Being subject-centred : a philosophy of teaching and implications for higher education

• Published in: Issues in educational research Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 212 - 226
• Main Authors: Morrison-Saunders, Angus, Hobson, Julia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Perth Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Autobiographies; Course Content; Dialogs (Language); Educational Philosophy; Educational research; Educational Theories; Higher Education; Interactive teaching; Knowledge base for teaching; Learner Engagement; Learning; Learning Processes; Literature reviews; Pedagogy; Phenomenography; Phenomenology; Philosophy; Qualitative research; Research methodology; Researchers; Student engagement; Student Experience; Student teacher relationship; Students; Subject centred learning; Teacher beliefs; Teacher educators; Teacher Effectiveness; Teacher researchers; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching experience; Teaching Methods; Universities; University teaching
• ISSN: 1837-6290; 0313-7155; 1837-6290

Being subject-centred, as a higher education teacher, offers a rich and illuminating philosophical and practical understanding of learning. Building upon previous research on subject-centred learning, reflection, literature review and a phenomenological approach are drawn upon to show how a teacher's way of being infuses the teaching and learning environment. Philosophically, it is this way of being with the subject as teachers that influences the learning within the students. This paper shows how posing the question: 'What is the best way to teach this subject?' helps a teacher find the best way to enhance the learning experience. It entails moving away from reliance solely on approaches that simply 're-present' content, such as lectures and online learning management systems, to interactive classrooms where space is created for the students to enter into their own engagement with the subject in a shared pursuit with the teacher, resulting in more effective teaching and learning. This is illustrated using personal accounts of the authors' own journeys as teachers. The authors acknowledge that it takes courage to teach and to fully be subject-centred in the face of prevailing trends and pressures for other ways of teaching currently prominent in the higher education sector. But, ultimately, it is being a teacher that matters most, and being subject-centred provides the most effective way to most meaningfully reach the student. [Author abstract, ed]