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MAP:HE My Accredited Pathway: Higher Education

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Contents Why should I be interested in an HEA Fellowship? ............................................................................ 3

What are HEA Fellowships? ................................................................................................................ 3

MAP:HE What are my options? ......................................................................................................... 4

MAP:HE Portfolio ................................................................................................................................ 4

MAP:HE Taught (UCAP/PGCAP) .......................................................................................................... 4

MAP: My Individual Pathway .............................................................................................................. 5

What are the benefits of HEA Fellowship? ......................................................................................... 6

Recommended reading ........................................................................................................................... 7

The United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF) .................................................... 8

Distinguishing Features of the different categories of Fellowship ....................................................... 10

Preparing for Submission of Portfolio ................................................................................................... 11

Critical Reflection .............................................................................................................................. 19

What is your orientation to reflection? ................................................................................................. 20

Scholarship of Learning and Teaching .............................................................................................. 21

Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge .......................................................................... 22

Constructive Alignment and SOLO Taxonomy .................................................................................. 24

Assessment for Learning ................................................................................................................... 25

Blended/eLearning ............................................................................................................................ 26

Inclusive Curriculum .......................................................................................................................... 26

Useful Contacts: MAP:HE Team

• Dr Cécile Hatier: MAP:HE Framework Director; Assistant Director of Learning and Teaching • Claire Haines: LTE and MAP:HE Lead Administrator

Faculty Directors of Learning and Teaching

• Julie Taylor, Health and Wellbeing • TBC, Arts and Humanities • Susan Kenyon, Social and Applied Sciences • Gemma van Vuuren-Cassar, Education

Faculty Learning Technologists

• Wayne Barry and Simon Starr: Arts and Humanities, Social and Applied Sciences • Lynne Burroughs and Sam McFarlane: Education, Health and Wellbeing

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This booklet will help you to understand the benefits of seeking HEA fellowship, to determine the right category of fellowship for you and how to prepare and submit a claim.

Why should I be interested in an HEA Fellowship? Becoming a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA, renamed “Advance HE” since 2018) means joining an internationally recognised network of professionals working in Higher Education. Professional status and recognition have never been more important. Your colleagues and peers, here at Christ Church and across the HE sector, are demonstrating their professional commitment and excellence by gaining HEA Fellowship status. They are finding that HEA Fellowship status is career enhancing. Employers are increasingly looking for Fellowship status as a condition of promotion and appointment. They know that Fellowship status demonstrates that you have the competence, based on both knowledge and experience, to work in Higher Education. Applying for Fellowship status can enhance your career in other ways, too. The application process gives you the space to look back over your achievements and accomplishments, enabling you to build on that base and identify your next career goal, by highlighting where your strengths lie. Canterbury Christ Church University is an approved accreditor of HEA fellowships and our simple, structured application process will help you to achieve the fellowship you want with support in every step of the way.

What are HEA Fellowships? The former Higher Education Academy (HEA), called Advance HE since April 2018, is the UK national body which champions teaching quality. Their mission is to improve learning outcomes by raising the quality and status of teaching in higher education as an essential driver for student success. The fellowships form part of a national recognition programme which enables individuals and institutions to continuously develop teaching quality. The sector-agreed core standards for teaching at different stages of an individual’s career are also held by the HEA and are known as the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF). The UK PSF is used as the basis for preparing for and evaluating claims for the different categories of fellowship. The categories of fellowship and their typical characteristics are: Associate Fellow: able take on general teaching or learning support responsibilities, with or without support, and to demonstrate understanding of the context and values of higher education.

Welcome to the Canterbury Christ Church University HEA accredited pathway, your personal route to developing your identity as a higher education practitioner. Whatever your role in supporting student learning, as an academic, researcher or professional services staff member, you can participate in the scheme and gain recognition and/or qualification in higher education learning and teaching.

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Fellow: able to demonstrate a broad based effectiveness in all aspects of learning and teaching within their discipline, including the use of learning technology and show understanding of the processes, context and values of higher education Senior Fellow: able to demonstrate evidence of a sustained level of effectiveness in learning and teaching and have significant evidence of academic leadership and/or management of HE learning and teaching. Principal: highly experienced academic practitioners who have sustained and effective impact at a strategic level in relation to HE learning and teaching, at an institutional level and often with a significant national or international profile. The university is accredited to award all categories of fellowship apart from Principal Fellow.1

MAP:HE What are my options?

MAP:HE Portfolio If you have more than three years’ experience teaching or supporting learning within HE, you can prepare a direct claim for any category of fellowship, as appropriate to your role. You will be supported in preparing your claim by your Faculty Director of Learning and Teaching and by LTE (Learning and Teaching Enhancement). When you are ready, your claim will be submitted for consideration by appropriate internal assessors and an external assessor. There is no cost for submitting a claim, unless you are submitting direct to Advance HE as you would in the case of Principal Fellow or if you are a member of staff in one of our partnership institutions who do not have their own subscription to Advance HE. In some cases, your Faculty will bear the cost of the submission for Principal Fellowship.

MAP:HE Taught (UCAP/PGCAP) For staff with less than three years’ experience teaching or supporting learning within HE, you will be required to undertake one of the university’s validated courses, the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) or the University Certificate in Academic Practice (UCAP) which provide new academic and professional services staff grounding in contemporary HE academic practice. The UCAP is a short course (20 level 7 credits, consisting of the first module of the PGCAP) which provides a basic introduction to learning and teaching, student support and engagement and the structures and context of HE. On successful completion, you are automatically awarded an Associate Fellowship. The PGCAP is a longer course (60 level 7 credits), which provides more in-depth knowledge and specialised skills in academic practice, with greater focus on curriculum design and with the opportunity to carry out a potentially publishable piece of research. On successful completion, you are automatically awarded a Fellowship. The university also offers an MA Academic Practice and while this does not confer an automatic Senior Fellowship, all modules will provide an advanced knowledge base as well as a specific module on academic leadership.

1 If you are particularly interested in pursuing a Principal Fellowship, you will still receive support to prepare your claim, but will apply for it directly to the HEA.

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If you are a member of staff teaching on a CCCU validated programme in a partner institution you are also eligible to take part in the taught routes. You can be accredited for an HEA fellowship through the CCCU provision, but will have to pay for recognition by Advance HE unless your institution has an institutional subscription.

MAP: My Individual Pathway There is scope to create an individual pathway using the taught and portfolio routes. You could choose to gain a qualification through one of the taught routes, and then use this to build evidence toward a Senior Fellowship as your role changes. You can begin the portfolio route but decide that to fill a gap in your knowledge or skills, you will attend the PGCAP. There are also many specific offerings through Staff Development, which you could draw upon to improve certain weaker areas, such as the use of technology, or to build new skills, such as in academic leadership.

Here are some illustrative examples of how you might design your individual pathway: Case Example: Douglas

Douglas is a lecturer in Geography. He joins CCCU following completion of his PhD. As a new lecturer he participates in, and successfully completes the PGCAP. He is now leading modules and has been asked to undertake a role as programme director, and on the strength of having a Fellowship, he is then promoted to Senior Lecturer. Douglas is ambitious and decides that he wants to build a career as an academic leader. Over the next two years, he undertakes Staff Development training in academic leadership, mentoring and coaching and employability initiatives. He uses these to improve the programme he is now leading by enhancing the confidence of his academic team to build work-based learning into the programme and he publishes two articles on HE pedagogy. He uses this as evidence for his claim for Senior Fellow.

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Case Example: Shahina Shahina is a liaison librarian working closely with the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. She knows a lot about the literature base and works closely with the academics teaching on the programmes she supports and also runs workshops in information literacy for students in the library. She wants to understand more about the processes around learning and teaching because she would like to feel better equipped to deal with specific queries. She undertakes the UCAP and gains her Associate Fellowship. While on the UCAP she realises that she could do a lot more to support the programmes she works with by developing strategies to embed information literacy into the curriculum. She uses the Staff Development offers in learning technology to improve her digital media skills and starts up a blog to encourage critical reading and develops some resources for programme Blackboards. She does another workshop in research methods and evaluates some of her innovations and presents her work at a conference. She now has enough evidence to prepare a claim for Fellowship. Case Example: Stefan Stefan has been an academic for 12 years and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Bioscience. He has never done a formal qualification in HE learning and teaching and has learned on the job with support from more senior colleagues. He leads an undergraduate and postgraduate programme and supervises doctoral candidates. He has always achieved good results in relation to student outcomes, but is beginning to feel that higher education is changing rapidly especially since the introduction of student fees. He notices that most of his newer colleagues are undertaking a taught course in learning and teaching and are talking enthusiastically about different ways of teaching that they are trying out. The students are clearly responding well to these and he can see through evaluations on his programmes that they appreciate the enthusiasm. He decides to use the opportunity to apply for a Senior Fellowship to reflect on his career to date. He has a sound evidence base for his teaching, supervision and academic leadership but would like to update his skills on using learning technology and designing an inclusive curriculum. He attends some staff development workshops such as the Canterbury TELs and gains support from his Faculty Learning Technologist to embed the use of technologies in his modules. Once he completes his Senior Fellowship he will be eligible to apply for a Principal Lecturer.

What are the benefits of HEA Fellowship? HEA Fellowships are a recognised measure of success across the HE sector, both in the UK and internationally. They can provide you with a way to assure students and current and future employers of the quality of your teaching and commitment to student outcomes. However, the main benefit of the HEA Fellowship in any category is a personal one. The process of preparing for and writing a claim or undertaking a taught programme, will give you a unique opportunity to reflect on your academic practice and develop an academic identity. It can focus your interests, provide inspiration for innovation and research and clarify your career aspirations in higher education. Whichever route you choose, the core characteristic you will develop is critical reflective practice typical of a professional committed to a cycle of review and enhancement. Because of this, the booklet has a section on critical reflection to aid this task.

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When you become a fellow of any category, you also become part of a network within CCCU as well as nationally. The university is committed to building a vibrant learning community and our fellows play an important role in supporting that process. Our fellows already contribute through the work they do in partnership with students, often innovating and sharing teaching excellence. They support new staff and can become involved in the MAP:HE scheme, mentoring staff and working as an assessor of new claims. Finally, there is a huge benefit to students to have a qualified and committed staff group. Students today have an enormous task. Not only do they have to develop their academic knowledge and skills, often learning to study in unfamiliar ways, but they are expected to develop personal qualities to make them employable, able to cope within globalised and diverse workforces in an increasingly digital world. As a university which values transformative education of the whole person, our graduate attributes also promote an ethos of inclusion, social justice and sustainability. We encourage you to think about how all parts of your teaching and student engagement are designed to help your students undertake this massive task so that they can achieve their best possible outcomes.

Recommended reading To help prepare a claim for fellowship or as a core reading list for the taught routes, the following books are very useful:

Lea J (Ed) (2015) Enhancing Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Engaging with Dimensions of Practice. Maidenhead: The Open University Press

Weller S (2016) Academic Practice: Developing as a Professional in Higher Education. London: Sage

Ashwin P (Ed) (2015) Reflective Teaching in Higher Education. London: Bloomsbury

Benefits of Fellowship

To Me

To my colleagues

To my institution

To my students

To my disciplinary or subject pedagogy

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The United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF) The UK PSF was developed through consultation across the UK Higher Education sector and is housed by Advance HE. It is primarily designed to be used flexibly by individuals and institutions as a recognised benchmark for higher education practice in teaching and supporting learning. It should not, however, be mistaken for a competency framework with fixed definitions and performance criteria. The framework is designed to be open to a degree of interpretation to allow contextualisation of roles, institutions and circumstances particular to an individual or institutional context. For this reason, you might initially find the descriptions of the expectations rather vague and feel the need for greater clarification. You will be supported in understanding the framework and how best to evidence your claim.

The UK PSF is a simple way of representing a highly complex and dynamic practice. For this reason, people speak of ‘engaging’ with the framework. It has two key components:

1. The three dimensions of practice; 2. The four descriptors (D1-D4)

The three dimensions; Areas of Activity (A), the Core Knowledge (K) and Professional Values (V) form the core of all academic practice. The four descriptors (D1-D4) describe different types of practice and correspond to the different categories of fellowship: Associate Fellow (D1), Fellow (D2), Senior Fellow (D3) and Principal Fellow (D4). There are common elements to all four descriptors but as you engage with them, you will see that they build upon each other. For example, the Fellow (D2) and Senior Fellow (D3) both require a solid practice in learning and teaching but D3 has additional descriptors associated with leadership of learning and teaching.

Areas of ActivityA1 Design and plan learning activities and/or

programmes of study A2 Teach and/or support learning

A3 Assess and give feedback to learners A4 Develop effective learning environments

and approaches to student support and guidance

A5 Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship

and the evaluation of professional practices

Professional ValuesV1 Respect individual learners and

diverse learning communities V2 Promote participation in higher

education and equality of opportunity for learners

V3 Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and

continuing professional development

V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the

implications for professional practice

Core KnowledgeK1 The subject material

K2 Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the

subject area and at the level of the academic programme

K3 How students learn, both generally and within their

subject/disciplinary area(s) K4 The use and value of

appropriate learning technologies K5 Methods for evaluating the

effectiveness of teaching K6 The implications of quality

assurance and quality enhancement for academic and

professional practice with a particular focus on teaching

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The UK Professional Standards Framework: Summary View Areas of Activity A1 Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study A2 Teach and/or support learning A3 Assess and give feedback to learners A4 Develop effective learning environments and approaches to

student support and guidance A5 Engage in continuing professional development in

subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices

Core Knowledge K1 The subject material K2 Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area

and at the level of the academic programme K3 How students learn, both generally and within their

subject/disciplinary area(s) K4 The use and value of appropriate learning technologies K5 Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching K6 The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for

academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching

Professional Values V1 Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities V2 Promote participation in higher education and equality of

opportunity for learners V3 Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from

research, scholarship and continuing professional development V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education

operates recognising the implications for professional practice

Descriptor 1: Associate Fellow

Typical individual role/career stage

Descriptor 2: Fellow

Typical individual role/career stage

Descriptor 3: Senior Fellow

Typical individual role/career stage

Descriptor 4: Principal Fellow

Typical individual role/career stage

Demonstrates an understanding of specific aspects of effective teaching, learning support methods and student learning. Individuals should be able to provide evidence of: I. Successful engagement with

at least two of the five Areas of Activity

II. Successful engagement in appropriate teaching and practices related to these Areas of Activity

III. Appropriate Core Knowledge and understanding of at least K1 and K2

IV. A commitment to appropriate Professional Values in facilitating others’ learning

V. Relevant professional practices, subject and pedagogic research and/or scholarship within the above activities

VI. Successful engagement, where appropriate, in professional development activity related to teaching, learning and assessment responsibilities

Individuals able to provide evidence of effectiveness in relation to their professional role(s), which, typically, will include at least some teaching and/or learning support responsibilities. This teaching and learning role may sometimes be undertaken with the assistance of more experienced teachers or mentors. Typically, those likely to be at Descriptor 1 (D1) include: a. Early career researchers with

some teaching responsibilities (e.g. PhD students, GTAs, contract researchers/post doctoral students etc.)

b. Staff new to teaching (including those with part-time academic responsibilities)

c. Staff who support academic provision (e.g. learning technologists, learning developers and learning resource/library staff)

d. Staff who undertake demonstrator/technician roles that incorporate some teaching-related responsibilities

e. Experienced staff in relevant professional areas who may be new to teaching and/or supporting learning, or who have a limited teaching portfolio

Demonstrates a broad understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning support as key contributions to high quality student learning. Individuals should be able to provide evidence of: I. Successful engagement

across all five Areas of Activity

II. Appropriate knowledge and understanding across all aspects of Core Knowledge

III. A commitment to all the Professional Values

IV. Successful engagement in appropriate teaching practices related to the Areas of Activity

V. Successful incorporation of subject and pedagogic research and/or scholarship within the above activities, as part of an integrated approach to academic practice

VI. Successful engagement in continuing professional development in relation to teaching, learning, assessment and, where appropriate, related professional practices

Individuals able to provide evidence of broadly based effectiveness in more substantive teaching and supporting learning role(s). Such individuals are likely to be established members of one or more academic and/or academic-related teams.Typically, those likely to be at Descriptor 2 (D2) include: a. Early career academics b. Academic-related and/or

support staff holding substantive teaching and learning responsibilities

c. Experienced academics relatively new to UK higher education

d. Staff with (sometimes significant) teaching-only responsibilities including, for example, within work-based settings

Demonstrates a thorough understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning support as a key contribution to high quality student learning. Individuals should be able to provide evidence of: I. Successful engagement

across all five Areas of Activity

II. Appropriate knowledge and understanding across all aspects of Core Knowledge

III. A commitment to all the Professional Values

IV. Successful engagement in appropriate teaching practices related to the Areas of Activity

V. Successful incorporation of subject and pedagogic research and/ or scholarship within the above activities, as part of an integrated approach to academic practice

VI. Successful engagement in continuing professional development in relation to teaching, learning, assessment, scholarship and, as appropriate, related academic or professional practices

VII. Successful co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/ or mentoring of others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to teaching and learning

Individuals able to provide evidence of a sustained record of effectiveness in relation to teaching and learning, incorporating for example, the organisation, leadership and/or management of specific aspects of teaching and learning provision. Such individuals are likely to lead or be members of established academic teams. Typically, those likely to be at Descriptor 3 (D3) include: a. Experienced staff able to

Experienced staff able to demonstrate, impact and influence through, for example, responsibility for leading, managing or organising programmes, subjects and/or disciplinary areas

b. Experienced subject mentors and staff who support those new to teaching

c. Experienced staff with departmental and/or wider teaching and learning support advisory responsibilities within an institution

Demonstrates a sustained record of effective strategic leadership in academic practice and academic development as a key contribution to high quality student learning. Individuals should be able to provide evidence of: I. Active commitment to and

championing of all Dimensions of the Framework, through work with students and staff, and in institutional developments

II. Successful, strategic leadership to enhance student learning, with a particular, but not necessarily exclusive, focus on enhancing teaching quality in institutional, and/or (inter)national settings

III. Establishing effective organisational policies and/or strategies for supporting and promoting others (e.g. through mentoring, coaching) in delivering high quality teaching and support for learning

IV. Championing, within institutional and/or wider settings, an integrated approach to academic practice (incorporating, for example, teaching, learning, research, scholarship, administration etc.)

V. A sustained and successful commitment to, and engagement in, continuing professional development related to academic, institutional and/or other professional practices

Individuals, as highly experienced academics, able to provide evidence of a sustained and effective record of impact at a strategic level in relation to teaching and learning, as part of a wider commitment to academic practice. This may be within their institution or wider (inter)national settings. Typically, those likely to be at Descriptor 4 (D4) include: a. Highly experienced and/or

senior staff with wide-ranging academic or academic-related strategic leadership responsibilities in connection with key aspects of teaching and supporting learning

b. Staff responsible for institutional strategic leadership and policymaking in the area of teaching and learning

c. Staff who have strategic impact and influence in relation to teaching and learning that extends beyond their own institution

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Distinguishing Features of the different categories of Fellowship

Category Distinguishing features Evidence required Typical Roles

AFHEA

D1

Understanding specific aspects of effective teaching, student support & student learning.

Does not require someone to be covering all aspects of typical academic practice.

At least two Areas of Activity;

At least K1 & K2 of Core Knowledge;

All Professional Values

Sessional or part-time teaching staff

PhD student tutors

Technicians, demonstrators

Professional Services staff supporting learning in central services e.g. Academic Learning Development, Library services, learning technologists

FHEA

D2

Broad understanding of effective approaches to teaching & learning support.

Requires someone to be involved in all aspects of typical academic practice at the curriculum level

All dimensions of the UK PSF must be evidenced and equally balanced.

Substantive teaching responsibilities included work based.

Module leaders, curriculum developers

Specialist professional services contributing to curriculum-based learning e.g. employability, digital literacy, information literacy

SFHEA

D3

Key differential: Sustained leadership of others’ HE teaching & learning

Thorough understanding of effective approaches to teaching & learning support

All dimensions of the UKPSF

Essential to evidence (vii): Successful co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/ or mentoring of others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to teaching and learning

Programme directors; external examiners; Faculty/School level L&T leaders including Quality champions, specialist leads e.g. employability, internationalisation, inclusive curriculum, retention

Validation panel member or chair

Co-ordinators; mentors

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Preparing for Submission of Portfolio

When you decide to make a claim for fellowship in any category, you will be supported throughout the process. Initially you may be uncertain which category of fellowship is appropriate for your role and experience and may wonder what benefits having a fellowship will bring you. Once you have decided the type of fellowship you will pursue, you will map out an action plan, collect and organise your evidence and then write your claim.

Be proactive and plan in advance

• Inform your line manager or your appraiser to ensure you are engaging in the right kind of activities and set of responsibilities to support your claim

• Develop an appropriate CPD record to support your career aspirations and pathway Make a preliminary expression of interest to your Faculty Director of Learning and Teaching

• Receive a briefing on scheme • Agree fellowship category • Assignment to MAP:HE Briefing Workshop (via Staffspace, run monthly) • Attendance of Faculty and University Learning and Teaching events (where appropriate) • Allocation of a MAP:HE Mentor • Assignment to a Writing Workshop (via Staffspace, run monthly)

Access MAP:HE Blackboard resources to support your claim

• CV template • Referee form and guidance

Be proactive and plan in advance

Make a preliminary expression of

interest to FDLT

Access MAP Resources to

support your claim

MAP Your Support

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• Application Template • Guidance on the UKPSF • Guidance on the CCCU Application process and internal verification pathway • Exemplars of successful claims • Bibliography to support your pedagogic rationale

You should also check the LTE web pages to find appropriate developmental activity to attend that will support your claim and maximise on evidence of your CPD Your claim is more likely to be successful if you take the time to plan out how you are going to achieve it and ensure that you have support in place. In collaboration with your FDLT or mentor, agree a timetable and deadlines for formative and summative assessment. These can be reviewed, but it is helpful to make a commitment and work towards achieving your fellowship by a certain time. Make sure you identify any potential gaps in a dimension or descriptor. For example, for Fellow, you will need to demonstrate how you use technology for learning. Perhaps this is an area that you are less able to evidence. You may wish to take one of the many staff development sessions associated with learning technology in order to enhance your knowledge and skills. Although you may be up to date with scholarship and research in your subject, you may need guidance to engage with the scholarship and main theories of learning and teaching in higher education.

When do I want to submit?

create a timelineset deadlinesget support in place

Make sure I know what's required

Familiarise with UK PSF dimensions and descriptors required for category sought.Familiarise with requirements of form of claimUpdate CVConfirm reference(s)

Fill any gaps

Identify any further development needsAttend staff and/or professional development sessions

MAP Your Plan

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Engaging with the UK PSF Depending on category of fellowship you are seeking, you will need to know which dimensions you need to evidence and how these should be evidenced against the appropriate descriptor. If you refer to the summary guide on page x while doing this, you will find it easier. In addition to the descriptor, there is also a section on the ‘typical’ role of the individual at that stage. This is worth considering in conjunction with the descriptor because it helps to clarify what ‘appropriate’ might mean in the descriptors. As previously stated, the UK PSF is deliberately designed to be flexible rather than a prescriptive set of competencies. For example, look at the Associate (D1) and Fellow (D2) descriptors on page (9). They both require ‘successful engagement’ with Areas of Activity (for Associate this is for at least two areas, while for Fellow this is for all five). How does ‘successful engagement’ differ, apart from scope? If you look at the ‘typical role’, however, differences do emerge. While both may be designing and planning learning activities (A1) and teaching (A2), the Associate has ‘some teaching responsibilities’ while the Fellow has ‘substantive responsibility for teaching and learning’. This means that the Associate can provide evidence of planning one-off sessions or teaching a series of sessions planned by a more experienced colleague. The Fellow would have to provide evidence of planning at curriculum level for at least a discrete course of study, such as a module, so they could demonstrate how student learning develops over time through a sequence of learning strategies. Both could demonstrate it was ‘successful’ through providing student feedback, for example, or through the reference. The descriptors for Fellow (D2) and Senior Fellow (D3) are virtually identical, but Senior Fellow has an additional descriptor relating to leadership and management (D3, vii). The ‘typical roles’ give further indication that this descriptor is focused on providing evidence of having an established and successful academic practice but is now using this knowledge to lead and manage others in these activities and possibly taking roles promoting learning and teaching across the institution.

Lesson, module or programme documentsExamples of student engagement activities

Evaluations by students, colleagues and external examiners

Testimonials

Scholarly activity related to learning and teaching (PGCAP, MA)

Research and dissemination through publication or conference

Running workshops on learning and teaching

Recognition and awards related to learning and teaching either institutional or external

Formal evaluations such as appraisalResults of national surveys attributable to your involvement such as NSS/USS, DLHE,

PRES

Examples of Types of Evidence

MAP Your Evidence

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While each category of fellowship requires a specific focus, there are some characteristics of strong claims which are worth noting:

Similarly, it is possible to identify some of the common characteristics of claims which are referred for further development and improvement:

Synergy: research/scholarly activity and professional activities

(commitment to active, ongoing and relevant CPD)

Clarity of focusInclusion of references/bibliography

Genuine alignment to the UKPSF (marked up in brackets at the end of each paragraph or section e.g. (A2, V3) & currency of engagement in

areas of activity

Enthusiasm for learning and teaching

Good quality breadth and range of examples and case studies to

illustrate and evidence your activity including: student testimonials,

module evaluation, external examiner comments, peer

observation comments, NSS/UKES/PTES scores

Creativity in approaches to LT&A

Evaluative and Critical reflectionaround: What you do; Your

rationale; The impact of your actions in the context of L&T(use of first

person) e.g. critical incident/s

Informed understanding of pedagogic approach either through

subject specialist lens, student feedback or other forms of

evaluatory data and theory of L&T

Awareness of student position,needs and difficulties

Claim being appropriate for the category of recognition and which

explicitly demonstrates your strengths and

philosophy/professional values

An overly descriptive writing styleToo many examples which thin out

depthExamples which are not current ( 3

years)

Lack of strong rationale, reflection and evaluation Lack of reference to students

Not meeting all the areas of Activity on the UKPSF

Insufficient CPD and ScholarshipLack of evidence of commitment to

professional values

For Senior Fellow not meeting descriptor D3.V11 on Leadership

MAP A Strong Claim

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Form of Claim There is a different format for each category of Fellowship to ensure that you clearly meet the requirements of the UKPSF. All claims will also require two references and a CV which focuses on your L&T experience (templates are available on the Blackboard pages for MAP:HE). If you require an alternative format for submission, this can be arranged with the MAP:HE Framework Director who will agree the format with you to ensure that you are able to meet all your required elements successfully. The following table gives an indication of the contexts and expected length of each category:

Category of Fellowship

Word count Form of claim Verification Process

Associate 1500 • Introduction to role and context • 2 x reflective commentaries on chosen

Activity dimensions • Reference from line manager and

colleague with FHEA or SFHEA • CV

• Assessed and confirmed by two trained verifiers with at least Fellowship

• Confirmed at Framework Review Board

• Sample reviewed by External Verifier

Fellowship 3100 • Introduction to role and context • 5 x reflective commentaries on Activity

dimensions • Reference from Head of School or

nominated manager and colleague with FHEA or SFHEA

• CV

• Assessed and confirmed by two trained verifiers with at least Senior Fellowship

• Confirmed at Framework Review Board

• Sample reviewed by External Verifier

Senior Fellowship

6000 • Reflective account of professional practice

• 2 x Case studies focusing on leadership evidence

• Reference from Head of School and a senior colleague with SFHEA or PFHEA

• CV

• Assessed by three trained verifiers with at least, one of whom is a core member of the Framework Review Board

• Sample reviewed by External Verifier (PFHEA)

What happens when I am ready to submit my claim?

When you complete your claim and are ready to enter the assessment and verification process, you will go through the following stages:

Formative assessment

which receives feedback

Summative AssessmentReviewed by

Assessors

Framework Review BoardFinal Decision

Monthly Framework

Review BoardAnnual review with External

Assessor

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Submit for formative feedback • Prepare draft claim and submit on Blackboard • Receive written developmental feedback from a formative assessor

Submit for Assessment and Verification

• Submit final claim for assessment • Claim is assessed and verified at the monthly Framework Review Board. • Receive notification of success or referral • Receive written feedback for successful and referred claims • If referred, use development feedback and support to improve claim and resubmit

How is my claim assessed? All claims are assessed by trained assessors and verifiers who will have an HEA Fellowship at a similar or higher level than the one you are seeking. No claim will be assessed by a verifier who has mentored you. Given the size and culture of our community, it may be difficult to ensure your claim is assessed by someone who doesn’t know you but all assessors are trained and will be using the rubric in your fellowship preparation document. If you are submitting for Associate or Fellow, two trained assessors will consider your claim. For Senior Fellow, there will be three assessors. Moderation by the Framework Director and the External Assessor (HEA approved), will take place regularly to ensure consistency between assessors. Sometimes assessors do disagree or find it hard to come to a consensus for a variety of reasons. They may interpret criteria slightly differently or may not recognise your evidence if they are from a different subject. In this case, the Associate and Fellow claims will be reviewed by a senior member of the MAP:HE Portfolio team. For Senior Fellows, your claim will be referred to the External Assessor. In all cases, however, the aim is to be as fair as possible while still ensuring the overall quality of the verification process. There will be a Verification Board once a year where the whole programme will be reviewed with the External Assessor who will produce a report on the soundness of the verification process, the quality of the decisions and feedback and the quality of the claims as well as any development feedback for the team. Framework Review Board The Framework Review Board will meet monthly to review portfolio routes and ensure that all the systems and processes are working as intended. It will provide a place for collaborative review of provision including identifying any need for staff training and development. The members of the Framework Review Board are:

• MAP:HE Framework Director (Chair) • Faculty Directors of Learning and Teaching • Assessors and Verifiers of claims being submitted

The Verification Board The Verification Board will meet once a year and will typically consist of the following people:

• PVC Education and Student Experience (Chair) • External Assessor (HEA approved)

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• Director of Learning and Teaching • MAP:HE Framework Director • Faculty Directors of Learning and Teaching • MAP: HE Framework Administrator

When do I submit? A timetable of submission points is provided on the MAP:HE Blackboard pages. Typically, the submission points occur once a month except in the summer and the Framework Review Board occurs within 4 weeks of the deadline.

When will I find out if I have been successful?

You should receive an email with the outcome of your claim in the week after the Framework Review Board meets. In the email, you will also receive the summative feedback from the reviewers. The email is also sent to your Head of School or department.

What happens if my claim is referred? It is sometimes the case that following summative assessment, a claim might be referred back to you for improvement. There is a variety of reasons why this might happen but it is usually for one of the reasons indicated above (MAP: A strong claim). At formative assessment stage, your assessor will give you feedback on how the claim should be improved. However, following the formative feedback cannot guarantee that your claim will be successful at summative submission. If your submission is referred either at formative or summative stages, a timescale for resubmission should be discussed with your mentor. As the Framework Review Board meets monthly, this will give you ample opportunity in the year to resubmit without having to wait a long time. You may have two attempts at resubmission in one year. One possible outcome of a submission for Fellow is that it may be decided that although you do not demonstrate sufficient evidence for D2 and it would require significant development, you do have enough for D1 and can be awarded an Associate Fellowship. If you accept this, it would not prevent you from reworking and putting in a fresh claim for Fellow at a later date. Can I appeal against a fellowship decision? As the MAP: Portfolio is not a CCCU validated academic programme and is, in effect, a programme for the verification of professional practice, you are not eligible to appeal through the CCCU student appeals process. Every effort has been made to ensure verification is carried out fairly and accurately by trained verifiers and externally assured through consideration of a sample of claims. If your claim was already seen by the External Assessor through the moderation process and the decision agreed, that decision will stand. However, if you are not satisfied with the summative decision which is made or if you are dissatisfied with the level or quality or support you are or have received to prepare you claim, you may request

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a formal meeting with the Framework Director to discuss your concerns. Concerns related to quality assurance will be discussed at the next available Framework Review Board and if necessary, additional training or resources may be put in place. If you were dissatisfied with a decision made at a Framework Review Board and you do not feel this was dealt with in a satisfactory manner, you may request that it is reviewed by the External Assessor at the Verification Board or next Framework Review Board, whichever is sooner. All concerns raised by participants will be reported to the Verification Board and reviewed to ensure they were dealt with fairly and adjustments made if necessary. Register with Advance HE

• Following verification, your status will be uploaded by LTE to the Advance HE website as part of the CCCU institutional record.

• You will then join the university’s network of Fellows and may download your Fellowship certificate from the Advance HE website.

• Alternatively, LTE organise an Award ceremony at the June L&T conference each year, during which all Fellows are given their Fellowship certificates.

Please see individual fellowship guidance documents for submission templates and assessment criteria

The following section provides information about key concepts in learning and teaching

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Key concepts in learning and teaching

Critical Reflection Reflecting on our experiences is something all of us do to some degree. As academics and professionals within higher education, there is an expectation that within our discipline we will, through the process of higher study, have developed the ability to engage deeply in thinking about the validity, reliability, implications and application of knowledge. It is likely that through this process we have had new insights and, through a research process, created new knowledge.

Critical reflection on practice is merely an extension of this process where you turn this critical enquiry on to your own professional area of work. Just as you used critical thinking to develop your subject knowledge, discipline skills and values, you use your critical reflection to develop your knowledge, skills and values in academic practice.

The most basic type of reflection will involve a process where, for example, you plan and prepare a session, run it and then think back over it and identify what went well, what did not work so well and what you might do differently in the future. This simple cycle of reflection can bring about some tweaks to your sessions which improve the experience of learning and teaching for everyone. Argyris calls this ‘single loop learning’ (1978)2. Further to this, ‘reflective cycles,’ such as those designed by Gibbs and Kolb, encourage richer sources of reflection such as feelings and technical knowledge, but they are essentially a closed loop, limited by what you do (or do not) know already.

In addition to the closed nature of single loop learning, Argyris explains that most of us use mental models or ‘theories-in-use’ of situations or behaviours and rarely stop to question whether they are (still) valid or applicable in the current context. For this reason, critical reflection is both necessary and often uncomfortable. It is necessary, because to create real change or improvement we have to be willing to question our assumptions and beliefs (which is, of course, the foundation of critical thinking) and that is often an uncomfortable process where we might find ourselves feeling defensive or even unwilling to take risks.

The best way to kick start critical reflection is to introduce an external influence to challenge or inform your thinking. For example, getting a trusted colleague to carry out a peer observation of your teaching or asking students to review your curriculum, reading research and scholarship in learning and teaching, or carrying out your own action research, are all effective ways to break out of your existing thinking.

When you write your submission, there will be an expectation that you show how you engage in critical reflection on your practice. This is because it is part of continuing professional development which is required as part of A5 and V3 of the UK PSF dimensions (see page 9).

2 Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1978) Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective, Reading, Mass: Addison Wesley.

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Case Example: Celeste

Celeste was teaching social policy on the Social Work programme and was disappointed at the poor level of student engagement with the reading tasks she had set them. Initially she found herself blaming the students and the fact that they did not seem fully prepared for study at university. Her efforts to communicate the importance of independent reading had made no difference. Following a session on the PGCAP on student-centred lesson planning for active learning, she began to reflect on whether she could organise her teaching differently to promote reading engagement and independent study skills. Instead of seminars, she decided to try out a peer learning approach using groups of students reading a text together followed by a webinar with her. She sought the help of her liaison librarian who helped her set up the activity in the university learning centre and also to run the webinars. Her evaluations showed that students had engaged well with the approach, which they enjoyed and that they had greater confidence and skills in reading academic texts.

What is your orientation to reflection? Wellington and Austin (1996)3 analysed the reflective portfolios of student teachers and identified five different orientations to reflection. These could be considered to correspond to different purposes for reflection in developing professional practice. You may find it useful to look at the five different orientations and consider which of them you most naturally identify with. The five orientations are:

The Shallow orientation is generally considered to be less powerful for professional development but if you are making a claim for Associate Fellowship, you may make use of this form of reflection to demonstrate how you have improved a teaching session or learning plan, for example.

The Technical and Deliberative orientations are also grouped as ‘domesticating’. These are the types of reflective activity which help you to become more proficient and knowledgeable in your

3 Wellington, B and Austin, P (1996) ‘Orientation to Reflection Practice’, Educational Research, vol. 38.3 pp. 307-16.

•uncritical, single loop, descriptive rather than analytic

Shallow

•Focus on improvement of skills, techniques, practices, development of technical (subject) knowledge and values

Technical Domesticating

•Focus on underpinning theories, putting theory into practice, theorising about reasons for outcomes or behaviours

Deliberative Domesticating

•Focus on interrogating political or wider contexts which might exert influence on a situation, power dynamics or imbalances, dominant discourses, vested interests

Dialectic Liberating

•Focus on personal and professional development, developing professional identity, 'becoming' a desired type of person, congruence between inner and outer person, discovery of unknown aspects of self, aspirations for future development

Transpersonal Liberating

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own teaching and learning activities. Part of the process of preparing a claim for fellowship is to demonstrate that you have the knowledge base and can practice in a skilled and ethical way (the three dimensions of the UK PSF). So a ‘domesticating’ style or orientation towards critical reflection will provide evidence for this, especially for Associate and Fellow.

However, a deeper and more critical reflection can be reached through taking what is described as a ‘liberating’ orientation. Dialectic reflection is not only about demonstrating one can meet the standards, but that as a professional you are also able to question, interrogate practice and be engaged in a continuous cycle of improvement. Inherent in the HEA fellowships is an expectation of continuing professional development. If this is to be meaningful and produce real and sustainable teaching excellence, you have to be able to demonstrate that you are able to be flexible and responsive to change, but also critically aware of the drivers for change, which may sometimes be challenging to your own personal beliefs and values. The examination of such tensions is not to be avoided.

If you engage in these three orientations, you will begin to develop your own identity and philosophy of learning and teaching in Higher Education. Your academic leadership will be strengthened as your decision-making becomes more informed and you can draw on a wider range of influences to shape your own thinking and practice. This is the Transpersonal orientation and gives insight into your personal commitment to Higher Education teaching excellence. There is an expectation that for Senior and Principal fellowship you will be able to articulate this.

Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Universities are recognised as the place where knowledge is created, evaluated, challenged and updated. You are almost definitely involved in some kind of scholarship and/or research activities related to your subject, discipline or professional service area. It should therefore be no surprise that higher education is also a subject for research and there are now many publications on all aspects of higher education learning and teaching, both generic and subject-based. Growing understanding of how students learn, especially in the digital age, new methods and places for learning and teaching and responding to the social demands now being made of universities, are some of the many areas which are currently being investigated.

As a teaching professional in higher education, there is an expectation that, as an extension of your critical reflective practice, you should be taking a scholarly approach to your academic practice. This could be by engaging with literature and research or directly through your own pedagogic enquiry. This is directly referenced by some of the dimensions of the UK PSF, such as A5, K2, K3 and V3.

If you are undertaking one of the taught routes to fellowship, you will be introduced to some of the main conceptual and theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy in higher education. If you do the PGCAP, you will undertake your own small Action Research project.

If you choose to prepare a claim for a fellowship through the portfolio route, you will be expected to show engagement with scholarship and research as you describe and justify your pedagogic decisions and through your critical reflections as you evaluate them.

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Developing a perception of yourself as a scholar of higher education as well as of your subject or discipline is part of the multi-dimensional identity of the contemporary academic practitioner. Not only might you be a subject specialist, but also skilled as a personal academic tutor or mentor to your colleagues. Your practice is a situated process, taking place in a particular institution or department and social and historical context.

When you embrace the scholarship of learning and teaching, you become a learner too; part of the university’s learning community. One of the most rewarding ways to engage in pedagogic enquiry is to carry it out in partnership with your students. They are your partners in learning and have an important perspective to bring and a vested interest in developing outstanding learning and teaching. It is also an excellent way to engage students and shift them from seeing themselves as passive consumers.

Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge

Threshold Concepts

The biggest difficulty in designing teaching activities and curricula in HE is deciding what to include and what to leave out. When you are teaching at HE level, you are dealing with your subject at the highest and broadest level so the temptation to include as much as possible is always present. You do not want to leave anything out. Unfortunately, this often leads to the two greatest barriers to learning: content overload and transmission teaching.

At the heart of this process is a mistaken assumption that just because you have ‘taught’ something, it means that the student has learned it. The anxiety that some teachers feel if they do not cover all the content in a lecture is misplaced. Students do not learn from someone talking to them, however well you explain the facts or concepts to them. Ironically, one of the main reasons given for continuing to use transmission teaching (the idea that the teacher somehow ‘transmits’ information to the student) is that students do not read or engage in independent study. If you are giving the message to students that you are telling them everything they need to know, then why would they?

If you find yourself frequently at the front of a classroom, delivering information from a powerpoint, with too many slides to get through, speeding up your delivery to fit them all in, running out of time for questions and frustrated that even with all your efforts, student just don’t seem to engage or learn, then designing with threshold concepts might be a powerful tool for you.

Threshold concepts were proposed by Jan Meyer and Ray Land as a way to identify those parts of a subject or discipline which act as a portal or essential stepping stone to full integration. At HE level, knowledge is considered for its own sake and a scholar will have integrated it to become a specialist in that subject or discipline; it has become part of your identity. You are not just someone who knows certain facts, you are a sociologist, a historian, a scientist, a nurse or economist. In order to become this, you had to grasp certain key concepts or skills and in doing so you were gradually transformed into who you are today in relation to your specialism. It is akin to passing through into

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a new realm where everything is transformed; there is no ‘unlearning’ what you have learned, it is not a matter of forgetting a few facts, what you have learned has changed your perspective.

What are these concepts? They will be different for every discipline. One way to think about them is to imagine you are at a party and you meet someone who is pretending to be a specialist like you. Lots of people now have access to information on the web and could acquire knowledge. How long would it take you to find out they were an amateur? How would you know? Another way to identify threshold concepts is to think about knowledge which is essential for progressing in the discipline – concepts which must be understood in order to proceed. This could be something like the laws of thermodynamics, the divine right of kings, semiotics or opportunity costs. In HE, students are expected to be able to do something with the knowledge they gain. If they have not grasped the threshold concepts, it does not matter how many facts they learn, they won’t know what to do with them.

Therefore, when planning your teaching or curriculum, by identifying threshold and key concepts, you begin to focus what is important for you to help the students learn and distinguish that from what the students can learn independently. You can make your teaching much more student-centred, using active learning techniques where the students are doing most of the work based on tasks you have designed for them and you can strip away the content to give time for students to engage with you and each other to promote discussion, experimentation and learning from mistakes. Knowing your threshold concepts also means you can assess a student more effectively as you are able to identify why they are not progressing and give more useful feedback and guidance. It means that when you are teaching you can make learning meaningful as you are able to communicate how what students are learning fit with a wider whole.

Troublesome Knowledge

Troublesome knowledge is another useful tool when thinking about designing for learning. Unlike threshold concepts, which are inherent to the discipline, troublesome knowledge is relational to the student. It is knowledge which challenges the student in a particular way – perhaps it is simply difficult to grasp, or it questions previous knowledge or assumptions. Sometimes knowledge is troublesome because it is shocking or unpleasant. Some examples might be: a very difficult mathematical equation which the student has to go over and over until they get it; learning about slavery, rape or genocide; discovering that the atom bears no relation to the picture you were taught at school, or realising that the way you were parented could be considered abusive. Not all of your students will find these elements affect them, but for many they could be real stumbling blocks to learning. Reflecting on knowledge which could potentially be troublesome means that you might choose to teach in different ways; giving more time to a difficult concept, presenting difficult material with sensitivity, ensuring you know how to support a distressed student, for example.

To complicate matters, many threshold concepts are also troublesome! However, knowing this means that you can become more creative and thoughtful in your teaching as you become more focused on session and curriculum design for learning. You can approach teaching with an enquiring mind; ‘how can I best help my students learn?’

Further reading:

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Land R, Cousin G, Meyer JHF, Davies P (2005) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: implications for course design and evaluation. In: Rust C (Ed) Improving Student Learning Diversity and Inclusivity. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Learning Development. Full text available

Meyer JHF, Land R, Baillie C. (Eds)(2010) Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning. Rotterdam: Sense. Full text available

Constructive Alignment and SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs and Tang, various)

Constructive alignment is a principle used for designing learning in which the components in the teaching (teaching methods, assessment tasks etc.) are aligned with the learning activities assumed in the intended outcomes. Key to this is ensuring that the learning outcomes match the HE level expectations as well as the Subject, Discipline and/or Profession. The idea behind this principle is that if you want students to perform well in assessment, the learning outcomes signpost the academic performance expected at assessment (e.g. writing a critically evaluative essay) and the content is taught in such a way that the student is well-prepared for the assessment.

Engaging with this principle should inspire you to develop better teaching methods more suited to your students’ learning needs and more transparency around assessment. It does not mean ‘spoon-feeding’ your students. Quite the opposite, it means making it clear from the outset what the academic demand of the unit of study will be and ensuring that your teaching enables the students to learn how to study and perform to meet that demand, as well as the content.

To support constructive alignment, Biggs and colleagues created a taxonomy of learning, the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome or SOLO taxonomy, which comprises five levels:

1. Prestructural – where the student has not learnt anything, knows nothing, 2. Unistructural – where the student knows one main concept, 3. Multistructural – where the student knows multiple concepts or perspectives but they are

learnt as lists or exist in parallel and the student is unable to make links between them, 4. Relational – where the student knows multiple concepts or perspective and is able to make

links and interrogate similarities and differences between them, 5. Extended abstract - where the students knows multiple concepts or perspective and is able

to make links and interrogate similarities and differences between them, AND can use this to theorise, infer, create new knowledge and/or recommend actions.

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The SOLO taxonomy provides a useful way to think about how to make the demand more complex. It can be used to design tasks, but also as a really useful tool for formative assessment so you can identify how the student is currently understanding and using knowledge and guide them to the next stage. In summative assessment, it can help you to engage better with marking criteria and provide targeted feedback.

Assessment for Learning Assessment is an important aspect of student learning and should be used to help reinforce the expected standards. Our interactions with students, through assessment and feedback, should help students engage with the assessment criteria. Used well, assessment can have a significant influence on student study behaviours, their approach to learning and improvement in outcomes, both in terms of their subject knowledge as well as future success beyond study. Both formative and summative assessment play an important role in promoting learning; the former through offering ongoing opportunities to consolidate and evaluate learning and assessment performance, and the latter by providing the final expression of the learning outcomes for which the student must prepare.

You can promote assessment for learning by:

• Engaging your students with the assessment criteria and how they link to the learning outcomes

• Creating an assessment regime which supports personalised learning through introducing choice and partnership with students

• Ensuring that feedback leads to improvement by making it timely, detailed and able to be acted upon by your students

• Focusing on student development by making assessment encourage deep learning, reflection and self-efficacy

• Using assessment which stimulates dialogue and creates a learning community around assessment literacy

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• Focusing on sustainability, ensuring assessment is manageable for staff and students and provide enough time for study both in and out of class

Blended/eLearning CCCU is committed to build our capacity as a digital university to ‘provide flexible and responsive learning environments to enable effective learning to take place in a wide variety of physical and virtual spaces supported by up-to-date learning technologies where appropriate’: CCCU Learning and teaching Strategy 2015 – 2020.

Teaching is blended when learning and teaching is being delivered through an optimal blend of online, mobile and face-to-face experiences, including self-directed and peer learning. The exact nature and balance of that blend will depend on the needs of your programme and students.

CCCU has a model for Blended Learning on the Blackboard ‘Teaching Resources’ tab. There are many benefits for both staff and students from using alternative forms of learning using technology, flipped classroom techniques and new tools and techniques emerging all the time.

Inclusive Curriculum The University has a duty, and teaching staff have a responsibility, to provide an inclusive learning and teaching environment, which meets the needs of all of our students. As an institution which welcomes students with a diverse range of characteristics and with varying levels of preparedness for university study, making the curriculum more inclusive is a powerful way to increase your students’ outcomes and potential for success. Additionally, since 2016, the funding for specialist support for students with non-medical conditions (e.g. dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder) through the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) has been discontinued. Initially this may require you to make changes to the design processes influencing learning, teaching and assessment practices to ensure you are not disadvantaging students with specific needs. This is a legal requirement under the DSA, but over time, inclusive curriculum design will benefit all your students and will reduce the need to make individual adjustments or changes.

Principles of inclusive curriculum design are that it is: Anticipatory, Flexible, Accountable, Collaborative, Transparent and Equitable. You have access to the Inclusive Curriculum pages on the ‘Teaching Resources’ Blackboard tab, which has many useful resources to help you increase inclusivity of your curriculum.