Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice PCAP

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Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice
(PCAP)

• Dr Haydn Mathias
• Centre for Learning and Teaching
• University of Southampton

TNP3 Workshop 29-30 June 2006
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Overview

• Political context
• PCAP programme design
• Experience and issues
• Future

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Political Context

• 1980s-1990s
• Various funding council and quality agency
  initiatives to promote initial and continuing
  development of university teachers
• Most universities run an initial training
  workshop for new lecturers on teaching and
  continuing professional development programmes
• In many universities initial training in teaching
  is a requirement of probation

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Political Context

• Late 1990s
• Dearing Report on Higher Education (1997)
  recommends systematic programmes of initial
  professional development in teaching to promote
  teaching as a professional and scholarly activity
• Creation of the Institute for Learning and
  Teaching (ILT) which offered an accreditation
  service for initial university teacher training
  programmes
• Many universities create PGCert programmes in
  teaching for new lecturers accredited by ILT
  and many obligatory for new lecturers

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Political Context

• 2000 onwards
• White Paper on Higher Education (2003)
• Student fees
• Initial professional development in teaching to
  national standards expected
• Creation of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
  which subsumed former ILT
• Production of professional development framework
  (2006) against which initial university teacher
  training courses can be accredited

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PCAP Programme Design

• Launched in 2000 late in comparison with many
  universities
• Made an obligatory component of probationary
  development for new lecturers in 2001
• Offered by the Centre for Learning and Teaching
  (CLT) part of the School of Education
• No additional resources provided

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PCAP Programme Design

• PGCert 60 M level credits
• Two part-time modules of 30 credits over a year
• Work-based draw on actual teaching
• Reflective practice and evidence-based philosophy
• Production of portfolio of evidence which is
  assessed on Pass/Fail
• Accredited by ILT/HEA

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PCAP Programme Design

• Aims confident, competent and reflective
  practitioners
• Use of subject-based mentors to provide collegial
  ownership and disciplinary support to the new
  lecturer
• Methods workshops, directed tasks, learning
  contracts, teaching observation, reflective
  teaching logs, directed reading

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PCAP Programme Design

• Module 1
• Introduction to key ideas building blocks and
  language of education
• Course design, assessment, evaluation, teaching
  methods, reflective practice
• Module 2
• Application of ideas to an In-depth Study of
  choice something real which the new lecturer
  has to do, eg redesign a course

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PCAP Programme Design

• Evolution of design and format over time in the
  light of feedback
• Such programmes need time to embed in the
  institutional culture
• Aim to win hearts and minds and effect culture
  change
• PCAP relatively intensive compared with similar
  programmes but no desire for longer period

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Experience and Issues

• Operating under non-ideal conditions
• Biggest issue is lack of adequate time allowance
  for new lecturers
• Fitting with academic priorities, patterns of
  work and resources of schools
• Lack of integration with probationary development
  arrangements
• Issues mainly systemic

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Experience and Issues

• Generally positive evaluations from new lecturers
  and mentors
• New lecturers are keen to learn about teaching
  and to be able to do it well
• New lecturers tend to have unrealistic
  expectations about what can be achieved in a busy
  and complex academic setting
• High management overhead in running the programme

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Experiences and Issues

• Evidence of genuine practical and conceptual
  development in teaching
• Made a real difference and not just tips for
  teachers
• Indications that development time reduced by a
  few years and therefore cost-effective and
  strategically beneficial
• A positive investment in educational development
  and innovation

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Experiences and Issues

• Politics of such programmes difficult to manage
  as pressures on schools increase
• Demands for more flexibility but no increase in
  resources
• Difficulties of convincing heads of school and
  senior management of benefits even with clear
  evidence
• Tendency of institutions to respond to the most
  pressing agendas for them

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Future

• Introducing more flexible options in the way PCAP
  is delivered
• Developing of mentoring schemes to enhance local
  ownership, collegiality and discipline focus
• Reduction of requirement for new lecturers to the
  completion of Module 1 only Module 2 optional

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Future

• Development of flexible model of professional
  development which draws upon various sources of
  professional engagement
• Alignment with Higher Education Academy
  Professional Standards Framework

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Model of Continuing Professional
Development University of Southampton
Research-based professional development
Project participant
Project observer
Project leader
Course-based professional development
Pathways of professional development
PCAP module 1 PILT
PG Diploma MSc (EPI)
PCAP module 2
Practice-based professional development
Introductory activities
Intermediate activities
Advanced activities
Selective understanding of LT (Level I)
Extensive understanding of LT (Level II)
Support / lead on LT issues (Level III)
Levels of the Professional Standards Framework
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Future

• Getting any new scheme in place will require
  strategic commitment and leadership to translate
  theory into practice
• The new focus needs to be on the management of
  the education agenda
• You cant ignore the context!

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Future

• HE an international business
• Need to look at professional development systems
  in other countries and especially Europe
  (Bologna)
• Mutual recognition of professional development
  achievements
• NETTLE project Roger Ottewill

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Questions?

• Contact
• h.s.mathias_at_soton.ac.uk