Variation in teachers' descriptions of teaching: Broadening the understanding of teaching in higher education

In the present study 71 university teachers from several disciplines were interviewed in order to capture the variation in descriptions of teaching. Two broad categories of description were identified: the learning-focused and the content-focused approaches to teaching. The results showed that the relationship between the two approaches was complex and variation could be captured in detail only after considering the purpose of teaching. Within both of these categories 10 aspects of teaching were identified, which were further grouped into four broader ones, namely teaching process, learning environment, conception of learning, and pedagogical development.