Differing ways that computing academics understand teaching

This paper presents first results from a wide-ranging phenomenographic study of computing academics' understanding of teaching. These first results focus upon four areas: the role of lab practical sessions, the experience of teaching success, conceptions of motivating and engaging students, and the granularity of the teacher's focus. The findings are comparable with prior work on the understandings of academics in other disciplines. This study was started as part of a workshop on phenomenography. Most participants at the workshop received their first training in phenomenography. This paper summarises the structure of the workshop.