Student Led Teaching Awards: Using Data in Enhancement Steph Kirkham, Development Consultant, sparqs Matt Adie, Vice President Education, Stirling Students' Union Megan Brown, Academic Engagement Coordinator, Edinburgh University Students’ Association

Student Led Teaching Awards: Using Data in Enhancement Aims: Examine the current extent and use of SLTAs Consider the implications SLTAs can have on staff and students Reflect on how the data gathered can be used to drive quality enhancement activity

The current extent and use of SLTAs

Activity Please place your institution into one of the following categories We currently do not have SLTAs We have SLTAs but the data from them is not analysed or used afterwards We have SLTAs and the data from them has been/is analysed to examine the themes and trends but is not used afterwards We have SLTAs and the data is analysed and themes and trends feed enhancement activity

Feedback What examples of practice do you have which justify why you have placed yourself in your chosen category?

Implications on staff and students

Student Led Teaching Awards SLTAs provide: a positive way to build and develop good relationships between the student body and their institution; an immensely popular and morale-building opportunity to bring students and staff together to celebrate success and mutual appreciation; a promising way to find out more about what students value most in their learning experience, including their conceptions of excellence in teaching. (HEA, 2012) Student perceptions of teaching quality, as measured through the NSS, are core metrics for TEF and with more and more emphasis put on gathering evidence, it is important to think about how we can use what we already have to drive enhancement of the learning experience

Activity In groups briefly fill in your A3 implications charts. Please prepare 1 opportunity and 1 challenge for staff and students to feed back to the group.

Using data for enhancement

Institutional examples Matt Adie, Vice President Education, Stirling Students' Union Megan Brown, Academic Engagement Coordinator, Edinburgh University Students’ Association

RATE (Recognising and Advancing Teaching Excellence) RATE annual student-led teaching awards. Two components: Awards ceremony Data analysis Awards Ceremony: Recognising Teaching Excellence Data Analysis: Advancing Teaching Excellence by studying the qualities that students most closely associate with ‘teaching excellence’ at Stirling

The RATE Cycle Nominating Awarding Analysing Sharing

RATE 2018 - What Our Data Tells Us “Feedback” mentioned in 162 nominations “Support” mentioned in 234 nominations The “passion” of their lecturer for teaching or their specific subject was mentioned in 172 nomination The lecturer’s specialist subject knowledge was important for 134 nominations

How Do We Use Our Data? Delivered in Partnership Identified In-House Enhanced Pedagogy v Aspects of Good Practice Delivered in Partnership Identified In-House

But Is It Enough? Through this intensive exercise, 5-months in the making, we collect a wealth of rich qualitative data. But is producing a report enough? We want to move towards providing smart analytical insights to colleagues, rather than data dumping. Key Goal: Inform the development of learning, teaching and the student experience through effective use of evidence

Teaching Awards Background Our Teaching Awards are the longest-running in the UK, now starting our 10th year We normally receive 2,000 – 3,000 open-ended nomination comments from students In 2014/15, there were eight award categories: Best Overall Teacher Best Feedback Best Personal Tutor Best Student Who Tutors Best Research or Dissertation Supervisor Best Support Staff Best Course Innovative Assessment Research carried out by a Research Assistant (Kieran Bunting, Masters student) from Feb to Aug 2016 Analysing themes across all 2,296 nominations from 2014-15 using Nvivo Funded by a Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme (PTAS) small grant Follow-up during 2016-17 carried out by Elizabeth Harris on similar trends and identifying new areas of interest

Teaching Awards Nominations by Category The vast majority of student nominations fell into the Best Overall Teacher category

Teaching Award Nominations Distributed Across All Colleges This is roughly in line with the student populations of each College

Gender Breakdown of Nominations

Four key themes in student perceptions of excellence in teaching and supporting students’ transitions

Students’ Association Recommendations Continue to work to develop a strong sense of academic community within each subject area Include students more actively in pedagogical discussions to increase transparency, accessibility and inclusion by showing students that they are partners in learning and teaching. Make time for students within working hours. Engage with the University’s Athena SWAN Institutional and School Self- Assessment Teams to identify ways to integrate the Teaching Awards into wider discussions around recognition and reward for women staff. The University should also consider how the Teaching Awards data may be used in the future to look at the extent of racial equality in the institution. Place greater emphasis on the Best Support Staff Award to increase nominations and recognition of the University’s professional and support staff, and especially women staff members. Continue to support postgrad tutors and work to ensure consistency of roles across each College, and pay tutors adequately. Continue to provide regular training and support to personal tutors and research supervisors, particularly relating to supporting students with mental health issues.

2016-17 Teaching Award Nominations

2016/17

Themes from 2016-17 Teaching Award Nominations In 2016/17 we saw a continuation of the main four themes of last year. Interesting sub-themes emerged: Technology Innovative Teaching Engaging the Unengaged

2017/18

Thank you! The full report ‘What Does Good Teaching Look Like to Students: An Analysis of Teaching Award Nomination Data’ is available via www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/teachingawards on the Teaching Awards Research tab.

Activity Any questions for Matt and Megan? In groups discuss how you do/could use data from SLTAs to enhance the learning experience What from today’s session will you take away with you?

Thank you Steph Kirkham steph.Kirkham@sparqs.ac.uk

Implications of SLTAs… Students Staff Opportunities Challenges