This document discusses academic development in the UK higher education landscape. It provides an overview of academic development, including the roles of academic developers and various professional organizations. It also describes the author's work as an academic developer, including running a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) and various projects to support teaching and learning. Research activities of the author are also listed, including publications and conference presentations focused on academic development topics.

1. Can one chameleon make a difference?
personal perspectives, opportunities and
dilemmas of an academic developer
Chrissi Nerantzi, Academic Developer @chrissinerantzi
27 May 2013 Centre for Medical Education, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

2. my brief
• Overview of educational- and
academic development
(accreditation, programs etc.)
and the new eLearning
landscape in the UK context
• Your way of working as
academic developer at Salford
and your experiences
• Experiences from FDOL131
• Discuss perspectives on the
changing learning landscape
and the role of academic
developers and the challenges
we are facing and the
opportunities we have in
flexible, distance, open and
online learning.
what we are
going to do
• Getting to know each other
• the UK HE landscape through
my eyes + what about
Sweden?
• Academic Development in
the UK, my perspective + and
in Sweden?
• My way + your way – our
way ;)
• Open, is this a new thing?

3. The UK landscape through my eyes

4. UK HE

5. White Paper Students at the Heart of the System
“Our university sector has a proud history and a world-class reputation, attracting students from across the world. Higher
education is a successful public-private partnership: Government funding and institutional autonomy. This White Paper builds on that
record, while doing more than ever to put students in the driving seat.
We want to see more investment, greater diversity and less centralised control. But, in return, we want the sector to become
more accountable to students, as well as to the taxpayer.
Our student finance reforms will deliver savings to help address the large Budget deficit we were left, without cutting the quality of
higher education or student numbers and bringing more cash into universities. They balance the financial demands of universities with
the interests of current students and future graduates. Students from lower-income households will receive more support than
now and, although many graduates will pay back for longer, their monthly outgoings will be less and the graduate repayment
system will be more progressive. No first-time undergraduate student will have to pay upfront fees. We are also extending tuition
loans to part-time students, increasing maintenance support and introducing a new National Scholarship Programme.
But our reforms are not just financial. We want there to be a renewed focus on high-quality teaching in universities so that it has the
same prestige as research. So we will empower prospective students by ensuring much better information on different courses. We
will deliver a new focus on student charters, student feedback and graduate outcomes. We will oversee a new regulatory framework
with Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) taking on a major new role as a consumer champion. We will tackle the
micro-management that has been imposed on the higher education sector in recent years and which has held institutions back from
responding to student demand. We must move away from a world in which the number of students allocated to each university is
determined in Whitehall. But universities will be under competitive pressure to provide better quality and lower cost.
Responding to student demand also means enabling a greater diversity of provision. We expect this to mean more higher
education in further education colleges, more variety in modes of learning and wholly new providers delivering
innovative forms of higher education. The Coalition will reform the financing of higher education, promote a better
student experience and foster social mobility. Our overall goal is a sector that is freed to respond in new ways to the
needs of students.”
David Willetts, source http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://discuss.bis.gov.uk/hereform/introduction/

6. student(s)

7. Quality: What does really matter?
class size: 1 tutor 20 students tutor load: 1 class
tutor full-time
tutor has teaching qualification
students: time on task
‘close contact’
student tutor
interactions and
relationship for
educational gains
focus on formative
assessment
quick feedback
for learning intellectual challenge
positive
research
environment
tutors as
reflective
practitioners
active learning
collaborative
and social learning
clear and high
expectations
peer assessment
learning hours matter
programme
teams to work
togethersocial
relationships
programme team
students as partners
students using feedback
Prof. Graham Gibbs
today: evidence-based practice

8. Gibbs, G (2012) Implications of ‘Dimensions
of quality’ in a market environment, York:
The Higher Education Academy
Gibbs, G (2010) Dimensions of quality, York:
The Higher Education Academy, pp. 19-37
Prof. Graham Gibbs

9. http://www.qaa.ac.uk

10. http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/

11. student voice

12. NSS focus on satisfaction instead of engagement

13. rewarding good teaching practice

14. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk
The UK PSF
recognition - accreditation

15. The Dimensions of the UK Professional
Standards Framework
15
Areas of Activity (WHAT)
• Design and plan
• Teach/support
• Assess/give feedback
• Develop effective
learning environments
and approaches to
student
support/guidance
• Engage in CPD
incorporating research,
scholarship and
evaluation of
professional practices
Core Knowledge (HOW)
• Subject
• Appropriate methods of
teaching and learning
• How students learn
• Use and value
appropriate learning
technologies
• Methods for evaluating
effectiveness of
teaching
• Quality assurance and
quality enhancement
Professional Values
(WHY)
• Respect individual
learners and learning
communities
• Promote participation
and equality of
opportunities
• Use evidence-informed
approaches and the
outcomes from
research, scholarship
and CPD
• Acknowledge the wider
context in which HE
operates recognising
implications for
professional practice

16. The Descriptors of the UK Professional
Standards Framework
16
D1
Associate Fellow
•early career
researchers with some
teaching
•staff new to teaching
including part-time
staff
•staff supporting
academic provision
(learning
technologists, library
staff
•demonstrators,
technicians with some
teaching
responsibilities
•experienced staff new
to teaching or with
limited teaching
portfolio
D2
Fellow
•Early career academics
in full teaching role
•Academic related,
support staff with
substantive teaching
responsibilities
•Staff with teaching-
only responsibilities,
including within work-
based settings
D3
Senior Fellow
•Experienced staff who
demonstrate impact
and influence through
leading, managing
organising
programmes,
subjects/disciplinary
areas
•Experienced subject
mentors and staff
supporting those new
to teaching
•Experienced staff with
departmental and/or
wider teaching and
learning support
advisory
responsibilities
D4
Principal Fellow
•Highly
experiences/senior
staff with wide-
ranging
academic/academic-
related strategic
leadership
responsibilities linked
to teaching and
supporting learning
•Staff responsible for
institutional strategic
leadership and policy-
making in teaching
and learning
•Staff who have
strategic impact and
influence in relation to
teaching and learning
that extends beyond
their own institution

17. The landscape in Sweden
through your eyes

18. Academic Development in the UK,
my perspective

19. At the heart of academic development are
people, networks and communities. (Neame
(2011)

20. Academic Development
• Academic Developers
– Academics
– Academic related
• internal offer:
– Academic Development Units
• HEA accredited institutional (cross-) disciplinary PgCerts, CPD Frameworks, non-
accredited open workshops, consultancy, support, research activities
– Academic Developers within Faculties/Departments
– L & T/TEL champions/fellows
• external offer (HEA, SEDA, ALT, JISC etc.)
• networks (social media)
• conferences
• projects and research
• open educational practices, open educational resources
• working with learning technologists, IT, academics, professional services, managers, leaders
• influence and implement strategy and policy within an institution
• introduce and spread innovative practices

21. Changing nature of Academic
Development
• emergence from a focus on the classroom to a focus on the learning
environment
• changing emphasis from individual teachers to a focus on course
teams and departments, and also leadership in teaching
• a parallel change from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning
• a developing emphasis from change tactics to change strategies
• a changing focus from quality assurance to quality enhancement
• a changing focus from ‘fine tuning’ of current practice to
transforming practice in new directions
Gibbs, 2013, 5-9
Prof. Graham Gibbs

22. SEDA: Developing the Developer
http://www.seda.ac.uk/

23. SEDA Values
1. An understanding how people learn
2. Scholarship, professionalism and ethical practice
3. Working in, and developing learning
communities
4. Working effectively with diversity and promoting
inclusivity
5. Continuing reflection on professional practice
6. Developing people and processes
source: http://www.seda.ac.uk/professional-development.html?p=2_1_1

24. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/cll

25. http://www.jisc.ac.uk/

26. http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com

27. http://www.jorum.ac.uk/

28. http://www.alt.ac.uk/http://www.alt.ac.uk/

29. http://www.nmc.org/publications/2013-horizon-report-higher-ed

30. social media
• Professional communities
and networks
– LinkedIn
– Twitter
– Instagram
– YouTube
– Facebook

31. Academic Development
in Sweden,
your perspective

32. My way ;)

37. So, what do I do?
PGCAP
T & L projects support
Support academics and
programme teams, VC DTA
Winners
PGR Students teaching
programme
Observations of teaching
T&L Resources
Teaching Essentials programme
HEA Fellowship support
Research
...

38. 38
Postgraduate Certificate in
Academic Practice (PGCAP)

39. “At present there are very few barriers to teaching
in higher education. It is almost the only
profession in which someone can work without
any qualification or licence to practice. Students
go to university to learn, and good teaching is
integral to effective learning. But there is as yet no
requirement that academics who teach students
in Higher Education should hold a teaching
qualification or be qualified to teach”.
(Craig Mahoney, 2011, HEA Speech)

40. •l onger programmes more effective
•learning towards credits seems to
increase motivation
•changes to teacher attitudes and
conceptions
•positive association between
participating in teacher
development programmes and
develop learner-centred teaching
methods
•impact may more readily achieved
for established teachers
•substantial potential for transfer to
practice among ‘novice’ or aspiring
teachers where a critical mass of
pedagogic knowledge is achieved
•participants become more
comfortable with TEL
•richer exchange in cross-disciplinary
programmes
•research gap of such programmes:
real impact on the student
experience

41. The PGCAP
• an exciting opportunity to learn
and develop with colleagues from
different disciplines and
professional areas
• to be open, creative, and
experiment in a safe environment
and within a learning community
• to discuss, debate and challenge
anything linked to teaching and
learning, practice and theory
• to engage in conversations about
teaching and learning at the
University of Salford
• gain a recognised Teaching
Qualification in HE
• a programme accredited by the
HEA and NMC
reflection
active experimentation
linking theory and
practice
modelling variety of
creative learning and
teaching approaches
research-informed
teaching
innovate
PGCAP
student
peers
module
tutor
personal
tutor
feedback
buddy
action
learning
set
mentor
personal
learning
network

42. PGCAP structure and modules
from September 2013 (to be approved)
Learning and Teaching
in HE (LTHE)
Assessment
and Feedback
for Learning
(AFL)
Flexible,
Distance and
Online
Learning
(FDOL)
Academic
Leadership for
Learning Gains
(ALLG)
all modules: 30 credits at Level 7 (MA)

43. What is teamwork?

44. visualising theories together

45. learning students’ names

46. social media portfolios

47. reflecting: preparation for professional discussion
http://stripgenerator.com/

48. learning journeys

49. students capturing their learning journeys

50. learning through games

51. active experimentation
students
creating
resources
students
sharing
experiences
capturing
collaborative
activities
sharing
reflections
having fun
learning
together

52. 52

53. Researching togetherpublications
Nerantzi, C (work-in-progress) A “quick ‘n’ dirty” OER video series or food for thought for teachers studying towards the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice
Nerantzi, C and Despard, C (submitted) Lego models to aid reflection. Enhancing the summative assessment experience in the context of Professional Discussions within accredited
Academic Development provision, Innovations in Education and Teaching International
Nerantzi, C (submitted) Using web-conferencing technologies to enable wider learning conversations for professional development, Education and Culture DG, Lifelong Learning
Programme, Education, Audiovisual and Executive Agency (University of Salford is a partner)
Nerantzi, C, Lace-Costigan, G, Jackson, R, Currie, N, Despard, C and Peters, L (2013) Tweet-tweet who is there? Using Twitter in teacher education, Madhouse of Ideas, available at
http://madhouseofideas.org/?page_id=502
Nerantzi, C (2013) OER video series Food for thought: CPD on-the-go and for teachers in Higher Education, OER13 Conference Proceedings, Nottingham 26 and 27 March 2013
Nerantzi, C (2013) An open peer observation experiment within the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) at the University of Salford, Issue 14.1, March 2013,
Educational Developments Magazine, SEDA, pp. 15-19.
Nerantzi, C and Currant, N (2011) Using e-portfolios for learning and assessment within the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) at the University of Salford, Centre for
Recording Achievement, available at www.recordingachievement.org
Nerantzi, C (2011) To act, or not to act, upon feedback? A case study in Academic Development, Students’ experience and student feedback, HEA Education Subject Centre, available
at http://escalate.ac.uk/studentfeedback
Nerantzi, C, Currant, N, Avramenko, A & Harvey, V (2011) Feedback conversations in a blended classroom, TEAN STOREHOUSE,
athttp://www.cumbria.ac.uk/AboutUs/Subjects/Education/Research/TEAN/TeacherEd
Nerantzi, C (2011) ‘I didn’t know this was possible’ – exploring technology-enhanced learning and teaching approaches within Academic Development, Working with Diverse Groups of
Learners in the Digital Age, HEA Education Subject Centre ESCalate Publication, available at http://escalate.ac.uk/8538
book chapters
Nerantzi, C and Hannaford, L (accepted) Action learning sets flipping the classroom, advantages and challenges. An example from Academic Development
Smith, C and Nerantzi, C (in print) ePortfolios: Assessment as learning using social media, Waxmann publishers, series ”Gesellschaft for Medien in der Wissenschaft” (Association for
Media in Science, www.gmw-online.de) (more details will follow)
Nerantzi, C (2013) Using Voicethread to enable media-rich online collaborative learning, in: Middleton, A ed. Digital Voices, Sheffield: MELSIG.
Nerantzi, C (2013) “Sell your bargains” Playing a mixed-reality game with academics to spice-up teaching in HE, Cases on Digital Game-Based Learning: Methods, Models and Strategies,
Information Science Reference, Hershey: IGI Global, pp. 131-144.
presentations, workshops
6 June 2013, Creative learning through creative teaching, invited webinar for the University College Suffolk
17 Apr 2013, Would Plato love Lego? or making models to aid reflection within Academic Development, invited inspirED presentation at the Univesity of Dundee, Scotland
26-27 Mar 2013, “OER video series Food for thought: CPD on-the-go and for teachers in Higher Education, OER13 Conference, Nottingham
15-16 Nov 2012, ”Let’s play! – the value of game-based learning in Academic Development” Workshop with Craig Despard, 17th Annual SEDA Conference, Excellence in Teaching:
recognising, enhancing, evaluating and achieving impact, Aston Business School. Birmingham
29 Aug 2012, “Social media eportfolio for learning and assessment”, with Dr. Chris Smith and Craig Despard, eAssessment Conference Scotland, Feeding back, Forming the future (online
contribution), http://www.e-assessment-scotland.org/?page_id=1030#pgcap
19-22 June 2012, “Engaging learners through time-bound online role-play activities: using Elluminate to promote learner engagement” workshop with Dr. Chris Smith, STLHE 2012
Conference, Montreal, Canada
19 Apr 2012 “Social media portfolios for learning and assessment”, invited presentation with PGCAP students, Sheffield Hallam University
3 Feb 2012 “Playing games in Higher Education”, discussing a mixed-reality game developed for the PGCAP, Thunderstorm session during the MEL SIG event, University of Salford with
Kirsty Pope and Neil Currie
11 Dec 2011 “Play ‘n’ learn, spicing up teaching in Higher Education using a mixed-reality game, invited” webinar delivered with academics studying towards the PGCAP at the University
of Salford, Creativity and Multicultural Communication (Massive Online Open Cource), organizer: Empire State College, State University of New York,
site:http://www.cdlprojects.com/cmc11blog/contents/week-13-untitled/
17-18 November 2011 “e-portfolios for learning”, 16th Annual SEDA Conference 2011, Using Technology to Enhance Learning, joined presentation with Currant N.
6-8 July 2011 “Feedback conversations in a blended classroom” with Currant, N., Avramenko, A. and Harvey V., Education in a Changing Environment, 6th International Conference,
Creativity and Engagement in Higher Education, Salford.
25 Jan 2011 “Formative Feedback in the blended classroom – how an e-portfolio can create a student-tutor dialogue to improve learning” joined presentation with Neil Currant, Dr. Alex
Avramenko and Vicki Harvey during the Good Practice Event: Students’ Journey with Technology Enhanced Learning, ADU, University of Salford
53

54. seed-> tree>apples>apple trees
where we should measure impact
core sep11:
32 participants/3448 students
108 students/per participant
plus impact on colleagues!!!

55. PGCAP success stories
Paul Tracey
Best Teacher 2012, Student Led Teaching Award of the Salford Student Union,
University of Salford
shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Awards in the category of Most Innovative
Teacher of the Year 2012
Sarah Bodell and Denis McGrath
VCs Distinguished Teaching Award in 2012
Neil Donohue
VCs Distinguishes Teaching Group Award in 2012
Sam Ingleson
Funded research project linked to game-based learning
Udayangani Kulatunga
Funded research project with Sri Lanka
Neil Currie
Won as members of the Civil Engineers and its Structures team, Laurence Weekes,
Neil Currie, Phillip Leach, Jinyan Wang & Jonathan Haynes, the The IStructE 2012
Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering Education 2012

56. “I would like to say thank you to the whole
team as I enjoyed the programme
immensely and think you all do a wonderful
job with the programme and also helping us
through the process of being students
again, which was a bit daunting at first.
Once again many thanks.”
“The biggest thing I gained from the PGCAP
was the opportunity to reflect on my teaching
practice. The lectures and assignments gave
me space to stop and think about my session
design and delivery and how it could be
enhanced. Most importantly, through finding
out about the range of teaching and learning
styles it allowed me to put the learner at the
centre of the learning experience and also
reflect on my own particular learning style. The
PGCAP is a great way to meet other people
who teach and support learning and I gained a
lot from the exchange of ideas and networking
in classes and online.”
“My time as a student on the PGCAP has
enabled me to really think about what is
means to be a “Good Teacher” and in
particular to always put the student at
the heart of my teaching. This sounds
obvious; however on reflection it is not
so obvious and sometimes I really need
to think about what the students are
experiencing, thinking and assimilating
during my teaching session. If my
teaching session is not going to plan or
did not go to plan I think- what would my
colleagues on the PGCAP team do
differently? And then change it
accordingly.”
“We are following your lead and
embedding eportfolios into our
undergraduate programme. I
thought it was a fantastic way to
be assessed. Thanks.”

58. Your way ;)

59. Open. Is this a new thing?

60. learning through time
from experience, informal learning: family
& community
Socrates, Plato’s Academy > formal
learning = education – closing down
Knowledge for a few, books > typography
> more accessible, opening up
Digital revolution > informal learning
wide open, formal learning > opening up

61. Education Everyday
Analog Digital
Tethered Mobile
Isolated Connected
Generic Personal
Consumers Creators
Closed Open
Differences between Higher Education and the Supersystem in which it is Embedded (Wiley and Hilton, 2006, 3)

62. “Openness is a fundamental value underlying significant changes in
society and is a prerequisite to changes institutions of higher education
need to make in order to remain relevant to the society in which they
exist. There are a number of ways institutions can be more open,
including programs of open sharing of educational materials. Individual
faculty can also choose to be more open without waiting for institutional
programs. Increasing degrees of openness in society coupled with
innovations in business strategy like dynamic specialization are enabling
radical experiments in higher education and exerting increasing
competitive pressure on conventional higher education institutions. No
single response to the changes in the supersystem of higher education
can successfully address every institution’s situation. However, every
institution must begin addressing openness as a core organizational
value if it desires to both remain relevant to its learners and to contribute
to the positive advancement of the field of higher “ (Wiley and Hilton,
2009, 1)

63. OER OEP
OER
integrated
in OEP

64. social media

65. • 2010-2011
• open course linked to PgCert provision
• using PBL task: assessment and feedback
Dr Keith Smyth
MSc BOE Programme Leader
Edinburgh Napier

66. PBL
Conference
2011
Lars Uhlin
Educational Developer
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

67. #FDOL131 organisers
and facilitators
Chrissi Nerantzi
Academic Developer
University of Salford, UK
FDOL organiser
PBL facilitator
Lars Uhlin
Educational Developer
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
FDOL organiser
PBL facilitator
Maria Kvarnström
Educational Developer
Karolinska Institutet,
Sweden
PBL facilitator

68. https://fdol.wordpress.com/
today: opening up

69. #FDOL131 PBL group 1, unit 3:

70. opening-up
https://learningandteachinghe.wordpress.com/

72. http://www.text2mindmap.com/Live mindmap at http://www.text2mindmap.com/m3LTyK

73. https://www.edx.org/

74. challenges opportunities
habits
time
digital literacies
pedagogies
resources
institutional technologies
own devices, social media
fees
competition
open (teaching, learning and research)
diverse student body (international, part-
time, work-based, mature)
students as consumers?
rapid knowledge advancements

76. Opening up education.
What are your thoughts?

77. SEDA values: flashcards

78. SEDA Values
1. An understanding how people learn
2. Scholarship, professionalism and ethical practice
3. Working in, and developing learning
communities
4. Working effectively with diversity and promoting
inclusivity
5. Continuing reflection on professional practice
6. Developing people and processes
source: http://www.seda.ac.uk/professional-development.html?p=2_1_1

85. References
Gibbs, G (2010) Dimensions of quality, York: The Higher Education Academy
Gibbs, G (2012) Implications of ‘Dimensions of quality’ in a market environment, York:
The Higher Education Academy
Gibbs, G (2013) Reflections on the changing nature of educational development,
International Journal for Academic Development, 2013, Vol. 18, No. 1, 4-14.
Neame, C. (2011) Exploring Models of Development of Professional Practice in
Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: What Can We Learn from Biology and
Marketing? Educate~ Vol. 11, No. 1, 2011, pp. 9-19.
Wiley, D. and Hilton, J. (2009) Openness, Dynamic Specialization, and the
Disaggregated Future of Higher Education, in: International Review of Research in
Open and Distance Learning, Volume 10, Number 5, 2009, pp. 1-16., available at
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/768 [accessed 25 February 2013]

86. Can one chameleon make a difference?
personal perspectives, opportunities and
dilemmas of an academic developer Chrissi Nerantzi, @chrissinerantzi
27 May 2013 Centre for Medical Education, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden