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Home » Resources » Scholarship on Teaching » Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: The Reflective Professional, Second Edition
Scholarship July 3, 2025

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: The Reflective Professional, Second Edition

The Wabash Center

Author
Greg Light, Roy Cox and Susanna Calkins
Publisher
Sage Publication, Thousand Oaks, CA
ISBN
9781848600089
Table of Contents
Authors' details
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgements
Introduction: the challenge of professionalism

Part I The Academic As Reflective Professional
ch. 1 The reflective professional in academic practice
Introduction
The reflective professional: knowledge and language
Worlds apart
Teacher-student encounter
Teacher-researcher encounter
Principles of academic dialogue
Conclusions

ch. 2 A critical matrix of learning and teaching
The academic weave
Learning gaps
1 The gap between recall and understanding
2 The gap between understanding and having the ability/skills to practise effectively
3 The gap between having the skills/abilities and actually wanting to use them
4 The gap between having the abilities, wanting to use them and actually doing so
5 The gap between actually using the skills/abilities and changing
The learning situation: structures of meaning
Conclusions

Part 2 Genres Of Teaching In Higher Education
ch. 3 Designing: course and curriculum design
Introduction
Course and curriculum design
Course design and the critical matrix
Learning contexts: balance and structure
Addressing the impossible
Conclusions

ch. 4 Lecturing: large-group teaching
Introduction
Being where the action is
Designing the lecture
Expanding the learning matrix
Lecturing preparation and performance
Delivering and managing the lecture
Conclusions

ch. 5 Facilitating: small-group teaching
Introduction
Group work
The intellectual dimension
The personal dimension
The social dimension
The practical dimension
Conclusions

ch. 6 Supervising: project, dissertation and thesis guidance
Introduction
Key issues of supervision
The intellectual dimension
The personal dimension
The social dimension
The practical dimension
Assessing research
Conclusions

ch. 7 Innovating: teaching with technology
Introduction
Conceptual dimensions of using new technologies
Integrating technology into teaching and learning
Extending the matrix
Designing flexible courses
Conclusions

ch. 8 Assessing: student assessment
Introduction
Definitions
The centrality of learning outcomes
Key aspects of assessment
The intellectual dimension
The personal dimension
The social dimension
The practical dimension
Conclusions

ch. 9 Evaluating: teaching and course evaluation
Introduction
Teaching and courses: methods of evaluation
Evaluation of academic outcomes and change
Conclusions

Part 3 Performance Strategy
ch. 10 Realizing the reflective professional
Introduction: developing a strategy
Integrating practice and research
Teaching as research
The reflective professional through action research

Conclusion
Appendix: structured observation of teaching: guidelines
References
Index
Around the world, higher education services are challenged by increased numbers and diversity of students, tougher demands for professional accountability, increasing calls for educational relevance and thinning resources. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: The Reflective Professional addresses key issues in the practice and theory of teaching and learning in the sector. The authors draw upon theory, practice and current research to provide a new way of thinking about the many aspects of learning and teaching in higher education, enabling the reader to critically reflect upon their teaching. (From the Publisher)