Development of an institutional model to facilitate effective learning
'Continuous improvement' and 'excellence' have become key terms in tertiary education organisations. But improvement of what? And how do we know that we have improved? When can we call ourselves excellent?
In one organisation I was involved as one of the leading people in the development of a model to describe what 'good teaching and learning' means in the organisation. The need for such a model became pertinent when the organisation expressed a desire for excellence in its teaching and learning practices and had no means to say when it would consider itself excellent.
The model was developed through whole-of-organisation workshops, focus groups and various rounds of consultation around the questions: What does effective learning mean in this organisation? and, What is the role of each stakeholder (students, teaching and non-teaching staff and external stakeholders) in supporting effective learning?
The model describes what 'effective learning' is for the organisation, which factors and people influence effective learning and how they influence this. A key finding from the process was not only that everyone in the organisation have a role to play in supporting effective learning, but also that everyone in the organisation is a learner themselves. The model has been used by the organisation to guide staff development work, project development, evaluations, and it is planned to form the foundation for self-assessment judgments.