Alan Jenkins' Pre Conference Requests

Pre-Conference Thinking and Reading!

The issue of linking teaching and research will of course be a central theme at the conference.

However, it is also an issue where our experience and knowledge may vary considerably. The conference, and in particular Alan Jenkins’ opening session, will proceed from the assumption that we all have a basic familiarity with the arguments in the attached paper: "Designing a Curriculum that is research based". You may or may not agree with the arguments and analysis - but Alan will start from the assumption that you are 'here'. Therefore, it would be appreciated if you could take a look at this short paper before the conference.

Alan will but briefly consider the issues in this paper and concentrate on questions of national policy, department organisation and how teaching/research links vary according to conceptions of learning, teaching and disciplines.

Before you come, in addition to reading the attached article, he asks you to also consider the following questions:

What do you understand by linking teaching and research?
What does it mean in your discipline?
If a researcher from outside your institution researched your curriculum, what your students REALLY learn? Would they find a 'tight coupling' between teaching and research?
Imagine you are talking honestly late at night in a bar to a friend in another department - how would you describe /analyse the relationship between teaching and research in your department?
What do you see are the realistic prospects for teaching /research relationships in your department, institution and the UK national HE system? And finally:
Imagine that you met Margaret Hodge MP in a relaxed informal setting what would you say to her in response to her statement that

“On the link between research and teaching, Mrs Hodge said both she and the education secretary, Charles Clarke MP sill need to be convinced".
She added:

"A good teacher needs good scholarship but I cannot see an inextricable link with being engaged in cutting edge research and being good at teaching."

And besides what you would say - what would you really think? Perhaps that is the key question!

The newspaper article, from which the above quotes were drawn can be found here

In addition, IF you have time, please visit these three web sites for more information on linking teaching and research, and current LTSN-GEES activity in this area:

http://www.gees.ac.uk/linktr/linktr.htm

http://www.brookes.ac.uk/genericlink/

http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/planning/LTRC/

But, above all, please read the document (which is downloadable above) on "Designing a Curriculum that is research based"!