Areas of Activity

Areas of ActivityEvidence
A1 Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study– I have designed Personal Tutoring online workshops, which are engaging and include assessments for tracking student progression.
– I have re-designed postgraduate group sessions according to student and staff feedback.
– I have planned and created videos to train staff.
A2 Teach and/or support learning– I have supported staff designing new courses on how to use and implement Coventry.Domains as a teaching tool.
– I have taught Personal Tutoring group sessions and workshops over the year, as well as supported with skills induction session that I designed.
A3 Assess and give feedback to learners– I have engaged with different methods to offer students formative feedback in-person and online.
– Students who have completed online workshops, with assessment, receive online certificates to download.
– I have worked with students on developing progression by developing upon academic feedback given on summative work.
A4 Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance– I have worked on creating a new online learning environment, which is inclusive to all types of learners and is flexible to student levels.
– I develop rapport with students and my classes to create a safe, engaging and effective learning environment.
A5 Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices– I have engaged with different areas of CPD to develop my overall teaching practice, including:
o Conciliation training
o Leadership and Mentoring Training
– I have implemented feedback surveys for all teaching/service interactions, which are analysed and used to service development and improvement to professional practice.
– I have applied pedagogical knowledge to developing a PGDip course as part of the PGCAPHE. I have also consulted with staff on course creation, using my pedagogical knowledge and SOTL.

Core Knowledge

Core KnowledgeEvidence
K1 The subject material– I have continued to improve my core knowledge of academic skills by working with the Spotlight team and investing in specialist textbooks, such as those produced by Stella Cottrell.
– I have engaged in independent learning on academic study skills provision by comparing the teaching practices of key content to academic and employability teaching practices in embedded sessions. I have learnt how to be flexible with skills content to match the needs of course and/or level.
K2 Appropriate methods for teaching, learning and assessing in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme– Assessing Personal Tutoring can be difficult as we teach skills compared to subject content. We use formative assessment which assesses by applying the skill or by reviewing key informative tips to implement the skill.
– With the transfer to online learning, formative assessment is embedded into sessions and added to the end of each online workshop to assess the overall understanding of the content provided. As there are limitations to online assessment, a mixture of open answer, multiple choice, matching, sorting and other engaging assessment activities are used. Moodle allows tracking of final assessments to open the certificate download option.
– Workshops have now been set into series, which increase the level of learning per session.
– When working on embedded workshops, the course, module, stage and student cohort details have been used to ensure teaching, learning and assessment are pitched appropriately.
– I have implemented my understanding of methods for teaching, learning and assessing to designing a PGDip as part of the PGCAPHE group project.
K3 How students learn, both generally and within their subject/disciplinary area(s)– From the PGAPHE I have learnt that there are diverse needs dependent on the subject and disciplinary area. I recognize student value use of practical experience of the workplace related to their discipline and career aspirations.
– I understand the important different skills have different ranked important by subject and discipline and therefore need to be embedded according to schedules that meet the needs of the module and course objective, as well as the student needs and expectations.
– I recognize that theory is the basis of many subject areas and this foundation is important before practical implementation, however, students do not always connect learning to application. Methods to connect learning to create an academic journey for each student is important.
K4 The use and value of appropriate learning technologies– Learning technology is increasingly important to keep pace with changes in society and learning needs. However, I recognize that learning technology is a tool to teaching, learning and assessment rather than a replacement to current best practices.
– Learning technology is important for offering diversity in learning opportunities, pitching to students of different personal and professional needs.
– Learning technology is extremely useful when designing and offering blended learning opportunities, using different applications or platforms to create different levels of challenge and engagement.
– I have advised staff at Coventry University London on methods to design a course and module on the use of technology in business, with specific reference to the use of Coventry.Domains as a learning, teaching and assessment tool.
K5 Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching– I have found students are less likely actively engage in optional surveys for gathering student feedback without prompts. For this reason, surveys are an activity for students to complete online before completing each classroom workshops final conclusion and review. This has increased feedback for analysis to improve the teaching and learning method used per subject and level.
– The completion rates of online learning are also good indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of online workshops. I know to target the content and teaching/learning style of workshops that have low completion rates and to look at methods used for workshops with high completion rates.
– As many of the sessions I create are taught by others, staff feedback is also important for evaluating teaching practice with a focus on design.
– Formative and summative assessment are key to evaluating the effectiveness of teaching, by analysing trends in marks and feedback given per cohort. In classroom settings, changes to teaching can be made according to formative feedback. From summative assessment, teaching can be reviewed for improving module objectives, teaching, learning and assessment methods.
– Student’s informal feedback is extremely valuable, such as body language and engagement over a class/week/term.
K6 The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching– From designing a PGDip course as part of the PGCAPHE M09 module, I have a better understanding of the implications of quality insurance and enhancement.
– I recognize that there are different shareholders involved in assurance and enhancement, which impact an overall module or course approach. For example, Registry imposes the policies, which are set in place. Funding for trips or experiences can be restricted. Placements for work experience opportunities need to be vetted for safety and as an effective learning environment.

Professional Values

Professional ValuesEvidence
V1 Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities– I have been involved in developing classroom and online learning to create a more inclusive environment, allowing ease-of-access to a range of student needs.
– We have developed online workshops that work well for our students that commute or have additional responsibilities and are unable to engage in classroom learning.
– We have made all our materials easier to access to students with visual needs.
V2 Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners– I have been actively engaged with the Academic Board, which meets once per term.
– I have been involved in multiple working groups that look into widening participation, this has included designing and leading on outreach events.
– I have used different methods to promote participation in HE, using care calls to students that are flagged as a concern due to low attendance, non-submissions, failed assignments and students close to a grade boundary.
V3 Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development– As an outcome of student and staff feedback, I have worked upon creating a host of study and pastoral skills online workshops.
– From research and learning from the PGCAPHE, I have improved my assessment practices, which are now more appropriate to Higher Education compared to 11-19 teaching. This has included the importance of referring to course and module outcomes to ensure constructive alignment.
– I have engaged with CPD opportunities (as seen in A5), which has improved my ability to provide more personalized teaching support on a 1:1 basis.
V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice – I have attended each VC roadshow and open-question meeting at Coventry University London to better understand the university’s place as an outcome of changes in government and regulating bodies.
– I understand that as an outcome of leaving the EU, the diversity within our student cohorts may change and therefore different approaches may be needed to target prospective students, as well as appropriate methods to engage a changing landscape of learners.
– I recognize the growth in FE interest may change the way HEIs offer courses, as well as approaches to teaching and learning.