Research Projects
Members of the TLA Centre are actively involved in research in learning and teaching. There are and have been a number of research projects based in the centre, as well as projects with which centre members have links, some of these are included below.
Graduate Teaching Assistants as Novice Academic Practitioners
This was a partner network research project funded from 2006-09 as part of the Centre for Excellence in Preparing for Academic Practice, based at the Oxford Learning Institute, University of Oxford.The project reports on an empirical study of 23 research students teaching in the BioSciences and Economics across three research-intensive UK universities. It provides a rich picture of the challenges and rewards of their teaching experiences; and their perspectives on developing their teaching and its place alongside their research commitments. The final project report, Graduate Teaching Assistants as Novice Academic Practitioners: Perceptions and Experiences of Teaching can be downloaded HERE. A six-page summary report of this study can be downloaded from the CETL website. The appendices to the full report include workshop materials developed on the basis of this study. Queries and comments are welcome and can be sent to Miesbeth.Knottenbelt@ed.ac.uk.
From Further Education to Higher Education
This project is a longitudinal study (2004-2010) conducted with students with HN qualifications who came to study degree programmes within The University of Edinburgh’s College of Humanities & Social Science. The aim of the study is to find out from students themselves how they fare over their university education, and in the year following graduation. The themes addressed by the study are: experiences of teaching and learning, of cultural and social environments, of support systems, of the university environment, and of managing pressures. Further information is available from the project team: Viviene Cree (Social Work, University of Edinburgh), Vivien Edwards and Lyn Tett (Higher and Community Education, University of Edinburgh), Jenny Hounsell (TLA Centre, University of Edinburgh), Hazel Christie (Edinburgh Napier University) and Velda McCune (Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow) .
Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses
Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses was funded from 2001-2005 by the ESRC as part of its Teaching and Learning Research Programme. The project was designed to support departments involved in undergraduate teaching in thinking about new ways of encouraging high quality learning. This collaborative research was underpinned by research into the quality of student learning and how it is influenced, not just by teaching and assessment, but by the whole teaching-learning environment. More detail and many publications are available from its website.
Achieving Successful Graduate Outcomes (ASGO)
Funded by the Higher Education Academy 2005-06, the aim of the Achieving Successful Graduate Outcomes project was to better understand the complex relationships between academics’ sense of “teacher identity”, their authenticity in teaching, and their students’ learning and development at research-intensive universities, across three subject areas (English, Law and Physics).
Integrative Assessment
The Integrative Assessment project is part of the Enhancement Themes initiative, which is supported by SHEFC, Universities Scotland, NUS and QAA Scotland. The project is concerned with the pursuit of greater coherence of purpose and strategy in the assessment of students.
unigame
unigame is an EC funded project on the use of online games and simulations in higher education.
Spot+
Spot+ is an EC funded project on the student perspective, in terms of readiness and acceptance, on online learning.
SEUSISS
Survey of Universities Skills in Information and Communication Technology for Staff and Students (SEUSISS) has gathered extensive information about the ICT skills background of students and staff in a range of European universities.
The Learning Networks : Communication Skills (LNCS) Project
The Learning Networks : Communication Skills (LNCS) Project, funded by JISC was directed towards exploring the applications of computer mediated communications in higher education, and those skills which will be required, both of teachers and students, to best capitalise on their use.