Higher Education Pedagogical Development Project

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• discuss conditions for student learning with reference to higher education pedagogical theory, research and disciplinary experience;
• critically analyse learning environments and identify opportunities for their evaluation and development;
• plan for inclusive teaching and learning in relation to relevant regulations, educational contexts and students’ needs and circumstances;
• formulate and justify a pedagogical need and purpose, and design, implement, document and evaluate a pedagogical development project within their own disciplinary field;
• analyse and communicate experiences, feedback, evidence from educational practice and relevant research to support continued pedagogical development;
• select, justify and document material from the development project as a contribution to a future teaching portfolio;
• critically review their own teaching practice with reference to pedagogical theory and research, feedback, student participation and evidence from the educational context;
• critically evaluate the process, outcomes, limitations and implications of the pedagogical development project for their continued teaching practice.

The course focuses on systematic and evidence-informed pedagogical development within higher education. It addresses student learning, learning environments and educational practice, as well as how pedagogical needs and opportunities for development can be identified, analysed and justified with reference to theory, research and evidence in higher edcuation.

The course also covers problem formulation, project planning, pedagogical development and the testing of a concrete pedagogical outcome. It includes the collection and analysis of evidence from educational practice and the use of feedback in pedagogical development work. Issues relating to student partnership, accessibility, inclusive pedagogy, ethics and relevant regulations are explored in relation to the educational context of the project.

Furthermore, the course addresses collegial review and communication of pedagogical development work, as well as the documentation, analysis and use of evidence to support continued pedagogical development and the future construction of a teaching portfolio for academic recognition.

The course is based on a student-centred and research-informed approach that emphasises active learning and development within participants’ own educational practice. Participants carry out an individual pedagogical development project in an authentic educational context and are responsible for the planning, implementation, documentation and evaluation of the project, with the support of supervision and feedback.

The course has rolling admission and is primarily delivered through a participant-driven project under supervision. The course is organised into three modules:

1. Preparation and project planning
2. Implementation and documentation
3. Portfolio contribution and collegial dissemination

Course materials, submissions and feedback are managed through the course’s digital platform, QPS.

Participants are responsible for identifying a supervisor who has completed at least ten weeks of accredited higher education pedagogical training and who has relevant pedagogical or methodological experience. A teacher who has been recognised as a Merited Teacher or Excellent Teacher may be particularly well suited to act as a supervisor. The supervisor provides ongoing support and feedback throughout the planning, implementation and reporting of the project.

The project plan must be approved before the development project is carried out. Learning activities include:

• literature-informed analysis of the participant’s own educational context;
• project planning;
• implementation of the development project;
• documentation of the development process;
• supervision;
• consideration and incorporation of feedback;
• revision;
• analysis and interpretation of evidence.

The design of the activities is adapted to the pedagogical needs of the project, its educational context and its intended outcomes.

The project must be presented and discussed in a relevant professional or collegial setting. Collegial communication is an integral part of the course’s learning process, as it provides opportunities to test, discuss and further develop the project outcomes through feedback from others.

The course coordinators should be informed well in advance so that, where possible, a teacher or educational developer from MedCUL can participate, provide support and contribute feedback.