Balancing the role of the dental school in teaching, research and patient care; including care for underserved areas

Inequalities within dentistry are common and are reflected in wide differences in the levels of oral health and the standard of care available both within and between countries and communities. Furthermore there are patients, particularly those with special treatment needs, who do not have the same access to dental services as the general public. The dental school should aim to recruit students from varied backgrounds into all areas covered by the oral healthcare team and to train students to treat the full spectrum of patients including those with special needs. It is essential, however, that the dental student achieves a high standard of clinical competence and this cannot be gained by treating only those patients with low expectations for care. Balancing these aspects of clinical education is difficult. Research is an important stimulus to better teaching and better clinical care. It is recognized that dental school staff should be active in research, teaching, clinical work and frequently administration. Maintaining a balance between the commitments to clinical care, teaching and research while also taking account of underserved areas in each of these categories is a difficult challenge but one that has to be met to a high degree in a successful, modern dental school.

Teaching research and epidemiology to undergraduate students in the health sciences

Objective: To identify and address particular challenges in the teaching of epidemiological concepts to undergraduate students in non-clinical health disciplines. Methods and Results: Relevant pedagogical literature was reviewed to identify a range of evidence-based teaching approaches. The authors also drew on their experience in curriculum development and teaching in this field to provide guidelines for teaching epidemiology in a way that is engaging to students and likely to promote deep, rather than surface, learning. Discussion of a range of practical strategies is included along with applied examples of teaching epidemiological content. Conclusions and Implications: Increasingly, there is a greater emphasis on improved learning outcomes in higher education. Graduates from non-clinical health courses are required to have a core understanding of epidemiology and teachers of epidemiology need to be able to access resources that are relevant and useful for these students. A theoretically grounded framework for effective teaching of epidemiological principles to non-clinical undergraduates is provided, together with a range of useful teaching resources (both paper and web-based). Implementation of the strategies discussed will help ensure graduates are able to appropriately apply epidemiological skills in their professional practice.

Knowing practice in English teaching? Research challenges in representing the professional practice of English teachers

This article problematises representations of professional practice. It investigates assumptions behind received accounts of professional practice, including professional standards that purportedly capture what accomplished English teachers “should know and be able to do”, “scientific” studies that construct accounts of classrooms from the standpoint of academic researchers, and narratives written by teachers that claim to explore dimensions of classroom teaching that elude outside observers. Especially significant are attempts by practitioner researchers to develop accounts of their professional practice vis-a-vis constructions of their work from other standpoints. We argue that it is timely for practitioner researchers to reflexively examine the conditions for producing such accounts, and to address the question of the validity of their knowledge claims. Yet this is also – crucially – more than an epistemological issue, but one that requires acknowledging the primacy of practice for engaging with the complexities of classroom settings. This article gives an account of our ongoing efforts to develop forms of representation that might begin to do justice to the complexities of practice in comparison with accepted accounts of what English teachers know and do. We intend it to be read as a position paper which outlines a framework for research on English teaching as a dynamic culture practice.

Promoting scholarship - The way forward: Learning & teaching research in a complex environment – A typology

This paper provides a critical overview into a distinctive typology of Learning and Teaching Research developed at a relatively small, research-led UK University. Based upon research into staff perceptions of the relationship between learning and teaching research and practice, the model represents an holistic approach to evidence-based learning and teaching practice in Contemporary Higher Education.

Promoting scholarship - the way forward:learning and teaching research in a complex environment – a typology

Scholarship in learning and teaching.

A tudományterületi sajátosságok következményei a kutatásban, az oktatásban és a felsőoktatási intézmények vezetésében (The consequences of disciplinary difference on teaching, research and institutional management of higher education)

A szerző tanulmányában vizsgálja a tudományterületek különbségeinek következményeit az oktatásban, a kutatásban és a felsőoktatási intézmények irányításában. A tanulmány első felében a tudományterületek episztemológiai és közösségi különbségeit tárgyalja Becher és Trowler (2001) népszerű kategorizálása alapján. A tanulmány második felében a tudományszerveződésre, a publikációs gyakorlatra, a doktori képzésre, az oktatás céljára és formáira, a diákok tudásképére, valamint a menedzsmentfelfogásra gyakorolt hatást mutatja be. A konklúzióban egyrészt a minőség- és teljesítményértékelési rendszerek differenciált megközelítésének szükségességére hívja fel a figyelmet, másrészt arra, hogy a Bologna-rendszer és az élethosszig tartó tanulás erősödésének következményeként egy-egy mesterszakon nemcsak a hallgatóság háttere, előismerete lesz sokszínű, hanem a tudásról alkotott képe is. Ez újfajta oktatói szerepeket és oktatási megközelítéseket tesz szükségessé. ________ In the article the consequences of disciplinary difference on teaching, research and institutional management is examined. In the first part of the paper the epistemological and sociological differences of scientific disciplines are summarized based on the popular typology of Becher and Trowler (2001). In the second part the influence of differences on organisation of sciences, publication practices, PhD studies, the goal and form of teaching, students’ conception of knowledge as well as on the understanding on management and leadership are discussed. In the conclusions, attention is drawn on the necessity of differentiation in quality and performance management processes. Another conclusion is that new roles for teachers and approaches for teaching is required if students’ conception of knowledge become more heterogeneous which is the result of result of life long learning and Bologna-reform.

Chinese teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) academics' perceptions about research in a transitional culture

Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China and across the world. However, Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics' research output has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This case study presents the perceptions about research of six Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics in a context of growing institutional demands for research. One-on-one interviews of 35-60 minutes' duration were conducted with these academics from an institution in north China. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews indicated that the Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics held positive perceptions about the teaching-research nexus. However, the value of research to them seemed to be limited to teaching and career advancement. They also expressed varied concerns about the institutional research requirements. The findings suggested several implications for the institution's administrators to further enhance academics' research capacity building.

Videos in academia : emotive teaching or ethnographic research?

This paper presents perspectives of Australian higher education sector academics that employ video resources as part of their lectures in undergraduate courses in a business degree. It also draws attention to the ethnographic research data embedded in video documentary resources, in particular, and proposes that the teaching-research nexus in a business Faculty can in some ways be serviced by the increasing number and variety of video resources.

Effective integration of teaching and research in a first year food and nutrition course

Previous research has indicated that undergraduate student learning can be enhanced through active involvement in research. Furthermore, creating an academic environment where teaching and research are intimately linked can facilitate the induction of students into a community of learners where new knowledge is created, explored and critiqued. Scaffolding and supporting student learning via engagement in authentic research experiences can work to ensure graduating students have the capacity to generate and investigate important questions that contributes to the development of new knowledge. This paper presents a case study that outlines curriculum design and pedagogical strategies aimed at integrating teaching and research within the first year of an undergraduate course. First year Food and Nutrition students were asked to partake in a research project where they were asked to complete a series of diet and food related questionnaires, analyse, interpret and critique the resulting data. Students were supported through this learning activity via small group tutorial support and question and answer sessions within the learning management system. Anonymous evaluation of the teaching and learning experience was conducted at the end of the teaching period and the results indicate that the students welcomed the opportunity to engage in an authentic, research based learning activity. Students’ found the assessment tasks were clearly explained to them (88% agreeing), and felt well supported in approaching this research based assessment task. Furthermore, the qualitative comments indicated that the students’ found the learning environment to be meaningful and relevant. This case study indicates that it is possible to effectively incorporate authentic research experiences within the curriculum of a first year course. The experiential, inquiry based learning approach used supported the students’ participation in a systematic, rigorous data collection process required in a structured research environment and blended these requirements with authentic learning of discipline specific skills and knowledge.

Developing a supportive culture for teaching and learning : a university, faculty and school perspective

In the early 1990's the University of Salford was typical of most pre-1992 Universities in that whilst students provided much of it's income, little attention was paid to pedagogy. As Warren Piper (1994) observed, University teachers were professional in their subject areas but generally did not seek to acquire a pedagogy of HE. This was the case in Alsford. Courses were efficiently run but only a minority of staff were engaged in actively considering learning and teaching issues. Instead staff time was spent on research and commercial activity.----- In the mid-1990's the teaching environment began to change significantly. As well as Dearing, the advent of QAA and teaching quality reviews, Salford was already experiencing changes in the characteristics of its student body. Wideing access was on our agenda before it was so predominant nationally. With increasing numbers and heterogeneity of students as well as these external factors, new challenges were facing the University and teaching domain.----- This paper describes how a culture which values teaching, learning and pedagogic inquiry is being created in the university. It then focuses on parts of this process specific to the Faculty of Business and Informatics, namely the Faculty's Learning and Teaching Research Network and the establishment of the Centre for Construction Education in the School of Construction and Property Management.----- The Faculty of Business and Informatics' Learning and Teaching Research Network aims to raise the profile, quality and volume of pedagogic research across the five schools in the faculty. The initiative is targeted at all academics regardless of previous research experience. We hope to grow and nurture research potential where it exists and to acknowledge and use the existing expertise of subject-based researchers in collaborative ventures. We work on the principle that people are deliged to share what they know but need appreciation and feedback for doing so. A further ain is to surface and celebrate the significant amount of tacit knowledge in the area of pedagogy evidenced by the strength of student and employer feedback in many areas of the faculty's teaching.----- The Faculty embraces generic and core management expertise but also includes applied management disciplines in information systems and construction and property management where internationally leading research activities and networked centres of excellence have been established. Drawing from this experience, and within the context of the Faculty network, a Centre for Construction Education is being established with key international external partners to develop a sustainable business model of an enterprising pedagogic centre that can undertake useful research to underpin teaching in the Faculty whilst offering sustainable business services to allow it to benefit from pump-priming grant funding.----- Internal and external networking are important elements in our plans and ongoing work. Key to this are our links with the LTSN subject centres (BEST and CEBE) and the LTSN generic centre. The paper discusses networking as a concept and gives examples of practices which have proved useful in this context.----- The academic influences on our approach are also examined. Dixon’s (2000) work examining how a range of companies succeed through internal knowledge sharing has provided a range of transferable practices. We also examine the notion of dialogue in this context, defined by Ballantyne (1999) as ‘The interactive human process of reasoning together which comes into being through interactions based on spontaneity or need and is enabled by trust’ Social constructionist principles of Practical Authorship (Shotter, 1993, Pavlica, Holman and Thorpe, 1998)) have also proved useful in developing our perspective on learning and knowledge creation within our community of practice.