Who is the course designed for?
The course is aimed at staff who teach and/or support learning of students who are studying at the University of Cambridge. Participants normally have at least one to three years’ experience of teaching in higher education. The course assumes a significant amount of independent study, as well as active involvement in teaching and/or supporting learning during the course. The course is not normally open to PhD students.
The course is designed so that participants are able to investigate aspects of teaching and learning that are particularly important to them. Some of the outcomes that are likely to arise from taking the course are:
- greater understanding of student engagement in higher education;
- increased confidence;
- an ability to think creatively and from an evidence base, about how to improve education within and beyond your own practice.
Aims of the programme
The course is designed to enable its participants to develop enquiry-based approaches to engaging with educational challenges and contributing to improvements in the education of students at Cambridge and at tertiary level more broadly. You will:
- develop your understanding of how students learn;
- extend your repertoire of teaching, learning and assessment methods; and
- develop a cogent personal philosophy of education drawing on understanding, use and critical awareness of educational research methods and reflective practice.
In doing so, you will develop practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge about teaching and learning in higher education. The programme is also designed to facilitate cross-disciplinary discussion of teaching, learning and assessment.
Teaching and learning
The course is structured around three units and includes plenary day-long workshops, defined periods of online study through the VLE, individual tutorials and small-group peer learning communities. All participants design a practitioner research proposal, which provides an opportunity to integrate learning and practice during the programme.
Unit 1: Developing as an enquiring university teacher
Introduces selected practitioner research methods and methodologies.
Day-schools: 7 and 30 September 2020 and 30 June 2021*
Tutorials: 26 October – 11 December 2020
Unit 2: Teaching and learning strategies and techniques
Introduces selected theories of learning, considers the strengths and limitations of a range of teaching and learning formats, and introduces selected evaluation methods.
Day-school: 13 January 2021*
Tutorials: 8 February – 9 April 2021
Unit 3: Designing teaching, learning and assessment
Investigates theoretical perspectives on curriculum and course design and considers their implications for teaching, learning and assessment.
Day-school: 21 April 2021*
Tutorials: 10 May – 3 July 2021
*Whilst every effort is made to avoid changes to the day-school dates, these dates still may be subject to change.
It is expected that participants attend all day-schools, as well as participate fully in online learning through the course VLE and in termly individual tutorials and peer-learning communities. A significant amount of independent study is also required.
Full details of each Unit; including key dates, learning objectives, outcomes and assessment, are given in the 2019/20 Course Guide, which is available at the bottom of the page under Documents.
What is the status of this qualification?
The Postgraduate Certificate is equivalent to 60 credits at FHEQ Level 7.
Find out more
If you have any academic questions, please contact Dr Meg Tait: mebt1@cam.ac.uk
If you have any questions about the application process, contact our Admissions team: pgadmissions@ice.cam.ac.uk
For all other enquiries, please contact education@ice.cam.ac.uk
