Research-led education at the University of Exeter

Moving forward for 2012

Dr Dilly FungEducation EnhancementD.Fung@exeter.ac.uk

Overview Part 11. Research-led education and the University vision2. Theory into practice:

1. Maria: experiencing research as curriculum content2. Carlo: experiencing learning as practising research3. Identifying the full spectrum of high quality practices4. Direct relationship with graduate skills , attributes and

employability

3. What the University is excelling at now; four examples-1. Students as agents for change2. Interdisciplinary initiatives such as Big Dilemma3. Research communities as evidenced by staff awards4. The ASPIRE accreditation scheme for staff in research-led

education

Overview Part 2

4. Proposal for enhancement for 2012a) Bringing together research and teaching staffb) Mapping and communicating research-rich

moments through the curriculum in all subject areas

c) Introducing University-wide, research-rich experiences: ‘Meet Your Professor’ Grand Challenges/capstone courses

Overview Part 3 5. Next steps

a. Development and discussion of exemplar models for University wide, research-rich moments

b. College reviews:i. Curriculum designii. Subject-level events and initiativesiii.College-level events and initiativesiv. Embedding University initiatives

c. Submitting JISC bid on digital literaciesd. Embedding research-led characteristics into quality processese. Marketing our strengths in providing the highest quality

research-led education

Research-led: embedded in the University mission‘… students benefitfrom – and want to be taught by – academics at the leading edge of their fields. Thus high quality research-informed teaching is our aim.’

Steve Smith, Vice-Chancellor,University of Exeter Strategic Plan 2011

Student Learning Partnership‘As a research intensive university, research is at the heart of all we do. .. We want you to be able to share the excitement of research, of working alone and with others to think, challenge and extend the boundaries of knowledge.’

Research and teaching synergy

Research-like learning

experiences for students

Research-rich communities

Internationally renowned

research staff

Research-led Education

A high quality, international research profile enables us to build a rich research community and an academically rigorous learning environment.

Quality teaching is characterised as enabling students to think analytically, critically and creatively, within and across subject and international boundaries – just as the best researchers do.

So what is research-led education?Putting theory into practice

STUDENTS ARE PARTICIPANTS

EMPHASIS ON RESEARCH CONTENT

EMPHASIS ON RESEARCH PROCESSES AND PROBLEMS

STUDENTS ARE AUDIENCE

Research-tutored Research-based

Research-led Research-orientated

Engaging in research discussions

Undertaking research and inquiry

Learning about current research in the discipline

Developing research and inquiry skills and techniques

The research-teaching nexus (Healey and Jenkins, 2006)

What does this theory mean in practice for an individual student?

The lived experience of each student will be different, but following Healey’s model we can conceptualise a range of ways of experiencing research-led education.

Emphasis on research content: Maria’s experience Maria attends classes

where latest research in the field is shared and explored

She selects option modules to follow up on individual areas of specialist interest

She discusses implications of latest research for limitations of knowledge in her own subject area

Developing as a researcher: Carlo’s experienceCarlo learns through

engaging in research-like activities, as an individual and in research ‘teams’

He develops, practises and evaluates a range of research perspectives and methodologies

He develops specific research techniques, with associated practical, academic and employability skills

Research-rich moments: by level of delivery

University-levelCollege & subject levelProgramme & module level

for example

• Prestigious researchers as speakers

• Interdisciplinary initiatives such as ‘Big Dilemma’

• Research-related work experience opportunities

for example

•College staff – student research conferences•College/subject peer-reviewed journals•Events/classes where PGR/PGT students working with and inspire UGs

for example

• Inspirational engagement with staff research

• Learning activities which echo research activities

• Stopping off points for students explicitly to reflect on challenge of creating new knowledge and on limitations of current knowledge

Students assessments

Direct links with graduate attributes, skills and employabilityWhen students learn as junior partners in their research communities, they not only develop as subject specialists, but also acquire a spectrum of high level graduate and employability skills, from problem-solving, teamwork and project management to leadership, the highest level communication skills and digital literacies.

University of Exeter strengths

What are we doing well now?

What else is special at the University of Exeter?

• RESEARCH COMMUNITIES as evidenced by staff awards

•UNIVERSITY-WIDE INTERDISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

• ‘ASPIRE’ STAFF ACCREDITATION SCHEME

• STUDENTS AS AGENTS OF CHANGE

Student opportunities which add value now

Highly regarded and qualified staff• STAFF AWARDS• Highlight best

research communities and most inspiring use of research in teaching enthusiastically cited by students

• ‘ASPIRE’ STAFF HEA ACCREDITATION SCHEME

• Leading the field in our staff development focus on academic practice and on research-led education

Cutting edge research

seminars and debates (e.g. in Geography, Film,

Classics and Ancient History)

ASPIREAccrediting

Staff

Professionalism

In

Research-Led

Education

Proposals for enhancement for 2012

Bringing together research and teaching staff

A Research-Led Education Forum for bringing together representative senior teaching staff and researchers, along with senior professional staff leading on research-led education, would enable us to capitalise upon our strengths in this area.

Mapping and communicating research-rich moments through the curriculum in all subjects

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Key Programme/module assessment Subject-wide opportunity College-level activity University-wide activity

Research and the student journey

• Publicity• Choice

Pre-arrivalAttracted by

research

First steps in research

Practising research

Introducing University-wide, research-rich experiences: ‘Meet Your Professor’

We can provide:• A template for a research-led, small group

induction experience for first year students• Student brief: to provide a communications

artefact (e.g. PowerPoint; leaflet; web page) which introduces the work of a senior staff researcher to a non-specialist audience

• Student task: involves meeting and questioning their ‘professor,’ in small groups, to understand his or her aims and activities as a researcher

Introducing University-wide, research-rich experiences: ‘Grand Challenges’

• A range of issues or dilemmas would be offered for study either within or between Colleges. These would relate to cross cutting University strategic research themes e.g. sustainability; climate change.

• Teaching and learning approaches would be interactive – possibly using enquiry based learning methods – and there would be a focus on developing and assessing graduate level employability skills including digital literacies.

Next steps include:

Marketing campaign (external & internal)to characterise and raise the profile of the University of Exeter’s research-as-learning USP

College-level reviews to map explicitly and enhance research-rich moments for students at all levels, within and beyond programmes

Embed specific quality indicators for research-led education into evaluation reviews, including Periodic Subject Review

MARKETING

QUALITY PROCESSESCOLLEGE

ACTIONS

ReferenceHealey, M. and Jenkins, A. (2006) ‘Strengthening the teaching-research linkage in undergraduate courses and programs’ New Directions for Teaching and Learning 2006: 43–53. Accessible online (18 03 11) at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tl.244/abstract