It was a rainy day, and we mostly stayed at home. As we wind down, I found an ALT 2021 talk with a title that caught my attention: “Sharing experiences of an online HEA Fellowship scheme and its impact on learning and teaching” presented by Carina Bossu, Nashwa Ismail, Julia Sargent, and Jane Wilson. Bossu discussed the HEA fellowship, Applaud, and Applaud Evaluation. The HEA Fellowship “recognizes commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning” and is accredited by Advance HE. I did not know about this. Bossu explained that most UK institutions are members of the Advance HE. Applaud stands for Accrediting & Promoting Professional Learning & Academic Development and the Open University uses its own variation of the scheme. The Applaud Scheme at Open University is online, uses a cohort model, and has similar practices as other HE institutions. In 2020/2021 they were able to accredit 135 instructors! Bossu mentioned the team includes over 100 trained mentors, 25 trained assessors, and cohort 3 that started in August 2021 had 72 active candidates.
Bossu explained that this program recognizes teaching and is recognized throughout the UK and internationally. The program provides an opportunity to reflect on practice and discuss practice with others during the workshop (and with a mentor). Further, individuals are able to join a community of reflective teachers. For the university/institution, this program provides professional development and engages faculty & staff with the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching. The program “creates a culture of awareness of good teaching principles and practice” and “helps the UK universities to meet the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF).” Bossu described the evaluation of Applaud last year. They sent a survey to 412 participants who completed the program between 2016 and 2020. Their response rate was 25.7% with 107 responses, mentioned Bossu. The key findings were mostly positive impact on teaching practices and confidence of instructors. They also received useful feedback about the time commitment required for the program and the organization of the information on the website. Some participants mentioned difficulties connecting with their mentors. Bossu explained how they also conducted interviews with participants and learned that participants gained confidence for job interviews too. The feedback was used to revise the scheme, and Bossu stated that the completion rate increased to 70-80% and high workshop attendance (60-80%). They mentioned that reviewers commented that submissions were “stronger,” and mentors liked the cohort structure. Bossu also mentioned that there is now more demand for the program than capacity. They also spoke about trying to improve male/female balance in participation and update the website. There is a new application submission and review system. One question asked by an audience member that I thought was intriguing was: so who trains students to use learning technologies at the Open University (by Mark Corbett Wilson)? Bossu explained that there are online tutorials as well as technology tutors at the Open University since instructors use a variety of tools and have flexibility to select their tools. I am going to look into the resources they mentioned and explore what is publicly available. This may be a good program or scheme to tap into for teaching postdoctoral scholars and professional development.
