Workshop attended: Understanding the University Context – Aligning Teaching with Different Institutional Types & Missions (by Dr. Judith Stoddart)
Workshop Date: 05/09/2019
Description
In this Seminar, we were presented with different types of universities and their particular contexts. Samples of institutional mission statements and statements on teaching were given to exemplify the how the type of higher education institution affect the expectations of the institutions and also the students of such institutions.
Although all universities hold their teachers to the high standards of quality of teaching, in research oriented institutions, a professor may be expected to produce larger quantity and quality of research, whereas other kinds of institutions may place greater emphasis on instruction and curriculum development.
Artifact #1 & Rationale
Worksheet for Reflections and Applications for Teaching and Learning
The worksheet contains some insights I received during the seminar, as well as some reflections and topics that I intend to investigate in the future. The reflections were written by me during a discussion on the seminar following immediately after the Seminar.
In the worksheet I discussed how teaching occurs in a context. Knowing what are the expectations and background of students is necessary to be successful in teaching them. Similarly, it is important to understand the background of the institution and what is expected of teachers, so one can progress in their career and form a beneficial relationship with their superiors.
Particularly, understanding student contexts are important to keep students motivated and engaged. Teaching involves the creation and transmission of knowledge to students. Therefore, course design must focus on the specific student contexts present.
One aspect that I still would like to investigate further is, at each university context, how to best balance challenge and “hand-holding” to obtain the best learning outcomes.
Artifact #2 & Rationale
The second artifact is the handout for Judith Stoddart’s seminar (pg. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). It includes 5 examples of institutional mission statements and teaching statements from different universities and also a list of 6 different types of higher education institutions in the United States and their general characteristics.
By examining the Mission (and Vision) statements of different colleges, one can clearly see that priorities are ranked different. In a sense, these statements serve as a form of rubric by which a new faculty will be evaluated. Given limitations on time and energy, one cannot give 100% in every direction. Knowing which standard will be used For example, Michigan State University, a research institution, does include “providing outstanding undergraduate (…) education” in its mission statement, but there is a stark contrast to a community college such as Jackson Community College, which not only states that “the primary focus of community College faculty is teaching”, but also includes specific expectations on new faculty members, for example “create, develop and fine-tune learning environments that stress active participation by students, that offer a variety of classroom techniques for learning”, etc.
This handout clearly delineates the differences between higher education institutions. More importantly, it shows how wide expectations for new faculty members can be. This is helpful when looking for employment, as applying for institutions whose statements align well with one’s beliefs and career plans is important for finding satisfaction in work in the long term.
Reflection
In order to succeed in an institution, a teacher must understand what their responsibilities are and allocate their time accordingly. Understanding what context they are inserted in is instrumental to satisfy the expectations of both students and the institution.
Different universities possess different kinds of students with unique backgrounds. Understanding the background of their students allows teachers to develop and teach courses that match their current skills, while also challenging them appropriate. Keeping students from becoming demotivated and increasing student engagement is a trait of a good teacher.
Courses designed with the correct learning outcomes and with the students’ context in mind yields better outcomes than “one-size-fits-all” courses, even if they are skillfully designed (for another context).
In the same way, knowing ones career aspirations and personality is a helpful way to judge whether a particular university is a good fit, where one would thrive in the long term.