Transcript Working Group on Teaching and Research

Tracking the Integration of
Research into Teaching
John Hoddinott & Brad Wuetherick
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
What is the Canadian Context?
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Canadian institutions have seen an
incredible increase in the proportion of
their revenue coming from sponsored
research
There has also been a tremendous
increase in tuition fees charged for
undergraduate programs
There have been calls for increased
accountability for the quality of
undergraduate learning (from the public,
students and faculty)
The University of Alberta Context
• 29,000 undergraduate, 6000
postgraduate students, 1750
academic staff – 4th largest
Canadian research university ($415
million in externally sponsored
research revenue)
U of A Operating Revenue vs.
Research Revenue
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
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79
-8
19 0
83
-8
19 4
87
-8
19 8
91
-9
19 2
95
-9
19 6
99
-0
20 0
03
-0
4
0
Operating
Dollars
Research
Revenue
The Integration of Teaching
and Research at the U of A
Why did we get interested in the issue?
• July 2001 - New VP (Research)
arrived and in process of
familiarizing himself with campus
asked Faculties to identify informally
what they were doing to integrate
teaching and research (focusing on
undergraduate research
opportunities)
The Integration of Teaching
and Research at the U of A
• September 2003 - the VP
(Research) and Dean of Graduate
Studies decided to create the
Research Makes Sense For
Students initiative
– Communication
– Policy Development
– Coordination of Research
The Integration of Teaching
and Research at the U of A
• November 2003 - Alan Jenkins was
brought to campus to conduct a
focus group to discuss linking
teaching and research
The Integration of Teaching
and Research at the U of A
• December 2003 – created the
Working Group on Teaching and
Research
– Brought together champions from
across campus to help with the
initiative
– From the start engaged the academic
staff association and two campus
student associations
The Integration of Teaching
and Research at the U of A
• Working Group submitted report –
“Integrating Research and Teaching
at the University of Alberta: Creating
a Foundation for an Inquiry-Based
Life”
– Conceptualizing the Integration
– Developing the Curriculum
– Facilitating the Integration
The Integration of Teaching
and Research at the U of A
• Conducted an environmental scan
of campus, using the Associate
Deans (Research) as our faculty
contacts, to determine what was
being done to integrate teaching and
research
– Boyer Commission (1998) and Jenkins
et al. (2003) as framework
Sydney Graduate Attributes
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Research and Inquiry
Information Literacy
Personal and Intellectual
Autonomy
Ethical, Social and Professional
Understanding
Communication
Research and Inquiry
Arts – U of S
• Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will
be able to create new knowledge
and understanding through the
process of research and inquiry.
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possess a body of knowledge relevant to their fields
of study, and a firm grasp of the principles,
practices, and boundaries of their discipline;
be able to acquire and evaluate new knowledge
through independent research;
be able to identify, define, investigate, and solve
problems;
think independently, analytically and creatively;
exercise critical judgement and critical thinking to
create new modes of understanding.
Research and Inquiry
Arts – U of A
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All professors regularly bring their ongoing
research interests and activity as well as their
research results into the classroom. In addition,
faculty members holding research grants (mostly
from SSHRC, but sometimes from NSERC or
CIHR) use their grants to hire students as research
assistants. Most often those hired are graduate
students, but undergraduates have had limited
possibilities to work with researchers, especially
during the summer.
Information Literacy
Fine Arts - U of S
• Graduates of the Sydney College of
the Arts will be able to use
information effectively in a range of
contexts.
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be able to effectively source information and images
within the framework of their research plan timeframe.
be able to critically evaluate the quality and relevance
of information and images that may support their
creative work.
have some understanding of the social and cultural
issues relevant in the use of information and images for
their research.
be able to use, where appropriate, the latest
contemporary media and technology so that
information and images can be sourced, applied and
documented appropriately for each project/art work.
Information Literacy
(Fine) Arts - U of A
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Data from Arts no Fine Arts references.
(PHIL 365 and PHIL 366) employ lots
of computer resources—MOOs and
the like—and the PHIL 101
supersection has students writing
journals, engaging in discussions, etc.,
as well as getting course materials
from web pages.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
Music – U of S
• Graduates of the Sydney
Conservatorium of Music will be
able to work independently and
sustainably, in a way that is
informed by openness, curiosity and
a desire to meet new challenges.
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be intellectually curious and able to sustain
intellectual interest
be capable of rigorous and independent thinking
be open to new ideas, methods and ways of
thinking
be able to respond effectively to unfamiliar
problems in unfamiliar contexts
be able to identify processes and strategies to
learn and meet new challenges in scholarly
work, composition, teaching and performance
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be independent learners who take
responsibility for their own learning
recognise and be able to undertake lifelong
learning through reflection, self-evaluation
and self-improvement
have a personal vision and goals and be
able to work towards these in a sustainable
way by establishing good work practices in
music scholarship, composition, teaching
and performance
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
(Arts) Music – U of A
• No references in any Arts Faculty
material
Ethical, Social and Professional
Understanding: Business – U of S
• Graduates of the Faculty of Economics
and Business will hold personal values
and beliefs consistent with their role as
responsible members of local, national,
international and professional
communities
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Display a deep respect for others and integrity in all
aspects of their personal, professional and life as a
global citizen.
Identify the ethical issues in business, government and
society in relation to personal and professional contexts.
Demonstrate the capacity to deal with ethical issues in
their personal and professional lives.
Work with people from diverse backgrounds with
inclusiveness, open-mindedness and integrity.
Demonstrate an ability to participate in a broad range of
complex and changing social, political and economic
contexts.
Ethical, Social and Professional
Understanding: Business – U of A
• ACCTG 311 Students do financial
analyses of listed companies and
write papers on controversial issues
such as business ethics
• in BUS 201 (a second-year course
with an enrolment of 400+), students
are asked to prepare a business
plan in groups
Communication
Science – U of S
• Graduates of the Faculty of Science
will recognise and value
communication as a tool for
negotiating and creating new
understanding, interacting with
others, and furthering their own
learning.
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An ability to explain and present ideas to different
groups of people in plain English.
An ability to write effectively in a range of contexts
and for a variety of different audiences and purposes.
An understanding of the effect and use of symbolic
and non-verbal communication, such as body
language, facial expression, pictures, icons and
symbols.
An ability to present and interpret data or other
scientific information using graphs, tables, figures and
symbols.
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An understanding of group dynamics and an
ability to work as a member of a team, and to
take individual responsibility within the group
for developing and achieving group goals.
An ability to take a leadership role in
successfully influencing the activities of a
group towards a common goal.
An ability to actively seek, identify and create
effective contacts with others in a
professional and social context, and maintain
those contacts for mutual benefit.
Communication
Science – U of A
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(Research) course involves research experience
with a faculty member and requires
approximately 8 hours/week. It is taken in the
final year of the program. In addition, this
research course involves a written report and a
final oral presentation that is given to an
audience of undergraduate students, graduate
students and academic staff. Instruction is given
to the students to help them prepare for the oral
presentation.
• A number of upper level undergraduate
courses involve a component in which
reports are written or oral presentations
are made based on a review of the
chemical literature.
Institutional Contexts
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• University of Sydney (PIPPI)
– Philosophy
– Institution-wide
– Power
– Performance
– Incentives
More Information
More information about the integration
of teaching and research at the
U of A can be found at:
http://www.ualberta.ca/researchandstudents
John: [email protected]
Brad: [email protected]