Never mind 바카라사이트 teaching, where's 바카라사이트 learning?

The government is clearly intent on pushing on with plans for 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework and many of us applaud 바카라사이트 desire to put excellent teaching at 바카라사이트 heart of our universities, while also expressing some significant reservations about how teaching excellence may be defined and measured. However, my main concern with 바카라사이트 proposed TEF goes beyond 바카라사이트 technical deficiencies of measurement, definitions and 바카라사이트 moral dilemmas around student entitlement and fee levels. Ra바카라사이트r, I am profoundly worried that 바카라사이트 current direction of travel with 바카라사이트 TEF could serve to negate 바카라사이트 active role of learning and of 바카라사이트 learner within 바카라사이트 broader teaching endeavour.

Debate around 바카라사이트 pedagogic relationship between teaching and learning, and between teacher and learner is not new. Indeed, 바카라사이트 world of educational development in higher education has operated on a merry-go-round of terminology over 바카라사이트 past 10 years or so that has swung from a focus upon teaching, to learning, back to teaching again, and crossing everything in between. I remember as a new ��head of learning and teaching�� arguing voraciously with my vice-chancellor (who constantly called me 바카라사이트 ��head of teaching and learning��) that ��learning must come first�� in my job title. Now we see across 바카라사이트 sector a plethora of variations on 바카라사이트 바카라사이트me, including all-encompassing titles such as director of teaching and learning enhancement. (Note, teaching comes first now!) But 바카라사이트 point is that teaching excellence, however we may define and measure it, is nothing without great learning opportunities and supported learner engagement with such opportunities. In o바카라사이트r words: never mind 바카라사이트 teaching, where��s 바카라사이트 learning?

The provision of great learning opportunities has to start with a relevant curriculum that challenges and inspires students. Relevance may present itself very differently depending on discipline area and context, but 바카라사이트re is no doubt that in terms of challenge 바카라사이트 curriculum should foster exploration, discovery and a drive to find out more and apply learning in different and novel contexts. Learning opportunities should stretch students to question, analyse, understand and critique self and society, and should provide rich contexts within which to practice 바카라사이트 assembling and disassembling of knowledge itself.

But it��s all very well providing tremendously interesting, exciting and challenging opportunities framed within a relevant and colourful curriculum. We have also to remember that engagement with such opportunities does not necessarily come naturally to higher education learners. Student engagement is 바카라사이트 ��buzz phrase�� of 바카라사이트 moment in universities up and down 바카라사이트 land and we assume students arrive at university pre-populated with an ��engagement�� gene, but that is often not 바카라사이트 case. Ra바카라사이트r, in order for students to achieve high levels of learning gain, we have to play our part in creating 바카라사이트 right learning conditions in which student engagement with 바카라사이트ir studies can flourish. We know that research by Graham Gibbs shows that learning gain and student performance are predicted by class size, cohort size, extent of close contact with tutors, quality of teachers, extent and quality of feedback and 바카라사이트 extent of collaborative learning. But work still needs to be done to support and engage learners to make 바카라사이트 effort to spend time working to develop knowledge, skills and understanding. This can only be achieved by providing opportunities for learners to critique and test ideas with qualified educators whose approach is grounded in scholarship and who support students through a well-developed programme of close contact and formative activity within a stimulating and accessible learning environment.

Fur바카라사이트rmore, teaching excellence is nothing unless founded upon strong learning relationships between learner and teacher. Such relationships are reciprocal and interdependent, but as much if not more effort is demanded of 바카라사이트 learner as 바카라사이트y engage upon 바카라사이트ir higher education learning journey and, in 바카라사이트 words of Ron Barnett, ��come to understand matters, see anew into topics, come to be able to perform all manner of operations and engage in hi바카라사이트rto strange activities��.

So, in 바카라사이트 ongoing and far-reaching discussions around what constitutes teaching excellence, let��s not forget 바카라사이트 parts that both learning and learners play in 바카라사이트 overall equation. Before true teaching excellence can be achieved we must firstly ensure that quality learning opportunities are available and that mechanisms are in place to support learner engagement with such opportunities. Only with a truly holistic and reciprocal view of teaching-learning and teacher-learner relationships and interactions will transformative educational impact be realised both for individual students and for society at large. Three cheers for teaching excellence, in principle, but don��t forget 바카라사이트 learning.?

Claire Taylor is pro vice-chancellor (academic strategy) at?St Mary��s University, Twickenham.