A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

Teaching excellence and careers
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The award is designated to recognise distinguished teachers and scholars
regardless of subject or pedagogic approach, and to recognise in a more formal
and distinctive way the centrality of teaching and the management of learning
and assessment as core activities within the university. The aim in part is to
encourage teaching excellence by the creation of role models, and to aid the
dissemination of good practice. But it is also to recognise outstanding
performance and professional reputation in the field at an international level.
Applicants must be able to provide evidence of:
• an established reputation as an excellent teacher and scholar, in addition to
showing that they are reflective practitioners, respected by peers and students
for their contribution to the learning and assessment process;
• experience of leading curriculum development teams, introducing changes
and innovations in teaching and learning and experienced in the evaluation
of teaching, learning and assessment;
• ability to demonstrate a powerful commitment to the future development of
teaching and learning within their field and a capacity to contribute to the
leadership of learning development within their area of subject expertise and
more broadly within the university;
• recognition in terms of a reputation that is recognised at an international level,
and also scholarly outputs, which may include publications that are either
peer reviewed or peer reviewable.
Applicants should include details of achievements and accountabilities which
indicate that their work is of international standing, including, for example,
details of successful teaching approaches, including, as appropriate, student, peer
and external assessments and evaluations, and original materials used in
teaching; innovations made in support of student learning; curriculum
development; publications centred on teaching of the subject; participation in
international conferences and so on, concerned with the development of the
teaching of their subject in higher education; membership of international
committees and so on, concerned with the teaching of their subject in higher
education; collaboration with external bodies; evidence of their external
reputation as a teacher and scholar of note.
There is no single, prescribed or guaranteed way in which individuals can satisfy the
emerging criteria for appointment to a ‘teaching excellence’ Chair or similar type of post.
The criteria for such promotion may differ widely not only among HEIs, but also among
disciplines. Each case, necessarily, is judged on its merits and to a large extent is context
dependent (see Case study 3). Even so, it is possible to identify a broad trend of experience
from ‘novice’ to ‘expert’ which leads towards this goal (see below). A starting point is the
formation of a strong personal base of effective practice, possibly initiated through