In the HEA Fellowship blog, we’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

In this post, Desiree Cranfield, from the School of Management discusses her HEA Senior Fellowship recognition (SFHEA), with pointers to the impact on her practice that has arisen by her being an assessor on Swansea’s Experiential route:

Being an assessor has been an eye opener … inspiring me to think of other innovative approaches as I read and assess the submissions.

Continue reading “Gaining HEA Senior Fellowship recognition and the value of being an assessor” →

In the HEA Fellowship blog, we’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

In this post, Sophie Leslie, Student Partnership & Feedback Development Officer in Academic Quality Services shares her story of helping staff to engage with student feedback and the important role of mentoring others in gaining her HEA Senior Fellowship recognition (SFHEA).

“A large part of my role is to support staff engagement with student feedback and quality enhancement and therefore the mentoring and coaching part of this is vital“

Continue reading “HEA Senior Fellowship – Within a Team, make Sure you explain YOUR Impact” →

We’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

Fellowship isn’t however restricted to just academic staff who teach.  A range of professional services staff who also support learning have this recognition and we feature one of these in this month’s blogpost.

“The Senior Fellowship to me was about leadership within teaching. It enables you to review what has worked well, but more importantly to look forward as a leader as to what your subject area needs and how you can implement this”

Continue reading “Leading in Teaching and Learning: A Professional Services Perspective” →

In the HEA Fellowship blog, we’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

In this post, Gisselle Tur Porres from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science shares her story of reflecting on both pedagogical and cultural differences in supporting learning helped frame her claim for HEA Fellowship (FHEA).

“As a reflective practitioner myself, the Fellowship recognition process has allowed me to reflect, rethink learning and teaching experiences and work towards further development of my teaching practices, with cultural pertinence“

Continue reading “HEA Fellowship – an opportunity for cross-cultural pedagogical reflection” →

In the HEA Fellowship blog, we’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

In this post, Xiaorong Li from the Faculty of Science and Engineering shares her experiences of supporting learners as a demonstrator and how, in reflecting on that, gained Associate Fellowship recognition (AFHEA).

Continue reading “Associate Fellowship recognition – supporting student learning as a demonstrator” →

In the HEA Fellowship blog, we’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

In this post, James Bennett from Academic Quality Services (AQS) shares how he was able to draw on his work in supporting staff in developing new and revised programmes of study to gain HEA Associate Fellowship and the adjustments needed to support staff in changing delivery modes in the pandemic.

Continue reading “Supporting Staff in Assuring and Enhancing Quality of Learning and Teaching” →

In the HEA Fellowship blog, we’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

In this post, Katrina Legg, Assistant Archivist in the Richard Burton Archives shares her story about the impact of Associate Fellowship recognition and how she (and the rest of the Archives staff) had to adapt to supporting learners and staff online.

About Katrina’s support for learners and researchers

I started at Swansea University in 2007, initially cataloguing the Co-operative Societies of South Wales Collection and the papers of Raymond Williams as well as transcribing the diaries of Richard Burton; but my role developed and included supporting existing teaching sessions and developing new opportunities.

The sessions delivered or resources created usually give an introduction to the Archives at Swansea University and to what archives can offer to students and researchers and can have a generic or specific approach. The Archives have worked with colleagues in History, English, Nursing, Geography, Linguistics and Social Policy and there’s scope to go to other disciplines too.

Why did gaining Associate Fellowship recognition matter to you?

It validated not only what I did but what the Archives offered to staff and students across the university. It showed that there was an appreciation of these sessions and helped to raise the profile of the service.

It opened up opportunities to do other things, including working with SALT such as CPD sessions and the co-authoring of ‘Applying the seven principles of good practice: archives in the 21^st century university’ for Archives and Records (https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53509).

It was interesting to analyse the pedagogical and theoretical aspects of learning and teaching as well as the practical, which tend to take precedence.

How have you continued to apply the standards of the UK PSF in your work during the move to online teaching/support for learning?

The Archives has been keen to continue supporting learning and teaching. As part of this sessions that were previously delivered in person in lecture theatres or in the Archives Reading Room have been reviewed and developed.

We have provided short videos for lecturers to include in sessions. Online in person teaching sessions via Zoom have been delivered and it has been interesting to add aspects that can only be done online to these, e.g. searching online catalogues and portals. This type of interactive element has also been included in a CANVAS Non-Accredited Course: Using Archives that has been developed for anyone at Swansea University.

We’ve also created a series of research guides to promote the collections and show some of the immense potential. Attending sessions at the online SALT conference 2021 was a really useful way of finding out what approaches colleagues are taking and we were pleased to deliver a live, interactive workshop – More than Documents and Digitisation! Archives for Learning and Teaching – now available online.

What top tips would you offer to someone delivering online teaching/learner support in HE?

Think about what you already offer and how this can be translated into an online world, as well as how an online version may give different opportunities. There’s lots of different ways to do things online.

Give yourself time to learn the technology, prepare and deliver/create. With other commitments it can be a fine balancing act so do take advice and get support from the outset.

Have support on hand for live sessions via Zoom. We’ve found that it’s good to have two members of staff so that one can deliver the session and another can keep an eye on chat / technical issues as well as providing a second voice.

Be prepared to speak to a lot of blank screens, which can be a bit disconcerting!

For someone not sure about applying for HEA Fellowship recognition what words of encouragement could you offer?

It’s a really useful way of exploring what you already do and thinking about why you do particular things, how they can be improved and what you might like to do in the future.

It gives you recognition and validation of the work that you’ve done and how it’s had a positive impact.

It highlights connections between colleagues and suggests other ways of working, to reach and support more staff and students across the university.

What top tips would you offer to someone preparing an HEA Associate Fellow/Fellowship application?

Start listing things that you’ve done – you’ll be surprised at how much you’ve achieved that is relevant to the process

Talk to colleagues in SALT – they’re really friendly and helpful

Look at the SALT and Advance HE websites – great for information and inspiration

Talk to colleagues in your department and elsewhere who have either gone through the HEA application process or are also considering it

For Further Details

Visit SALT’s webpages for details of the internally accredited programme leading to Associate, Fellow or Senior Fellow and for links to Principal Fellow resources

In the HEA Fellowship blog, we’re continuing to measure the impact that HEA Fellowship has on teaching practices, on students and on the practices and approaches of peers. We’ve also asked for some suggestions when teaching/supporting learning online!

Ellen is also going to share her story and tips in preparing her Senior Fellowship claim with opportunity for questions – Swansea University staff register via SALT’s Upcoming Events for this session on May 9th at 12 noon!

Introductions

I am Ellen Spender and I am a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and the School Engagement Partner in the School of Management. I completed my Postgraduate Certificate of Education in 1999 and I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Why did gaining Senior Fellowship recognition matter to you? Why apply?

I have been employed in Swansea since 2015 and it was around this time that I first heard about Fellowship and shortly afterwards applied for Associate Fellow of the HEA. This process enabled me to reflect on my teaching and, following this achievement, I was awarded several teaching awards and also received a National Inspire Tutor Award. In 2021 I decided to apply for Senior Fellowship to further reflect about why I teach and the importance of building good relationships with my students. It took me 9 months following registration to start my application as I found the idea of thinking about 2 case studies, unique to me, quite daunting. At this time, I started to think about what I do on a daily basis that makes a difference to not only my students but how I also support my colleagues. In addition to reflecting on my own teaching practice it was essential to collect evidence of how my teaching practice influences others. The benefits of applying for Senior Fellowship are numerous: it enables the reflection of your own personal development and how the practices you use influence your teaching and how you can use your practices to inform your colleagues.

How have you continued to apply the standards of the UKPSF in your work since gaining that recognition whilst teaching online?

Achieving SFHEA is not the end of the journey but rather a guide to use in preparation for future teaching. Reflection on prior experience informs future practice and I now use the Dimensions of the Framework to:

Design my programmes by reflecting on the blend of teaching strategies I use to develop an effective learning environment for my students.

Achieving SFHEA helps me with my research and preparation of teaching and assessment materials. It helps me reflect and research appropriate learning technologies relevant to my discipline with focusing on the quality of my teaching.

The process of completing my SFHEA enables me to continually use evidence-informed approaches to respect individual learners and the diverse learning communities I am part of.

What top tips would you offer to someone delivering blended teaching/online learning in HE?

1. Provide students with prior knowledge – let students know what topics will be covered and direct them to relevant sources prior to the schedules class. This can be through articles, pre-recorded lectures, YouTube videos.
2. Let students know what is expected of them and establish a routine. Will you expect the chat to be utilised, reactions to be used, cameras on, etc.?
3. Encourage collaboration both inside and outside the learning environment. Set collaborative tasks for student to bring to class. Utilise breakout rooms when teaching online and encourage students to meets their fellow students and form a learning community
4. For workshops and seminars limit the use of slides and encourage learners to look at each other in order to connect. Aim for student-generated content rather than a lecture style prepped presentation. Try to make sure the students do most of the talking.
5. Let there be silence but not for too long. Try not to jump in straight away if students do not contribute. It takes time for students to trust the learning environment.
6. Do not let the session run over time.

For someone not sure about applying for HEA Senior Fellowship recognition what words of encouragement could you offer?

Trust yourself. We are unique individuals and, outside of our teaching, we usually have another role within the university. This is a great starting point for one of the case studies. Applying for SF is a valuable experience and, the process of reflecting on my teaching practices and speaking to students and colleagues, it simply made me a better teacher.

What top tips would you offer to someone preparing a HEA Senior Fellowship application

1. Attend an information session.
2. Familiarise yourself with the terminology, descriptors and what is expected of you.
3. Think about the contribution you make to your students and the university.
4. Choose two case studies that you can discuss and evidence.
5. Start collecting documents and researching data to evidence your claims in your application.

 

For Further Details

Visit SALT’s webpages for details of the internally accredited programme leading to Associate, Fellow or Senior Fellow and for links to Principal Fellow resources