JADE 5th edition | Page 33

ARTICLE # 2 | 17
ARTICLE | # 2
Title
Teaching and Research Synergy in a Competency Based Education Era
Author ( s )
Angelo Leone ( 1 ) Rosalyn Jurjus ( 2 ) Alice Gerges ( 3 ) Aldo Gerbino ( 1 ) Abdo Jurjus ( 4 )
Contact angelo . leone @ unipa . it
Department
Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience , Section of Histology , ( BIONEC ), University of Palermo- Italy ( 1 )
Department of Anatomy and Regeneration Biology , George Washington University Washington DC , USA ( 2 )
Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences , Section of Anatomy , ( BIONEC ), University of Palermo Italy ( 3 )
Department of Anatomy , Cell Biology and Physiological Sciences , Faculty of Medicine , American University of Beirut- Lebanon ( 4 )
Introduction : Formal definitions and tensions
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “ teaching ” as a way to convey knowledge ; giving instruction or lessons , or communicating something to a person by way of instruction . It also defines “ Research ” as being the act of searching closely and carefully for or after a specified topic or person ; an investigation directed to the discovery of some fact by careful study of a subject or a course of critical and scientific inquiry . This juxtaposition is interesting since the dictionary definition of research might also be considered learning in comparison to teaching .
In the last decade , there has been a significant increase in the attention paid to teaching and to the dynamic our view of teaching and learning ; research-to-teaching links and teaching per se are much contested issues . The basic aim of the “ scholarship of teaching movement ” has been to promote the integration of research and teaching ( Kreber , 2002 ), but there is still a considerable literature , which suggests that these roles or functions are in tension ( Blackmore , 2009 ). In brief , the basic issue is how we to value research and teaching together , and how these might be brought together in a more symbiotic relationship ( Elton , 1986 ). After all , most academics are employed for the purposes of research and teaching and research-led universities aim at promote learning by linking research , teaching and scholarship .
This article highlights the importance of a balanced integration of research into teaching , a synergistic relationship for a highly valued competency-based education that could enhance learning . It discusses different levels of synergy between teaching and research , thus depicting the added value of each component in an integrated curriculum promoting self-learning and aiming to produce life-long learners .
What is teaching and learning ?
If the term “ learning and teaching ” incorporates both teaching and research ( i . e . student research in the teaching setting as well as teachers ’ research in their teaching context ( s )) then perhaps there is an obvious synergy between teaching and research . Recent research has addressed the convergence and harmonization between teaching and research by focusing on curriculum and learning design which offer the best potential for connecting students and academics to knowledge communities and linking the research , teaching and scholarship mission ( Adeyeye , 2004 ; Berret , 2011 ).