Staffordshire University
Teaching Excellence Fellowship Award
Guidelines for Applicants
Purpose of the Teaching Excellence Fellowship Award
The University typically awards 5 or 6 Teaching Excellence
Fellowships to be awarded each year. This is a competitive process in
which applications often exceed the number of Fellowships available.
The scheme is intended to promote a culture in which learning and
teaching is supported as a valued activity and where those who are
engaged in it are proud to display and disseminate evidence of their
best practice to others. It is also designed to encourage and support
more staff in applying for a National Teaching Fellowship.
The specific aims of the Teaching Excellence Fellowship Award are to:
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Recognise and celebrate excellent achievement in teaching and
learning support;
Improve the quality of teaching and learning support through the
dissemination of best practice;
Involve excellent practitioners in the educational development
activities of the University;
Promote a culture of scholarship and reflective practice;
Contribute to the achievement of the University’s strategic
objectives;
Expectations of Teaching Excellence Fellows
Being awarded a Teaching Excellence Fellowship has significant
responsibilities. Indeed it is expected that Teaching Excellence Fellows
will:
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Engage in continuous professional development, both linked
to their own subject/specialism and pedagogy, seeking
appropriate advancement in their HEA Fellowship status
appropriate to their role.
Whenever possible, attend the Academy of Teaching
Excellence Fellows networking forums (usually 3 times a
year)
Be an active member of the Academy of Teaching
Excellence Fellows through contribution to social networking
forums and other communication initiatives
Continue to model excellent practice in their approach to
teaching and/or the facilitation of student learning
Keep updated with any new approaches to learning and
teaching, and be willing to share these with colleagues
Be prepared to act as an internal learning and teaching
consultant for the University by, on request, giving their
views on new pedagogic policies, strategies and ways of
working
Be willing , through negotiating an appropriate date and time,
for other staff to observe their practice of specific areas of
expertise in learning and teaching
8. Provide advice, guidance and mentoring to other staff who
are in the process of applying for a Teaching Excellence
Fellowship
9. On request, and when conducive to the duties within their
own role, offer staff-development sessions on particular
areas of pedagogic expertise, for the benefit of other
University staff.
10. Model excellent practice in the scholarship of learning and
teaching by offering to lead workshops and/or make poster
presentations at relevant regional or national conferences
(e.g. the HEA) and/or submit papers to relevant journals
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Details of the Teaching Excellence Fellowship Award
Fellowships will commence 1st September 2015. Each Fellowship will
last for a period of two years and a fixed honorarium of £1000 per
annum will be paid. The honoraria will be pensionable but not linked to
the annual pay award. In addition, a sum of £1000 will be available to
each Fellowship Holder to support the teaching related development
work being undertaken.
It will also be expected that each Fellow will also have a re-balanced
workload amounting to an allowance of 3 hours a week for teaching
staff and an equivalent amount for support staff. This time allowance
will be pro rata for fractional staff. The exact configuration of this
allowance has to be agreed by the individual’s senior manager.
The main criteria for judging applicants to the scheme is their
evidence of excellence in teaching/supporting learning
However as an indicator of how this excellence will be further
continued for the benefit of Faculty/Service colleagues in line with the
strategic direction of the University, consideration will also be given to
the action plan which the applicant is required to provide.
In terms of the relative weighting of these criteria, the most important is
the applicant’s claim for excellence in teaching/supporting learning.
Who should apply
Applications are invited for Staffordshire University’s Teaching
Excellence Fellowships. This scheme is open to any member of staff
who teaches or supports learning regularly for any proportion of their
work within the University. However it is an expectation that all
applicants to this scheme should already be or be making
demonstrable progress in working towards a Fellowship of the
HEA at a level appropriate to their role.
Individuals are invited to nominate themselves but nominations must
be supported by the Faculty or Service. There are three different
categories within the scheme which is eligible for both full and parttime staff:
Relatively new to teaching (less than 5 years of experience)
Learning support
e.g. subject librarians, learning support
staff, learning technologists, careers
advisers, placement support staff or
those supporting colleagues’ learning
through staff development
Experienced
(5 or more years of experience)
All applicants must have two years to complete before their leave date
so that the duties associated with Fellowship can be fulfilled.
Applicants will be required to provide evidence of excellence in
teaching/ support of learning already achieved and an action plan for
how they intend to contribute to key teaching related development
processes within their Faculty/School or Service.
Characteristics of excellence in teaching and learning support
The assessment criteria have been adapted from those for the
National Teaching Fellowship Scheme and applications are evaluated
for achievement of the following criteria:
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Ability to influence learners positively, to inspire them and to enable
them to achieve their relevant goals or specific learning outcomes.
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Ability to influence and inspire immediate colleagues in their
teaching, learning, assessment practice, by example and / or
through the dissemination of good practice.
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Potential or existing ability, as demonstrated through the
application, to influence positively the wider University community
of teachers and learners and the external community, in relation to
teaching, learning and assessment practice.
For staff relatively new to teaching (defined as ‘colleagues for whom
fewer than five years of experience has elapsed since they first
taught’) it would not be necessary that they demonstrate the same
level of achievement against all the criteria as ‘experienced staff’.
For learning support staff it is recognised that, while making a
significant contribution to their learning experiences, they may not
necessarily be able to demonstrate working closely with students.
Consequently, for learning support staff it is more appropriate that
the first criterion should be:
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the ability to influence learners, including colleagues, positively, to
inspire them and to enable them to achieve their relevant goals or
specific learning outcomes.
The list of characteristics set out below may be considered to be
indicative of excellence but is not intended as a comprehensive or
limiting checklist. You are not expected to demonstrate all these
characteristics and equal weighting is not implied.
An excellent teacher and supporter of learning may demonstrate:
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innovation in the design and delivery of learning activities which
contribute to the achievement of the University’s Learning and
Teaching Strategy;
the ability to organise course materials and present them effectively
and imaginatively;
the provision of effective and sympathetic guidance, supervision
and assessment of learners, that will enable learner advancement
at all levels;
a reflective approach to teaching and the support of learning in
order to sustain self-development;
the ability to arouse curiosity and to stimulate independent learning
and the development of critical thought in learners;
a recognised commitment to the scholarship of both subject
knowledge and learning and teaching;
participation in professional development activities and research
related to learning and teaching;
an awareness of national developments in learning and teaching
their subject area ;
recognition of the value of learner diversity;
the ability to share and promote good practice, through
publications, conferences, workshop or other means.
Preparing to apply
The application process is in 2 parts:
1. The completion of a written application form
2. A follow-up 20-30 minute interview to which all applicants will
be invited. This will be conducted by a panel of teachingrelated senior managers.
A judgement as to whether the applicant could be awarded a
Teaching Excellence Fellowship would then be made on the
combination of their written application, the follow-up interview, and
their action-plan and reference.
Individuals are invited to nominate themselves, but nominations must
be supported by the Faculty or Service. Ideally the intention to apply
for a Teaching Excellence Fellowship should be discussed during
appraisals so that a plan of action and subsequent coaching through
the application process can be facilitated.
The written application must be countersigned by the Faculty
Dean or the Service Director.
The written application for a Teaching Excellence has four distinct
parts:
1) Teaching-related experience
 What do you consider to be engaging and innovative about
your teaching/facilitation of learning?(200 words maximum)
 How do you feel you are continually contributing to improving
the student experience?(200 words maximum)
 What value could you add to your colleagues by becoming a
Teaching Excellence Fellow( 200 words maximum)
 How have you enhanced your own continuous professional
development in terms of learning and teaching? (i.e. not
subject-updating) (200 words maximum)
2) Curriculum Vitae (2 sides of A4)
This should outline the applicants’ range of experience and any
relevant Faculty, Service or University roles relating to learning and
teaching. The Fellowship is not restricted to those who have worked
here for many years, so staff relatively new to Staffordshire University
can use appropriate teaching and learning support experience in
another organisation or professional context.
3) Reference from a senior colleague within your faculty/service
and two further pieces of evidence demonstrating excellent
practice
You should obtain a reference (no more than 500 words) from a member of
the Faculty Management Team or an appropriate member of staff,
nominated by the Director, of the relevant Service. This reference should not
exceed 500 words and should focus on your impact on the student
experience, your contribution to Faculty/School learning and teaching and
also your willingness to embrace change.
4) A Promoting Teaching Excellence Action Plan in which you are
required to include a range of activities such:
 Organise teaching/student learning related staff development
workshops in own Faculty/School or Service
 Disseminate good practice in teaching/supporting student
learning across your Faculty/ School or Service
 Engage in continuous professional development relating to
teaching and learning and disseminate relevant information to
colleagues
 Encourage or lead specific subject initiatives to further develop
student learning
 Liaise with the Academic Staff Development Department on
cross-University teaching and learning initiatives
 Contribute to Faculty/Service Peer Observation of teaching
process
 Mentor other prospective Teaching Excellence Fellows
Further guidance
Within Faculties, applicants should consult their line manager or
Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching as their first point of contact
for guidance on their application. For applicants based in a Support
Service, their first points of contact should be one of the Directors or
Senior Management Team.
Additional advice and guidance about the impact of gaining a
Fellowship can be gained from the University’s current and previous
Fellowship holders listed below. Please note, however, that the
scheme has slightly changed this year, with the project formerly
required now being replaced with a Promoting Excellence in Teaching
Action Plan.
Current and previous Teaching Excellence Fellows- now all
part of the University’s Academy of Fellows:
 Julie Adams
 Jane Ball
 Liz Boath (also National Teaching
Fellow)
 John Cassella
 Mike Clements (also National
Teaching Fellow)
 Peter Considine
 Martin Dixon
 David Douglas
 Guy Durden
 Alan Eardley
 Jackie Forsyth
 Alke Gröppel Wegener
 Mani Das Gupta
 Val Hall
 Mike Hamlyn
 Ruby Hammer
 Tim Harris
 Jackie Hartley
 John Holden
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Anni Hollings
Eleanor Johnston
Christopher Lee
Kris Lines
Robert Marsden
Bernard Moss (also National
Teaching Fellow)
Lisa Mountford
Paul Orsmond
Dave Parkes
Alison Pope
Jim Pugh
Jaswinder Sahota
Mark Savage
Janet Spence
Katy Vigurs
How to submit an application
Applications should be submitted using the format provided in the
Application Form, preferably with all sections in one Word or rtf file,
by email to Ellen Lockett in the Academic Development Unit, by 1pm
on Thursday 19thth March 2015.
Email:
e.lockett@staffs.ac.uk
Tel: 01782 294872
Short-listed applicants will be invited for interview in April/May. These
interviews will be in front of the Teaching Excellence Fellowship
Approval Panel (approximately 5 members of staff), chaired by Dr
Steve Wyn Williams, Dean of Academic Policy and Development.
The Panel’s decisions will be confidential until an endorsement has
been received from the relevant Faculty Director/Director Support
Service and agreement in principle to the re-balanced workload for the
following year has been secured. Only then will applicants be notified
of the results.
All applicants will be invited to a celebratory Staff Awards Evening
hosted by the Vice Chancellor at which successful award winners will
be presented with their award.
Unsuccessful applicants
Unsuccessful applicants are invited to receive feedback from Marj
Spiller, the Head of Academic Staff Development and are encouraged
to continue developing their profile and to re-submit the following year.