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QAA Enhancement Themes:
Research Teaching-Linkages:
Enhancing Graduate Attributes
University of Aberdeen Institutional Discussions
1
Overview
Stimulated by the QAA Enhancement Theme an enquiry, discussions, dissemination and
seed support for example projects; have contributed to the wider development of the role
research already plays in learning and teaching and the University of Aberdeen.
These activities have provided some insight to internal structures and perspectives that
could be further developed to take greater advantages the opportunities afforded UoA as a
research-driven institution.
2
Context and Approach
Engaging with the Research Teaching-Linkages (RTLs) theme at the University of
Aberdeen (UoA) has been in the context of both recognition of what we want students to
gain from studying here (as per our reflections on the First Year Experience Theme) and in
light of the activities of our Curriculum Reform Commission (CRef). This is an institution
wide process that will take three years and began in early 2008.
Our approach has been to enquire into what different communities understand by RTLs
and while gaining an insight into current understanding, use this activity as an opportunity
to stimulate discussion about those understandings, informed by the RTL Enhancement
Theme. The resultant discussion will be supported by workshops, case studies and
additional information on the UoA’s Centre for Learning & Teaching (CLT) website.
2.1
Context
2.1.1
Due to the UoA’s engagement with the earlier enhancement theme of the First Year
Experience (FYE), there has been a general heightened awareness of the student
experience. Discussion and consideration about what it means to be a student in Higher
Education has been taking place, including encouragement for students to engage with
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enquiry based learning at an earlier stage in the degree programme. The UoA specifically
identified six areas in which it would like to see improvement for first year students1:
2.1.2

A sense of belonging to both their discipline area(s) and the institution as a whole

Successful transition to Higher Education

Intellectually excitement through engagement with chosen disciplines which motivates
them to seek further development

Development of generic skills for further study

Increasing development of a sense of self responsibility

The laying of foundations to becoming reflective, autonomous learners
The Curriculum Reform (CRef) project is a review of our educational objectives,
programme structures and curriculum content, with a view to developing a high quality and
distinctive educational experience for undergraduate and postgraduate students at the
University of Aberdeen, which takes account of developing international approaches and is
relevant for the 21st century.
As part of the CRef process a group has been setup with the specific remit to examine the
role of research in the curriculum. Membership of this group includes the QAA Institutional
Contacts (ICs) for the RTLs theme and so the group has received many papers and
reports as a consequence of the participation of UoA in the RTLs theme helping to show
how RTLs can be conceived. This report and further results will also be presented to the
group.
2.2
Approach
2.2.1
Communities of interest in RTLs were identified in order to investigate their perspective
and understanding of the role of research in teaching. These were:
2.2.2

School Leavers

Undergraduates

Postgraduates

Academic Teaching staff

Careers Advisers

Employers

Graduate Schools
The method of enquiry chosen has been through semi-structured interviews and focus
groups.
Using the questions provided in Land’s Framing Tool2, the Director of Teaching (DoT) for
each School3 was invited to participate in an interview and encouraged to bring along up to
From “Institutional Discussion of the Nature and Purpose of the First Year: Outcomes of Activities Undertaken” University Of
Aberdeen report of 2007 to QAA Enhancement Theme: The First Year Experience
2
Ray Land is Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Centre for Academic Practice and Learning Enhancement at
the University of Strathclyde and is a Project Director for the QAA Sector Wide review – The Framing Tool was provided to
assist ICs with the process.
3
The University of Aberdeen is structured with three Colleges (Life Sciences and Medicine, Arts & Social Sciences, Physical
Sciences), each College contains a number of Schools within which are grouped the Disciplines (e.g. The College of Arts and
Social Sciences contains the School of Social Science, which in turn hosts the Discipline of Politics and International
Relations).
1
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two colleagues to help bring a broader cross school perspective and represent the
academic teaching staff for the disciplines of that School. (See 3.5 below)
Postgraduate students were invited to address a question on the role of research in
teaching as part of a training exercise they were already doing. (See 3.7 below)
A meeting was held between the ICs and the head of the University Careers Service and
the CEO of the Association of Graduate Recruiters4 (AGR) was interviewed. (See 3.9
below)
School Leavers, Undergraduates and Graduate Schools are yet to be interviewed.
The intention is to conduct focus groups with the School Leavers and Undergraduates.
The meetings with these groups will investigate their perceptions of an HE curriculum and
what role research plays in it.
3
Actions Undertaken
Due to the narrative nature in which one activity builds on that of another and the influence
that may have on some activities, the following actions undertaken are listed in
chronological order.
3.1
IC Attendance at QAA RTLs Meetings and Special Events
All IC meetings have been attended except one. The Colloquium on Research TeachingLinkages hosted by Edinburgh University in June 2007 and the Seminar/Workshop run by
Professor Mick Healey at Edinburgh University in October 2007 were both attended.
3.2
Visit by Drs Simon Barrie and Claire Carney5
Drs Simon Barrie and Claire Carney (QAA) were guests of UoA in June 2007. Dr Carney
explained the RTLs Enhancement Themes purpose and Dr Barrie spoke on Graduate
Attributes and RTLs before Vice Principals, Directors of Teaching and Learning, Heads of
Graduate Schools and the ICs.
3.3
College of Arts & Social Sciences Learning & Teaching Forum
In July 2007 the College of Arts & Social Sciences (CASS) hosted a workshop for staff run
by Dr Vicky Gunn (University of Glasgow and Project Lead for the Research TeachingLinkages in Arts and Social Sciences Project) and assisted by ICs.
3.4
Professional Development Workshop for UoA Staff
All probationary academic staff attend a mandatory two day ‘Learning & Teaching in
Higher Education’ course during their probation period. During the course in September
2007, a discussion session exploring the role of research in teaching was facilitated by
staff from the CLT, including IC.
4
AGR represent organisations which recruit and employ graduates, or which offer services in connection with graduate
recruitment http://www.agr.org.uk/
5
Dr Simon Barrie is the Associate Director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning (ITL) and he leads the Institute’s
Teaching Quality Assurance activities and the University’s Generic Graduate Attributes Project at the University of Sydney.
Dr Claire Carney is Assistant Director of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.
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Comments from probationary staff showed that there was a broad mix of understanding of
what role research might play in undergraduate learning & teaching. This ranged from
“Undergraduates can’t do research, because the research frontier is out of their reach” to
“We have everyone from school-leavers, through undergraduates to postdocs working on
our projects and if they contribute to a paper they get their name on the paper, why
shouldn’t they?”. This reflects the diversity of understanding and thinking in the sector both
nationally and internationally6.
3.5
Investigation into Staff Perspectives and Understanding of RTLs
DoTs from schools within CASS and the College of Physical Sciences (CoPS) were
interviewed over a period of one month at the end of 2007 by IC. The interviews were
recorded and the responses in relation to each of the questions in the Framework Tools
were encoded for easier analysis. While each of the questions were specifically
addressed, the interviews were conducted in a relaxed manner allowing conversation to
flow around the question areas to see if a greater insight into the institutional picture could
be arrived at.
The Framework Tool provides questions in three categories: Institutional Level (see 2.5.1
below); College & School Level (see 2.5.2 below); Course & Curriculum Level (see 2.5.3
below). The encoded results7 of the interviews are available in both tabular (Appendix I) and
chart (Appendix II). The following observations are made based on impressions gained
during the interviews, supported by the trends illustrated in the charts.
3.5.1 Institutional Level Questions
Data Analysis
The overriding picture appears to be a lack of awareness and of uncertainty about
institutional policies regarding RTLs (Appendix II: Sec 1: Q. 1, 3- 6, 11- 13). However,
some specific initiatives were more familiar, namely the Model of the Learner8, the
Teaching Awards9, the specific awareness raising initiatives10 and the PG Cert11
(Appendix II: Sec 1: Q. 2, 7 & 8).
Comments
While this may reflect the role of the Centre for Learning & Teaching (CLT) and
the College Directors of Teaching & Learning (DoTLs) in promoting these areas, it
may simply be an indication of the more immediate relevance these areas have to
everyday teaching activities.
In terms of comments over and above those directly related to the Framing Tool
questions, the role of the RAE came up repeatedly as something that got in the
way of teaching.
3.5.2 College/School Level Questions
6
Need a reference!
At the moment figures cannot be taken as representing the whole institute, with insight primarily missing from the College of
Life Sciences and Medicine (CLSM).
8
“The model of the Learner sets out what we want for, and what we expect of, our students (both undergraduate and
postgraduate), paying particular attention to the opportunities and benefits of learning in a research-led environment.” From
The model of the effective learner, a key component of UoA’s Learning & Teaching Framework 2007-2010.
9
Teaching Awards were introduced in AY 2006/07 by CASS & CoPS and have since been adopted for the whole institution.
10
See sections 2.8, 2.10 & 2.11
11
The Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Learning & Teaching is run by the Centre for Learning & Teaching and
validated by the School of Education. The programme has been offered for the past five years, and is open to staff who are
currently teaching at the University of Aberdeen.
7
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Data Analysis
The questions were answered with greater certainty. Significant findings were that
research into teaching is not widely supported, teaching & learning courses are
not generally integrated into doctoral programmes and there are no clear
incentives for engaging with RTLs (Appendix II: Sec 2: Q. 6, 8 & 9). It is also clear
that there are no mechanisms for the monitoring of RTLs and uncertainty as to
whether innovative activities are reported widely within the University (Appendix II:
Sec 2: Q. 2 & 3). While it appears from the survey that Personal Development
Planning (PDP) is not yet widely adopted, except at PG level (Appendix II: Sec 2: Q.
10), this may change with the recent introduction of the e-Portfolio tool for all UGs.
Comments
While the results of the survey provide a simple snapshot, the conversations that
took place around the questions during the interviews showed a generally positive
attitude to the role of research into teaching. While there was not a great desire to
specifically carry out such research by academics in disciplines outside of
Education and some of the social sciences, there appeared to be a willingness on
the part of some, to be the subjects of research. Staff involved in teaching were
generally aware of and interested in Higher Education Academy (HEA)
publications on teaching practice and where available specific journals on
teaching in their own disciplines.
Some staff expressed concern that policy didn’t appear to be informed by
research (e.g. what is the evidence behind the adoption of ‘best practice’ teaching
methodologies or the strategies proposed for addressing retention issues).
Conversations around the question on PDP seem to suggest that its value at UG
level is not clearly understood, except perhaps for those members of staff whose
programmes are professionally accredited or who are involved in PG
programmes. Although taken at face value there appears to be no clear incentive
or monitoring mechanisms encouraging the use of RTLs, staff generally
expressed the view that it is implicit in the nature of teaching at a research-led
institute that there are RTLs in place.
3.5.3 Course/Curriculum Level Questions
Data Analysis
At this level the picture appears to be quite positive. While formal structures of
support and quality measures (particularly monitoring (Appendix II: Sec 3: Q. 6)) are
not especially evident, there is a general perception that there is quality, support
and a clear “through-line” for RTLs in the programmes from levels 1 to 5 (Appendix
II: Sec 3: Q. 1, 2, 4 & 5).
Comments
Despite this, the comments made during the interview provide a mixed view of
what RTLs are and the role they can play in a programme, particularly at levels 1
and 2. Issues such as class sizes and the need to provide the students with
foundational subject knowledge were often cited as problems when developing
RTLs at these early levels. While this is in line with patterns seen across the
sector both nationally and internationally12, it illustrates the point that issues about
the definition and practical implementation of RTLs still need to be addressed to
help overcome these perceived obstacles (See also 2.4 above).
12
Need a reference!
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3.6
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IC Attendance at Mid-theme Review & Progress Event
IC and six other members of staff from UoA representing all three Colleges, the Registry
and the CLT attended the mid-theme review & progress event in Edinburgh in November
2007.
3.7
Postgraduate Workshop
The UoA’s generic skills training programme for postgraduate research students (ASPIRE)
included a workshop on Teamwork and Presentation Skills, in which the students were
asked to make presentations addressing a variety of questions. This was used as an
opportunity to find out what these postgraduates (PGRs) considered to be the most
important aspects of learning and teaching in a research-active institute. While the prime
purpose of the exercise was developing teamwork skills, the exercise was used as an
opportunity to find out the PGRs’ perspectives for the RTLs survey by asking the
secondary question:
“You have been given a teaching role with level 1 students. You intend to give them the best
learning experience ever! As a researcher, what special “extra” can you bring to this teaching role,
to make the learning experience better for these first years?”
While the PGRs were able to provide a list of the kinds of activities they felt the
undergraduate (UG) students would benefit from (presumably based on their own
experiences), such as mini-projects (as specifically opposed to ‘just labs’) and also
mentioned their ability to empathise with the UGs situation, they did not suggest anything
in their presentations that was distinctive as being delivered by someone active in
research. However, when there was a discussion with all the teams at the end of the
presentations, there was broad agreement that one important thing that they had learnt
from research was that they felt they were much better able to spot where things could go
wrong (e.g. during research design) and deal with things when they did go wrong, such as
diagnose what happened and come up with solutions. In general they felt their experience
meant they were able to handle failure and guide UGs through that process. Their
perception is that failure of experimental design, failure of equipment, and failure of
reliability of data (for example) are all aspects of research activity that one has to learn to
manage, but that this is not necessarily as much of a bad thing as UGs perceive it to be. In
fact the PGRs considered these kinds of failures to be authentic research experiences and
the process of moving beyond them as an important experience that UGs should learn and
with which they can help.
3.8
Learning & Teaching Enhancement Programme
The UoA’s Learning & Teaching Enhancement Programme (LTEP) was created to
encourage the introduction of new enhancement activities into teaching, and to
disseminate good practice throughout the institution, by the provision of small grants, which
are available on a competitive basis. The LTEP is run by the CLT and was first introduced
to strengthen the First Year Experience Enhancement Theme in early 2007. As part of the
RTLs Enhancement Theme activities a further call was made in early 2008.
Members of staff were invited to consider ways in which they might enhance the role of
research in teaching in any aspect of the undergraduate experience of our students. The
14 applications submitted demonstrated there is a diverse range of imaginative thinking
coming from staff on how they can enhance the role of research in learning & teaching.
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Four projects have been selected for funding13;
 Temporary Ordination in Second Life:
Divinity and Religious Studies: School of Divinity, History and Philosophy
The proposal is to build up a simple ‘virtual monastery’14, loosely modelled on a small
Soto Zen monastery, with appropriate clothing and avatars so that students in the
Encountering Buddhism course can experience the challenges and responsibilities of
being members of a religious order dependent on patrons for food, clothing and so
forth.
The outcome will be a research-informed teaching environment for 2nd and 4th year
students that uses role-playing to convey the ritualisation, ethical constraints, internal
cohesion and social separateness of Buddhist monastic life.
This will allow them to understand the ritualisation of everyday life that is a part of
monastic behaviour, experience the challenges and constraints of being dependent, as
a mendicant community, on the charity of the surrounding community and understand
the distinction between the ethics of personal commitment, as taught in popular books
on Buddhism or in RME discussions, and the ethics of a vow of behaviour.
 Use of portable citation tool for study and knowledge acquisition:
Geography & Environment: School of GeoSciences
The citation tool Zotero15 will be provided on a memory stick to each student in a level 3
class. The students will be tutored and encouraged to use it as a means of collecting,
annotating and cataloguing literature and other resources online, for their assignments.
The tool (which closely integrates with the Firefox web-browser and MS Word) makes it
very easy for them to bring together related material, organise their thoughts, then
quote and cite sources correctly.
 Use of interactive maps for student-led research:
Geography & Environment: School of GeoSciences
This initiative will enable students to access location-specific research materials. They
will be provided with the tools to engage with unfamiliar contexts in a variety of ways,
using text, sounds, images and video to record and display primary data. This exercise
will facilitate “hands-on” student engagement with ‘real-world’ urban spaces, and will
allow students to manage the experience of this engagement. The students will be able
not only to develop techniques for generating material through research encounters in
the field, but also to manage the interface between field and class. The exercise will
provide a link between teaching students methodologies, facts and intellectual
traditions about “real world” spaces in Russia and allowing students to be both rigorous
and innovative in developing their own accounts of attending to everyday urban life.
 Student-led Literature and Science Exhibition at Marischal Museum16:
English, School of Language & Literature
The exhibition project is a natural extension of the process of exposure to different
kinds of source material relating the science and literature of the Nineteenth Century,
which the students have already had during the course. The students will gain further
awareness of how knowledge can be transmitted through the visual presentation of
objects, print materials, pictures and text. They will be involved in selecting and
13
Available support was limited to four projects.
The monastery will be developed using the online virtual world Second Life http://www.secondlife.com
15
Zotero is an easy-to-use yet powerful research tool that helps you gather, organize, and analyze sources (citations, full
texts, web pages, images, and other objects), and lets you share the results of your research in a variety of ways.
http://www.zotero.org/
16
Marischal Museum is one of UoA’s seven museums, is used for research and teaching, is open to the public and
specialises most notably in Egyptian and Classical antiquities, non-Western ethnography, Scottish prehistory and
numismatics. Its collection ranks alongside the largest in Scotland.
14
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researching objects and writing appropriate text to accompany these in the exhibition.
They will also learn skills of visual presentation, organisation and administration.
3.9
Attendance at Employers’ Forum & Interview with CEO of AGR
The UoA Careers Service hosted a seminar in December 2007 for a variety of local
employers where the Keynote Speaker was Carl Gilliard, CEO of AGR. IC attended this
session in order to gain insight of the employer perspective and was able to take the
opportunity to interview Carl. While AGR only represent a subsection of employers Carl
provided some useful insights. The following is a distillation of a 45 minute open ended
interview.
Employers don’t think in terms of graduate attributes, they think in terms of competencies.
Competency implies experience in the application of skills and attributes to problem solving. Two
important correlates of competency are PDP and project management. PDP is a useful tool for
understanding competencies thus managing and accommodating change in a job market where
the only guaranteed thing is change. Project management is a skill that can be used for every
aspect of life where everything we do in life can be seen as a project. With competency in handling
change and managing projects comes efficacy, which is highly valued by employers.
Related to this, and of particular note in view of item 3.7 (above) was the observation that
the first time many undergraduates fail anything is when they get turned down for a job.
Regular failure and making mistakes are guaranteed, especially in the world of constant
change. Graduates need to know how to deal with failure, making mistakes and how to
recover from that.
3.10
College of Physical Sciences RTLs Workshop
In December 2007 CoPS held a half day workshop/seminar to explore RTLs and consider
the activities taking place in the College.
The workshop comprised two presentations with breakout sessions. The first presentation,
by a member of staff from the Department of Public Health17 who is involved in pedagogic
research and is interested in the research-teaching nexus, introduced staff to some of the
many roles that research can play in learning & teaching. The second presentation was by
a new member of staff involved in setting up a new programme in Archaeology and
illustrated how students at all levels can be given the opportunity to learn about the subject
in discovery mode while ‘learning by doing’. The presentations were followed by a ‘show
‘n’ tell’ of the research-teaching activities from all disciplines of the College. Examples
included Physics students building television sets from scratch, Engineering students
discovering how their lecturers’ research goes to inform the professional practice of the
bodies that accredit their courses and Computing Science’s new Grand Challenges of
Artificial Intelligence, which is a research-led Level 1 course.
A follow up workshop is currently being planned to look at Enquiry Based Learning (EBL),
facilitated by the CLT and the HEA Engineering Subject Centre.
3.11
College of Arts & Social Sciences RTLs Workshop
In January 2008 CASS held a half day workshop/seminar to explore RTLs and consider
the activities taking place in the College.
The workshop comprised presentations and breakout sessions looking at how the
research-teaching nexus goes beyond research-led teaching. The first presentation was
17
8
Part of the College of Life Sciences and Medicine.
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essentially the same as that in 3.10 above. The second presentation was by the Director
of Teaching & Learning (DoTL) for the College of Life Sciences and Medicine (CLSM) on
their new level 2 course ‘Research Skills for Life Sciences’, which has been developed with
an active student-driven approach to learning based on curiosity and exploration of
knowledge and uses an assessment strategy informed by research practice (i.e.
paper/essay, presentation, peer review and viva style questioning). While the audience
were from CASS and the course presented was from CLSM it was felt there are many
features of the course that would be applicable to any discipline. This was followed by a
‘show ‘n’ tell’ of the research-teaching activities in a selection of disciplines from the
College. An example of how, through teaching, an academic discovered a field of
research that had not yet been explored and which is now their primary domain was
described. Cross disciplinary (including across Colleges) undergraduate fieldwork was
illustrated. Another academic described the work he was doing to get undergraduate
students in contact with primary sources to use in their assignments.
3.12
IC attendance at QAA Annual Conference
IC and six other members of staff from UoA (primarily from Registry and the CLT) attended
the QAA Annual Conference in Edinburgh in March 2008.
4
Actions Outstanding
4.1
Enquiry into school leaver perspectives
It is hoped that the IC, as a member of the Parent Council of a local Secondary School, will
be able to arrange an opportunity to speak to S5 and S6 students as well as their school
careers adviser.
4.2
Enquiry into student perspectives
Through liaison with Students Association it is intended to hold focus groups with students’
representatives for each of the Colleges.
4.3
Enquiry into Graduate schools perspectives
It is intended that the College Heads of Graduate Schools will be interviewed.
5
Reflections
5.1
Strategy and Frameworks
UoA’s Strategic Plan and Learning & Teaching Framework, which refer explicitly to RTLs
do not seem to be as widely known as they should by academic staff.
While most staff surveyed are aware of a notion of UoA being a ‘research-led’ institute,
they are not too sure where that notion comes from in policy terms or quite what it means.
In fact the Strategic Plan talks about UoA being ‘research-driven’, which implies something
subtly different, perhaps learning being pushed forward by research (in all the senses
embodied by RTLs) rather than being pulled by research.
Perhaps the expression of being ‘research-driven’ and its context in the Strategic Plan and
the Learning & Teaching Framework needs to be discussed more widely in the academic
community at UoA, so that there is a greater shared understanding and greater sense of
shared objectives.
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5.2
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The First Year Experience Enhancement Theme
As the outcomes from the RTLs Enhancement Theme accumulate, it is becoming
apparent that the gains sought in relation to the First Year Experience (see 1.1.1 above)
could in part be addressed by wider adoption of some RTLs.
This needs to be explored further as the outcomes and dissemination of the RTLs theme
continues. Possibilities could be explored between groups responsible for the FYE, RTLs
and PDP to maximise the gains available. For example have new students interviewing
some of the academics in their School or College about ‘the career path that brought them
to where they are now and how they view research’, then use the new portfolio tool as a
means to record their reflections on what it means to be an academic and where they see
themselves fitting into that as an undergraduate.
5.3
Understanding the Role Research Plays in Learning & Teaching
There is a very broad range of understanding about what role research can play in learning
& teaching across all sectors of the institute, from probationary through to senior staff and
both across and within disciplines.
Some staff seem to see research activities as a quite distinct activity from UG learning &
teaching activities (i.e. research is something that only occurs at the knowledge frontier of a
discipline and so may just be reported to UGs). There are also some staff who do not
explicitly recognise that the activities around research (i.e. project planning, preparing
funding applications, dissemination of results, peer review, etc) as part of the research
nexus that could form an accessible and valuable part of the UG learning experience.
Many activities in which researchers engage are a mirror of good learning activities and
practice. The opportunities provided by engaging in research like activities for experience
to bring together the students’ attributes and skills, highlight how study at a “Researchdriven” institute could afford students with unique opportunities to develop their attributes
and skills into something more concrete, both in terms of employability and life in general.
Through out the process of engaging with academic staff about RTLs a consistent pattern
of difficulty has revolved around the meaning of research and in turn how it can play a role
in teaching.
It would seem that an opportunity exists where staff involved in research and all that it
entails are very well placed to formulate learning opportunities for undergraduate students
that mirror their own professional research activities in many respects, and simultaneously
address concerns about the first year experience and ultimate employability of graduates.
However, this would depend on a culture shift away from a narrow definition of the
meaning of research, at least in the context of learning & teaching.
5.4
Research Informed Practice
There appears to be an interest in pedagogic research as a means to enhance and inform
teaching practice. While this is something one might expect in a culture where research
informs practice within a discipline, it is not always apparent that it extends to teaching and
this may reflect a division between research practice and teaching practice.
As already mentioned in 3.5.2, staff do have an interest in the pedagogic research
published by HEA and their own discipline journals and do seek to understand policy
formulation with reference to evidence either from internal work or from the wider literature.
5.5
Tension Between Implicit Practice and Systematic Practice
There would appear to be a range of effective and innovative practice going on at UoA,
however there is no apparent systematic approach. Innovation for the most part would
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appear to come from visionary staff who have sought to go beyond what is merely
necessary. While this is not really surprising and is a reflection of innovative practice in
many walks of life, perhaps it is worth exploring what support and resource is necessary to
facilitate innovation in learning & teaching more widely, particularly with regard to RTLs.
Systematic approaches may imply greater regulation, which may stifle innovation and be
resented, especially in a scholarly community. However, frameworks can be useful to help
reduce the cognitive burden of ‘reinventing-the-wheel’. As mentioned in 3.5.2 and 3.5.3
(above) there are no monitoring mechanisms apparent and not much in the way of formal
structures of support, particularly with regard to RTLs. If RTLs along with the duly
recognised, though informal, quality support are valued it would seem worthwhile to
formulate some sort of systematic but flexible approach that could help ensure a
consistency of approach and quality across all programmes.
5.6
The Notion of Graduate Competencies
While the notion of competencies, brought by the employment market, as something
gained from the practical application of skills and attributes seems to be a useful
perspective to bring to the design of undergraduate programmes, it does bring with it the
spectre of yet another framework of boxes to tick that may not be in the spirit of ‘higher’
education.
However, it does draw our attention to the importance placed by employers on experience,
especially in areas such as communication, teamwork and project management. In this
sense and in the context of what RTLs can bring to both UG and PG programmes, it would
be useful to consider what experiences students can gain from RTLs. Further, students
themselves should be encouraged to reflect on their experiences and the opportunities
afforded them while studying at a research-driven institute, and the benefit such reflection
would bring to their employability.
To a certain extent this is already recognised in the design of the PGR programmes and
supported by their use of PDP. There does not appear to be any reason why these
activities should be restricted to the PGR programme, if this is the kind of thing graduate
employers are seeking, indeed UGs now have access to PDP opportunities with the
introduction of the portfolio tool.
Practical experience and reflection on it should not be regarded as something that makes
PGRs distinct from UGs and should be accepted that RTLs that go beyond research
dissemination are appropriate for all levels of UG learning & teaching rather than being
reserved for PGs.
6
Future Activities
6.1
Actions Outstanding
See section 3 above
6.2
Report to Curriculum Commission
This report will be made available to the Curriculum Reform Commission through the
Research Group.
6.3
RTLs to play role in PG Cert
A proportion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Learning & Teaching at
UoA will be devoted to RTLs in the second half session of AY 2007/08.
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UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN INSTITUTIONAL DISCUSSIONS
6.4
RESEARCH TEACHING-LINKAGES
Outcomes of LTEP projects
The outcomes of the LTEP projects will be reported on the CLT website and, where
possible, will be disseminated through the publications of the relevant HEA subject centres
and any appropriate discipline journals.
7
Conclusion
As might be expected at an institute that considers it self to be ‘Research-Driven’, research
does play a significant and diverse role in learning & teaching activities. However, the
understanding of what role it can play does appear to be quite mixed and there is not
broad agreement or understanding on what exactly ‘Research-Teaching Linkages’ are or
might be. This is particularly apparent for the role research into teaching can play outside
of the School of Education.
While in practice there does not seem to be much of a gap between the institution’s
policies and strategies to implement them when compared with the activities of staff. It
would appear that this is more due to serendipity than any particular familiarity staff have
with the policies or strategies. The perceived lack of any systematic monitoring or
framework for the use of RTLs in course design and teaching practice may reinforce this
position.
Clearly there is some scope for wider dissemination and discussion in both these areas.
It would also appear that there are many areas of overlap between desired improvements
for FYE and the possibilities afforded by an RTL approach.
This enhancement theme has been a useful catalyst for discussion about what role
research can play in learning & teaching at UoA, as well as for discovering the broad range
of research influenced learning & teaching activities that already take place.
The discussions and activities should provide a useful insight for further development of
the curriculum and learning & teaching practice at UoA.
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