An ecological lens on the professional development of university teachers

Abstract

This article presents an ecological frame for reflection on teaching at university. It is suggested here that the process of professional reflection on practice can be better aligned with processes of institutional development by applying the adaptive cycle. This heuristic emerged from the scientific literature on ecosystem maintenance and has been repurposed to allow the consideration of complex social-ecological systems–such as a university. The nature of the adaptive cycle changes over time to accommodate changes in the exterior (the institution and wider society) and interior (e.g. personal experience and wellbeing) professional environments. These cycling changes offer a descriptive tool to support discussion of university teacher development.