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June – Sept 2009

Journal

This edition of the Teaching Fellows Journal has been restored from an archived online edition, hence the simplified form.

Edinburgh Napier University is a registered Scottish charity. Reg. No. SC018373

ISSN 2050-9995 (Online)

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EditorialKaren Thomson, Head of Academic Practice, Academic Development, introduces us to HERE-N, Edinburgh Napier’s new research hub

In January 2009 a discussion amongst a group of Senior Teaching Fellows turned towards how the University’s existing education research base could be strengthened and enriched by bringing together a broad range of subject experts who have been involved in, or who would like to be involved in, education research. As a result of this meeting the concept of a ‘Hub for Education Research at Edinburgh Napier’ (or HERE-N for short) was born. The vision is presented in a paper titled Proposal for the creation of a Hub for Education Research at Edinburgh Napier (HERE-N) and is available from the HERE-N website at staff.napier.ac.uk/Services/Academic+Development/HERE-N, then click on the link to ‘Proposal document’. (The HERE-N website will be developed further as time goes on.)

Edinburgh Napier is familiar with the value of discipline-based research in its learning, teaching and assessment practices, as the institutional level and now discipline-based work relating to the QAA Enhancement Theme Research-teaching linkages: enhancing graduate attributes demonstrates. In considering the research-teaching nexus Jenkins et al (2005) suggest there are four ways in which the nexus operates and one of these is specifically concerned with enquiring and reflecting on learning. Wisdom (in Cousin 2009) argues that one of the most exciting features of worldwide higher education at the moment is the growth of education research that produces ‘hard-edged reliable data’ which informs both practice and policy. Cousin (2009) argues that attitudes are ‘maturing’ towards the traditional paradigms which once caused polarisation in the world of research with a more informed view of relative values enriching research. Against this background HERE-N is a timely addition to our institutional profile.

At Edinburgh Napier we are embracing the idea of the ‘dual professional’ in the creation of HERE-N; in other words the discipline-specific expert who is also devoted to their students and to education in its broadest sense. The model is one of a central hub which will be run and administered through Academic Development with ‘spokes’ in each of the faculties and professional service areas. Beyond Edinburgh Napier, spokes in FE partner institutions would bring another welcome dimension. This model enables ‘pockets’ of research to be developed which exist in cognate disciplines as

Contents2 Editorial

3 Eureka!

5 Reports

6 Review corner

7 Web spotlight

Edition Editors

Angela BenziesSenior Teaching Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Academic Practice

Coordinator of the Teaching Fellowship Scheme

Margaret Nairntfj Web Editor and Publications Officer

At time of publication:Academic Development, Bevan Villa,Craighouse Campus, Edinburgh

Current enquiries to:Office of the Vice Principal (Academic)Sighthill Campus, Sighthill Court,Edinburgh EH11 4BN

Email: tfj@napier.ac.uk

http://www.url.napier.ac.uk/tf

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Research Symposium planned for 6 November 2009 with Glynis Cousin as one of the key speakers. This will be held at Edinburgh Napier so please put the date in your diary now!

If you would like any further information relating to HERE-N please contact HERE-N core members Morag Gray, Sandra Cairncross, Mark Huxham, Norrie Brown, Monika Foster or Karen Thomson. We look forward to hearing from you!

References

Cousin, G. (2009). Strategies for Researching Learning in Higher Education: an introduction to contemporary methods and approaches. Oxon: Routledge.

Jenkins, A., Healey, M. and Zetter, R. (2005). Linking Teaching and Research in Disciplines and Departments. York: HEA.

Editorial note

The HEREN website has now been established and is available within the OVP (Academic) intranet webpages. Please check this site for up-to-date details and contacts as well as blog entries. •

well as cross-institutional collaboration and sharing. HERE-N will build on existing practice, expertise and networks and develop a body of scholarly knowledge to inform our learning, teaching and assessment environment. It is envisaged as a collegial ‘safe space’ in which to explore ideas, talk critically and think about the possibilities of developing research proposals. The Proposal document outlines the vision, remit and benefits of HERE-N and I would encourage you to read it. A Showcase of Good Practice presentation based on the proposal was made to ULTAC on 17 June. Peter Easy, Senior Vice Principal (Academic Development) launched HERE-N at a celebratory champagne event as part of the Teaching Fellows Conference on 18 June.

Expressions of interest in being part of this network are welcome and please feel free to contact the core members named below. A database of those of us interested in being part of this group will be developed and shared and will include some information on broad interests and expertise. Forms to start the process of gathering names are available from Anne Wardrope, our HERE-N administrator, as well as from HERE-N core members.

The Higher Education Academy is most interested in this development and is supporting an Education

Eureka! Angela Benzies, Senior Teaching Fellow, Academic Development, offers us ten top tips for dealing with CIA or ‘What you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask!’

1.What is it?

In case anyone remains in any doubt, CIA in the Edinburgh Napier context has nothing whatever to do with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America! Consistency in Assessment is the name of the game, remembering that consistency is not intended to mean uniformity of assessment, but rather reflects consistent ‘terms and conditions’ and procedures relating to a variety of assessments.

2. What’s the difference between a CIA review and a CIA evaluation?

The CIA reviews, carried out in 2006/07 and 2007/08, sought to investigate 15 specific areas of assessment

practice spread over the two sessions, determine the issues, and create a consistent way of approaching these matters, which were then laid down in new procedures, codes of practice, guidelines or university regulations. The evaluation being carried out in 2008/09 is looking at how effective these reviews have been, how the decisions made have been implemented, and how we proceed to the next stage of promoting consistently good assessment practice across the university.

3. Why are we doing this?

It is part of Edinburgh Napier taking ownership of quality enhancement for ourselves and being able to demonstrate this to agencies such as the QAA. It is perhaps particularly important as we have another QAA Enhancement-Led Institutional Review (ELIR) visit coming up in 2010 and issues of consistency were discussed during the previous review. Preparations for ELIR 2010 are well underway, as those of us on the University LTAC will be aware.

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4. Who is responsible for CIA?

In one sense, everyone, as ‘quality is everybody’s business’; in other words we cannot delegate away our own responsibilities in this regard to another colleague or department. However the Academic Board has a particular role, as it ultimately makes decisions about new university procedures, as has the University LTAC, because it makes recommendations to the Academic Board. The role of the Academic Development professional service is to provide advice and support and, currently, to lead the evaluation activity on behalf of the university.

5. What do I need to do?

CIA affects you so acquaint yourself with the information about requirements and the implementation programme (some aspects have only recently been implemented while others have been in place since the start of session 2007/08). Have a look at the ‘49 Steps’ document which summarises the areas and implementation schedule – you can access this from the Consistency in Assessment (CIA) SharePoint site at https://staffworkplace.napier.ac.uk/Services/AcademicDevelopment/CIA/default.aspx, then click on ‘Shared Documents’. (If accessing SharePoint sites from outside the university remember to put napier-mail\ in front of your login ID.)

Find out from your School Director of Quality and/or Academic Development and/or Associate Deans (Academic Development and/or Quality & Customer Services) what additional guidance is available, for example in the form of briefing sessions and associated materials. Ensure that you have implemented the CIA procedures that relate to your work, for example as a Module Leader relating to granting of extensions, penalties for late submission, use of the Code of Practice on Assessment Setting, and have reflected these in any module handbooks or other documents.

6. Where do I find the information on CIA requirements?

Good point – it has been difficult to find information and ensure it is the latest version so we in Academic Development have created a CIA SharePoint site that you may access from the Academic Development SharePoint site at https://staffworkplace.napier.ac.uk/Services/AcademicDevelopment/default.aspx, then click on ‘Consistency in Assessment (CIA)’.

In the Shared Documents area within this CIA SharePoint site are a number of folders which give both

current information including requirements, codes of practice and guidelines, and background information on how the two CIA reviews of 2006/07 and 2007/08 were carried out. (NB Unfortunately some documents may also be found at another site and here the list is incomplete and does not indicate what is current and what is historical, superseded information; so please do not rely on information at the following URL staff.napier.ac.uk/Services/principal/AcademicDevelopment/AssessmentPracticeProgress.htm)

It’s also important to note that an Assessment Handbook: an integrative approach to enhancing our practice has now been published in hard copy format and online – information and link is at http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/academicdevelopment/LTA/resources/Pages/Details.aspx?ItemID=40&Section=R. In this publication Professor Morag Gray has collated all the outputs from the two CIA reviews so it is a handy reference. Use the search facility within the PDF file to find the section you need. (If you don’t have a hard copy speak to your School or Faculty administrators as these have now been distributed.)

7. Who can help me?

First look for assistance in your School as Academic Development has been working with Associate Deans and others to ensure that the information is available and that staff know what to do. Faculties have carried out extensive internal audit work and have created helpful resources and detailed action plans so have a look at these. Ask your School Directors of Academic Development & Quality if you need guidance. (If you’re one of these Directors and still feel lost speak to your Associate Deans for these areas!)

8. How can I help?

Continue to develop your own professional practice in relation to assessment and share this with other colleagues, especially new staff. Look for ways generally to discuss assessment and seek to improve it and innovate. Help to promote good teamwork between academic and administrative colleagues as both are vital to effective assessment practice. Let your LTA and Quality Committees know of good assessment practice that you’d like to share at one of their meetings as a ‘showcase’ or at a School/Faculty LTA conference, as well as highlighting any problems that need attention. If you wish, copy in Academic Development (I am the lead person on this) so we can continue to have an overview and thereby help all colleagues across the university.

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9. What happens now?

CIA procedures will continue to be embedded in Faculties and Professional Services across the university. The report on the evaluation of CIA was sent to the University LTAC on 10 June and presented at the meeting on 17 June; it will then be considered by the Academic Board at its next meeting in July.

10. Will it all be over by June 2009?

Unlikely. As well as the continuing implementation work we may well be examining other aspects of

consistency in assessment next session that have been suggested during the evaluation. From here on in we are looking at consolidation on the one hand and continual improvements on the other, driven by the Faculty/Service action plans and the decisions of the Academic Board.

Editorial Note

Web addresses within this section may not be up-to-date as changes may have been made to the university site as well as updates to materials quoted. •

Reports Anne Waugh reports on the SEDA Spring Teaching, Learning and Assessment Conference Underpinning Academic Practice with Research and Scholarship

The Teaching Development Grant supported five Senior Teaching Fellows, Sandra Cairncross, Morag Gray, Norrie Brown, Angela Benzies and myself to attend this conference in Brighton, at the Thistle Hotel on the seafront close to the remains of the infamous Brighton Pier. Fiona Campbell (Head of Professional Development within Academic Development) as co-chair of the SEDA Conference Committee, was commended for her hard preparatory work to ensure its smooth running. The 150 delegates came not only from a range of British HEIs including Russell, redbrick and post-92 institutions, but also further afield including Scandinavia and as far away as Melbourne, Australia. The programme was to include generous refreshment breaks which provided an excellent networking opportunity.

The opening keynote address was given by Professor Ron Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, who considered the process of ‘Being and Becoming a Scholar of Teaching and Learning’. He emphasised the importance of asking questions and getting back to basics:

• why carry out research into teaching and learning?

• what is the key project?

• changing the student experience?

• or changing the student so they can change their own experience?

• what is the experience of being a student?

These set the scene and raised issues which were developed during discussion both during the session and the conference programme that followed.

There was a wide range of interesting concurrent sessions and workshops and we were represented at the majority of them. Most of the parallel sessions were closely linked to the conference theme and several of the [Irish and English] Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning showcased their work. One demonstrated the Hybrid Learning Model, a combination of the eight Learning Events Models (Leclercq and Pounay, 2005), and a closed set of learning verbs (Bennett, University of Wollongong) which was developed in the University of Ulster (cetl.ulster.ac.uk/elearning) to make explicit to both teachers and students the type of engagement needed within specific classroom learning activities. We hope to incorporate this work into the week 1 activities in the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Care in September 2009 and also to arrange a visit to share the practice more widely in the university.

A highly participative workshop facilitated by Steve Outram of the Higher Education Academy introduced divergent and convergent techniques to generate ideas and potential actions to answer the workshop question ‘Doing you research project with no new resources’. This session was great fun, generating many excellent ideas while also fostering group activities and the sharing of experiences. Several of the activities used here are likely to prove valuable in future.

A workshop presented by Val Chapman and Will

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Bowen-Jones, University of Worcester, aimed to ‘Develop inclusive academic practice through an appreciative enquiry approach’. They provided several activities to demonstrate the benefit of using this methodology; both the workshop and its output were extremely helpful and it is hoped these could be introduced at Edinburgh Napier.

Many of the sessions related to the conference theme of building education research networks within institutions. Like Edinburgh Napier, the value of these are acknowledged as being important in encouraging a scholarly approach towards teaching. The new Hub for Education Research at Edinburgh Napier (HERE-N)1

could incorporate many of the experiences which other institutions generously shared at the conference. Some of us attended several sessions which focused on developing research networks. Colleagues at Southampton Solent University reported on their findings in researching how others have done this, as well as their own experiences of setting up a research group. Key themes that emerged were the importance of making links with education research to institutional priorities, framing as a problem solver for staff and the importance of providing a ‘safe space’ where ideas can be developed. This was echoed by colleagues from NARN (National Action Research Network) who have been carrying out action research into research

capacity building across a range of institutions. A key goal for them was improving practice through more robust research and evaluation of that practice.

For some of us this was the first opportunity to attend a SEDA conference although others had attended several times before. One of the returning delegates came, as ever, looking for practical ideas as well as opportunities to discuss teaching, learning and assessment with colleagues and to reflect on her practice. By the end of the conference, we had all undertaken this several times and had gained considerably from the opportunity afforded to us. The conference dinner on the last evening was preceded by a drinks reception provided by the University of Brighton. As we were leaving, the sun came out showing off Brighton and the turquoise sea in its full glory. Just as the latter provided a visual reflection of the fantastic scenery offered by the location, we all came home with our reflections on how learning and inspirations gained from attending the conference could be usefully applied to our practice!

Editor’s note

1 See the editorial by Karen Thomson introducing us to HERE-N in this edition of the Teaching Fellows Journal.•

Review Corner Alan Edgar, Lecturer and Teaching Fellow, School of Engineering and the Built Environment, reviews Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice by Paul Black, Christine Harrison, Clare Lee, Bethan Marshall, Dylan William (2003)

London: Open University Press ISBN: 0-335-21297-2 123pp £20.99

The book is based on the results of a project which took place over two years and involved 36 teachers in two areas. The authors are all researchers who were involved in the project.

The book states in the introductory chapter that its aim is about changing the practice of teachers in the classroom with a view to improving teaching and learning – but it takes a long time to fulfil this aim. The next few chapters discuss how the project was put

together and the sources of the ideas, the research evidence, and how the teachers planned to work with the researchers. By the fourth chapter and page 30 no examples of good practise have been shown.

The book then takes forward four areas of formative practice – questioning; feedback through marking; peer- and self-assessment; and the formative use of summative testing. Quotations from some of the participants show how each of these four areas was considered and applied, and positive effects noted. Each quotation is then supported by some analysis and backed up with research in that area. It was this chapter that was probably the most interesting.

The authors then reflect on the practical ‘input’ from their research programme, in particular from the different schools and subjects. The success of a project depends heavily on staff who are willing to embrace the change and implement it in their delivery style. One of the areas recognised as being of importance

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is assessment feedback which should not be used just to grade students but used as one of the key methods of providing students with information that will allow them to improve.

In my view the book then begins to divert from the main issues. It looks at the personal journeys taken by some of the teachers involved in the project, including large quotes of their personal reflections. One thing that is recognised is that there has to be change in the roles of both teacher and student to make a success of these options. It should be remembered that no change takes place without risk and initially there will be extra workload on both as they adjust to the new working techniques.

The chapter on Management and Support has less relevance in a higher education environment. It is about the strategy of implementation on a school-wide basis and the trials and tribulations associated with this. Not all staff members were as keen to embrace the change as those who had signed up for the project.

Summary

The authors make much of the fact that they are the authors of ‘…widely sold booklets Inside the Black Box and Working Inside the Black Box…’ and that this book is an expansion of these booklets. It is arguably short at 123 pages and a lot of these pages are not particularly involved with assessment for learning. The material has been ‘stretched’ to its absolute limits and, in my view, the book shows this very clearly.

I found the book listed in the sub-directory ‘Education’ which, given that there was also a sub-directory ‘Higher education’, was an early indicator of where the book was based and where it was aimed. It is very much based on experiences in secondary schools and, while there are parallels with higher education, there are many differences both in staff and student expectations.

The book has therefore limited value for practitioners in higher education. There may, however, be some value to researchers in the methodology behind setting up and presenting an educational research project. •

Web Spotlight Times Higher Education online

We all know (and love!) the Times Higher Education, that is the familiar, paper version that comes thudding onto our desks every week. So, why feature the online version, available at www.timeshighereducation.co.uk, here in the web spotlight page? Well, the website offers added value in the form of an archive that goes back to 1994; the ability to search the archive; a comment facility; the ability to take part in discussions; sign up for rss (really simple syndication) feeds by category – news, features, opinion, books or letters.

Add THE online to your favourites or your rss feed list and keep up to date with all the latest in higher education. •