Inspire - a Teaching Fellows' newsletter

Promoting excellence in Learning and Teaching, driven by Middlesex Senior Fellows of HEA with contributions welcomed from all Middlesex staff.

Monday 16 November 2015

Nov 2015 - Newsletter

Welcome to the 9th issue of Inspire. It will be coming to you three times per year.
Feel free to comment on any of the individual items. [Download PDF version]


Teaching Excellence - or Otherwise? 
Excellence in teaching has been an issue for many years. Many of us know this is recognised in a variety of ways and yet how to define it remains challenging. Rewards and ‘badges’ of excellence are in existence including our own Teaching Fellowship, though we also know that not all excellent teachers wish to have this ‘badge’. Excellence has now taken another direction and involves a sector overhaul.

Middlesex University UKPSF Scheme
Middlesex has received approval from the Higher Education Academy (HEA) to recognise and accredit HEA Fellowships aligned to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) across all 4 levels from Associate Fellow through to Principal Fellow via a CPD route. The Scheme (under the abbreviation MURS), coordinated through CAPE, is a welcome addition to the existing alignment of Associate Fellow and Fellow levels through the taught route gained through the PGCert HE. 

A Picture of T&L Excellence at Middlesex  
Recent discussions of the Government's proposed Teaching Excellence Framework have opened up discussions on the metrics of what excellent teaching looks like. We’re fortunate enough that at the Students’ Union, students have been telling us about their excellent teaching for the past two years, through MDXSU’s Student Led Teaching Awards (SLTA’s). 


APP-date
Prior editions of APP-date have introduced readers to a specific app that can be used to support teaching and learning. This edition of APP-date takes a slightly different approach. Instead of focusing on one app, this brief article draws the reader’s attention to an open online course that will introduce participants to twelve apps that have the potential to personalise the learning experience.  


Seven Tips to Beat a Mid-term Slump 
We asked some of the University Teaching Fellows to give some tips on avoiding a mid-term slump by their students. Here we present seven of them, including the intriguing 'make a move', 'only the lonely, and 'playing with a full deck'. 
Learning and Teaching Scholarship Research Grants 
CAPE recently funded eight Learning and Teaching Scholarship Research Grants ranging from £4,000-£10,000 in the areas of Innovative Pedagogy; Student Engagement and Digital Literacy. The grants scheme is designed to deliver and evaluate beneficial impact on our students educational experience, while developing rigour in our approach to pedagogical research. 
Conferences 
A regular listing of conferences with a learning and teaching theme (including this year's Annual Learning and Teaching Conference on 5 July), plus links to other sites listing similar events.