PGCert Handbook - Staff and Departmental Development Unit

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Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Handbook Route 1: 2005-2006curriculum and in the institution. The programme will encourage participants to consider issues of cultural and educationaldiversity as appropriate to their teaching contexts.Be colleague centredYou and other participants in the programme are not undergraduates but colleagues with your own professional expertise todevelop. It is therefore important that the tutors involved are sensitive to the needs and status of the group.The programme will demonstrate the value of working with, and learning from, colleagues. Through its delivery methods,the course will enable participants to benefit from co-operation and sharing, and encourage a more open and collaborativeapproach to teaching. (More details in Section 9: What support will you get ? on page 11.)In addition, every participant will be assigned to a departmental mentor for teaching who will have joint responsibility withyou for your professional development on the programme. The section on mentoring in this handbook will form part of thebriefing for all mentors. (More details of mentoring are provided in section 9: What support will you get ? on page 11.)Develop reflective practitionersIt is not proposed to rehearse all the arguments from Kolb (1984) 1 , Schon (1988) 2 , Moon (1999) 3 and earlier writers on thevalue of reflective learning. The primary purpose of the programme is to lay the foundations of continuing professionaldevelopment so that as a lecturer you are equipped to analyse and respond to changes in teaching, learning and assessmentthroughout your career. Hence, the programme will encourage you to reflect on your approaches to these responsibilitiesthrough the assignments and professional development plans, the compilation of a portfolio and discussions with yourmentor and other participants. Through this process it is anticipated that you will both develop your expertise and deepenyour understanding of teaching, learning and assessment.As a ‘reflective practitioner’ you will:• review your own performance and take account of peer and student feedback• select teaching methods that allow for student learning styles, preferences and previous experience• refer to the literature on learning and teaching as well as taking account of your own experience• constantly seek means to enhance both the learning experiences of your students and your own experience as alecturer.3 What will the programme do for you ?The Certificate is perceived as the first of three, inter-related stages of a programme of continuing professionaldevelopment (CPD) in learning and teaching for academic staff. Stage two - the Postgraduate Diploma in Learning &Teaching in Higher Education (PGDLTHE) - provides an opportunity for more experienced practitioners to enhance andfurther develop the quality of the learning experiences offered to students. It is anticipated that participation in this coursewill constitute appropriate CPD activity to demonstrate ‘remaining in good standing’ for retaining ILTHE membership.Stage three will lead to the award of an MA. This component is one of a portfolio of MA options offered by the School ofEducation. Candidates who successfully complete the Postgraduate Certificate or the Postgraduate Diploma will be eligiblefor advanced standing towards the general MA course: 60 credits for the Certificate and 120 credits for the Diploma.The overall aim of the Certificate programme is to develop an independent, competent professional who has knowledge andexpertise in the areas of higher education teaching and its management in the wider context of a changing studentpopulation. The programme focuses initially upon the practical tasks of newly appointed lecturers. Its aims are therefore:• to provide participants with an opportunity to critically reflect upon, assess and develop their professional expertiseas university teachers• to develop the knowledge, skills, competencies and understanding necessary for effective teaching and managementof student learning at university level and which take account of the needs and backgrounds of students and theprovision of equal opportunities• to establish a network of support amongst participants that will enable them to carry out their teaching duties with agreater degree of confidence, understanding and satisfaction1Kolb, D. Experiential Learning: experience as a source of learning. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1984.2Schon, D.A. Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1988.3Moon, J. Reflection in Learning & Personal Development. London: Kogan Page, 1999.Staff and Departmental Development Unit Page 2 University of Leeds
Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Handbook Route 1: 2005-2006• to provide a pathway to registration with the Higher Education Academy• to contribute to the improvement of the status of teaching and the quality of student learning at the University• to demonstrate the commitment of the University to the value of professional development in teaching.The programme will provide you with opportunities to explore a variety of approaches to teaching, learning and assessmentwith particular reference to current developments and issues in higher education, and to experience a range ofteaching/learning methods (including on-line and paper-based open learning and various formats of face-to-face teaching).As a result, by the end of the Certificate programme, you will be better able to:• demonstrate competence and skill in understanding and using a wide range of methods of teaching, learning andassessment• plan, implement and evaluate your own teaching strategies, based upon both best practice and research into learningand teaching• understand how students learn• identify student learning needs and take account of those needs in your course design and in the teaching methodsand learning opportunities provided to students• design courses as coherent teaching/learning programmes incorporating congruous assessment procedures• develop methods of evaluating teaching and courses• reflect critically upon your own teaching practice, identify developmental needs and formulate plans for appropriatecontinuing professional development• enhance your knowledge and understanding of higher education through awareness of and ability to evaluaterelevant educational literature (both generic and subject-specific).The Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education is approved and quality assured by theUniversity’s Learning and Teaching Board (LTB) as a 60-credit, level M award. The course will provide you with avaluable, portable and recognised qualification. The programme is accredited by the Higher Education Academy (HEA).4 What's in the programme ?Route 1 to the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education comprises four, 15-credit modules.You have to complete all 4:• SDDU5110 Essentials of Teaching• SDDU5120/5125 Essentials of Learning and Assessment• SDDU5140 Managing and Evaluating Teaching• SDDU5160 Teaching with Learning TechnologySDDU5110 is held in September, SDDU5120/5125 commences in October, SDDU5140 is held in January and SDDU5160starts just after the beginning of the second term in February.Each module comprises:• on average, the equivalent of 15 - 20 hours of workshops• discussions with your mentor (~ 5 hours)• preparation for and completion of the assignment (~ 40 hours)• reading/independent study (~ 45 hours)• practice (teaching and managing student learning) and use of different methods of reflecting on practice in order tocomplete one of the professional development plans (~ 40 hours)A detailed description of each module is given in the separate module handbooks. The details provided include:• the aims and outcomes• the content• methods of learning and teaching• assessment - the assignment specification and the outline marking criteria.Staff and Departmental Development Unit Page 3 University of Leeds
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PGCert Handbook - Staff and Departmental Development Unit

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