How university teachers design their courses: Analysis of a basic survey targeting university teachers

This paper reports findings from a study that is investigating university teachers´ approaches to designing courses. In order to develop and offer effective and practical ICT tools or training programs for Professional Development (Faculty Development), it is important to know about the actual approaches and factors that influence how university teachers design courses. To clarify the above points, the authors conducted a university-wide survey in 2012 targeting faculty members at Tohoku University. Results show that the approaches that teachers take vary between disciplines. Humanities and Social Science teachers tend to be freer to make decisions on setting course content, and there is less influence from departmental decision-making or the course contents of other teachers. In comparison, in Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacology, teachers´ approaches are more affected by organizational decision-making and collaborative communication with their colleagues. This is useful information for understanding university teachers´ actual approaches and the development of practical support systems or programs for these teachers.