Staff Professional Development at the First Sino-foreign University in

Mainland China

James Walker

1. Introduction2. Background3. The Structure of CPD at UNNC4. Background on CPD Development5. An Evaluation of UNNC’s CPD6. Thoughts and Conclusions

Introduction

CPD Routes at Nottingham

New to teaching in HEAudience: New staff, research staff. PGR’s who are teaching.

Programme: PGCHE, consisting of workshops, peer

review and project work

Assessment: Presentations, portfolio work.

PGCHE qualification and recognition by the HEA

Experienced teacher in HEAudience: Experienced staff with more than 5 years of

teaching.Programme: Nottingham

Recognition Scheme (NRS)Assessment: A 3000 word

claim to the HEA (or internal panel)

Recognition by the HEA as FHEA

Leading teacher in HEAudience: Experienced staff who are influencing other

colleagues’ teaching practiceProgramme: NRS and Peer

Observation CollegeAssessment: A 6000 word

claim to the HEA (or internal panel)

Recognition by the HEA as SFHEA

Practice

Mentoring

Teaching Self-directed CPD

The HEA

FundingOwnership

The UKPSF

Our PGCHE

The PGCHE is a professional qualification run by the University of Nottingham and accredited by the HEA, it consists of 4 modules:Individual Pathway Module

Includes attending 3 days of T&L workshops; followed by developing an aspect of teaching. Requires 3000 word report.

Teaching DialogueIncludes writing a Teaching Philosophy statement, being observed and receiving a teaching appraisal and writing an action plan for future development.

Project ModuleEither in a group or individually, carry out a T&L research project. Projects are assessed through presentation to assessors and peers.

Portfolio ModuleThis is a 3000 word reflective account of teaching experiences with references to literature and also includes a future development plan.

The Peer Observation College

The Peer Observation College has two principal aims

Inter-School Peer ObservationsExperienced academics provide teaching observations

School-based ObservationsGuidance is provided to schools enabling departmental observation schemes

The observation college has positive outcomes for both the university and individuals.

The Nottingham Recognition Scheme

Attend NRS Candidate Briefing; register with NRS

Team

Identify evidence and engage with CPD activities

Liaise with mentor

Prepare submission

Submit claim for recognition

The NRS was developed by colleagues (not managers) for a number of reasons:

Staff appetite for recognitionThe NRS publically demonstrates that the university values the contribution of our good teachers.

Making our values explicitEngaging in this process means that we have more detailed conversations about good teaching practice.

Sector adoption of the UKPSFUK Professional Standards Framework is owned by the sector and it is widely regarded as robust and valid in UK HE. It is likely that the number of P/S/A/FHEAs are a metric in the TEF.

University of Huddersfield

First university to achieve universal recognition with the HEA due to an initiative led by the vice-chancellor.

Support included payment of application fees and writing workshops supported by peers and facilitators. Staff most predominantly sought support from colleagues followed by workshops and their managers.

Some staff indicated that they were happy with their achievement

“I immediately put the certificate on my wall… I wanted the students to see that a professional is teaching them.”

After Thornton (2014)

University of Huddersfield

Other staff were not so supportive“…neither necessary nor sufficient for being a good teacher… Good teachers are generally [too] busy trying to produce high quality teaching…”

“I was so pleased… because it demonstrated the institutional commitment to the scheme”.

Staff were also opinionated on the top-down approach to encouraging CPD.

“The achievement… could be the culmination of a fulfilling journey… Sadly, the factory-farm approach… to get everyone through an arbitrary hoop set by the VC devalued this…”.

After Thornton (2014)

Facilitating Change

In individuals:

By disseminating curriculum and pedagogy•Teach individuals about new teaching conceptions and encourage their use.

•Examples include dissemination/training and focused conceptual change.

By developing reflective teachers•Support individuals to develop new teaching conceptions or practices

•Examples include reflective practice and action research

Prescribed

Emergent

After Henderson et al. (2011)

Facilitating Change

In environments and structures:

By enacting policy•Prescribe new environmental features that encourage new teaching practices

•Examples include policy change and strategic planning

By developing a developing a shared vision•Empower individuals to collectively develop environmental features that encourage new teaching practice

•Examples include learning organisations

Prescribed

Emergent

After Henderson et al. (2011)

Facilitating Change

Prescribed

Emergent

Environments and structuresIndividuals

STEM Researchers

Faculty Development Researchers

Higher Education Researchers

Connections between these groups is rare!

After Henderson et al. (2011)

UNNC’s CPD Programme?

Questions:

• Does the compulsory nature of CPD affect its efficacy?

• How does a UK based CPD programme integrate into current practice at a British Branch Campus?

9 staff were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. 2 from Faculty of Social Sciences, 2 from the Faculty of Engineering and Science, 2 from the Centre for English language teaching and 2 from NUBS. Plus the VP for T&L.

Interview Questions

What is right about the way CPD is implemented at UNNC?What is wrong with the way that CPD is implemented at UNNC?What is the goal of CPD?Should specific training for career professional development differ by faculty?

CPD qualifications other than the PGCHE/NRS?How (if at all) do you feel that the skills that you learnt by participating in CPD have influenced your practice?Do the skills that you learned during CPD still help you or have they faded over time?Have you purposely tried to maintain these skills? How? Why?

What was the most useful part of the NRS/PGCHE/CPD for you?Which parts did not benefit you?Overall, which one was better for you, the PGCHE or NRS?Did the compulsory nature of the PGCHE/CPD affect your approach to the training?Can you suggest CPD practices that UNNC could implement and which ones could be removed?

Do you have a CPD plan? How did the PGCHE/NRS fit into your CPD plan?What motivated you to create a CPD plan?What CPD will you do now or what did you do next? Why did you choose to do that?What motivated you to participate in voluntary CPD (if you have done any)?

Should CPD be optional or compulsory for staff? Why?How would you encourage colleagues to engage in CPD if they lack the motivation to do so?How do you discourage CPD becoming an enabler for staff leaving?

Do you reflect on your teaching practice? If so, when and why?What is your opinion on UNNC’s approach to encouraging reflective teaching? Do you think it would be better for UNNC to focus on teacher training or to focus on changing policy to improve teaching quality?

Interview Questions

How could we create a professional learning community in UNNC?What prevents us from creating a PLC?Do you share your T&L and experiences with colleagues, why?

Are you happy with the way the information in the SETs is used? Are there alternative uses to this information?

Do you think that UNNC makes enough effort to make the CPD strategies sustained?For example, what is an academic supposed to do when they finish their PGCHE and NRS?

Did CPD change your attitude to your job?Did CPD help you feel more or less confident about your job?Why did you decide to work in Higher Education and not in a research centre?

Is teacher learning rewarded by incentives and rewards? What can be done?Do you feel that you have any/enough influence on the important decisions made in your departments made with respect to organisational development?

What does the implementation of good CPD look like to you?What do you think about the sustainability of CPD at UNNC? Does it promote skill transfer? Does it encourage staff to stay? Do the systems need to evolve?

Efficacy – Beneficial CPD

Tuition on putting theory into practice (both teaching theory and research knowledge).

Experiments in the classroom and breaking with convention.

Other people’s analysis of your reflection.

Being observed (provided that you respect the person who is observing you).

The opportunity to extend yourself and learn what your comfort zones are.

Learning background information and new theories.

Efficacy – Non-beneficial CPD

When you are given theoretical knowledge, but no assistance on application.

The compulsory nature of the training made people resistant to it and resentful; changed some people’s approach to the training.

Respondents critical of one off presentations. In favour of longer CPD initiatives that involve a community.

Generic training where large portions are irrelevant or where participants believe there is a hidden curriculum.

Efficacy – Suggestions

Support departments meet and become organised.

CPD managed by someone enthusiastic, active, good reputation, trustworthy and an educational practitioner.

Be mindful of pre-information.

Give staff a budget for CPD.

A collegial atmosphere for CPD, starting with management.

Opinions on Compulsory CPD

Academics are independently minded. They do not like compulsory CPD.

People are busy, management need to respect that or face resistance to training.

Teaching staff with fewer qualifications need CPD to be recognised as professionals. This is because teaching is important and because students pay.

Compulsory training for technical systems, people don’t resent it if they needed for the job.

Implementing Optional CPD

Implement a base layer of compulsory CPD with a layer of optional CPD.

CPD is optional, but staff have mandatory credits.

Push interested people and not disinterested people, this leads to resentment. People think they are doing a good job, don’t see why they need to develop.

The 30-year-old manager giving a 50-year-old advice emulates David Brent

Encouragement

Give people enough options to engage with CPD. Job security may be influenced if staff do not maintain a skills profile necessary for their profession.

… presented in a positive way.

Engage with colleagues. Explain positive outcomes and form a community where everyone is working towards a common goal.

Punishments, rewards and incentives, but not through the annual appraisal.

CPD Best Practice

• Top level administrative support from central university administration.

• Successful CPD efforts are based on relationships.• PD centres must reach out and meet the needs of individual

faculty members.• It is important to have a link between university libraries and PD

centres• Data-based decision making is key to making short and long term

improvements• It is more effective to have multiple offerings than a single offering• Technology should only be used to enhance instruction.• CPD centres need to be well versed in the latest technological

offerings in education.• A rewards structure should be available to empower PD centres.

After Jacob et al. (2015)

Disseminating Best Practice

Prescribed

Emergent

Environments and structuresIndividuals

STEM Researcher

Faculty Development Researchers

Higher Education Researchers

Me

Study area

I don’t know any

Staff Comments on SETs

A number does not give you actionable feedback on your teaching performance.

Comments can be useful, but ought to be confidential.

A low number of unhappy students can bias results. Students tend not to write bad comments or respond when they are satisfied.

Student feedback ought to be kept separate from appraisals. Focus groups and support ought to be initiated by unsatisfactory feedback.

Are students the best evaluators of our teaching?

Student Evaluation of Teaching

SET scores are highly correlated with students’ grade expectations (Marsh and Cooper, 1980; Short et al., 2012; Worthington, 2002)

After Stark and Freishtat (2014)

SET scores and enjoyment scores are related (UC Berkeley Department of Statistics, 2012)

SET scores can be predicted from the students’ reaction to 30 seconds of silent video of the instructor; physical attractiveness matters (Ambady and Rosenthal, 1993).

Gender, ethnicity, and the instructor’s age matter (Anderson and Miller,1997; Basow, 1995; Cramer and Alexitch, 2000; Marsh and Dunkin, 1992;Wachtel, 1998; Weinberg et al., 2007; Worthington, 2002).

Student Evaluation of Teaching

One measure of successful teaching is “are students learning more?”. This is difficult to measure. Another appropriate measure is “Are the faculty enjoying their teaching more?”

Executive Director of Centre of Teaching Learning at the University of Pennsylvania

CPD at the University of Melbourne only concerns faculty members and not students. The CSHE promotes research initiatives to encourage cross disciplinary collaboration and avoid mandatory trainings and student evaluations.

After Jacob et al. (2015)

Conclusion

Today we have looked at the structure of the CPD initiatives offered by UNNC.

We reflected on the effectiveness of the implementation of a British CPD system in a Sino-foreign university in China

We examined the literature on CPD and saw that while some examples of good practice are demonstrated in Europe, Oceania and NA, more communication between different disciplinary research groups would be beneficial.