Tim Bullough & Anthony Sinclair: Working with your discipline's HEA Subject Centres. Slides from the University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference 2009.
The Higher Education Academy was formed in 2004 as “a single, central body to support the enhancement of learning and teaching in higher education” in the UK. It currently spends about half of its ~£25million annual budget supporting a Subject Network of 24 National Subject Centres, designed to support teaching and learning across all the main subject disciplines in UK higher education. Although the Subject Centre network is well used by many academic staff, the majority probably have little contact with them. The aim of this session is to discuss ways in which teaching staff can work with, and potentially be supported by, the their discipline’s Subject Centre. Examples will include how staff at Liverpool work with their Subject Centre to develop teaching resources, help train and support fellow academic teachers and students, and even inform national policy.
Teaching Development Grants are a common way that Subject Centres support academic staff, providing funds to develop teaching resources or investigate teaching policy. A major study has just been completed by UKCME (the materials subject centre) analysing the characteristics of Teaching Development Grants which produced useful outputs for individual academics, departments and/or the discipline’s community. These will be discussed by UKCME researchers and colleagues in the History, Classics and Archaeology Subject Centre also based in Liverpool. The session should be of interest to any teaching staff at Liverpool who currently work with their discipline’s subject centre, or have thought about doing so but were not sure where to start.
Tim Bullough & Anthony Sinclair: Working with your discipline's HEA Subject Centres
1. Working with your discipline’s National Subject Centre Tim Bullough Dept of Engineering & UKCME Adam Mannis UKCME Anthony Sinclair School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology & HCA
12. 24 HEA Subject Centres Art, Design and Media Bioscience Built Environment (CEBE) Business, Management, Accountancy and Finance (BMAF) Economics Education (ESCALATE) Engineering English Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) Health Sciences and Practice History, Classics and Archaeology Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism (HLST) Information and Computer Sciences Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS) Law (UK Centre for Legal Education - UKCLE) Materials (UK Centre for Materials Education) Maths, Stats & OR Network (MSOR) Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine (MEDEV) PALATINE - Dance, Drama and Music Philosophical and Religious Studies Physical Sciences Psychology Sociology, Anthropology and Politics (C-SAP) Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP)
22. Skills and Employability59 TDGs supported (typically £2-5k each) at 26 HEIs and associated organisations since 2001
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24. Most successful were web-based simulations/teaching aids; and a science project at Tower of London.
25. Some Resource packs, internet sites etc no longer work or no longer produced......... need to be kept up to dateCase Study ‘Electronic Resources: Metals and Alloys’ and ‘Production of new electronic resources on ‘Fabrication’ 2004 and 2005 (University of Cambridge) Two projects to produce web-based Metallurgy research and teaching aids, including overviews of subjects, lecture notes and presentations. Web resources now freely available, royalty free and easily downloadable. Incorporated into the DoITPoMS project Micrograph Library, and Teaching and Learning Packages (TLPs), also funded through the UKCME’s Supported Change Programme.
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27. Some tended to be short-term Institution-specific grants, not widely disseminatedCase Study ‘Development of a portfolio of case studies to support recruitment and teaching on Undergraduate Materials courses’ 2001 (University of Bath) To address local and national Materials recruitment concerns. 5 electronic case studies commissioned from UG students and recent graduates, explaining Materials at a level appropriate for schools (especially Biomedical Materials and Sports Materials). No longer used at Bath, but partly re-purposed as material for UKCME’s website for schools: www.whystudymaterials.ac.uk.
28. Curriculum development TDGs 15 projects about teaching methods: PBL Teaching using Case Studies Lab-based teaching VLEs Peer tutoring Ethical issues Case Study Case Study ‘The development of Materials Evaluation techniques for the Ethical designer’ 2003 (University of Derby) Very little experience incorporating ethical perspectives into the design curriculum. Developed materials and processes to introduce ethical evaluation methods into Architecture, Engineering and Product Design Has subsequently been built into QAA standards. ‘Tutoring Large Groups – a web-based approach’, 2003 (University of Southampton) Aim to provide academic tutorial support in Materials modules of 200+ students. Development of online tutorial sessions, supplemented by MCQs and random question sets, and supported by pg students.
32. Accreditation of prior/experiential learningCase Study ‘Strategies for improving the writing skills of Undergraduate Materials students’2003 (David McPhail, Imperial College, London) Aim to improve poor writing skills of UK and international Materials ug students. Organised a student English writing skills workshop; developed exercises based around writing letters for job applications etc; arranged language sessions. [‘Incorporating Skills Teaching into Science Degrees: A review and case study’, in Proceedings of the 2003 WFEO/ASEE e-Conference, American Society for Engineering Education.]
33. University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference, 23 June 2009 ‘Making Change Happen’ in my Department
34. University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference, 23 June 2009 Evolving Practice at UKCME For individuals or groups (focuses on national & regional agendas);one or two days in length Awareness-Raising Events: workshops / conferences For target groups (of same position / role) in the subject community;focused residential weekend Dedicated Courses: (e.g. for New Lecturers) For enthusiastic individuals within a Departmental context; 1 year maximum Teaching Development Grant scheme Supported Change Programme At the full Department level; 2 year commitment
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36. University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference, 23 June 2009 Shifts in UKCME Emphasis: from traditional to new strategy
37. University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference, 23 June 2009 Examples at Partner Institutions
39. University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference, 23 June 2009 Usage of TLPs beyond Cambridge Source: TW Clyne et al – Euromat 2009 International Conference
40. University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference, 23 June 2009 Usage of TLPs within Cambridge “The great thing about the TLP is not just that they provide an alternative approach – helping you visualise, e.g. what can be mathematically-based concepts. They also let you work through things, construct things in your own time, and you can do it step-by-step yourself.” “Students attend lectures and listen. They take notes at a furious pace sometimes, but go away not fully grasping the concepts… The TLP is to support students by clarifying things, by helping them make sense of the concepts.” “The fact that there has been student involvement and ownership… you feel if the students who wrote the TLPs understand the content, then you as a learner should be able to understand it.”
41. University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference, 23 June 2009 The Way Forward “The driver is the Supported Change Programme. This has enabled us to go beyond individual projects, to develop strategies that otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to do. So, that’s gathering momentum, with other agencies beginning to work together, and pulling in the same direction.”
![Established in May 2004, to create “a single, central body to support the enhancement of learning and teaching in higher education.” Mission: “to help institutions, discipline groups and all staff to provide the best possible learning experience for their students.” ,[object Object], - Universities UK: members are the executive heads of UK universities, and - GuildHE: members are the heads of higher educational institutions such a LIPA, Royal Agricultural College etc ,[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)