What Can We Learn About Teaching From Our Best University Teachers?

Abstract Although there has been a growing literature which explores the thinking of teachers at the school level, no such parallel literature exists for university teachers. In this paper, interviews with four academics who received awards for ‘excellent teaching’ are used to explore the way these university teachers view their teaching. The themes which emerged include: a clear sense of what they were on about at teachers and a willingness to manipulate the learning environment accordingly; an emphasis on student learning and the importance of students learning the subject matter; an enjoyment of teaching; and a lack of perceived constraints to change their teaching and experiment with new ideas.