Judyth Sachs

Mitch Parsell

Incorporating both theoretical and practical perspectives, this volume of papers explores varied aspects of peer review of teaching in higher education. The section on theory features contributions from academics based in Europe, North America and Australia. It provides a number of models demonstrating ways in which collegial peer commentary can enhance the quality of learning and teaching. The chapters examine in detail the importance of communication and leadership, and deploy evidence from one-on-one interviews that evince the value of considering collegiality, emotions, attitudes, and spaces in peer review. The analysis shows how these factors are central to the ways in which lecturers and teachers communicate with each other to create constructive opportunities for learning. The chapters on practical considerations detail the peer review process and include case studies from institutions in Africa, Europe, North America and Australia, which focus on different areas of the topic, including peer review as a quality assurance mechanism, peer review in distance education, peer review in foundation courses, and peer review embedded within a department and across a university. The book ends with an international perspective on the role of peer review in ensuring a holistic approach to quality enhancement in learning and teaching.

International Perspectives

Peer Review of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

Angela Brew

This unique collection shows what happens when one university takes on the challenge of developing the scholarship of teaching and learning with a view to enhancing students' learning experiences. Authors from the sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences, and from the health sciences, demonstrate the research they have done to investigate their students' learning. The editors, Angela Brew and Judyth Sachs, have captured the intricacies of teaching and learning in different academic domains in this rich and varied collection. The book explores students' responses to contemporary art, to multicultural music and to architecture for the poor and dispossessed. It explores students' ability to transfer mathematical knowledge from one subject to another; how students learn to talk like a pharmacist, or understand basic concepts in physics; how students are prepared for university study in first year classes or in the operating theatre; how they learn to write like a scientist; how they learn in online discussions and how they understand group work and group assessment. Each chapter is grounded in rigorous research and scholarship and indicates actions that have been taken to improve teaching and students' learning. This book is a remarkable demonstration of scholarly teaching practice from a single institution. It should be read by all teachers and managers in higher and tertiary education institutions interested in developing teaching and learning.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Practice

Transforming a University

"This is a thoughtful, provocative and important book. Clear, concise, articulate and pulling no punches, Judyth Sachs maps out an agenda for a new 'transformative professionalism' which celebrates the complexities of teacher' identities and work, and acknowledges the tensions between standards of accountability and autonomy. She argues persuasively for a reorientation of policy from managerial to a democratic and radical reconceptualisation of teacher education programmes and notions of teacher professionalism. Her text, richly supported by case studies of practice, will appeal to teachers and teacher educators worldwide who are committed to principles of active participation, trust and community." - Professor Chris W. Day, University of Nottingham * What forms of professionalism are shaping the teaching profession? * How can the concept of teacher professionalism be revitalized so that it is relevant to the needs and aspirations of teachers working in increasingly difficult and constantly changing work environments? The Activist Teaching Profession examines the issue of teacher professionalism as a social and political strategy to enhance the status and activities of the teaching profession. The book is contextualized within current debates, both government policy and scholarly, about teacher professionalism. Evidence to support the development of alternative forms of teacher professionalism utilizing new structural arrangements with various stakeholders through collaboration and cooperation, is represented using examples from Australia and elsewhere. Teacher inquiry is presented as an initiative whereby teacher professionalism can be developed. A strategy for re-establishing the moral and intellectual leadership of the teaching profession along activist lines is developed in the last section of the book. Issues surrounding teacher professional identity are examined in the light of the discourses that are shaping teacher professionalism. Rethinking professional identity provides a basis for developing new forms of teacher professionalism. The Activist Teaching Profession is both a wake up call and a call to action for teachers and the community alike.

The Activist Teaching Profession

Jill Blackmore

Explores the issues inherent in critical and postmodern feminism in educational leadership.

Judyth Sachs

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