Pathirana, Assela

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Article, Published VersionPathirana, AsselaInfluencing teaching styles for a better learning experienceHydrolinkVerfügbar unter/Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11970/109152Vorgeschlagene Zitierweise/Suggested citation:Pathirana, Assela (2012): Influencing teaching styles for a better learning experience. In:Hydrolink 2012/2. Madrid: International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering andResearch (IAHR). S. 42-45. https://iahr.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/library/HydroLink/HydroLink2012_02_Europe.pdf.Standardnutzungsbedingungen/Terms of Use:Die Dokumente in HENRY stehen unter der Creative Commons Lizenz CC BY 4.0, sofern keine abweichendenNutzungsbedingungen getroffen wurden. Damit ist sowohl die kommerzielle Nutzung als auch das Teilen, dieWeiterbearbeitung und Speicherung erlaubt. Das Verwenden und das Bearbeiten stehen unter der Bedingung derNamensnennung. Im Einzelfall kann eine restriktivere Lizenz gelten; dann gelten abweichend von den obigenNutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte.Documents in HENRY are made available under the Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0, if no other license isapplicable. Under CC BY 4.0 commercial use and sharing, remixing, transforming, and building upon the materialof the work is permitted. In some cases a different, more restrictive license may apply; if applicable the terms ofthe restrictive license will be binding.42 hydrolink number 2/2012UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education is aninternational post-graduate education Institutesituated in Delft, the Netherlands, which imple-ments MSc programs, PhD programs and anumber of short courses for professionals in thefield of water and environment. As part ofUNESCO, the vision of the institute is tocontribute to “a world in which people managetheir water and environmental resources in asustainable manner, and in which all sectors ofsociety, particularly the poor, can enjoy thebenefits of basic services”. The developmentrelevance of the Institute is also stated in theInstitute’s mission to “contribute to theeducation and training of professionals and tobuild  the capacity of sector organizations,knowledge centers and other institutions activein the fields of water, the environment and infra-structure in developing countries and countriesin transition”. UNESCO-IHE has been in thebusiness of water education for fifty five years(until 2003 it was known as IHE-Delft). Over thisperiod of more than half a century, the institutehas evolved in its character in a number ofways.  The institute initially started with thescope of hydraulic engineering, and laterexpanded into the fields of sanitary engineering,drinking water and later into environmentalengineering. From the ontset the focus hasbeen on training professionals from the so-called global-south, contributing to its changeand growth. A decision taken at the 31stgeneral conference of UNESCO (2001) trans-formed UNESCO-IHE into a truly internationalinstitute which became operational in 2003,making UNESCO-IHE the only institution in theUN system authorized to confer accreditedMSc degrees. By 2012, UNESCO-IHE hasgraduated nearly 15,000 water professionalsfrom some 162 countries. This year it has 372MSc candidates (two batches 2010-2012 and2011-2013) from 72 countries. Currently it alsohosts some 130 PhD researchers and some 20post-docs, with a lively research program. Everyyear approximately 700 individuals participate inshort-courses conducted by the institute.Currently UNESCO-IHE employs more than 90faculty members from across the globe whoconduct teaching and research supervision ofMSc and PhD candidates. Assela Pathirana has been a facultymember at UNESCO-IHE since 2006.He is a civil engineer, with abackground in Urban-hydrology,hydrometeorology and hydroinfor-matics developed during his masters,PhD and post-doctoral research. Hismain research interests include urbanflooding and drainage, rainfallprocess, Asset Management andClimate Change. In recent years hehas developed a keen interest onpedagogy at post-graduate leveleducation.a.pathirana@unesco-ihe.orgINFLUENCING TEACHING STYLES FOR A BETTER LEARNING EXPERIENCE:HOW UNESCO-IHE USES DIDACTIC TRAININBY ASSELA PATHIRANAEDUCATIONUNESCO-IHE is an active InstituteMember of IAHR, which will be host forthe IAHR World Congress in The Haguein 2015. Prof Arthur Mynett is Head ofthe Department of Water ScienceEngineering at UNESCO-IHE and is anIAHR Council Member. Dr Ioana Popescuis Senior Lecturer in Hydroinformaticsand Chair of the IAHR Education andProfessional Development Committee,and Dmitiri Solomatine, Professor ofHydroinformatics is a member of theHydroinformatics Committee.Objectives and ChallengesThe subject matter of UNESCO-IHE'seducation, namely that of water and environ-mental issues, is by nature broad, local-specific,unique and multidisciplinary. Solving waterproblems calls for skills that go beyond theknowledge that could be expected to beobtained by studying a single discipline, as wellas needing well-developed integrative skills anda mix of competencies. Largely due to tradition,world-wide higher education programs relatedto hydraulics and hydrology still remain verymuch `discipline-oriented' entities: They focusmostly on the fundamental knowledge ofprocesses, theories and models, but often paylittle attention to training students in the art ofapplying these to real-world problems[3].43hydrolink number 2/2012degree programs need to possess a differentmix of knowledge, skills and attitude than tradi-tionally expected. For example, the skill andpositive attitude for continual learning -- or 'tolearn how to learn' has become important inconstructing knowledge. Developing 'personalcompetencies' to learn through and withinpractice is ('learning by doing') is crucial toensure professional success[5].The vast majority of these students are mid-career professionals who, upon graduation,return to their countries and often playimportant roles in shaping policy and practice inthe water sector in these countries. The factthat the graduates of UNESCO-IHE end upworking in diverse geographical, economic andcultural settings makes it even more importantto focus their education on the development ofskills and competencies. Among the faculty of UNESCO-IHE there is ageneral consensus on the importance of devel-oping life-long skills and attitude for continuousand 'on-the-job' learning. A number of stepstowards implementing a 'learning atmosphere'that is conducive for this goal has been taken inrecent years. For example classroom facilitieswere transformed to structures that areconducive for group-studies and interactiveactivities and a number of small-groupworkplaces are made available throughout thebuilding. Each student is now provided with alaptop computer to use with the wirelessnetwork throughout the institute, including theclassrooms.  Together with a dynamic learningmanagement system and personal learningenvironments this infrastructure provides a basisto foster communication, teamwork andlearning [3]. However, most fundamentalchanges are affected at the level of teachers.We are attempting to positively influenceteaching styles of the teachers, which we trustis the cornerstone for the scheme of providingan education that matches with the challengesin the water-world. Starting with TeachersAs stated above it is essential that UNESCO-IHE graduates are able to keep abreast of thelatest knowledge in their field and are able towork in teams efficiently and effectively. Foroptimal results, these real-world needs have tobe reflected and even mimicked in didacticalapproaches. To instill in the student an ability foractive learning, the faculty members ofIAHRG TOWARDS IMPROVING WATER EDUCATIONContinuous learninghas become anextremely importantattribute of asuccessful waterprofessionalUNESCO-IHE has recognized the importance ofproviding an education that produces graduateswho are equipped to solve real-world waterproblems and continually attempts to improvethe problem-oriented nature of its academicprograms. The knowledge base in water-related disciplinesis increasing rapidly. New knowledge isappearing at a rapid rate making the time afterwhich old knowledge becomes outdated veryshort. The required breadth of knowledge forsuccess as a water professional is increasingtoo. It is no longer sufficient to be an expert who'qualified' at some point in the profession.Continuous learning has become an extremelyimportant attribute of a successful water profes-sional and to enable this, graduates of higher-45hydrolink number 2/2012Giving Space to LearnThe main objective of the UTQ program was totrain faculty members to be better facilitators anddelegators. After running the UTQ program fortwo years and producing about 20 graduates, wewere interested to know the impact of theprogram. An important logical step in thisdirection is to understand the profile of the facultyin relation to UTQ and didactic training in general.To attempt this, we conducted two surveysamong the faculty members of UNESCO-IHE.The first was based on a popular surveyinstrument proposed by Anthony F. Grashacomprising of 40 statements (Teaching StylesInventory: Version 3.0, Grasha, 1996) for whichthe respondents have to give a rating from ascale from 1 to 5. Example statements are ''Itypically show students how and what to do inorder to master course content'' and ``Studentsmight describe me as a `storehouse ofknowledge' who dispenses the facts, principles,and concepts they need''. Grasha's teachingstyle inventory allows translating the results intoan affinity rating for each teaching style.  Wesupplemented the first survey with a follow-upamong the 20 UTQ graduates. We used respon-dents’ own assessment of their affinity to each ofthe five teaching-styles before and after UTQtraining. The two surveys show a remarkably similaroutcome (See figure). In essence we havebecome more facilitators and delegators afterundergoing the University Teaching Qualificationtraining. This is the intended result of the UTQtraining. DiscussionWhat the UTQ training program at UNESCO-IHEis proven to have achieved is a shift from anexpert/formal authority style towards a more facil-UNESCO-IHE are offered training on didacticsbased on the principal of ``constructivealignment'' which starts with the notion that thelearner constructs his or her own learningthrough relevant learning activities[1]. The need for shifting the approach for teachingcan be expressed using the five teaching stylesproposed by Anthony F. Grasha, namely: expert,formal authority, personal model, facilitator anddelegator[2]. The expert teacher is mainly concerned that thestudents receive correct information and are wellprepared in their discipline. A main disadvantageis that it focuses more on the outcome than ondeveloping the thought process leading to thatoutcome. The formal authority teacher focuseson following the relevant standards of practice inthe concerned discipline. A personal modelteacher focuses on setting an example ratherthan prescribing. The feeling of inadequacy ifunable to live up to the standards of theinstructor is a downside of this approach. Lastly,the facilitator and delegator styles portray theteacher as a guide, encouraging students toexplore knowledge. Less experienced studentsas well as those unused to this approach mayfeel confused and directionless with thisautonomy.The traditional university teaching had asubstantial focus on expert/formal-authority typeof teaching where teacher is seen as the mainsource of knowledge and factual information. Onthe other hand Facilitator/Delegator stylesportray the teacher as a guide, encouragingstudents to explore knowledge, whichencourages developing skills and aptitudestowards continued learning. Therefore usingGrasha's framework, the needed shift can beexpressed as evolving more towards the facili-tator/delegator styles away from theexpert/formal-authority styles. In order to achieve this shift, and starting from2010, faculty members of UNESCO-IHE arecurrently offered a didactic certification programnamed University Teaching Qualification (UTQ), aprogramme aimed to develop the didactic skillsof the teaching staff in the direction of facilitatingactive learning in higher education. The UTQprogram focuses on constructive alignmentwhere the student constructs her/his ownlearning through relevant learning activities. Itstimulates the lecturer to create a learningenvironment that supports the learning activitiesappropriate to achieving the desired learningoutcomes. In other words, the UTQ trainingintends to stimulate UNESCO-IHE faculty todevelop facilitator/delegator teaching styles.IAHRFigure: "Learning to give student space to learn" The difference of expert/formal authority  and facilitator/delegator traits among a) Faculty with UTQ training and those who did not have significantdidactic training (left) and b) Faculty before and after UTQ training. (Adapted [3]) References[1] Biggs, J and Tang C. (2011): Teaching for Quality Learning atUniversity, (McGraw-Hill and Open University Press, Maidenhead)[2] Grasha, A. F.: Teaching With Style: The Integration of Teaching andLearning Styles in the Classroom, Alliance Publishers,Pittsburgh,USA, 1996. [3] Pathirana, A., Koster, J. H., de Jong, E., and Uhlenbrook, S.: Onteaching styles of water educators and the impact of didactictraining, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 9, 2959-2986,doi:10.5194/hessd-9-2959-2012, 2012.[4] Pathirana, A., Gersonius, B., and Radhakrishnan, M.: Web 2.0collaboration tools to support student research in hydrology – anopinion, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 9, 2541-2567,doi:10.5194/hessd-9-2541-2012, 2012. [5] Uhlenbrook, S. and de Jong, E.: T-shaped competency profile forwater professionals of the future, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss.,9, 2935-2957, doi:10.5194/hessd-9-2935-2012, 2012.[6] UNESCO-IHE website http://www.unesco-ihe.orgIAHR has a Committee on Education and Professional DevelopmentChair  Dr.  Ioana PopescuSenior Lecturer in Hydroinformatics The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water EducationWestvest 7 2611 AX Delft The NetherlandsPhone: +31 15 2151895e-mail: i.popescu@unesco-ihe.orgitator/delegator style as measured from whatteachers think about their teaching styles.Needless to say that what really matters iswhether this is really practiced by teachers in theclassroom. While there is informal evidence thatthey do, it is very much necessary to conduct aformal study to confirm this. A much morecomplex subject is how this shift is perceived bythe students. Being used to a learning experiencein predominantly expert/formal-authority styles atthe schools and universities in their homecountries, some of our students might find itdifficult to adjust to the 'new style' of learning.We are continuously exploring ways of obtainingconcrete information on classroom experienceboth from the student and teacher perspectiveand to measure the effectiveness of the modernapproaches to teaching in instilling in students theaffinity and skills for life-long learning. 

Influencing teaching styles for a better learning experience

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Influencing teaching styles for a better learning experience

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