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Developing Strategies for Linking Teaching and Research: Institutional and department strategies to engage students in research and inquiry Alan Jenkins.

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Presentation on theme: "Developing Strategies for Linking Teaching and Research: Institutional and department strategies to engage students in research and inquiry Alan Jenkins."— Presentation transcript:

1 Developing Strategies for Linking Teaching and Research: Institutional and department strategies to engage students in research and inquiry Alan Jenkins http://www.alanjenkins.info http://www.alanjenkins.info “… universities should treat learning as not yet wholly solved problems and hence always in research mode” (Humboldt 1810, translated 1970, quoted by Elton 2005, 110)

2 Session Structure Ensure you have session handout Note the session will be in part interactive and will focus on both departmental and institutional strategies Please sit in groups of 2-3 to discuss issues. While my presentation will be in English, in small group discussions you decide your language!

3 Confirming the focus The focus is on discipline based research eg history or interdisciplinary ….not on research on higher education unless your discipline is education! While relevant to taught postgraduate courses the focus is mainly on undergraduate courses, as there the links between teaching and discipline research are more problematic?

4 Institutional Mission statement University of Cyprus aims to establish itself as a Pioneer Research Institution achieving International Scientific Recognition in European Higher Education, offering Competitive Programmes and to become a Centre of Excellence in the wider Euro - Mediterranean Region. The main objectives of the University are twofold: the promotion of scholarship and education through teaching and research, and the enhancement of the cultural, social and economic development of Cyprus. In this context, the University believes that education must provide more than simply accumulation of knowledge. It must also encourage students' active participation in the process of learning and acquisition of those values necessary for responsible involvement in the community. The University sets high standards for all branches of scholarship. Research is promoted and funded in all departments for its contribution to scholarship in general and for its local and international applications. (University web site) (emphasis added)

5 What makes higher education higher ? The New Zealand Education Amendment Act (1990) defines a university as where “teaching and research are closely interdependent and most of their teaching is done by people who are active in advancing knowledge.”

6 Boyer Commision –handout p3 “The research universities have often failed, and continue to fail, their undergraduate population, thousands of students graduate without seeing the world – famous professors or tasting genuine research” Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University

7 What makes higher education higher ? “ all undergraduate students in all higher education institutions should experience learning through, and about, research and inquiry. In undergraduate research, students learn and are assessed in ways that come as close as possible to the experience of academic staff carrying out their disciplinary research.”(emphasis added)

8 Professor (Emeritus) Oxford Brookes; Higher Education Consultant BA Geography at University College London School teacher training in UK then school teacher in British Columbia Canada Graduate School in Geography Madison Wisconsin Long taught geography and China studies Oxford Polytechnic/Oxford Brookes UK Educational Developer Oxford Brookes Consultant on Teaching-Research Relations UK Higher Education Academy, QAA Scotland and institutions world wide Brief Biography: Alan Jenkins

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11 Available from the HE Academy http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/rtnexus.htm

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14 Research Evidence Loosely Coupled “Based on this review we concluded that the common belief that teaching and research were inextricably intertwined is an enduring myth. At best teaching and research are very loosely coupled" (Hattie and Marsh, 1996) At Arms length Students at “arms length” from the worlds of university research (Brew, 2006) Individual Faculty : can experience links and tensions in resolving their teaching and research roles. The context of the department, discipline..shapes these relationships. (Colbeck 1998). Policy Separation ‘heads of departments and other managers of staff time indicated that, on a managerial level, it is more convenient for teaching and research activities to be treated as separate activities. On an intellectual level, however, academic managers would rather perceive the two to be synergistic.’ (Coate et al. 2001, p. 162)

15 Research evidence on impact of (selective) undergraduate research programmes “There is growing evidence that – when done well – some programs and activities appear to engage participants at levels that elevates their performance across multiple engagement and desired outcomes measures such as persistence. … They include first-year seminars, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, service learning, undergraduate research, study abroad and other experiences with diversity, internships, and capstone courses and projects.” (Kuh, 2008, 14) emphasis added “

16 High Impact Activities  First-Year Seminars and Experiences  First-Year Seminars and Experiences  Common Intellectual Experiences  Learning Communities  Writing-Intensive Courses  Collaborative Assignments and Projects  “Science as Science Is Done”; Undergraduate Research  Diversity/Global Learning  Service Learning, Community-Based Learning  Internships  Capstone Courses and Projects Source: Kuh, 2008

17 Acting on the Research Evidence “The aim is to increase the circumstances in which teaching and research have occasion to meet … Increase the skills of staff to teach emphasizing the construction of knowledge by students rather than the imparting of knowledge by instructors.... Ensure that students experience the process of artistic and scientific productivity." (Hattie and Marsh, 1996)

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19 Our argument: a ‘research active curriculum’ “All undergraduate students in all higher education institutions should experience learning through, and about, research and inquiry. … We argue, as does much recent US experience, that such curricular experience should and can be mainstreamed for all or many students through a research-active curriculum. We argue that this can be achieved through structured interventions at course team, departmental, institutional and national levels” (Healey and Jenkins, 2009, 3).

20 Engaging students in discipline based research and inquiry : The Griffiths / Healey models explored Handout p 3 Reshaping the work of Griffith’s (2004), curricula can be research-led, involving learning about current research in the discipline. Here the curriculum focus is to ensure that what students learn clearly reflects current and ongoing research in their discipline. This may include research done by staff teaching them. research-oriented, developing students’ research skills and techniques. Here the focus is on developing students’ knowledge of and ability to carry out the research methodologies and methods appropriate to their discipline. research-based, requiring students to undertake research and inquiry. Here the curriculum focus is on ensuring that, as much as possible, students learn in research or inquiry mode. This means that students become producers of knowledge not just consumers… research-tutored, engaging students in research discussions. Here the focus is on students and staff critically discussing research in the discipline as, for example, in many seminar-based subjects. ( Jenkins and Healey 2012)

21 STUDENTS ARE PARTICIPANTS EMPHASIS ON RESEARCH CONTENT EMPHASIS ON RESEARCH PROCESSES AND PROBLEMS STUDENTS FREQUENTLY ARE AN AUDIENCE Research-tutored Research-based Research-led Research-oriented Curriculum design and the research-teaching nexus (based on Healey, 2005, 70) Engaging in research discussions Undertaking research and inquiry Learning about current research in the discipline Developing research and inquiry skills and techniques

22 Mainstreaming undergraduate research and inquiry Note –for later reading … Disciplinary Case Studies Organised with Reference to the Griffiths /Healey models Handout pp 4-7

23 Handout p 4 : Case Studies of Department of Geography, University College London (UCL) ; and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK Don’t get lost in whether this is good practice /policy.Treat it as ‘interesting’ practice/policy Using the Griffiths /Healey models/typology where would you place these case studies ? Group A focus on Geography at UCL Group B focus Engineering at Imperial 5 minutes

24 Handout p 4 Case Studies of Department of Geography, University College London (UCL), and Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK Don’t get lost in whether this is good practice /policy.Treat it as ‘interesting’ practice/policy Task :What general principles /policies for departmental organisation do you see there ?–eg both ( in different ) ways involve all faculty ? Group A focus on Geography at UCL Group B focus Engineering at Imperial 5 minutes

25 Handout pp 8 -9 :Linking Teaching and Research in Departments: Questions and Strategies Discuss teaching research relations in your department focussing on some of these questions and strategies 5 minutes

26 Handout p 9 -12. Some departmental case studies on linking teaching and research Consider the relevance of one –or more –of the case studies to your departmental strategy…. Note in patic 2.1 Co-ordinated interventions in Zoology at University of Tasmania, Australia p9 2.10 Research project-based teaching in engineering: a departmental strategy at Taylor’s University, Malaysia p12 5 minutes

27 Available from the HE Academy http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/rtnexus.htm

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29 Institutional /Faculty …strategies Note the typology on pp 12 Institutional Strategies to Link Teaching and Research: A Framework And case studies 13-17 For later reading!

30 Terminology Student as scholar – Miami, US Research intensive education – Amsterdam, Netherlands Research based learning – Tilburg, Netherlands Research enriched learning and teaching - Sydney Student as producer – Lincoln, UK Teaching Research Nexus – McGill, Canada Inquiry-based learning – McMaster, Canada Active learning – Gloucestershire, UK

31 Institutional …strategies to mainstream undergraduate research and inquiry Consider the typology on page 17-18 and the case studies pp 18-27 Which of these 19 strategies do you feel relevant to this university /your roles….. Consider one or more of the case studies that ‘illustrate’ that strategy 5-10 minutes

32 Note K Possible strategies for national and international organisations pp 27-28

33 Linking research and teaching: Conclusions Nature of the linkage between teaching and research is complex and contested Barnett (2003: 157) suggests that there are many pressures that are pulling research and teaching apart: “The twentieth century saw the university change from a site in which teaching and research stood in a reasonably comfortable relationship with each other to one in which they became mutually antagonistic”

34 Linking research and teaching: C onclusions; The work of Boyer Ernest Boyer in Scholarship Reconsidered(1990) proposed that ‘scholarship’ include these four different categories: The scholarship of discovery that includes original research that advances knowledge; The scholarship of integration that involves synthesis of information across disciplines, across topics within a discipline, or across time; The scholarship of application (also later called the scholarship of engagement) that goes beyond the service duties of a faculty member to those within or outside the University and involves the rigor and application of disciplinary expertise with results that can be shared with and/or evaluated by peers The scholarship of teaching and learning that the systematic study of teaching and learning processes. It differs from scholarly teaching in that it requires a format that will allow public sharing and the opportunity for application and evaluation by others.

35 Linking research and teaching: C onclusions; My perspective Putting greater emphasis on actively engaging students with research, suitably adapted to recognise the variation and complexity of constructing knowledge in different disciplines and in different ‘types’ of higher education is one way of re- linking them.

36 Linking research and teaching: Your C onclusions In your groups agree on ONE ‘statement worth making to everybody here’, about the relevance of this agenda /progressing this agenda at this institution / your department(s) Ensure you have one person ready to speak for the group


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