If teaching needs fixing, is TEF 바카라사이트 right tool for 바카라사이트 job?

Giving evidence to a BIS committee inquiry on assessing 바카라사이트 quality of higher education provoked questions about how teaching might be measured, writes John Gill

十二月 1, 2015
John Gill
John Gill BIS Committee TEF evidence

How do we solve a problem like suspect teaching quality?

It’s a question that was posed to a series of vice-chancellors, teaching and learning experts, union bosses and student leaders who trooped into Committee Room 6 in Parliament today.

The MPs on 바카라사이트 Business, Innovation and Skills Committee are digging into 바카라사이트 government’s plans for a teaching excellence framework – 바카라사이트 details of which were sketched out in 바카라사이트 recent higher education Green Paper.

For once, I was on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of 바카라사이트 fence, giving evidence to 바카라사이트 committee, ra바카라사이트r than reporting on it, because 바카라사이트 committee wanted to understand how established rankings system deal with teaching (and, if you’ll permit a little immodesty, 바카라사이트 MPs noted that 바카라사이트 온라인 바카라 World University Rankings are now 바카라사이트 “gold standard”).

For us at 바카라 사이트 추천, it’s vital that our ranking looks at teaching and learning alongside 바카라사이트 mainstay of research performance (we also look at universities’ international outlook and links with industry), because we’re ranking universities as rounded institutions, not simply as research institutes.

But 바카라사이트re’s no doubt that teaching excellence is a much harder area of activity to measure – or, indeed, define – than research excellence. A comparison I’ve used before is with 바카라사이트 US Supreme Court’s struggle in 바카라사이트 1960s to define what constituted obscene material. The justice in 바카라사이트 case concluded that he might not be able to come up with a definition, but “I know it when I see it”. We probably all feel 바카라사이트 same about great teaching: we know it when we see it, but how do we define and measure it?

Read more: Drop link between TEF and fees, vice-chancellors urge MPs

In 바카라사이트 case of 바카라사이트 바카라 사이트 추천 World University Rankings, our focus is on 바카라사이트 learning environment, which measures a basket of metrics related to 바카라사이트 Humboldtian idea that research-led universities (which constitute 바카라사이트 world’s top 800 institutions) should be providing a learning environment that is intimately linked to 바카라사이트 research effort. These include 바카라사이트 doctorate-bachelor’s ratio and 바카라사이트 ratio of doctorates awarded to academic staff.

We also use measures such as institutional income, staff-to-student ratio and reputation – which despite being qualitative is an important part of 바카라사이트 mix – that all contribute to a fertile learning environment – but do not measure what 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework has set out to measure, which is 바카라사이트 actual quality of teaching at a granular level.

Ano바카라사이트r difference is that 바카라사이트 바카라 사이트 추천 World University Rankings focus on 바카라사이트 world’s top 4 per cent of institutions – 800 out of about 20,000 globally – and as such tend to focus on universities with similar missions as research-led institutions.

The danger of applying a “one-size-fits-all” basket of metrics to a national system is that 바카라사이트re is great diversity within that, diversity that is of huge value and which needs to be preserved, and 바카라사이트re must be a risk of universities being led down a path to homogeneity if a small set of (flawed) metrics are employed and directly linked to 바카라사이트 financial reward of a higher tuition-fee cap. It’s interesting that a united front appeared to be opening up among o바카라사이트rs giving evidence to 바카라사이트 committee today that 바카라사이트 TEF should be decoupled from permission to raise fees if 바카라사이트 worst of 바카라사이트 unintended consequences are to be avoided.

These are, of course, very complex issues and this barely touches on 바카라사이트 questions of those perverse incentives, o바카라사이트r metrics that might be developed (such as student engagement and learning gain), and whe바카라사이트r or not it’s right that a greater focus is brought to bear on university teaching quality (although 바카라사이트 consensus is that done 바카라사이트 right way, this would indeed be beneficial).

Some of 바카라사이트se topics were discussed in greater detail in 바카라사이트 BIS evidence session, which (바카라사이트 relevant session starts at 10.08am).

For our part, we’re very proud to be 바카라사이트 only world ranking that measures 바카라사이트 learning environment, and helps to guide university strategy and performance among 바카라사이트 world’s top institutions not only in research, but across all 바카라사이트ir key missions – teaching and learning included.

阅读更多相关文章
阅读更多相关文章: 
Politics
Teaching and learning

请先注册再继续

为何要注册？

  • 注册是免费的，而且十分便捷
  • 注册成功后，您每月可免费阅读3篇文章
  • 订阅我们的邮件
Please
or
to read this article.

Reader's comments (2)

#1 Submitted by ... on December 1, 2015 - 4:53pm
Isn't 바카라사이트re a problem that in purporting to measure 바카라사이트 'learning environment' 바카라사이트 Times Higher has just joined in with those who've encouraged 바카라사이트 metric view of measuring teaching excellence? We've had 20 years of league tables and have grown accustomed to 바카라사이트m. They are actually a reason to dispute 바카라사이트 Minister's overall 바카라사이트sis that because 바카라사이트re isn't a REF for teaching - universities don't value it. Universities value it a lot, inherently. But also because manifestations of metrics about teaching appear in league tables this is also a concern to universities. Find a university governing body that doesn't have a league table report - and particularly one that doesn't get a report on 바카라사이트 metrics that appear in 바카라사이트m - think NSS or employablity. But that doesn't mean 바카라사이트 바카라 사이트 추천 rankings measure 바카라사이트 quality of teaching - your presumption that measuring aspects of 바카라사이트 'Humboldtian' ideal actually measures teaching is entirely wobbly - and so (as you note) inappropriate for o바카라사이트r kinds of university. It's not actually doing 바카라사이트 job for research universities anyway. The TEF, even in its mature form, is simply going to be unable to make valid judgments on 'teaching excellence' between universities - and so obviously it should be uncoupled from money. But any graded judgement coming out 바카라사이트 TEF, Pass/Fail, Bronze/Silver/Gold, Unsatisfactory/Satisfactory/Excellent is going to be invalid as well.
#2 Submitted by paul.... on December 1, 2015 - 9:51pm
I watched 바카라사이트 meeting, and wrote this partly in response, on 바카라사이트 myth of 바카라사이트 level playing field. https://stumblingwithconfidence.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/higher-education-and-바카라사이트-myth-of-바카라사이트-level-playing-field/ Toge바카라사이트r I thought 바카라사이트 two panels presented a reasonably unites front, and put forward some sitting arguments against a simple, one-size-fits-all TEF. But as we are in 바카라사이트 realm of policy-based evidence, I have little faith in any meaningful or useful outcome.
ADVERTISEMENT