Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
| Module title | Learning and Teaching in Higher Education |
|---|---|
| Module code | EFPM288 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Mr Craig McEwan (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 6 | 6 |
Module description
Successful completion of this module leads to Associate Fellowship (AFHEA) of the Higher Education Academy (accredited by AdvanceHE) and ASPIRE (University of Exeter’s Accrediting Staff Professionalism in Research-led Education), as well as a Certificate in Advanced Study in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at NQF level 7 (30 credits).
This module will be of interest if you aspire to a career in a Higher Education (HE) institution that involves teaching or supporting learning. It will enable you to gain credits towards an internationally recognised Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice or an equivalent mandatory postgraduate qualification. You will likely be eligible to transfer that credit through accreditation of prior learning to any HE institution in the UK, depending on the policies and procedures at the institution to which you wish to make that transfer. The programme supports the professionalisation of the HE teaching community in the context of the University’s ASPIRE framework for continuing professional development. In undertaking this module, you will be joining a community of practitioners who seek to improve their professional practice in the HE context. The ILOs and content of this module align explicitly with the Higher Education Academy’s UK Profession Standards Framework (UKPSF).
Pre-requisites
Eligibility to register on this module (EFPM288) is contingent on the successful completion of Units 1 – 5 of the LTHE Programme, as detailed in the Programme Specification.
This is a practice-based module requiring critical reflection on your professional role. In order to be successful, you will need to be currently engaged in, have recently engaged in, or be actively pursuing, teaching or activities which support learning within a UK research-intensive HE context, so that you can consider your practice through student, peer, and self-evaluation. This activity must equate to a minimum of 40 hours of teaching and/or supporting learning at the point of submitting the assessment for this module.
The module is delivered online, providing students with a range of resources and activities to support them in the completion of the assessment. Students may engage with this content in their own time, as part of self-directed learning.
Additionally, students must engage with at least one assessment tutorial, which will be delivered synchronously online by an LTHE tutor, prior to the submission deadline.
LTHE tutors will be available throughout the module to offer further 1:1 support and guidance, as required.
Students will also be given the opportunity to engage with the LTHE community through online group tutorials, forums and reading groups.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to enable you to improve your professional practice and think creatively about a range of aspects of learning and teaching in Higher Education, as these relate to your specialist role and subject area. It encourages you to make connections between your own experience, the experience of others, and some of the learning and teaching theories that have been developed by researchers and practitioners. Through the exploration of relevant scholarship and educational research, you will also locate and evaluate your practice within current institutional, national and international contexts.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Evaluate critically your education practice and identify possible solutions to enhance it in the following areas of activity covered in the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in Higher Education: designing and planning learning activities and/or programmes of study; teaching and/or supporting learning; assessing and providing feedback to learners; developing effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance; engaging in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship, and the evaluation of professional practice.
- 2. Employ self, peer, and student evaluation to analyse your practice, your professional values, and your future development needs in the context of a research-inspired environment, and consider your future professional development needs.
- 3. Demonstrate a systematic,comprehensive and/or conceptual understanding, interpretation and application of key theoretical and research-based debates about learning, teaching, student support, assessment and evaluation in higher education to your professional practice.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Engage critically and analytically with education-related literature and the pedagogical literature relating to different disciplines, citing and using references appropriately.
- 5. Show critical awareness of the diversity of educational cultures that can be found within UK higher education, and demonstrate an understanding of how these are shaped by external forces and can, in turn, impact on the wider world outside HE institutions.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Construct organised, structured, critically reflective, and analytic writing, expressing ideas and opinions with confidence and clarity.
- 7. Prepare, select, and organise material to produce a coherent portfolio reflecting important issues, interests, and learning needs.
- 8. Use personal reflection to analyse your professional values and your actions.
- 9. Design and plan a written assignment that communicates clearly and persuasively.
Syllabus plan
While the precise contents of the course might vary from year to year,
Stage 1 will cover:
- An introduction to the principles of learning
- How to plan sessions (including how to write intended learning outcomes and ensure constructive alignment),
- Selection of teaching methods appropriate for groups of different sizes
- How to promote student engagement
- The importance of reflective practice, and how to engage in continuing professional development as an educator
Stage 2 expands on each of the major themes introduced in Stage 1, exploring each in more depth. This portion of the module will cover:
- Planning student-centred sessions that facilitate active learning
- Current education debates and how to find, evaluate, and utilize education innovations
- Principles, design, and practice of assessment, marking, and feedback
- Borrowing and adapting learning and teaching activities from other contexts and disciplines and adapting them to be relevant to your own education setting. How to use experiential learning and different forms of feedback to engage in reflective practice, and how to utilize the outcomes of that reflection to improve education experiences
- Understanding your practice in relation to the UKPSF and other relevant benchmarks used in HE
Online preparatory and consolidation tasks may be required before and/or after each session. A thematic approach will be adopted to incorporate the wider context in which higher education operates. These themes, which are threaded through the online and in-session activities and tasks, include cultural inclusivity, widening participation, accessibility, research-inspired education, technology-enhanced learning, and employability.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 270 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 22 | Interactive learning events (online and/or on campus) and group tutorial (Units 1-6) |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activities | 8 | Tutor-facilitated preparation and consolidation work (Units 1-6) |
| Guided Independent Study | 50 | Preparing for teaching practice, reflection, and development of written reports (Units 1-6) |
| Guided Independent Study | 20 | Peer observation and feedback activities (Units 1-6) |
| Guided Independent Study | 60 | Reading and research (Units 1-6) |
| Guided Independent Study | 30 | Web-based research and preparation tasks activity (Units 1-6) |
| Guided Independent Study | 30 | Designing, implementing, and evaluating feedback through dialogue with peers and students (Units 1-6) |
| Guided independent Study | 80 | Work-based activities: teaching, supporting students, planning, and/or assessment activities (Units 1-6) |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engagement with preparatory and in-session activities Units 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 | Short contributions associated with each session, e.g. session plan, marking and feedback, mini research post (1,000 words equivalent) | 1-9 | Feedback from peers and tutors, both online and/or face-to-face |
| Microteach to peers / academic / professional services staff, followed by a discussion Unit 4 | 15-minute delivery and feedback | 1-4, 8 | Oral and written feedback from peers and observer |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio comprising Parts A and B | 100 | 5,200-5,500 words or 4,000-4,200 words and 10-minute recording | 1-9 | Written feedback by tutor |
| Part A: LTHE ASPIRE Portfolio, consisting of an ASPIRE Fellowship application (at Associate Fellowship level), two peer observations of practice (one by the participant and one of the participant), and a teaching log listing experience of a minimum of, normally, 40 hours of teaching and/or supporting students in higher education) | 0 | 1,400 words (portfolio) + 1,000 words (observations) + 300 - 600 words (teaching log) = ~ 2,700-3,000 words cumulatively | 1-9 | |
| Part B: Education Employability Portfolio, consisting of an Education Philosophy Statement, a Teaching Showcase, and a Continuing Professional Development Roadmap. | 0 | 500 words (Statement) + 1,500 words or equivalent (Showcase)+ 500 (CPD Roadmap) = ~ 2,500 words cumulatively or ~ 1,300 + 10 minute recording with brief contextual statement of ~300 words | 1-9 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio Part A and Part B, as detailed above | Resubmission of element(s) from the original portfolio that require amendments as detailed in the assessment and feedback | In the applicable combination of 1-9 | 2 weeks from the receipt of feedback for minor amendments; major amendments can be submitted, at the earliest, at the next submission deadline, or any subsequent deadline for which the student is still eligible to be enrolled in the LTHE module |
Re-assessment notes
Minor refer (for first attempts only)
An outcome of ‘minor refer’ requires the student to make amendments to their portfolio(s), as specified in the feedback. Such amendments will typically take no longer that ~ 1 – 2 hours to complete. The student will be asked to resubmit 2 weeks from receipt of the initial feedback. If this is not achievable, or the re-submission does not meet the requirements, the outcome will be deemed a ‘refer’.
Refer (for first attempts only)
An outcome of ‘refer’ requires the student to make substantive changes to their portfolio(s), as specified in the feedback. Students are invited to resubmit their portfolio by the next available submission date or any subsequent deadline for which the student is still eligible to be enrolled in the LTHE module. Students are encouraged to arrange a 1:1 with an LTHE tutor at least 3 weeks prior to re-submission.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Module core texts
• Biggs, J. 2011. Teaching for Quality Learning at University, 4th edition, Open University Press/SRHE: Maidenhead.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue: http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2644297.
Brookfield, S.D. 2017. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher, 2nd edition, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue: http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3514623.
Fung, D. 2017. A Connected Curriculum for Higher Education, UCL Press: London.
Especially chapters 2 (‘Learning through research and enquiry’) and 3 (‘Enabling students to connect with researchers and research’).
Available as a free PDF download at: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1558776/1/A-Connected-Curriculum-for-Higher-Education.pdf.
Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. & Marshall S. (eds), 2009. A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 3rd edition. Routledge: London.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue: http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2462796.
Hooks, B. 1994. Teaching to Transgress: education as the practice of freedom. Routledge: London and New York.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue:
https://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3132172
Jacques, D. & Salmon, G. 2007. Learning in Groups: a handbook for face-to-face and online environments, Routledge: London and New York.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue: http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2462957.
Kozimor-King, M. & Chin, J. (eds), 2018. Learning from each other: refining the practice of teaching in higher education. University of California Press: Oakland, California.
Especially Chapters 4 (“A Collaborative Affair: Connecting Students with the Community through Research”) and 14 (“Becoming a Culturally Inclusive Educator”).
Available as an e0book via the Exeter Library catalogue:
https://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3944188
Morss, K. and Murray, R. 2005. Teaching at university: a guide for postgraduates and researchers, Sage: London.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue: http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2462797 and http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1846590.
Race, P. 2007. The Lecturer’s Toolkit: a practical guide to learning, teaching and assessment, 3rd edition, Routledge: Abingdon.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue: http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2456121.
Note: 4th edition was published in 2015 but not currently available online.
Ramsden, P. 2003. Learning to Teach in Higher Education, 2nd edition, Routledge Falmer: London and New York.
Available as an e-book via the Exeter Library catalogue: http://encore.exeter.ac.uk/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2456119.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Please see the most recent Course: Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (LTHE) (exeter.ac.uk)
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
- LTHE tutors are available to provide guidance on all aspects of the programme and make themselves available for group tutorials and 1:1 tutorials throughout the course.
- The EduExe series hosts a programme of education-related talks to support continuing professional development.
- The Education Toolkit offers resources and ideas for supporting learning and teaching across a range of different contexts.
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | none |
| Module co-requisites | none |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 03/10/2011 |
| Last revision date | 21/06/2022 |
