Learning and teaching at
Northampton:
now and at Waterside
Prof Alejandro Armellini
[email protected]
@alejandroa
Director, Institute of Learning and Teaching in HE
University of Northampton, 1 March 2017
Learning and Teaching at Northampton
The 52-second video clip!
Active Blended Learning (ABL)
A course follows an ABL methodology if it:
 Is taught through student-centred activities to develop knowledge and
understanding, independent learning & digital fluency.
 Has a core, collaborative face-to-face component, explicitly linked to
learning activity outside the classroom, typically online.
 Helps to develop autonomy, Changemaker attributes and employability
skills.
Source: ILT website
Active Blended Learning (ABL)
A course follows an ABL methodology if it:
 Is taught through student-centred activities to develop knowledge and
understanding, independent learning & digital fluency.
 Has a core, collaborative face-to-face component, explicitly linked to
learning activity outside the classroom, typically online.
 Helps to develop autonomy, Changemaker attributes and employability
skills.
Source: ILT website
Pre-session
cognitive exposure
to content
F2F session:
analysis, discussion,
reflection & goal
setting
@alejandroa
Post-session online
work: consolidation
& evaluation
5
Pre-session
cognitive
exposure to
content
?
F2F session:
analysis,
discussion,
reflection &
goal setting
@alejandroa
Post-session
online work:
consolidation
& evaluation
6
Pre-session
cognitive
exposure to
content
Pre-session
asynchronous
online tasks
F2F session:
analysis,
discussion,
reflection &
goal setting
@alejandroa
Post-session
online work:
consolidation
& evaluation
7
ONLINE &
F2F
ONLINE & F2F
Digital
resources
Tasks for
sense-making
Analysis,
discussion,
reflection &
goal setting
FACE TO FACE,
SMALL GROUPS
Consolidation
& action
planning
A course is not taught in ABL if:
 It makes regular use of non-interactive lectures, or
 The VLE (or LMS) is primarily a content repository, or
 Online activity is merely an add-on to the face-to-face
sessions, or
 There is no evidence of systematic enhancement.
To be clear:
 ABL is not online teaching. Northampton will not become an online
learning university.
 We will continue to be a campus-based university, on a brand new
campus.
 We value face-to-face teaching as much as students do.
ABL is our new normal
ABL is not something we do in addition to our regular
teaching: it is our standard approach to learning and
teaching at Northampton.
ABL is our new normal
Does ABL mean that we expect students to work hard?
YES
CAIeRO:
a team-based approach to
course design
Creating Aligned Interactive Educational Resource Opportunities
@alejandroa
14
CAIeRO
Action Plan
review
prototype
check
reality
storyboard
blueprint
@alejandroa
15
Who: size & participants
@alejandroa
16
Why (1): to design a great course, fast
@alejandroa
17
Why (2): to model practice
@alejandroa
18
The Storyboard
Learning Outcomes
Start
End
Student-generated content resulting
from the e-tivities
Assessment
22
Action plan
@alejandroa
23
Student Contact Time
Tutor-mediated time allocated to teaching, provision of guidance and
feedback to students, in two parts:
 Face-to-face activities (on & off-site).
 Activities in online environments: synchronous (real-time) or asynchronous
(e.g., tutor-moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
Both are intrinsically connected and characterised by personalised tutor
presence and input within a specified time-frame.
Based on the QAA’s definition: page 4 of the Contact Hours document.
For further details, see Student Contact Time on the ILT site
Evidence – from students (1)
 “Students consistently commented that they felt that they wanted
more interactive classes. This was not just so that they could
practically learn about their subject area, but also to develop peer
relationships with their classmates, which they also linked to good
future employability skills”.
Source: NUS Student Experience Research 2012 p.5, emphasis added
Evidence – from students (2)
 “When asked what would most improve their academic experience,
50.2% of students said that more interactive/group teaching sessions
would improve their experience”.
Source: NUS Student Experience Research 2012 p.5, emphasis added
Evidence – from students (3)
 “I prefer the seminar because I have more chance to talk to lecturers
or tutors. In some lectures the tutors just talk and it’s not very
efficient”.
Source: NUS Student Experience Research 2012 p.19
Evidence – from students (4)
 “[…] the traditional model that continues to dominate in UK higher
education: teaching through lectures, excessive summative
assessment, slow feedback, and students working almost entirely
individually. Many student complaints about the quality of their
courses can be tracked back to [these]”.
Source: Comprehensive Guide to Learning & Teaching (NUS, 2015: 7), emphasis added
Evidence from the literature, as cited by students
Source: Comprehensive Guide to Learning & Teaching (NUS, 2015: 7)
Evidence from the literature, as cited by students
Source: Comprehensive Guide to Learning & Teaching (NUS, 2015: 7)
Evidence from the literature, as cited by students
Source: Comprehensive Guide to Learning & Teaching (NUS, 2015: 7)
Evidence from the literature, as cited by students
Source: Comprehensive Guide to Learning & Teaching (NUS, 2015: 7)
Thank you
Prof Alejandro Armellini
[email protected]
@alejandroa
Director, Institute of Learning and Teaching in HE
University of Northampton, 1 March 2017