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• 5. Teachers who are innovative and motivate students to learn
  • Innovation and motivation strategies and tips
  • Innovation and motivation snapshots
  • Innovation and motivation modules
  • Innovation and motivation selected literature
• 6. Teachers who are scholarly and professional
  • Scholarly and professional strategies and tips
  • Scholarly and professional snapshots
  • Scholarly and professional modules
  • Scholarly and professional selected literature

Principle 5
Teachers who are innovative and motivate students to learn

What do we mean by innovative?

The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (now the Australian Learning and Teaching Council) Report (2005) on Dissemination, Adoption and Adaptation of Project Innovations in Higher Education noted:

What constitutes an innovation?

It would appear to be important to define precisely what is meant by 'innovation in teaching and learning' to avoid confusion…Some view innovation as 'something new', raising the question of 'to whom or what is it new?' Among the taxonomies used to define the latter are those that distinguish between entirely new approaches, approaches that are new to organisation or faculty, or new to the higher education system in general.

What kinds of innovations in teaching and learning are developed?

Few 'innovations' are completely new to higher education, and most are adaptations of existing innovations in new contexts. (Report, 2005, p. 7)

In CAUT's second version of Guidelines for Applicants (CAUT, 1993a, p. 6) a similar approach is used in terms of the projects which are eligible for funding. These guidelines stipulate that

'the teaching innovation will be either new in itself or a new application of an existing approach to a different discipline or to some kind of problem arising from teaching, which will:

• lead to practical improvements in teaching, learning and/or assessment within a discipline or more generally;
• integrate successfully into the total learning process for the relevant course of study;
  address possible obstacles to implementation; and
• to the best of the applicant's knowledge, not duplicate work undertaken elsewhere. (Cited in Report, 2005, p.4)

What do we mean by motivating students to learn?

From the 2008 Australian Learning and Teaching Council National Teaching Award Guidelines the key descriptors of activity relating to motivation in teaching excellence:

• fostering student development by stimulating curiosity and independence in learning;
• contributing to the development of students' critical thinking skills, analytical skills and scholarly values;
• encouraging student engagement through the enthusiasm shown for learning and teaching;
• inspiring and motivating students through high-level communication; and
• presentation and interpersonal skills; enabling others to enhance their approaches to teaching

References

CAUT. (1993a). 1995 National Teaching Development Grants, Guidelines for Applicants: Committee for the Advancement of University Teaching.

McKenzie, J., Alexander, S., Harper, C. & Anderson, S. (2005). Dissemination, Adoption and Adaptation of Project Innovations in Higher Education A report for the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (now the Australian Learning and Teaching Council).