Browsing by Author "Syrjäkangas, Kaisa"

Objectives. The object of this study was to find out what kinds of profiles of approaches to teaching can be found among university teachers, are there disciplinary differences between the profiles and to discover teaching-related challenges. In the analysis of teachers approaches to teaching, particularly the qualitative research by Kember and Kwan (2000), Trigwell and Prosser (1999) and especially the research of Postareff and Lindblom-Ylänne (2008) were utilised. The study sought to answer three questions: 1) What kinds of profiles of approaches to teaching can be identified among individual teachers? 2) Are the profiles related to academic disciplines? and 3) What kinds of teaching-related challenges do the teachers describe, and how these challenges are related to their teaching profiles? Methods. The research material has been collected in the Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education between 2009 and 2011. Interviews of nine teachers were analysed: three teachers from the Faculty of Theology, three teachers from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences and three teachers from the Faculty of Science. In the analysis of research questions one and two, deductive content analysis was used, and in question three inductive content analysis was utilised. Results and conclusions. The analysis of approaches to teaching revealed that approaches can consist of both theoretically consistent and inconsistent elements. Five different profiles were recognized: a systematically learning-focused profile, a systematically content-focused profile, a conflicting profile with an emphasis on contents, a conflicting profile with an emphasis on learning, and a conflicting profile. In this study there were no clear connections between discipline and teaching profiles. A link between the profiles and the challenges was discovered: The teachers who had been categorised in the same profile also stated same kinds of teaching challenges, apart from teachers in the conflicting profile. Based on the findings of this study it can be suggested that the conflicts between the intentions and actions in teaching can result not only from the lack of resources or support or from structural constraints, but especially from insufficient pedagogical expertise and difficulties in reflecting one's own capabilities and actions.