OUR Residential event for 2019/20 will take place in St Andrews.
Further details of the event are as follows:
Presenters and Session Outlines
Thursday 31st October – 11am-5pm
Julia Fotheringham, Edinburgh Napier University
‘“You’ll remember we did this last year ….” Small changes to academic practices in university bring big benefits to students in transition from college’
Workshop – 60mins
Outline:
This workshop is based on research findings from a longitudinal study of students making the transition from four partner colleges as direct entrants to third year of Edinburgh Napier university. Data from interviews with staff and students suggest that although students are offered pre-entry transition support while they study at college, they face challenges, particularly in relation to assessment, when arriving at university. Findings indicate that college lecturers who share their experience of university study, who encourage students to practice independent learning and who promote academic writing protocols consistent with undergraduate study. help to shape students’ expectations in ways they find extremely valuable. Furthermore, university lecturers who make their requirements explicit and create opportunities for students to understand what is valued by the university provide the key to successful transition. This workshop invites delegates to draw from their own experience to:
- Identify common practices which present challenges to students coming from college
- Make suggestions in respect of the small changes which lecturers can make to benefit students coming from college
- Discuss possibilities for shared CPD between colleges and university academics.
Sarah Floyd & Vicki Davies, Ulster University
‘Feeding the neighbour’s cat’
Workshop – 60mins
Vicky Davies PFHEA & Dr Sarah Floyd PFHEA
Ulster University
E-mail:
v.davies@ulster.ac.uk
s.floyd@ulster.ac.uk
Session Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Comprehend the potential for using professional development of this nature with doctoral researchers
- Reflect on and discuss the impact professional development as an educator can have on doctoral researchers’ future employability in academia
- Reflect on the challenges to resources in providing professional development for this transitory labour pool
- Reflect on the institutional gain from engaging in this provision
Session Outline
Previously, doctoral study was perceived as a necessary apprenticeship for subsequent academic careers, with the expectation that PhD researchers would be able to learn all they needed about this future employment from their supervisors (McAlpine & Åkerlind, 2010). However, the last decade has seen a significant shift from the elite few achieving this highest-level qualification to the massification of global doctoral opportunities, implying an attendant divergence of employment opportunities for graduates (Kehm et al, 2018). Commensurate with this, early career opportunities in academia have become scarcer, more demanding in expectations and often precarious in nature (Pitt & Mewburn, 2016). Regardless of this changing context a significant proportion of doctoral candidates – 51% according to Advance-HE’s 2018 Postgraduate Research Experience Survey – continue to visualize themselves as career academics (Beaton, 2017; Chadha, 2013; Edwards et al, 2011).
To gain insight in to current UK recruitment expectations for early career academics the authors conducted a snapshot review of lecturer and teaching fellow posts advertised on the recruiting site jobs.ac.uk. The posts, ranged from research-intensive institutions to teaching focused ones, all used language clearly indicating that they were targeted at applicants who were recent doctoral candidates: 95% of advertisements expected applicants to have a proven track -record of HE teaching.
This interactive session will illustrate, through a longitudinal case study of postgraduate teaching assistants (PgTAs) based in a large UK university, that focusing on developing professional capabilities and experience as HE educators during doctoral study, not only assures the quality of their current teaching but prepares and enhances the employment potential of those committed to transitioning to a career in academia. The Advance HE accredited programme for PgTAs (D1) at Ulster has, since 2011, supported doctoral researchers to develop not only their skills as educators but also their academic identity, voice and resilience, thus positioning them with the potential and cultural capital to survive as more rounded early career academics. Whilst responding to the immediate professional development needs and the potential future employability of PgTAs, these transient colleagues seek employment, in the majority of cases, at another institution: any longer term return on the investment in their development is therefore lost to the current HEI. Educational development units, where resources are frequently overextended, are expected to prioritise staff development: in resourcing anything more than the basic level of development for this continually changing PgTA workforce, are we overstretching ourselves simply in order to feed the neighbour’s cat?
References
Advance-HE (2018). Postgraduate Research Experience Survey. Advance-HE, York. Retrieved from: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/institutions/surveys/postgraduate-research-experience-survey 20/11/18
Beaton, F. (2017). Just in time and future-proofing? Policy, challenges and the professional development of part-time teachers. International Journal for Academic Development, 22:1, 19-30. DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2016.1261354
Chadha, D. (2013). Reconceptualising and reframing graduate teaching assistant (GTA) provision for a research-intensive institution. Teaching in Higher Education, 18:2, 205-217. DOI:10.1080/13562517.2012.696537
Edwards, D., Bexley, E., & Richardson, S. (2011). Regenerating the academic workforce: The careers, intentions and motivations of higher degree research students in Australia: Findings of the National Research Student Survey (NRSS). Retrieved from https://research.acer.edu.au/higher_education/23/ 07/08/18
Kehm B.M., Freeman R.P.J., Locke W. (2018) Growth and Diversification of Doctoral Education in the United Kingdom. In: Shin J., Kehm B., Jones G. (eds) Doctoral Education for the Knowledge Society. Knowledge Studies in Higher Education. Springer, Cham pp105-121
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89713-4_7
McAlpine, L. & Åkerlind, G. (2010) Academic Practice in a Changing International Landscape in McAlpine, L. & Åkerlind, G. (Eds) (2010) Becoming an Academic: International Perspectives. Basingstoke, Palgrave McMillan. pp1-15
Pitt, R. & Mewburn, I. (2016). Academic superheroes? A critical analysis of academic job descriptions, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 38:1, 88-101. DOI: 10.1080/1360080X.2015.1126896
Wilson, R (n.d) The Profile of a Modern Teacher
https://wayfaringpath.coetail.com/2014/10/14/the-profile-of-a-modern-teacher/ accessed 21/11/18
Vicky Davies BA (Hons), MA, MSc, PgCUT, PFHEA, SFSEDA
Vicky started her career in Further and Higher Education 30 years ago as a lecturer in modern languages, moving in to educational development following involvement in national and institutional educational initiatives. For the last 17 years she has worked as a staff and educational developer at Ulster University and id the Course director for the PgCHEP, as well as the Programme Lead for First Steps to Teaching (FST). She also contributes to the institutional Advance HE accredited ENHANCE scheme and supports internal staff interested in developing and seeking recognition for educational excellence. She has also been an Advance HE accreditor and associate since 2012 providing support to many UK and international HEIs and assessing direct fellowship applications. Recent research includes projects exploring the use of dialogue in professional recognition and staff perceptions of engaging with fellowship.
Dr Sarah Floyd BSc (Hons) PGCE PhD PFHEA
Sarah started her career in Higher Education 30 years ago as a lecturer in environmental science and geography, moving in to educational development following involvement in national and institutional educational initiatives. For the last 14 years she has worked as a staff and educational developer at Ulster University and now leads the institutional Advance HE accredited ENHANCE scheme and teaches on taught routes to fellowship. She supports internal staff interested in developing and seeking recognition for educational excellence and manages the Ulster Education Excellence Awards. She has also been an Advance HE accreditor and associate since 2012 providing support to many UK and international HEIs and assessing fellowship applications. Recent research includes projects exploring the use of dialogue in professional recognition and staff perceptions of engaging with fellowship.
Friday 1st November – 9.30am-3pm
Helen King, University of the West of England
‘Exploring the Characteristics of Expertise in Teaching in HE’
Workshop – 90mins
Outline:
This workshop explores the characteristics of expertise in teaching in HE including looking at reframing how we conceptualise professional development. This will be an interactive workshop which will hopefully give colleagues some practical ideas for using this in their contexts.
Kay Steven, Advance HE
‘An overview of the Equally Safe strategy: considering gender based violence in Learning, Teaching and the Curriculum’
Workshop – 2 hours
Outline:
This workshop will focus on:
- An overview of the Equally Safe strategy to eliminate gender-based violence in Colleges and Universities
- Consideration of gender-based violence in learning, teaching and the curriculum
- A discussion on implementing Equally Safe as an educational developer.
Attendance
If you would like to attend, please email SHED Secretary Amanda Pate.
Special rates for booking are available from Ardgowan Hotel in St Andrews until July 7 using booking reference: BK38535.
