CDN is delighted to launch two new ‘Teaching in Colleges Today’ (TiCT) SCQF credit-rated units, which have been developed to better meet the initial professional development needs of new college lecturers coming into the sector. The units were officially launched at College Expo 21 and are now available to use.
The units were initially developed in 2013 with New College Lanarkshire who were the original Credit Rating Body for Teaching in Colleges Today. Since then, hundreds of colleagues across Scotland have been awarded certificates and we are very pleased to be continuing to build on this success through our work with Fife College, the new Credit Rating Body.
Iain Hawker, Assistant Principal at Fife College said:
“We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with College Development Network to develop and credit rate on the SCQF, this suite of refreshed teaching qualifications for new lecturers.
Teaching in Colleges Today provides a sound platform for new lecturers to gain the knowledge and understanding of professional teaching practice and are an important part of career long professional learning and development for lecturers.”
CDN’s Curriculum and Teaching staff have been designing and developing these qualifications and associated CDN LearnOnline learning materials for the past year. The new SCQF level 7 and SCQF level 8 units, which have been developed and are owned by CDN, will be available from June. (1 x SCQF level 7 – 6 SCQF credit points; 1 x SCQF level 8 – 7 SCQF credit points). Together with CDN’s quality assurance processes, the units were subject to a rigorous three-stage independent accreditation process carried out by Fife College’s Quality Team, following on from the project inception meeting in August 2020.
As with CDN’s original Teaching in Colleges Today unit, the new units will be delivered in partnership with Scottish Colleges and college candidates completing the units will be certificated following the successful external verification of assessment evidence by CDN.
We spoke to CDN Curriculum and Teaching Lead Sandra-Jane Grier, to find out more about CDN’s new Teaching in Colleges Today units…
How can TiCT be used?
There are two ways the unit(s) and online learning materials can be used. College lecturers that want formal accreditation of their learning can complete the unit and the formal summative assessments to gain a unit certificate. Alternatively, the free to access TiCT online learning materials can be used by anyone for their own professional learning and updating. No certificate will be issued in this case.
Who are the new TiCT units aimed at?
The SCQF level 7 unit is designed to support the initial professional development of newly appointed college lecturers and other college staff involved in learning, teaching, and assessing students. It will help those with industry experience and subject specific skills and knowledge, but no prior teaching experience or qualifications, develop their ability to plan and successfully deliver learning, teaching and assessment taking account of identified student and programme needs. Candidates completing the SCQF level 7 unit will also evaluate their practice, identifying personal strengths and areas for improvement and area(s) for ongoing professional development.
The SCQF level 8 unit is designed to support the ongoing professional development of recently appointed college lecturers and other college staff involved in learning, teaching, and assessing college students. It will help those with industry experience and subject specific skills and knowledge, and some prior teaching experience but no teaching qualifications develop their ability to plan and successfully deliver learning teaching and assessment. At this level candidates are expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of students and programme learning needs and requirements and potential barriers to learning and ways to mitigate any adverse effects on student progress and achievement. Candidates will also critically analyse and evaluate their practice, identifying personal strengths and areas for improvement and establishing personal development priority actions and targets.
Why are there two units?
The units were developed as a hierarchy. The rationale behind having units at different SCQF levels is to provide increased scope for colleges to choose the most appropriate level of introductory ITE qualification based on the individual lecturers’ prior knowledge and skillset. For example, selecting the level based on their pre-existing qualifications and or knowledge.
Would you expect a candidate to do both units?
This would be up to individual centres to decide and considerations might include what ongoing CPD opportunities there are for staff to develop their core learning and teaching skills etc through in house staff development activities, and or the time delay between gaining a place on a higher level ITE qualification (PDA or TQFE place).
How do the units align with the Professional Standards for Lecturers in Scotland’s Colleges and other qualifications?
The content of both units reflects the core competences expected of a college lecturer and these links to specific Professional Standards are explicitly referred to within our new online learning materials. More specifically, both units are designed to encourage early and systematic engagement with the Professional Standards for Lecturers in Scotland’s Colleges/ other professional standards The Learning Outcome 4 evaluation and supporting justification will inform future action planning for personal improvement and development increasing the authenticity and professional value of the assessment, complementing existing college PRD processes.
The updated SQA PDA Teaching Practice in Scotland’s Colleges award and TQFE qualifications similarly focus on understanding your students’ needs, effective and adaptive planning and delivery of research informed learning, teaching and assessment and using self-reflection and evaluation to support a culture of professional continuous improvement.
The new Teaching in Colleges Today qualifications were officially launched by Sandra-Jane at Virtual College Expo21
Click here for Teaching in Colleges Today units
