My 7010CRB Teaching in Higher Education Journey by

My Class: the Students

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-27 13:09:33 UTC

When discussing our classes at the beginning of the course, I must say that I felt a bit out of my depth. There was so much teaching experience in the group and so many stories. Many of my fellow course mates had taught such diverse groups. I, however, have not had much teaching experience... Aside from the occasional guest lecture, I had not undertaken a schedule of teaching before taking this higher education module. As such, I think about 'my class' in terms of the potential groups that I hope to teach in the future. I hope to encounter groups made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds, views, experiences, and preferences. I hope to create an environment in which they each feel welcome, supported, valued, and respected.

My Class: the Environment

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-27 13:12:22 UTC

The ideal environment which I aim to create throughout my time spent teaching is one of mutual respect and empowerment, but also one in which a plethora of viewpoints and perspectives can be set forth, discussed, and challenged. The fundamental skills of critical thought, judgement, and reasoning are best promoted in an environment in which students feel free and confident to question others' knowledge and understand the value of others questioning theirs. This all serves to promote honesty and integrity in learning.

Personal Story: Accessibility

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-27 16:20:44 UTC

Accessibility is something that must be facilitated and provided to create supportive and accessible learning spaces for people with a broad array of additional requirements. However, my own experience with accessibility following my diagnosis of Dyslexia and Dyspraxia during my second year of my undergraduate degree has shown me that there is more that can be done by a teacher to promote accessibility in their own learning space. These are based solely on my own experience and have informed my own principles of teaching, they are in no way generalisations of how teachers or institutions operate.

UKPSF Mapping Document

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-27 17:12:17 UTC

The UK Professional Standards Framework mapping document represents a central record evidencing my participation in the various core aspects of the 7010CRB module and delivering Higher Education professionally. Being new to teaching and lacking a formal, permanent teaching position, there are certain elements that I have not yet delivered and thus cannot evidence, for example assessing and giving feedback to my learners and developing evaluation models.

Holistic Learning: a Maritime Analogy

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-27 17:33:41 UTC

As somebody with both a vocational and personal passion for everything maritime, and at risk of being tedious, I think container vessels offer an apt analogy for how I view learning. Like cargo ships travelling the world, visiting ports, loading and offloading containers, and traversing swathes of navigational and security challenges in their individual voyages, learners are constantly acquiring new perspectives, new skills, and knowledge during their own personal trajectories before arriving in a shared space at which they both share what they have gained and receive from others.

Participatory Activity Example 1

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-28 15:06:51 UTC

This exercise, employed during my class on the dimensions of contemporary warfare, was a participatory group exercise in which we consolidated the material discussed beforehand regarding the facets and dimensions of contemporary warfare, challenging some prior preconceptions. The engagement was really positive and it brought the class out of their shell.

Participatory Activity Example 2

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-28 15:27:42 UTC

This group activity during my maritime risk management class got the learners thinking actively in terms of how to percieve, assess, and mitigate risk. It led to some really interesting conversations surrounding the subjective vs the objective dimensions of assessing risk.

Lesson Structures and Objectives

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-28 15:39:58 UTC

Attached is a slideshow containing the title page, structure, and learning objectives of my three classes. These provide an insight into a structure and thematic-led approach, founded on my research into these topics, which I employed in my teaching. For me, this exemplifies my approach to constructive alignment in teaching. I believe in having an outcome-led approach at the top level, but one in which there is plenty of flexibility for discussion, tangents, new perspectives, and other related learning.

Constructive Alignment for University Education

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-29 08:57:42 UTC

One of the most interesting parts of the 7010CRB module for me was the discussion surrounding the strengths and limitations of a constructively aligned approach to education. For me, the necessity of sequencing and organising your teaching to guide learners in delivering the key requirements of a qualification is evident, however this does not necessarily reflect the entirety of learning. I believe that constructive alignment serves to deliver the baseline, whilst true learning occurs beyond that set framework.

The Lecture/Seminar: Springboard for Learning

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-29 09:55:57 UTC

Whilst I agree that the stuffy, old-fashioned one-directional lecture is something of the past, I do believe that lectures with traditional elements do still have a place in Higher Education. I believe that these are important environments in which learners gain the core concepts and components of the course content, from which they should launch into their own learning and engagement as individual learners. This inevitably requires some 'lecturing' from the teacher, however this should incorporate more democratic, participatory discussions that allow course participants to explore the themes and subject collectively. This is just as important in 'spring boarding' their independent learning as teacher-led lecturing. As such, I prefer the use of sessions closer resembling seminars during classroom time.

Constructive Feedback

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-29 13:02:04 UTC

The discussion in class surrounding feedback is one where I noticed my own shortcomings. Having never had a formal teaching job, I have never been in the position of having to deliver on this fundamental aspect of teaching. However, the content that we engaged with during the module really shined a light on the value to be found in this process. I guess my own experiences of receiving feedback have been quite 'clinical'. Nicol's 12 feedback principles are ones that I will carry forward with me and place at the centre of my future teaching. Most crucially, I would like learners to know that, at the core of my feedback duties, I am on their side.

Active Learning Technologies

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-29 15:27:08 UTC

A discussion that fascinates me is how teachers can incorporate the innovative approaches and attitudes towards active learning that were developed during the difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic into their post-pandemic strategies for learning. Having been deprived of a physical learning space, the sudden transition to virtual classrooms has forced teachers to consider using new methods to maintain the engagement and participation of learners. Whilst I doubt that many people yearn from days spent at home in online classes during lockdown, I am equally sure that many will have experienced fun new ways of being taught. It is my view that these should not be forgotten about now that we have returned.

Cycles vs Conveyor Belts

daviesj14_2 — 2024-04-29 16:37:09 UTC

Something that I believe strongly is that any process which does not conclude with a feedback stage is doomed to be a conveyor belt of input. Input enters at the start of the belt, moves along its various stages of the process, and falls off the end never to be truly reflected on again. With an evaluation and review mechanism, however, that belt then becomes a cycle for an ever improving product.

Student Feedback 1

daviesj14_2 — 2024-05-01 11:15:01 UTC

These notes were taken from a discussion held at the end of a session with learners, asking for honest thoughts on what I could do differently and what they liked. The main constructive feedback was that I would be better off streamlining my content, as it was a bit of an "info dump". Next time, I'll be clearer as to what the key information is. Moreover, when I have the opportunity to teach as part of the full-time providers of a course, I'll be sure to align my content constructively with the broader course aims, objectives, and assessments.

Student Feedback 2

daviesj14_2 — 2024-05-01 11:16:57 UTC

This is the formal student feedback for one of the modules that I taught on. It is feedback from Spring 2024, during which all of my lectures were scheduled. Naturally, this is not a direct reflection of my teaching, but I wanted to provide it as evidence because my sessions occurred within it.

Observation: the Management-Led Observation of My Session

daviesj14_2 — 2024-05-01 11:21:01 UTC

This is the observation report for my teaching session on the Terrorism, International Crime and Global Security MA Programme. This was kindly supported and facilitated by Dr Salvatore Coluccello.

Observation: My Observation of a Taught Session

daviesj14_2 — 2024-05-01 11:23:26 UTC

This is my observation report from the session that I observed. I attended a lecture delivered by Dr Salvatore Coluccello on the International Organised Crime Module. It was inspiring to see a constructively aligned session take place in a high-quality higher education setting with great participation from a diverse student group.