A conceptual change approach to professional development of university teachers?

Abstract

The increasing emphasis on the quality of higher education has placed higher demands on teachers’ professional development. Conceptual change approach to teacher development, namely, attempts to change teachers’ frameworks for conceptualising teaching and learning, was proposed as having long-term impact on teachers’ professional development. Peer Review of Teaching (PRT) is commonly used in higher education for professional development. In parallel to the general belief of its effectiveness, there were many documented challenges and concerns in practice. To date, there is no systematic review using solid educational framework exploring the actual impact of PRT on university teachers. Using Bloom’s taxonomy of learning, a systematic review of empirical studies published in the recent 15 years was conducted to explore the levels and types of the impact PRT had on university teachers. The impact on cognitive (the understanding of teaching and learning), behavioural (change in teaching practices), and affective (attitude toward teaching and professional development) domains were used as the indicators of teachers’ conceptual change in professional development. The review indicated that PRT led to moderate levels of conceptual change among university teachers. The inclusion of reflection did not necessarily result in high levels of impact on teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning. The analysis also identified the concurrence of low levels of achievement in cognitive domain and changes in teaching behaviours, which enriched our understanding of the relationships between learning domains. Other findings and the implications for conceptual change approach to professional development of university teachers were discussed.