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Most excellent teachers at the
Inspired by skilled teachers
Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg
Pedagogical experience, professional development but not least pedagogical reflection, these are some of the criteria a lecturer must meet in order to be called ”excellent”.
Thus far, 31 Excellent Teachers have been appointed at the University of Gothenburg and 16 of them come from Sahlgrenska Academy.
The Institute of Health and
Care Sciences has the highest number of Excellent Teachers: eight appointments with two more in progress. This is what the Head of Department Karin Ahlberg, who is an Excellent Teacher, has to say on the subject. – The institute has a long tradition of pedagogical development and research. The emphasis is on the education being research-related and, vice versa, that the research is connected to the education.
Several of the institute’s lecturers have many years of pedagogical experience and develop their teaching on an ongoing basis. That is one reason why so many of them have been able to put together an application relatively quickly, Karin Ahlberg explains. – But applying to be an Excellent Teacher is still quite an undertaking; the requirements include that a lecturer has reflected in depth on their teaching work. The head of department must approve the application, which is then sent to the Associ-
KARIN AHLBERG
Karin Ahlberg thinks there are many more teachers at the University who could become “excellent”.
ate Professorship Committee’s assessment team at Sahlgrenska Academy. The application is then reviewed by external experts and finally the assessment team conducts an interview. And it is incredible the stories and powerful pedagogical methods that come to light and which can hopefully be disseminated!
The Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, which has three Excellent Teachers, also has an extensive teaching assignment, according to Head of Department Jenny Nyström.
– We have many talented and committed lecturers. But those who have gone the extra mile and devoted even more time to pedagogical development, we encourage them to apply to become Excellent Teachers. It is partly about giving a formal recognition to committed educators, and partly about giving experienced employees the opportunity to act as inspiration and mentors for their colleagues. It is important to emphasize that you can be excellent in various ways, for example by holding lectures, teaching in a clinical setting or by being a supervisor. Different
kinds of pedagogy complement each other. Karin Ahlberg emphasizes that the title “Excellent Teacher” is not only an honour, but that the lecturers’ competence is also utilized, and contributes to the development of lecturing.
– You are awarded the title for what you have already done, but the distinction also creates positive expectations, which encourages continued pedagogical research and development. Right now, of course, a lot of what is happening involves taking advantage of the experiences from the pandemic: What digital and technological tools do we need? When does digital teaching work best? How do you conduct exams remotely in a secure way?
Just as excellent researchers are important, it is also important to have Excellent Teachers, says Jenny Nyström. – Our education must be research related and of course we therefore need researching lecturers who are good at communicating their subject
Today, the University of Gothenburg has 31 Excellent Teachers. But Karin Ahlberg and Jenny Nyström are convinced that there are many more committed educators at the University of Gothenburg. – Maybe the department management needs to be better at informing people about this opportunity, and really encourage lecturers to apply, for example during employee interviews, Karin Ahlberg suggests. As the application involves a process that is equally as complex as applying for an associate professorship, the lecturer must also be given the opportunity to spend time compiling their portfolio.
– Even though we have course assessments, which of course are significant, we are unaccustomed to assessing teaching skills, says Jenny Nyström. As a researcher, your applications are approved or rejected, and thus provide a clear signal of how successful you are. We are also dependent on external grants, not least in medical research, which makes the pressure to apply for funding very intense. However, there are few grants for pedagogical work. And as lecturers are often part of a team where everyone is involved, they may not perceive themselves as more excellent than anyone else, even though they have many years of experience in pedagogical development and are actually extremely skilled!
At the Institute of Health and Care Sciences, work is now underway to gather all the Excellent Teachers so that they can pool their resources for the benefit of the institute, says Karin Ahlberg.
– The Excellent Teacher also receives a project grant from PIL (Pedagogical Development and Interactive Learning), equivalent to two months’ salary, which we have not yet fully utilized. With the help of these funds, we hope to be able to combine our pedagogical efforts. We also get help through continuous dialogue with our students, where we find out what works and how best to learn as a student.
The Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology also hopes to be able to coordinate the Excellent Teachers and utilize their competence in the institute’s work to develop their educational efforts, Jenny Nyström explains.
Foto: JOSEFIN BERGENHOLTZ
We are unaccustomed to estimating pedagogical skills says Jenny Nyström.
JENNY NYSTRÖM
Facts
Excellent Teacher
The University of Gothenburg introduced the title “Excellent Teacher” in June 2014. The first Excellent Teacher was appointed in 2015. In order to be assessed, the lecturer must have a subject-based foundation, a qualification in third-level teaching and a connection to research or artistic development. The application must be approved by the head of department and is then received by the Academic Appointments Board or equivalent at the faculty. If the application gets through this stage of the process, it is then sent to external pedagogical experts, who review the pedagogical portfolio based on the following criteria: pedagogical experience, teaching skills, professional development, pedagogical leadership, collaboration, pedagogical reflection and development of third-level pedagogical skills. The Academic Appointments Board, or equivalent, then conducts an interview with the applicant. Based on expert statements and the documentation from the interview, the dean makes the decision. The Excellent Teacher can apply for funding for a pedagogical development assignment. The maximum amount is two months’ salary. This means that the department where the lecturer is employed will be relieved of the corresponding salary cost.
