NTU Teaching Development Framework (NTU TDF)
Feedback or queries about this guide, please email alison.stewart@ntu.ac.uk
or
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What it IS o Four different levels of recognition that demonstrate how your higher education teaching practice meets national professional standards set out in the UK Professional Standards Framework ( UKPSF, November 2011 ):
 Associate Fellow (AFHEA)
 Fellow (FHEA)
 Senior Fellow (SFHEA)
 Principal Fellow (PFHEA) o HEA professional recognition is retrospective – you need to have built up experience of HE teaching and have been reflecting on your practice to enable you to have relevant evidence for an application.
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What it ISN’T o It isn’t something you do before you teach at NTU. o It’s not a teaching qualification – it does not prepare you to teach. If you want to learn how to teach effectively in higher education you should complete a suitable professional development programme. For further information about programmes available at NTU, see the Learning and
Teaching section of the CPLD Course Directory on the CPLD website .
Our new University Strategy makes a continued commitment to high quality teaching and to the professional recognition of this. Early indications suggest that professional recognition of teaching practice data could also form an element of the proposed
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which may have significant implications for future university funding. (A speech by the Minister for Universities and Science in September
2015 regarding the forthcoming Green Paper provides some context). A revised Learning and Teaching Professional Development Policy has been introduced with effect from this month to articulate and support NTU’s aims to have our teaching recognised. The Policy was approved by Academic Board following consultation with, amongst others, the
Employee Information and Consultation Forum. The new Policy replaces the 2012 version.
The revised policy continues to set out NTU’s expectations about HEA professional recognition and teaching qualifications required by staff who teach and support learning at NTU.
The Policy can be accessed here, along with a guide designed to support local planning and implementation.
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Demonstrates to students and current/future employers your commitment to professional teaching practice development
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Provides structure for performance development and review, CPD and career progression
 Portable recognition of learning and teaching practice – recognised nationally
 Supports changes to practice required as a result of e.g. emerging technologies, changes to assessment policy etc.
 Can be used to underpin effective peer review/observation
Feedback from NTU staff who hold HEA professional recognition highlights a number of benefits including:
 ‘Helped me make sense of what I did and why – great opportunity to stop and take stock. And I understood the standards much more.’
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‘It was a surprise to see how much I’d developed in my teaching practice – and how much I did. Gave me a really good sense of achievement, especially as it’s easy to lose sight of the impact we have when we’re caught up in the day to day rush!’
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‘I could see that supervising research students is an important part of teaching in
HE.’
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‘My teaching practice was a lot more effective than I thought it was going to be when I first saw the standards.’
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‘Enabled me to have the first real conversation about my practice with my colleagues in a long time…I want to have more.’
The national standards comprise 6 areas of core knowledge and 4 professional values as shown in Table 1 below.
K4
K5
K6
K1
K2
K3
UKPSF Core Knowledge Standards (‘Ks’)
The subject material
Appropriate methods for teaching, learning and assessing in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme
How students learn, both generally and within their subject/ disciplinary area(s)
The use and value of appropriate learning technologies
Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
The implications of quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching
UKPSF Professional Values Standards (‘Vs’)
V1 Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities
V2
V3
V4
Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research, scholarship and continuing professional development
Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice
Table 1: The 10 national Professional Standards (UKPSF, November 2011 )
Applicants demonstrate how their practice across particular areas of practice activity meets those professional standards. Those areas of activity are shown in Table 2 below
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A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
UKPSF Areas of Activity
Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
Teach and/or support learning
Assess and give feedback to learners
Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices
Table 2: The 5 NTU and national Areas of Practice Activity (UKPSF, November 2011)
The national professional standards are defined in our institutional framework, the NTU
Teaching Development Framework (known as the NTU TDF).
For further information see the Guide to the NTU Professional Standards for teaching and Supporting Learning on the CPLD website.
The requirements set out in the 2015 NTU Learning and Teaching Professional
Development Policy for Lecturers/Senior Lecturers/Principal Lecturers are:
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Current permanent part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL), who were in post at
31 August 2012 are required to gain HEA Fellow recognition by 31 July 2016.
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Current permanent part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL), who were in post
on or after 1 September 2012, continue to be required to gain HEA Fellow recognition within 3 years of their date of appointment to NTU.
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Newly appointed permanent part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL) who hold no level of HEA professional recognition nor a qualification to teach in HE are required as a contractual condition of appointment to: a) Complete module 1 of the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) within one year of their start date at NTU and to b) Achieve HEA fellowship via the NTU accredited scheme within 3 years of their start date at NTU.
 Newly appointed part-time and full-time lecturers (L/SL/PL) who already hold HEA
Associate Fellowship and/or a qualification to teach in HE that does not also confer
HEA Fellowship, are required as a contractual condition of appointment to achieve full HEA Fellowship via the NTU accredited scheme within 3 years of their start date at NTU.
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For L/SL/PL on fixed term contracts of less than 12 months (e.g. maternity cover)
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o No requirement to gain professional recognition. However, usual quality assurance and induction should apply.
 For L/SL/PL on fixed-term contracts of more than 12 months o Could apply for HEA Associate Fellow in line with permanent L/SL/PL o Would do this via Module 1 of PGCAP subject to availability, or via NTU
Scheme direct application route o Should contract be extended to beyond 36 months, will be required to gain
HEA Fellow within the next academic year via NTU Scheme direct application route.
For further guidance see The NTU Learning and Teaching Professional Development
Policy September 2015 and Policy Guide referred to in section 2 above.
You might be eligible to apply for a level of professional recognition higher than the minimum required for your role. The level of recognition you are eligible to apply for depends on the scope and impact of your higher education teaching and/or learning support practice.
 At Associate Fellow and Fellow levels, you are required to demonstrate the standards in your own practice.
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For higher levels of recognition, at Senior and Principal, you are also expected to demonstrate wider and more sustained impact on other people’s teaching and/or learning support practice at team, institutional, national and international levels.
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For further information see table 3 below, and discuss with your line manager – if uncertain, please remember you are required to gain only the minimum required for your role.
Staff are expected to demonstrate:
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A broad awareness, understanding and critical application of appropriate areas of
core knowledge and
professional values to inform their professional practice in at least 2 of
the 5 areas of activity of the UKPSF
Staff are expected to demonstrate:

A broad awareness, understanding and critical application of appropriate core
knowledge and
professional values to inform their professional practice across all 5
areas of activity of the
UKPSF
Staff are expected to demonstrate:
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A thorough awareness, understanding and critical application of appropriate core
knowledge and
professional values to achieve a key impact on high quality HE teaching and learning within the team, department, or discipline across all 5
areas of activity of the
UKPSF
Staff are expected to demonstrate:

A thorough awareness, understanding and critical application of appropriate core
knowledge and
professional values to achieve a sustained impact on high quality
HE teaching and learning across the institution and/or sector across all 5
areas of activity of the
UKPSF
Table 3: Extract from the Guide to the NTU TDF Professional Standards for Teaching and
Supporting Learning in HE available on the CPLD website showing what applicants are required to demonstrate at each level of HEA professional recognition.
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From September 2015:
Anyone applying for HEA Associate Fellow professional recognition is required to submit: o a critically reflective 1200 word (+/-10%) application in which they evidence all 10 professional standards across 2 of the 5 areas of practice activity (A1-
A5). o 2 references prepared by 2 Referees, one of whom is the person who completes their annual PDCR (permanent staff) or supervision (those on fixed-term contracts)
Anyone applying for HEA Fellow professional recognition is required to submit: o a critically reflective 3000 word (+/-10%) application in which they evidence al 10 professional standards across all 5 areas of practice activity (A1-A5) o 2 references prepared by 2 Referees, one of whom is the person who completes their annual PDCR (permanent staff) or supervision (those on fixed-term contracts)
Anyone applying for HEA Senior Fellow professional recognition is required to submit: o a critically reflective 6000 word (+/-10%) application in which they evidence al 10 professional standards across all 5 areas of practice activity (A1-A5).
The application contains a Reflective Account of Practice (RAP) and Case
Studies. o 2 references prepared by 2 Referees, one of whom is the person who completes their annual PDCR (permanent staff).
Anyone applying for HEA Principal Fellow professional recognition will need to apply to the Higher Education Academy direct. For full information about what is required see the HEA website .
Staff at NTU are able to apply for HEA professional recognition via the HEA-accredited
NTU TDF Scheme managed by the Centre for Professional Learning and Development
(CPLD). Find information about applying for HEA professional recognition via the NTU
TDF Scheme in the NOW Learning Room ‘HEA Professional Recognition: Information for
Staff’ listed under the Staff role on your NOW homepage (log into NOW required).
The information provided in the Learning Room includes:
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Applicant checklist
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Application templates
 Referee guide and reference templates
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Examples of evidence
Guidance to evidencing the professional standards
Writing workshops for applicants
1:1 advice sessions for applicants, mentors and referees
Anyone applying for HEA Principal Fellow professional recognition will need to apply to the Higher Education Academy direct. For full information about what is required see the HEA website .
When you are planning your workload, allow the following allocation appropriate to the level you are applying for:
10-20 hours for HEA Associate Fellow by written application
20-30 hours for HEA Fellow by written application
70 hours for HEA Associate Fellow via PGCAP Module 1
25-35 hours for HEA Senior Fellow
25-35 hours for HEA Principal Fellow
This includes time to familiarise yourself with the application requirements, professional standards, select appropriate evidence, and draft and review your application before completing a final version.
The key thing is to regularly review your HE teaching practice, and keep the information to give you a source from which you can select relevant practice examples for your application.
You can do this by building your own portfolio where you keep notes from your evaluation of your practice.
The following things will help you build good foundations in critically reflecting and evaluating your teaching practice:
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Keep copies of your session plans/ individual activities/course design/course reviews and resources to record your approach.
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Reflect on your teaching and learning support approach and methods by noting: o What did you do and how? (how would you describe your approach or methods?) o Why you choose to do it that way? (what informed your choice of approach or methods?) o What impact did your practice have on student learning? (how did it support active and independent student learning? How well did it enable students to address the learning outcomes?)
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o How you know? – what information do you use to evaluate your teaching practice and why? What does it reveal about the effectiveness of your practice?
 Ask more experienced lecturers in the module or course team to observe/review your teaching practice and give you feedback. Use managerial, peer, student and other sources of evaluation and feedback to help you identify strengths and weaknesses of your practice, and aspects you would like to enhance. The NTU
Teaching Observation Scheme ensures that staff with substantial teaching roles will have their teaching observed at least once every two years. Staff can also share practice on a more regular basis to help review and enhance their practice.
 Access professional development (courses, workshops or online guides) to help you identify things to try out in your own teaching. To find available resources, go to the CPLD website.
Use the Applicant Checklist in Appendix to get going, and track your progress.
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Read the NTU Learning and Teaching Professional Development Policy
September 2015 and policy guide available on the CPLD website to identify whether I need to/can apply for HEA professional recognition, and which level.
Locate the guidance I need in the NOW Learning Room ‘HEA Professional
Recognition: Information for Staff’ (log in to NOW required) about applying for HEA recognition.
Agree with my line manager:
the date I will submit my application
names of my 2 Referees (one needs to be the person who does my
PDCR)
List my application as a specific objective in my PDCR objectives.
Allocate to this work as part of my overall workload plan using guidance in
Appendix 1 of the NTU Learning and Teaching Professional Development
Policy Guide available on the CPLD website .
Arrange with both Referees a mutually convenient deadline by which my references will be ready, and ensure they have a copy of the Referee Guide and reference template from the NOW Learning Room ‘HEA Professional
Recognition: Information for Staff’ (log in to NOW required).
Read the information in the NOW Learning Room ‘HEA Professional
Recognition: Information for Staff’ (log in to NOW required) about support available to applicants and book onto any workshops as appropriate.
Download the appropriate application template from the NOW Learning
Room ‘HEA Professional Recognition: Information for Staff’ (log in to NOW required) and save it securely in my own files.
Plan and complete my application using guidance provided.
Email copy of my application to both referees to read before they prepare my references.
Get PDF copies of both references back from my Referees.
Proof-read my final application document and ensure all required sections completed prior to submission (e.g. word count!).
Upload electronic PDF copies of my application and references to the appropriate HEA Applicants Learning Room drop-box as per instructions in the application template.
NTU TDF HEA-accredited Scheme, CPLD, September 2015
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