First Steps in Learning and Teaching (FSLT) course aims and outcomes
Who is FSLT for?
The module is designed primarily for new university lecturers, PhD students, early career researchers with teaching roles, part time lecturers and other sessional teachers, teaching assistants, or those who support learners in departments such as the library or computer services. Although taught online the course is not particularly ABOUT teaching online. You should leave FSLT better informed about teaching and learning in higher education and confident that you could try out new things and you should also have formed and strengthened a professional support network.
Course approach
The course is designed around frequent opportunities for participants to practise and receive feedback on their professional educational development. The module is based on autonomy, diversity, openness and interactivity. You can choose how much to engage. The module is free to participate in (assessment incurs a fee), open to anyone and relies on sharing knowledge. The module attracts participants from across the world, who bring with them a wide variety of resources and expertise. Learning across such a distributed group will depend on connectivity and frequent interactive communication.
The course will make use of synchronous online classroom meetings, asynchronous discussion forums and intentional social media conversations. Through the course site and through your own blogs and social media identities (Twitter, Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, etc) you will engage with:
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the First Steps Curriculum,
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Open academic practice and
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the Higher Education Academy UK Professional Standards Framework (UK PSF)
It is expected that knowledge will be co-created through active, autonomous participation. Learning will emerge through the interactions around key activities. Through the connections you make in this module, you will
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Filter, select and gather (aggregate) the information that is meaningful to you,
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Interpret (remix) this information bringing to it your own perspective and insights,
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Refashion (repurpose) it to suit your own purpose, and then
- Share it (feed forward) with other participants, to learn from each other.
The course provides ample opportunity for formative assessment and feedback. Participants write an initial reflective statement which they receive feedback on from their peers. Participants compile and discuss a collaborative annotated bibliography of key texts in the field. Participants have the opportunity to submit a draft of the summative assignment two weeks before the final due date and receive feedback from peers and the course tutors.
For those of you taking the course for assessment (formally enrolled in the Oxford Brookes University module P70407) the course is assessed through the virtual conference activity.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this course you should be able to:
- Identify and share key texts in the field of learning and teaching in higher education, and illustrate the personal-professional impact of such texts on your practice
- Identify, reflect on and critique your knowledge and understanding of the theory and practice of learning and teaching in higher education
- Appraise your learning and teaching skills and critically evaluate your professional practice in your local context, identifying your own professional development needs
- Design, develop and present, online, an evaluation of a learning activity or intervention
- Recommend appropriate, evidence-based improvements to the learning activities or other interventions (courses) within your context
- Engage in both collaborative as well as individual professional development practices
- Apply global perspectives to your work in higher education.