Guidelines for Effective University Teaching

Policy and Procedures

Preamble - Commitment to Effective Teaching

Australian Universities are a part of an internationally recognised community of higher education and as such have, in common with their international peers, a particular responsibility to create, preserve, evaluate, interpret and transmit knowledge. While other institutions in society also contribute to these same objectives, it is a special responsibility of universities to foster and preserve the scholarly values of search for truth, of curiosity, integrity and critical appraisal, and to nurture these values in their students.

The AVCC sees diversity in functions, organisation and teaching as one of the chief strengths of the Australian university system. This is supported by the widely differing curricula offered in Australian universities. Effective teaching practice is sensitive to particular curricula in fostering those scholarly values.

The AVCC sees teaching as a creative activity designed to foster students' learning, their capability to do scholarly work, and their development as a whole person. Teaching draws on professional and disciplinary expertise of staff and is continually revitalised by research, scholarship, consultancy, or professional practice.

The AVCC believes that the promotion of effective teaching should be a matter of highest priority for each university and that each institution needs to develop a coherent set of policies and practices which demonstrate that the institution values above all the education of its students and the contribution academic staff make to the enhancement of student learning.

These Guidelines for Effective University Teaching are based on research into teaching and learning, on good practices in institutions, and on criteria used in teaching awards, and in tenure and promotion procedures. The Guidelines set achievable goals, and government, institutions and academic staff are urged to make their implementation possible. The Guidelines focus on the responsibility of institutions, academic units and academic staff, as they are accountable for providing education in an environment conducive to learning. But underlying the Guidelines is the acknowledgment and expectation that students are active participants in the learning process and are central to the mission of every university.

1. The University Teacher and Effective Teaching Practice

University teaching is a profession and a scholarly activity which draws on a high level of competence and expertise in the discipline and/or relevant professional experience together with highly developed communication and interpersonal skills.

As professionals, university teachers need to be appropriate role models and exhibit to their students a commitment to scholarly values, to life long learning, to professional and personal growth through critical reflection and self-evaluation, to accountability for their own professional activities, and to a responsible and ethical practice of their profession.

As university teachers, staff need to acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of a wide range of teaching and assessment methods and of the principles which underlie student learning. They should work to instil in their students a respect for their discipline and for learning generally, the need for personal progress towards competence and maturity, and a commitment to maximise the opportunities that each graduate will have to contribute to society.

As scholars, university teachers need to contribute to their disciplines or at least to be in touch with current research and scholarship, and to integrate into their teaching the knowledge and understanding which they or others create.

Students expect of and value in their university teachers competence in the subject areas they teach; effective communication of their knowledge and experience; interest and enthusiasm for their subject; concern and respect for students as persons, and commitment to facilitating learning for each individual student.

Indeed, all university teachers have a professional responsibility to teach their subjects in such a way that all students, regardless of their background or characteristics, have an equal opportunity to learn and to demonstrate that learning, in accordance with the aims of the subject. This means that good teaching practices vary in relation to-

However, despite the diversity in effective teaching practice, there are some common aims and principles, Generally, university teaching aims to enable students to reach their highest possible level of learning during their time of enrolment, and to prepare them for life-long learning. In practice this means that staff collectively are responsible for the design, management and teaching of their subjects and for facilitating effective learning by their students.

1.1 Student Learning

Effective university teachers-

1.2 Teaching and Assessment

Teaching encompasses a wide range of activities including one-to-one consultations, postgraduate supervision, classroom teaching, supervising students' practical experience in laboratories, clinics, schools and industry, supervising projects, advising students, assessing students' work, preparing teaching and course materials for on-campus and off-campus students, and contributing to course design and improvement and to curriculum development.

Assessment provides an evaluation of the student's competence in meeting specified objectives. But it is also an essential part of the teaching and learning process. Properly selected assessment tasks help students to structure their time, signal the importance of particular content, skills and concepts, and influence approaches to study. constructive and timely feedback on assessment helps students to gain a sense of progress, a knowledge of standards and criteria for judgements in a field, and to learn from their attempts.

Effective university teachers-

1.3 Subject Management

Subject management determines much of the learning environment for the students. Effective university teachers-

2. School Encouragement of Effective Teaching

In the course of undergraduate and postgraduate degree studies, students may have contact with up to several dozen tertiary teachers. While each one may have a deep impact, positive or negative, on a student, the student is at least equally influenced by the ethos of the schools [the term ‘school’ denotes here all basic academic units] in which he or she studies and the experience of the whole program of study undertaken. Schools as much as institutions and individuals can give teaching and students a high or low priority - students experience this in their daily interaction with school staff inside and outside the classroom. Schools set the curriculum or part of it, establish conventions for teaching and assessing, for one-to-one consultation, and for involving students in subject and teaching reviews. Schools also need to establish an ethos where academics feel free and are encouraged and supported to teach assess in innovative ways, and where all students, but particularly postgraduate students, feel valued as partners in learning.

The institution, the faculties, heads of schools and all teaching staff share collegially the responsibility for the standard of teaching and the quality of the learning environment. An environment conducive to learning is open, inter alia, to student input into reviews of courses and subjects, and the development of new ones. Despite the shared responsibility, in particular with professors in the school and with course co-ordinators, there are specific responsibilities which heads of school have as part of their administrative and academic leadership roles.

2.1 Students

Heads of school are responsible for their school as a learning environment for students. They acknowledge this responsibility by-

2.2 Academic Staff

Heads of school encourage effective teaching by fostering a school climate and conventions in which scholarship and inquiry is expected and encouraged; university teachers are committed to reflecting on and monitoring how their teaching enhances student learning; staff are open to giving and receiving feedback from their peers, and are committed to the school’s goals of excellence in teaching and working collaboratively. In particular, effective heads-

2.3 Courses and Subjects

Heads of school encourage a high standard of courses and subjects offered through their school by -

3. Institutional Valuing of Teaching

Institutional ethos and climate influence the status of teaching within the institution and the quality of the students' learning environments. Institutional commitment to the priority of teaching would be shown by-

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