lecturer’s own institution or department. These can provide their own prizes in the form of recognition with both a monetary reward and a certificate of some kind. </p>
<p>My faculty does this annually in terms of a Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching. Certificates are given out at a small ceremony. Any teaching award should have the impetus to be taken into account in the promotion process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Croucher recently received the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for the Australian University Teacher of the Year.</span></em></p>The recent UK budget announced plans to allow universities that exemplify good teaching to increase their caps on fees, meaning they will be financially rewarded for good teaching practice. But how do you measure this?John Croucher, Professor of Statistics at Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.