| dc.description | Technological advancement has a dramatic effect on every-day life in contemporary society and its many social institutions, from the workplace to entertainment. Higher education is not immune to these changes, but the exact impact, nature and scope of changes is still unclear (Gumport & Chun, 2005). According to Keller (2008), changes in many things including technology “constitutes [sic] the most consequential set of changes in society since the late nineteenth century, when the nation went from a largely domestic, rural, agrarian mode of living to an industrial, international, and urban economy” (Preface xi). Consequently, for higher education, “this set of circumstances is going to force all academic enterprises to rethink their place and purpose not just in philosophical terms but in very pragmatic ways as well.” (Beaudoin, 2003, p. 520). In the past two decades, higher education has, if not embraced new technology, reached out to utilize the Internet and other forms of technologically-mediated learning. This has transformed interaction opportunities among students and between student and faculty, particularly through online learning.
Online learning offers the opportunity to examine and rethink the teaching and learning enterprise in education broadly. Online learning can be conceived of as the new pedagogy, where strategies such as interaction and dialogue are introduced back into the higher education model. Regardless of education delivery mode – face-to-face, online, distance or some combination through blended learning – teaching (and learning) is changing. Key to this change is the new ways of being as a teacher in higher education – a central part of the role of faculty member in universities. The additional duties, responsibilities, and changing role of faculty can create a high level of dissatisfaction, particularly if they feel they are not well supported (Satterlee, 2010).
As education is changing, so, too, are our notions about leadership. How will we take strides to make things happen in education – who takes the lead, doing what? Leadership in academia is often different from leadership in other contexts. As Ramsden (1998) says, similar to good teaching academic leadership is not telling or transmitting information and ideas; it is a sort of conversation aimed at helping people to change and develop. Gibbs, Knapper & Picinn (2007), confirm that leadership plays an important role in creating teaching excellence. This paper presentation will consider examples of leadership for learning from the Canadian and Swedish higher education context.
We present an argument which rests on three interrelated premises regarding pedagogical change in higher education. The first is that the phenomenon of blended and online learning is dramatically effecting faculty roles in higher education, whether faculty are engaged in teaching with technology or not. The second is that the role of faculty member is saturated with requirements and adding a teaching process that requires advanced teaching expertise in relation to technology, and additional time commitments, will not fit into the current role of faculty; this is so for blended and online learning. Finally, we suggest that leadership strategy which will resolve this issue, and afford students the benefits of such new pedagogies, will take an embedded, distributed leadership approach.
At the same time technological advancement is imposing itself, either because of it or in addition to it, we are currently experiencing the most consequential set of changes in society since the late nineteenth century, when nations went from largely domestic, rural, agrarian mode of living to industrial, international, and urban economy (Keller, 2008, preface). These ubiquitous changes are having significant impact on many things, including higher education institutions and the faculty who work in them. Challenges that faculty experience based on these changes and the effect on teaching must be considered by those leading higher education and responsible for its effectiveness. We recommend a new way of positioning the teaching element of faculty roles and discuss the leadership strategies that will support teaching in this new era.
The opportunity for faculty, and their practice as teachers, to remain the same and not change, is not available. This imperative to change and other challenges in education have emerged because “neither the purpose, the methods, nor the population for whom education is intended today bear any resemblance to those on which formal education is historically based.” (Pond 2002, n.p.). Such change makes it increasingly difficult for education to operate in insular ways; attention to changing demographics, global economies and new social mores is required (Keller, 2008). The reach of information and communication technology via the Internet is pervasive, and has changed society and education institutions in “the way we organize ourselves, our policies, our culture, what faculty do, the way we work, and those we serve” (Ikenberry, 2001, p. 63). In the midst of these developments, new ways of teaching and learning have emerged.
These changes, then, provide the focus for updating the academy, indicating what changes are on the way or at the door step, and what is not or will not work because of these changes. Common institutional challenges fall under the headings of economics issues, changing demographics, the demand for accountability, new teaching and learning models and emerging technology. Net-based educational opportunities, the result of the last two of these institutional challenges listed here, emerged in the early 90s, most often with a promise of ameliorating problems within education, but also as an educational revolution. This revolution is in response to demands for education reform, particularly in reference to teaching and learning (Kanuka & Brooks, 2010). This reform can begin with faculty role change and careful attention to the structure and process of leadership activities to support it. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | According to Keller (2008), changes in many things including technology “constitutes [sic] the most consequential set of changes in society since the late nineteenth century, when the nation went from a largely domestic, rural, agrarian mode of living to an industrial, international, and urban economy” (Preface xi). Consequently, for higher education, “this set of circumstances is going to force all academic enterprises to rethink their place and purpose not just in philosophical terms but in very pragmatic ways as well.” (Beaudoin, 2003, p. 520). As education is changing, so, too, are our notions about leadership. How will we take strides to make things happen in education – who takes the lead, doing what? Leadership in academia is often different from leadership in other contexts. As Ramsden (1998) says like good teaching academic leadership is not telling or transmitting information and ideas; it is a sort of conversation aimed at helping people to change and develop. Gibbs, Knapper & Picinn (2007), confirm that leadership plays an important role in creating teaching excellence.
Administrators, teaching development staff, leaders and faculty in higher education are invited to review a comparative case study of current pedagogical changes in select Canadian universities, in comparison to the transformation underway at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden. Their development plan states that KTH will house a virtual campus as effective and prestigious as its place-based campus by 2027. KTH’s strategic plan and leadership functions will be described in reference to similar and disparate Canadian examples. | en |
