The HE landscape is shifting and diversifying to meet the changing needs of students and employers. Post-pandemic changes to student expectations, experiences, and prior learning combined with external factors, including the cost of living, globalisation, student mobility and graduate employment, necessitate changes to how higher education is structured and provided. Students ask for more flexibility in approaches to engaging with their learning, peers, and higher education provider.
Fundamentally, how we learn has remained constant; we need motivation, opportunity, and time. However, what students need to know and the competencies and values required to succeed are changing. Providing diverse HE models can help ensure that personalised, quality learning opportunities are accessible to all. In 2023/24 we will be exploring how we can adapt key areas of our education practice to these new modes of higher education.
Dr Kay Hack, Principal Adviser (Learning and Teaching), Advance HE introduces the project below
This project is relevant to: All members
Job functions: Academics, Academic Developers, Programme leaders, Heads of schools or departments, Deans, PVC/DVC (education and student experience), Quality Assurance.
Projects:
Modes of Assessment
This project will develop two guides designed to help educators:
1. Design authentic assessment instruments that promote academic integrity and desired learning behaviours.
2. Use multi-modality to enhance teaching, learning and assessment
Leading Digital Transformation
This project will bring together those leading digital transformation within their institutions to connect, share good practice and solutions.
EnvisionED
This project will support educators to reflect on how they can guide students through their own academic and personal/professional journeys, emphasising growth and self-empowerment.
Modes of Assessment
The knowledge, skills and values learners need to cultivate to thrive in the changing workplace, characterised by shifting market demands, evolving technologies, and changing organisational needs, are undergoing significant changes. To ensure ongoing career progression, professionals must now be creative, complex problem solvers, self-aware, and cognitively agile lifelong learners. Our learning, teaching and assessment instruments must develop and measure the outcomes students and employers want and need.
Following the Modes of Learning practice guide published in 2022, we will produce two more guides: A Modes of assessment practice guide designed to support colleagues in developing authentic assessment instruments that promote academic integrity and desired learning behaviours and a guide to multi-modal learning, teaching and assessment.
Output - Multi-modal Learning: A Practice Guide
Multimodal teaching, learning and assessment Guide taps into the diverse ways in which individuals want to receive, process and share information. This guide will support educators incorporate multimodal learning in content creation, developing learning activities, and
assessments, applicable to a range of learning contexts and educational settings.
This guide to multimodal learning in higher education, including case studies from HE around the world, aims to help practitioners turn their multimodal ideas into teaching practices.
assessments, applicable to a range of learning contexts and educational settings.
This guide to multimodal learning in higher education, including case studies from HE around the world, aims to help practitioners turn their multimodal ideas into teaching practices.
Output - Assessment of Higher Order Learning: A Practice Guide
Building on the Modes of Learning Practice Guide published in 2022, this new practice guide is for course teams designing authentic assessments that encourage academic integrity and provide flexible and inclusive opportunities for students to showcase how they have achieved learning outcomes.
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Leading Digital Transformation
To enable students and staff to operate effectively in online environments, they need opportunities to develop their digital competencies alongside access to reliable IT infrastructure. This requires investment in people and technology. Educational leaders at senior levels—such as Heads of Schools or Faculty—are frequently tasked with integrating digital strategies into their sphere of influence. However, they are not always equipped with the necessary expertise to effectively guide this process.
In collaboration with JISC, Advance HE will facilitate establishing and developing a network dedicated to assisting colleagues in exploring and disseminating leading practices related to driving digital transformation. Thought leaders will be invited to share their expertise with the network through podcasts or panel discussions to stimulate debate and discussion. The Advance HE Connect platform will share artefacts and sustain the community.
Output - Roundtables
Two roundtable events brought together thought leaders in HE learning and teaching to explore best practices in leading digital change, review and discuss relevant outputs from the sector, discuss current strategic priorities, highlight the impact of digital investment, and explore the challenges and opportunities of talent recruitment.
Roundtable 1: 17 January 2024-This focused on best practices in leading digital change and highlighted the impact of digital investment.
Roundtable 2: 14 February 2024-This focused on exploring the challenges and opportunities of talent recruitment.
Roundtable 1: 17 January 2024-This focused on best practices in leading digital change and highlighted the impact of digital investment.
Roundtable 2: 14 February 2024-This focused on exploring the challenges and opportunities of talent recruitment.
Output - Network
Traditionally, a knowledge gap has kept senior staff from fully grasping the intricacies of digital transformation and leadership. Often delegated to others, this vital knowledge remains dispersed across the organisation, leaving leaders ill-equipped to steer this essential facet of institutional growth.
This is where the Leading Digital Transformation Network steps in. We understand senior staff and executives seek more than expertise; they require a dynamic community fostering dialogue, showcasing excellence, and championing their efforts.
We aim to launch the network in June 2024, following consultation with the sector.
This is where the Leading Digital Transformation Network steps in. We understand senior staff and executives seek more than expertise; they require a dynamic community fostering dialogue, showcasing excellence, and championing their efforts.
We aim to launch the network in June 2024, following consultation with the sector.
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EnvisionED: Where 'becoming' is at the heart of education
In a world saturated with information, educators must prioritise not merely the transfer of knowledge but the comprehensive development of learners. Increasingly, educators will focus on empowering students to foster confidence and evolve into self-reliant learners and professionals. Educators who can guide learners in cultivating self-awareness and self-reflection play a pivotal role in enabling them to critically evaluate their beliefs, values, and actions – prerequisites toward achieving transformative learning and becoming sustainable citizens.
This member benefit will support educators to reflect on how they can guide students through their own academic and personal/professional journeys, emphasising growth and self-empowerment necessary for agency. It is hoped that colleagues who engage in these activities will be interested in developing a cross-sector community of practice.
Read the blog here.
Output - EnvisionED: Where 'becoming' is at the heart of education
The endeavour of nurturing becoming in higher education is driven by several high-level objectives that collectively seek to enrich the educational experience and empower both educators and learners. Nurturing ‘becoming’ in HE reflects a commitment to growth, self-awareness, transformative and lifelong learning, and the creation of inclusive communities of practice (Flint et al, 2022). By weaving these into the fabric of education, members are empowered to lead examined lives and flourish as active participants, proving to be valuable investments for higher education providers.
In this introductory thought piece, sector experts Juliette Gaunt and Mark O’Hara will consider the critical reflection and self-awareness required for transformational learning, and the role of educators in enabling this.
In this introductory thought piece, sector experts Juliette Gaunt and Mark O’Hara will consider the critical reflection and self-awareness required for transformational learning, and the role of educators in enabling this.
Output - Open Forum 1
Belonging, Mattering and Becoming: Empowering Education through Connection
The first forum took place on Tuesday 5 March 2024
Are you already involved in working with students in a way which enables their whole selves, and supports the development of the student beyond the level of knowledge acquisition, with a focus on nurturing emotional and personal growth?
Would you like to work with students in this way but are not sure how to get started and who you might connect with to gain support and ideas?
We want you to get involved if you are interested in taking forward enabling growth for students in regards belonging, mattering and becoming - exploring how these concepts can be instrumental in fostering self-actualisation and self-efficacy for all of our learners.
The first forum took place on Tuesday 5 March 2024
Are you already involved in working with students in a way which enables their whole selves, and supports the development of the student beyond the level of knowledge acquisition, with a focus on nurturing emotional and personal growth?
Would you like to work with students in this way but are not sure how to get started and who you might connect with to gain support and ideas?
We want you to get involved if you are interested in taking forward enabling growth for students in regards belonging, mattering and becoming - exploring how these concepts can be instrumental in fostering self-actualisation and self-efficacy for all of our learners.
Output - Open Forum 2
Belonging, Mattering and Becoming: Empowering Education through Connection
Our second online forum as part of this project highlighted some good practices from the institutions or areas to the wider group.
This event took place on Tuesday 7 May from 11:30 - 12:45 BST.
Our second online forum as part of this project highlighted some good practices from the institutions or areas to the wider group.
This event took place on Tuesday 7 May from 11:30 - 12:45 BST.
Output - Panel Event
This event took place on 17 June 2024.
This event will bring together a panel to explore aspects of belonging/mattering and consider how individuals can develop their own practices fit for their own context.
This event will bring together a panel to explore aspects of belonging/mattering and consider how individuals can develop their own practices fit for their own context.
Speakers of the panel event
Prof. Katie Strudwick, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Student Engagement, University of Lincoln
Dr Mhairi Morris, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Loughborough University
Simon Abbott, Work-Based Learning Advisor, City, University of London
Kate Lister, Professor of Education, Director of EDI, Arden University
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An Advance HE member benefit
Member Projects are part of Advance HE's member benefits for the 2023-24 membership year. Click below to see the full range of benefits available.