Research Informed Teaching
Some quick and supportive ideas
Background
This document provides some 'quick ideas' for teaching, learning and assessment
that relate to Research Informed Teaching and the Principles of good practice that
encourage Research Informed Teaching. The document represents the Principles
In Practice
The document does not provide an exhaustive but rather offers a few ideas for each
of the principles.
The Seven Principles for Good Practice in Research Informed Teaching
Good practice in Research Informed Teaching …
… includes outcomes of recent research in the curriculum
… Develops an understanding of the history and role of research in the discipline
… Engages students in discipline-specific research processes
… Engages students in generic research processes & skills
… Fosters an environment where research is encouraged, promoted and valued
… Engages students in enquiry-based activities
… Draws on pedagogic research to enhance teaching and research links
The Principles in Practice
Good practice … includes outcomes of recent research in the curriculum
1. Phil Porter (School of Life Sciences) has established ‘reading groups’ in his
modules whereby each week a small group of students are tasked with
addressing a set of questions that can only be answered by reading a journal
article. Their findings form the basis for subsequent class discussion.
2. Students studying Mobile Standards (School of Computer Science) give
seminars based on a selection of papers published in the last 10 years or so
in the field of Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing. Each paper is linked from
Studynet using its Digital Object Identifier (DOI), with some prompts for
discussion. Papers are grouped according to 8 fundamental concepts of
mobile computing.
3. Maria Cubric (Business School) includes a ‘literature review’ task as part of
the periodic assessment for her Postgraduate and level 3 Undergraduate
modules. Students are asked to provide a short review of a recent journal
article/conference paper relevant to a specific topic.
4. The School of Humanities are about to validate a new level-three philosophy
module entitled 'Understanding Minds', based on recent research by UH staff
in the School. Similarly, the School offers level-three modules on Kierkegaard,
contemporary ethical theory, Wittgenstein and Nietzsche that all draw on staff
research.
5. Maria Cubric (Business School) is including an ‘advanced topics’ session in
her Postgraduate and level 3 Undergraduate modules. The sessions aim to
provide students with an insight into current research in the subject area.
Good practice … Develops an understanding of the history and role of
research in the discipline
1. Historical geography and development of physical and human geography
theory are a pivotal part of the curriculum in the Division of Geography and
Environmental Sciences (School of Life Sciences).
2. Phil Porter and Tim Sands (School of Life Sciences) take students on a halfday visit to the Natural History museum.
3. In the School of Computer Science, examples from early research papers are
presented to allow students to understand how experimental research in
computer science can eventually emerge as commercial applications when
technology matures (e.g. papers on ‘pick and drop’ techniques from the late
1990’s that presented technology that has been developed and is now
currently used in iphones).
4. Philosophy (School of Humanities) is taught partly through its historic texts, starting
with Plato
Good practice … Engages students in discipline-specific research processes
1. Students on fieldcourses in the Division of Geography and Environmental
Sciences are taught field techniques specific to their area of study.
2. Maria Cubric (Business School) is designing learning activities (included in the
periodic assessment for her PG and Y3 modules) to expose her students as
early as possible to the research activities that will be required from them
when writing their final dissertation (e.g. Finding relevant and quality literature,
techniques for reviewing literature, giving and receiving feedback, presenting
information, reflection etc).
3. The physical principles of bandaging are embedded into the teaching of
wound management (Nursing and Midwifery).
4. Undergraduate reading groups and symposia are conducted in the School of
Psychology.
Good practice … Engages students in generic research processes & skills
1. Generic quantitative techniques are taught at every level for students studying
Geography and Environmental Management, with an appropriate
development of complexity between levels.
2. In the School of Computer Science, students are taught how to summarize
papers (highlight the main points) and say how those points are supported by
the evidence presented therein.
3. Academics in many schools publish papers and present at conferences in
collaboration with undergraduate students
Good practice … Fosters an environment where research is encouraged,
promoted and valued
1. Staff research seminars are regularly held in the Division of Geography and
Environmental Sciences; students attendance is high, as the seminar series is
linked in with a research design (level 2) and research project module (level
3).
2. Students in the Division of Geography and Environmental Sciences can apply
for bursaries to participate in ongoing staff field research conducted in the
Swiss Alps by Phil Porter (School of Life Sciences).
3. A fortnightly research seminar (http://www.herts.ac.uk/philosophy) which
students attend, is run by the School of Humanities for philosophy students,
together with weekly meetings of the philosophy society. On these occasions,
students see each other and (sometimes) staff doing philosophy 'live'.
4. The School of Humanities (Philosophy) runs an annual residential weekend at
Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park, attended by all levels of the UH
philosophy community. In addition to some light-hearted philosophical
activities, talks are given by staff, research students and final-year students
doing dissertations.
Good practice … Engages students in enquiry-based activities
1. Problem based learning is established at level 1 in the Division of Geography and
Environmental Sciences; students are tasked with assessing levels of soil
contamination in a given area and reporting back to an imaginary developer. The
full life cycle of research is carried out: project/sample strategy design, field
sample collection, lab analysis, data analysis and interpretation and reportwriting.
2. In the School of Humanities, assessments submitted by philosophy students
have to have a critical element; students have to make arguments. They have to
reach and defend their own judgments, and thus are engaged in the same activity
as professional philosophers, through engaging with questions of appropriate
scope and with assessment criteria that reflect their level and experience.
3. Maria Cubric (Business School) applies problem-based approaches in all her
modules, tailored to different levels of study. For example, in the first year
programming module, students are regularly given problems to solve in a
programmatic way (the complexity of problems increases as the module
progresses). Final year students, are given an industry-based case-study to use
as a specification for developing a fully functional web-site. Postgraduate
students (Agile Project management) are given an essay topic from a current
body of knowledge and asked to incrementally research and develop the topic as
a group.
4. In Health and Emergency Professions students are given patient care scenarios
to consider and work on in groups as part of the teaching of patient management.
5. In Marketing and Enterprise students are asked to produce an advertising brief
based on deconstruction of an existing campaign.
Good practice … Draws on pedagogic research to enhance teaching and
research links
1. Phil Porter (School of Life Sciences) has developed and applied visual
techniques (PowerPoint animations and use of video in lectures) to assist in the
explanation of complex discipline-specific research-based concepts and to
ensure multiple learning styles can be catered for.
2. In the Mobile Standards Module (School of Computer Science) each exam paper
has a number of multiple choice questions dedicated to it where students are
able to select parts of the curriculum based on the papers they concentrated on
during seminars that they presented earlier in the course. The seminars are also
recorded in Smirk so that students can use multiple presentations in revising for
the end of semester test.
3. Maria Cubric (Business School) has developed a ‘feedback-driven’ learning and
teaching process (supported by ‘wikis’) aimed primarily at increasing student
engagement with the subject. She is also using current research (of others) in the
area of Collaborative Learning to help students take advantage of peer-learning,
and become more confident in a group-work context.