Abstract
ver the last two decades, many institutions have established, or expanded the number of teaching-focused (TF) academic roles, driven by factors including motivation to enhance the educational experience, external assessments of teaching quality and significant expansion in student numbers. From 2015-2020, the UK Higher Education statistics agency suggests academic roles categorised as ‘teaching only’ have increased by 37%, in contrast to the 1% contraction in numbers on combined teaching and research contracts (HESA 2021). This trend is mirrored in other systems globally, such as Australia (Department of Education, 2023).
There is a particular issue around the responsibilities of TF academics and if they incorporate any expectation or requirement for scholarship. Challenges faced by TF faculty in pursuing SoTL have been the topic of previous discussion at ISSoTL (Gregory et al 2017, Simmons et al 2021). Other work, based on individual surveys of faculty, has sought to understand the nature of the work that TF faculty do and how they perceive their role within their institutional contexts (Rawn and Fox, 2018) and interrogate TF academics’ understanding of scholarship (Smith and Walker, 2024).
For this panel discussion proposal we take a different approach, presenting brief case studies that highlight institutional approaches to TF roles; their rationale, role responsibilities and ways in which they are supported and advanced. Panel contributions come from different institution types and geographies spanning Europe, North America, Australasia and Asia. Our goals for the panel are threefold:
1. To understand how these roles are configured in different institutions, as terminology, titles and processes can often obscure points of both commonality and difference.
2. To generate a conversation around an emerging typology of these roles, based on synthesis of the case studies.
3. To both promote and guide the work of the newly-formed ISSoTL Interest Group on TF roles.
There is a particular issue around the responsibilities of TF academics and if they incorporate any expectation or requirement for scholarship. Challenges faced by TF faculty in pursuing SoTL have been the topic of previous discussion at ISSoTL (Gregory et al 2017, Simmons et al 2021). Other work, based on individual surveys of faculty, has sought to understand the nature of the work that TF faculty do and how they perceive their role within their institutional contexts (Rawn and Fox, 2018) and interrogate TF academics’ understanding of scholarship (Smith and Walker, 2024).
For this panel discussion proposal we take a different approach, presenting brief case studies that highlight institutional approaches to TF roles; their rationale, role responsibilities and ways in which they are supported and advanced. Panel contributions come from different institution types and geographies spanning Europe, North America, Australasia and Asia. Our goals for the panel are threefold:
1. To understand how these roles are configured in different institutions, as terminology, titles and processes can often obscure points of both commonality and difference.
2. To generate a conversation around an emerging typology of these roles, based on synthesis of the case studies.
3. To both promote and guide the work of the newly-formed ISSoTL Interest Group on TF roles.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2 Jun 2024 |
| Event | International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Annual Conference 2024: Recognising Impact and Reinvigorating Practice - French Lick Resort, French Lick, United States Duration: 28 Oct 2024 → 31 Oct 2024 Conference number: 20 https://issotl.com/issotl24/ |
Conference
| Conference | International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Annual Conference 2024 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ISSOTL24 |
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | French Lick |
| Period | 28/10/24 → 31/10/24 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- scholarship of teaching and learning
- teaching focused roles
