Do you remember how it felt when you taught a class for the first time? I can still picture my first lesson: summer of 1999, day 2 of an intensive English language teaching (CELTA) course at Leeds Metropolitan University. The overhead projector was warmed and whirring, my transparencies freshly printed (so high tech!), lesson aims carefully noted on my plan. The teacher trainer and a handful of other would-be teachers observed quietly at the back of the classroom, notebooks at the ready.
I don’t remember what I taught that day or if it was any good, but I do remember feeling part of a unique community in this new world where teaching was an open, ongoing conversation. It wasn’t really about the first lesson, but what happened after that, and throughout the course. Feedback was always encouraging, considered and constructive; if something hadn’t worked, someone would make a suggestion and I’d try again next lesson; if I needed an idea for an icebreaker or help managing classroom dynamics, the group huddled in and we worked it out together. We taught as individuals, but it was the community that held it all together.
A global staffroom, always learning
Since then, my teaching practice has always benefited from an ever-changing knowledge network, from the little Italian language school where we swapped notes and complained about the textbooks over a beer after class, to the Sudanese university where the only resources were a blackboard and your imagination. With classes of 50+ students and as many different levels of language ability, the practical advice and encouragement from other volunteer teachers picked up where my training fell short.
It was my first teaching job in Australia, however, where I stumbled into the most supportive staffroom and knowledgable teaching leaders I could have wished for. This wider teaching community was pivotal for me, providing practical training sessions and an infinite stream of new ideas to take into the classroom. There was always someone who had taught your lesson before, and if you were lucky, they still had the laminated cut-ups you could borrow – a win for the trees AND your preparation time!
It helped that we all had the same foundational training, and we all knew, theoretically, what quality teaching should be. But that generous, constant sharing of practice meant our students benefited not only from the teacher in front of them, but also the shared wisdom of our teaching community.
Finding your teaching community in higher education
As I moved into different education environments and across sectors, it became clear that this communal experience was not universal – especially in large-scale higher education contexts, where teachers can get isolated in single subjects and disciplinary silos. Add a significant proportion of casual teachers working across multiple institutions, and it’s not hard to see why those cosy staffroom communities don’t form as easily here.
But if you linger long enough, you can start to see where some of the teaching-focussed communities are hanging out. Within a university, they may form around focus areas like learning design or equity and inclusion, where passionate professionals are only too happy to share hard-earned expertise to enhance broader teaching practices. At UTS, perhaps you’ve attended a Learning Design Meetup or have recently joined the growing Educational Fellowship community, supported by a crew of mentors and reviewers. Some communities like the long-running First and Further Year Experience (FFYE) program hold regular forums where anyone can join, bringing together colleagues with similar interests around the country.
Across the sector, other groups come together to talk about technology-enhanced learning and teaching or share practice on student support, whilst global communities like #LTHEchat meet online and across time zones to dig into some of the pervasive challenges in higher education learning and teaching. At a national level, there are also growing communities like the Australian Teaching and Education Focused Academic (TEFA) Network, and if you’re a teaching specialist in higher education, you might want to take a closer look at what they’re doing right now.
Crowdsourcing teaching quality: a national conversation
Building consensus on teaching quality is no small task in such a complex sector. Teaching staff bring a broad range of disciplinary expertise, and may have learned to teach through any number of avenues, from English language training, to high school teaching, and in some cases, postgraduate qualifications for teaching in higher education. There are many more who have simply learned on the job, hopefully (but not all) with support from experienced colleagues and managers along the way.
TEFA is currently running a crowdsourcing initiative to fuel conversations about teaching quality and professional learning that reflect educators’ expertise and practice in higher education. One of its aims is to inform the newly-established Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC), which has highlighted ‘quality teaching’ among its 6 key priorities for universities.
Their recent webinar Shaping Teaching Quality in Australian Higher Education continues to open up this topic, sharing insights from Professor Liz Johnson on what ‘quality teaching’ means for the sector. Alongside the webinar, a collaborative Padlet board asks ‘How do university teachers learn, develop, and sustain teaching quality today?‘, inviting real examples to contribute to this national discussion. What really stands out on the board, apart from the diversity of perspectives people bring to university teaching, is the importance of people and community for ongoing learning. Mentorship, peer observation, communities of practice and opportunities to engage in ongoing professional development have been keeping us learning about teaching, long after any formal training.
Find your people and get involved!
If you’d like to find your teaching crowd there are lots of places to start, including some of the groups mentioned above. To contribute to the current conversations on quality teaching, you can add your perspectives to the Padlet, join the TEFA Network on LinkedIn, or if you’re in Sydney in June, register for an in-person, interactive workshop on Teaching for Public Good – the role of teachers in student experience (June 16, 3:25-4:45pm at UTS Central, Building 2). Join the conversation!
This post was inspired by a recent webinar hosted by the Australian Teaching and Education Focused Academic (TEFA) Network, a community that supports sector-wide dialogue, collaboration, scholarly practice, and leadership in teaching and student learning.