The value of academics’ formal and informal interaction in developing life science education

ABSTRACT

Concerns have been expressed that the engagement shown by committed individuals is not fully utilized by their organizations while there is insufficient knowledge of which conditions facilitate teaching collaboration and lead to improvements in university education. Portfolios of 43 life science academics applying to enter to the University of Helsinki Teachers’ Academy were analyzed through content analysis. Five categories of interactive or collaborative practices emerged from the data: (1) Interacting with peers for personal development, (2) Sharing good teaching practices, (3) Teaching together, (4) Producing educational artefacts, (5) Developing education systematically. The practices occurred in both formal and informal settings, and both settings were present in all categories. In contrast with the formal practices, the informal practices were described in an enthusiastic way. The engagement shown by the scholarly teachers was mostly realized in informal settings. There is probably unrealized potential in the scholarly teachers’ teaching-related practices through which they could contribute to the development of teaching in academia. Formal communities related to teaching should be developed to promote deeper collaboration and to foster the participants’ feeling of personal commitment and ownership.

KEYWORDS:

• Informal and formal practices
• community of practice
• scholarship of teaching
• life sciences
• university

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Nina Katajavuori http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5093-2402

Mirja Ruohoniemi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1625-545X