‘I didn’t know this was possible’ : reflections on a variety of Web 2.0, classroom-based and online technologies

This case study reports on the Engaging and Enhancing Student Learning (EESL) module which forms the core module of the newly HEA and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) accredited blended Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) offered by the Academic Development Unit (ADU) at the University of Salford. The successful completion of the PGCAP Programme leads to a teaching qualification in Higher Education (HE) and Fellowship of the HEA. The blended PGCAP, is a multi-disciplinary programme, which replaced the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice and Research and was offered in Semester 1 of 2010/11 to new in-service academics and other professionals who support learning at the University of Salford. A number of participants have some or more extensive teaching and/or training experience in HE or other sectors. The case study presented here, refers to lessons learned from the first cohort completing the EESL module with a focus on how technology has been used to enhance and extend engagement, learning and teaching. The EESL module aims to introduce participants to learning and teaching in HE, and is aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF). The EESL module is delivered over 13 weeks and consists of an online two-week pre-induction, nine face-to-face workshops and two online weekly seminars. Please note: Academics and other professionals who join the PGCAP Programme are referred in this case study as participants

About using Mobile Reflections

a short guid

To act, or not to act, upon feedback? A case study in academic development, students’ experience and student feedback

This case study reports on a recent module evaluation of the Engaging and Enhancing Student Learning (EESL) module. This module forms part of the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) at the University of Salford and is offered mainly to new academics and other professionals who support learning. The EESL module aims to introduce participants to teaching and learning in HE, and is aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF). It is delivered over 10 weeks, including eight face-to-face workshops and two online weekly seminars. Active, collaborative and technology-enhanced learning are coupled with more creative and experimental approaches. The development of reflective skills is enabled through peer, mentor and tutor observations and feedback conversations and reflective accounts. Participants are invited to experiment in a safe environment and within a learning community with ideas and concepts, to challenge their own beliefs linked to teaching and learning in HE, and to begin shaping their teaching philosophy and academic identity. Reviewing feedback is part of our continuous evaluation and enhancement process and this case study reports on how learners’ feedback has been used to develop an EESL module further

Hooked on coaching

Coaching is widely used and recognised in Business as a driver for improved performance for some time now. Coaching has also been introduced to the Education sector and especially Further Education has embraced it through National Initiatives such as the Subject Learning Coaches Initiative of the Teaching and Learning Programme (Learning and Skills Network). However, while mentoring schemes are used and valued in Higher Education (HE), especially within PgCert Teaching and Learning programmes, Maddern (2010: 38) points out that coaching is not widely used in HE despite the fact that it has the potential to ‘be enormously beneficial in helping academics reconcile the often conflicting demands (of teaching, research and administration) they are faced with as well as optimising their performance, increasing productivity and helping them achieve their goals’. What follows is a personal reflective review and an exploration into coaching and its relevance and usefulness for academic development activities. It has been written shortly after I completed postgraduate qualifications in this area at the University of Oxford Brookes in collaboration with the Learning and Skills Improvement Service and at the University of Wolverhampton and it provides an insight into how my thinking and practice has been influenced by coaching

Mobile reflections (MoRe) pilot, developing reflection within initial teacher training for students with dyslexia

The MoRe (Mobile Reflections) pilot was designed to explore whether the use of freely available Web 2.0 technology and mobile phones could assist dyslexic student teachers to develop reflective skills by capturing their reflections using audio within a shared online learning space

Using e-portfolios for learning and assessment within the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) at the University of Salford

The e-portfolio system PebblePad is being trialled since September 2010 by the Academic Development Unit (ADU) during the Engaging and Enhancing Student Learning (EESL) 30 credits module of the blended PGCAP programme. It is used as a personal learning space, to capture reflections, the process of learning and for assessment purposes