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Signature Pedagogies

Pedagogy can be defined as the method and practice of teaching. As an academic subject, pedagogy is the study of how knowledge, skills and professional practices are imparted in an educational environment. Online pedagogy refers to how teaching is practiced using the internet and associated tools (Farrell et al., 2021) .

The term signature pedagogy, which was coined by Shulman in 2005, refers to the forms or styles of teaching that are common to specific disciplines, areas of study, or professions (Shulman, 2005).

A review of digital teaching, learning and assessment practices in the three disciplines of AHSS, Health Sciences and STEM was carried out by Academic Practice in 2021 and led to the identification of signature pedagogies associated with the disciplines as outlined in the diagram below

Signature Pedagogies

For more information, click on the links below.

Key Takeaways

  • Pedagogy is defined as the method and practice of teaching
  • Signature pedagogies are those forms of teaching that are commonly used within a disciplines, such as lab work, case studies or field trips
  • Some pedagogies are similarly applied across disciplines such as problem based learning and case based learning.

Reference List

  • Farrell, O., Brunton, J., Ni She, C., & Costello, E. (2021). #Openteach: professional development for open online educators. Retrieved from Dublin: 10.5281/zenodo.4599620
  • Shulman, L. S. (2005). Signature Pedagogies in the Professions. Daedalus, 134(3), 52-59. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20027998
  • Feldt, J. E., & Petersen, E. B. (2021). Inquiry-based learning in the Humanities: Moving from topics to problems using the “Humanities imagination”. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 20(2), 155-171. doi:10.1177/1474022220910368
  • Kornetsky, L. (2017). Signature pedagogy in theatre arts. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 16(3), 241-251. doi:10.1177/1474022216652771
  • Motley, P., Chick, N. L., & Hipchen, E. (2017). A conversation about critique as a signature pedagogy in the Arts and Humanities. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 16(3), 223-228. doi:10.1177/1474022216652773
  • Kearns, L. (2016). Dance critique as signature pedagogy. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 16(3), 266-276. doi:10.1177/1474022216652768
  • Challa, K. T., Sayed, A., & Acharya, Y. (2021). Modern techniques of teaching and learning in medical education: a descriptive literature review. MedEdPublish, 10(1). doi:10.15694/mep.2021.000018.1