New Lecturer and Teacher Programme: Assessment submission guidance for Course 1 Jane MacKenzie

Submitting your assessment Deadline for routes 1 and 2 is early August/Routes 3 and 4 is early January (check specific dates here: Your academic practice statement – this may have been updated since it was first submitted earlier in the course – include only the final version. 2. A case study of approximately 3000 words outlining an evaluation of an aspect of your teaching practice this year (see programme handbook for details). 3. Tutor observation report and your reflective response to this feedback 4. Peer observation report and your reflective response to the feedback.

Submission guidelines Your assessment should: Have one wide margin for comments Be one and a half or double-spaced Be written in a font size of no less than 12 point Should contain clear headings to allow navigation Have page numbers at the bottom right of each page Have a contents page at the beginning of the file Be a single file in word or preferably pdf format

Submission guidelines Your assessment should be submitted through the appropriate Moodle assignment activity (i.e. the one stating the month of submission and year of study) Upon uploading the single file you will be asked to check a box to confirm your declaration of originality.

Including evidence If you are including evidence (such as student feedback/questionnaires etc) to back up your case study ….. Mention it explicitly in the text Describe what it is! I used a simple questionnaire to gather student feedback as shown in Appendix 1. OR I used a simple questionnaire to gather student feedback (Evidence 1). And make sure you label the evidence/appendices so reader can find them.

Course ILOs Academic practice statement describe your academic practice philosophy articulate the relationships between research/scholarship and teaching, learning & assessment Observations critically explore common and different academic practices with your peers Case study apply research on student learning to the environments in which you teach design and implement a range of teaching and learning environments design, implement and respond to evaluation of your own practice critically reflect on assessment and feedback – if you haven’t directly addressed this ILO in your case study you will need to include one or two paragraphs reflecting on your approach/practice re: assessment and feedback.

Academic Practice Statement words You should have received feedback from tutor. Did they ask you to make changes/respond to questions? Or would you like to revisit it in light of the past year? Or would you like to make links between your case study and the APS? Describe what you do in terms of academic practice/teaching, learning and assessment (i.e. what decisions do you make that are unique to you?) Describe what informs your practice e.g. your own experience as a learner or a teacher and/or your beliefs about the purposes of Higher Education How do you approach assessment and feedback tasks? What (if any) are the research/Scholarship teaching linkages in your practice?

APS – it’s all about me! I believe that learners (especially adult learners) need to feel they’ve achieved something when they learn, that they have to do something. As Adler (1982) states: “All genuine learning is active, not passive. It is a process of discovery in which the student is the main agent, not the teacher.” I think, not only that group discussion is effective in terms of learning, it is key in terms of being a motivator of student learning. I have only rarely experienced the profound ‘penny dropping’ aaaah, as a student or teacher, but it occurred most frequently in the common room of the Genetics Department. We learned effectively and in the most motivating situation I can imagine. We were a community of learning. I feel that it is my responsibility to try to imitate that community of learning when I teach.

Dealing with observations observations Include the reports provided by tutor and peer Reflect on these reports by writing a ~ 1 page response and include this in your submission Any surprises pleasant or otherwise? Anything that you’re being asked to think about or do differently? Anything you learned through being observed?

For instance … I’d like to thank my observer for their comments – they were very interesting The above does not demonstrate critical reflection on feedback…. Instead X mentioned that in a full group discussion after break out groups the students tended to direct their comments to me rather than each other. I think this relates to the power dynamics present in most classrooms but is something that I have tried to address by altering seating so that students now sit in a circle. I also try to be really careful about using eye contact and hand gestures to indicate that the rest of the class should be included.

Case study – important things to deal with What were you trying to find out? Why was this important in terms of your students’ learning? Who did you attempt to get feedback from? How was feedback obtained? Include a description of the method used What feedback was obtained and what does this mean? If you wish include student feedback as an appendix BUT you must summarise the findings in terms of what they mean AND what changes you’ll make to your practice in response to them. Remember to write at least some of your case study in first person!

For instance …. It was clear from these minute papers (shown in Appendix 3) that the participants found the prolonged, tutorless activity useful….. INCLUDE SUMMARY OF MINUTE PAPERS I also felt that the students appeared more relaxed at the end of the session than in previous weeks. It was also clear upon reading the post-session activity that this opportunity to engage in an in-depth group task, reflect upon it and receive feedback really helped develop the participants’ reflective writing skills and I have decided to maintain the activity next year.

Critically reflect on assessment and feedback You may not have dealt explicitly with the ILO “critically reflect on assessment and feedback” in your case study. If you haven’t please ensure that you include one or two paragraphs where you reflect on your practice in the area of assessment and feedback.

Dealing with the T+L literature Do cite references in the text using a recognised system e.g. 38D A62766D134F1BEB5http://inet.acu.edu.au/node.cfm/30877A04- 38D A62766D134F1BEB5 Do give a reference list at the end Don’t use lengthy footnotes Don’t present a bibliography – only reference literature you have cited Do demonstrate ‘engage with the literature’

Engaging with the literature Small group teaching (Smith, 2003) was used to teach critical thinking skills. The above does not demonstrate ‘engagement’ with the literature. What does Smith say about small group teaching and what impact has this had on your practice? I decided that my students’ critical thinking skills would only developed through discussion. It has been argued that small group discussion is most appropriate teaching format for the development of these skills as it encourages to question their own assumptions (Smith, 2003).