Lessons from award winning teachers: implications for staff development and institutional change

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to investigate the conceptions of award winning teachers in higher education institutions in terms of their approaches to teaching with a goal of developing a model that may be applied to professional development programs for academic staff. Their ideas about the following areas of teaching and learning will be explored: How do award winners define ‘good teaching’? What is the difference between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ teaching? How did award winners achieve a level of excellence (as defined by their award criterion)? What contributed to their success? How do award winners define ‘good learning’? How could staff development programs help teachers to develop the knowledge and skills needed to be a good teacher? In addition, as part of the study, differences in the use of criterion used at international institutions for teaching awards and different disciplinary approaches of the teachers in the study will be explored.