Handbook 2 – FHEA (D2)
Recognising Academic Practice
The YSJ Continuing Professional Development Framework
COntents
Introduction
The UK Professional Standards Framework
Written or Professional Dialogic Route?
The Process
Group Start-Up Workshop Session (Dialogue Written Route)
Professional Dialogue 1 (Dialogue Written Route)
Professional Dialogue 2 (Dialogue Written Route)
Final Professional Dialogue: The Assessment (Dialogue Only)
Final Written Submission: The Assessment (Written Only)
References (Dialogue & Written Route)
How will quality be assured and enhanced?
What is the appeals procedure?
Maintaining Good Standing
Who do I contact if I need help?
Appendix 1: Recognising Academic Practice Diagram
Appendix 2: The UK Professional Standards Framework
Appendix 3: Self-assessment proforma
Appendix 4: FHEA Written Application
Appendix 5: Guidance notes for referees, to support an application for Fellowship
Appendix 6: Completed Dimensions of Practice Mapping Document
Appendix 7: The process
Introduction
York St John University (YSJU) is committed to supporting staff in their personal and professional development. We are also committed to enhancing the student experience and one of the ways in which these commitments are brought together is byensuring staff are supported in the development of their pedagogic practice. Currently staffnew to teaching in higher educationhave to complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PCAP) and subsequently become Fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). Alternatively, forexperienced educators who are not currently Fellows of the HEA, we are able to offer a development opportunity to achieve this recognition through a non-academic route as part of Recognising Academic practice: the YSJ CPD Framework (Appendix 1). This handbook explains the relationship between Fellowship of the HEA and the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), the processesthat you will have to undertake to achieve recognitionas a Fellowthrough the non-academic accredited routes and the importance of maintaining on-going good standing in the development of your pedagogic practice.
The UK Professional Standards Framework
The UKPSF (Appendix 2) sets out the criteria that are considered to be core to the professional practice of a teacher in Higher Education. These criteria are defined under the headings of Areas of Activity, Core Knowledge and Professional Values.They must be met at the level of Descriptor 2 in order for an individual to be recognised as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
This non-accreditedroute through Professional Dialogue or the Written route will give you the opportunity to demonstrate that you meet the six elements of Descriptor 2 and achieve Fellowship of the HEA.
Written or Professional Dialogic Route?
You will have already attended an introductory workshop setting out the pros and cons of the two methods of application. Whichever route you choose you will be provided with support to help you develop your application. The Written route requires you to bring your evidence together and write about it in approximately 3000 words. The Professional Dialogic route requires you to bring your evidence together using an e-Portfolio and to then talk about it and reflect on your achievements.
The following section explores the requirements and the process involved for obtaining FHEA status via both the Written and Dialogic routes. As you will notice, the routes have much in common in terms of the overall process. The major difference is related to the final assessment where, for the Dialogic route, you will explore your e-Portfolio of evidence with a panel of peers and for the Written route, you will submit your 3000 words of evidence as an attachment via email.
The Process
The process will use a combination of the following: face-to-face sessions and the use of an e-Portfolio (Dialogic route), or a typed document (Written route), to collate your individual evidence and reflections. The process will require you, normally, to engage in two formal meetings (‘Professional Dialogues’)with a mentor, who will be a peer from within the institution. The culmination of your work will be either a final dialogic meeting, as detailed below, or the submission of your Written piece of work on a specific date. There is an element of flexibility in the number of Professional Dialogues so that we can ensure that participants are ready for the final assessment for whichever route has been chosen. In between the meetings you will be encouraged to meet up with others also completing the route, for support, debate and the discussion of learning teaching and assessment matters. To get ready for Fellowship you will also be required to engage in independent work to draw together evidence for each of the criteria in the UKPSF which will be stored within your e-Portfolio or referred to within your writing.
Group Start-Up Workshop Session (Dialogue Written Route)
This will be an initial meeting to discuss with a group of participants the overall process and introduce you tothe e-Portfolio system and provide training in its use. It will also be an opportunity for you to explore the types of evidence that you might include that meet the criteria of the UKPSF, and your development as a reflective practitioner.
Between the Group Session and Professional Dialogue1you are expected to begin to collate evidence of your teaching practice and to use the Descriptor 2 self-evaluation pro-forma (Appendix 3) to help you identify your progress of achievement to the level of Descriptor 2. Evidence can include general teaching reflections, peer observation reflections, pedagogic project findings, evaluations from students or other staff, reflections on scholarly papers, and the types of workshops and other opportunities available through the YSJ CPD framework (Appendix 1). Appendix 6gives examples of evidence mapped to the dimensions of practice that you may find useful. Yourmentor will have access to your e-Portfolio and will be able to help youevaluate your progress, add comments, etc.
Professional Dialogue 1 (Dialogue Written Route)
This is your first professional dialogue meeting with your mentor to exploreand discuss the evidence you are starting to collate against each of the criteria in the UKPSF. This is an important part of the professional dialogue process and it is intended to drawon the scholarly nature of your pedagogic practice within the conversation. Other elements of this conversation will help you to identify how you are critically reflecting on your practice and moving forward.
Professional Dialogue 2 (Dialogue Written Route)
This will build on the development within Professional Dialogue 1 and be a further opportunity to consider the evidence provided within the e-Portfolio and provide an opportunity to discuss any issues. At the end of the meeting there will be agreement on what work still remains to be done and identification of further evidence required within your e-Portfolio. Further professional dialogues may be arranged with your mentor as required.
Final Professional Dialogue: The Assessment (Dialogue Only)
This final professional dialogue meeting will involve you and two independent assessors. It will explore how you meet the criteria of the UKPSF through a formal conversation and the evidence you have provided in youre-Portfolio. Prior to this meeting the independent assessors will have access to youre-Portfolio. The assessment will be audio-recorded for moderation purposes to ensure the quality of the process.
Final Written Submission: The Assessment (Written Only)
The Written route to Fellowship asks you to demonstrate how you meet all aspects of Descriptor 2, through a written account that includes a 1000 wordAccount of Professional Practice (APP) evidencing a sustained period of teaching,plus the development offour 500 word case studies that evidence your success and effectiveness as a teacher in Higher Education. Therefore, overall you will be required to write approximately 3000 words to support your application. Typically this takes the form of a Microsoft Word document that is submitted on a specific deadline date to .
You must be clear in your application how you evidence each of the Areas of Activity and how you apply the Core Knowledge and Professional Values of the UKPSF, as it is against these criteria that the assessment will be made. You will be assigned a mentor to help you develop your application; you must have a minimum of two face-to-face meetings with them, and you are advised to discuss a draft before your final submission.The application template is in Appendix 4.
Written applications will be assessed by two experienced members of staff who have achieved Fellowship, Senior Fellowship or Principal Fellowship of the HEA,using the assessment grid inAppendix 3. Successful applicants will be eligible for Fellowship of the HEA. Unsuccessful applicants will be provided with feedback and encouraged to resubmit following further development.The entire process is outlined in the diagram in Appendix 6.
The Outcome
Successful participants will be eligible for Fellowship of the HEA. Unsuccessful participants will be given feedback and guidance on further development and support as necessary.
How long will it take to complete?
This will very much depend on you and your commitments and how quickly you are able to collate the evidence required within the e-Portfolio/Written document and engage in the professional dialogue meetings. It is anticipated that it should take a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months.
Who will your mentor be?
Mentors will be drawn from an institutional list ofFellows. All mentors will have received training to support them in their role. When being assigned a mentor, every effort will be made to ensure that the mentor is from a different academic discipline than your own.
Who will your assessors be?
Your assessors will be members of internal or external staff who have achieved Fellowship, Senior Fellowship or Principal Fellowship of the HEA and who will normally hold leadership roles within HE.
References (DialogueWritten Route)
In support of your application you must provide two references from peers who are able to comment on your skills and experience in teaching and learning.
Referees should be:
- An experienced member of staff working in a UK Higher Education institution(preferably with Fellowship, Senior Fellowship or Principal Fellowship of the HEA)
- Able to comment on your skills and experience in teaching and learning, and therefore able to validate the evidence in your application
- Familiar with the UK Professional Standards Framework and the requirements for Fellowship (this is not to say that they need to be experts; the ‘Guidance notes for referees’ document (Appendix 5) explains what they need to know.
It is up to you whom you invite to be your referees, bearing in mind the guidance given above. If you are a new member of staff at York St John, you may wish to invite someone from an institution at which you have previously worked to be one of your referees. Some applicants choose their mentor as one of their referees; this is fine, but remember that referees must have first-hand knowledge of your skills and experience in teaching and learning, so it may be more appropriate to choose your line manager or a peer from your School.
It is advisable to permit your referees to review the evidence within yourWritten application ore-Portfolio, prior to completing your reference.
You should also supply them with a copy of the ‘Guidance notes for referees’, which includes the form they should use to complete your reference (Appendix 5). It is your responsibility to collect the references and to provide them to the assessorseither at the point of your final Written submission or, in the case of the dialogic route, the week before your professional dialogue.
How will quality be assured and enhanced?
Recognising Academic Practice, the YSJ CPD framework,has been formally scrutinised by the HEA. This means that the University is nowaccredited to use the framework and the processes within it to develop staff and to provide a means for individuals to gain recognition at all four fellowships.
Quality will be assured through internal moderation between assessors and mentors and amongst the assessors. Mentors and assessors will meet to discuss and ensure that standards are fair and consistent in the way the professional dialogues are facilitated and managed. Assessors will meet to ensure consistency across the assessments. Similarly,written applications will be moderated between two of the assessors. An externalevaluator has been appointed who will review a sample of audio taped dialogues and written applications.
The team of individual staff, assessors and mentors involved in facilitating this route to Fellowship, will take an ongoing evaluative approach to this professional development. We will evaluate the process and the assessment to ensure that we take account of feedback that you provide both during and following its completion.
What is the appeals procedure?
In addition to formal assessment outcomes (i.e. pass or ‘further development required’), you will receive specific feedback around UKPSF criteria. If you disagree with an assessment outcome (i.e. ‘further development required’), you can appeal against this decision. The process of appeal will be to write to the Head of the Academic Development Directorateclearly stating:
- Which specific part(s) of the assessment feedback you disagree with
- Why you disagree with the specific assessment feedback
- Your desired outcome
The Head of the Academic Development Directoratewill respond to your request within 15 working days.
Maintaining Good Standing
It is important that as professionals you continue to develop your skills and knowledge through engaging internally with academic staff development, continuing to participate in peer observation of learning and teaching and reflecting on your day to day practice. Please make the most of the opportunities to work with the Academic Development Directorate through curriculum enhancement projects, the learning and teaching forums and opportunities to engage in pedagogic research. Examples of the types of professional development currently available can be seen in the YSJ CPD framework (Appendix 1). We hope that having successfully gained recognition as a Fellow of the HEA you might consider how through further development you might consider applying for Senior Fellowship recognition.
Who do I contact if I need help?
If you need help generally about this professional development and feel you are unable to speak to your mentor please contact,Mark Dransfield, Educational Developer & CPD scheme lead. If you are completing via the dialogic route and your query is specifically about using the e-Portfolio system, please contact the Technology-Enhanced Learning team: .
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Handbook 2 – FHEA (D2)
Appendix 1: Recognising Academic Practice Diagram
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Handbook 2 – FHEA (D2)
Appendix 2: The UK Professional Standards Framework
The UK Professional Standards Framework provides a general description of the main dimensions of the roles of teaching and supporting learning within the HE environment. It has two components:
- The Descriptors:
These are a set of statements outlining the key characteristics of someone performing four broad categories of typical learning and teaching support roles within higher education.
- The Dimensions of Practice:
These are a set of statements outlining the:
Areas of Activity undertaken by teachers and supporters of learning within HE.
- Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
- Teach and/or support learning
- Assess and give feedback to learners
- Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
- Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices
Core Knowledge that is needed to carry out those activities at the appropriate level.
- The subject material
- Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme
- How students learn, both generally and within their subject/ disciplinary area(s)
- The use and value of appropriate learning technologies
- Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
- The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching
Professional Values that someone performing these activities should embrace and exemplify:
- Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities
- Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
- Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development
- Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice
For access to the full framework, please click on this link:
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Handbook 2 – FHEA (D2)
Appendix 3: Self-assessment proforma
This document is used by the assessors to help them make a judgement against your claim for all levels of Fellowship of the HEA. Please use the document to complete a self-assessment in order to identify any areas of weakness prior to your final submission or professional dialogue.
NB: AFHEA Colleagues will demonstrate engagement with at least 2 of the following. FHEA, SFHEA will demonstrate engagement with allof the following.Areas of activity
/ A / B / C / D / E
1 / Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
2 / Teach and/or support learning
3 / Assess and give feedback to learners
4 / Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
5 / Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices
SFHEA ONLY: Colleagues will also
6 / Demonstrate successful co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/or mentoring of others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to the Areas of Activity
7 / Provide evidence of a sustained record of effectiveness in relation to the Areas of Activity, incorporating for example, the organisation, leadership and/or management of specific aspects of teaching and learning provision
Core Knowledge: Colleagues will demonstrate application of….
/ A / B / C / D / E
1 / The subject material
2 / Appropriate methods for teaching and learning in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme
3 / How students learn, both generally and within their subject/ disciplinary area(s)
4 / The use and value of appropriate learning technologies
5 / Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
6 / The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching
SFHEA ONLY: Colleagues will also
6 / Demonstrate successful co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/or mentoring of others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to the Areas of Activity
7 / Provide evidence of a sustained record of effectiveness in relation to the Areas of Activity, incorporating for example, the organisation, leadership and/or management of specific aspects of teaching and learning provision
Professional Values: Colleagues will demonstrate active….
/ A / B / C / D / E
1 / Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities
2 / Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
3 / Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development
4 / Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice
SFHEA ONLY: Colleagues will also
6 / Demonstrate successful co-ordination, support, supervision, management and/or mentoring of others (whether individuals and/or teams) in relation to the Areas of Activity
7 / Provide evidence of a sustained record of effectiveness in relation to the Areas of Activity, incorporating for example, the organisation, leadership and/or management of specific aspects of teaching and learning provision
Key