Dr Colleen McKenna

Participants are required to be teaching for a minimum of 10 hours during the academic year in which they are enrolled.

The TC501 ‘Introduction to Teaching’ represents the first phase of the LSE PGCertHE and completion of this programme results in Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, which is part of AdvanceHE.

In this programme, you will;

• Develop an Opening Year Statement (OYS) in which you reflect on your approach to teaching and student learning
• Participate in workshops in Module 1: ‘Teaching in our disciplines’
• Prepare a written assignment for Module 1
• Have 2 teaching observations – one from a member of  LSE Teaching and Learning Centre and one from a peer
• Develop an End of Year Statement (EYS) in which you reflect on how the teaching year has gone and your intentions for future development.

These materials are drawn together, along with feedback on your teaching from both TQARO and formative surveys, into a portfolio that is submitted in Summer Term or the following Michaelmas Term.  Once the portfolio is deemed complete it is submitted to a Board of Examiners.

12 hours of workshops in the MT. 3 hours of workshops in the ST.

Teaching for this course will take the form of 2-hour, interactive workshops. Moodle will also be used as a learning environment.

There are formative feedback points for each of the summative assignments.

Additionally, there are formative reflections at both the start and finish of the programme. These formative reflections, combined with the coversheets on the essay, make up the learning log element of the course and contribute to the final portfolio submission. Throughout, the formative texts are designed to encourage a reflexive approach to academic practice.

Ashwin, P. (2015) Reflective teaching in higher education. London: Bloomsbury.

Berk, R. (2005) Survey of 12 strategies to measure teaching effectiveness. International journal of teaching and learning in higher education. 17 (1) 48-62.

Biggs, J.  & Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for quality learning at university. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill Open University Press.

Carless, D. (2015) Excellence in university assessment. London: Routledge.

Carlisle, O. & Jordan, A. (2005) 'It works in practice but will it work in theory? The theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy' in Emerging issues in the practice of university learning and teaching.  Dublin: AISHE.

Case, J. (2008) Alienation and engagement: development of an alternative theoretical framework for understanding student learning. Higher education 55 (3)  321–332.

Donnelly, R. (2007) Perceived impact of peer observation of teaching in higher education. International journal of teaching and learning in higher education. 19(2) 117-129.

Gibbs, G. & Habeshaw. T. (1992) Preparing to teach: an introduction to effective teaching in higher education. Technical and Educational Services, Ltd.

Jones, A. (2009) Redisciplining generic attributes: the disciplinary context in focus. Studies in higher education. 34 (1) 85-100.

Macfarlane, B. (2004) Teaching with integrity: the ethics of higher education practice. London: Routledge

Assessment path 1
Essay (34%, 2500 words) in January.
Essay (33%, 2500 words) in the LT.
Essay (33%, 2500 words) in the LT and ST.

Assessment path 2
Coursework (34%) in January.
Essay (33%, 2500 words) in the LT.
Essay (33%, 2500 words) in the LT and ST.

A practical written assignment and reflective pieces. (100%, in January and June.)

This course is assessed entirely by coursework - formative and summative. There are no exams.

All assignments are assessed on a Complete/Not Yet Complete basis, and all assessments are viewed as developmental opportunities. Participants are offered detailed feedback for all assignments and, where appropriate, they have the option of developing assignments further based on feedback from the teaching team.

The assignment is based on evidence-based written texts, or posters, and reflective pieces.