ERIC Number: EJ1204321
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0729-4360
EISSN: N/A
Teaching University Teachers to Become Better Teachers: The Effects of Pedagogical Training Courses at Six Swedish Universities
Ödalen, Jörgen; Brommesson, Douglas; Erlingsson, Gissur Ó.; Schaffer, Johan Karlsson; Fogelgren, Mattias
Higher Education Research and Development, v38 n2 p339-353 2019
Do pedagogical training courses for university teachers have desirable effects on the participants? We set out to answer this question by following a panel of 183 university teachers from Sweden's six largest universities, who participated in pedagogical training courses. Our study reveals that the participants' self-reported confidence in their role as teachers increased slightly, and their self-assessed pedagogical skills increased notably after they had finished their courses. Even though the courses were rather short, we could also observe some changes in fundamental approaches to teaching in some of the subgroups of respondents, both toward more student-centeredness and, perplexingly, toward more teacher-centeredness. Additionally, most respondents (7 out of 10) found the courses useful or very useful. Course satisfaction was most notable among participants with less than three years of teaching experience. Considering the fact that we find the positive effects of pedagogical training courses to be present mainly in the group of participants with less than three years of teaching experience, we discuss whether a policy of making these courses mandatory for all university teachers implies an overestimation of their impact.
Descriptors: College Faculty, Teacher Effectiveness, Teaching Skills, Teaching Experience, Teaching Methods, Teacher Role, Self Efficacy, Foreign Countries, Faculty Development, Teacher Attitudes, Outcomes of Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A