What's on the menu?

Whilst the Digital Curriculum Team (my colleague and I) deliver various bits and pieces of Continuing Professional Development (CPD)-type sessions.  I have finally put together a ‘menu’ that illustrates and details what we are actually able to offer (with the opportunity to request other things).  Which are

centered around our curriculum context and the project-based nature of our team.  Hopefully the document below clearly explains the aims and how to best engage with this.  These sessions will be incrementally developed and announced as we progress through the year, depending on attendee needs and our own staff resource.  A couple of them have already been distributed, such as the staple 'Virtual Reality wall introduction (or refresher)' and the new 'How to create an online immersive learning experience' - which I am finalising and excited to deliver this with my colleague.  I'll update this document as new sessions are developed and feedback is collected.

Bolstering my academic practice

My qualifications and direct teaching and assessment experience have taken me far in my learning technologist career, and have supported me well in internal and external educational developments and projects.  However, I wouldn't define myself as a typical teacher/lecturer, even though we all are to some extent.  I am more aligned to curriculum design/development, assessment and quality assurance.

As it currently stands, my knowledge, skills and scholarly activity related to teaching, learning and assessment processes are demonstrated and evidenced through the following qualifications.

• Level 5 Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (2014) 
• Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (2014)
• Level 4 Certificate in Leading the Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice (2015)
• Technology Enhanced Learning MSc (pass with merit 2016)
• Innovative Teaching in Higher Education (2023)

Additional to the above qualifications, I have sustained and deepened my learning, teaching and assessment knowledge by researching and disseminating my digital practice in my published pragmatic and accessible book; ‘Digital Learning, Teaching and Assessment for HE and FE Practitioners’ (2022).  As well as publishing other written anecdotal and research-based pieces, contributing to other’s publications, my own frequent reflecting here and my day-to-day engagement with academics and relevant academic healthcare literature in my current role.  Moreover, I have maintained my direct teaching, curriculum design/development, assessment and quality assurance experience throughout the following roles:

• Course tutor, assessor and internal verifier – Level 3 and 4 Diploma in Digital Learning Design (2014-2016) 
• Course tutor and assessor – Level 4 Certificate in Technology in Learning Delivery (2013-2014)
• Course tutor and assessor – Level 4 Award for Technology Enabled Educators (2016)
• External Quality Assurer – including various qualification development and scrutineer work (2019-2021)
• Assessment Associate (2023-2024)
• Guest teaching in HE:
• Nottingham Trent University:
• ‘Developing Digital Capabilities for Nurses and Healthcare Staff’ (2023-present) - delivering frequent sessions to multiple nursing and healthcare CPD courses on the importance of digital literacies and how it relates to healthcare professions.  With an invitation to complete a self-assessment to identify their development gaps and a starting point for their digital capabilities journey.
• ‘Planning and facilitating digital innovation - Snippets of practice’ (2022) – delivered guest teaching to two cohorts of healthcare students studying towards their BSc Leading and Innovating.  The topic focused on my pragmatic situated examples of initiating, planning and facilitating digital innovation in an educational context.  Whilst highlighting helpful processes and frameworks to support students develop their own digital innovation interventions in their contexts.
• ‘Learning approaches to inform Learning and Development opportunities’ (2019-2020) – delivered guest teaching to two cohorts of students studying towards their Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management.  The topic focused on current digital technologies, learning design processes and a range of frameworks to support and implement digital learning interventions in their organisations.
• 5 peer observations of candidates undertaking their Postgraduate Certificate Academic Practice (PGCAP) at Nottingham Trent University (2019)
• LDN Apprenticeships:
• 'Frameworks for your digital learning design toolkit – inaugural masterclass for Level 5 Digital Learning Design apprentices' (2024)

Full external curriculum development and consultancy are located here, and my presentations, guest speaking and guest teaching are located here.

Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGCLTHE)

I had pondered over teaching philosophies back in 2019 'Facilitating my teaching philosophy'.  Later developing plans to undertake the PGCLTHE ('Revisiting the teacher role' section, 2022) to update, upgrade and bolster my knowledge and practice in higher education teaching, as my teacher qualifications were undertaken during my time working in Further Education.  At the end of October, for my 7 year NTU anniversary, I will have been in HE longer than I have FE.  However there's also ambitions to deepen my pedagogical understanding, application and develop my teaching skills, and to further support and develop my academic leadership, credibility, criticality and scholarship aspects of my role.  As well as improving the scholarly articulation of my pedagogical approaches to underpin, inform design, evaluate and inspire innovation in our digital pedagogy practice.  Which is embedded within the Digital Curriculum Team remit and throughout the IHAP Digital Learning Strategy.  Of which is broadly achieved by engaging academics through curriculum redesign/enhancement-based conversations, work outputs (designs, processes and practice) and undertaking research.

Following completion of NTU’s 5-week short course ‘Innovative Teaching in Higher Education’ in March 2023.  It was previously agreed that I could do PGCLTHE after my colleague had settled for a February 2024 start.  However, as I stated at the bottom of that blog post I had a chat with Academic Practice Team at the end of 2023 and eventually we decided because I have SFHEA it might not be worth it.  So I began conversations with the course team to obtain the content I was interested in, but didn't end up receiving it.  I found I kept circling back to my learning objective for the content and I identified that the process is important to me and my role, therefore pursued it again.  So I looked for a September 2024 start.  Today I attended the joint induction first session.  I'm glad to be among a great cohort of existing and inspiring lecturers.  No doubt I'll be reflecting on my journey and capturing ideas throughout this course as I progress through it.  I have already been inspired by discussions from lecturers on revisiting what it means to teach and be a teacher/lecturer.  The live sessions and asynchronous content will be of most value to me as mentioned earlier, as I am naturally doing the practical aspects in my role.  Whilst not to sound egotistic, for once in my HE career I felt sufficiently experienced in academic practice amongst the audience.  I enrolled with my just about 7 years experience and holding SFHEA.  But the PGCLTHE, non-apprenticeship pathway, is for those with a little more expertise leading into higher fellowships.  I also found it warming that I get access to a course mentor in academic practice and also a mentor from my department, Deputy Head.  As previously with my earlier teaching qualifications and SFHEA this was absent.

This is also a good to remind myself of the reality of my educational beginnings to what I am about to undertake.  A similar feeling to I had when I started my MSc where I felt I somewhat belong, but I have every right to be here, because I worked and chose to be.  A huge achievement and commitment to my lifelong learning.

Achieving your Diploma in Teaching

In January 2024, I saw that Ann Gravells had come out of early retirement to take up the opportunity of producing a new book, in collaboration with Gavin Lumsden.  Given that I am a long-term fan/inspiration/adviser and have previously reviewed previous learning technology chapters of hers; 'Principles and Practices of Teaching and Training (2017)' and 'Principles and Practices of Assessment (4th edition, 2021)'.  I reached out to Ann to see if she wanted my expertise and input again.  She was delighted I had as she was thinking of contacting me, but was hesitant to ask for my services once more.  Throughout January I had the privilege to review, comment and contribute to Chapter 6 'Embracing digital and online technologies'.  I approached this in my critical commentary throughout the text as per previous occasions.  Giving Ann the freedom to take or leave as she wishes.

Ann - "You made some really valid points and I've taken them all on board - thank you!"

On 21 August 2024, she published 'Achieving your Diploma in Teaching (FE & Skills): Putting theory into practice for the qualification or apprenticeship'.  An absolute honour to support her once again.  I'm sure this book will be a huge seller as her previous ones continue to be.  I recommend her text to anyone new to the teaching profession, primarily in FE, but I still find her a great starting point in a HE context.

Here's some feedback I left on her book on Amazon, 26 September 2024, 'Essential text for your teaching toolkit'

"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Essential text for your teaching toolkit. For those studying the qualification or apprenticeship this text supports.  This is an excellent companion book that you'll find helpful during and post-completion of your learning.  Ann and Gavin's wealth of expertise and gifted accessible language, along with supporting examples, activities and tips make it a comprehensive and rich resource.  As a long-term reader of Ann's text books, I recommend this to get warmly acquainted and up to speed with grounding basics on this topic."