Barriers to change? Posted in News, Teaching and Learning on May 9, 2013 by ACDS Web Admin. Why aren’t science academics more interested in teaching reform? Read Sara Brownwell and Kimberley Tanner’s recent paper on Barriers to Faculty Pedagogical Change: Lack of Training, Time, Incentives, and Tensions with Professional Identity? CBE—Life Sciences Education Vol. 11, 339–346,Winter 2012. Brownwell and Tanner argue that profound cultural change is needed to achieve real reform in science curriculum and teaching. They suggest disciplines need to take a lead role in fostering excellence in teaching. To achieve change the authors suggest postgraduate and postdoctoral training should include teacher education and teaching excellence should be featured at scientific meetings and in research journals. They point to the Education Forum in Science as an example of a serious effort to take teaching in science seriously. What do you think should be happening in Australia? How will we foster excellence in learning and teaching?
