Developing Good Academic Practice

Thisÿ5-hourÿfree course explored how to develop good academic practices while studying, and when producing assignments and completing assessments.

Within the field of academic development, the last twenty years have seen a great expansion of published research into practice and the further development of theoretical approaches. This growth in the scholarship of academic development matches a growth in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Advancing Practice in Academic Development draws on these evolving scholarships to advance professional practice in academic development, addressing questions such as: . How have global academic developers and their units developed and changed over recent decades? How has the context in which academic development work is done altered? What have academic developers and their professional associations learnt? Case studies and examples are used throughout the text to illustrate development scenarios and methods. Academic development is considered as, among others, a critical, a scholarly, a principled, a pragmatic, a supporting and a leadership role. This book is ideal for use on academic development courses run by SEDA and other international organisations as well as by those who have responsibility for leading the improvement of educational practice. Written in a scholarly, accessible, stimulating and practical style, this book acknowledges difficulties and offers ways forward. As well as analysing problems, it offers solutions. Links to web sources referenced in this book can be found at www.seda.ac.uk/apad

Lecturers, if you would like to order an e-Inspection copy, go here to order. Taking a broad contemporary view of higher education, this book explores key topics that all academics will need to engage with in order to survive and flourish in today’s increasingly complex higher education environment. Key topics include: · connecting research and teaching in practice · promoting critical approaches to the curriculum · teaching for employability and understanding graduate identity · responding to the internationalisation agenda · engaging with the demands of the digital university · enacting interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and scholarship · enabling inclusive approaches to student engagement and student voice Policy and practice debates informing these different areas are explored alongside practical guidance on how to implement and integrate key priorities into the different dimensions of their professional practice. This is essential reading for higher education faculty undertaking professional development courses, such as the PG Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP), the PG Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PGCTLHE / PGHE) and related courses, and also for early career academics wishing to deepen their understanding of contemporary higher education.

Part of the well-known Staff and Educational Development Series, this practice oriented book brings together leading research and evaluation approaches and supporting case studies from leading educational researchers and innovative teachers. With much emphasis on change, innovation and developing best practice in higher education, it is essential that those involved in actually developing, researching or implementing approaches to teaching, learning or management, are informed by the experiences of others. The emphasis of this book is on changing practice in HE; how developments come about; what research underpins desirable development; and the impact of development of student learning, staff expertise and institutional practice and policy. Specifically, the book is developed in two themed parts: Part A, Supporting change within subjects and departments. Part B, Supporting change within institutions and the wider environment.

Offers discussion, advice, expert opinion and case studies of best practice, covering the various parts of academic practice that are associated with career progression and promotion. The book is particularly aimed at education professionals aspiring to develop leadership responsibilities.

How can Academic Developers provide evidence of the effectiveness and ‘added value’ of their work to the key stakeholders within their institutions? Written for Academic Developers, academic administrators and others responsible for promoting organizational change, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Academic Development is a professional guide that shares best practice advice and provides developers with useful frameworks for effective evaluation and monitoring of their work. Through case studies and up-to-date examples from experts in the field, this collection explores the nuances of evaluative practice and the tensions inherent in claiming a causal link between academic development and organizational transformation. As higher education institutions continue to seek effective ways to determine the impact of academic development on organizational transformation in general and student learning in particular, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Academic Development is sure to be an invaluable resource.

The Handbook is sensitive to the competing demands of teaching, research and scholarship, and academic management. Against the contexts, the book focuses on developing professional academic skills for teaching. Dealing with the rapid expansion of the use of technology in higher education and widening student diversity, the fully updated and expanded edition includes new material on, for example, e-learning, lecturing to large groups, formative and summative assessment, and supervising research students.

Universities across the globe are attempting to change assessment practices to address challenges in student engagement and achievement and to respond to a global employability agenda demanding evidence of a broader range of skills and competencies. In the UK this has acquired urgency given the shift of higher education over the last 20 years from the prerogative of an elite minority to mass participation in a highly diversified market system. Integral to this interrogation of objectives for assessment is the identified need to develop and improve academics’ assessment practice. Strategies frequently focus on attendance at formal Continuous Professional Development events and/or implementation of institutional blueprints. This book showcases how scholarship as part of academics’ practice can be part of an academic toolkit for change that expands awareness and knowledge of the purposes and effects of the pedagogy of assessment. The case studies – ranging from assessment in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), to assessment design for students whose first language is not English, to the effectiveness of peer learning to support academic integrity and programme-level assessment strategies – are framed by an introduction that explores a ‘communities of practice’ approach to the institution-wide improvement of assessment. It argues – through a case study from The Open University (OU) – that academics’ professional expertise is best deepened through participation in authentic activities of teaching and scholarship. The discussion identifies what is involved in such an approach including the role of an enabling principles-based framework, the constraints on implementation, and the implications for leaders of teaching and learning. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Open Learning journal.