Michael Prosser
Biographic Data
| ID | 1499884 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Prosser |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Prosser |
| SIGNATURE | PROSSER M |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Sydney |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4974-7776 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 88 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1979 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Examining academics’ changing approaches to teaching in response to the pandemic disruption: A phenomenographic approach
University curriculum systems are complex, and their modification requires coordinating multiple processes and broad consultation with teaching academics and leaders. Strong influences including policy changes and external disruptions can bring about rapid system-wide change, but these are not without stress and may not be sustainable. To appreciate how disruptions influence university teaching and learning over the longer term, we need to better…
Reaffirming the importance of relational pedagogies in higher education: Educators’ experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic
This article examines the enduring role of relational pedagogies in higher education and their amplified importance during periods of disruptive change. It provides analysis of interviews conducted with academic teaching staff at a research-intensive university during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine participants’ experiences and perceptions of relationality in relation to three dimensions: student–teacher relationships; student–student relation…
Has the open door become a revolving door? The impact on attrition of moving from elite to mass higher education
As higher education has made the transition from elite to mass enrolments, the student body has become more diverse and online and blended learning have become more common. This study aimed to examine the impacts on attrition of admitting a more diverse student body with the shift towards online and blended learning. A hypothesised path model of attrition was tested with structural equation modelling. The model contained four presage variables re…
Freedom to innovate
Freedom to innovate in teaching and learning are essential to meaningful higher education. Universities’ rhetorical commitments to freedom and innovation are ubiquitous and quite homogenous. Beneath the rhetoric, however, lie sharp divides between neo-liberal and Humboldtian approaches to innovation, course design, teaching and learning. This article argues that to understand the authentic approach of a university to innovation requires going bey…
Travelling a thousand miles: Hong Kong Chinese students’ study abroad experience
The differential impact of UK accredited teaching development programmes on academics' approaches to teaching
This mixed methods study used a survey with programme completers from 32 UK higher education institutions, and interviews and focus groups with programme completers, programme leaders, heads of department and pro‐vice‐chancellors, to explore the perceived impact of UK‐accredited teaching development programmes upon participants and departments. The perceived relation between the programmes and institutional missions and strategies was also explor…
Students' perceptions of teaching quality in higher education: The Perspective of Currently Enrolled Students
The psychometric properties of a version of the Course Experience Questionnaire revised for students currently enrolled at the University of Sydney, the Student Course Experience Questionnaire (SCEQ), were assessed, gathering students’ perceptions on a number of scales, including Good Teaching, Clear Goals and Standards, Appropriate Assessment, Appropriate Workload, and an outcome scale measuring Generic Skills development. Confirmatory factor an…
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory
Background. The Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) was developed to explore the relationship between students' approaches to learning, and teachers' approaches to teaching, in the physical sciences in higher education. It is increasingly being used in other contexts.Aim. To analyse the factor structure of the ATI.Method. Confirmatory factor analysis.Sample. Inventory responses from over 1,000 university teachers, from 4 different countries an…
Early impact and outcomes of an institutionally aligned, student focused learning perspective on teaching quality assurance1
This paper describes an evidence‐based quality assurance system for teaching and learning, which takes as its starting point a well‐researched theoretical perspective on student learning in higher education. We argue this explicit use of a relevant theoretical base promotes coherence between quality assurance and improvement processes. We outline the principal features of our university's quality assurance strategy, systems and processes, and des…
Development and Use of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory
Qualitatively different ways of differentiating student achievement: A phenomenographic study of academics’ conceptions of grade descriptors
The term ‘grade descriptors’ has commonly been used to refer to the practice of describing for students characteristic work that would merit different grades. This paper reports the results of a phenomenographic study on the different ways that academic staff understood and practised grade descriptors as forms of standards‐based assessment. Four qualitatively different conceptions of grade descriptors were identified. Firstly, grade descriptors w…
Variation in the Experience of Leadership of Teaching in Higher Education
This article describes ways in which heads of university academic departments and the subject coordinators of large first-year subjects experience the leadership of teaching. It examines variation in perceptions of leadership experienced by the teachers in the same subjects and departments. It explores empirical relations between subject coordinators' conceptions of leadership and teachers' perceptions of leadership, and between teachers' percept…
Dissonance in Experience of Teaching and its Relation to the Quality of Student Learning
Several recent studies on student learning in higher education reported on 'dissonant' forms of contextualised learning engagement. The focus of the present study is on 'dissonant' forms of teaching and their relation to student learning. This relatively large--scale research programme involved surveys of approximately 8829 students and 408 university teachers across 51 different units of study. The data were analysed using a combination of clust…
Relations between teachers' approaches to teaching and students' approaches to learning
University mathematics students' conceptions of mathematics
A Conceptions of Mathematics Questionnaire was developed, designed to provide an indicator of the nature of students' conceptions of the subject matter they were studying. The scales of the questionnaire were based upon a set of conceptions of mathematics identified in an earlier phenomenographic study of students studying mathematics. The scales represented fragmented and cohesive conceptions of mathematics. Evidence was found supporting both th…
Relations between perceptions of the teaching environment and approaches to teaching
Background. Previous research has established substantial relations between students' approaches to study in higher education and their perceptions of the learning environment. More recently, there has been a growing body of research into teachers' approaches to teaching and conceptions of teaching. There has, however, been little research into their perceptions of the teaching context.Aims. This study aimed to develop an inventory of university …
Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (1985): Review and further study of validity and reliability
In this study the validity and reliability of the revised version of Kolb's (1985) Learning Style Inventory are investigated using the responses to the LSI2 of 187 Arts and Science students in an Australian university. Results indicate high internal consistency of the LSI2 scales and some evidence of validity. While, as predicted, four factors forming two bipolar dimensions were found for the Science subsample, for the Arts subsample Active Exper…
Changing approaches to teaching: A relational perspective
Studies of student learning have shown that students' conceptions of learning are strongly correlated with their approaches to study. Students who consider learning in quantitative terms are likely to find it very difficult to adopt a deep approach to learning. This study looks at the parallel situation for teachers. It looks at the conceptions of teaching and learning of a group of first year science lecturers, and how those conceptions relate t…
A phenomenographic study of academics' conceptions of science learning and teaching
Students' experiences in studying for multiple choice question examinations
A sample of 190 first- and second-year university students from three courses in two faculties completed questionnaires on their general orientations to learning (classified as deep, surface or achieving), their perceptions of the skills and abilities being assessed by multiple choice question (MCQ) examinations and the study strategies (either deep or surface) they intended to employ for their forthcoming MCQ examinations. The above variables we…
Relating the process of undergraduate essay writing to the finished product
This paper reports on research into the process and product of student essay writing at undergraduate level. The research was carried out from two different theoretical perspectives: phenomenonographic research on student learning in higher education, and systemic functional linguistic research on student writing in higher education. The research highlights both the qualitatively different ways that students conceive of essays and therefore appro…
Improving the quality of student learning: The influence of learning context and student approaches to learning on learning outcomes
Relating Approaches to Study and Quality of Learning Outcomes at the Course Level
Research into qualitative differences in students' approaches to study, the quality of learning outcomes, and the relations between them has, in the main, been conducted on learning resulting from involvement in small academic tasks such as reading an academic article. This study, based on a sample of 122 first year university nursing students, focused on student learning on the whole course. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesised re…
An Evaluation of a Computer Science Orientation Programme
A short and intensive orientation programme was offered to a small group of students before the start of their first computer science course. During the orientation programme, students studied Karel, a simple programming language which provides pre‐programming skills for students embarking on a Pascal programming course. The programme was evaluated in terms of the assistance it gave participants in coping with the computing course. This evaluatio…
The Junior Health Worker Program at Lajamanu
Lajamanu is a remote, traditionally oriented Aboriginal community on the Northern edge of the Tanami Desert. The population comprises about 700 Warlpiri people, and 40 white people most of whom are involved in the delivery of public services
Relating Approaches to Study and Quality of Learning Outcomes at the Course Level
Research into qualitative differences in students' approaches to study, the quality of learning outcomes, and the relations between them has, in the main, been conducted on learning resulting from involvement in small academic tasks such as reading an academic article. This study, based on a sample of 122 first year university nursing students, focused on student learning on the whole course. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesised re…
Changing approaches to teaching: A relational perspective
Studies of student learning have shown that students' conceptions of learning are strongly correlated with their approaches to study. Students who consider learning in quantitative terms are likely to find it very difficult to adopt a deep approach to learning. This study looks at the parallel situation for teachers. It looks at the conceptions of teaching and learning of a group of first year science lecturers, and how those conceptions relate t…
Relations between perceptions of the teaching environment and approaches to teaching
Background. Previous research has established substantial relations between students' approaches to study in higher education and their perceptions of the learning environment. More recently, there has been a growing body of research into teachers' approaches to teaching and conceptions of teaching. There has, however, been little research into their perceptions of the teaching context.Aims. This study aimed to develop an inventory of university …
Dissonance in Experience of Teaching and its Relation to the Quality of Student Learning
Several recent studies on student learning in higher education reported on 'dissonant' forms of contextualised learning engagement. The focus of the present study is on 'dissonant' forms of teaching and their relation to student learning. This relatively large--scale research programme involved surveys of approximately 8829 students and 408 university teachers across 51 different units of study. The data were analysed using a combination of clust…
Travelling a thousand miles: Hong Kong Chinese students’ study abroad experience
Students' perceptions of teaching quality in higher education: The Perspective of Currently Enrolled Students
The psychometric properties of a version of the Course Experience Questionnaire revised for students currently enrolled at the University of Sydney, the Student Course Experience Questionnaire (SCEQ), were assessed, gathering students’ perceptions on a number of scales, including Good Teaching, Clear Goals and Standards, Appropriate Assessment, Appropriate Workload, and an outcome scale measuring Generic Skills development. Confirmatory factor an…
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory
Background. The Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) was developed to explore the relationship between students' approaches to learning, and teachers' approaches to teaching, in the physical sciences in higher education. It is increasingly being used in other contexts.Aim. To analyse the factor structure of the ATI.Method. Confirmatory factor analysis.Sample. Inventory responses from over 1,000 university teachers, from 4 different countries an…
Students' experiences in studying for multiple choice question examinations
A sample of 190 first- and second-year university students from three courses in two faculties completed questionnaires on their general orientations to learning (classified as deep, surface or achieving), their perceptions of the skills and abilities being assessed by multiple choice question (MCQ) examinations and the study strategies (either deep or surface) they intended to employ for their forthcoming MCQ examinations. The above variables we…
The differential impact of UK accredited teaching development programmes on academics' approaches to teaching
This mixed methods study used a survey with programme completers from 32 UK higher education institutions, and interviews and focus groups with programme completers, programme leaders, heads of department and pro‐vice‐chancellors, to explore the perceived impact of UK‐accredited teaching development programmes upon participants and departments. The perceived relation between the programmes and institutional missions and strategies was also explor…
University mathematics students' conceptions of mathematics
A Conceptions of Mathematics Questionnaire was developed, designed to provide an indicator of the nature of students' conceptions of the subject matter they were studying. The scales of the questionnaire were based upon a set of conceptions of mathematics identified in an earlier phenomenographic study of students studying mathematics. The scales represented fragmented and cohesive conceptions of mathematics. Evidence was found supporting both th…
Less lecturing, more learning
In this paper we describe the results of a three-year study of the introduction of small group teaching and learning techniques into a large, first-year course. Such techniques have had many advocates in the literature, but there are few reports of implementation and evaluation. Many teachers are reluctant to embrace these techniques because they do not know where and how to start. A report of implementation, like this one, can provide a model—fi…
Has the open door become a revolving door? The impact on attrition of moving from elite to mass higher education
As higher education has made the transition from elite to mass enrolments, the student body has become more diverse and online and blended learning have become more common. This study aimed to examine the impacts on attrition of admitting a more diverse student body with the shift towards online and blended learning. A hypothesised path model of attrition was tested with structural equation modelling. The model contained four presage variables re…
Relating the process of undergraduate essay writing to the finished product
This paper reports on research into the process and product of student essay writing at undergraduate level. The research was carried out from two different theoretical perspectives: phenomenonographic research on student learning in higher education, and systemic functional linguistic research on student writing in higher education. The research highlights both the qualitatively different ways that students conceive of essays and therefore appro…
Intercultural and international communication
An Evaluation of a Computer Science Orientation Programme
A short and intensive orientation programme was offered to a small group of students before the start of their first computer science course. During the orientation programme, students studied Karel, a simple programming language which provides pre‐programming skills for students embarking on a Pascal programming course. The programme was evaluated in terms of the assistance it gave participants in coping with the computing course. This evaluatio…
The Junior Health Worker Program at Lajamanu
Lajamanu is a remote, traditionally oriented Aboriginal community on the Northern edge of the Tanami Desert. The population comprises about 700 Warlpiri people, and 40 white people most of whom are involved in the delivery of public services
Less lecturing, more learning
In this paper we describe the results of a three-year study of the introduction of small group teaching and learning techniques into a large, first-year course. Such techniques have had many advocates in the literature, but there are few reports of implementation and evaluation. Many teachers are reluctant to embrace these techniques because they do not know where and how to start. A report of implementation, like this one, can provide a model—fi…
Improving the quality of student learning: The influence of learning context and student approaches to learning on learning outcomes
Relating Approaches to Study and Quality of Learning Outcomes at the Course Level
Research into qualitative differences in students' approaches to study, the quality of learning outcomes, and the relations between them has, in the main, been conducted on learning resulting from involvement in small academic tasks such as reading an academic article. This study, based on a sample of 122 first year university nursing students, focused on student learning on the whole course. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesised re…
A phenomenographic study of academics' conceptions of science learning and teaching
Students' experiences in studying for multiple choice question examinations
A sample of 190 first- and second-year university students from three courses in two faculties completed questionnaires on their general orientations to learning (classified as deep, surface or achieving), their perceptions of the skills and abilities being assessed by multiple choice question (MCQ) examinations and the study strategies (either deep or surface) they intended to employ for their forthcoming MCQ examinations. The above variables we…
Relating the process of undergraduate essay writing to the finished product
This paper reports on research into the process and product of student essay writing at undergraduate level. The research was carried out from two different theoretical perspectives: phenomenonographic research on student learning in higher education, and systemic functional linguistic research on student writing in higher education. The research highlights both the qualitatively different ways that students conceive of essays and therefore appro…
Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (1985): Review and further study of validity and reliability
In this study the validity and reliability of the revised version of Kolb's (1985) Learning Style Inventory are investigated using the responses to the LSI2 of 187 Arts and Science students in an Australian university. Results indicate high internal consistency of the LSI2 scales and some evidence of validity. While, as predicted, four factors forming two bipolar dimensions were found for the Science subsample, for the Arts subsample Active Exper…
Changing approaches to teaching: A relational perspective
Studies of student learning have shown that students' conceptions of learning are strongly correlated with their approaches to study. Students who consider learning in quantitative terms are likely to find it very difficult to adopt a deep approach to learning. This study looks at the parallel situation for teachers. It looks at the conceptions of teaching and learning of a group of first year science lecturers, and how those conceptions relate t…
Relations between perceptions of the teaching environment and approaches to teaching
Background. Previous research has established substantial relations between students' approaches to study in higher education and their perceptions of the learning environment. More recently, there has been a growing body of research into teachers' approaches to teaching and conceptions of teaching. There has, however, been little research into their perceptions of the teaching context.Aims. This study aimed to develop an inventory of university …
University mathematics students' conceptions of mathematics
A Conceptions of Mathematics Questionnaire was developed, designed to provide an indicator of the nature of students' conceptions of the subject matter they were studying. The scales of the questionnaire were based upon a set of conceptions of mathematics identified in an earlier phenomenographic study of students studying mathematics. The scales represented fragmented and cohesive conceptions of mathematics. Evidence was found supporting both th…
Relations between teachers' approaches to teaching and students' approaches to learning
Variation in the Experience of Leadership of Teaching in Higher Education
This article describes ways in which heads of university academic departments and the subject coordinators of large first-year subjects experience the leadership of teaching. It examines variation in perceptions of leadership experienced by the teachers in the same subjects and departments. It explores empirical relations between subject coordinators' conceptions of leadership and teachers' perceptions of leadership, and between teachers' percept…
Dissonance in Experience of Teaching and its Relation to the Quality of Student Learning
Several recent studies on student learning in higher education reported on 'dissonant' forms of contextualised learning engagement. The focus of the present study is on 'dissonant' forms of teaching and their relation to student learning. This relatively large--scale research programme involved surveys of approximately 8829 students and 408 university teachers across 51 different units of study. The data were analysed using a combination of clust…
Development and Use of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory
Qualitatively different ways of differentiating student achievement: A phenomenographic study of academics’ conceptions of grade descriptors
The term ‘grade descriptors’ has commonly been used to refer to the practice of describing for students characteristic work that would merit different grades. This paper reports the results of a phenomenographic study on the different ways that academic staff understood and practised grade descriptors as forms of standards‐based assessment. Four qualitatively different conceptions of grade descriptors were identified. Firstly, grade descriptors w…
Early impact and outcomes of an institutionally aligned, student focused learning perspective on teaching quality assurance1
This paper describes an evidence‐based quality assurance system for teaching and learning, which takes as its starting point a well‐researched theoretical perspective on student learning in higher education. We argue this explicit use of a relevant theoretical base promotes coherence between quality assurance and improvement processes. We outline the principal features of our university's quality assurance strategy, systems and processes, and des…
Confirmatory factor analysis of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory
Background. The Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) was developed to explore the relationship between students' approaches to learning, and teachers' approaches to teaching, in the physical sciences in higher education. It is increasingly being used in other contexts.Aim. To analyse the factor structure of the ATI.Method. Confirmatory factor analysis.Sample. Inventory responses from over 1,000 university teachers, from 4 different countries an…
Students' perceptions of teaching quality in higher education: The Perspective of Currently Enrolled Students
The psychometric properties of a version of the Course Experience Questionnaire revised for students currently enrolled at the University of Sydney, the Student Course Experience Questionnaire (SCEQ), were assessed, gathering students’ perceptions on a number of scales, including Good Teaching, Clear Goals and Standards, Appropriate Assessment, Appropriate Workload, and an outcome scale measuring Generic Skills development. Confirmatory factor an…
The differential impact of UK accredited teaching development programmes on academics' approaches to teaching
This mixed methods study used a survey with programme completers from 32 UK higher education institutions, and interviews and focus groups with programme completers, programme leaders, heads of department and pro‐vice‐chancellors, to explore the perceived impact of UK‐accredited teaching development programmes upon participants and departments. The perceived relation between the programmes and institutional missions and strategies was also explor…
Travelling a thousand miles: Hong Kong Chinese students’ study abroad experience
Freedom to innovate
Freedom to innovate in teaching and learning are essential to meaningful higher education. Universities’ rhetorical commitments to freedom and innovation are ubiquitous and quite homogenous. Beneath the rhetoric, however, lie sharp divides between neo-liberal and Humboldtian approaches to innovation, course design, teaching and learning. This article argues that to understand the authentic approach of a university to innovation requires going bey…
Has the open door become a revolving door? The impact on attrition of moving from elite to mass higher education
As higher education has made the transition from elite to mass enrolments, the student body has become more diverse and online and blended learning have become more common. This study aimed to examine the impacts on attrition of admitting a more diverse student body with the shift towards online and blended learning. A hypothesised path model of attrition was tested with structural equation modelling. The model contained four presage variables re…
Psychology (25 works) · Mathematics education (21 works) · Evaluation of Teaching Practices (20 works) · Pedagogy (18 works) · Higher education (15 works) · Computer Science (14 works) · Political science (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Medicine (8 works) · Teaching method (8 works)