Report
Title:
Education Special Interest Groups - Evaluation Report (academic year 2015/16)
From:
Bridget Wilkinson
Date: June 2016
PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this report is to assess the value and impact of education focussed Special Interest Groups (SIGs) within the
Education Community of Practice, and to inform future planning. A brief evaluation questionnaire was issued to all staff who
had attended one or more SIG meeting in 2015/16 (ERGO 20736).
BACKGROUND
SIGs are a mechanism to enable staff passionate about education excellence and innovation to: network; discuss a specific
education enhancement topic or skill; share and recognise good practice; learn from colleagues; and facilitate change.
Seven SIGS were established in 2015/16, with groups aligned to the University strategy; particular emphasis being placed on
the 2015 enhancement theme of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL):

NTF Support Programme - Led by Professor Simon Kemp

Researching Assessment Practice (RAP) - Led by Professor Carol Evans

Mentoring SIG - Led by Pam Morgan, ILIaD

Enhancement theme - Articulate Storyline - Led by Nic Monks, iSolutions

Enhancement theme - Media SIG - Led by Stephan Caspar, ILIaD

Enhancement theme - Student Response Systems (SRS) - Led by Adam Warren ILIaD

Enhancement theme - iPad (and Alternative Devices) Coffee Clubs – Led by ILIaD/Academic staff
There were 603* attendances across the SIG groups, with each group meeting once a term. The meetings were facilitated by
subject specialists from within the Professoriate, senior academic community or Professional Services. (*As ipad coffee club
meetings are informal, full attendance records were not kept in 2015/16.)
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
1.
98 members of staff responded to the survey. 81% of responses were from ERE staff with 19% from MSA or technical
staff. Of the ERE staff, the distribution by career pathway was as follows:
Research Pathway 7%
Balanced
Pathway
40%
Teaching
Pathway
53%
with distribution by Faculty as follows:
FSHMS
15%
FBLA
17%
FPSE
6%
FEE
4%
FNES
15%
Health
Sciences
19%
Medicine
9%
Humanities
15%
2.1 Reasons for joining a SIG
% of respondents
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Enhance Keep up to Keep up to Share good Contribute Networking Career
own work
date on date on TEL practice
to
progression
practice/ pedagogic
University
/ recogniton
develop skill research
debate /
influence
policy
other
Lead/
facitate the
group
2.2 Meeting needs/expectations
Having confirmed reasons for joining a SIG, participants were then asked to consider the extent to which the special
interest group(s) were meeting their needs/expectations:
Meeting in
part 8%
Not meeting 5%
Meeting or exceeding
87%
It is noted that where groups are not fully meeting expectations, the main reason given is the request to meet more
frequently.
Community of Education Practice – June 2016 – Bridget Wilkinson
2.3 Impact on current work practice
Participants were asked to confirm whether they had enhanced any aspect of their (or their team’s) teaching and learning
practice as a result of attending a special interest group.
n/a
10%
No change
22%
Enhancement
actioned 46%
Enhancement in
planning stage
22%
Examples of enhancements already actioned include:
‘Applied media differently in teaching and learning’
‘Use of ResponseWare in lectures - students really appreciated it. I've advised tutees about RefMe and they've
used it with enthusiasm.’
‘I [have] examined and reflected upon and amended my approach to how I work with my mentees’
‘Better use of social media within teaching. This has improved our students' engagement with employability
activity (my area of focus).’
‘Personally I have benefited from the social aspects of the RAP and NTF groups. I have met people from across
the university with a shared interest in pedagogic innovation. These individuals have supported me in making the
most of what I have achieved to date and have spurred me on to do more.’
‘With mentoring I have been more aware of the bigger frameworks and codes of practice which I have integrated
in my meetings with staff’
‘I have changed the way I give Assessment feedback to students.’
‘ I've created lots of videos to support my teaching. The impact of this has been to improve the student experience
and save me time! - I have introduced student response systems in my teaching the impact of which has been to
enable students to appreciate shared fears/anxieties and for me to better understand the cohort.’
‘I am producing a new framework for teaching anatomy across disciplines using Articulate storyline and am
anticipating researching this.’
‘I used outcomes from the RAP group to inform discussions with a colleague about innovation in module
assessments.’
Planned enhancements include:
‘[I] plan to enhance my own student response system use in class in one of my modules.’
‘I am currently thinking about enhancements to assessments to better reward skills other than revising for
exams.’
‘I will use a new student response system next academic year’
‘I am looking to changing some media resources for students on Blackboard.’
Where no changes have been made, typical comments include:
‘Attending the group has been beneficial in terms of identifying good practice. It will take longer for this to
materialise into action.’
‘[I have] benefited from meeting others in the University who are doing similar work and encountering similar
challenges.’
Community of Education Practice – June 2016 – Bridget Wilkinson
2.4 Staff identified priorities for 2016/17
Looking forward to the next academic year, participants were asked to identify special interest groups that they felt that
they or their colleagues would benefit from. Requests were received for:







Teaching Excellence Framework*
Internationalisation of the Curriculum
International student experience and transition
Employability
Enterprise and outreach
Teaching – communication/’performance’ skills
TEL – Audio podcasting
*A repeated request was received that SIGs be used to provide opportunities for staff across the University to
engage/contribute to the debate, development and implementation of forthcoming education policy.
3. Conclusion
From the responses received it is clear that SIGs are achieving their aims. Historically, education-focussed staff in some areas
of the University have expressed feelings of isolation and of their work not being valued. Within the Education Community
of Practice, SIGS are establishing networks of colleagues across all Faculties to:





break down feelings of isolation;
enable like-minded colleagues the opportunity to share knowledge;
enhance their skills;
be recognised by peers for their achievements;
be supported to achieve greater success.
Through this collegiate approach, SIGs are enabling change, both at a local level (e.g. use of media within a module to increase
student engagement) and at the strategic level (e.g. Researching Assessment Practice).
The SIG mechanism harnesses the appetite shown by staff to work in more collegiate way; this could be particularly powerful
as we address the challenges and opportunities posed by the TEF. There is significant potential, via SIGs, to engage the
University community in debate, development, and implementation of policy and practice across the University’s teaching
and learning activity.
4. Recommendations
4.1 The use of SIGs should be continued.
4.2 All new SIGs to be directly aligned to the achievement of the University’s Education Strategy, and prioritised accordingly
across associated projects and the annual enhancement theme.
4.3 Appropriate metrics/mechanisms should be agreed and implemented to assess the impact of SIGs on key strategic
targets.
4.4 Current funding levels (ie 2015/16) for SIG activity should be maintained for 2016/17.
4.5 The use of SIGs in relation to education policy development and review to be explored by the VP Education in
consultation with the Dean of FSHMS and the Head of Engagement (Education) /Community of Practice lead.
Community of Education Practice – June 2016 – Bridget Wilkinson