Teaching For Quality Learning At University (Society for Research into Higher Education) 4th Edition

A very thorough and comprehensive treatise on university teaching. Good explanation of constructive alignment. Practical examples. Highly recommended to any university teacher.

good and helpful

Excellent but for tertiary educators

The book is well-written and easy to follow. It covers everything for the outcome-based approach (OBA) to teaching and learning including rationales, some basic T&L theories, student motivations, contexts for teaching and learning, intended learning outcomes, constructive alignment, teaching and learning activities, problem-based learning, assessment tasks, assessment criteria, feedback, reflection, implementations in the institutional setting. The relationships among various conceptual components are clearly articulated.The 4th edition has a few more chapters on the changing landscape of higher education and more research references on effective teaching and learning. A video was made especially for the 3rd edition ("Teaching Teaching & Understanding Understanding" by Claus Brabrand and Jacob Andersen, Aarhus University Press, 2006) and it can easily be used with the 4th edition.If you want to be a more effective teacher, just consider the three levels of thinking about teaching and reflect on your own approach:Lvl 1: What students are! (good/motivated vs. bad/lazy)Lvl 2: What teachers do! (teachers as performers)Lvl 3: What students do! (focus on student performance: outcome-based)

Edition 4 of this excellent book demonstrates why all editions of this book have remained on the 'must have' list of all academics serious about the quality of their teaching, and should be on the 'must have' list of all leaders in academic institutions. What I particularly like about the work of Biggs and now with Tang, is the qualitative changes evident in each edition. While the essential information remains, it is never left unchanged and un-interrogated. Each edition becomes richer with new experiences, and new insights that are shared with the reader. Over time, each edition has moved from a primary focus on the individual teacher to the teacher in disciplinary community and in an institutional context. The examples illustrate the principles and the practicalities, all situated within a constructive alignment framework. This book, possibly more than any other that I know, demonstrates the way a book with subsequent editions should be written.

Amazing not to be missed if you want to understand outcome based learning strategies.

This book should become a standard text for all teaching staff in Higher Education. If you are being taught by someone who has not read it or if you are in a University that does not apply constructive alignment then as a student you should be worried. It should be on every higher education teacher's bookshelf and you should check that they have read it.Constructive alignment is one of the most powerful tools we have for improving higher education. If it could filter down to secondary education then even better, but there are arguments for the militaristic approach that is currently the norm. This takes students back to an experiential way of learning - much more like primary school, but with the required maturity that you should have amongst higher education students (that is why it probably would be a disaster at secondary level).Many academics will resist this progressive approach but the simple selling points are that you get higher grades, better outcomes and better student feedback for doing less teaching. Do less and get more who could possibly object to that. Less of the dirge of the lecture and more of the inspiration and mentoring, more time for research and less time for regurgitation. This book is a classic and should define where higher education goes from here. This is a starting point and the ideas will develop in a multi-structural way, but this is a paradigm changing book.

I have found the book very informative with useful examples across a range of situations to assist readers in aligning to their personal circumstances. I have purchased the kindle version, which can be a little difficult to follow some of the tables and other formatted information, some of which is displayed disjointed or is too small to read. The book is well worth buying if you are interested in developing your underpinning knowledge, skills and overall effectiveness in any teaching or training environment.

Cor book for learning about Higher education, this book is pretty didactic and well explained. It is however written by a single person and lacks diversity of opinions on some topics

This is an excellent guide for educators and teachers wishing to design effective programmes of instruction. It is clearly based on years of research and experience, and provides a clear roadmap for the design of programmes that promote learning that is easily assessable.The book is well organized and easy to read. Clear diagrams and tables help to explain the material. Many references are given, which add to the confidence one has in message.

This book is aimed at those who are involved with teaching in universities or HE.It is very readable for this type of literature.I have found it supportive.