Teacher and Student-focused Approaches: Influence of learning approach and self-efficacy in a psychology postgraduate sample

Gayle Brewer

 Abstract below..

Higher Education Institutions are increasingly providing opportunities for postgraduate students to engage in teaching. The availability and quality of training provided to postgraduate tutors has increased in recent years (Gibbs & Coffey, 2004), though some postgraduates  do not receive adequate teacher training (Lantz, Smith, & Branney, 2008) and may be poorly prepared for their teaching role (Luft, Kurdziel, Roehrig, & Turner, 2004). There is a paucity of pedagogic research investigating the experiences of postgraduates who teach; therefore the current study examined approaches to teaching in a postgraduate sample. Postgraduate teachers of psychology (N = 113) completed a questionnaire measuring their use of teacher focussed (information transfer) or student focused (conceptual changes in understanding) teaching approaches, deep and surface approaches to learning, and research self-efficacy. Standard multiple regressions revealed that the manner in which postgraduate students approached their own studies (i.e., deep or surface learning approach) predicted the use of a teacher- or student-focused approach in their teaching practice. Specifically, postgraduates adopting a deep approach to their own learning were more likely to adopt a teaching-focused approach to their teaching practice. Those adopting a surface approach to their own studies were most likely to adopt a student-focused approach. Furthermore, postgraduates with a high level of teaching self-efficacy were more likely to adopt a student-focused approach to teaching practice. Additionally, postgraduates who had received formal teaching training scored higher on teacher self-efficacy than those who had not received such training. Taken together, the findings suggest the key role of formal training in enhancing self-efficacy in teaching, and demonstrate an association between the learning styles adopted by postgraduate teachers and their approach to teaching. These findings have direct implications for postgraduate professional identities and learner experiences.

References

Gibbs, G., & Coffey, M. (2004). The impact of training of university teachers on their teaching skills, their approach to teaching and the approach to learning of their students. Active Learning in Higher Education, 5, 87-100.

Lantz, C., Smith, D. & Branney, P. (2008). Psychology postgraduates’ perspectives on teaching-related support and training. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 7, 37-45.

Luft, J., Kurdziel, J.P., Roehrig, G., & Turner, J. (2004). Growing a garden without water: Graduate teaching assistants in introductory science courses at a doctoral/research institution. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41, 211-233.