module specification

FSL is the first module in the PGCert LTHE programme, it is designed to be playful, engaging and discursive and is fundamentally predicated on education for social justice (ESJF).

FSL is available as a stand-alone option for participants who wish to qualify as Associate Fellow of Advance HE (AFHEA) against the Professional Standards Framework (PSF) Descriptor 1 (D1) - and participants wishing to exit after FSL must demonstrate the attainment of all the required D1 criteria across the portfolio and especially in their PSF Logbook. It is also mapped within the PGCert against PSF Descriptor 2 (D2) such that successful completion of the full PGCert award also qualifies participants for Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA) (see pp4-6). In both cases a concise but detailed PSF Logbook must be offered to support the award - and must be validated by tutor sign off if the participants are also to be awarded the appropriate Advance HE certification.

FSL is a work-based learning course, exploring (critical) theory through the lens of (creative) practice. The specific programme of workshops, critical reflection, peer review and peer observations of teaching practice - supplemented by your reading – can be applied to the raw material of your own current practice and context. This provision allows you to map your PSF journey against your scholarly engagement with module material (class activities and reading) and your own practice, using the PSF logbook.

Available for Study Abroad? NO.

Effective Learning and Teaching in HE: For a Diverse Student Body; Bonding & belonging; Scaffolding group work; Dialogic practice and discussion as learning; De-schooling students; Compassionate pedagogy; Embodied learning; Embodied learning and multiple intelligences; The 14 conditions of higher learning; Innovative Pedagogy; Facilitating reflection. (LO1-4)

Reflective learning and the reflective practitioner: Reflective Models; Theories of student learning; Choosing article for Critical Review; Organising peer and tutor observations of practice.

Theories of teaching and learning in HE: Developing student reading strategies; Developing student writing; Personal LTA models and paradigms.

Diversity – the synoptic session: Mapping diversity; Widening Participation and the Myth of Meritocracy; Tackling challenging classrooms; Spaces and places for active learning and student agency.

Online Session: Flipped classroom; Creating meaningful Learning and Teaching Environments.

Assessment, Feedback and Evaluation: Attitudes to assessment; The emotional work of assessment; Effective feedback; Appreciative Enquiry and practice evaluation.

Bringing it all together: Discussion and evaluation of sample Meta-reflections – the form and content; Discuss Assessment Criteria; Alternative questions? Alternative modes? Building the portfolio; Incorporating the PSF2023

FSL is a developmental, interactive module, introducing the model of critical and scholarly reflective practice to participants for use in the planning, delivery, assessment, review, evaluation and future developmental cycle of their own professional practice.

The participant is at the heart of the process, the focus is clearly on enhancing the real-life students’ learning experience in situated, context relevant ways. This is further facilitated by peer- and tutor observation of teaching practice – with dialogic feedback requiring evidence of meta-reflection.

FSL workshops are designed to offer embodied opportunities to explore authentic learning and teaching practice in dialogic and discursive ways and all attempts are made to relate theoretical concepts to real life contexts.

Additional reading is specified in the handbook - and also via the on-line WebLearn ‘e-module’ support facility - to provide additional information and theoretical discussion on issues discussed in workshops. This is augmented by reference not just to relevant Journals but also to social media sites designed to support LTA practices.

All participants will be expected to make use of our new extensive Core Resource (Academic Toolkit). Facilitating Student Learning as an aid to developing strategies for improving success in their own contexts. This resource focuses on the strategies that empower students as active agents in their own learning processes. The document follows key themes – from ‘bonding and belonging’ to alternative assessments. Each topic is discussed alongside suggestions for classroom practice and links to digital tools. 

Participants are expected to critically reflect on their own engagement with the module as a whole, in learning logs or blogs, and on their professional development in relation to the areas of activity, knowledge and professional values associated with the PSF 2023 which form the core activities for the portfolio assessment.

Participants should be able to: 

LO1: Within your own subject area, relate your developing Learning and Teaching Practice to the goals and purposes of Higher Education and to current developments in teaching practice – within a critically reflective, developmental and scholarly framework.

LO2: Identify the factors which can influence student learning; including an informed understanding of the impact of individual and diverse social differences on the learning process - and apply these to your developing practice with the intention of enhancing your students’ learning experience within a widely diverse student body.

LO3: Design, develop and deliver effective learning & teaching sessions, including the facilitation of effective group work and the promotion of learning through managing teaching in small and large-group settings. 

LO4: Critically reflect upon and on your own L&T Practice and make action plans – informed by sound educational values and principles - to enhance your own L&T Practice for the purpose of promoting more effective learning for your students. 

Talis Reading List:
https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/3BD5994D-8238-0BE8-F214-F162E5E39B98.html

Core Texts:
Burns, T & Sinfield, S (2022) Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University. London; Sage

Fry, H., Ketteridge, S., & Marshall, S. (Eds) (2008 or 2014) A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (you can use either the 3rd or 4th ed.)  London:  Kogan Page

Pokorny, H & Warren, D (Eds) (2021) Enhancing Teaching Practice in Higher Education. London: Sage (especially chapters 3, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11)

Other Texts:
Angelo, TA (1993) ‘A “Teacher’s Dozen”: Fourteen General, Research-Based Principles for Improving Higher Learning in Our Classrooms in AAHE Bulletin, April 1993, 3-13. 

Ashwin, P et al (2015) Reflective Teaching in Higher Education. London: Bloomsbury Academic

Barnett, R. (1997) Higher Education: A Critical Business Buckingham: SRHE/Open University Press

Biggs J.B. & Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University (4th Ed) Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Burns T & Sinfield S (2004) Teaching, Learning and Study Skills: a guide for tutors London; Sage

Cox & Calkins (2009) Learning & Teaching in HE - on different models of teacher development and notion of "reflective professional" (pp.12-15)**  

Hunt, L & Chalmers, D (eds) (2012) University Teaching in Focus: (Ch 2: very good overview of learning theories which also summarises main criticisms of particular schools of thought; also see Ch 3: "Effective classroom teaching" - covering design of large-group and small-group sessions)

Laurillard, D (2012) Teaching as a Design Science - chs. 3, 4, 5

Northedge & McArthur "Guiding Students into a Discipline" chapter 9** in C.Kreber (2009) The University and its Disciplines  = very interesting chapter on four different models of "the role of the HE teacher"

Core Resources
Academic Toolkit resource covers key aspects of successful study – from active learning to alternative assessments. Each topic is discussed with suggestions for classroom practice and further suggestions for digital tools that might be deployed and Supporting Student Writing and Other Forms of Learning and Assessment

See also Leicester’s resource on Teaching Large Groups for Student Engagement

Journals:
Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education 
Hybrid Pedagogy
Canadian Journal for Studies in Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie (e.g. Volume 28, 2018)
Creative Academic Magazine
Active Learning in Higher Education 
Investigations in University Teaching and Learning (CPED’s in-house journal)
The International Journal for Academic Development, Kogan Page
Innovations in Education and Training International, SEDA, Kogan Page 
Educational Developments, SEDA
Educational Psychology Review
Higher Education Research and Development  
Higher Education Digest 
Higher Education Quarterly 
Innovative Practice in HE
International Journal of Management and Applied Research
International Journal of Students as Partners
Journal of Further and Higher Education 
Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management; 
Journal of University Teaching and Learning 
Studies in Higher Education 
The Journal of Play in Adulthood
The Journal of Writing in Creative Practice 

Websites
Advance HE: The professional body for all who teach and support teaching in HE.  The site is full of information and practical ideas for L&T practitioners. Important, valuable site (and organisation) for resources, projects, reports, articles on learning and teaching in HE.

ALDinHE: The Association for Learning Development in Higher Education is committed to HE praxis that promotes student learning and empowerment – useful annual Conference – and opportunity to publish - viz. Journal for Learning Development in Higher Education

Creative Academic: - community of practice organising for a more #creativeHE – with free downloadable magazines - and with regular events. ALSO subscribe to the creativeHE jiscmail and join a community of creative sharers. HEFCE archive - now Office for Students: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) used to monitor teaching and research in Universities and Colleges. Now see Office for Students

QAA:  The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.  This agency’s main business is the review of the performance of universities and colleges of higher education.  

SEDA: Staff and Educational Development Association - explore for useful publications and blogs.

Social Media Sources

#Take5
Our professional development blog - which is also the friendly PD blog of the Association for Learning Development in HE. Take five minutes to get an idea… You can also share your great practice by writing a blog - and reaching a national and international audience.

Study Skills Online
Online resources on academic/study skills for students and for staff to embed in their courses. (Signposting MMU site as ours has been dismantled.)

Studychat: 
Our FaceBook education magazine for staff and PhD students – signposts, resources, events and conferences.

#LTHEChat: - weekly LTA conversations conducted in Twitter/X - Weds evenings, 20.00-21.00 UK Time: seeded by the LTHEchat blog.