DEVELOPING A TEACHING-LEARNING MANAGEMENT APPROACH IN HIGHER EDUCATION TO MOULD PRODUCTS OF QUALITY AND RELEVANCE TO MATCH DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Abstract

The contribution that Higher Education (HE) can make to developing contexts is based on how appropriately its management approach would mould a product of quality and relevance to match national developmental needs. This presentation reviews, and presents improvements to, existing management approaches in our HE setting to meet national development needs. Graduates are recruited to levels of managers, and become future leaders. However,surveys reveal the lack of higher cognitive skills required for effectiveness at this career level, such as analytical, synthesis and evaluation skills (Bloom 1956). Though these HE skill development needs are targeted in the recently-changed teaching-learning management approaches (TLMA), as evidenced in university documentation such as mission statements and syllabuses, building these graduate-skills continue to pose difficulties. Changes in assessment practices, made recently in the TLMA, show departments opting for continuous assessments (n=36), though staff retain preferences for written examinations (n=72), and students (n=45) for rote-learning. The recognition that changes in the TLMA of HE has not resulted in the desired graduate skill-building, that assessment is more influential than teaching for learning skills (Boud 1995), that effective managerial skills are generic (Mintzberg 1973, Peters and Waterman 1984), and that the appropriate management approach is situational (Burns and Stalker, 1961), requires changes to improve this TLMA. These changes are discussed, showing how skills can be improved by introducing a formative aspect to continuous assessments, testing for higher cognitive skills using preferred written examinations, facilitating students to move away from rote-learning using specific skill-application activities and assessing their transferability.

Keywords:  Higher Cognitive Skills, Higher Education, Learning, Teaching, Teaching Learning Management Approach

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk