Competence Oriented Teaching and Learning in Higher Education - Essentials (E-Book)

Heinz Bachmann

• Publisher: hep verlag
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9783035512502
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Teaching Science & Technology

This e-book contains high-resolution graphics and tables that can only be read on e-readers capable of enlarging images.A lecturer who is equipped with the necessary awareness, knowledge and skills, can with reasonable effort successfully deal with the challenges in today's international higher education. This publication focuses on the essentials of teaching and providing the best possible concrete and practical guidance for novices from different subject areas.

Heinz Bachmann

1Higher education teaching redefined – the shift from teaching to learning

The following chapter gives a brief overview of current developments in society and at higher education institutions, with a view to their relevance in everyday teaching. The information presented explains the recent emergence of concepts like competences, standards, self-regulated learning, employability and the shift from teaching to learning in higher education.

1.1Higher education teaching in view of the Bologna Process

The social significance of higher education has changed radically over the last few decades. Formerly elite institutions, accessible to only a few, have now become training centres for many. The opening up of higher education and increased mobility in a globalised world, have resulted in a marked increase in the heterogeneity of the student body. Changes in the workplace have resulted in an increasing demand for people with tertiary qualifications. Knowledge-intensive activities are replacing traditional industries and thus also changing job requirements. Under the heading “21st century skills”, attempts have been made to specify the competences needed in this new world (OECD 2018, Care et al. 2018, see also Figure 1).

Figure 1 Framework for 21st century skills (according to Care et al.).

The Bologna Process has to be understood in this context. What gave rise to the Bologna Process was an ambitious vision to turn Europe into the most competitive, dynamic and science-based economic area in the world. To transform such a vision into action, the Bologna Declaration for pan-European degree reforms was signed in 1999. Since then, almost 50 European countries have joined this reform process. The cornerstones of the Bologna Process are:

•the restructuring of degree courses (Bachelor/Master/Doctorate),

•transparency, compatibility and mutual recognition of course credits across all European countries (ECTS – European Credit Transfer System, workload, competences),

•quality assurance in higher education (EQF – European Qualifications Framework / NQF – National Qualifications Framework),

•realignment of higher education to fit current and expected future developments in a globalised, knowledge-based economy (lifelong learning, employability, mobility, digitalisation).

The focus on employability and competences is not undisputed, but the growing gap between imparted knowledge in higher education and the deficiencies students show in applying it is widely acknowledged. The 2015 Bologna Process Implementation Report mentions progress with the broad implementation of degree structure harmonisation. However, it also refers to significant differences in quality between participatory higher education institutions and countries that hinder student mobility and do not recognise academic credits on an equal basis (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice 2015).

Awareness of the Bologna Process’ impact on higher education teaching with its strongly learner-centred pedagogical reorientation is still absent in many places. Many countries have anchored student-centred teaching as a guiding principle in official documents. There is a well-recognised obligation to produce documentation on learning outcomes, on teacher training for higher education faculty members and on formal student evaluation of modules (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice 2015, p. 73f.). However, there still seems a long way to go before the official policy becomes implemented as regular practice. Traditional ideas often still dominate the reflection on how to design teaching for higher education institutions. Besides thinking about the selection of teaching material, concepts on how to support student learning are rare. Considerations on how to tackle these challenges in higher education teaching will be presented in the following chapters.

1.2Performing – learning – teaching

In the German-speaking pedagogical tradition, the term “didactic” refers to the science of teaching and learning. The term comes from the Greek word didactos and means something like “teachable”. As the etymology shows, all the basic constituents that are part of contemporary higher education teaching and learning are already captured in this word:

•the activity of teaching,

•the selection of content to be learned,

•the teaching resources, i.e. the methods and media,

•the understanding of schools and classrooms as spatial and social environments and

•learning.

In the Bologna terminology, the essence can be captured in the triad “performing – learning – teaching” (see González & Wagenaar 2003). Following this triad, contemporary higher education should start by considering “performing” and only deal with questions about “teaching” at the end (see Figure 2). This means that the formal acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes is not an end in itself but always stands in relation to what society and the world of work demands of the graduates. Put simply, students should be equipped to cope with life in a modern society and to participate in bringing about social progress. From what is being performed, one has to infer what students need to learn and how learning is possible. Only then, in a final step, should relevant teaching designs be considered.

Figure 2 Relationship between social demands, learning objectives and teaching methods.

The current discussions on society’s expectations regarding higher education institutions are characterised by catchwords such as digitalisation, globalisation, competition, sustainability, information overload, knowledge society and lifelong learning (see Schuetze & Wolter 2003; Rychen & Salganik 2003). One of the world’s most discussed reports on this is the UNESCO Delors Report on education in the 21st century entitled “Learning: The treasure within (1996)”. Although the concepts “globalisation” and “knowledge society” are controversially debated and interpreted, there is agreement that the transition from an industrial society to a globally competitive, digitised knowledge society has far-reaching consequences for the education system. In the words of Webler (2004, p. 17):

The drastic reduction of the half-life of knowledge – except for an essential foundation of contextual and outline knowledge (orientational knowledge) – leads to the (relative) devaluation of pure factual knowledge and to the appreciation of knowledge management, i.e. the ability to develop, prioritise and structure knowledge. The worldwide problem with information is not so much the ever-increasing volume that is generated and made electronically available, but how to deal with it. This is why interdisciplinary, relatively abstract competences are becoming increasingly important. Notwithstanding criticism, this has resulted in a far-reaching consensus regarding the current development of professional requirements, described according to a list of key competences. These can be divided into four groups, namely subject-specific competences (professional expertise), self or personal competences, methodological competences and social competences. Teachers have to pass these on to their students, integrate them into their modules and revise the courses they offer accordingly.

This development away from content-centred teaching towards competence-oriented education is captured in the phrase “a shift from teaching to learning” (Webler 2004, p. 24; Kriz et al. 2014). Our new understanding of higher education practice calls for teachers to no longer focus on teaching. Rather, optimising student learning becomes the centre of attention. Learning research also supports this change in perspective (see McCo...