Sharing Practice

Sharing Practice Policy for the Graduate School Professional Development Programme

Rationale

The Graduate School system of sharing practice has been designed to ensure, develop and support the quality of the provision offered. The scheme positively supports all tutors in their own professional development, complementing existing internal quality assurance mechanisms and is intended to be compatible with College peer observation policy.

Guiding Principles – Developing & Sharing Practice

Current internal quality assurance mechanisms include support for all new (or nearly new) tutors by sharing practice with a peer. This peer will attend a workshop and any instances of good practice or areas for development will be identified and may be followed up to ensure that the minimum standard for workshops is achieved.

The workshop, if followed with a discussion between the tutor and peer so that good practice can be shared. A form is completed and monitored by the Graduate School’s Programme Lead, Deputy Manager of the Graduate School and the Head of Postgraduate Professional Development. This ensures maximum sharing of good practice and a summary document will be sent to the PPDC on an annual basis.

Objectives

The objectives of the sharing practice policy are to:

  • encourage and motivate tutors to reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching and learning
  • inform tutors for their professional development and to inform planning for their development
  • help tutors explore ways of enhancing the student learning experience
  • foster discussion and dissemination of effective practice in teaching and learning
  • contribute to quality assurance processes
  • to share good practice across Graduate School courses

Peer Observation Policy

1. At the start of each academic year, the Deputy Manager of the Graduate School and Head of Postgraduate Professional Development will develop a schedule, matching tutors to suitable peer. Peers will be drawn from members of the Graduate School’s tutor team, Teaching Fellows and if necessary, members of the PPDC. Once the schedule has been confirmed, the Deputy Manager of the Graduate School will email all tutors due to participate in sharing practice. It is estimated that peer sharing will occur at least once every three years.

2. The peer is given a copy of the Graduate School’s Professional Development Programme Sharing Practice Guide-sheet, to assist with the sharing of practice.

3. The peer does not need to see the entire workshop but should see enough to make a useful and informed discussion, typically about 50 minutes.

4. The tutor and peer meet to discuss the session immediately after the workshop or as soon as possible thereafter.

5. The peer should provide a copy of the completed form to the tutor which should include formative feedback and summarise instances of good practice.

6. Once both parties are happy with the information included in the completed form, it will be submitted to the following members of the Graduate School for information/review,

  • Deputy Manager of the Graduate School
  • Head of Postgraduate Professional Development  
  • Graduate School’s Programme Lead

7. An annual summary document giving details of the sharing of practice will be provided to the PPDC.