GCTU Organizes 4-DAY Teaching Excellence Masterclass For Faculty Members.
Academic attainment of students depends on the teacher. University teachers therefore need to have both the knowledge base and the skill sets to be able to teach. This is the view of the current Government: And through the Public University Bill, the government loudly highlights that “Tertiary education institutions shall ensure that all their academic staff go through teacher education programmes to prepare them to teach, also that, new appointees ought to have a graduate certificate in teaching”.
By this, the government is seeking to emphasize the university teaching qualification as a benchmark qualification for all lecturers employed in a teaching and supporting learning capacity in Ghanaian’s Higher Education Institutions. This new direction is anticipated to take effect in 2020/2021 academic year.
In response to the above, GTUC signed a partnership agreement with Advance HE in the UK in November 2019 to support the professional training of GTUC faculty. This is to ensure that GTUC equips its faculty members with the relevant skills needed for effective delivery of our academic services and to meet government’s regulatory standards. Further, this initiative will eventually position GTUC as a Centre of Excellence in Higher Education Teaching and Learning within West Africa.
As a first step in the process under the agreement, a four-day teaching skills masterclass was held for module leaders selected across all the faculties and campuses of GTUC.
The training was facilitated by Dr. John Unsworth, Senior Fellow of Advance HE, Associate Professor of Learning & Teaching and Head of Learning & Teaching Enhancement at the University of Sunderland, UK. Participants were taken through various strategies on teaching and learning in higher education including but not limited to the following;
- Understanding how students learn
- Academic Leadership : Leadership of learning and teaching
- Graduate Attributes
- Attributes of effective teachers
- Assessment and feedback
- Curriculum design workshop
- Student success
Thirty (30) faculty members selected from the three faculties and Satellite campuses attended the training. Also in attendance were Directors of Satellite Campuses. Participants were generally impressed about the training and the knowledge they had acquired during the workshop.
The President of GTUC, Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa In his opening and closing remarks highlighted the need for lecturers to continuously enhance their skills in order to meet contemporary higher education needs.
He pledged the university’s support and commitment to the development of all employees of GTUC. He added that GTUC was preparing to position itself as a center of excellence in higher education within West Africa, stressing that faculty members have a role to play in this endeavor.
The workshop ended with presentation of certificates to all participants, crowning what was ultimately a hugely successful exercise, and also serving to herald the beginning of what promises to be yet another fruitful transnational partnership with our latest affiliate, Advance HE.
