A quality teaching model

You are here

Monday 3 April 2023

In Australia, the Higher Education Standards Framework mandates that academics should not only have relevant disciplinary knowledge but also skills in contemporary teaching, learning, and assessment. How this requirement translates into practice and varies across institutions, ranging from nationally recognised Graduate Certificates in Tertiary Teaching to short induction programs for new starters. Recently, we trialled a unique approach to academic development that focuses on delivering high quality teaching using an evidence-based pedagogical framework, the Quality Teaching Model.

Traditionally, most academic development programs take a much-needed pragmatic approach to impart information about policy, logistics, and course management. But with academics under increasing pressure to demonstrate effective teaching, programs that primarily focus on the practicalities of teaching are insufficient.

Using the QT Model, our trial sought to enhance conceptual understandings of quality teaching. Used for decades in K-12 schools, the Model was selected given research demonstrating positive effects on teaching quality, teacher morale, and student academic achievement in schools.

The QT Model honours the complexity of teaching and affords academics a practical way to develop deeper conceptual understandings of quality. At its core, the Model provides a comprehensive conceptualisation of ‘good’ teaching practice through three dimensions. Intellectual Quality refers to pedagogy focused on deep understanding of important ideas; Quality Learning Environment refers to classrooms as productive for student learning; and Significance refers to helping students see value in what they are learning.

Each dimension of the QT Model is comprised of six elements explained in an accompanying practice guide modified for higher education. Each element is elaborated through a description, inquiry questions, and a coding scale for analysing practice at a high level of specificity. The coding scale can be used for self-analysis and to support observation and discussion of practice with colleagues. It is not to be used for performance assessment.

Academics used the framework in our pilot study for either self-assessment, peer review of teaching, or within a community of practice. The Model was perceived as providing a strong foundation for better understanding the practice of teaching and refining several aspects of academic work. Our participants reported direct benefits for analysing practice, course planning, collegial collaboration, and improving the student experience. Importantly, the Model brought fresh insights to all of our participants about what constitutes quality, offering a new lens for academics to consider, challenge and enhance ways of working.

Our study highlights the importance of pedagogy-focused teaching development that provides practical ways to translate enhanced pedagogical knowledge into practice. The QT Model provides a framework that can be used across different SoTL approaches – from self-analysis to peer review and communities of practice – with wide-ranging benefits for academics, students, and institutions.

Photo: Sally Patfield (left) and Jenny Gore.

THE QUALITY TEACHING MODEL
Intellectual Quality Quality Learning Environment Significance
Deep Knowledge Explicit Quality Criteria Background Knowledge
Deep Understanding Engagement Cultural Knowledge
Problematic Knowledge High Expectations Knowledge Integration
Higher-Order Thinking Social Support Inclusivity
Metalanguage Students’ Self-regulation Connectedness
Substantive Communication Student Direction Narrative

 

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The HERDSA Connect Blog offers comment and discussion on higher education issues; provides information about relevant publications, programs and research and celebrates the achievements of our HERDSA members.

 

HERDSA Connect links members of the HERDSA community in Australasia and beyond by sharing branch activities, member perspectives and achievements, book reviews, comments on contemporary issues in higher education, and conference reflections.

 

Members are encouraged to respond to articles and engage in ongoing discussion relevant to higher education and aligned to HERDSA’s values and mission. Contact Daniel Andrews Daniel.Andrews@herdsa.org.au to propose a blog post for the HERDSA Connect blog.

 

HERDSA members can login to comment and subscribe.