Interview
Marie Leijon is a senior lecturer and educational developer at the Centre for Teaching and Learning. She is also the programme coordinator for the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education master’s programme.
What does the programme cover?
This international master’s programme serves as a meeting place for a variety of experiences and perspectives. At the programme’s core is an ambition to create a community of practice with the focus on preparing and developing our future university teachers.
The programme is therefore closely connected to practice and profession while also reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of higher education pedagogy. The students in the programme deepen their knowledge in the higher education pedagogical research area and can thus lay the foundation for further studies. It also develops the student in their professional teacher role and in that sense can be an important career step.
The programme covers themes in higher education, such as adult learning, challenge-based learning, student-centred teaching, teaching of heterogeneous student groups, learning environments, digitalisation, and internationalisation. Participants work both individually and in a collaborative peer-learning process with practice-based projects.
Where is this expertise needed?
Universities and higher education institutions need people with a good understanding of how adults learn and how to design and organise adult education. In this programme, you will, for example, learn how to use a research-based approach to carry out critical analyses of learning environments and strategic development of higher education. In the programme, we explore issues such as what pedagogical teaching and learning skills and leadership attitudes university teachers need to foster student-centred teaching. This programme can lead students to new opportunities for more advanced tasks and increase opportunities to participate in academic conversations. It can open up different career paths within and outside the academy, including organisations and companies that work with adult learning.
Who should apply to the programme?
Anyone with an ambition to deepen their understanding of teaching and learning in higher education from a scholarly approach. This programme is suitable for people who either work in higher education, or a related field, or have earned at least 60 credits from coursework in educational or behavioural sciences.
What makes the programme unique?
It is unique in its ambition to intertwine theories, practice-based knowledge and research in higher education with professional development in teaching. The programme has a unique double pedagogical perspective and students will deepen their knowledge about teaching and learning in higher education, as well as develop and explore teaching and learning processes, all from a critical perspective.
Why is Malmö University a good choice?
When you study at Malmö University you are part of a vibrant and innovative environment. Our students will be active participants in what is a rapidly growing research field, namely teaching and learning in higher education. Malmö University’s profile includes a focus on inclusion, widening participation and challenge-based learning. Those perspectives create a solid ground for this programme.
