Scottish Learning and Teaching Strategies Support Group

1
Scottish Learning and Teaching Strategies Support
Group

• Academy Scotland - Enhancement and Engagement
• 24 May 2007

2
Purpose of SLTS project

• Seven Scottish HEIs working with the Academy
• to develop a framework for monitoring and
  evaluating the effectiveness of their strategies
  for enhancing teaching and learning
• to devise new models for using Subject Centres to
  support them in engaging front-line staff in
  enhancement
• Aberdeen, Abertay, Glasgow, Glasgow
  Caledonian, Paisley, St Andrews and UHI

3
Framework for monitoring and evaluating
effectiveness

• Adapted from HEFCE good practice guide on
  Embedding learning and teaching strategies (Allan
  Schofield, HE Consultancy Group)
• Developed in consultation with the seven
• Draft self-assessment guide discussed and amended
  at residential meeting (16/17 May)
• Workshop a chance for other HEIs to comment on
  draft guide

4
Self-assessment guide purpose

• To assist institutions to
• identify and collect the evidence they need to
  assess the effectiveness and impact of their
  enhancement strategies
• review what remains to be done to achieve and
  embed existing enhancement objectives
• plan how available resources can be most
  effectively used to sustain existing activities

5
Self-assessment guide uses

• Planned as an aid to self-reflection in taking
  forward enhancement activities
• Not part of the accountability process
• But could help institutions prepare for external
  review and, duly adapted, help their schools and
  departments prepare for internal review

6
Self-assessment guide format

• Based on a series of prompts simple, brief and
  flexible
• For use by those responsible for managing and
  implementing enhancement activities
• Contains some generic advice about collecting
  evidence and data needed to make informed
  judgements about effectiveness and impact
• Prompts in the form of open questions on a number
  of themes

7
Self-assessment guide

• A. The effectiveness of our strategies for
  enhancing learning and teaching
• Most Scottish HEIs have enhancement strategies
  and some have separate learning and teaching
  strategies. In addition, some others also have
  e-learning strategies. This section enables HEIs
  to reflect upon the effectiveness of their
  respective current strategies for enhancing
  learning and teaching, how they have been
  implemented, the extent to which key elements
  have been achieved, and what changes are required
  to meet future challenges.

8
The effectiveness of our strategies for enhancing
learning and teaching

• A.1 Looking at our institution's current
  strategies for enhancing learning and teaching,
  to what extent have their objectives and key
  elements been achieved, and what remains to be
  done?
• A.2 Where more than one strategy exists (e.g.
  separate enhancement and learning and teaching
  strategies), how are they 'joined up' and have
  the intended benefits of having separate
  strategies been achieved?
• A.3 What have been the main issues concerning the
  implementation of our strategies for enhancing
  learning and teaching throughout the institution?
  What problems have occurred, and how successful
  has been the action taken?

9
The effectiveness of our strategies for enhancing
learning and teaching

• A.4 Who has been responsible for managing the
  implementation of our enhancement strategies?
  How effective has this been, and what are its
  advantages and drawbacks?
• A.5 To what extent are our strategies for
  enhancing learning and teaching integrated with
  other institutional strategies eg, for research,
  widening participation, and HR? What needs to be
  done (if anything) to ensure better links?
• A.6 What has been the effect if any of our
  strategies for enhancing learning and teaching in
  encouraging cultural change to support and give
  more prominence to enhancement?

10
The effectiveness of our strategies for enhancing
learning and teaching

• A.7 Is our approach to engaging students in the
  determination of our enhancement strategy
  effective, and what changes might we make based
  on our recent experience?
• A.8 How do we assess the impact of our
  enhancement strategies on actual learning and
  teaching, and are these satisfactory? Have these
  included staff and student feedback, and if so
  what has been its value?
• A.9 In what ways has the student experience been
  improved because of our strategies to enhance
  learning and teaching, and (where appropriate)
  has this improvement been consistent across our
  institution? If not, why not?

11
The effectiveness of our strategies for enhancing
learning and teaching

• A.10 What changes to human resource management
  have occurred (if any) to encourage the
  achievement of our strategies to enhance learning
  and teaching e.g. promotion criteria, creation
  of new career pathways, staff development,
  probation, support for part-time staff and those
  on short term contracts? What else do we still
  need to do in this area?
• What other questions do we need to ask (or what
  other data do we need to collect) in order to
  review the effectiveness of our institution's
  current strategies to enhance learning and
  teaching?

12
Self-assessment guide themes

• Other themes are
• Engaging with the Scottish enhancement themes
• Using external resources to enhance learning and
  teaching
• Enhancing learning and teaching in external
  partnerships and collaborative provision
• Future learning and teaching enhancement
  activities

13
Self-assessment guide omissions

• Two significant omissions
• Student engagement important enough to merit
  its own section
• Advice about identifying and collecting the
  evidence of success what counts?
• Annex to be added illustrating kinds of key
  performance indicators, both qualitative and
  quantitative

14
Comments and questions?

• Feed back for consideration with Allan Schofield
  and report to group for incorporation in final
  version of guide
• Complete by end of June and publish on Academy
  website
• Planning follow-up event in a years time to
  discuss uses made of the guide and how to enhance
  its usefulness as a tool