Tracking the Integration of Research into Teaching

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Tracking the Integration of Research into Teaching

• John Hoddinott Brad Wuetherick
• University of Alberta
• Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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(No Transcript)
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What is the Canadian Context?

• Canadian institutions have seen an incredible
  increase in the proportion of their revenue
  coming from sponsored research
• There has also been a tremendous increase in
  tuition fees charged for undergraduate programs
• There have been calls for increased
  accountability for the quality of undergraduate
  learning (from the public, students and faculty)

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The University of Alberta Context

• 29,000 undergraduate, 6000 postgraduate students,
  1750 academic staff 4th largest Canadian
  research university (415 million in externally
  sponsored research revenue)

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U of A Operating Revenue vs. Research Revenue
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The Integration of Teaching and Research at the U
of A

• Why did we get interested in the issue?
• July 2001 - New VP (Research) arrived and in
  process of familiarizing himself with campus
  asked Faculties to identify informally what they
  were doing to integrate teaching and research
  (focusing on undergraduate research
  opportunities)

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The Integration of Teaching and Research at the U
of A

• September 2003 - the VP (Research) and Dean of
  Graduate Studies decided to create the Research
  Makes Sense For Students initiative
• Communication
• Policy Development
• Coordination of Research

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The Integration of Teaching and Research at the U
of A

• November 2003 - Alan Jenkins was brought to
  campus to conduct a focus group to discuss
  linking teaching and research

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The Integration of Teaching and Research at the U
of A

• December 2003 created the Working Group on
  Teaching and Research
• Brought together champions from across campus to
  help with the initiative
• From the start engaged the academic staff
  association and two campus student associations

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The Integration of Teaching and Research at the U
of A

• Working Group submitted report Integrating
  Research and Teaching at the University of
  Alberta Creating a Foundation for an
  Inquiry-Based Life
• Conceptualizing the Integration
• Developing the Curriculum
• Facilitating the Integration

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The Integration of Teaching and Research at the U
of A

• Conducted an environmental scan of campus, using
  the Associate Deans (Research) as our faculty
  contacts, to determine what was being done to
  integrate teaching and research
• Boyer Commission (1998) and Jenkins et al. (2003)
  as framework

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Sydney Graduate Attributes

• Research and Inquiry
• Information Literacy
• Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
• Ethical, Social and Professional Understanding
• Communication

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Research and InquiryArts U of S

• Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will be able to
  create new knowledge and understanding through
  the process of research and inquiry.

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• possess a body of knowledge relevant to their
  fields of study, and a firm grasp of the
  principles, practices, and boundaries of their
  discipline
• be able to acquire and evaluate new knowledge
  through independent research
• be able to identify, define, investigate, and
  solve problems
• think independently, analytically and creatively
• exercise critical judgement and critical thinking
  to create new modes of understanding.

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Research and InquiryArts U of A

• All professors regularly bring their ongoing
  research interests and activity as well as their
  research results into the classroom. In addition,
  faculty members holding research grants (mostly
  from SSHRC, but sometimes from NSERC or CIHR) use
  their grants to hire students as research
  assistants. Most often those hired are graduate
  students, but undergraduates have had limited
  possibilities to work with researchers,
  especially during the summer.

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Information LiteracyFine Arts - U of S

• Graduates of the Sydney College of the Arts will
  be able to use information effectively in a range
  of contexts.

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• be able to effectively source information and
  images within the framework of their research
  plan timeframe.
• be able to critically evaluate the quality and
  relevance of information and images that may
  support their creative work.
• have some understanding of the social and
  cultural issues relevant in the use of
  information and images for their research.
• be able to use, where appropriate, the latest
  contemporary media and technology so that
  information and images can be sourced, applied
  and documented appropriately for each project/art
  work.

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Information Literacy(Fine) Arts - U of A

• Data from Arts no Fine Arts references.
• (PHIL 365 and PHIL 366) employ lots of computer
  resourcesMOOs and the likeand the PHIL 101
  supersection has students writing journals,
  engaging in discussions, etc., as well as getting
  course materials from web pages.

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Personal and Intellectual AutonomyMusic U of S

• Graduates of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
  will be able to work independently and
  sustainably, in a way that is informed by
  openness, curiosity and a desire to meet new
  challenges.

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• be intellectually curious and able to sustain
  intellectual interest
• be capable of rigorous and independent thinking
• be open to new ideas, methods and ways of
  thinking
• be able to respond effectively to unfamiliar
  problems in unfamiliar contexts
• be able to identify processes and strategies to
  learn and meet new challenges in scholarly work,
  composition, teaching and performance

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• be independent learners who take responsibility
  for their own learning
• recognise and be able to undertake lifelong
  learning through reflection, self-evaluation and
  self-improvement
• have a personal vision and goals and be able to
  work towards these in a sustainable way by
  establishing good work practices in music
  scholarship, composition, teaching and
  performance

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Personal and Intellectual Autonomy(Arts) Music
U of A

• No references in any Arts Faculty material

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Ethical, Social and Professional Understanding
Business U of S

• Graduates of the Faculty of Economics and
  Business will hold personal values and beliefs
  consistent with their role as responsible members
  of local, national, international and
  professional communities

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• Display a deep respect for others and integrity
  in all aspects of their personal, professional
  and life as a global citizen.
• Identify the ethical issues in business,
  government and society in relation to personal
  and professional contexts.
• Demonstrate the capacity to deal with ethical
  issues in their personal and professional lives.
• Work with people from diverse backgrounds with
  inclusiveness, open-mindedness and integrity.
• Demonstrate an ability to participate in a broad
  range of complex and changing social, political
  and economic contexts.

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Ethical, Social and Professional Understanding
Business U of A

• ACCTG 311 Students do financial analyses of
  listed companies and write papers on
  controversial issues such as business ethics
• in BUS 201 (a second-year course with an
  enrolment of 400), students are asked to prepare
  a business plan in groups

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CommunicationScience U of S

• Graduates of the Faculty of Science will
  recognise and value communication as a tool for
  negotiating and creating new understanding,
  interacting with others, and furthering their own
  learning.

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• An ability to explain and present ideas to
  different groups of people in plain English.
• An ability to write effectively in a range of
  contexts and for a variety of different audiences
  and purposes.
• An understanding of the effect and use of
  symbolic and non-verbal communication, such as
  body language, facial expression, pictures, icons
  and symbols.
• An ability to present and interpret data or other
  scientific information using graphs, tables,
  figures and symbols.

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• An understanding of group dynamics and an ability
  to work as a member of a team, and to take
  individual responsibility within the group for
  developing and achieving group goals.
• An ability to take a leadership role in
  successfully influencing the activities of a
  group towards a common goal.
• An ability to actively seek, identify and create
  effective contacts with others in a professional
  and social context, and maintain those contacts
  for mutual benefit.

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CommunicationScience U of A

• (Research) course involves research experience
  with a faculty member and requires approximately
  8 hours/week. It is taken in the final year of
  the program. In addition, this research course
  involves a written report and a final oral
  presentation that is given to an audience of
  undergraduate students, graduate students and
  academic staff. Instruction is given to the
  students to help them prepare for the oral
  presentation.

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• A number of upper level undergraduate courses
  involve a component in which reports are written
  or oral presentations are made based on a review
  of the chemical literature.

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Institutional Contexts

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• University of Sydney (PIPPI)
• Philosophy
• Institution-wide
• Power
• Performance
• Incentives

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More Information

• More information about the integration of
  teaching and research at the
• U of A can be found at
• http//www.ualberta.ca/researchandstudents
• John john.hoddinott_at_ualberta.ca
• Brad brad.wuetherick_at_ualberta.ca