Consultancy: Planning.

Shared Online Generic Skills Materials for part time and distance PhDs

I am currently working on a collaborative project with Institutions in the Scottish and Northern Ireland Hub which will allow participating institutions to contribute to, and draw from shared online resources aimed at part time and distance learners undertaking the PhD. Resources will cover UK Research Council’s Joint Skills Statement. (Project site in progress). I work in collaboration with Queen’s University in Belfast to run the region’s Northern Ireland GRADschool.

Developing a School Teaching and Learning Plan

At the University of Reading I worked with representatives from various academic schools in clarifying philosophies of learning and teaching which underpinned their school's learning and teaching strategies. We worked to design strategies which aligned learning outcomes, teaching approaches and assessment practices. It was vital to put in place strategies to encourage fair access, and ways academics could work with disabled learners and to provide equal opportunities for learners. The planning identified realistic, and appropriate ways of supporting learners and of supporting staff, through training. The workshops also identified discovery-research and teaching approaches which could be integrated in strategies which are designed to link research and teaching initiatives.

Developing Personal Development Records

At University College, Falmouth I assisted the college to develop institutional policy which would encourage students' self-assessment of current skills, identification of areas of improvement and personal action planning. This workshop aimed to compare existing practices of recording achievements and ways of encouraging students to reflect on their abilities. We considered existing- and aspired ways to evidencing student achievement, through learning logs and diaries, for example.

Improving student feedback on teaching

The use of student evaluations of teaching is now an established practise in higher education practice. As an indicator of teaching expertise, how appropriate is data from this evaluation tool? I have run workshops (Universities of Hull and Nottingham) that looks at how to develop both divergent and consensus model evaluations of teaching, so that student perceptions are contextualised and triangulated with other data sources.

Postgraduate student research training.

At the University of Ulster I am responsible for developing generic training for research student training which meets the criteria agreed in respect of the Joint Skills Statement.