SLU guidelines

  • provide support to demonstrate teaching skills or assess them

1. Teaching proficiency - a short background

  • proficiency: ability to perform instruction and carry out examination
  • late 20th century: paradigm shoft from “providing instruction” to “producing learning”
  • teaching proficiency: proficiency in planning, performing and evaluating teaching, including ability to motivate teaching methods and refklect on them
  • teaching skills requirement for professor or lecturer, equal weight to scientific skills
  • good practice in education:
    1. Encourages contacts between students and faculty
    2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students
    3. Uses active learning techniques
    4. Gives prompt feedback
    5. Emphasizes time on task
    6. Communicates high expectations
    7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
  • 4 dimensions: Context –> Knowledge and approaches – Planning –> Teaching
  • 3 progressive levels of early stage teachers’ views:
    1. Who the student is: learning is primarily defined by the students’ personal characteristics: some ar gifted and some are not
    2. What the teacher does: learning is primarily defined by what the teacher does: how she teaches
    3. What the student does: learning is a result of the learning activities the students engage in, and it is determined by the students’ previous experiences and the learning environment they find themselves in
  • also 3 progressive levels for proficient teachers:
    1. excellent: proficient in the classroom, teaching is experienced as effective by colleagues and students
    2. expert:
      • excellent plus theoretical knowledge about teaching and learning
      • combine subject knowlege and practical knowledge of teaching
      • continuous self-development and adaptation in teaching methods
    3. scholarship of teaching and learning: excellent + expert + sharing and promoting knowledge on the general development of teaching: conferences, articles, etc.

2. Documenting teaching skills - the teaching portfolio

  • two types of teaching portfolios:
    • personal:
      • extensive documentation together with reflections
      • course evaluations, testimonials from course leaders, material produced, certificates, etc.
      • all kind of situations you helped people, being a coach, private support
      • include negative experiences
      • everything is valuable
    • specific: assembled for special purpose
    • What have I done? How did I do it? Why did I do it this way? What was the result?

What serves as evidence of teaching proficiency?

  • pedagogical self-reflection:
    • What I teach
    • How I teach
    • Why I teach the way I do
    • What results do I achieve
  • teaching philosophy (pedagogical standpoint):
    • what is knowledge
    • existing limits for what is possible to know
    • how learning happens
    • what is important to know
    • how should we teach
    • should match your actual way of teaching

  • A well-structured philosophy can be formulated citing the literature.

  • most important: philosophy in action
  • self-reflection:
    • penetrate all aspects of a teacher’s role
    • trace own development as a teacher over time
    • include merits
      • for example self-development during participation in a teaching course
        • Constructive alignment
        • important is what the students do, not what the teacher does
        • deep knowledge needs personal activity
        • active learning way more useful than just bein able to preach
        • rather teach less but deeper
      • mere participation does not demonstrate teaching skills
      • desciption of significance of the course for own development
      • expansion of vision as a teacher, influence on student learning
    • ideas for future development (personal, at the department)

      3. Requesting or writing a testimonial of teaching skills

      To be done.

4. Evaluating teaching proficiencey

To be done.

My questions and comments

  • In the seven principles for good teaching (Table 1), what does “Emphasizes time on task” mean?
  • My teaching was long ago, I did not care about certificates, course evaluations, or testimonials for in Germany nobody cares about. How does this impede future applications in Sweden?