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The study of teachers’ beliefs at the tertiary level has also resulted in the prolife-

elation of a number of similar terms

 

 Perhaps this is due to the number of different

perspectives that have been used to examine how tertiary teachers view teaching.

For example, researchers have asked participating teachers:

 

* “What is your view of teaching?” (Gow & Kember, 1993, p. 23).

* “What are the most important things you can do to enhance students’ learn-

ing?” (Dunkin & Precians, 1992, p. 487).

* “What does a good teacher teaching in this course do?” (Martin & Balla,

1991).

* “What would you describe as your main role as a lecturer?” (Murray & Mac-

Donald, 1997).

* “What do you mean by teaching (learning) in this subject?” (Prosser, Trig-

well, & Taylor, 1994).

* What were your “aims in teaching”? (Johnston, 1996, p. 216).

* What about “the nature of teaching excellence”? (Andrews, Garrison, & Mag-

nusson, 1996, p. 86).

The variety of approaches has resulted in a number of different theories and

terms used to describe teachers’ beliefs and conceptions at the tertiary level. Mar-