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Guide to preparing a College Award application

2015

La Trobe Learning and Teaching

Guide to preparing an application for a College AwardR.Hallett, La Trobe Learning and Teaching

Contents

Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4

Scholarly practice in teaching............................................................................................................4

Criteria & their assessment...................................................................................................................5

Focus of Statement............................................................................................................................5

Criteria...............................................................................................................................................6

Assessment........................................................................................................................................6

Excellence......................................................................................................................................6

Developing excellence...................................................................................................................6

Good practice................................................................................................................................6

Developing the application....................................................................................................................7

Establishing that you have a case......................................................................................................7

Establishing that you have the evidence...........................................................................................7

Evidence from peers......................................................................................................................7

Evidence from your own practice..................................................................................................8

Evidence from students.................................................................................................................8

Writing the application..........................................................................................................................8

Structure............................................................................................................................................9

Template 1.....................................................................................................................................9

Template 2.....................................................................................................................................9

Advice to Heads of School.....................................................................................................................9

Addressing the criteria......................................................................................................................9

Persuasive evidence........................................................................................................................10

References.......................................................................................................................................10

Attachments........................................................................................................................................11

Attachment 1: Preparing an award application CHECKLIST.............................................................11

Attachment 2: Teaching Award Template #1...................................................................................15

Attachment 3: What counts as evidence?.......................................................................................20

Attachment 4: Standards of Teaching Excellence............................................................................22

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IntroductionRequirements for College awards mirror requirements for national Citations for Contributions to Student Learning offered by the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT). A critical purpose of the College awards is to provide academics with responsibilities for teaching and/or professional staff supporting teaching with an opportunity to prepare for an Institution or OLT application.

Heads of School are required to endorse the Nomination, and ensure that the Nominee is given adequate time to develop the Nomination. The Head of School is also required to provide the reference in support of the nomination.

It is expected that the College Pro Vice-Chancellor will comment on drafts of the submission.

Additional evidence is not required, as the Selection Panel will rely primarily on the evidence presented in the nomination.

Scholarly practice in teachingThe advice below seeks to elicit evidence of scholarly practice in teaching. A submission is understood and defined as the product of this practice. Applications should describe the Nominee’s practice by drawing on evidence from the Nominee’s peers, their students and the Nominee themselves. The development of an application requires Nominees to consider how approaches adopted meet the needs of students.

In adopting this approach, scholarly teaching is defined as:

‘…grounded in critical reflection using systematically and strategically gathered evidence, related and explained by well-reasoned theory and philosophical understanding, with the goal of maximizing learning through effective teaching.’(Potter & Kustra 2011:3).

It is understood as distinct from the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SOLT) which is not necessarily related to scholarly teaching. For example, it is possible for a teacher to engage in scholarly teaching, but not be engaged in SOLT (often because of time constraints).

From this perspective, SOLT is ‘a discrete activity focused on the systematic study of learning and teaching, using established or validated criteria of scholarship, to understand how teaching (beliefs, behaviours, attitudes, and values) can maximize learning, and/or develop a more accurate understanding of learning, resulting in products that are publicly shared for critique and use by an appropriate community.’ (ibid: 2) (emphasis added).

It is expected that Nominations for College awards will be the result of critical reflection on practice arising from scholarly teaching practice. These may include evidence of SOLT as defined above, but this is not essential. Nominators, Nominees and Heads of School are advised to ask not only ‘what works? (in the teaching approaches adopted)’ in the development of dialogue that can support critical reflection, but also:

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For whom did it work? In what context?; and Why?

(Kreber 2012)

By asking these questions, it will be possible to establish descriptions of the distinctive aspects of curriculum and pedagogy at LTU. These aspects are at the core of excellent teaching at LTU and give expression to the values outlined in LTU’s Future Ready Strategy.

Criteria & their assessmentThe assessment of applications against the criteria is based on idea that teaching in this context – at LTU- requires excellence, in light of the defining features of our student cohorts. At LTU, it is defined by the ability to meet the needs of students, and this can be done by asking: what works for these students and why does it work?

You must select ONE of the areas below.

Focus of Statement1 Approaches to teaching and the support of learning that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn. This may include fostering student development by stimulating curiosity and independence in learning; participating in effective and empathetic guidance and advice for students; assisting students from equity and other demographic subgroups to participate and achieve success in their courses; encouraging student engagement through the enthusiasm shown for learning and teaching; inspiring and motivating students through effective communication, presentation and interpersonal skills; enabling others to enhance their approaches to learning and teaching; and developing and/or integrating assessment strategies to enhance student learning.

2 Development of curricula, resources or services that reflect a command of the field. This may include developing and presenting coherent and imaginative resources for student learning; implementing research-led approaches to learning and teaching; demonstrating up-to-date knowledge of the field of study in the design of the curriculum and the creation of resources for learning; communicating clear objectives and expectations for student learning; providing support to those involved in the development of curricula and resources; and contributing professional expertise to enhance curriculum or resources.

3 Evaluation practices that bring about improvements in teaching and learning. Evaluation comprises making judgements about the quality of programs and activities that are part of the academic, cultural and social experience of higher education. This may include showing advanced skills in evaluation and reflective practice; using a variety of evaluation strategies to bring about change; adapting evaluation methods to different contexts and diverse student needs and learning styles; contributing professional expertise to the field of evaluation in order to improve program design and delivery; and the dissemination and embedding of good practice identified through evaluation.

4 Innovation, leadership or scholarship that has influenced and enhanced learning and teaching and/or the student experience. This may include participating in and contributing to professional activities related to learning and teaching; innovations in service and support for students; coordination, management and leadership of courses and student learning; conducting and publishing research related to teaching; demonstrating leadership through activities that have broad

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influence on the profession; providing innovative learning and teaching for different contexts, including technology enhanced environments, for large and small class sizes and/or to meet the needs of a diverse student cohort; and influencing the overall academic, social and cultural experience of higher education.

CriteriaThe nomination will be judged on the extent to which it shows evidence (in the written statement) that the nominee’s contribution has:

a. influenced student learning, student engagement or the overall student experience

b. gained recognition from fellow staff, the institution, and/or the broader community

c. been sustained over time.

AssessmentThe Selection Panel will make global judgements about the standards of excellence demonstrated in nominations on three levels:

ExcellenceExcellence is defined by being able to understand the learning needs of LTU students and develop responses to these so that you can answer- why does this work with these students in this context? Awareness of distinctive needs of cohorts, and ability to act on these understandings, is at the core of definitions of excellence used in assessing submissions. This entails the ability to take pre-existing ideas and concepts and re-invent them in this context.

The criteria require demonstration of knowledge of the concept of student-centred learning and its application in teaching and its evaluation. To make a case for excellence in teaching, the applicant(s) needs to be able to articulate a position about how attention to understanding student needs and acting on them, is central to the work of the applicant(s) their field or discipline. So, who does this work for (this approach to teaching, and these students) is an important question to address in the Nomination.

The Selection Panel will use the descriptors of Standards of expertias a guide to scoring, but will make an overall assessment of excellence in the terms described above. That is; the Selection Panel will assess whether what you do meets the needs of students at LTU by taking concepts and ideas and reworking them to the specific demands of the context.

Developing excellenceAn applicant will be judged as developing excellence where there is evidence of growing awareness of the distinctive needs of students, and a growing line of enquiry about why ideas and concepts are working to address these. In these submissions, there would be evidence of the adoption of pre-existing ideas and concepts and the application of these, but without substantial reworking, evaluation and development.

As in the case above, the Selection Panel will make a global assessment of the practice described in addressing the selection criteria to determine the standard met.

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Good practice An applicant (s) will be judged as engaging in good practice expected in everyday teaching where there is evidence in the application of principles of good teaching practice found in generic documentation such as the AVCC guide or LTU policies related to teaching and learning. In these, there would be evidence of techniques and strategies in-use, and knowledge of institutional requirements to assure the quality of learning and teaching.

A global judgement will be made on the basis of responses to specified criteria.

Developing the application

Establishing that you have a caseYou need to engage in collaborative effort with a trusted colleague or collaborators with a view to developing successive drafts of the application. You will need to have established that you can demonstrate that you understand the learning needs of students at LTU and have developed innovative approaches to addressing these.

You can ask a series of questions to get the process started:

Who are the students? (course/unit reflecting discipline or field) Why is the teaching effective in this context? (what do we know about the student cohort?,

what do you know about how students learn in this discipline/field etc from the literature?)) What is it that makes it distinctive to their needs?

An overarching question that might get to this is:

Why do you do this?

This questioning gives you access to the formulation of a philosophy or a set of beliefs about how students learn (in the discipline or field, not in general) that can be used in the application. This is important because the application needs to reflect this set of beliefs or philosophy, either explicitly or implicitly and be addressed in the text.

Establishing that you have the evidenceThere are three sources of data: your peers, yourself and your students.

Evidence from peers(i) If you have asked a colleague to observe your teaching (online or f-2-f) and offer

comments, ask for these comments. They may be useful to integrate into the application. You only need 3-4 key quotes. Quotes from both these sources should be used in the Application and should illustrate claims that are made about the attainment of excellence.

(ii) If you have asked a colleague from outside of LTU who is in your field/discipline and to comment on your teaching, ask them for their comments. You need as above, 3-4 quotes.

(iii) If you have developed teaching materials/resources/policy documents/course and curriculum materials that have influenced how work was undertaken at the local and institutional levels and beyond you need to integrate these into the application.

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(iv) If you have that you have been involved in presentations to colleagues and students you should list these where appropriate.

(v) If you have received awards or grants related to learning and teaching activities, or published books/chapters/articles derived from teaching you have authored/co-authored, these should be identified in the application. .

Evidence from your own practiceYour key task is to develop some clear descriptions of your teaching practice through discussion with your mentor or other colleagues.

You need to formulate a series of claims that you are willing to make about your teaching – these need to be compared with those developed through dialogue with your colleagues, so that you are comfortable with them (it is common for applicants to underplay their contributions and modify their claims, so you need to discuss this with colleagues).

You also need to look at what you have in your archive of teaching materials and student assessments so that you can assemble some evidence in support of the claims.

Evidence from studentsYour main task is to look for sources of information about the benefits your teaching has delivered to students. Your focus should be on outcomes such as what students have achieved, not inputs such as teaching resources etc., though these are important in establishing your competence in developing materials and resources in line with your philosophy. Student outcomes need to be identified and can include:

Demonstrable rises in standards achieved by students you teach; Students who have achieved recognition for their achievements which can be related to how

and what you teach; Employment outcomes for cohorts of students you teach.

See the Checklist (Attachment 1) for a comprehensive list.

You can also prepare a brief 100 word case study illustrating a key point that can be boxed and added to the text. The case study will illustrate your teaching beliefs and values in-action.

Writing the application The main task is to prepare a statement addressing the selected focus of the statement. This includes evidence that supports these claims. It is 4 pages long.

The claim will comprise a series of sub-claims, and evidence in support of these may be presented either in relation to each sub-claim or more globally.

You will need to respond to drafts and flesh out any claims with evidence you have in your archives.

An important feature of your contribution is that you convey who you are as a teacher – your enthusiasm and commitment to teaching and what drives you. In short, your job is to give the

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submission your ‘voice’ as a teacher, so that it is clear to the reader what you are like in the classroom and how you conduct yourself.

Structure Though there are many ways of addressing the assessment criteria for these awards, 2 generic templates are offered as a starting point for anyone commencing the process.

Template 1 (Recommended)Page 1- Heading: Description of Context and nature of the contribution (half page)Page 1 & 2 Heading: Claim 1 which includes evidence from each of the three areas below Page 2 & 3 Heading: Claim 2 which includes evidence from each of the three areas below Page 3& 4- Heading: Claim 3 which includes evidence from each of the three areas below Areas: Evidence that:1. the contribution influenced student learning, student engagement or the overall

student experience;2. gained recognition fellow staff, the Head of School or Department and/or the

broader community3. sustainability of no less than 3 consecutive years.

Template 2Page 1- Heading: Description of Context and nature of the contributionPage 2- Heading: Evidence that the contribution influenced student learning, student engagement or the overall student experiencePage 3- Heading: Evidence that the contribution gained recognition fellow staff, the Head of School or Department and/or the broader communityPage 4- Heading: Evidence of sustainability of no less than 3 consecutive years.

See Attachment 2 for a detailed outline for each template.

Advice to Heads of School

Addressing the criteriaYour key task is to endorse the application and ensure that it is an accurate reflection of the work of the applicants (s), and of a standard you deem acceptable. In doing this you take responsibility for providing feedback to the applicant about the nomination.

The perspective you bring to the application is the School perspective, and your endorsement should speak to the contribution made by the applicant to the School and its culture of learning and teaching.

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The Head of School is required to provide the reference that comments on the nominee’s contribution to the School and the wider discipline/field of study.

Persuasive evidence You should ensure that the applicant has access to relevant data. This entails ensuring that the applicant makes a request to PIPU regarding data from Student feedback on Teaching (SfT) and Student feedback on Subject (SfS). You will be able to comment in your reference to the Applicant’s performance relative to the School’s and the College’s performance.

You can also comment on the applicant’s reputation in the discipline/field, within and outside the institution.

Your reference should identify how teaching is approached by the applicant and the benefits of this to the School. Other outcomes such as employment outcomes and timely graduation/completion can also be the focus of your comments.

ReferencesKreber, C, (2010), Empowering the scholarship of teaching and learning: Towards an authentic practice, SOLT Commons Conference, Statesboro, Georgia Southern University, 10-12 March 2010.

Potter, M & Kustra, E, (2011), The Relationship between Scholarly Teaching and SoTL: Models, Distinctions, and Clarifications, International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vol. 5, No. 1 (January 2011)

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AttachmentsAttachment 1: Preparing an award application CHECKLISTBefore you start your award application you should check to see if you have or have or can gain access to data that you can use in it to support claims you will make about the value of your teaching for students.

Data has three sources: Students, Peers and Yourself.

STUDENTS

Student cohort (critical for Context and nature of the Contribution section)1. Who are your students according to Student Demographic Data?*

2. What are student success rates in your subject (s)? i.e. % of students who attained successful completion within your subject (s)/who remain enrolled?*

3. Have the Assessment Completion/Success Rates been mapped for your subject(s)?

Student feedback- subject (for supporting claims about curriculum design)

4. Do you have at least 3 years Feedback on Subject data or equivalent for your subject (s) that can be compiled into a table?

5. Is the overall satisfaction for SFS data at 4.00 or over or trending up over the past 3 years?*

Student feedback – teacher (for supporting claims about teaching)6. Do you have at least 3 years Feedback on Teaching data or equivalent

for your subject (s) that can be compiled into a table?*7. Is the overall satisfaction for SFS data or equivalent at 4.00 or over or

trending up over the past 3 years?*Student retention (for supporting claims about curriculum and teaching)

8. Do you have date about the % of students in your subject (s) who withdraw from your subjects before census date over the past 3 years?

9. Do you have data about the % of students in your subject(s) who remain enrolled at LTU in the following semester?

Key themes (essential for all applications)10. Have you collected student comments from the SfT and SfS and

identified common themes in their experiences of you as a teacher?11. Have you identified at least 3 quotes per theme that can be used in an

application?*PEERS (essential for all applications)

12. Have you any comments on your teaching/curriculum design from a colleague in your school/College?*

13. Have you any comments on your work from colleagues from outside the institution?

14. Do you have a colleague who can write a reference for you? *

YOURSELF (critical for all applications)15. Do you have a statement outlining how you think students in your

discipline learn and, on that basis why you teach the way you do?

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16. Can you explain why you have adopted specific strategies to teaching etc.?

Using Data to Inform Subject Redesign: LTU Student Success Strategy

“Good teaching is open to change; it involves constantly trying to find out what the effects of instruction are on learning, and modifying that instruction in light of the evidence collected.” Paul Ramsden, Learning to Teach in Higher Education, 2nd ed, 2003, p. 98.

College and University Level Data:

La Trobe University participates in a range of national and institutional surveys that can be very helpful in providing feedback on our student’s learning experience and achievement. For a full overview of the range of survey results that are available to staff, please see the recent document prepared by PIPU titled, Student Feedback: Study of Key Findings and Responses.

*PIPU has provided College-level data for most of the surveys on this list (use hyperlinks). In most cases, PIPU should be able to provide data from previous years as needed.

La Trobe University, Access and Achievement Research Unit (AARU) Reports – AARU has produced a number of reports relating to student attrition, and related issues, that will also be of use to faculties. For more information on completed and in-progress research projects, please see the AARU website.

Colmar Brunton Report, La Trobe: Improving Undergraduate Retention Rates (2013) – “The overarching aim of the research is to identify the factors contributing to student attrition that are within the University’s control, with a view to inform the University on problem areas/elements to find solutions to reduce attrition.” Provides a detailed, College-level, report on students that have left the University in 2013. This report is “commercial-in-confidence” and not to be shared with any external parties or people within La Trobe for whom it is not directly relevant. For a copy please contact Bret Stephenson, LTLT ([email protected]) .

The Course Experience Survey (CEQ) collects graduates’ perceptions of their higher education experience at the course level. PIPU has released national and state rankings, at the level of Field of Education (FOE), based on CEQ results. Some CEQ results are made public, by subject area, on the My University website.

The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement: “Data from the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) provides information on the time and effort students devote to educationally purposeful activities and on students' perceptions of the quality of other aspects of their university experience.” The AUSSE survey is administered to 1st and 3rd year students. AUSSE Engagement Scales: Academic Challenge, Active Learning, Student Staff Interactions, Enriching Educational Experiences, Supportive Learning Environment, Work Integrated LearningAUSSE Outcome Scales: Higher Order Thinking, General Learning Outcomes, Career Readiness, Overall Avg. Grade, Departure Intention, Overall Satisfaction

The University Experience Survey has largely replaced the AUSSE in many institutions. The UES is now one of the primary governmental measures of institutional performance – teaching quality, skills development, learner engagement, student support, learning

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https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/pipu/surveys/survey-search/university-experience-survey

https://webstat.latrobe.edu.au/url/intranet.latrobe.edu.au/matrix/__data/assets/excel_doc/0020/13295/AUSSEOutcomescalesbyquestion_2011.xlsx

https://webstat.latrobe.edu.au/url/intranet.latrobe.edu.au/matrix/__data/assets/excel_doc/0019/13294/AUSSEEngagementscalesbyquestion_2011.xlsx

http://www.acer.edu.au/ausse

http://myuniversity.gov.au/

https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/archived/pipu-OLD/surveys/ags/ceq

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/aaru/research


resources – and results are made public via the My University website. The UES was first administered at La Trobe in 2013.

Australian Graduate Survey Summary Report; Graduate Destination Survey (by College)Subject Level Data

Student Feedback on Subject – Overall quality, value of learning, student interest in subject material, quality of feedback, assessment tasks, etc.

Student Feedback on Teaching – The overall design of a subject is, of course, important, but so too is the actual teaching delivery of a subject. Student feedback on teaching can often inform the process of subject redesign and should be part of the review process wherever possible.

Subject Retention Rates – There are several ways in which measures of retention/attrition can inform the subject redesign process:

o 1) Per cent of students retained/lost before census can indicate an issue where students are leaving a subject at an unexpected rate. This may indicate scheduling conflicts, lack of interest, worries about level of difficulty, etc.

o 2) Per cent of students that take a particular subject and remain (re)enrolled at census in the following semester. For this measure to have any meaning it would have to be compared to overall course retention averages, other cohort measures, or multi-year comparisons. At LTU we have already seen that students who complete first-year subjects with a strong element of active or social learning often have a higher rate of retention than students exposed solely, or primarily to traditional lecture-tutorial formats. This is, of course, an imperfect measure and requires a high level of contextualisation if it is to be meaningful.

o 3) It can also be useful to clearly distinguish between institutional and course retention. It may be that a course is experiencing high rates of attrition, but many of these students may yet be retained by the institution overall. In these cases, our interest is in maximising institutional retention wherever course retention may be relatively low (i.e. “pathway” or “feeder” courses). This is particularly important in our generalist degrees.

Success Rates – Per cent of students who attain successful completion within a subject. It is important to look at overall grade distribution, grade distribution by cohort/course, and distributions by campus. Disaggregating the data in this way can often reveal important insights into the varieties of student (their preparedness, motivation, etc.) and student experience within individual subjects. Demographic data is available from PIPU and will be made more widely available with the release of the Subject/Course Dashboard.

Student Demographic Data – ATAR bands (multi-year comparison), course, course preference (1st, 2nd or 3rd preference), First in Family status, SES, campus. Demographic data can shed some light on your student’s background characteristics, including their abilities, preparedness and priorities. Demographic data is available from PIPU and will be made more widely available with the release of the Subject/Course Dashboard.

Number of Late Enrolments – Late enrolees are at particularly high-risk and may be skewing results (success rates). This may indicate a need for targeted support strategies. Your College student administration office may be able to help with the collection of this data.

Assessment Completion/Success Rates – Per cent of students completing and passing each assessment task (early assessment, essays, labs, exams, etc). It is particularly helpful to map completion rates over several years for each assessment task. This allows you to then set completion goals for each of your subject’s assessment tasks. Low completion rates for formal exams may indicate the need for a new examination strategy. This process may also

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https://intranet.latrobe.edu.au/archived/pipu-OLD/surveys/ags/gds

https://webstat.latrobe.edu.au/url/intranet.latrobe.edu.au/matrix/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/26015/AGS-Summary-Report.pdf

http://myuniversity.gov.au/


indicate that the assessment strategy requires overall renewal. Finally, by tracking completion and success rates (grade distributions) for individual assessments, we have a quick and easy way of measuring the effectiveness of redesign efforts as the subject is being delivered. Moreover, this is one of the few measures that carries little time lag.

Number of Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Cases – If a subject or particular assessment task is witnessing an unusual number of academic integrity cases, this may indicate a problem area within the subject, or with student preparedness, understanding, or even anxiety. It is well worth keeping track of academic integrity breaches within the subject for this reason.

Student Focus Groups – In some cases it will be useful to run focus groups with students that have recently completed the subject. Focus group discussions will help to flesh out the student experience as captured in SFS feedback and further elucidate the student’s background characteristics (preparedness, motivation, etc.).

Peer Observation of Teaching – LTLT is currently developing a model to support the process of peer observation of teaching. The model will be applicable across multiple delivery modes, including traditional lecture/tutorial, blended and fully online. For more information please contact Rhonda Hallett (LTLT) [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]


Attachment 2: Teaching Award Template #1At La Trobe University, care has been taken to ensure that College awards and institutional awards (LTU Citations for Contributions to Student Learning) address the same criteria and are in the same format as national awards allocated by the Office for Teaching and Learning awards (OLT Citations for Contributions to Student Learning).

This means that if you prepare an application for a College award, you will require minimal changes for an institutional award, and theoretically, a national award. It is worth noting however, that a national award has a slightly different focus, and therefore often requires some re working during the preparation stage.

Despite these subtle differences, the same criteria are used. The template that follows outlines one format for these awards and is offered as a way into the writing process. This has proven to be effective in developing applications that clearly show evidence required in applications.

Overall structureThe document is 4 pages long- deceptively short!You need to address ONE of 5 criteria identified in the guidelines (For example, Approaches that inspire and motivate students to learn and engage them in learning is the first one listed).However assessors will make judgements about whether the contribution addressing any of the criteria has:

a. influenced student learning, student engagement or the overall student experience

b. gained recognition from fellow staff, the Head of School or Department and/or the broader community.

c. provided evidence of sustainability of no less than three consecutive years (two years for Early Career nominations)

This means that evidence against these areas should be very obvious in the application.

Structure 1This structure makes it clear to the reader where the evidence against each of the areas (a,b,c) above is located in the application.

Page 1- Heading: Description of Context and nature of the contributionPage 2- Heading: Evidence that the contribution influenced student learning, student engagement or the overall student experiencePage 3- Heading: Evidence that the contribution gained recognition fellow staff, the Head of School or Department and/or the broader communityPage 4- Heading: Evidence of sustainability of no less than 3 consecutive years.

Note: if there is an additional area as required by FBEL, you will need to devote approximately ¾ of a page per area.

Page 1: Context and nature of the contributionThere are 3 elements that need to be covered here:

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The Problem. What have you observed about how students learn in your class and what they mis-understand or have problems in learning.This gives you an opportunity to talk about yourself, how long you have been working at LTU and your discipline/area of specialisation/the nature of your teaching environment (f-2-f, blended, online etc.), and the numbers of cohorts.For example:As an economist/biologist/historian, I observed since coming to La Trobe University in 2008 that undergraduate students in their first year of study often mis-understand a key idea that is critical to their success in economics/biology/history. As I teach large first year subjects with over 500 students, with the delivery in blended learning environments, this is a challenge….This then opens up the way for you to show off your understanding about your discipline and student learning in it.For example:Understanding (concept/idea/skills) is identified as critical to the success of students (refs). Specifically, they need to develop key skills in economics/biology/history. There is a recognised need for graduates in this field to be able to undertake tasks/think critically/ etc.

The problem solution. What you have done to address this problem you have observed in your teaching. This gives you an opportunity to talk about why you adopted the approach/developed curricula/developed approaches to assessment/attended to the needs of students as learners/undertook scholarly activities. It gives you a way into describing the students – the nature of the cohorts in your classes and why this is apt in this setting and some key research that guided the adoption of your problem solution.For exampleI decided that the best way to respond to these issues was to inspire, motivate and engage students/develop a curriculum that supports xxx/ develop assessment strategies etc etc. In doing this I drew on work by xx x which shows that interventions of this nature are successful (refs) with students in these learning environments facing these challenges (specify). However, the needs of my students were slightly different so I developed xxx in response to this.This then means that you can briefly describe what it is that you have done. For example, if it is a curriculum reform, describe (in dot points) its components, if it is an approach, describe (in dot points) its key aspects.

The outcomes. What you have observed about student learning as a result of devising this intervention to address this problem. This gives you an opportunity to summarise your key claims and back them up with a summary of evidence.For exampleSince introducing this (must be at least 3 years ago) student learning has improved as measured by student satisfaction with the subject (up from xx to xx), student retention (up from x to x) and student progression (up from x to x). You also list other outcomes including awards you have been given/ your students have been given/publications or presentations you have made – almost anything!

Page 2: Evidence that the contribution influenced student learning, student engagement or the overall student experience

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The easiest way to go about this is to structure it around the three elements aboveInfluence on student learningThis can include evidence that the activity has inspired students to learn. Go through formal student feedback on subjects and teaching and look for the questions that ask students whether the teacher was interested in the subject, or inspired them to learn. See if you can summarise from the same cohort over three years and present it in a table. This should be written as a narrative – don’t’ create a shopping list of unconnected items. You need to speak to the table.For example: As indicated in the table below, the approach/curriculum/assessment process/ attention to individuals/scholarly approach (name it) inspires and motivates students to learn in different ways/more productively (etc.). Select some student comments that illustrate that they have been inspired and motivated to learn. You need to make sure that if you say that the intervention has supported students to be inspired/motivated to do xxxx that the quote illustrates that students now do this thing.Other data may be an improvement in assignments in on time or other things you have observed.

You can add data from other sources including colleagues who are in a position to comment on your work. Make sure that they are commenting on your intervention and its capacity to inspire and motivate.You can also point to student outcomes such as jobs in the field – i.e. they were motivated to achieve.

Student engagementThis can be demonstrated in a number of ways, including:

Number of hits to a website Participation in discussions undertaken in the LMS (online discussions are a good source of

data about the student experience- especially if you ask them about their experiences); Number of downloads of resources – e.g. I Tunes Group activities and products arising from these (e.g. reports). Observations from others involved in activities – e.g. off site coordinators and supervisors Quotes from students Quotes from colleagues, including external peer reviewers

Again, you need to make sure that this is not a shopping list, but a narrative that continues to tell the story of your intervention.

Overall student experienceThis is where a table showing overall student satisfaction with the subject or teaching over 3 years is located. Make sure that it shows an upward trend and include the School average – make sure yours is above that. Provide a narrative around it, so that it continues the story.

Page 3 structureEvidence that the contribution gained recognition from fellow staff, the Head of School or Department and/or the broader communityAgain, the easiest way to structure this is to do it using the three headings identified above.Recognition from fellow staff

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For a College award, the scope will be less than for an institutional or OLT award. At a minimum you need to have comments from colleagues who are in a position to comment on your work. Make sure the comments speak directly to the intervention you have undertaken.For example, In developing my curriculum/approach/assessment process I sought feedback from colleagues in the field on the value to students/capacity to inspire etc. The following is an extract from our discipline convenor: this is of value because it directly inspires students to engage with difficult concepts in interesting ways. As a long term academic with expertise in the field, I consider this one of the best examples of xxxxx.At the College level you can talk about recognition of your expertise in terms of roles and responsibilities- subject and course co-ordination- relate this back to the intervention you have devised though as you are seeking recognition for excellence in a specific area. At the institutional level you need to talk about how your work has inspired others to adopt the same approach etc. At the national level you need to have evidence of leading teaching and learning – for example, participation in an OLT grant, institutional grants etc.

You can mention publications, conference presentations and other activities where you have disseminated what you have learned about how students learn.

An awards you have won can be added here, including those conducted outside of the institution – e.g. the Uni Jobs awards or discipline awards.

Recognition from Head of School or Department/UniversityFor a College award you will have a reference from your Head of School, but in this part of the application you can revisit what is said and highlight aspects you want to draw attention to.

You can also include participation on university committees and other decision making groups (working groups etc.) where you have been invited to participate. Outline the nature of your contribution in terms of your expertise in learning and teaching and specifically the focus of the application.

Recognition from the broader communityIn a College award this can be in the form of comments from placements coordinators (where relevant to your application). In institutional application and national applications, you need to draw on more formal feedback which (you have set up) from external partners or stakeholders. This could be outlined in a table that you speak to. You may also be able to use the success of your students: their recognition by the community could be linked to the work you have undertaken.

Page 4: Sustained over timeThis is also where you show iterations of the intervention (approach/curriculum/assessment protocols etc.). For example: growth in the number of students and subjects. This should be in a table format with an explanatory statement – a paragraph- outlining each of the iterations and the additions made as it went through change.

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If you have enough iterations, you can provide student quotes from each iteration that illustrate how the new elements were received and how students perceived them.

You can also include evidence – quotes- from colleagues who can comment on the way the iterations evolved.

You can also give an overview of your publications relevant to the intervention – especially if they were produced with each iteration. You can also talk here about your career if it is relevant here showing how you expanded your skills and knowledge over time.

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Attachment 3: What counts as evidence?In developing nominations you will need to develop evidence that supports claims made about the excellence of the activity described. A Statement of Evidence is required in all nominations in the teaching categories. This should be one page of the 4 pages required for a nomination, and that it should be arranged under three headings:

1. Evidence of the influence of the activity on student learning and engagement;

2. Evidence of recognition by the institution and beyond;

3. Evidence that the activity has been sustained over time.

Evidence should also be cited in the Statement Addressing the Selection Criteria – 3 of the 4 pages required.

What counts as evidence? This depends on the nomination, but below are some useful ways of thinking about evidence which typically comes from 3 sources: the applicant, the applicant’s peers within and beyond the institution, and the Head of School or line manager with oversight of the applicant’s work.

1. Quotations from students. These are especially relevant to teaching categories, and are typically sourced by the nominee via student evaluations initiated and collected by the nominee or the nominator. These are usually in the Statement Addressing the Selection criteria, but can also appear in the Statement of Evidence and the reference prepared by the HoS/line manager. It should be clear that the statements are typical of what is received from students or others with regard to the activity described.

2. Examples to illustrate a general claim: These are a good way to support claims and are also usually located in the Statement Addressing the Selection criteria. These can be sourced by the applicant. The applicant should make it clear that these are typical and not the only thing that is done.

3. Case studies. These can be small vignettes (usually in a box in the text) that illustrate an approach/strategy/technique that is used to engage students.

4. Student feedback on Teacher (SfT) scores: These are important to cite in nominations for teaching awards. SfT scores are most useful if they are aggregated and put into tabular form to show how the nominee has performed over time using this measure. Tables are typically located in the Statement of Evidence and referred to the in the Statement Addressing the Selection criteria. Tables must be accompanied by College averages so that it is possible to see the performance relative to others.

5. Student Evaluation of Unit (SEU) scores: As above.

6. Recognition from peers is found in formal awards for excellence as well as less formal activities. Less formal evidence can include: invitations to present to peers at School meetings and conferences, conduct workshops and other professional development activities, participate in peer review processes for courses and programs, and formal publications. These forms of recognition are usually summarised in the Statement of Evidence and referred to in the Statement Addressing the Selection criteria.

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7. Publications: For teaching and teaching-related awards, publications may not provide strong evidence of practice unless they show that the nominee has reflected on their practice and improved it to the benefit of students, themselves as teachers, the School or the discipline. This may be evident from the title, but it may be necessary to access publications via databases if more information about the nature of the research undertaken is required. Publications are typically listed in the CV and summarised in the statement of evidence in teaching and teaching related award categories and the research categories.

8. References. A reference from the Head of School is required in all nominations. This should outline the nominee’s contribution to the teaching and learning culture within the School, as well as commenting on the individual’s/team’s/program’s performance relative to other individuals/teams/programs in the College and beyond (if this is available).

9. Testimonials: These are not required in nominations, but are often submitted by nominees. Panels, under the direction of the Chair, will determine if these are to be taken into consideration, as not all nominations assessed within a category will include testimonials.

10. Additional material to support nominations is not required.

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Attachment 4: Standards of Teaching ExcellenceThe following teaching excellence standard descriptors are provided for the guidance of applicants. These descriptors will also be used by the Selection Panel to assess nominations.

Standards

Approaches that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn

Development of curricula and resources that reflect a command of the field

Approaches to assessment and feedback that foster independent learning

Respect and support for the development of students as individuals

Scholarly activities that have influenced and enhanced learning and teaching

Excellence

Student-centred approaches founded on theories of learning and which engage students in changing how they see themselves

Development of curriculum models and resources that are responsive to changing conditions of work in the study/field, and which reflect knowledge of issues in learning and teaching arising from these changes.

Developmental approach that positions formative feedback as integral to the learning process and which is multi-dimensional (not restricted to specific techniques).

Whole of learning approach that positions students as learners inside and out of the classroom and supports students see themselves differently as a consequence of engagement with the learning process.

Systematic evaluation of practice that is referenced to key issues in learning and teaching in the field or discipline which is disseminated to peers and contributes to change in the discipline or field.

Developing towards excellence

Student-centred approaches reflecting the application of concepts about student learning and how to engage students in learning processes

Development of curriculum models and resources that are adaptations of pre-existing models in discipline or field.

Staged approach to the provision of formative assessment tasks over the course of study in a unit or course that utilizes techniques and strategies to achieve this.

Active use of strategies and techniques that support students to engage with key ideas and issues in the course/unit of study.

Dissemination of personal reflections on practice to peers within and outside the institution which include evidence of systematic evaluation of practice.

Good practice

Use of techniques and strategies that engage students in learning processes

Development of basic resources: unit & course outlines, assessment rubrics, PowerPoint and use of institutional e-learning resources

Use of standard techniques and strategies to obtain ‘instantaneous’ feedback from students about their experiences of learning and provision of quick turn-around feedback

Use of standard methods for engaging students in the classroom: knowing names, the unit course profile, prior experience and study.

Use of techniques that support reflection on practice and documentation of this in the form of a Teaching Portfolio or Journal that is available for

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(WebCT and Moodle) to these to students.

public appraisal by peers.

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