Daniel Scott-Purdy: Innovative Teaching in Higher Education

As part of this academic years appraisal development objective to upgrade my Higher Education (HE) teaching knowledge and practice, as my teacher education was all based in Further Education (FE). As well as improve my expertise and practice within my academic leadership in the context of digital curriculum, and when supporting IHAP lecturers with their digital developments and innovations. I had plans to undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGCLTHE). But I since changed tact to undertake something on a short-term basis. I saw this course offered by my university, so I made a request to join it.

From the 6th March, for 5 weeks I participated in the Nottingham Trent University's (NTU) short course 'Innovative Teaching in Higher Education', expertly led by Dr Bianca Fox and Adam Tate. Each week we explored a key teaching topic. Starting with resources (reading, videos and interactive learning) and the Thursday of that week a two hour online webinar, 5pm-7pm. Along with opportunities to for us to actively apply the content in our own teaching/a scenario and for us to share our experience. The five teaching methods/areas of teaching were:

Flipped learning
SCALE-UP (Student Centred Active Learning Environment with Upside-down pedagogies)
Technology Enhanced Learning (Blended learning)
Team-Based learning
Innovative curriculum design

As invited in the course and by way of consolidating what I have acquired, this blog post, in note form, shares my headline reflections, consolidations, contributions and learning, which I will share into our department newsletter. I reflect on the topics of each week, with a focus on how it relates to IHAP and my role as a Digital Curriculum Manager. The quotes I have included are mine unless otherwise stated.

Week 1 - flipped learning

This week's exploration:

What is Flipped Learning?
Why is Flipped Learning useful in engaging students?
How can you use Flipped Learning in your sessions?

Pre-work:

Icebreakers:

Briefly introduced ourselves on a Google Jamboard
Padlet activity asking us to share our experience of teaching in higher education:

Image of a butterfly metamorphosis - "I have worked in HE at NTU since Oct 2017. Although I had been working with academics in a digital practice consultancy capacity. I now work day to day with academics in healthcare HE, at the heart of the curriculum design etc. However, coming from an FE background I still find I am in a 'state of adaption'. Therefore, I am here to upgrade my current HE knowledge and practice in HE."
Supplement - I do the odd guest teaching on digital learning and teaching related topics - see 'Speaking' tab at the top. As well as guest teaching at Nottingham Trent University:

‘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.
'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.

5 peer observations of candidates undertaking their Postgraduate Certificate Academic Practice (PGCAP) at Nottingham Trent University (2019)

Webinar (9 March 2023):

Learning outcomes:

To explore the concept of flipped learning.
To discuss advantages and disadvantages of using a flipped learning approach.
To explore ways of embedding flipped learning in your own teaching.

Discussed a definition.
Questions from the post-webinar discussion forum: What are the benefits of flipped learning? How can you use flipped learning in your own teaching more effectively?

Flipped learning is a student-centered approach where learning material, typically introductory/basic, is provided in a chunked format before a synchronous in-person lecture, seminar, workshop etc, to get familiar with required knowledge. Enabling and promoting more active and collaborative activities and opportunities for students to deepen their learning. Some advantages and disadvantages, in no particular order:

Advantages:

A good way to get started with a form of blended learning.
More time in-person for both lecture and student to discuss, apply and collaborate - more active and interactive learning experience and can lead to student independent thinking and learning skills.
Flexibility in accessing and completing learning material as it is online.
Prepare thoughts, questions and contributions ahead of an in-person session.
Allows students to get a basic and level understanding of a core topic or concept.
Allows the lecturer to be more time effective in how they cover topics and material in their lectures, seminars, workshops etc.

Disadvantages:

Adequate level of digital literacies and capabilities in accessing the learning material, and using specific technologies.
Students not completing required learning material before the synchronous in-person session.
Comparison to blended learning; Bianca Fox - "It can be a mix of online content and face to face sessions. Or, if your course is delivered entirely online, then it would be a mix of asynchronous and synchronous (live) sessions. Some scholars call this blended learning. When flipped learning is done through a mix of online educational materials and online opportunities for interaction it becomes blended learning."

Poll: What is flipped learning to you? (Based on experience and/or reading)

"Reflective asynchronous learning."
"I just know that I prefer asynchronous learning to reflect, I need a fair bit of time to digest before contributing and applying."
Adam Tate - "What types of asynchronous activities are most useful for you?"

"Generally a mix, a small bit of literature or video, and a question prompt to explore and then maybe a practical, individual or in groups to produce something or critique. The latter group bit may be synchronous though."

"Diana Laurillard's six learning types is useful in deciding purposeful approaches for designing learning."
"Another question could be; what is the value in enabling practical/collaborative learning in the said topic? That would otherwise replace the theory bits."
Breakout - discuss challenges of using a flipped learning approach (based on your own experience or on your reflection on what flipped learning could look like in your own context)

"challenge - "digital literacies of both teacher and student in getting online and interacting with tools."
"Student motivation to complete flipped learning activities ahead of the live session/practical."
"Maybe some content can benefit from being repurposed to storytelling? Emotive hooks."

Breakout - Discuss how you might use a flipped learning approach with your students.

Students in my case are mostly staff, academics and technicians, but I also do teach students the effective use of PebblePad and NOW (NTU Virtual Learning Environment), in-person synchronously or via asynchronous self-directed resources. I can provide more conceptual and theoretical content outside the practical, to enable more time to do the hands-on in the time we have. Such as pre-reading and coming prepared with a response. For example in workshop preparation, in my introduction to Virtual Reality walls workshops, I can provide appropriate pre-reading literature on VR/immersive learning and/or a short 2-3 min video briefly introducing such technologies.

Webinar exit poll checking in on our views against the learning objectives.
Post-webinar forum discussion, further reading and reflection and completing checklist.

What are the benefits of flipped learning?
How can you use flipped learning in your own teaching more effectively?

Some responses taken from my notes above.

Week 2 - SCALE-UP

This week's exploration:

What is SCALE-UP?
Why is SCALE-UP useful in engaging students?
How can you use SCALE-UP in your own teaching?

Pre-work:

Icebreaker Padlet activity asking us to share which country and city/town we were born in, in no more than four sentences without naming the place. Peers had to attempt to guess each others by commenting on them.

"I am from a northern industrial market town. It is close to the green Peak District. People born and bred there have a distinct accent like no other northern accent. A few celebrities come from there, such as Sir Michael Parkinson."

Padlet - Thinking about what you have read this week, and what you encountered on the course last week (Flipped Learning), consider how flipped learning plays a role in SCALE-UP?

"Perhaps in the format of a scenario, case study or simulation, a detailed brief and associated role profiles can be given with prerequisite knowledge/awareness. For students to apply within the in-person SCALE-UP session."

Webinar (16 March 2023):

Learning outcomes:

To describe what SCALE UP is.
To discuss advantages and disadvantages of using SCALE UP.
To explore ways of using SCALE UP in your own teaching.

What is meant by SCALE-UP, unpacking the acronym.

Questions from the post-webinar discussion forum: What SCALE-UP is? How does SCALE-UP benefit student learning?

SCALE-UP means Student-Centred Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies. It is an active, inclusive and student-led pedagogy where lectures are replaced with enquiry-based activities, in carefully designed and coordinated groups and roles given. "...is an active mode of learning which offers an alternative to traditional lectures. In a SCALE-UP class, rather than predominately listening to their lecturers, students learn through solving problems, sharing ideas, giving and receiving feedback, and teaching each other." (McNeil et al., 2021: 6). Can be implemented in-person and online. The lecturer may be require the classroom to be re-designed slightly; circular tables, shared (and most likely own) laptops, and mirroring digital technology for students to share their work with the wider class. The upside-down pedagogy bit represents the backwards design of the curriculum, students as teachers and flipped learning. And like flipped learning freeing the lecturer to facilitate the application of concepts introduced. Apparently, "NTU was the first UK institution to introduce SCALE-UP across an extensive range of subjects in 2013/14". More information can be found in the NTU SCALE-UP Handbook Version 4.
Some benefits of SCALE-UP; enable students to get a feel of/or understand a topic before group work, participate more effectively and develop a number of skills such as reading and listening, communicating and collaborating, team work, critical thinking, independent thinking, leadership and digital capabilities. As well as being better able to apply the concepts being taught.

Engaging in learning materials and activities, to level up knowledge and contributions as you progress through the session.
Peer learning and teaching.
Not content or instruction heavy.
Is roundtable needed? Yes for eye contact and balance out hierarchy.
Design depends on classroom environment and technology you have available.

Discussed a definition.

Anastasios Stavrou - "We have a scale up session between lecture sessions in my module."
Robyn Adams - "For me - it's a supporting lesson for concepts that you have already taught. I taught microbiology, then allowed them to explore biowarfare and bioterrorism events to assess the different types of microbes/viruses etc as a means of contextualising their learning."
Christian Beardah - "How common is it to have the whole module delivered using SCALE-UP?"

Each module per year to be run through SCALE-UP.
Depends on the philosophy of the university.

NTU process:

Identify the opportunity.
Flipping the learning (chunking, asynchronous, knowledge checking).

Choices:

Video Critical Commentary
Online Q&A
Discussion Boards
Audio Lecture/Podcast
Reflection
TED Talk
Blogging
Image Collection
Key Readings

Designing Active Learning (group work, key questions, problems, technology).
Designing Groups (mixing abilities, assigning roles, 3-4, reflection points).

Roles:

Manager/organiser
Scribe/note-taker/recorder
Sceptic/questioner

Post session opportunities.

Breakout - How might you use one of the flipped learning activities in an online SCALE-UP session? (Think about the adaptations you might need to make, what might some of the challenges be?)

"Also depends on the audience you are working with. As a short video, 3-5 minutes, will suffice as getting staff to create, write and collaborative before a synchronous aspect is highly unlikely."
Our group decided:

Key reading
Video
Reflection

Roles and flipped learning activities might not suit all subjects. So you need to carefully consider/select them according to students. Neither may be useful in certain activities.
Not just all about questions and answers, but debate; opinions and perspectives.

Breakout - How might you use SCALE-UP in your own discipline? (How might you modify it, what might the challenges be, what are some of the opportunities)

"My specialism in technology enhanced learning, teaching and assessment is very creative and hands-on, and often starts by discussing/planning a pedagogical rationale. Or if sourcing content for developing online asynchronous learning activities, storyboards may be developed or prototypes as part of digital innovation, such as Virtual Placements using H5P."
Adapting to healthcare scenarios, case studies, simulations.
If teaching is a toolkit, it's about having the best tools to support such learning environments.

Webinar exit poll checking in on our views against the learning objectives.
Post-webinar forum discussion, further reading and reflection and completing checklist.

What is SCALE-UP?
How does SCALE-UP benefit student learning?

Some responses taken from my notes above.

Week 3 - Technology Enhanced Learning (Blended learning)

This is my week and totally came alive with this topic, my most contributed, obviously, being a renound learning technologist and hold a Technology Enhanced Learning MSc.

This week's exploration:

What is Technology Enhanced Learning?
Why is Technology Enhanced Learning useful in engaging students more in class and better use of time?
How can you use Technology Enhanced Learning in your own teaching?

Pre-work:

AdvanceHE definition - "The use of technology to maximise the student learning experience is a vibrant area of interest across all tiers of global education. Technology enhanced learning (TEL) is often used as a synonym for e-learning but can also be used to refer to technology enhanced classrooms and learning with technology, rather than just through technology."
Course team - "Can technology indeed enhance learning or is it meant to only replace existing teaching practices? This is one of the questions that we will try to find an answer to in this week's webinar. But before we think about what technology to use in teaching, Diana Laurillard (2012) considers essential that we first answer to the following two questions: ‘How do students learn?’ and ‘How can technology help?’. So, when exploring this week’s content, it is important to ask yourself: How can this technology enable my students to meet the learning outcomes for this session?"
Padlet - Reflect on how you use digital technology in teaching. What digital platforms do you use in teaching to boost student engagement?

Examples of using technology in teaching:

*Not necessarily all teaching, mostly for learning, to name a few.*
General use of a Virtual Learning Environment functionality to structure and chunk online learning material.
Use of H5P (online interactive activities, e.g. drag and drop, hotspots, interactive video, MCQs etc). Taking from static content to interactive.
Virtual Reality wall - to create immersive learning environments to facilitate scenarios and simulations.
PebblePad - workbooks acting as ePortfolios for students to evidence professional competencies.
Microsoft Teams - webinars and use of breakout and polling functionality.
Padlet - collaborative board to collect feedback, ideas and resources.
Mentimeter - ascertain knowledge of a class.

Designing online learning - introducing The ABC model and Laurillard's 6 learning types. Helps you to map out course and module topics, content, activities and formative and summative assessments and the timeline/sequences of them.

Reflect: Think about one of your sessions and identify how many types of learning and technology are you using and how these may support your students to meet each learning outcome for that session.

My 'H5P retreat' workshop - mainly discussion and production learning types, and focusing on the online authoring tool H5P.

Sequencing and engagement - introduced the PAR model. Course Team - "Using the Presentation, Activity, Review (PAR) model as a guide, the ratio between content and activity should be roughly: 35% presentation of content (including 5% of introduction and links to prior learning); 60% activity; 5% review". NTU look to have adapted this, informed by student behaviour and feedback; Course Team - "The basic structure of each lesson includes five stages: Engage: Introduce lesson (outline objectives, activate schemata, reflect on prior knowledge), motivate; Present: Explain, clarify, build knowledge of key concepts; Practise/Perform: Engage learners’ in online activities (guided / free); Review: Reflect and review lesson objectives; Extend: Direct to recommended reading and extension activities".
Student personas - extract student needs, experiences, behaviours and goals and are used to inform course and module design (mode of delivery, content and activities) for the intended students, and that promotes inclusivity and supporting success for all. Basically meeting their needs and expectations. NTU Flex team recommend a minimum of two personas to be created, but creating a few more will provide richer information of a student demographic. The personas often include:

Age
Year of study
Educational background
Motivators and demotivators
Digital literacy

Scaffolding:

Required to enable students to be independent learners but feel supported in the learning process and to ultimately understand. At activity level, this means providing instructions and instructional material to students, to support and help them achieve learning outcomes. In-person can be given instantly on-demand, however when online extra consideration and effort has to be put in place for getting online and participating successfully. My favourite 'go to', Gilly Salmon's 5 Stage Model was introduced.

Accessible learning design:

Universal design - Course Team - "From an ethical perspective we should ensure that online learning and teaching content is accessible to all without presuming, for example, that materials we're comfortably able to read, will be considered equally usable by everyone else, all of the time."
General considerations: colour and backgrounds; text size; font style; meaningful hyperlinks; alt-text descriptions on images and charts.
"Safe to say there is a lot of ground to be covered here, more than a single lecturer to carry out, and that's why we have learning designers and learning technologists to support and do such things."

Webinar (23 March 2023):

Learning outcomes:

To describe what technology enhanced teaching is.
To discuss advantages and disadvantages of using technology in teaching.
To explore your digital capabilities and new ways of using technology in your own teaching.

What do you value about the use of technology? What is technology enhanced teaching?

"Flexibility, increased engagement in most cases, interactive content."
Connecting with others globally and locally.
Meant to make tasks easier.
Real-time feedback and crowd sourcing of information.
Ease of sharing, storage and retrieval.

Discussed a definition.

"I like to view TEL as the overarching technology provider (systems and tools) and eLearning is the pedagogy in how they are used and facilitated."
"TEL can be such a minefield at times, and there is so much availability nowadays, and often lots of GDPR to consider, internally and externally, and is that tool supported and where you can get support. Some students will have experienced the same tools, so a lecturer's challenge is to be creative and make it different - variety and switching it up frequently."

Bianca Fox - moved from how to use technology to how to be creative with technology.

Where to start with TEL.
Breakout - explore our digital capabilities.

Conducted our own digital capabilities self-assessment.
Diagnostic tool that we have access to at NTU.
What surprised us in the results?
Alternatively can use it to explore the framework.

Breakout - Test the use of these two platforms: EdPuzzle and Mindmeister

How might you use them in your own discipline? (what might the challenges be, what are some of the opportunities)

Added to a mindmap some of the challenges of using technology

"Always need a plan B."
"Adequate level of digital literacies e.g. online collaboration and how to use the necessary functionality."
"Evaluating the right tool(s) and/or forming a rationale."

Webinar exit poll checking in on our views against the learning objectives.
Post-webinar forum discussion, further reading and reflection and completing checklist.

How does Technology Enhanced Learning, if used effectively, enable greater student engagement?

"By enabling greater ownership of student learning, through carefully scaffolded online synchronous and asynchronous self-directed and collaborative learning activities. This can allow students to interact with content and contributions and be more active in their learning, and lead to deeper understanding and developing ways to apply it."

What are some of the considerations that need to be made when using Technology Enhanced Learning?

"Digital illiteracy and basic digital skills.
Digital poverty and adequate devices to access the internet.
Accessibility of the identified tool and/or associated content.
Identifying appropriate digital technologies and ensuring students are supported in using them, and where they can get help.
Due diligence on GDPR-related checks and not using tools that are not supported by your organisation, just in case the lecturer or students run into problems and need help.
Design, scaffold and pace of online learning activities.
It's ok to say no to digital - not every learning activity needs to be digitised, offline can be just as powerful. Spend some time discovering the value that TEL will bring."

If the conversation of TEL has moved from how to use digital technology, to how to be more creative/innovative with it. How can I and colleagues progress this with in our institute? The Jisc Digital Discovery Tool is helpful here, which could be the starting point to unpack where people are in their digital capability journeys. I feel that most know the ‘how to’ and are independently capable of learning new tools. This could then lead me to explore such interventions for digital innovation, such as design thinking etc.

Week 4 - Team-Based Learning

This week's exploration:

What is Team-Based Learning?
Why is Team-Based Learning useful in engaging students more in class and better use of time?
How can you use Team-Based Learning in your own teaching?

Pre-work:

Harnessing a realistic team dynamic, Team-Based Learning (TBL), is an active and collaborative method that enabled students to tackle content topics through individual and team collaboration. It allows students to arrive at individual and team answers and where they can be challenged or appealed which may be incorrect. Enabling responsibility for their answers and making thinking publicly visible so that other students can learn from it - proving learning through team work.
TBL involves a strict series of key steps: 1. Individual Pre-class preparation; 2. Individual Readiness Assurance Test; 3. Team Readiness Assurance Test; 4. Clarification, 5. Application; 6. Peer Evaluation.

Or the following from Dr Sarah Broadberry:

Individual study - strategically formed, permanent teams.
Individual Readiness Assurance Test (IRAT) - readiness assurance.
Team Readiness Assurance Test (TRAT) - promote critical thinking and team development.
Application activities.
Peer evaluation.

Student-led Mentimeter:

In three words, describe what you believe are the key aspects of a team:

Purpose
Task
Participation

Course team - "TBL when run in keeping with the four key principles is an effective method for increasing student engagement and increasing student retention of key learning, this is because students engage in a more metacognitive activity.

Teams are comprised of mixed-ability students
Students are held accountable for their individual pre-class learning and contributions in class
Team learning activities need to facilitate collaboration and development, utilising learning to apply to different scenarios (metacognitive activities)
Students and groups must receive feedback immediately"

Can be seen as more inclusive as it develops confidence in those who find it difficulty to be seen and heard. However, evidencing individual contributions can be a challenge.
Should be collaborative not competitive, where it creates healthy debate.
Can be more effective when there is a commitment over a block of learning, like a module of learning, rather than a one-off session. As students require support through the transition of using this method and to see a significant benefit compared to a one-off use.
Focuses on the redesign of am module than a single session.

Webinar (30 March 2023):

Learning outcomes:

To describe what Team-Based Learning.
To discuss advantages and disadvantages of Team-Based Learning.
To explore ways of using Team-Based Learning in your own teaching.

A definition - "Team-Based Learning is an active collaborative learning approach designed around units of instruction, known as "modules", that are taught in a three-step cycle: preparation, in-class readiness assurance testing, and application-focused exercise." (TBL Collaborative in: NTU, 2023)
Group discussion:

What does the learning in a team involve?

All working towards a shared goal, with roles designated. Entailing effective communication, collaboration, collegiality to ensure that the goal is achieved and to standards/requirements set.
Teams are permanent throughout the duration, they do not change.

How might you ensure that there is accountability when learning as a team?
Experiences of using Team-Based Learning or similar approaches.

A main challenge; the preparation - all factors need to be considered; student level, strength and weaknesses to pair effectively, creating appropriate tasks, right environment.
Watched the video by Texas University, Center for Teaching and Learning on Team-Based Learning.
Group discussion:

How might you use Team-Based Learning for something that you need to teach? (What might students need to do individually and as a team before arriving at your session? How might that pre-work be reviewed and applied in the session?

Four principles to Team-Based Learning (Michaelsen & Richards, 2005):

Groups should be properly formed - (e.g. mixed ability groups). These teams are fixed for the whole course.
Students are accountable for pre-learning and working in teams.
Team assignments promote learning and team development.
Students must receive frequent and immediate feedback on work.

Group discussion:

How might you use Team-Based Learning in your own discipline? (How might you modify it, what might the challenges be, what are some of the opportunities)

Webinar exit poll checking in on our views against the learning objectives.
Post-webinar forum discussion, further reading and reflection and completing checklist.

How can Team-Based Learning provide more work-relevant learning opportunities?

"Due to the nature and structure of Team-Based Learning, I feel this approach offers more authentic workplace or work-like experience to prepare students for how they need to work in their intended professions. TBL offers flexibility to adapt the topic and content focus, enabling different work-like approaches and dynamics."

How might you use Team-Based Learning in your own teaching?

"In a healthcare context TBL can be used in simulations. Team formation, roles, and individual study e.g. pre-reading could be around the scenario brief and need-to-know information, to prepare for their response to the situation. The Individual Readiness Assurance Test (IRAT) could also be done beforehand. Then once together, the Team Readiness Assurance Test (TRAT) can be conducted, followed by the application activities. Which would be the simulation itself. Then the team can reflect and debrief on their performance for peer evaluation. Additionally, if the team was being observed by other teams, they could also feedback during peer evaluation."

Mini Showcase:

We were invited to share good practice, and to further explore one of the teaching methods we had encountered during this short course.
In a forum discussion, we were to upload either a a short Video clip) of myself teaching using one of the methods or upload a plan about how I am going to teach a session using one of the methods. In my submission I included:

Focus on one of the teaching methods we encountered.
Describe what I did and why?
Highlight the benefits for my students using my selected method.
Highlight the challenges of using my selected method.

I chose to provide an outline plan for an upcoming one hour teaching session on the topic of 'Developing Digital Literacies for Nurses', with a handful of nursing students studying on our frailty short Continuing Professional Development course. I have decided to adopt the flipped learning approach due to it's suitability of the current students and the allocated time I have with them. The session is brief as this forms part of a small-scale project working group, which is part of a larger project to scope out embedding digital literacies in our curriculum area.

N.B. The following outline has been refined from a ChatGPT prompt - I talk about the why and the prompt in my blog post 'My first experience of using ChatGPT'. I indicated my use of AI in my forum post to this task and shared this blog post.

Session Title:

Developing Digital Capabilities for Nurses

Session Overview:

The session will introduce the importance of digital capabilities in the nursing profession. Students will engage in a self-assessment to identify their current digital capabilities and explore strategies for developing them further.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, students will be able to:

Recognise the importance of digital capabilities in the nursing profession.
Assess your current level of digital capability.
Develop strategies for improving your digital capabilities.

Pre-session activity (flipped learning approach): Students will be provided with a pre-recorded video or article/mini case study to watch or read before the session. The resource will introduce the concept of digital literacies in nursing and provide examples of why it is essential for nurses to develop these skills. Students to come prepared with reflections, examples and ideas on how digital literacies relate to their role.

The link will be communicated to students via their Virtual Learning Environment course space.

Session plan:

Introduction and importance of digital literacies(20 mins):

Welcome and introductions.
Provide an overview of the session.
Explain the importance of digital capabilities in the nursing profession - link to the pre-session activity.
Students will be encouraged to share their own experiences and ideas.

Part 2: Digital Capability Self-Assessment (30 mins):

Distribute the digital capability self-assessment tool to students.
Students will be given 30 minutes to complete the self-assessment.
Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their skills, knowledge, and confidence in using digital technology to support their roles.
Open discussion on the key digital capabilities required for nurses, such as digital communication, data management, and online collaboration.

Conclusion (10 mins):

Summarise the key points covered in the session.
Encourage students to reflect on what they have learned.
Provide resources for students to continue their learning on developing digital capabilities in nursing.
If time, facilitate a discussion on the strategies nurses can use to develop these skills.

The main benefit of using this method in such a short allocated time, is to introduce and explain the basic concept of digital literacies in nursing context. Enabling students to build on that basic knowledge and awareness, and the ability to reflect or recall examples suitable for the synchronous session.

A main challenge is students accessing this and completing the required pre-session activity. Whilst not mandatory as I will hold a discussion at the start of the synchronous session, on the importance of digital literacies in the nursing profession. It would be ideal that students get familiar with the topic in readiness to engage and participate in an active session. In the mix of this in line with topic, the nursing individuals pre registered and registered, often struggle with digital so there may be more support required and instructional technique on the pre-session activity, and accessing the digital capability self-assessment tool in the synchronous session.

Week 5 - Innovative curriculum design

This week's exploration:

What do we mean when we say Innovative Curriculum Design?
Why is Innovative Curriculum Design important for empowering students and enabling good student outcomes?
How might you use an Innovative Curriculum Design approach?

Pre-work:

Icebreaker activity: This week focuses on discussing approaches to innovative curriculum design. It was stated that re-designing the curriculum usually starts by evaluating the current provision. We were invited to consider and share the following: 1. Reflect on a module/course that you are involved with. 2. Identify 2 strengths and 2 areas for development. 3 Share this information with my peers in the following format:

Module context (a few sentences).
Strengths (What do you appreciate about this module/course? What is going well? A couple of bullet points).
Areas for development (What would you like to change/improve to this module/course? A couple of bullet points)

I decided not to detail anything for this as my role in my institute is to bring my expertise and experience of TEL into this process, which is during course design sprints for new courses and in course development reviews for existing courses. As well a presence in subsequent course committees to action feedback and inject advice in the continuous improvement of our digital and online offer.

Webinar (6 April 2023):

Learning outcomes:

To describe what innovative curriculum design is.
To discuss advantages and disadvantages of redesigning the curriculum.
To explore ways of redesigning the curriculum in your own context.

What is the curriculum?

"Curriculum - the learning content and teaching, assessment and quality assurance approaches of identified knowledge, skills and values to be taught to students."
"Innovation - adopting different learning designs and teaching and assessment approaches to make more meaningful for 21st century students."
Anastasios Stavrou - "Curriculum is traditionally what is supposed to be the content to be learned and assessed. Now it's probably the whole student journey."

Curriculum design vs. curriculum development: What is the difference?

"Design more the diverge and converge process, and then development producing and evaluating it."
Christian Beardah - "Design comes first. Development is on-going."
Robyn Adams - "Design - from the start/recreate. Development - improve from good practise already shown."
Victoria Callus - "Design is something set, development is something that progresses."
Alex Nkrumah - "The design involves the initial planning and conceptualization of a curriculum whereas the development is the stage where the detailed work of creating the curriculum takes place."
Tayyaba Kazim - "Curriculum development is the multi step process of creating and improving a course taught."
Bianca Fox - "In the context of this short course, curriculum is course design."

Discussed a definition.
Examples of curriculum innovations could be different approaches, e.g. flipped learning, simulations, immersive learning, use of TEL etc.
Key terminology:

Course team - "Course design – refers to the structure or organisation of the curriculum (the course blueprint). Course development – includes the planning, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum."

NTU design sprint process
Breakout - Your course philosophy. What is your course aiming to achieve? What changes would you make and why?

"I don't currently teach on a course, but TEL is my specialism. Therefore the aim in brief would be to ensure purposeful and positive adoption and design of digital technologies to support selected pedagogies, and ensure they are aligned appropriately. With consideration for digital literacies for successful access and participation, for both lecturer and student."
"As part of my role as Digital Curriculum Manager, well its in the title, but I have presence in the process and meetings. To ensure consideration of digital at the outset in the design and approaches to learning, teaching and assessment."

Breakout - Choose one of the methods discussed on this course. Discuss how you will embed it into the curriculum. What changes will you have to make and what might the challenges be.

Outlined in Mini Showcase in week 4.
However, I was asked by another student what pedagogies are being used in my area and what TEL usage is like. Flipped learning is popular and SCALE-UP occasionally from what I am aware of. TEL, the use of the VLE and development of asynchronous learning activities and VR and immersive learning environments - I explained my approach that I detail here, and which disciplines uses the suites and not.
Knowing what's appropriate for our students and the associated challenges and opportunities, and what will work logistically in the physical and digital space.

Webinar exit poll checking in on our views against the learning objectives.
Post-webinar forum discussion, further reading and reflection and completing checklist.

Concluding thoughts

I am left with a refreshed overview of the pedagogies and their features, benefits and challenges of adopting them; inspiring ways to design and facilitate my own teaching sessions. And more informed on how I can embed this in my role and support the healthcare academics I work with in developing such approaches. Its clear that all of these pedagogies have a place in the teaching toolkit. And I find that the pedagogies are contemporary and that you can adapt them to suit different audiences. The challenge for me now is knowing when to use and adapt these, and draw on them as a learning technologist to strengthen the pedagogical element of our digital practices. However, given the pragmatic nature of the course, and as I am a strong pragmatic person myself, I can consolidate and apply what we have acquired and put into practice directly. The flipped approach is more appealing as I know the opportunities and TEL tools to make such things a success.

Overall, I found the course very stimulating, refreshing and allowed me to draw on my more than 13 years experience working in education. I have a sense of renewed confidence in my own scholarship too as a result of doing this; revisiting literature and evaluating it. I also had a good amount of opportunities to contribute my own expertise into the course, which I found very validating, specially when tutors confirmed or complemented by comments. Especially as I required upgrading of my HE knowledge and refreshing on my scholarship mindset. In readiness to integrate that aspect into my role more deeply. NOW (the Virtual Learning Environment we use) was well-structured and signposted with supporting activities and resources. The discussions were rich. The duration of the whole course was about right and the webinars well-attended and interactive.

I'd like to pursue my original plan of completing the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGCLTHE), as mentioned in the section 'Revisiting the teacher role' in this blog post, to deepen my understanding, apply it and develop my teaching skills, and to further support the academic leadership aspect of my role. As well as better articulating my pedagogical approaches in a more scholarly manner, to underpin, inform design and evaluation and hopefully inspire others. EDIT: After achieving SFHEA in September 2023, and following a conversation with the course leader. As I have exceeded the course fellowship mapping (and course content to some extent), which was to the standard Fellowship award, I decided to engage in the course material only, and other ongoing CPD opportunities, rather than commit to the 12 month+ programme. Some topics like identifying my teaching philosophy would be good to revisit.

The short course also got me thinking about scholarship in such a profound way; to embed in my role more wisely, articulate it better in my approaches and to promote the wealth of scholarship practice I already do without realising. This even inspired me to consider writing scholarly-type blog posts, such as on how to underpin relevant literature in my H5P staff development workshops to support our healthcare lecturers. And other future blog posts to be more scholarship focused, showing change in my learning technologist practice and academic credibility.

EDIT:

Adam Tate - "Wow, what a fascinating blog and thank you for such a comprehensive and glowing summary. What you are doing is actually democratising access to knowledge and disseminating good practice. This will be very useful evidence for a Senior Fellowship application in the future, as it will help to show the impact you are having on other people's practice. (Especially if you have data on the number of visitors)."

Bianca Fox - "Many thanks for sharing this. It’s been a pleasure to have you on this course. What a fantastic blog post, well done! A great way to keep track of your learning."

Daniel Scott-Purdy

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Thursday, 6 April 2023

Innovative Teaching in Higher Education