The role of the facilitator in collective reflection on higher education teaching

This paper arose from the authors’ experience of facilitating collective reflection on higher education teaching using the ‘intercultural teaching process recall’ (iTPR) method. Facilitators’ contributions to the iTPR sessions were analysed empirically. There was considerable variation between facilitators, sessions and rounds. Individual facilitators had an affinity to certain contribution types, but did not respond the same way throughout. Approaches to facilitation were influenced by prior experiences, beliefs, session dynamics, and our multi-faceted identities as academic developers. The paper highlights the need for further research and theorisations of collective reflection on teaching in higher education.