If you are reading this, you are probably aware that I’m an astrophysicist. \u00a0I’m a research scientist with a bunch of academic publications to my name, including my (little-read) PhD thesis from 2006. \u00a0I’m also lucky enough to have landed an academic job where I can do research and teach.<\/p>\n
When I started out on this career path, waaaaaay back at primary school (yes, really, I was one of those annoying kids who knew early on what they wanted to do) I was warned by many people that it would be difficult, and that very few people succeeded. \u00a0Someone gave me a leaflet published by the RAS (I think) that ran through the numbers and showed how few of those aspiring to be astronomers actually got a job in the field. \u00a0I’m very lucky.<\/p>\n
But from a fairly young age, I also realised I was good at teaching stuff to other people. \u00a0Whether that was lighting fires on Guide camp, \u00a0teaching my older relatives how to use a computer, or any number of other things, people often told me I would make a good teacher. \u00a0It was a long time before I believed that they were right.<\/p>\n
But.<\/p>\n
As a PhD student, you are encouraged to do a \u00a0bit of teaching, as a means of income if nothing else, but not given much training in how to do it, never mind how to do it well. \u00a0At least, I wasn’t, they just let you get on with it. \u00a0Many students emulated the behaviour of their professors because if that’s all you have seen of teaching in HE, it’s what you think\u00a0good\u00a0teaching is. \u00a0Even if it isn’t.<\/p>\n
As an aspiring academic I could see that, in UK higher education at least, there was an increasing trend for new academics to do training in how to teach, often in the form of a PGCertHE. \u00a0As a postdoc, I was enthusiastic about this – it surprised me to discover that there were no formal requirements for teacher training in universities. \u00a0I spent two years teaching in the lab. \u00a0I wrote and delivered an MSc-level course in radiation processes in astrophysics. \u00a0I supervised internship and research students. \u00a0But when I tried to sign up for the PGCert at my institution, I was told that I couldn’t because I wasn’t an academic and therefore didn’t have any teaching responsibilities.<\/p>\n
Hmm. \u00a0The qualification was increasingly becoming a requirement on academic job descriptions. \u00a0But I wasn’t allowed to do the qualification because I wasn’t already (formally) teaching. \u00a0I wasn’t allowed to\u00a0(formally)\u00a0teach because I was being paid purely to do research. \u00a0Stalemate.<\/p>\n
Then I moved institutions to a job with actual teaching responsibilities. \u00a0Great, I thought, I’ll finally get to do some teacher training! \u00a0But no, I was told I couldn’t enrol on the PGCert because I didn’t have enough experience(!) and had to complete a different programme first. \u00a0That programme ran on a Thursday afternoon. \u00a0When I was teaching. \u00a0Not surprisingly, I failed the assessment because I hadn’t been able to get to any of the training sessions.<\/p>\n
Why am I telling you all this? \u00a0Well, in February I finally<\/em> started studying for a PGCert. \u00a0Ten years after I first tried. \u00a0In two months I will (hopefully!) have completed my final assignment and passed. \u00a0Thanks to a supportive boss, I was able to choose a PGCert that was particularly relevant to what and how I teach, and have my fees paid for through the staff development fund. \u00a0But\u00a0it really<\/em> bugs me that it’s been so hard to get to this point.<\/p>\n I’ve come across a large number of academics who consider teaching to be trivial, or an inconvenience, or something they just have to do to keep their job. \u00a0Maybe that is peculiar to physics, but I doubt it somehow.<\/p>\n Some of us are really<\/em> passionate about both<\/strong> teaching and<\/em> research. \u00a0It seems to be difficult to do both, and give them both the time and attention they require. \u00a0Promotion criteria seem to work against use here, too. \u00a0You can follow the traditional “academic” pathway where your research is highly valued, or you can follow the “teaching” pathway where you are expected to not put any effort into advancing your field any more.<\/p>\n Why should we choose? \u00a0Why can’t we do both? \u00a0Teaching informed and inspired by research is more satisfying for students, and for lecturers. \u00a0And research informed by teaching can provide inspiration and potentially take\u00a0you in new directions.<\/p>\n As Fabrice He\u0301nard and Deborah Roseveare said in one of the recommendations set out in their report for the OECD’s Institutional Management in Higher Education,\u00a0Fostering Quality Teaching in Higher Education: Policies and Practices<\/a><\/em>, universities should:<\/p>\n