Centre for Active Learning Final self-evaluation report

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Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Final Self-Evaluation Report

Centre for Active Learning University of Gloucestershire

Presented to the Higher Education Funding Council for England

31st March 2010

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Question 1 Please reflect on how effective your CETL has been in contributing to the objectives set out for the CETL initiative when it started. Be concise and do not exceed 1,000 words for the whole of the question

i. To reward practice that demonstrates excellent learning outcomes for students.

• The CeAL has funded 91 projects. These have provided a mechanism for creativity and innovation in teaching and learning, along with time and resources for project leaders, across the University.

• Initial projects were focused on the then School of Environment (SoE)1 providing recognition and scope for further development to those staff contributing to the award of the CETL status.

• Staff time for SoE projects was provided for through CeAL resourcing three additional academic staff, allowing all staff in the School to bid for project time on their balance of duties.

• CeAL Fellowships were initiated to allow staff from across the University to develop extended projects which would directly enhance student learning and allow time for research. Fellowships were encouraged in each Faculty.

• Visiting Fellowships were used to facilitate collaborative projects. • Staff involved in CeAL projects have been recognised further by institutional and

national teaching awards.

ii. To enable practitioners to lead and embed change by implementing approaches that address the diversity of learners’ needs, the requirements of different learning contexts, the possibilities for innovation and the expectations of employers and others concerned with the quality of student learning.

• CeAL projects have provided a mechanism for the University to recognise and support innovation and creativity; this has been acknowledged by staff as providing legitimacy to their ideas2. An open approach to inviting project proposals led to a

1 In the summer of 2005 a new Department of Natural and Social Sciences was created; formed by bringing together the School of Environment and Psychology and Sociology provision. 2 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/UniversityFellows.aspx

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diverse range being implemented, with active learning being employed to support: collaborative learning, skills development, employability of students, encouraging critical reflection and for student engagement and motivation3.

• The presence of the CeAL as a physical entity and as a community in its own right within the University has created an environment which has encouraged reflection on active learning and ownership through local interpretation. This University presence has been achieved, for example, through

o supporting projects across all faculties; o supporting large-scale projects, such as the launching of a successful active

learning induction across two campuses involving large campus teams of academic and support staff and the subsequent local development of the process;

o providing support for course teams undergoing major review and validation; o running Swap Shop events which have captured and disseminated practice.

• The CeAL and its staff provided a forum for conversation on pedagogic issues. A stimulating CeAL seminar series, 63 events over the five-years, which has brought together University of Gloucestershire practitioners with experts from across the world and has helped to forge new partnerships and has brokered international cross-fertilisation of ideas and practice.

• The learning spaces funded by CeAL capital investment have encouraged new pedagogic approaches, and they are now widely used for academic staff development activities.

iii. To enable institutions to support and develop practice that encourages deeper understanding across the sector of ways of addressing students’ learning effectively.

• The adoption of active learning as a key element of the University Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategic Framework (LTASF) and in strategic priority one, Achieving Inspirational Learning, of the University Strategic Plan 2009-12, has helped create an institutional environment which values innovative teaching and learning.

• The CeAL has invested in both research and development projects, the reports of which are available on the CeAL website. In addition the CeAL has commissioned 22 internal and external case studies of existing practice. Outcomes and outputs from the CeAL programme will continue to be used and built upon through the Learning and Teaching Essentials Toolkit4, which is an open-ended adaptable resource, designed to support the implementation of the LTASF. The Toolkit includes resources developed by the CeAL to support learning and teaching developments such as

o generic tools including the enquiry-based learning planner5; o specific guidance materials which include the Evaluation and Assessment

Framework for Digital Storytelling;

3 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/ActiveLearningTypology.aspx 4 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/RESOURCES/TOOLKIT/Pages/default.aspx 5 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/resources/tools/Pages/eblplanner.aspx

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• The CeAL employed five Postgraduate Researchers to undertake pedagogic research degrees (four PhD and one Masters).

iv. To recognize and give greater prominence to clusters of excellence that are capable of influencing practice and raising the profile of teaching excellence within and beyond their institutions.

• Investment in the active-learning induction created an environment for whole-faculty engagement in pedagogic projects.

• Institutional and faculty Swap Shop events raised awareness of and disseminated existing good practice. The CeAL has attracted an impressive range of international and national visitors who have contributed to the successful CeAL seminar series, delivering 63 seminars6.

• CeAL staff have been extensively engaged in national and international dissemination activities7

• The CeAL created opportunities for both the exchange of practice and recognition of teaching and learning initiatives through the creation of CeAL Fellows, both internal and visiting.

• The appointment of Postgraduate Researchers contributed to creating an internal pedagogic community in the CeAL.

• The CeAL lent its expertise to a number of other funded projects: o Two National Teaching Fellowship institutional projects, plus a third short-

listed for 2010 Leading, promoting and supporting undergraduate research in the

new university sector8 Learning Empowerment through Public-Student Engagement

o Co-generative Toolkit (Co-genT) JISC-funded project9 o Virtual Rocky Shore10 project was included as part of Higher Education

Academy’s UK Centre for Bioscience £250,000 project ‘Interactive Laboratory and Fieldwork Manual for the Biosciences’11 developing Open Educational Resources

o HE Academy-funded projects Linking Teaching and Research (See Academics’ Experiences and

Conceptions of ‘Research’ and ‘Teaching’: developing the relationship between these activities to enhance student learning within different disciplines and institutions (2006-07) £29,991 (Lucas L, Jenkins A, Short C and Deem R);

Digital Storytelling Synthesis12 Work-based learning project (McEwen, et al, 2010) IMPALA and IMPALA2 Podcasting projects13

6 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/presentations/Pages/default.aspx 7 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/Pages/CeALPublications.aspx 8 http://resources.glos.ac.uk/tli/prsi/current/ugresearch/index.cfm 9 http://resources.glos.ac.uk/tli/lets/projects/cogent/index.cfm 10 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/sustainable/Pages/vrs.aspx 11 http://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/oer/ 12 http://digitalstorytellingsynthesis.pbworks.com/

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v. To demonstrate collaboration and sharing of good practice and so enhance the standard of teaching and effective learning throughout the sector.

• The CeAL has been involved in a number of collaborations:

o LTEA14 (Learning through Enquiry Alliance) is a collection of CETLs whose focus includes Enquiry-Based Learning and Undergraduate Research. This group of CETLs has met regularly through the period of the scheme to share practice and policy. This has proved to be a productive and cost-effective collaboration. A notable output of this alliance has been the pooling of resources and expertise in the formation of an annual LTEA conference.

o CASTL (Carnegie Academy of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) Institutional Leadership Project - Undergraduate Research, (http://www.viu.ca/teaching/UnderGrad.asp). This inter-institutional collaborative programme was supported by CASTL and the Carnegie Foundation provided a forum for developing and synthesising knowledge and practice from participating institutions. The University of Gloucestershire, through CeAL, was the only non-North American institution represented.

o Geography, Environment and Earth Science (GEES) discipline CETLS. This subject grouping of CETLs met annually through the period of the scheme and facilitated teaching and learning strands at the annual RGS (Royal Geographical Society) Conference.

• The CeAL supported collaborative projects with other institutions, nationally and internationally; for example, Black Environment Network (BEN), University of Worcester, UNITEC (Auckland, NZ), University of South Australia.

• The CeAL Visiting Fellowship scheme has been successful in both importing and exporting ideas and has resulted in continuing collaborations.

• CeAL publications such as Engaging Students in Active Learning and Greener by Degrees along with c50 internal case studies to be published in the University’s Electronic Journal of Learning and Teaching (e-JoLT), and 20 external case studies have helped share practice internally and externally.

vi. To raise student awareness of effectiveness in teaching and learning in order to inform student choice and maximize student performance.

• The development of an active-learning induction across two campuses has been used as a means to introduce students to active learning and establish their expectations of this form of learning.

• Specific CeAL projects have placed an emphasis on raising student awareness of elements of active learning (e.g. reflection, learner empowerment, research) or on specific approaches (e.g. studio culture)

13 http://www.le.ac.uk/impala/ 14 http://www.ltea.ac.uk/

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• Undergraduate research has been researched and developed with CeAL support,

through projects such the Leading, promoting and supporting undergraduate research in the new university sector (NTFS project) and CASTL; see also Healey & Jenkins (2009).

• Learning spaces created by the CeAL provide a physical manifestation to both students and staff of active learning.

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Question 2 Please set out the aims and objectives to your CETL at the start; and for each one reflect how well these have been achieved. (1000 words)

Seventeen initial outcomes were identified as part of the original bid, the document Review of CeAL Outcomes15 provides a listing of these outcomes with attached comments on how these outcomes have been met or amended. The comments are from two key points in the CeAL timetable; the 2007 interim evaluation and reflections from 2010, the end of the project. Therefore this question will focus more generally on reflecting on CeAL's success in achieving these outcomes, their validity and the environmental factors that have impacted upon them.

The nature of the outcomes, which reflected the ambition at the outset of the project, can also be linked to the specific origins of the CETL. In 2005 the full name of the newly established CETL was the Centre for Active Learning for Geography, Environment and Related Disciplines. The CETL was awarded to the School of Environment (SoE) in the University and the outcomes specified reflected a strategy that would focus on this School and its host faculty and then develop a wider impact across the University. Likewise its intended outcomes both to develop collaborations and to disseminate practice, reflected use of networks with Geography, Environment and Related Disciplines.

Achievement of internally focused outcomes

The CeAL’s ultimate aim was to ensure that all students at the University of Gloucestershire would have a learning experience directly enhanced through active learning (outcome 1). Many students now have a directly enhanced learning experience of active learning; however it is not possible to claim that all do. CeAL has contributed to ensuring that the University is well placed to move toward achieving this outcome. This has been greatly helped through strategic adoption of active learning; as part of the University vision in 2006, as part of its Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategic Framework (LTASF) in June 2007 and finally within Strategic Priority One, Achieving Inspirational Learning, of the University Strategic Plan 2009-12. This strategic recognition presented CeAL with a challenge, to change its focus from one of persuasion and development to that of

15 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/Pages/reportsdocumentation.aspx

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implementation. In addition the CeAL’s focus shifted more quickly than originally planned to the whole institution; a move already initiated through CeAL becoming first a faculty based unit and then centrally located16.

CeAL has both established processes and tools and worked with staff and discipline teams across the University to develop active learning approaches. In particular CeAL has been successful in the development of an active learning induction for undergraduate students17 (outcome 17) which has now been adopted by two faculties and parts of a third. In addition the capital investment made through CeAL (outcome 16) has provided learning spaces which have had an impact on how staff deliver their teaching18.

Outcome 4 specified that approximately 100 projects would be supported, providing case study materials and learning resources. CeAL has supported 91 projects; reports are available on the CeAL legacy website19. The initial focus on a range of small-scale projects across the SoE reflected the inclusive nature of the original bid and a desire to provide development opportunities to all SoE staff. This approach did, however, present project management challenges resulting in some projects having limited value for wider dissemination. A move to larger scale projects has resulted in greater impact.

Impact on the HE community

Collaborative projects with other HEIs and through community projects were clearly identified in the original proposal as important (outcomes 2, 10, 13, 15). CeAL has been successful in establishing some valuable collaborations which have had a direct impact on the student learning experience and which have helped disseminate good practice around the HE community, nationally and internationally. Interestingly these projects have rarely proven to be those identified as potential projects in the bid document. This reflects a shift from the initial networks exploited during the bid development and also the reality of problems in establishing successful collaborative projects. CeAL has also played a role, and continues to do so, in other projects within the University of Gloucestershire, such as NTFS Institutional Projects and HE Academy and JISC -funded projects.

A range of dissemination activities were identified in the original bid document (Outcome 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15). CeAL has successfully undertaken a range of approaches to disseminate information and help support the exchange of practice. The different approaches used to achieve this, compared to the original bid, reflects advances in the application of technology, less focus on a specific discipline and changes identified as the project progressed. CeAL’s ability to attract external visitors who wish to learn about the University of Gloucestershire experience is captured in the example of the research project undertaken by Rachel Spronken-Smith which recognised the University’s success in implementing active learning strategically in the institution. Visitors have been willing to share their research through the CeAL seminar series which has proved a rich resource for

16 ibid 17 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/sustainable/Pages/ActiveLearningInduction.aspx 18 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/LearningSpaces.aspx 19 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/ACTIVITIES/ACTIVELEARNING/Pages/default.aspx

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colleagues20. Other intended outcomes have been adapted reflecting the wide institutional focus of CeAL. For example, rather than providing a Guide to the Initiation of Active Learning (outcome 12), a web-based Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit21 has been developed to support the implementation of the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Framework. This will be a developing resource and its maintenance is part of the sustainability strategy for the work of CeAL as well as being an important part of its legacy.

Pedagogic Research

From the beginning CeAL was designed to be a scholarly, evidence-based reflective programme. An indication of this success is 44 journal articles, 24 books and reports, 36 book chapters (including 24 peer-reviewed journals and book chapters) and 145 conference presentations (20 peer-reviewed). In addition CeAL undertook to appoint five Postgraduate Researchers; as of the 31st March one Masters by research has been submitted, one PhD is expected in July 2010 with another PhD still underway; but two students have withdrawn from their studies for personal reasons. The Postgraduate Researchers have also contributed to the CeAL outputs through conference papers and publications. Appointment of the Postgraduate Researchers established a vibrant postgraduate community and contributed to developing supervisory capacity in the University.

Conclusions

Reflecting back on the original CeAL outcomes it is possible to recognise how some were overly ambitious, insufficiently precise, or written with a particular structure and management in mind. However, CeAL has importantly been able to help establish strategies with supporting processes and resources to continue the intent in the original outcomes.

20 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/presentations/Pages/default.aspx 21 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/Pages/default.aspx

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(Broadcast Journalism students interviewing Sir Alan Wilson during the official opening of the CeAL Building)

Question 3 Please add any objectives that emerged as the CETL developed and reflect on these as for question 2 (500 words max)

To capture different perspectives and practice of active learning across the University

The original bid for CETL status included a definition of active learning which was closely associated with the Environment disciplines. This created a potential barrier to the wider adoption of active learning across the University. To address this barrier, the CeAL instigated a major research project into staff interpretations of active learning across the University22. This was linked to a Visiting Fellowship project from Dr Paul Wright (Southampton Solent University)23 who undertook parallel research at his own institution.

A synthesis of reports from CeAL projects has contributed to a proposed framework for active learning at the University24. Disciplinary and individual interpretations of active learning have also been made available through the Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit25.

Establishment of a CeAL Visiting Fellowship Scheme

External interest in the CeAL prompted the creation of a Visiting Fellowship scheme which established collaborative projects to the benefit of both the individuals concerned and the University. The scheme adopted an open approach to applications to encourage a broad exploration of active learning. The resultant projects were wide ranging and included:

• Podcasting; • Institutional implementation of active learning; • Teaching and learning experiences of black and ethnic minorities; • Processes of curriculum change.

22 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/perceptions/Pages/default.aspx 23 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/ViewoActiveLearning.aspx 24 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/ActiveLearningTypology.aspx 25 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/RESOURCES/TOOLKIT/WAL/Pages/default.aspx

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Explicit in this scheme was enabling Fellows to work with University staff to provide capacity building. The scheme was successful in introducing expertise into the University and in establishing collaborative relationships, resulting in publications and conference presentations, which have been sustained beyond the Fellowships. In total 11 Fellowships were undertaken involving both national and international fellows26.

Establishment of collaborative working relationships with Learning Enhancement and Technology Support (LETS) [formerly the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT)] and the Pedagogic Research and Scholarship Institute (PRSI)

At the close of the CETL programme CeAL is embedded with Teaching and Learning Innovation (TLI). TLI is the central unit responsible for implementation of the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy. It provides the structural location for CeAL, LETS and the PRSI helping to ensure successful collaborative working relationships. These have been evidenced through:

• External project bids, for example Institutional NTFS projects; Cogent (JISC-funded project)

• Joint pedagogic events within the University of Gloucestershire: CeAL Seminars, University Teaching and Learning Conferences

CeAL, LETS and PRSI are now combined within the University’s Teaching and Learning and Innovation (TLI) unit. This will ensure the continuation of CeAL activities.

Creation of four CeAL Fellows (secondments) per academic year each with significant project roles and at least 0.2 allowance on their balance of duties

This outcome was added in recognition of the need for larger scale projects. 16 Fellowships were awarded with the aim to establish projects in each faculty, this was achieved. The Fellowships proved to be generally successful with an evaluation27 finding that these larger projects enabled broader activities such major curriculum re-design. They were valued as a means of providing staff with development space and realising innovative ideas which would otherwise not have been developed. The University is now investigating the amendment of its University Teaching Fellowship scheme to adopt this approach rather than providing a financial reward.

26 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/VisitingFellows.aspx 27 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/UniversityFellows.aspx

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Question 4 Irrespective of your answers to questions 2 and 3 above, please reflect on, and draw out the achievements and benefits of the CETL (1000 words maximum) (Think about different audiences, types of output, impact internal and externally, on professional / staff development, on student learning, work over an extended period, use of money for facilities development etc.)

Institutional engagement

Institutional engagement with active learning has been a major achievement over the period of the CeAL programme; it is recognised strategically through both the University 2009-12 Strategic Plan and the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategic Framework (LTASF). In June 2007 Active Engagement was included as one of the five principles (along with Learner Empowerment, Learning Communities, Learning for Sustainable Development and Learning for Equality, Diversity and Intercultural Understanding) of the University’s LTASF. Active learning is now an accepted expectation in the University; while the LTASF has been important in helping achieving this, the top-down support has been matched by significant bottom-up developments supported by CeAL which reach out across the University:

• CeAL has supported 91 projects, with projects in each of the University’s four Faculties plus projects that have linked with external partners, nationally and internationally. The full list of projects and their reports can be accessed on the CeAL Legacy website28. The spread of projects was:

Faculty Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Education, Humanities and Science 39 16 8

Media, Art and Communication - 2 1

Sport, Social Care and Health 1 2 1

Business School 1 3 2

Learning and Information Services - 2 1

Externally linked projects 2 8 2

28 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/ACTIVITIES/ACTIVELEARNING/Pages/default.aspx

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• While each of the CeAL projects had an identified project leader, with some being

purely individual projects, many involved teams of staff, such as: course teams involved in programme reviews or organising student-focused events (i.e. Landscape End-of-Year Show); faculty based teams organising student induction; or smaller module-focused developments. The reach of CeAL projects has therefore been very wide within the University. Exact numbers cannot be provided but there have been 64 project leaders (16% of academic staff) and it can be estimated that 300 staff – academic and learning support - (33% of all UoG staff) have been involved or linked to CeAL projects.

• Institutional consciousness of active learning was also raised through Faculty Swap-Shops. These were used as a means of drawing in a different audience to those engaged in CeAL projects and to celebrate existing practice across the University. These events were successful in encouraging reflection on practice, helped by the more informal nature of these events, resulting in staff writing up case studies of practice. Five Swap Shops were held, the first was cross-institutional with a focus on sustainability within the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum. The outputs from this Swap Shop were published in the book Greener by Degrees (Roberts, & Roberts, 2007). The latter, Faculty based workshops, which engaged 91 staff in the process are being published through special editions of the University’s Electronic Journal of Learning and Teaching, e-JoLT29.

• Important within the central achievement of embedding active learning in the University has been encouraging local interpretation of active learning30. This was seen as fundamental to achieving local ownership. Disciplinary interpretations of active learning are being made available through the Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit31, part of the CeAL institutional legacy.

Learning Spaces

The capital investment has helped raise the profile of learning spaces across the University, as the conclusions the CeAL Learning Spaces32 report state:

The findings of [CeAL’s learning spaces] research would seem to indicate that the CeAL supported spaces meet many of the JISC (2006, 5) recommendations [for the design of learning spaces]. The spaces have proved flexible enough to support experimental and innovative pedagogies and collaborative working, and indeed can support multiple kinds of delivery and activity in one session or module. When used as a whole, the CeAL building has successfully supported celebrations and interactive whole discipline events. These can be seen as fostering the development of discipline identity and learning communities. All this has led to changes in practice which are not the norm elsewhere in the University.

29 http://resources.glos.ac.uk/tli/lets/journals/ejolt/index.cfm 30 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/ActiveLearningTypology.aspx 31 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/default.aspx 32 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/LearningSpaces.aspx

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Dissemination activity; national and international profile

CeAL has been proactive in developing both a national and international profile through the dissemination of CeAL activities. The full list of CeAL dissemination activity through both conferences and publications is available on the CeAL legacy website33.

CeAL has been active in organising events within the University of Gloucestershire, encouraging visitors to the University of Gloucestershire to facilitate the exchange of ideas and practice. Central to this has been the CeAL Seminar series34. In addition CeAL has organised conferences and one-off events with a specific focus, examples of these include:

• Supporting the Supporters II Conference – 21st January 2008. Event for learning support staff held in conjunction with the GEES subject centre.

• Disciplinary specificity in university teaching: Moving from conceptualisation to action – 8th December 2008. Led by Dr Anna Jones (University of Melbourne, Australia) and Dr Denis Berthiaume (Université de Lausanne, Switzerland)

Professional development

Those involved in CeAL projects have been supported by a skilled and knowledgeable CeAL team which has included three National Teaching Fellows. This involvement has provided professional development opportunities for staff across the University:

• CeAL Fellowships have provided staff with developmental space, both conceptually and temporally.

• Involvement in CeAL projects has been used by staff as evidence in successful applications for teaching awards. These include: o National Teaching Fellowships (Professor Carolyn Roberts (2006), James

Derounian (2007), Professor Kris Mason O’Connor (2008), Professor Lindsey McEwen (2009) and Dr Arran Stibbe (2009))

o University Teaching Fellowships (Claire Simmons (2009), Adam Hart (2009), Nigel McLoughlin (2009), Pauline Dooley (2008), Chris Short (2007), Jane Roberts (2006))

• The Visiting Fellowship Scheme has had a capacity raising role both within the University and externally35. Visiting Fellows have taken ideas and practice back to their own institutions and provided professional development support and helping provide a wider understanding of research and pedagogic issues to staff in the University.

An intended outcome from the appointment of the Postgraduate Researchers was to develop experienced practitioners for the sector; the CeAL external evaluator noted the ‘excellent postgraduates; who have provided the heart and muscle of CeAL’s development work’. In fact all staff directly employed by CeAL have grown and developed through the programme, evidenced through contributions to publications and conferences, completed research and new skills developed.

33 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/Pages/CeAL.aspx 34 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/presentations/Pages/default.aspx 35 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/VisitingFellows.aspx

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Question 5 Have there been any disappointments in how the CETL has developed/what it has achieved. What are they, why did they happen? (600 words maximum)

CeAL set itself a challenging target that 9200 students, the total University population, would have had an enhanced active learning experience by the end of the project. We are disappointed that this has not been achieved but recognise the over-ambition of this target and the impact of CeAL’s initial discipline focus and the challenges inherent in achieving institution-wide adoption of a pedagogic approach. However, the explicit embedding of active learning in the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategic Framework (LTASF) and University Strategic Plan and associated resolutions to monitor the implementation of these policies through validation and periodic review processes demonstrates a clear institutional commitment to achieve full embedding within a five-year period.

CeAL has operated in a changing institutional environment which has presented challenges but ones that also offered potential opportunities. The initial inclusive approach supported small-scale projects across the School of Environment, rewarding those responsible for achieving the award. Many of these projects did have slow starts and the approach was not reflective of the wider institutional environment which had recognised active learning through its vision statement36. Our external evaluator noted ‘a reluctance to realise early enough that things were not being achieved on the desired scale’37, reflecting the adherence to the original aims and project plan of the bid. From academic year 2006/7 changes were made, with the introduction of larger scale projects through CeAL Fellowships and Visiting Fellowships, which were found to be a more productive way of fostering active learning38.

Student employability has been identified as an important driver for the use of active learning approaches by UoG staff39. From our current perspective it is apparent that there could have been more emphasis on both employability and flexible forms of delivery through CeAL projects. While CeAL projects have included some distance-learning provision the majority have focused on existing campus-based provision. Support for initiatives reflecting the 36 CeAL Interim evaluation (p6) http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/ACTIVITIES/ACTIVELEARNING/Pages/reportsdocumentation.aspx 37 ibid (p26) 38 Teaching and Learning Toolkit – Sustainable Practice http://insight-dev.glos.ac.uk/TLI/RESOURCES/TOOLKIT/WAL/SUSTAINABLE/Pages/default.aspx 39 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/ActiveLearningTypology.aspx

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changing demand for higher education, particularly work-based and flexible learning, have emerged through CeAL involvement in other institutional projects (i.e. Co-genT40; HE Academy Effective Support for Work-based Learning Project (McEwen, et al, 2010)).

Managing the expectations of staff across a whole institution was a challenge for a project on the scale of CeAL. It was important that a clear message was conveyed, but achieving this took longer than originally envisaged. This slowness reflected, in part, the challenges around disseminating ideas across disciplinary boundaries following the origin of CeAL in the School of Environment, reflecting some resistance to a perceived CeAL or UoG definition of active learning41.

The national and institutional economic environment during the last 18 months of the project has acted to dampen the scope of CeAL’s activity in this period. Increased levels of financial control at institutional level have acted to limit staff expectations about availability of funds with consequent limitation of proposals to build on and develop active learning within the institution.

CeAL adopted an innovative staffing structure that included employing five Postgraduate Researchers. In addition to supporting CeAL activities they were engaged in their own pedagogic research. This dual-role model did produce tensions between the demands of the research degrees and CeAL project support roles indicating that a clearer separation of between these roles, both in terms of management and time might have worked better.

HEFCE had a very hands-off role in the monitoring and management of the CETL programme. A closer relationship facilitating dialogue around emerging issues would have been valuable. The value of the interim evaluation of the CETL programme as a whole was severely diminished by the long delays in presenting the findings. As such this evaluation had little formative value to individual CETLs. The final evaluation, while eventually coming up with a set of clear (if repetitious) questions, has reached this point through a seemingly tortuous route.

McEwen, L. J., Mason O’Connor, K., Williams, C. and Higson, H. E. (2010) Integrating Employers in Effective Support for Student Work-Based Learning: an evidence base to inform innovative policy and practice, Final Report for Higher Education Academy

40 http://resources.glos.ac.uk/tli/lets/projects/cogent/index.cfm 41 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/perceptions/Pages/default.aspx

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Question 6 Please reflect on the difficult and easier aspects of getting the CETL going and of getting your messages across. For example: Has action/change followed; where and why did you meet success or resistance. What worked, how did you discover this, how do you know it worked? (1000 words maximum)

The UoG bid for CETL status, whilst reflecting institutional recognition for learning and teaching, was awarded to the School of Environment (SoE). This created different expectations across the University which impacted on the ease with which the CeAL programme was initiated and developed. Within the SoE there was an expectancy of reward that came with the project. This expectancy was positive in terms of the enthusiasm that it engendered but it needed to be coupled with the clearly articulated goals of the CeAL programme. While the majority of members of academic staff were keen to exploit the opportunities to invest in their teaching and learning, some were less keen to engage in building their pedagogic research capacity42. The extreme consequence of this stance was for CeAL to be perceived as a ‘cash-cow’, a fund that could be drawn upon for personal projects. Challenging and dispelling such perceptions took time in the early stages of the programme. Even with such negotiation, some expected project outcomes were not delivered, resulting in projects which produced limited outcomes for CeAL.

The CeAL had strong institutional support which contributed to CeAL staff having a significant role in the process to develop the University’s new Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategic Framework (LTSAF); this was adopted in June 2007. Combined with the very presence of CeAL, a CETL, there was an impact on the institutional environment; contributing to what could be called a spirit of ‘dasein’. This is Heidegger’s philosophical concept meaning, literally, to be there; thereness. It is used here to capture a sense of unspoken awareness of active learning that having a CETL creates within the institution, going beyond the purely physical presence of the CeAL building and CeAL team. However, the language of active learning has created barriers. As part of the initial bid a definition of active learning was developed43, this was, however, seen by some as being only appropriate in certain contexts, such as practice based, vocational subjects or involving fieldwork44.

42 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/perceptions/Pages/default.aspx 43 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/ACTIVITIES/ACTIVELEARNING/Pages/reportsdocumentation.aspx 44 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/perceptions/Pages/default.aspx

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Research undertaken into the perceptions of active learning highlighted the need for a range of definitions and interpretations45. This approach was used in the last half of the CeAL programme and these different interpretations are now being captured through course validation documentation. Examples are being imported into the Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit to help disseminate these different approaches46.

Large-scale projects that have engaged whole teams of staff have proved a good mechanism for engagement. The active learning induction was a particularly successful example of how this approach can work at a cross-faculty level by engaging a wide range of staff; however this did not stop it being problematic as some staff resisted the perceived ideological approach and contested the use of active learning both as a term and approach. It could be argued that this has developed a ‘signature pedagogy’ (Shulman, 2005: 6) framed around a common model that can be interpreted by different disciplines47. Another example of how large-scale projects had significant impact was through support for whole course curriculum developments, provided through validation and review48.

CeAL support for projects has provided legitimacy for new innovations which may not have been recognised otherwise49. For example, CeAL Fellowships provided individuals with time and space for exploration and development and the collection of projects undertaken by Landscape Design staff fed into a collective disciplinary team reflection and subsequent redevelopment of the whole course. Figure 1 provides a visual representation of how involvement in CeAL projects has resulted in a significant number of intended and unintended outcomes for one CeAL Fellow. Feedback from project holders does indicate that in some cases the top-down support for active learning that is provided through the University LTASF does not always meet the ‘bottom-up‘ developments of the CeAL projects. This reflects some fracturing, with departmental pressures creating gaps at middle management levels. This has impacted both on getting projects started and on their longer-term sustainability.

Adoption of active engagement as part of the LTASF needs to feed through into all policies and processes. It was for example observed by Davies et al (2009: 13), in their benchmarking of the Teaching and Research Nexus that at Gloucestershire this is ‘recognised and valued [in the University] but that there is not a clear and integrated approach to weave this throughout the strategic documentation’. Active learning being explicitly embedded in Strategic Priority One of the University Strategic Plan 2009-12 will address such concerns. This will be a central plank of continued TLI activity based on CeAL’s work.

As well as management and cultural factors influencing both the uptake and sustainability of initiatives, institutional processes have also provided barriers that needed to be overcome.

45 ibid 46 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/default.aspx 47 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/sustainable/Pages/ActiveLearningInduction.aspx 48 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/ValidationReview.aspx 49 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/UniversityFellows.aspx

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Figure 1: Intended and unintended outcomes from involvement in CeAL projects: the experience of one CeAL Fellow

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For example, the development of the Broadcast Journalism Newsweek50, a week-long role-play activity introduced a large practice-based assessment. Demonstrating the intellectual rigour of this approach and challenging the standard assessment norms required prolonged negotiation for this approach to be approved through University quality assurance procedures. The success of this initiative has resulted in this approach, which was initially used with honours level students, being used at intermediate level in Broadcast Journalism and incorporated into the documentation for new courses in Journalism at BA and MA level which go to validation in March 2010. Likewise in the new Business Management51 they have developed a 30 CATS point generic skills module, challenging University systems which had until that point allowed a maximum of 24 CATS points for such a module.

Active learning approaches can introduce elements of creativity that challenge traditional approaches. Two examples of this involve the use of alternative media for assessment. The first is the use of digital storytelling, which created a personal challenge to staff as to how this new and innovative form of student presentation and working could be evaluated and assessed. The resolution was achieved through a good example of collaborative working: staff involved in the use of digital storytelling were bought together through CeAL to share practice and to help to develop an Evaluation and Assessment Framework52. The second example involves the use of photography as a visual research method which raised concerns, discussed with the external examiner, as to how a visual research project could be assessed against criteria designed for more traditional assessments. This project has produced a guide to Photographic Research Methods53.

Davies, P., Walton, G. & Short, C. (2009) Teaching and Research Nexus Benchmarking Project: Staffordshire University and the University of Gloucestershire. [Internal Report as part of NTFS Institutional Project]

50 Interview with module tutor 51 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/ValidationReview.aspx 52 http://resources.glos.ac.uk/tli/lets/projects/pathfinder/index.cfm 53 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/sustainable/Pages/LinkingTheoryandActiveLearning.aspx

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Question 7 Has your CETL adopted/used/been based around any specific theories, e.g. of change, or of student learning? If so, what, how have these underpinned your work, have they been useful? (1000 words maximum)

The rationale and theory behind active learning

CeAL adopted an initial approach to active learning informed by Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) and Performances for Understanding (Blythe & Associates, 1998; Perkins, 1999) and developed by Healey et al. (2005) as demonstrated in the diagram below:

Fig. 1 The CeAL approach to active learning (source: Healey, et al., 2005)

Developing CeAL’s understanding of active learning

The CeAL programme has developed and informed our understanding of active learning, and our approach to promoting active learning now contains the following key elements:

• student engagement in inquiry and research; • collaborative learning opportunities; • realisation of learning from authentic experiences;

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• encouragement of reflective practice.

Active learning is commonly employed to encourage learner empowerment, collaborative learning and reflection. In addition, active learning is used to foster students’ skills development, employability and motivation.

The CeAL approach to active learning

This approach proved useful in designing active learning experiences in the following ways:

• Highlighting the importance of experiencing a variety of learning modes in both the planning and implementation of learning;

• Understanding the variable disciplinary perspectives of active learning; • Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory was used to assist students in developing an

understanding of their individual learning style (Healey and Jenkins, 2000; Healey et al., 2005b).

Student engagement in inquiry and research

From the beginning of the programme, CeAL’s approach to active learning has emphasised the importance of students learning through engagement in inquiry and research (i.e. CeAL projects 06-02, 06-25, 07-30, 08-23), whilst recognising that there are a range of different ways of linking research and teaching and that the appropriate balance between them will vary by year and discipline as well as by individual teaching styles (Healey, 2005). Reflection on the outcomes from adopting CeAL’s approach to mainstreaming enquiry and research supports the view that “All undergraduate students in all higher education institutions should experience learning through, and about, research and inquiry” (Healey and Jenkins, 2009, 3). The effectiveness of students becoming producers of knowledge and not just consumers is highlighted by Jenkins et al., 2007. This knowledge may be new to them as learners or it may be new knowledge to society (Levy, 2009), though the distinctions between the two are not always clear.

Collaborative learning

The provision of collaborative learning opportunities is underpinned by socio-cultural learning theories. These theories inform the development of informal social learning through projects (i.e. CeAL projects 06-04, 06-21, 06-26, 07-12) and learning space provision. Participating in activities such as peer group, whole group, whole course, work-based learning and online activities can support the development of learning communities and encourage student empowerment, by providing a forum whereby links are made between real-world learning, refection and citizenship. The theory of Communities of Practice (Wenger, 1998; Tinto, 1998; 2000) supports the development of student learning communities; including notions of belonging and identity.

Authentic experiences

The theory underpinning authenticity was developed from the need to support the 21st-century student in a world of ‘supercomplexity’ (Barnett, 2000a 2000b; Barrie, 2004). CeAL regards 21st-century students as requiring skills and attributes to support them in an increasingly complex world. The inclusion of authentic active learning experiences enables

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an arena in which skills and attributes can be developed. Authentic active learning experiences in CeAL activities have included: field work, work-based learning, links with the community and professions, and real-world learning.

Other theoretical frameworks which CeAL has found useful in developing authentic active learning experiences include ‘situated cognition’ (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Brown, et al 1989); ‘citizenship education’ (Eunglund 2002); ‘threshold concepts’ (Meyer and Land 2003; 2005); and ‘troublesome knowledge’ (Perkins 1999). Understanding citizenship in higher education has helped to inform the development of student-focused authentic experiences in some CeAL projects (i.e. CeAL projects 06-11, 07-15, 07-29) (Barrie, 2004; McFarlane, 2005), whilst the theoretical frameworks of threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge have assisted in exploring the conceptual nature of uncertainty in educational contexts.

Reflective practice

For learning to be apparent, reflection on experience is a fundamental part of the process, although this is recognised as the most challenging stage of the Kolb cycle (McDrury & Alterio, 2003: 25). Developing students’ as reflective practitioners has been a strong theme through the whole CeAL programme. In achieving an understanding of reflection CeAL has referred to the theories of reflective practice and experiential learning (Dewey, 1938; Schön, 1983; 1987; Moon, 1999; 2004). Further exploration has taken place using storytelling theories (McDrury and Alterio, 2003) to develop digital stories as prompts for reflection. CeAL has discovered that the process of reflection through digital storytelling can lead to student empowerment and thus providing an opportunity for tacit knowledge (Polyani 1967) to surface.

Reflection has been explored and developed in many of the CeAL projects in a variety of ways: Personal Development Planning reflective journals, Digital storytelling, open exhibition of work to professional communities, and CeAL Fellowships.

Summary

Initially the CeAL approach to active learning was grounded in the Environment disciplines area, but over the life of the CeAL programme it has evolved to become institutionally owned. Ultimately this has meant that discipline and individual interpretations of active learning have developed as demonstrated by the ‘Active Learning in 60 seconds’ section on the Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit54.

CeAL’s evolving approach, combined with theories of change management (e.g. Kotter, 1996; Trowler et al., 2003) and different approaches to curriculum design (e.g. Barnett and Coate, 2005; Baxter Magolda, 2001, 2006, 2009), has encouraged local interpretations of active learning which have led to broad ownership within the institution. Active learning is now commonly employed and embedded since it is recognised to enhance the quality of student learning through encouraging learner empowerment, collaborative learning, reflection, skills development for employability, and student motivation.

54 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/60seconds/Pages/default.aspx.

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References

Barnett, R. (2000a) Supercomplexity and the curriculum. Studies in Higher Education. 25 (3), 255-65.

Barnett, R. (2000b) Realizing the university in an age of supercomplexity. Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education/Open University Press

Barnett, R. and Coate, K. (2005) Engaging the curriculum in higher education. Open University Press: Maidenhead.

Barrie, S.C. (2004) A research-based approach to generic graduate attributes policy, Higher Education and Research Development, 23(3), pp. 261-275.

Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2001) Making their own way: narratives for transforming higher education to promote self-development. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2006) Intellectual development in the college years, Change 38(3), 50-54.

Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2009) Educating students for self-authorship: learning partnerships to achieve complex outcomes, in Kreber, C (ed) The university and its disciplines: teaching and learning within and beyond disciplinary boundaries. London: Routledge. pp143-156.

Blythe, T. and Associates (1998) The teaching for understanding guide. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Brown, J.S., Collins, A. and Duguid, P. (1989) Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning, Educational Researcher, 18 (1), 32-42.

Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education, New York: Collier Books.

Englund, T. (2002) Higher education, democracy and citizenship- the democratic potential of the university?, Studies in Philosophy and Education, 21, pp. 281-287

Healey, M. (2005) Linking research and teaching exploring disciplinary spaces and the role of inquiry-based learning, in Barnett, R (ed) Reshaping the university: new relationships between research, scholarship and teaching. pp.30-42. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press

Healey, M. and Jenkins, A. (2000) Learning cycles and learning styles: the application of Kolb’s experiential learning model in higher education, Journal of Geography 99, 185-95.

Healey, M. and Jenkins, A. (2009) Developing undergraduate research and inquiry. York: HE Academy www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/publications/DevelopingUndergraduate_Final.pdf

Jenkins, A. Healey, M. and Zetter, R. (2007) Linking teaching and research in departments and disciplines York: The Higher Education Academy

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http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/ourwork/teachingandresearch/LinkingTeachingandResearch_April07

Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential learning: experience as a source of learning and development. New York: Prentice Hall.

Kotter, J. P. (1996) Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Levy, P. (2009) Inquiry-based learning: a conceptual framework (version 4). Sheffield: Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sheffield. Available from: www.shef.ac.uk/cilass/resources

Macfarlane, B. (2005) The disengaged academic: the retreat from citizenship, Higher Education Quarterly, 59(4), pp. 296-312.

McDrury, J.and Alterio, M.G. (2003) Learning through Storytelling in Higher Education Using Reflection and Experience to Improve Learning. London: Kogan Page.

Meyer, J. H. F. and Land, R. (2003) Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge 1 – Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practising in Improving Student Learning – Ten Years On. Rust, C. (Ed) (OCSLD: Oxford)

Meyer, J. H. F. and Land, R. (2005) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning, Higher Education, 49: pp 273-288

Moon, J. A. (1999) Reflection in learning and professional development: theory and practice, Oxon: Routledge Falmer.

Moon, J. A. (2004) A handbook of reflective and experiential learning: theory and practice, Oxon: Routledge Falmer.

Perkins, D. (1999) The many faces of constructivism, Educational Leadership 57 (3), 6-11.

Polyani, M. (1967) The Tacit Dimension, New York: Doubleday

Schön, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.

Schön, D. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner. New York: Jossey Bass.

Tinto, V. (1998) Learning communities: Building Gateways to Student Success. The National Teaching and Learning Forum, 7, 4, Supplemental material

Tinto,V. (2000) Learning Better Together: The Impact of Learning Communities on Student Success, Journal of Institutional Research, 9, 48-53

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Trowler, P., Knight, P. and Saunders, M. (2003) Change thinking change practice York: Higher Education Academy http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/database/id262_Change_Thinking_Change_Practices.pdf

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Question 8 Reflecting on the last five years what other important messages are there that you want to convey about your CETL - its successes, difficulties, impact etc. (1000 words maximum)

Reflecting on the past five years it is apparent that there has been a significant journey undertaken by both the CeAL as a unit in the Institution and by those members of staff involved in the programme. This journey has been marked by achievements and tribulations; it has involved a significant cast of participants and established important legacies, which then informed future thinking and planning. It has been suggested that the CeAL has undertaken its own epic journey, its Aeneid, with important messages for delivering such a large-scale initiative.

Starting out on the CeAL journey, the desire was to embed active learning within the University of Gloucestershire, building capacity within the University to support this, and establishing its reputation nationally and internationally for active learning. Formal institutional adoption of active learning was marked by its inclusion in the University Strategic Plan and the University Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategic Framework (LTASF) and its comprehensive embedding will be delivered through validation and periodic review processes. This strategic position has been underpinned by CeAL projects and initiatives which developed capacity to support the long-term implementation of active learning. In terms of drawing out key messages for the CETL programme as a whole it is useful to reflect on how this has been achieved through CeAL’s journey.

Achieving significant institution-wide adoption requires flexibility in approach. The CeAL has taken strong ideological positions, characterised by charismatic personal commitment, with some initiatives, such as the active learning induction and the importance of learning spaces; identifying these as key projects in the successful implementation of active learning. CeAL has also been opportunistic, building on projects that have had unexpected impact.

The active learning induction was a core element of the original CeAL bid and this has been wholly adopted by two faculties. The strong ideological commitment to this approach was important in ensuring its success and achieving the widespread impact across a large number of staff in each of the two faculties. Equally the top-down approach was seen as

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centrist by some staff and this led to some degree of resistance55. The same issues arose in respect of the investment in learning spaces by CeAL, which resulted in the creation of learning environments which were and are highly valued by many staff, but caused jealousy in some areas which perceived themselves as left out. These two examples illustrate the importance of managing the affective aspects of large projects, recognising and allowing for local ownership of ideas.

The CeAL has also been successful in exploiting new opportunities which depart from those identified in the original plan. Notable amongst these is the transfer of digital storytelling across the institution; this grew initially from an experimental initiative and evolved as a method which was used in all faculties at all levels. The use of both internal CeAL Fellows and Visiting fellows are other examples of such opportunism. They have provided many different capacity-building opportunities in addition to those originally planned.

I think what the CeAL fellowship enabled me to do was actually to step out of that environment and actually do the development work and involve other Universities [CeAL Fellow]

I suppose it goes back to the issue of flexibility. If this was a traditional project then I would have been working to relatively fixed targets and might have had an outcome that would have provided you with a written report and we’d have had some resources for the students and would have been done fairly … decent quality etc. But because there was a reasonable amount of flexibility it allowed me to explore these other avenues [CeAL Fellow]

Identifying, and appropriately exploiting, other supporting mechanisms has been important for CeAL in achieving success. At the outset of the CeAL programme there was a strong affiliation in the University between active learning and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Delivery of ESD was seen to require active learning approaches. In 2007 the University created an Institute for Sustainability; which has now produced a Framework for Education for Sustainable Development which reinforces many active learning approaches. While this has helped in the institutional awareness and embedding of active learning approaches it is important to recognise that multiple units can lead to political tensions and having many different providers of educational development can lead to some confusion. A Visiting Fellow noted that:

While academics both praised and were clearly benefiting from such support networks, it was apparent that the provision of staff development was rather fragmented and suffered from a lack of coordination...

and suggested the Centre should be:

providing both a physical and coordinating presence for staff development at the University ... perhaps combined into a centralised unit, offering a range of staff development services, in a more coordinated and holistic fashion.

55 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/perceptions/Pages/default.aspx

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The 31st March 2010 is not an end point for the work of the CeAL. It is a significant milestone in learning and teaching development in the University of Gloucestershire and a time for celebration of what has been achieved over the past five years through CeAL. It is also a time to look forward and ask: ‘what next?’ The policy environment that HE now faces differs greatly from that of 2005. The majority of CeAL activity over the five-year programme has focused on full-time campus-based students; the demands of the new policy environment have influenced the latter stages of CeAL activity and its work will inform future developments. The employability agenda is now a high priority in UoG. Experience and knowledge gained through the CeAL programme is already informing work on flexible modes of delivery, work-based learning and real-life learning and is central to the initiative to identify the graduate attributes of University of Gloucestershire students. CeAL is now integrated into Teaching and Learning Innovation, the University’s central learning and teaching support provision, thus enabling the work of CeAL to be carried forward and developed in this way. The University is now evaluating the impact of the LTASF with a view to developing a new version for 2012, within which it is expected that active/participatory learning will continue to be a core element.

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Question 9 Reflecting on the last five years what important messages are there that you want to convey about the experience of being part of a wider ‘movement’/experience of other CETLs. (600 words maximum)

The CETL programme as a whole undoubtedly generated significant national and international interest. This interest facilitated many opportunities for information and practice exchanges through visits to CeAL by national and international colleagues or invitations for CeAL staff to disseminate information nationally and internationally. The richness of the opportunities presented through staff visiting the University of Gloucestershire is represented in the CeAL Seminar programme56. At the same time CeAL staff and those involved in CeAL projects have disseminated widely at national and international events57. For some staff this has been a welcome and valued opportunity, to undertake pedagogic research and engage with this community:

I'm a teacher through and through and not a researcher but it has encouraged me to conduct pedagogic research in a way that I don’t think I would have done otherwise ...conference presentations which is again something that I probably would not have done [CeAL Fellow]

.. I think one of the things it’s [CeAL Fellowship] actually given me a family ... It’s actually given me a home, or like a family of other people that’s given me links to and therefore it’s enabled me really to feel more at home here and therefore being able to access lots of other stuff anyway. [CeAL Fellow]

Enabling this inter-institutional exchange of information and practice has informed the reflective practice of the CeAL team and of staff in the institution as a whole. It has contributed to achieving reflection with an ‘out-of-institution’ perspective, which is important for institutional development.

56 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/presentations/Pages/default.aspx 57 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/Pages/default.aspx

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A consequence of these interactions that have been developed through the CeAL programme has been the creation of collaborative relationships, which have extended beyond the original scope of CeAL and continue to do so. For example, links established through Visiting Fellows58 and the Global Student project59. In this way there has been a broader fostering of the scholarship of teaching and learning beyond the active learning agenda of CeAL.

CeAL has been involved in a number of communities:

o LTEA (Learning through Enquiry Alliance) is a collection of CETLs whose focus includes Enquiry-Based Learning and Undergraduate Research. A notable output of this alliance has been the pooling of resources and expertise in the formation of an annual LTEA conference. There have been useful exchanges between these cognate CETLs about common challenges and issues, such as starting up, evaluation, continuation and dissemination. CeAL has drawn expertise in related areas from the LTEA, particularly to present workshops and consult with members of staff. For example:

o LTEA Workshop hosted in Cheltenham (12th May 2008) o Digital Storytelling Workshops – SCEPTRE CETL (Surrey) o Visiting Fellow, Robin Graham seminar for CILASS (Sheffield) o Professor Mick Healey seminars for CILASS and CEEBL; on advisory board

for Reinvention Centre and editorial board for Reinvention Centre Journal of Undergraduate Research.

o CASTL (Carnegie Academy of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) Institutional Leadership Project - Undergraduate Research (http://www.viu.ca/teaching/UnderGrad.asp). This inter-institutional collaborative programme was supported by CASTL and the Carnegie Foundation. The Undergraduate Research theme included institutions from the USA, Canada and the University of Gloucestershire, the only UK institution. It provided a forum for developing and synthesising knowledge and practice from the institutions, this has been reported through ISSOTL conferences and the CASTL project web-site.

o Geography, Environment and Earth Science (GEES) discipline CETLS. This subject grouping of CETLs met annually through the period of the scheme and facilitated teaching and learning strands at the annual RGS (Royal Geographical Society) Conference.

58 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/VisitingFellows.aspx 59 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/sustainable/Pages/PublicRelations.aspx

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Question 10 Please reflect on work emerging from your CETL that has been ‘transferable’, i.e. useable beyond the home audience for which it was originally developed. (You may wish to comment in terms of materials produced, a community created, understandings that CETL work has illuminated and which are useful to others, etc) (1000 words maximum) It would be useful to hear ‘messages’ and lessons learnt that you would like to continue to be disseminated.

The transference of work emerging from the work of the CeAL has operated at different levels; institutionally, nationally and internationally. This is evidenced through the transference of specific pedagogic approaches and the creation of communities or networks.

The transfer of active learning ideas across the University of Gloucestershire and the wider community is a legacy of the CeAL programme. The dissemination activities undertaken by CeAL60, including requests to deliver keynote presentations at national and international conferences (such as ISSOTL), combined with the volume and quality of the visitors to the Centre61 provide testimony to this.

CeAL publications drawing upon case studies of practice from the University of Gloucestershire have been widely used and adopted for staff development purposes both internally and externally. Thus Greener by Degrees was used at the University of Exeter; and Engaging Students in Active Learning was used as part of the GEES Subject Centre New Lecturer Workshop:

• Healey, M. & Roberts, J. (2005) Engaging students in active learning: case studies in geography, environment and related disciplines. Cheltenham, UK: Geography Discipline Network, University of Gloucestershire

o http://resources.glos.ac.uk/ceal/resources/engagingstudents/index.cfm • Roberts, C. R. and Roberts, J. (2007) (Eds) Greener by Degrees: exploring

sustainability through higher education curricula, Cheltenham, UK: Geography Discipline Network, University of Gloucestershire

o http://resources.glos.ac.uk/ceal/resources/greenerbydegrees/index.cfm

60 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/Pages/default.aspx 61 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/activities/activelearning/activities/Pages/default.aspx

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The process of supporting the implementation of active learning is one that bears reflection. While there has been undoubted success within the University in respect of local adoption and interpretation of active learning, this process has not always been straightforward. The need to allow flexibility in the interpretation of active learning was a lesson learnt from the early stages of the CeAL programme. This has been recognised in the ‘typology’ of active learning in the University which identifies common elements to its implementation and to its rationale institutionally62. Based on analysis of CeAL-supported projects active learning in the University of Gloucestershire has the following key elements:

• Collaborative learning opportunities; • Authenticity; • Reflection; • Skills development; • Clearly identified and structured student support.

Active learning is commonly employed for the following reasons:

• Learner empowerment; • Collaborative learning; • Skills development and employability; • Encouragement of reflection; • Student motivation.

At an individual and departmental level the adoption of active learning can present a challenge. Compared to traditional forms of delivery, active learning demands a different approach from the tutor, in respect both of design and delivery of learning activities; being seen by some academic staff as challenging to their own status63. On-going support for the introduction of active learning approaches is therefore important. CeAL has developed both process and tool-based approaches, for example:

• Working with course teams undertaking Periodic Review, this provides an opportunity for integrated support not just at the validation stage but also extending into planning delivery of individual modules; going beyond just an advisory role. This approach has been undertaken with two major developments, Business Management and Geography. Initial evaluation of these interventions have been positive indicating that such team-based approaches have a value in developing a collective ownership of new developments and effecting change at the course level64. Working through existing processes is a key part of this approach, the outputs of which become clearly evidenced through course validation documents.

• The CeAL has also worked closely with Landscape Design staff. This team, through engagement in a range of CeAL projects (large and small) have reflected on the curriculum for their courses and aspects of its delivery and initiated a complete re-

62 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/Pages/ActiveLearningTypology.aspx 63 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/wal/perceptions/Pages/default.aspx 64 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Documents/Validation%20and%20Review%20overview%20v4%2020th%20November%202009.pdf

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design focused around the integration of sustainability. The on-going support provided by CeAL has been an important factor in this:

To have someone outside of that team, both from the hierarchy of the University, but also physically away from the team in a different building, in a different place, has been really important. That objectivity I think is good.

• The development of tools to support the design and delivery of active learning approaches has included: o The development of an ‘Enquiry-based Learning Planner65’ as a guide to

Learning Design. This tool has received positive feedback and has been used by University Collaborative partners (Markfield College) and adapted by Visiting Fellow Robin Graham for use in her own institution as a Learning Design Template66.

o To support the use of digital storytelling an Evaluation and Assessment Framework has been developed.

o The Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit is being developed as a comprehensive resource to support the implementation of the University LTASF.

There are specific pedagogic approaches that have been used by CeAL which have now transferred both across the University and beyond. Examples of these include:

• The active learning induction which was developed within the School of Environment at the University has now been rolled out wholly across two faculties and is being employed by Geography, Psychology, Sociology, Criminology, Education, Sport and Social Work. In addition the University of Gloucestershire approach was adapted for use within the School of Natural and Built Environment at the University of South Australia.

• Digital storytelling, as has been noted in Question 4, is a pedagogic approach that has successfully transferred across the University. CeAL has been successful in disseminating the use of this approach through workshops and conferences. Institutions at which digital storytelling workshops have been run include: Edge Hill University, University of Surrey, Melbourne University, University College London, Regional Support Centres (South-West and North-West), Keele University. The practice developed through CeAL has also been used to inform an HE Academy-funded synthesis project on digital storytelling67 that will be part of EvidenceNet.

65 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/resources/tools/Pages/eblplanner.aspx 66 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/resources/tools/Pages/LearningDesignTemplate.aspx 67 http://digitalstorytellingsynthesis.pbworks.com/

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• Another example of the transference of ideas internally is the development of a Newsweek activity within Broadcast Journalism. The Newsweek is a week-long role-play activity with students engaged producing radio, television and online news broadcasts. The success of this initiative has resulted in this approach, which was initially used with honours level students, being used at intermediate level in Broadcast Journalism and incorporated into the documentation for new courses in Journalism at BA and MA level which go to validation in March 201068.

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Question 11 How will the work and achievements of your CETL continue after HEFCE funding ends (1000 words maximum)?

Continuing presence

In its journey within the University the Centre for Active Learning has become established within Teaching and Learning Innovation (TLI). This unit provides the location for teaching and learning development and support; as well as CeAL, it encompasses Learning Enhancement and Technology Support, the Pedagogic Research and Scholarship Institute the Department for All-Age and Vocational Learning and the Careers Service. TLI is responsible for the implementation of the University Learning, Teaching and Assessment Framework (LTASF), which includes active learning as one of its five key principles. In liaison with TLI, all Faculties have a named Teaching, Learning and Assessment Coordinator who works with staff at all levels to implement these key principles. All staff within TLI have the development of active learning as a clear strategic priority. So while CeAL will not continue as an operating unit, the broadening out of responsibility for active learning developments in the University should ensure that CeAL ‘s work is embedded, built upon and informs future developments.

This will have particular importance over the next two years as the University embarks upon a restructuring of its Faculties and rationalises its estate. These changes will provide opportunities to use the knowledge and expertise developed and apply lessons learnt from the CeAL programme.

A CeAL identity will be maintained both physically and virtually through the CeAL Building and the CeAL web presence. The CeAL Building exists as a physical manifestation of the work of CeAL and will continue to provide learning spaces that have been shown to encourage a change in practice. The use of the CeAL Building will continue to be reviewed to ensure it evolves to meet the changing needs within the University. For example, one plan under consideration at the time of writing is to locate a Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Hub within the CeAL Building. This will provide both a physical and virtual experimental space for investigating and evaluating the use of TEL in the University as a whole. The learning spaces developed by CeAL have informed the design of other building

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developments within the University, most notably the Active Learning Space on the University’s Oxstalls Campus in Gloucester69 which was opened in the Summer of 2007.

The CeAL web presence includes both a CeAL legacy site70 and the Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit71 (see below). Discussions have been held with the HE Academy to link both of these web sites into EvidenceNet. The websites will be key to maintaining CeAL’s presence outside the institution and promoting its pedagogic ethos. The high value attached to external contacts and visitors has been clear from interviews with CeAL Fellows and staff feedback on the CeAL seminar series

Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit

Implementation of the LTASF will take active learning beyond the end of the CeAL programme and draw directly on CeAL’s outputs and outcomes. These are being made available through the Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit which has been created as an evolving resource72, with a dynamic content and structure which will adapt to reflect the broad evolution of the University’s LTASF not just in respect of active learning. The Toolkit will be promoted across UoG through Faculty Teaching and Learning Symposia and the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. It will be a constant resource for TLI staff and of particular value for staff engaged in the Periodic Review and Validation of courses. Currently it contains three sections:

• What is active learning? o http://insight-

dev.glos.ac.uk/TLI/RESOURCES/TOOLKIT/WAL/Pages/default.aspx • Enabling active learning

o http://insight-dev.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/eal/Pages/default.aspx • Resources

o http://insight-dev.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/resources/Pages/default.aspx

The content of these three sections are briefly explained below:

• What is active learning?

o Active learning is many things to many people. The section What is active learning? is designed to facilitate personal exploration into the meaning of active learning. For example, it includes a ’60 seconds voxpop’ section which has been designed to demonstrate that active learning can be defined in multiple ways, depending on the individual and discipline perspective. Case studies which illustrate examples of active learning as a sustainable practice, extending beyond the life of the CeAL programme, within different disciplines are provided.

69 http://resources.glos.ac.uk/faculties/shsc/life-at-oxstalls/labs-and-facilities/active-learning-space.cfm 70 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/ACTIVITIES/ACTIVELEARNING/Pages/default.aspx 71 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/Pages/default.aspx 72 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/TLI/RESOURCES/TOOLKIT/Pages/default.aspx

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• Enabling active learning

o The CeAL programme has supported a range of projects, adopting different approaches, with the aim of sustaining active learning within the curriculum. This element of the toolkit provides insights into approaches, processes and infrastructure changes, which have helped to enable active learning within UoG.

• Resources

o The Toolkit includes a variety of resources which can be used by individuals or groups to support them in developing their own understanding of active learning, or implementing an active learning approach. The resources included in this section range from an Enquiry-based Learning planner, to a Teaching and Learning glossary73. It also includes various case studies and Teaching and Learning bibliographies74. TLI will continue to add and develop resources once the CeAL programme is concluded.

73 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/resources/tools/Documents/TeachingAndLearningGlossary.pdf 74 http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/toolkit/resources/reference/Pages/default.aspx

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Please reflect on how far you think CETL work has become embedded in your institution or discipline and indicate if any structures have been put in place to ensure its legacy is not lost (1000 words maximum)

Embedded ... sustained

In June 2007 the University adopted its new LTASF based on five key principles, one of which was active engagement. The University 2009-12 Strategic Plan has as its number one Strategic Priority: Achieving Inspirational Learning. This states that the University will:

Continue to develop our innovation in teaching and learning founded on an enquiry-based approach and take advantage of the opportunities provided by e-learning to invest in new learning technologies (http://resources.glos.ac.uk/publications/strategicplan/index.cfm).

At the strategic level the CeAL can therefore claim with some justification that the work of the CETL is embedded in the institution, with new courses to be scrutinised for evidence of how they deliver the LTSAF. We do, though, recognise that evidence for embedded use of active learning needs to be apparent through sustained practices in the University. Such sustainable practices have been developed along with processes that will embed active learning further beyond the life of the CeAL programme. The Teaching and Learning Essentials Toolkit provides project reports on examples of sustainable practices, which include small scale and large scale projects75, for example:

• Active Learning Induction: The CeAL induction provides a structured programme in the week prior to the commencement of their formal academic courses. With an emphasis on academic activity combined with social activities the induction has a strong academic framework. This approach provides students with early engagement with their discipline and a forum for establishing expectations based on the pedagogic approach of active engagement and is now well established on two of the four campuses.

• Digital Storytelling: CeAL has built on the University of Gloucestershire’s expertise in digital storytelling and has encouraged its use in a variety of different learning contexts, particularly to encourage student reflection. CeAL first used digital storytelling as part of the active learning induction where students were encouraged to reflect in groups on their academic activity. Digital storytelling is now being used across the University to capture student reflections on critical incidents; as reflective essays; as presentations where it can benefit students with special needs or those whose first language is not English; and as a means of capturing reflection on developmental activities. Digital storytelling is now used in all four faculties of the university and has been recognised as a technique that combines the use of technology with the benefits and skills of storytelling and offers an engaging student-centred approach.

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• Embedding sustainability in the Landscape curriculum: Through the auspices of a CeAL Fellowship an exploration of how sustainability could be embedded in the Landscape Architecture curriculum was undertaken. This has had a significant lasting impact on the development of the new Landscape Architecture curriculum; improving the student experience; establishing ‘The Sustainable Landscape Series’; assisted in engaging the entire teaching team; informed a new Course Vision and direction; and improved links with the landscape profession

• Virtual Rocky Shore project: This project designed an interactive computer simulation of possible experiments that can be conducted on real rocky shores and has proved a valuable tool in introducing experimental design to students. Following on from CeAL funding, this project was included as part of Higher Education Academy’s UK Centre for Bioscience £250,000 project ‘Interactive Laboratory and Fieldwork Manual for the Biosciences’76 developing Open Educational Resources.. This involved further developing the resource as an Open Educational Resource to secure its long-term success and its use in other institutions

In addition to specific projects CeAL have piloted processes which will support the embedding of active learning, indeed with the implementation of the whole LTASF. This can be best illustrated in the redevelopment of whole programmes of study: in working with course teams as they go through University validation and review processes, it has been possible to create a framework in which active learning is the driver for course design, delivery and assessment. This mechanism works through processes staff are required to undertake rather than by creating separate or additional processes.

Maintaining the legacy

The legacy of CeAL will be maintained through the CeAL legacy website, which will be freely available and linked into the HE Academy EvidenceNet. All the project reports, outcomes and outputs from the CeAL programme, some of which will have been published through other channels, will be linked to this web site.

More significantly, the work and achievements of CeAL will be carried forward through the leadership of TLI. This will be an evolving process; within the CeAL programme there has been recognition of the importance of valuing local understanding and ownership to achieve embedding. Accepting such an approach recognises that, through this process of reflection and understanding, teaching and learning approaches will continue to evolve and adapt in the future. Thus the most important determinant of embedding within the University may not be the number of active learning developments within the University; but rather the continued evidence of support and development of innovative approaches to teaching and learning. A heightened sense of awareness of teaching and learning issues and institutional recognition through strategy and practice are the real lasting benefits. There is such evidence emerging within the University through internally and externally supported projects and initiatives that demonstrate this evolution of thinking, building upon the work of CeAL, adapting it, re-purposing the ideas. For example:

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• Feeding into other projects such as attributes, Co-genT – principles are being carried forward through other vehicles;

• CeAL developments have had an influence on other teaching and learning projects (i.e. attributes of the Gloucestershire graduate) which are combining to bring transformational change.

The final impact ...

As new projects are already emerging and strategic support has been achieved, identifying where CeAL’s impact ends will be nigh on impossible. What is clear, however, is that outputs from CeAL supported projects will continue to emerge well after project funding ends; some projects will be on-going past the end date, others have submissions in preparation or already submitted for conferences or for publication. We expect that outputs from CeAL activity will continue to be published over the next 18 months and beyond.

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Question 12 Do you think there are any emerging aspects of your CETL activity that will have greater importance in the future? (600 words maximum)

The UK national HE agenda is placing increasing emphasis on the development of professionals for the knowledge economy, creative industries, business and community engagement and globalisation. These will be important drivers for the future development of HE, however it is important to ensure that the values of HE are maintained within this changing environment. Some of the pedagogic approaches applied and developed through the CeAL programme address the demands of this new policy agenda whilst maintaining academic traditions. For example, research-informed-teaching places an emphasis on authentic and discovery-focused research activity. In so doing, the focus is less on students knowing their discipline but on being part of it, belonging to that professional community with the associated, often tacit, skills and attributes. Specific pedagogic approaches such as digital storytelling provide mechanisms for making explicit the learning within practice-based situations.

Active learning is a pedagogical approach which emphasises the development of students’ attributes and skills as opposed to a primary focus on disciplinary knowledge. Based on the work undertaken through CeAL the University of Gloucestershire has recognised this and initiated institutional consideration of the attributes that active learning engenders in University of Gloucestershire students. This research has indicated confidence, critical thinking, critical reflection and creativity as the attributes most commonly identified. Approaches which harness and develop student creativity will become increasingly important: the ability to find creative solutions to problems / issues becomes ever more valuable when resolution cannot be achieved by pouring in money. Research into this area will continue beyond the end of the CeAL programme, into the application of CeAL approaches in new contexts, especially those of the non-traditional learner, work-based learning etc: the 21st century learner.

Within the University of Gloucestershire this will impact through work on new programmes (but likely to be different types of programme: short courses, more part-time oriented, more institutional support for online delivery etc ) and targeting newer markets. It will also be able, in the new economic climate, to inform University planning, which includes plans to rationalise the University estate. The knowledge gained through the CeAL programme

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needs to be used to support learning and teaching-led decisions in a time of resource constraint. This process will also be continued through on-going work into understanding and interpreting active learning. The CeAL programme has already helped make explicit local interpretations of active learning within the University and this evidence will be added to. Given the changing policy agenda, there will be continued reflection on the nature of active learning within the University of Gloucestershire, informing the development of a participatory culture in learning and teaching.

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Question 13 Any other comments (600 words maximum)

On the 29th March 2010 a ‘CeALebration’ event was held to share key messages from CeAL projects and celebrate the programme. Attendees were invited to leave messages, this is what they said:

What key messages are you taking away from today?

• Link between professions and learning is very important. This brings relevance and therefore engagement to majority of students and therefore deeper learning.

• Engage students with FUN activities; Limited assessment and plenty of reflection.

• Intensive, short exercises are very useful in focussed learning. A 12 week or 24 week module doesn’t mimic or relate to the real world which is what most students are here for.

• It would have been encouraging to see Deans and HoDs at this celebration which marks the future (as well as the past).

• The immense range of projects – very impressive. Yummy cakes. • The one place you can have your cake and eat it! That success and impact emerge and

are recognised in ways that seem to pass HoDs and Deans by.

• As ever, the grass roots lead innovation and far-sightedness at UoG.

• What a huge impact CeAL has had in such a short space of time. All grass roots and many student-led/shaped.

What are your reflections on the CeALebration?

• Thank you for encouraging us to celebrate. I've almost been taking it for granted. • Great! Very nice to get together with the many wonderful people who contributed to

CeAL.

• It’s important to celebrate success – thank you for a well organised happy event. • Well done for celebrating but it is the start of something not the end

• Great to meet up with so many old friends and colleagues from across the Uni and elsewhere..

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How has CeAL influenced you?

• Facilitated effective Periodic Reviews and Re-validations.

• Forced me to take ‘new tech’ seriously in my teaching – storytelling in particular.

• Modules adjusted for use of the CeAL social learning spaces deemed most enjoyable, effective learning experiences in evaluations.

• Today was important. I came, I brought a student, we worked here and it made a difference. Thank you.

• Recognise importance of community of pedagogic research/pedagogic development practice for learning culture change.

• It has provided a research/evidence base for existing and future good practice in active enquiry-based learning. Also a lively bunch of colleagues with whom to discuss/share/work (and enjoy).

• It has enlarged my waistline!

• Taught me new things about qualitative research.

• CeAL gave me the opportunity to explore links and synergies between active learning and embedding education for sustainable development. More work required but progressing. Thank you to all CeAL team.

• Recognised/clarified a real need for a community of pedagogic researchers who I can talk to/debate with regularly! Thanks.

• Inspiring events – seminars, away days and a conference. Many thanks. • It has changed my approach – so thank you.

• I will miss you but you are now part of my teaching! Thank you.

• It’s been inspiring lots of ideas – enabling. I've been able to put into practice lots of things I was thinking about doing – encouraging and I'm keeping the research based practice group.

Acknowledgements

In question 8 we refer to the CeAL journey; it has indeed been a major journey both for CeAL and all those involved. Completion of this self-evaluation report has become the responsibility for a core of CeAL staff and has been led by Martin Jenkins. However, to be standing where we are today, on the 31st March 2010, would not have been possible without the input and support from a large number of people. To mention everyone would be impossible but, at the risk of offending individuals, special mention needs to go to all the CeAL Visiting Fellows (Chris Bakuneeta, Heather Barret-Mold, Almar Barry, Lewis Elton, Derek France, Robin Graham, Anna Jones, Maureen Martin, Rachel Spronken-Smith, Judy Ling Wong and Paul Wright), David Baume our external evaluator, all the staff on Francis Close Hall Campus where CeAL has been based for the duration of the programme and all those staff who have so enthusiastically engaged in CeAL projects.

Centre for Active Learning Final self-evaluation report

Documents

Transcript of Centre for Active Learning Final self-evaluation report