TESEP = Great Teaching+Learners in Control
Over the last 2 years the TESEP project has been considering how colleges and universities might change learning and teaching methods through a sharpened focus on pedagogy. The project has piloted a learner-centred model of learning and teaching that promotes basic learning design principles allowing practitioners to reflect on their current practices and encouraging them to introduce new ways of learning and teaching. The model aims to engage learners as actively as possible in their own learning. In addition, it promotes systematic use of formative assessment as a vehicle for providing learners with regular feedback and personalised learning.
The pedagogy underpinning the TESEP model is squarely situated within “social constructivist” theories of learning. As a result, the model also encourages practitioners to design learning tasks that foster peer learning: learners support each other, identifying and sharing suitable learning resources, developing content together and even assessing each other’s learning.
The model was initially piloted with practitioners in Edinburgh’s Telford College, Lauder College and Napier University where it was well received. Colleagues were enthusiastic about the fact that the focus was on “great teaching” and not the introduction of technology for the sake of it. But of course, as TESEP was an e-learning project, so the use of technology does feature in the model. However, a crucial distinction is that practitioners are encouraged to think about learning and teaching first and then to think about how technologies might add value to the learning experience. The model also encourages practitioners to think beyond institutional e-learning tools such as VLEs and to consider how emerging “social networking” tools such as Wikis, Blogs, RSS Feeds, Podcasting and emerging social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook might be used for learning.
One key conclusion at the end of the project was that if Institutions were seriously trying to transform learning and teaching practices, it was important to introduce new staff to their preferred learning and teaching methods as early as possible. With this in mind, TESEP has developed an online Lecturer Induction Programme. The Programme, developed by Julia Fotheringham, an Advisor in the Learning Team at SFEU, was designed using the same learning and teaching model promoted during TESEP – the induction therefore provides a model of a learner-centred “social constructivist” approach to learning and teaching.
Module 1: “Introduction to Great Teaching” In this activity-based module, participants work collaboratively with other participants and colleagues, encouraging them to identify the elements of great teaching and to share their learning experiences with each other. This module also introduces current and emerging theories of learning including social constructivism, communities of practice and reflective practice. Participants also develop their knowledge of social networking tools such as Blogs and Wikis. (If you’re reading this article and you don’t know what these things are – the programme is for you!)
Module 2 puts theory into practice in the planning of a learning episode. Participants are encouraged to think about their learners and how to empower them to be more independent learners. This module also reviews different social software and encourages its use in learning design.
The online lecturer induction programme is freely available to institutions and can be downloaded to your own VLE for online delivery. However, it’s not designed for self-study, but rather to be facilitated by an induction mentor. Work on a demonstration site is ongoing and the link to this will be available from the TESEP TRANSFORM website by the end of this month. On the website you’ll also find full details of the TESEP project and the new Lecturer Induction Programme.
Andrew Comrie (TESEP Project Director)
