Dr Ben Brabon Academic Lead, Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences The TEF from Y1 to Y3 Dr Ben Brabon Academic Lead, Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

‘Lamentable Teaching’ “I hear this when I talk to worried parents, such as the physics teacher whose son dropped out at the start of year two of a humanities programme at a prestigious London university, having barely set eyes on his tutor. Her other son, by contrast, studying engineering at Bristol, saw the system at its best: he was worked off his feet, with plenty of support and mostly excellent teaching. This patchiness in the student experience within and between institutions cannot continue. There is extraordinary teaching that deserves greater recognition. And there is lamentable teaching that must be driven out of our system. It damages the reputation of UK higher education and I am determined to address it.” (Jo Johnson, UUK Conference, 9 September 2015) 20/11/2018

Aims to ensure all students receive an excellent teaching experience that encourages original thinking, drives up engagement and prepares them for the world of work to build a culture where teaching has equal status with research, with great teachers enjoying the same professional recognition and opportunities for career and pay progression as great researchers to stimulate a diverse HE market and provide students with the information they need to judge teaching quality – in the same way they can already compare a faculty’s research rating to recognise those institutions that do the most to welcome students from a range of backgrounds and support their retention and progression to further study or a graduate job (Jo Johnson, ‘Teaching at the Heart of the System’, 1 July 2015) 20/11/2018

‘If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow’ (John Dewey, Democracy and Education) 20 November 2018

“Fact, fact, fact!” What is teaching excellence? Are there variations in our understanding of teaching excellence across the disciplines? How can we measure it? 20/11/2018

What is Teaching Excellence? Teaching quality Intellectually stimulated, active learners Learning environment Leadership and learning strategy supporting teaching excellence Student outcomes Support, career readiness and added value NSS, HESA & DLHE 20/11/2018

Personally and professionally transformative HEA’s UK Professional Standards Framework 20 November 2018

‘Course quality depends on more than contact hours and class size, but students do care deeply about these issues. They are notably less satisfied when they have fewer than 10 contact hours and classes of over 50 students’ (Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, 4 June 2015) 20 November 2018

TEF Year 1 – Institutional benchmark linked to QAA review Quality threshold Year 2 – Institutional differentiation linked to application for higher level TEF status 4 levels Year 3 – Assessment in the disciplines/subject areas Further differentiation 20/11/2018

Approach High fidelity Low fidelity Coherence, reliability Tokenism, compliance Low trust Low fidelity Innovation, engagement Fragmented, low control High trust 20/11/2018

Impact to ensure all students receive an excellent teaching experience that encourages original thinking, drives up engagement and prepares them for the world of work to build a culture where teaching has equal status with research, with great teachers enjoying the same professional recognition and opportunities for career and pay progression as great researchers to stimulate a diverse HE market and provide students with the information they need to judge teaching quality – in the same way they can already compare a faculty’s research rating to recognise those institutions that do the most to welcome students from a range of backgrounds and support their retention and progression to further study or a graduate job 20/11/2018

Dr Ben Brabon ben.brabon@heacademy.ac.uk @BenBrabon 20/11/2018