Conceptions of teaching in a research-intensive university: what effective teachers think

Abstract

For several decades educational scholars highlighted the problematic nature of teaching in research universities; concentrating their critiques on what was missing, what wasn't working, and what needed improvement, and largely discounting the outstanding teaching that took place on every university campus. This phenomenographic case study examined the teaching conceptions of eight effective teachers in a research-intensive university. This study was based on the hypothesis that effective teachers possess a set of principles, beliefs, and values that guide their teaching, but also help them to successfully negotiate their actions within a multiplicity of faculty roles and responsibilities. Findings demonstrate that effective teachers' conceptions are characterized by their cohesive complexity, and their conceptions serve as the basis for an individual teacher's pedagogy of larger concerns.