Academic Practice

One of my priorities since gaining my CMALT accreditation has been to further improve my knowledge, confidence and credentials in the academic side of the learning technologist role. To say that I want to focus more on the 'learning' part of 'learning technology' is somewhat unimaginative, and does not do justice to the approach that I have always had in my various roles - to ensure that technology is used appropriately to support teaching and learning and the student experience.

However, I was aware that my knowledge of pedagogy, learning design, and related areas was not as strong as it could be. I believed that building relationships with academic colleagues, a crucial part of my role, would be easier and more effective if I has a better understanding of their context; namely the day to day environment in which they work, the university policies, processes and initiatives that effect their work, and the wider trends and context that they must operate in.

With this in mind I signed up at the start of 2019 for Cardiff University's 'Academic Practice' programme, which is targeted primarily at new members of teaching staff and is a probationary requirement for all new Grade 6 T&R and T&S lecturers.

This gave me the opportunity to attend a number of core and optional modules on this programme, most of them 1 day or half day sessions. The modules I have completed so far include:

I have found that in most modules the content varies in terms of both it's originality or relevance to me. For example, having been in the University for five years, some of the information related to strategies, policies and procedures of the University is useful only as a refresher. Moreover, the nature of my role means I am fairly up to speed with intellectual property concerns (particularly around copyright), am of course quite well versed in designing activities for online learning, and also have a good understanding of a range of different types of assessment and some of the parameters and implications of good quality assessment and feedback.

Nevertheless this programme has been a really positive experience, immersing me for a day at a time in academic-type information and conversations, allowing me to get to know a number of academics from around the University, and giving me the big picture in terms of the range of challenges academics face.

I have also learned and reflected on a lot of new things. For example, one module that was particularly useful for me was the module on scholarship. Scholarship was a concept that I previously only had a hazy idea of, but after this module I had a much clearer idea of what it entails and how I can contribute to scholarship in Cardiff University in my role as a learning technologist. More importantly it made me realise how much I already do contribute, through things such as innovation projects, sharing practice, staff training, conference presentations, and being a member of committees, panels, and special interest groups. This also made me more confident and comfortable in working and engaging with a wide range of colleagues despite not having a strictly academic role. This has in fact been a theme of the academic practice programme as a whole, as I realise that my knowledge and experience of some aspects of learning, teaching and assessment match, and sometimes surpass, that of some academic colleagues; in particular sometimes I can bring a more holistic overview and non-subject specific perspective.

I have moved through the programme quite quickly so far, but this has been a good thing, as it has allowed me to immerse myself somewhat in the content. I am also hoping to write my application for HEA fellowship soon, and this course, designed to meet the 'Descriptors' within the UK Professional Standards Framework, has helped me think about both the kinds of work that I do that is relevant to this application, but also familiarise me with the kinds of language and ideas that I should be using. I am therefore looking forward to attending the rest of the academic practice course, and hope to complete it by the end of 2019.