Teaching That Matters: Successful Projects and a New Award

The excursion to good teaching was a stimulating meeting of teachers and researchers of internal grants across the faculties of Masaryk University, who could share experiences and discuss trends in higher education during the workshops. The imaginative event, which took place on 18 June, was created in the context of the end of the internal teaching support calls including Excellence in Learning Programmes and Innovation in Teaching.

The programme also included the first awarding of the MU Vice-Chancellor for Education and Quality's Quality Teaching Award, through which lecturers were recognised for their systematic and thoughtful approach to teaching. “Education is the first role of the university and we want to show how important the daily pedagogical work of our teachers is with events like today's,” said Michal Bulant, MU Vice-Rector for Education and Quality.

"I see today's gathering as a celebration and a celebration of teachers who dedicate time and care to the quality of teaching, while actively and constructively reflecting on their role. We want to thank these people, whether through the Vice-Chancellor's Quality Award or through this meeting. The common energy brings teachers and us more motivation to continue our work successfully," explained the importance of the event Kateřina Oleksíková, Director of the Department for Quality.

In the morning programme, Kateřina Oleksíková presented the results of three years of support for Masaryk University's internal challenges, when over 38 million crowns were allocated to 128 selected projects to support teaching Excellence and Innovation in Teaching.

"The internal challenges were supported by the Strategic Management Support Programme (SMSP) 2021 to 2025, from which the College received funding for support relating to the quality of teaching and learning. Masaryk University has decided to use them in the form of internal challenges," the director said.

What excellent teaching means and how to practically lead it was the topic of presentations and panel discussions that took place throughout the day.

Through internal challenges, it was also possible to try out new working practices, such as regular reflective meetings or portfolio work. "For the next period, i.e. the PPSD 2026+, which is being prepared right now, we plan to maintain Masaryk University's support for this type of challenges. Although the specific amount of support and timetable is not yet clear, we definitely want to stick to the tried and tested model. We mainly intend to preserve the things we have learned and which the supported faculty teachers appreciate," Oleksíková added.

What constitutes excellent teaching and how to conduct it practically was the topic of the following panel discussion. It was also attended by Michal Bulant, MU Vice-Rector for Education and Quality, Zdenko Reguli, MU Faculty of Sports Studies Vice-Dean for Studies, and Petr Škyřík, Head of the Department of Information Studies and Librarianship at the MU Faculty of Arts. 

How to look at teaching through the eyes of students was presented by Monika Barton, an expert in higher education, who brought an inspiring view from the outside into the environment of Masaryk University. "I have always been very motivated by working with students because they have great energy and interesting things can be done in the classroom. My biggest breakthrough in education was in New Zealand, where teaching is focused on individual approach to each student," said Monika Barton, who works at the private university AMBIS.

Although she has done corporate education in multinational corporations in the past, she has gained most of her experience in the environment of foreign universities. In New Zealand, her focus during her 12-year stay was on instructional design and outcomes-based learning. "I have found that in addition to students being satisfied in a course, how the courses are linked within the curriculum is very important. A closer look revealed that you need both good teachers and a good system. In this day and age where there are more and more college-educated people, we need them to gradually move into lifelong learning because that system is preferable to the traditional, content-oriented one," Barton explained.

In an afternoon session of several specialized workshops, the researchers presented their projects in a hands-on manner, and attendees were able to choose a session based on their interest. The afternoon program included a “Gallery Visit” in the courtyard of the building on Komenský square.

The diversity of internal grant projects was presented there through the installation of posters that originally described the activities of the different research teams with an innovative touch. This allowed interested parties to talk and share good practice directly with the authors.

The purpose of the Excursion to Good Teaching was not only to present the outcomes of the internal challenges to support teaching, but above all to look back at what positive outcomes the challenges have brought and what Masaryk University as a sponsor could change in the future. “The biggest challenge is to get to the perception that the quality of teaching is important and that we can always improve,” Vice-Rector Michal Bulant expressed the importance of the event.

Vice-Rector's Award for Quality Teaching

“Although there are Rector's Awards for teaching activities, and we are happy that their number is growing, we still perceive that the award for teaching activities is less than the award for research activities, and we wanted to contribute to ‘balancing this inequality’ with this award,” explained Michal Bulant at the first ever awarding of the Masaryk University Vice-Rector's Award for Quality Teaching, which emphasizes prestige in the field of academic work.

The prize is awarded to teachers for their comprehensive approach to the issue of teaching quality and systematic efforts to improve it, which can take various forms and shapes, such as continuous pedagogical development, reflection on the needs of learners and support for their active involvement in teaching, creating a safe and supportive environment for learning and participation in the dissemination of good pedagogical practice. “We want to show that quality teaching in different personal conceptions can mean different approaches and different activities not only in teaching itself and its preparation, but also in its reflection and pedagogical development,” Bulant added.