Fostering a culture of enquiry

Pursuing research-informed evaluative practice as part of our Postgraduate Certificate

Cambridge teaching staff participating in the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education develop enquiry-based approaches to engaging with education and improving the education of their students.

All participants of our Master’s-level, Advance HE-accredited programme design a proposal for a research-informed evaluative project as part of their first assignment, exploring key educational challenges within their own teaching contexts. They then have the choice to take this project forward during the year, submitting it as part of their final portfolio, with the aim of providing practical enhancements for their own teaching, learning and assessment approaches. Some participants are subsequently able and choose to publish their evaluation projects in peer-reviewed journals.

Last year’s cohort investigated a range of innovative questions. One participant, for example, explored different approaches to classroom engagement for small groups of 10-12 students, motivated by a desire to improve their own practice in facilitating these sessions for a Part IA course - something to which they were relatively new - and potentially feed into a broader reform of the Tripos. As part of the study, they experimented with different formats, sought feedback from participating students and also those from previous years to understand the longer-term usefulness of the course, as well as interviewing colleagues regarding their experiences. The study resulted in changes to how they design and teach these sessions, informed broader conversations amongst colleagues, and increased their own confidence.

Another participant undertook an evaluation of a College academic skills support programme they had recently launched, seeking to understand the impact of the programme on students as well as the benefits and obstacles emerging from the programme’s specific model. Drawing on written reflections and semi-structured interviews with both students who had used the service and those providing the sessions, they were able to introduce improvements to how students are encouraged to engage with the programme most effectively, and compose a suite of recommendations to better support and reward those delivering the programme.

These types of projects demonstrate how research-informed evaluation can contribute to meaningful, context-specific improvements in teaching and learning at Cambridge.

For more information, contact Dr Meg Tait (mebt1)