Information on the criteria and evidence required for Teaching promotions
The University is committed to recognising and rewarding teaching excellence. As part of this
commitment, the criteria for teaching promotions were redesigned for the 2013/14 promotions round.
This document outlines the changes to the teaching promotions criteria to enable staff to engage
more readily with an evidence base to inform their application for and judgements on teaching
promotions.
The redesigned criteria aim to:
•
Be transparent, fair, and evidence based
•
Enable consistent informed decision making
•
Be flexible enough to reflect the evolving responses to the student experience from the
University, Faculties and Departments
•
Support the continuing development of teaching practice to create a learning environment
that inspires and challenges students
•
Where appropriate support colleagues in developing their practice to meet the required
standard
The promotions criteria have been aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework for
teaching and supporting learning (UKPSF) (Appendix 1). The UKPSF is a nationally agreed
framework that provides a description of the main dimensions of the roles of teaching and supporting
learning within the HE environment. It is written from the perspective of the practitioner and outlines a
national Framework for comprehensively recognising and benchmarking teaching and learning
support roles within Higher Education.
The UKPSF is designed to encompass all elements of teaching and the support of learning, both in
terms of direct classroom activities as well as those activities that take place beyond the classroom
and the institution. As such outreach and Widening Participation activities are encompassed within
the framework.
The newly designed promotions criteria are aligned with the institutional Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) Framework for Teaching and the Support of Learning which addresses the
requirements of the UKPSF and is accredited with the Higher Education Academy. This enables staff
with teaching responsibility to more readily engage with professional development activities to
enhance their practice and to provide further opportunities for evidencing teaching excellence for
promotion. To further facilitate this, an allowance of one day a year will be built in to the work load
model to enable professional development activities that are dedicated to teaching and learning.
LDC will provide support and training in engaging with the UKPSF and the promotions criteria to panel
members and more generally to staff with teaching responsibility through the CPD framework.
The UKPSF has two components:
The Descriptors:
These are a set of statements outlining the key characteristics of someone performing at one of four
broad categories of typical teaching and learning support roles within Higher Education. (See
Appendix 1)
The Dimensions of Practice
These are a set of statements outlining the:
Areas of Activity undertaken by teachers and supporters of learning within HE
Core Knowledge that is needed to carry out those activities at the appropriate level
Professional Values that someone performing these activities should embrace and exemplify
Areas of Activity
A1. Design and plan learning
activities within the
institution or through
WP/outreach and/or
programmes of study
A2. Teach and/or support
learning within the institution
or as part of WP/outreach
A3. Assess and give
feedback to learners/aid
learners in their development
A4. Developing effective
learning environments and
approaches to
student/prospective student
support and guidance
A5. Engage in continuing
professional development 1in
subjects/disciplines and their
pedagogy2, incorporating
research, and/or scholarship
and the evaluation of
professional practices
Core Knowledge
K1. The subject material
K2. Appropriate methods for
teaching and learning in the
subject area and at the level
of the academic programme
K3. How students learn, both
generally and within their
subject/disciplinary area(s)
K4. The use and value of
appropriate learning
technologies
K5. Methods for evaluating
the effectiveness of teaching
K6. The implications of
quality assurance and quality
enhancement for academic
and professional practice
with a particular focus on
teaching
Professional Values
V1. Respect individual
learners and diverse learning
communities
V2. Promote participation in
higher education and equality
of opportunity for learners
V3. Use evidence-informed
approaches and the outcomes
from research, scholarship and
continuing professional
development
V4. Acknowledge the wider
context in which higher
education operates
recognising the implications for
professional practice.
A6.3 Teaching related
Administration is
competently handled
1
The framework recognises the diverse approaches to professional development and the development of
effective approaches to enhance the student experience.
2
Pedagogy encompasses the theory, practice and skills associated with teaching and learning.
3
A6 is specific to the University of Warwick
The UKPSF descriptors and areas of activity provide a framework by which those seeking promotion
can evidence their practice at the appropriate level.
The framework is designed to be progressive and cumulative. In progressing through the framework
there is an expectation that teaching (or the support of learning) at all levels should be excellent.
The span of activities will differ significantly at each level, for example there will be considerably more
strategic activities associated with FA8 then with FA6 which will predominantly focus on direct
teaching activities.
To ensure the promotions panel has sufficient information to make an informed decision, it is
important to provide evidence from a range of sources. In providing evidence for promotion, a key
element will be direct observation from colleagues in the institution, this may be part of the
institutional, or departmental observations schemes and will include at least one observation from the
Learning Development Centre. In this instance observations can address any of the areas of activity.
Appendix 1: The UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF)