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Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines: an HEA-funded project

Research output: Book/Report/ProceedingsCommissioned report

Published
Publication date1/10/2015
PublisherThe Higher Education Academy
Number of pages10
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The Higher Education Academy (HEA) established the Teaching and Learning Issues in the Disciplines project in spring 2015 in order to research the state of higher education (HE) teaching and learning in a wide range of subject disciplines from the viewpoint of academic teachers within those disciplines, and through the networks created by relevant learned societies and professional bodies. The HEA wanted to identify key themes and issues arising from higher education academics across the range of subject disciplines in order to best understand the sector’s needs from a discipline perspective, and to determine how best to work with professional and learned bodies to meet those needs.
Its objective was to further enhance sector knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning from a discipline perspective, including identifying:

 challenges faced by academics at a discipline level;
 likely future developments in each discipline;
 the role that professional or learned subject bodies, and the HEA, currently play in meeting the needs of academics, and how those roles might be enhanced or developed in future;
 resources used in teaching in HE and any significant gaps in their coverage.

The HEA engaged with 23 learned societies and professional or subject bodies across the sweep of higher education provision in the UK.1 Each body was asked to organise three focus groups composed of their active HE teaching members, and each focus group was asked the same set of questions.2 Each learned or professional body produced a report analysing and responding to the focus groups’ discussions, and suggesting key areas of activity that the body and/or the HEA could undertake in order to best meet the needs of teaching academics within the relevant discipline.

This summary report reflects the common findings from across this diverse sample of individual societies and bodies, each of which faced a different blend of challenges and opportunities. The views below do not of course necessarily represent the official position of any of the professional and subject bodies, nor do they reflect the opinions expressed in all of the focus groups.
In total 492 HE teaching staff from 23 learned societies and professional or subject bodies took part in 72 focus groups during summer 2015, held in locations across the UK, with staff ranging from lecturers to professors.