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Teaching philosophies: Scaffolding reflective practice among university teachers

Dr. Gesa Ruge will in this workshop share her approach in guiding educators in developing and applying their Teaching philosophies to improve reflective practice, student learning, and collegial engagement, as well as provide opportunities for increased personal resilience and career fulfillment.

Photo of workshop activity
Photo: Lars Kruse, AU Foto
Read more about Dr. Gesa Ruge
Dr. Gesa Ruge is Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering and Technology, CQ University, Australia. Photo: CQ University Australia

Date: Monday 15 May 2023, 13:00 - 14:30

Place: Centre for Educational Development, Trøjborgvej 82-84, bygning 1910, lokale 228

Registration: You can register via this link (registration deadline: 11 May 2023)

This workshop is for CED staff and any other staff at AU who are interested in how to develop reflective practice through working with teaching philosophy as a focus.

Based on a decade of facilitating reflective conversations, research and educational implementation for teaching philosophy (TP), Dr. Gesa Ruge will share her approach in guiding educators in developing and applying their TP to improve reflective practice, student learning, and collegial engagement, as well as provide opportunities for increased personal resilience and career fulfillment.

Her recent research (Ruge et al., 2021; McCormack et al., 2023) highlights the value of TP beyond an individualistic or formulaic role for promotion or awards, rather its potential for enhancing teaching practice including application through pedagogical frameworks and institutional initiatives. These ‘value-adds’ of TP development are the focus of this workshop, engaging participants in the mostly untapped potential of activating TP in educational learning and development and identifying linkages to collegial and institutional capacity building.

The facilitated group activities aim to draw upon participants’ diverse journeys, backgrounds, and experiences. Participants are introduced to a new teaching philosophy framework spanning personal resilience, collaborative communities, and institutional capacity development.  Reflective questions deepen the conversation and connections across the TP spectrum.

Participants will:

  • Reflect and engage with key identity and TP building themes presented,
  • Identify factors that can motivate academics to build confidence, self-efficacy, and resilience,
  • Re-value the TP reflective development for personal and educational practice,
  • Receive a valuable TP toolkit to support collegial learning communities and institutional capacity building.

Targeted outcomes are to activate participants’ interest and understanding in TP as integral part of teacher learning and institutional reflective practice. The research-based framework presented offers a practical tool to strengthen conversations and institutional strategies for professional resilience, collegial community development, and educational outcomes alignment.

The workshop is held in English.