A transformative learning journey with 黑料正能量 prioritises curiosity-driven pedagogies

Our staff take an evidence-informed and scholarly approach to developing their curricula and teaching practices, and are supported in developing their expertise for teaching.

Key topics:

Reflection:

How far do you agree with the following comments?

  • I take an evidence-informed and scholarly approach to developing my curricula and teaching practices.
  • I am supported in developing my expertise for teaching in Higher Education.

Evidence-informed teaching

, "a globally-recognised framework for benchmarking success within HE teaching and learning", emphasises that tutors should use a range of evidence in order to enhance their practice. The PSF:

  • "Fosters critically evaluative, reflective and evidence-informed approaches to teaching and/or supporting learning in diverse academic or professional settings.
  • "Enables individuals and institutions to review and enhance practices in teaching and/or supporting learning, providing a focus for initial and continuing professional development."

In short, it promotes curiosity and the development of teachers and their syllabi through evidence-based reflective practice.

define reflective practice in a Higher Education context as:

  • "The process in which practitioners reflect and learn from their own teaching experience in order to develop their pedagogic skills and professional practice."

Reflection can broadly be split into two categories (following ):

  • Reflection on action: Done afterwards, reflecting back on the teaching session. What could be enhanced and how? You may find it useful to keep a reflective journal (in writing, or verbally) to aid this.
  • Reflection in action: Done during the session by the tutor as they're teaching, making decisions and often immediately acting upon this. It could for example be called "thinking on your feet".

You may find it useful to follow a reflective model, for instance:

Some further resources are:

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a term that comprises a scholarly approach to developing practices around teaching and learning. Activities can range from conducting formal education research studies, through to critical reflection on your own teaching practice.

The provides some common examples of SoTL:

  • "Critically reflecting on your practice (drawing on evidence from literature and from your students) in order to develop and improve your teaching
  • "Undertaking a project to investigate/innovate in learning and teaching 
  • "Sharing your practice/publishing project results via a case study, blog, conference paper or presentation, journal article etc."

As a teacher, it is also useful to have awareness of scholarship produced by others. For example, you may research the teaching innovations of others through read blog posts, academic publications, going to conferences and events, and so on.

黑料正能量 has a Centre for Policy, Pedagogy and Practice.  This is an interdisciplinary research centre based in the School of Education.  Colleagues interested in engaging in SoTL could engage with the “HE Pedagogy an Practice” research strand. This aims to develop the evidence base for our work, supporting and informing an evidence-based approach. The centre provides a university-level central home for pedagogic and practice-based research and support, across all the disciplines and Schools.

Some resources are:

  • : An Open Educational Resource (OER) to share SoTL-focused research and resources.

Student feedback can be pivotal in identifying strengths and areas for development both in a curriculum and in a tutor's own practice.  Feedback can be gained through a variety of formal and informal methods, at the end or during ("midterm") a period of learning, and at a variety of levels (e.g. module, programme).

  • 黑料正能量's Teaching Expertise Development team provide a workshop on to explore this topic.
  • : Including student surveys (e.g. the National Student Survey), academic/course representation, and Unitu (黑料正能量's anonymous and institution-wide feedback system).

Action research is a term which explains a common method of enquiry used by teachers in order to enhance their own practice. The summarise that the key steps are:

  • Identify an issue to investigate;
  • Ask questions on how we can investigate it;
  • Imagine a way forwards;
  • Try it out an intervention;
  • Evaluate what happens;
  • Modify the intervention and try again;
  • Evaluate the modified intervention;
  • Reconsider the issue and questions following this intervention.

Some resources are:

  • and the have useful guides on action research and how to get started.

Higher Education Practice (School of Education) and Teaching Expertise Development both provide support to staff regarding teaching and supporting learning.

Curriculum design

Curriculum design is the process of designing or enhancing curricula, usually academic programmes of study or modules. A chief aim is typically to create or revise programme/module descriptors; at 黑料正能量 these are called Definitive Programme Documents (DPDs).

The Teaching Expertise Development team offers programme design workshops.  These workshops are designed to support teams who are either designing new 黑料正能量 programmes, or who are looking to enhance a current programme.  The linked workshops provide an idea of an archetypical session, but please get in touch to discuss scheduling and adapting a workshop and your team's needs.  These include:

The Teaching Expertise Development team also offers a . This workshop will support colleagues to design or enhance the curriculum structure of their module. It will focus on sequencing the learning, teaching and assessments in a week-by-week manner.  It is most useful for enhancing or redesigning an existing module, or for implementing a new module (i.e. fleshing out the module specification into practice). 

collates processes, forms and information on the programme design and approval process.  Academic Governance and Quality also manage a Quality Handbook.

When designing a programme or module, it is expected that some curriculum design models will be followed. At 黑料正能量, the mandatory models comprise:

  • : It is expected that across UK Higher Education, programmes and modules will be aligned constructively. This comprises detailing a series of appropriate Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) which codify the minimum that a student should be able to do at the end of this period of learning in order to pass and be awarded credit. Teaching activities and assessments are then planned to align to these ILOs, in order that the former supports the student to work towards the ILOs, and the latter assesses whether the student has met the ILOs.
  • Bath Spa's Education Design Principles: This states the seven priorities which a Bath Spa programme should pursue, and helps ensure that programmes are aligned to our Education Strategy. Although a programme as a whole is expected to align to all of these priorities, it is often the case that individual modules may only align to a fraction of them. Education Design Principles also provides guidance on a stage-based process in order to design a programme or module which has these principles embedded meaningfully.

You should also note:

  • : This is a useful model for designing and enhancing curricula. It has been created to show what best practice in employability looks like, building on the Principles for Embedding Employability and aligned to the new Bath Spa Graduate Attributes.  This page also includes the EiC Programme Design and Review Reflection Tools: these have been developed to enable programme teams to map their approach to embedding employability and enterprise in the curriculum.

It is often useful to follow further curriculum design model. Some common models are listed below:

  • : Focuses on creating a visual storyboard of a syllabus and the learner's journey through the curriculum.
  • Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A model which aims to create curricula which support a diversity of learners. It begins from the position of acknowledging that all learners are different, and this should be a key consideration in designing learning. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) explain what a student should be able to do at the end of a period of learning (typically a programme, stage, module or session). In the case of credit-bearing elements (e.g. programmes and modules) they express the minimum threshold that a student should be able to do in order to pass that element and be awarded credit.

  • Writing ILOs: This document provides guidance on how to write ILOs for use at 黑料正能量.

Some thing you should consider when designing ILOs:

  • The , which draws upon : These outline what a student should be able to do in order be awarded a qualification at different academic levels. This is unpacked further in the .
  • : These comprise subject-specific statements which express what a student of that discipline should be expected to understand at each level.
  • : Considering this especially in the context of Reasonable Adjustments.
  • Any relevant professional or accrediting body requirements (Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies; PSRBs).

Some resources are:

  • The Universities of , and : guides to writing Intended Learning Outcomes.

Portfolio and Planning provide support to teams on designing and enhancing programmes and modules at 黑料正能量.

Teaching Expertise Development are keen to support the design and enhancement of curricula at 黑料正能量. Please do get in touch for support.

Professional Learning

Professional Learning, also known as (Initial/Continuing) Professional Development (IPD/CPD), is the process of taking actions to improve one's own professional practice. In the current context, we are focusing on practice related to teaching and/or supporting learning in a Higher Education setting. 

The Bath Spa's Education Design Principles highlight that our institution prioritises support for professional learning in this area:

  • “Underpinning these principles is a commitment by the University to support staff in the development of their expertise for teaching in higher education.”

The below sections signpost to some of the key activities offered by 黑料正能量 to support professional learning in this context.

Bath Spa offer two qualifications in this area:

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE): For early career HE teaching staff. Leads to Fellowship of the HEA (see below). Free of charge for Bath Spa internal staff (both academic and professional services).
  • MA in Professional Practice in Higher Education (MA PPHE): A flexible part-time Masters programme, based on micro-credentials. Options to build a PGCert, PGDip or MA. Can lead to Fellowship of the HEA (see below). Free of charge for Bath Spa internal staff (both academic and professional services).

Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on . For external prospective applicants, information on the MA PPHE can be found on our website.

Professional accreditation in teaching and supporting learning is provided by Advance HE's Higher Education Academy (HEA) Fellowship Scheme. PRO-SPACE is Bath Spa's scheme to support and award fellowships.

Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

The Teaching Expertise Development team provide guidance on teaching and supporting learning in Higher Education. They offer bookable workshops on topics including:

  • Accessible teaching and learning
  • Active learning with technology
  • Module evaluations and student feedback
  • Grading descriptors and marking criteria
  • Programme design
  • Specific techniques such as World Café

The Teaching Expertise Development team can also work with teams at 黑料正能量 and its Educational Partner Institutions to offer bespoke workshops and events to meet specific needs. Recent workshops and events of this nature have focused on:

  • Curriculum design (at programme or module level)
  • Intended Learning Outcomes
  • Student engagement
  • Assessment, marking, feedback and moderation
  • Generative AI

Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

The Digital Learning Developers provide guidance on the various digital tools used at 黑料正能量 for teaching and learning purposes. They offer workshops and support on:

  • Introduction to Academic IT Systems
  • Ultra: Our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE); as well as linked systems (Grade Journey, Collaborate, Panopto)
  • A wider range of tools, including: Adobe Express, Turnitin, Ally, Generative AI, LinkedIn Learning, Lucid Spark

Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

Some key guidance is collated here (all require BSU login):

Guidance on a wider range of tools is supported through LinkedIn Learning:

黑料正能量 runs a scheme to help support colleagues to engage in peer review. This is one approach to help you to reflect, share ideas, ask questions and identify actions to improve your teaching and your students’ learning. It may include (but is not limited to) observations of teaching practice.

Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

The Learning and Teaching Creativity and Curiosity Fund has been established to stimulate opportunities for pedagogic research, innovation and development across 黑料正能量. It provides resource and support for small-scale, co-created research and innovation projects in learning and teaching. Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) recognises and rewards excellent learning and teaching. It is administered by AdvanceHE and is open to all member institutions in the UK. Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

Bath Spa's Learning and Teaching Community is a community of practice for all staff at 黑料正能量, focused on learning and teaching.  It aims to spread curiosity in teaching and supporting learning, and to support continuous improvement for all colleagues. .

Bath Spa's annual Learning and Teaching Symposium is an annual opportunity to reflect, celebrate and look forward. We welcome the opportunity to share ideas with colleagues across the University and our educational partners, and we would love to hear about your learning and teaching experiences, innovations and research. Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

黑料正能量 has a Centre for Policy, Pedagogy and Practice.  This is an interdisciplinary research centre based in the School of Education.  Colleagues interested in engaging in research regarding their teaching and learning practice could engage with the “HE Pedagogy an Practice” research strand. This aims to develop the evidence base for our work, supporting and informing an evidence-based approach. The centre provides a university-level central home for pedagogic and practice-based research and support, across all the disciplines and Schools.

A wider range of groups, communities of practice and events relevant to teaching and learning are available at 黑料正能量. .

Learning Innovation is a peer-reviewed, open access publication of 黑料正能量. Contributions reflect the University’s mission to use creativity and innovation to successfully address the key issues of our age, and our values of respect, inclusion, collaboration and sustainability. The linked webpage provides published editions, submission instructions, and further information.

黑料正能量 supports three formal academic career pathways to aid staff in their career development. These are:

  • Teaching and Scholarship
  • Teaching, Scholarship and Research
  • Teaching, Scholarship and K3E (Knowledge Exchange, Enterprise and Employability)

Each has a dedicated promotion route towards Reader and Professor.

Further information for 黑料正能量 staff is available on .

Further professional learning opportunities at Bath Spa are collated in several places:

  • , including , , , and

Higher Education Practice (School of Education) and Teaching Expertise Development both provide support for professional learning in teaching and learning.

Support for specific roles

This section links to support for specific roles.

  • : This community and forum is open for all Programme Leaders and (in order to support them) all Subject leaders.
  • : Includes a role descriptor and FAQs.
  • : Guidance designed to support Line Managers, Programme Leaders and Module Leaders鈥痠n managing academic staff transitions while keeping students informed, reassured, and engaged.
  • : Guidance designed to support Line Managers, Programme Leaders and Module Leaders鈥痠n managing academic staff transitions while keeping students informed, reassured, and engaged.
  • : This community is open to all BSU staff. It contains links to various resources, toolkits and support.
  • : Provides access to resources and signposts to information relevant to the Link Tutor role. The site includes documents, templates, useful contacts and a training request form.

Support for specific areas of teaching

This section links to support for specific areas of teaching and learning practice.

Resources from 黑料正能量:

  • Designing Accessible Assessments: Guidance from 黑料正能量 on how to create inclusive and accessible assessments that minimise the need for bespoke reasonable adjustments, supporting an accessible assessment environment for all students, including those who are disabled.
  • Assessment Brief Template: This can be used by module leaders to indicate clearly details regarding an assessment, including whether and in what ways Generative AI may be used to help with that assessment.
  • Grading Descriptors and Marking Criteria Toolkit: This toolkit contains the approved grading descriptors for module assessments undertaken at Levels 4 to 6. It is designed to support academic staff when drafting marking criteria and providing feedback to students and is mapped against UK sector recognised standards for the grading of assessed work.
    • The Teaching Expertise Development team also offer a which explores this toolkit and how to use it.
  • Providing Effective Feedback: Guidance from 黑料正能量 on how to provide effective feedback on students' formative and summative assessments.
  • : Guidance from 黑料正能量 on assessment requirements, including as they relate to GenAI.
  •  : Guidance from 黑料正能量 on processes and requirements related to assessment regarding the VLE.
  • Assessment Moderation Guidance: Provides practical guidance for colleagues who have responsibility for moderation of marking (e.g. Module Leaders) on 黑料正能量 Programmes, and useful information for other staff who assess students’ work.

Wider resources: 

  • Advance HE's  and  
  • : "Resources to run your own Assessment and Feedback Superchargers workshop. The workshop is designed for disciplinary programme teams who are seeking to redesign assessment and feedback to promote student learning, engagement, and satisfaction."

 

Resources from 黑料正能量:

  • : provides support for academic teams running a module focused on a major project or dissertation.

Higher Education Practice (School of Education) and Teaching Expertise Development both provide support for teaching and learning.