Abstract:

Research on university teaching is an area of study that has grown over the past decades. Improving teaching is precisely one of the interests of the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. One of the strategies used recently to improve teaching practices is "Colloquium UniAndes", an annual meeting of teachers which aims to recognize and socialize teaching experiences that reflect the pedagogical principles of the university, in this case, situations where "the student is the protagonist of the learning process".

The objective of this study was to understand the beliefs and teaching strategies used by university teachers whose classrooms exemplified the aforementioned principle.

Thirty-two teachers were selected for the colloquium; some were self-selected, and others were nominated in a survey given to 300 students. From the initial selection, the pool was reduced to 16 and finally 8 while seeking to maintain diversity in the representation of different disciplines and teaching strategies. One aspect that was taken into account during the selection process was the clear reflection of the mission of the university in these compulsory courses taught, preferably, by tenured professors.

Although the principle "The student is the protagonist of the learning process" expressed in the University’s mission is general, specific exemplifications of the idea were found in the data. Three of the eight teachers in the final selection were chosen for this paper with the aim of offering a detailed analysis of each case. One professor teaches in the Philosophy department, has more than 20 years of teaching experience, and showed the student was central to the learning experience given the key role dialogue and student voice had in his classroom. Another, from the department of Languages and Cultural Studies, has 14 years of experience and acknowledges the social context of the student, thus giving a sense of social transformation to her teaching. Finally, a professor of Environmental Engineering, teaching for two and a half years, demonstrated that the student is the protagonist in the learning process through formative assessment strategies, which seek to promote quality learning.

The methodology used was qualitative and descriptive since the objective was to understand the beliefs and teaching strategies of university teachers whose classrooms showed the student as the protagonist of the learning process. To achieve this goal, each professor was interviewed twice, class observations were performed, and students in each of the courses were also interviewed.

One of the most significant results obtained was the relationship between beliefs about the reason for teaching and the teaching strategies through which teachers enable students to be the center of the learning process. In all three cases, regardless of discipline, teachers believe that teaching is part of their social responsibility, and that a good teacher guides and accompanies a student throughout the learning process. However, differences in the teaching strategies used in the classroom were identified.

Keywords:

University teaching, teacher beliefs, teaching strategies, teaching–learning processes.