Centre for Academic Practice
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/29
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Item Evidencing the value of educational development: Charting a course on the waves and winds of change(Michigan Publishing, 2023-12-18) Groen, Jovan; Hoessler, Carolyn; Ives, Carolyn; Bamber, VeronicaAcross higher education, educational developers and theirsupporting campus communities are being called upon to scale up evidence-informedpractices, to enhance student experiences, and to document the changes. Thisarticle builds on the work of scholars who have taken up this evaluativechallenge, by examining varied aspects of the evidencing process using anadaptation of Saunders’s (2000) RUFDATA framework for evidencing value.Reflections on emerging patterns and tensions in the evidencing of educationaldevelopment are subsequently discussed. We argue for making evidencing value apurposeful and intentional process, and we chart a path forward for creatingand implementing a vision for the age of evidence.Item Taking stock of critical information literacy(CILIP, 2023-06-06) Smith, Lauren; Hicks, AlisonItem From student representation to student partnership(Wonkhe Ltd., 2023-04-18) Bamber, VeronicaRoni Bamber reflects on a 20 year journey through quality enhancement in Scotland.Item Our days are numbered – how metrics are changing academic development(Wonkhe Ltd., 2020-12-18) Bamber, VeronicaItem Our days are numbered: Metrics, managerialism, and academic development(SEDA, 2020) Bamber, VeronicaItem An exploration into the importance of a sense of belonging for online learners(Athabasca University, 2020-04-30) Peacock, Susi; Cowan, John; Irvine, Lindesay; Williams, JaneOnline learning provides flexible learning opportunities but with it come notable issues. Fostering a sense of belonging and a personal connection is seen as fundamental by many educational researchers regardless of the learning environment. For online learners, nurturing a sense of belonging may present a way of improving their experiences and attainment as well as reducing attrition rates. Limited research has explored specifically sense of belonging and online learning. This article addresses that gap and reports a small-scale exploratory study using qualitative data collection and analysis methods to investigate its importance, or not, for postgraduates’ online education, by exploring the origins and nature of their lived experience of online learning and their sense of belonging therein. Our initial findings emphasise its importance for them as online learners and has identified three significant themes: interaction/engagement; the culture of the learning; and support. These early findings highlight the importance of their role in promoting a sense of belonging and in ensuring that there are opportunities for meaningful group and peer interactions and will be of interest to all engaged in online educationItem Supporting staff transitions into online learning: A networking approach(Edinburgh Napier University, 2018-09-05) Peacock, Susi; DePlacido, ChristineAs online programmes in higher education continue to grow in number, the literature identifies emerging areas of concern. Whilst appreciating the flexibility and accessibility of online learning, learners often experience challenges in balancing their professional and personal lives whilst studying. In addition, such students have complained that their online educational experiences may be irrelevant and inappropriate, with tutors having limited presence or interest. Online learners’ experiences are contingent upon the skills and characteristics of the tutors, who face the challenges of changing and developing practices, such as taking a more student-centred approach in order to provide opportunities that foster deep learning. Current, familiar practices may no longer be appropriate. There is a need to support tutors as they develop and expand their practices, facilitating familiarity and confidence with the opportunities afforded by a range of technologies. Research indicates that communities of practice as a form of staff development may assist tutors in this transition. This paper shares the early experiences of a recently formed Network for online tutors at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland. This community of practice was based upon an adapted Community of Inquiry Framework (Peacock & Cowan, 2016). The Network, endorsed by management, was launched in 2017, with two co-leads, one from an educational development unit and one from the School of Health Science. Sub groups, all led by members of the Network, were subsequently developed to look at specific aspects of online delivery and development within the University. The purpose of the Network and the successes achieved in the first academic year are outlined. The challenges arising in the early stages of implementing the Network are reported, and proposals for progress in the next academic year are discussed. Finally, suggestions are offered to those embarking on a similar endeavour.Item Evaluation of the Angus Gold Project (a partnership approach to digital education and social inclusion) RF 8/2008(Queen Margaret University, 2008-10-24) Ward, Richard; Ferguson, Julie; Murray, Sue; Scottish GovernmentThis Research Findings provides a brief summary of findings from an evaluation of Angus Gold, (a digital inclusion initiative allied to a broader programme of health education and improvements by engagement with services of the 50+ population) piloted in Angus between March 2004 and late 2007. It identifies lessons learned.Item Approaches to APEL in France and the UK: Holism versus Empiricism?(Staffordshire University, 2005) Pouget, Mireille; Oberski, IddoThe APEL (Accreditation/Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning) systems in the UK and France are probably the best developed in Europe, but they are underpinned by different conceptions of learning and experience. In this article, we attempt to understand the two different approaches to APEL within the framework of Goethe's 'natural phenomenology', which essentially attempts to understand phenomena in their own right, without analysing them into parts. An initial analysis would suggest that in the UK the APEL process reflects a conception of experience and learning as being built up of a number of smaller units. In France, on the other hand, the process involves instead a more holistic approach to the evaluation and understanding of experience and learningItem Framing development: concepts, factors and challenges in CPD Frameworks for academics.(2009) Bamber, VeronicaThe National Pay Framework in UK universities has brought not only new pay arrangements, but the expectation that reward, recognition and appraisal systems will also be 'modernised', and that frameworks for staff development will connect in with these. This paper considers whether generic continuing professional development (CPD) frameworks are appropriate for academic activities, and contributes to the debate on reward and recognition for teaching. Finally, the paper offers recommendations on what CPD frameworks might look like in university cultures in which academics still expect autonomy and discretion over their own deve