Learning to be a scholarly teaching faculty: Cultural change through shared leadership

This is a story about a faculty faced with a disintegrating culture and lack of direction, which underwent adaptive change to become internationally competitive in veterinary education and research. It highlights the importance of establishing a sense of common purpose through an agreed culture, which can then be translated into action through shared leadership. Visionary leadership created a collective will to succeed, and so the way forward to improving teaching based on evidence became clear. The process of change was strengthened by engagement with the university, educational and leadership consultants, other veterinary schools, the veterinary profession, research stakeholders and the student body. During the past decade student learning has increased in importance for research-led universities (Ramsden, 1998) with recognition that high quality outcomes are achieved through student-centred learning experiences. Students are more likely to develop advanced concepts and life-long learning commitment when teaching supports their active engagement in constructing personal meaning (Trigwell, Prosser & Waterhouse, 1999). A conducive climate for student-centred, conceptual-change focused learning can be created through application of the insights from student learning research. This scholarly teaching practice is most effective when inquiry stimulates reflection and continuous improvement. Effective leadership enables staff to create excellent learning environments for students and is particularly important in research intensive universities that traditionally prize research achievements (Knight & Trowler, 2000). The concept of scholarship of teaching emerged from Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered and has been a focus for initiatives to improve university teaching. Its aspects include: understanding the literature on teaching research; using well informed, effective approaches which engage students in appropriate learning to develop creative, critical thinking; systematically gathering and using evidence and reflecting on the literature to improve students’ learning; and communicating findings. Scholarly teaching illuminates how teachers facilitate student learning, using the practices of research in planning, investigation, analysis, evaluation, reflection and communication to share the findings with colleagues (Trigwell, Martin, Benjamin & Prosser, 2000). Healey (2000) argues that teachers should focus on how students learn in their discipline and disseminate this knowledge. Ongoing inquiry, reflection and discussion on instructional design, pedagogy and curriculum knowledge (Kreber, 1999) can create an unstoppable momentum to sustain continuing innovation and enhancement of student learning. Professionalism in teaching is guided by evidence and sustained by reflexive self-awareness. These skills can be developed through formal training in higher education and supported by reward and recognition systems.