Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre

Overview

This booklet is designed to be a brief introduction for those new to teaching and a refresher for experienced lecturers into the totality of parts that constitutes teaching in Higher Education. The reader can dip in and out as they feel appropriate. Each section provides an introduction to the topic and a description of terms and examples from engineering education. At the end of the booklet in ‘Where next?’ the reader is directed to additional Subject Centre resources, websites, journal papers and videos that explore the topic further. These resources give far greater depth to the topics introduced by this booklet. Topics covered in this guide are:

• Designing learning
• Student learning
• Assessment and feedback
• Evaluation of learning and teaching
• Large group teaching
• Enquiry based learning

We start by looking at designing learning in the context of a module, although the ‘rules’ can equally be applied to a single session such as a lecture or lab. We then move on to look at some of the language we encounter at this early stage, such as “aims” and “learning outcomes”. Links to level descriptors for modules and programmes with the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (www.engc.org.uk/ukspec) are made in Where next.

No introductory booklet would be complete without looking at some of the work on student learning and how this relates to our teaching. Moving on we come to assessment and feedback of the student’s learning and explore formative and summative approaches. We then look at evaluation, which brings us full circle back to design - the outcomes of evaluation influence our design as this is an iterative process of constant reflection and development based on responses to questions such as:

• how do we know what went well?
• what will we do differently next time and why?

We will finish with a look at two approaches to teaching: large group teaching (lectures) and enquiry based learning. (Note: small group teaching and learning technologies will be covered by other booklets in this series and so are not dealt with here.

Download the PDF version of this guide (510KB)

About the author

Jane Pritchard graduated from the University of Bath in 1995 with an honours degree in Materials Science and Engineering and subsequently a PhD in 1999 and has researched in a range of materials. Jane was a Lecturer in the Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow for four years with the final year on release to the Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre. Here her work focused on new lecturers, part time teachers and working with educational development units across the UK HEI engineering sector. Jane has just been appointed as an Academic Staff Developer at the University of Bath and is the Director of Studies for the PG Certificate in Academic and Professional Practice. Her research interests include looking at the role of education in supporting social change and social justice and the influence of intensive courses on teachers and learners.