Forward by Deirdre Murphy, New Product Development Manager, NextGen: HN:
Centres are often already in a positive position to embrace NextGen: HN qualifications due to their structured approach to support for development. Therefore, it’s important to reflect on your current approaches, as they may already support the delivery of NextGen: HN qualifications. John Clarke, Senior Curriculum Manager and Teaching Development Coordinator at Glasgow Kelvin College, shares the colleges approach to encouraging progressive development in learning, teaching and assessment which could support the delivery of NextGen: HN qualifications.
Teaching development leads
Our Teaching Development programme is an opportunity for teaching staff to make changes that will benefit learners. Practitioners are often keen to develop qualifications, practice, or delivery but are frustrated by time constraints. This programme was launched in session 2023-24 and provides remission from class contact. During this, I work alongside the practitioners to move things forward and mentor them through the process. Practitioners can present an idea and, if approved, they are offered development time away from teaching. The first year of the programme saw a wide range of projects including:
- Project-based learning development, with practitioners using the time and support to develop a PBL model for the qualification they teach. This allows them to plan the delivery, create the assessment mapping documents, and collaborate with colleagues on delivery.
- Webinar development, with a teaching development lead initially upskilling in the creation of appealing and stylish learner webinars using Open Broadcast Software (OBS) and green-screen. There’s then a second dissemination phase whereby the teaching development lead mentors others. This has resulted in the creation of a green-screen webinar studio on campus.
- Teaching Exchange Activity, a voluntary initiative suggested and designed by a lecturer, to provide opportunities for practitioners to share expertise and provide constructive feedback to one another on learning and teaching approaches.
- Readiness for college units, designed to support adult learners in making the transition to college. This hybrid initiative differs from traditional transition activities as it actively engages applicants in the college Moodle platform as well as offering face-to-face sessions. This initiative focuses on developing resilience, meta-skills, and wellbeing.
Teaching Activity Groups
Teaching Activity Groups (TAG) offer our practitioners semi-structured, semi-regular peer group meetings while encourage conversations about learning and teaching. TAG gives an opportunity to share challenges, explore potential development themes, and form informal working partnerships. In addition, practitioners who engage with TAG and have demonstrated a commitment to progressive practise are offered a funded licence for TeacherMatic which supports the trail of artificial intelligence.
Teaching development activity aims to create a culture that supports progress and development, and where enthusiasm is celebrated. TAG activity also explores staff feedback for development, which complements and feeds into the formal organisational development and CPD activity already taking place. We have recently created a new professional development forum to ensure a coherent and cohesive approach to continuous development.
Small scale; big impact
Despite budget constraints, the teaching development remit is enabling development in subjects across all faculties. It is coherent with strategies driven from Organisational Development and HR which highlights the potential of a top-down meets bottom-up approach.
Final thoughts
We hope that all curriculum-led development activity will align with top-down approaches, to support progress by meeting the college’s broader strategy.
If you have any questions, please contact nextgen@sqa.org.uk.
