Good teachers know their stuff
Everyone
remembers their great teachers – the ones who turned the tedious into
rewarding and left you wanting to know more. But what is that mysterious
something that makes a good teacher? Rodney Magazinovic asked a group of
UniSA academics who have all been recognised recently for their pursuit
of teaching excellence.
It might sound obvious, but Associate Professor Özdemir Göl, from the School of Electrical and Information Engineering, believes one of the main qualities of a good teacher is to have knowledge.
“You have to have knowledge to be able to teach with authority. But a good teacher must also be a good student and must keep learning. Life-long learning must be an ingrained attitude. Knowledge is dynamic,” he said.
Prof Göl is one of six UniSA academic staff recently recognised for their approach to teaching in the University's Annual Scholarly Teaching Awards. The awards assess staff on the basis of good teaching and quality improvement, publication in the area of teaching and learning, leadership in teaching and learning, and other professional activity.
Prof Göl, together with fellow winners, Dr Julie Mills, senior lecturer in the School of Natural and Built Environments and Dr Nadine Pelling, senior lecturer in the School of Psychology, all spent time in industry before entering academia and they rate their real world experience as an invaluable part of their knowledge base.
“I intentionally use project based learning so that my students have the kind of knowledge they can apply practically when they get into the workforce. This is particularly important in engineering,” Dr Mills said.
Dr Pelling, Program Director for the Master of Social Science (Counselling/Counselling Studies), said students appreciated real life examples to reinforce the theory.
“My previous experience in clinical and counselling psychology means I can talk about real situations and students can apply what we are learning theoretically to those scenarios,” she said.
All three academics said the best teachers are passionate about their field of study and can communicate both the material and their enthusiasm.
Dr Pelling said academics must maintain an enthusiasm for their field of research.
“If you're not interested in it, you won't keep up with the current literature and advances in your discipline,” she said. “If you get bored, all you have to do is change the specialty area in your research and do something new. That's why it's hard to fathom the concept of a bored dry academic - there's really no need to be.”
Prof Göl agreed a good teacher had to be passionate about their field.
“Passion is contagious. It is passed on from teacher to student. The students need to be excited about what's being taught otherwise it is only cold facts,” he said.
Prof Göl believed the dynamic between students and teachers was another essential component of the education process. He said it was important for teachers to have their students’ respect and in return had to show respect for their students.
“It is always wise to listen to what students are saying as you might learn a thing or two,” he said. “We need to have empathy for students; it goes hand in hand with respect. We need to acknowledge that students are people and sometimes they may need a hand and if there are circumstances that merit consideration then it should be given. Being fair is also a factor. We are not the absolute authority and we don't know everything. We are helping them to learn, while we keep learning ourselves.”
Dr Mills said the difference between good teachers and OK teachers was that the former “genuinely care about their students and genuinely want them to learn”.
Establishing a way to assess the quality of teaching has become increasingly important in recent times. UniSA’s ongoing evaluation of teaching standards includes course evaluation instruments (CEI) that are handed to students at the completion of their course. Teachers and program directors can gain a strong understanding about how effective their teaching is from this feedback.
Prof Göl, Dr Pelling and Dr Mills, believe academics can’t afford to rest on their laurels if they receive good feedback because there is always room for improvement.
The 2004 Annual Scholarly Teaching Awards winners were David Badenoch (senior lecturer, School of Education), Associate Professor Özdemir Göl (School of Electrical and Information Engineering), Jan Machotka, (Program Director, School of Electrical and Information Engineering), Dr Julie Mills (senior lecturer, School of Natural and Built Environments), Professor Andrew Nafalski (Head of School, Electrical and Information Engineering) and Dr Nadine Pelling (senior lecturer, School of Psychology).