Foundational university pedagogy

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to further develop your own knowledge, skills, and competence as a teacher in higher education. The following learning outcome descriptions are designed to support you in this further development.

Knowledge

• Be familiar with relevant national and local governing documents related to teaching in higher education.
• Know different learning theories and learning design.
• Be able to explain the difference between the instructional paradigm and the learning paradigm.
• Be able to explain the difference between instructionBe able to explain the importance of having a connection between learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessment for the students’ learning paradigm and the learning paradigm.
• Be able to explain how to facilitate the students’ learning process.
• Be able to explain the three forms of assessment (diagnostic, formative, summative).

Skills

• Be able to activate students by means of varied forms of teaching and supervision (e.g. lectures, seminars, webinars, discussion groups, laboratory exercises, projects, supervision and assessment).
• Be able to develop and critically apply student evaluations and peer guides to promote student learning.
• Be able to critically analyze one’s own and others’ university pedagogical competence and approach in the meeting with the students.
• Be able to justify and develop his/her own perspective on learning and choices in teaching on the basis of relevant theory, subject didactics and research on learning in higher education.
• Be able to work systematically with the development of relevant learning outcomes, learning activities and assessment methods based on academic goals and the students’ different prerequisites. This both individually and together with colleagues.

General competence

• Be able to document evaluations and development of own university pedagogical competence.

In the “Guidelines for the distribution of working hours for employees in teaching and research positions” (item S23/22 from the University Board), it is stated that “Time to meet the requirements for educational competence, up to 200 hours, is deducted from the total working hours before the distribution between educational and R&D time.” We therefore recommend that you talk to your immediate manager about getting as much of this course as possible into your work schedule.

You will have your basic teaching and learning competence approved whether you complete this course or develop a pedagogical portfolio that is approved. It is Result that approves the implementation of the course, and it is your own unit that creates a committee for approval of the pedagogical portfolio.

In previous years, the development of a pedagogical portfolio has been part of the course, but it is no longer so. There is sometimes talk of the ‘pedagogical portfolio course’, this no longer exists. Of course, there is a lot of overlap between what should be in a pedagogical portfolio and the work requirements in the course. Roughly simplified, one can say that the pedagogical portfolio may be more relevant for teachers with very long teaching experience. With that said, there are several very experienced teachers who choose to take the course and some new teachers who prefer to develop a pedagogical portfolio. There are specific requirements for the design of an educational portfolio. You can read more about these here. For those who work at the Arctic University Museum and Academy of Fine Arts (UMAK), there are separate guidelines for the portfolio. These can be found under sections 4.5.8 and 4.5.9 in the same document.

Since both the course and the pedagogical portfolio provide documentation of your basic university pedagogical competence, there is no difference between them in terms of promotion to associate professor competence. One argument for choosing to create a pedagogical portfolio is that you will have experience in creating such a portfolio – this is the form of assessment for promotion to associate professor and to merited teacher. Some environments also offer support for the development of an educational portfolio. Reasons for taking the course are that you follow a pedagogical course, get support along the way, and that the primary goal of the course is that you will be able to further develop as a teacher together with others after the course – this last point is related to two of the three pedagogical criteria for promotion to associate professor competence.

Yes, if you have a part-time position at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, you can choose whether you want to complete the course in 1, 2, or 3 years. It is proposed to take the development project to the end. In the registration, you will be asked if you want to work with the development project this academic year or later – this so we know how many course participants need the support of a mentor for the development project.

The pedagogical development project is the core of the course and approx. 70 hours will be spent on this. It is not entirely different from a small research project – you start from a question and work systematically to answer it. The development project should preferably be closely linked to your own practice and it should be related to students’ learning. For example, you can start by thinking about whether there is something you want to try that you have been thinking about for a long time or that you have learned about in the course, or if you see an area with potential for improvement based on your own observations or via student evaluations.

• Testing new teaching methods for greater student activity
• Testing new teaching methods for greater student activity
• Develop courses for other teachers, such as teaching assistants
• Closer collaboration with students in the design of teaching and assessment
• Revision of programme or course description