“Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.”
―
Confucius
Teaching for Quality Learning at University
Teaching for Quality Learning at University is a comprehensive ‘must read’ book for any teacher in higher education. It offers a comprehensive. It highlights examples of practicalities and principles of teaching in an accessible framework. There is also a deepening of understanding from what it means to be an individual tutor in a classroom to the dynamic at play in the community of an institutional setting.
It talks about the changing landscape of the university setting, being student-focussed – teaching as a direct response to how students learn, implementing constructive alignment in outcomes based teaching, and assessment -‘Assessment is the senior partner in learning and teaching. Get it wrong and the rest collapses’. (Biggs and Tang, 2011: 196), as well as much more comprehensive information imperative to effective teaching.
This is a superb guide to tutors wanting guidance on how to effectively design programmes and course material. It is grounded in years of experience and demonstrates a clear and accessible strategy for the design of programmes to promote learning.
The book regularly encourages the reader to reflect on their own teaching style and practice and their process of assessment, which is imperative to re-evaluate one’s own assumptions which may not have been adequately reflected upon. There are plenty of activities and practical tasks which make it more like a workshop and give the reader the opportunity to integrate learning and understanding of the material. There is also adequate referencing and resource for further reading on any given topic.
It is not surprising that this book is frequently on the essential reading list for any teacher training!