Rethinking Teaching in the Context of Diversity

Abstract

Higher education has faced profound teaching challenges in recent times, as it has delivered a widening range of courses to students of increasingly diverse backgrounds, expectations and levels of preparedness. These challenges call for a more radical shift in teaching than simply incorporating remedial support within existing teaching programmes. This paper argues that neither traditional 'knowledge delivery' models of teaching, nor a purely 'student-centred' approach, adequately addresses the challenges of student diversity. Instead, it proposes an emphasis on the sociocultural nature of learning and teaching, modelling learning as acquiring the capacity to participate in the discourses of an unfamiliar knowledge community, and teaching as supporting that participation. It explores the challenges faced by students struggling to make meaning in strange intellectual and social surroundings, and outlines ways teachers can structure courses and tasks so that very diverse cohorts of students can progress together in meeting those challenges.

Academic literacies: a pedagogy for course design

“…Similarly, recent approaches to learning which utilize the concept of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991;Wenger, 1998), often fail to recognize the multiplicity of communities of practice within the academy and focus instead upon the novice student acting as an apprentice moving towards full membership in the wider university community (cf. Northedge, 2003).…”

“…Similarly, recent approaches to learning which utilize the concept of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991;Wenger, 1998), often fail to recognize the multiplicity of communities of practice within the academy and focus instead upon the novice student acting as an apprentice moving towards full membership in the wider university community (cf. Northedge, 2003).The strength of the academic literacies approach has been that it does not assume that students are merely acculturated unproblematically into the academic culture through engaging with the discourses and practices of established practitioners. This is what Lillis refers to as 'critique'.…”

Meeting the challenges of globalisation in legal education

“…Law students belong to the same community sharing legal knowledge as practising lawyers) and it is therefore crucial for teachers to facilitate opportunities for their students to participate actively in these communities through structured debate, reading and writing etc. 50 Northedge's ideas have been widely supported by other academics and regarded as particularly relevant to students from international backgrounds. The importance of creating opportunities for international students to participate actively in classroom learning activities, such as group discussions and presentations, have been highlighted by Carroll.…”

The impact of the transition to outcomes-based teaching on university preparedness in mathematics in South Africa

“…Reasons for the perceived changes include increased enrolment numbers (Northedge, 2003;Seymore, 2001;Wood, 2001) and changing school curricula (De La Paz, 2005;Hoyles et al, 2001). It is the latter type of change combined with a change in teaching and learning approaches that we focus on in this study.…”

“…It is the latter type of change combined with a change in teaching and learning approaches that we focus on in this study. Disparity in levels of mathematical preparedness creates challenges to lecturers and results in, for example, the development of bridging courses and academic support programmes, changes in curriculum and changes in assessment strategies (Craig, 2007;Northedge, 2003;Wood, 2001). …”