Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: What is involved? (From 2003)

Part 1. Introduction.

This piece of writing has been written to display a snapshot of my views on teaching and learning in Higher Education. It is being purposely written before I start work on my portfolio for the ‘Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning Support’ course.
Once the work for the portfolio has been finished, I intend to write a similar piece, describing how my mind has changed, and how it has stayed the same through that time period. The two pieces of work will show the development of my thoughts about and understanding of teaching and learning in Higher Education. They will also show the development of my values and my awareness of my values, and possibly other things that I am not aware of at this point.


Part 2. The Purposes Of Teaching And Learning In Higher Education.

The experience of Higher Education should allow and require the student to develop a wide variety of skills, abilities and knowledge relating to their subject area. These should be developed to an appropriate level of complexity for the level of study, such as HE1, HE2, HE3 or M level.
The reason or reasons for developing these skills, abilities and knowledge might be one, or a combination of items such as:

· To make the student more employable, in a specific area or in general.
· To give the student the ability and motivation to learn throughout their life.
· The student's interest in the subject.

The purpose of teaching is to help focus and guide the student so that the knowledge, understanding and skills are learned and developed through the student's activities and study.


Part 3. Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Practice.

This section covers what I consider to be some of the issues that are most important to teaching and learning in Higher Education.

The Relationship Between Teacher and Learner
The teacher/learning facilitator works in partnership with the student, in that the student must trust the teacher/learning facilitator's guidance and act on it. However this involves the students working independently, to the extent described in the institution’s level descriptors.

Personalised Learning.
Teaching should take into account different students’ needs. This could be related to a student’s disability, which might require the course, or resources used in the course, to be presented in a way that he/she is able to access. The teaching strategy also needs to take into account the way students learn best, which will vary from student to student. Therefore a wide variety of learning styles should be catered for where possible, to help different students access and connect with the learning resources.

Making Aims Explicit
The student needs to be aware of the learning outcomes of their course as a whole and the modules within it, as well as why it is important to learn what they are learning. This motivates the student to get involved in learning activities, partly by showing them that each activity they are asked to undertake is part of the bigger learning experience.
The students should be able to reflect on their development through their course, as this helps them to appreciate, and take charge of, their own learning. The student should be encouraged to learn to identify which skills and what knowledge has been developed at different stages of their course. They can then see what their efforts so far have achieved, and take steps to work on skills and knowledge that still require development.