You pose an interesting question which vuts to the heart of this - how
should we judge if somebody is a good teacher? Do our current methods
capture this? Do our current accredited courses (including MAs) attempt to
determine if somebody is a good teacher?
Is
this the end of the debate? I was rather enjoying seeing the different
viewpoints on this. I have to come out of the closet and say that I do
hold a PGC and that was how I became a registered practitioner, and the reason I
got one was because I started teaching with the OU and after a year thought I
needed some theory to underpin what I was doing as I was mainly flying by the
seat of my pants for the first year. I am not sure if obtaining the PGC
has improved or informed my teaching, but my students seem to enjoy what we get
up to. But equally, I am not sure how to judge whether I am a "good"
teacher or a "bad" teacher or (most likely) somewhere in
between.
Perhaps, rather than just doing a post graduate
certificate, lecturers should be encouraged to do a masters in education.
That way there would be no doubt as to the amount of work that went in to
obtaining the qualification, and being a registered practitioner might carry
some clout. Then again, how many lecturers have the time to do the PGC,
never mind the masters.
As a
lecturer of only eighteen months standing, I seek the guidance of the great and
the good in these matters.
Regards
Cheryl-Anne
Thanks to all of you have responded
to my query
– it seems there are some
reservations about the level of equivalence between HEA-registered status and
completion of M-level study, but in most institutions HEA registration
may be used as an exemption from a mandatory M-level study. This
is very helpful information – thanks again,
colleagues
Barry
Professor Barry
Jackson
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director
of Learning & Teaching
Middlesex University
North
London Business Park |Oakleigh
Road South | London N11 1QS
tel. +44 (0)20
8411 5018