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Example 1.
At De Montfort University I was asked to carry out a review of current practice
in the use of Post Graduates in teaching across the seven Faculties and then
to consider the teacher training requirements they had.
My role included :-
Negotiation of the original brief to clarify the scope and timescale of the
project with The University.
In depth interviews with a senior representative from each of the Faculties
who had a particular responsibility for Postgraduates. This was to determine
the current use of postgraduates in teaching support and demonstrating and a
view of what guidance and training they thought would be appropriate.
Focus group discussions with invited postgraduate students from all the
Faculties to gain an insight into their needs and views first hand.
Written report and presentation on findings for the University (including a
list of recommendations, sites of good practice and a proposal for a future
training programme).
In this case I was then invited to design and deliver a training programme for
postgraduates who teach at De Montfort University which has run three times
a year since.
Example 2.
The HEA Engineering Subject Centre appointed me to carry out a 'Scoping Study'
into the learning and teaching issues affecting staff providing HE Engineering
programmes in FE.
My role included :-
Negotiating the initial proposal with the HEA Engineering Subject Centre
Carrying out a desk survey of Engineering HE provision in FE Colleges
Interviewing members of HE and FE staff and their students about learning
and teaching issues
Presenting findings in a written report to the Management group of the Engineering
Subject Centre.
Negotiated design and delivery of a programme of
workshops
I have tendered for a piece of work with a UK Medical Research Council in which
the staff development team wanted to provide a full range of training provision
for their contract researchers. I was successful in obtaining the contract and
went on to provide a series of "Career Review" workshops for their
post doctoral research staff and later, some of their PhD students.
My role included :-
Putting together a small team of experts who could provide the necessary input
for the bid and the subsequent course design and delivery.
Together writing a bid and then presenting our approach to the Research Council.
Designing a one day session and producing an accompanying set of training materials
for the course in consultation with the MRC
Piloting the course and making any necessary refinements to content and process
of delivery
Evaluating the programme and then reporting back to the Research Council on
progress
Mentoring and on-going support
I have acted as a mentor to colleagues joining staff development units
in the UK and to colleagues working for their SEDA Fellowship in the UK and
Singapore.
My role includes :-
* Negotiating with the mentee how we will work together
* Taking part in mentoring meetings both in person and on-line
* Giving constructive feedback on work (e.g. chapters written,
observed workshops etc)
* Acting as a sounding board and critical friend
Preparation for HEA and SEDA accreditation
I have worked with three different departments/units as they developed their
"Teaching Certificate" or "Post-graduate Certificate in Academic
Practice"
to obtain accreditation with the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and /or The
Staff & Educational Development Association (SEDA).
My role has included :-
* Preparation, editing or review of course documentation
* Working with a small course team to prepare for the visit
of accreditors
* Responding to the needs and requirements of the accreditors
* Taking responsibility for on-going monitoring for the purposes
of accreditation
Curriculum evaluation
I was asked to undertake a review and evaluation of a newly introduced 1st year
curriculum for The department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of
Leicester, the implementation of Directed Learning across four years of the
Veterinary Degree at The Royal Veterinary College, London and a first year course
on 'Concrete' at De Montfort University.
My role included :-
Consideration of the documentation provided to the students about the course/
curriculum.
Discussion with the teaching team about their aims and objectives for the course
Focus group discussions with selected sets of students about their views and
experiences on the course
Comparison with good practice in similar institutions
Written and oral report of findings and recommendations back to the department
Reviewing quality assessment and audit documentation
I have undertaken a short 'paper-based' project for Queen Mary College, London.
This involved reviewing 'teaching quality' documentation to review quality audit
and assessment reports to find the recommendations and points of good practice
in teaching provision. This is to provide information to the Staff Development
unit to spread good practice within the College
Development of University policy and procedures
Example 1.
The University of Hull invited me to work with them to implement Peer observation
of Teaching across the University.
My role included :-
Following a meeting with the management team at the University I put forward
a training proposal which was fundamentally accepted.
I met with academic representatives from many of the University departments
to understand their needs in order to tailor staff development approaches to
individual departments.
A series of about 20 workshops and sessions were run with individual units /
departments
Example 2.
The University of Bath wished to revise and re-focus their collective approach
to peer observation and asked me to write materials for the relaunch.
My role included :-
Negotiating a project brief with representatives from the University
Producing three sets of advisory and guidance material; General guidance on
the new scheme, a set of case studies demonstrating the range of teaching related
activities that could be addressed using the approach and a set of implementation
guidance for Heads of Department.
Liaising with University staff to get feedback on the materials from teaching
colleagues and senior staff
National Student Satisfaction Survey Response -
Feedback to Students
The Royal Veterinary College, London, invited me to conduct a major review
of feedback to students across the College and report back my findings together
with a set of developmental recommendations for their teaching committee to
consider.
My role included :-
Presenting a work proposal to University staff
Conducting a thorough review of course documentation and information
Carrying out teaching and assessment observations across the different levels/years
of the programme
Holding focus group and individual interviews with staff and students across
the College.
Doing a basic web search of the feedback practices considered to be novel and
effective elsewhere.
Doing a literature review on student feedback
Consulting with colleagues teaching on similar Vet. courses elsewhere about
their feedback practices.
Producing a report and making recommendations to the College.
