Learning & Teaching in Higher Education
Core courses
Year 1
Courses 1-3 comprise the Postgraduate Certificate Learning and Teaching Higher Education (PGCLTHE) – 60 credits
- Course 1: Designing effective learning and teaching in higher education (Sept - Dec) 20 credits
- Course 2: Evaluating learning, teaching and assessment in higher education (Jan - April) 20 credits
- Course 3: Developing as a teacher in higher education: responding to learners (May - Aug) 20 credits
Year 2
- Course 4: Exploring key themes in academic practice (Sept - Dec) 20 credits
- Course 5: Evaluating the quality of higher education research (Jan - April) 20 credits
- Course 6: Designing higher education research (May- Aug) 20 credits
Exiting the programme after successful completion of course 6 leads to a PG Diploma Learning & Teaching in Higher Education
Year 3
- Course 7: Dissertation in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education (Sept - Aug) 60 credits
Course 1: Designing effective learning and teaching in higher education
This course will focus on providing participants with an opportunity to explore how to develop effective teaching and learning in higher education through coherent course design. There will be an emphasis on considering how different aspects of a course design work together to support effective learning.
The first week of Course 1 is a face-to-face induction and teaching week based in Glasgow. There will be an emphasis on interactive small-group teaching and participants will be given a thorough induction into the programme. The remainder of the course will be taught at a distance and online.
Intended Learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- critically analyse the links between research on learning, teaching and assessment in higher education and your own practice;
- create a well-aligned course design and justify the choices made in the design process;
- describe a range of possible learning, teaching and assessment methods and analyse their suitability for your own teaching context.
Course 2: Evaluating Learning, teaching and assessment in higher education.
This course aims to develop participants' understanding of the importance of evaluation in enhancing learning and teaching in higher education. Participants will have the opportunity to explore and evaluate elements of their own learning and teaching practice to critically reflect upon how student and peer feedback can be used to adapt and enhance their teaching. Participants will also examine key concepts and approaches to teaching that can enhance student learning.
Intended Learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- appraise the value of a range of methods for evaluating your practice;
- produce a well contextualised evaluation of an aspect of your teaching or assessment practice;
- reflect critically on relevant higher education research and explain the links between this literature and your own evaluation study;
- reflect critically on a colleague's feedback provided in response to an observation of your teaching and demonstrate how you plan to respond to this feedback in your teaching.
back to top
Course 3: Developing as a Teacher in Higher Education: responding to learners
This course will focus on how teachers in higher education need to be able to adapt to the needs of 21st Century learners through: the appropriate use of technology, ensuring teaching is relevant and responsive to diverse groups of student learners; and enhancing student engagement. Participants will be encouraged to relect upon their continuing development as a teacher in higher education and to articulate plans for ongoing professional development.
Intended learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- reflect critically on how to engage with diverse student populations in your own context and within other international higher education settings;
- critique relevant literature and debates about reating inclusive teaching and assessment practices and identify links between the literature and your own teaching context;
- critique relevant literature and debates about using technology to support learning in higher education and identify links between the literature and your own teaching context;
- explain how you intend to apply what you have learned from the first 3 x courses of the programme - from your peers, tutors and relevant literature - to enhance your teaching practice.
Course 4: Exploring key themes in academic practice
This course aims to provide an opportunity for you to explore, critique and develop arguments about higher education research in a range of areas such as: teaching and learning; assessment; curricula development; learning environments; higher education policies and strategies; higher education research; and higher education leadership. You will have the opportunity to choose particular areas of interest within the higher education literature that you wish to study in more depth.
Course intended learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- critically analyse key papers in higher education literature to be able to distinguish and explain differing perspectives on a range of academic practices;
- review and synthesise the higher education literature that relates to an area of your own practice;
- develop a critical argument about an area of the higher education literature and explain how the literature informs your practice as well as wider higher education discourse;
- provide constructive feedback to your MEd LTHE peers on their critical review of literature.
Course 5: Evaluating the quality of higher education research
This course aims to provide you with an overview of the theoretical foundations and methodologies of research into higher education. The course will focus on promoting the development of your skills in evaluating the quality of published educational research into higher education.
Intended learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- evaluate a range of educational research methodologies and their appropriateness in particular contexts;
- evaluate qualitative and quantitative research methods of enquiry and determine their suitability in addressing particular educational research questions and hypotheses;
- critically evaluate the quality of published research into higher education, particularly in relation to chosen topics of relevance to your professional practice.
Course 6: Designing higher education research
This course aims to support you to deepen your knowledge and skills in higher education research in order to create a coherent educational research design. You will have an opportunity to develop your understanding of higher educational research methodologies and design approaches within an ethical framework. You will have the opportunity to analyse different possible research designs suited to a range of educational studies and contexts.
Intended learning outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- select appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods of enquiry suitable for addressing specific higher educational research questions and hypotheses;
- demonstrate the ability to construct a coherent research design where all theoretical and practical elements of the research design are aligned;
- demonstrate you have considered the ethical implications of different forms of educational research;
- provide constructive feedback to your MEd LTHE peers on higher educational research designs.
Course 7: Dissertation in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education
The Masters level dissertation in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education aims to provide participants with an opportunity to investigate an area of higher education that is relevant to their own academic practice. It is intended that the dissertation process will help to support participants to develop an understanding of learning and teaching in higher education in their own context as well as enabling participants to disseminate their understanding to the wider academic community.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- plan an execute a research study that investigates a relevant area of your practice;
- write up the research project results clearly, discuss the outcomes and outline the implications for your own practice resulting from your study;
- critically evaluate higher education literature relavant to your study and make connections between this literature and your own study;
- synthesise key lessons from your investigative study for your own practice and for the wider higher education community.
- PLUS one additional learning outcome agreed between you and your supervisor. Select a skill or are of knowledge you would like to develop during your dissertation study and construct an appropriate learning outcome in conjunction with your supervisor. You will be assessed against all the ILOs including the one you design.