How We Manage to Research (Despite the Teaching!)

Professor Peter NewbyCentre for Higher Education Research

School of Lifelong Learning and Education

Middlesex University

Why Do We Bother?

Because it establishes credibility with studentsBecause it enhances student capabilityBecause it sustains staff vitality

The Context For Our Approach

Wish to build capacityLimited resource – high capabilityRAE – we never expected a lotWork out our own solutions

The Strategy

Build resources Staff PhDs Staff expertise (e.g. exclusion) Funding – other people’s money, our agenda

Build a research environment Knowledge ‘clusters’ (creativity, skills, social

exclusion) Knowledge exchange supervision

Squaring Research and Teaching

Research to shape the student experience The four tribes and the reconstruction of the

first year education studies programme

Becoming a Learning Community

Staff and students learn together in ITT/PGCECollaborative research generating meta-learning through review of process and outcomesTeaching, research and learning Interchangeable indistinguishable

Examples

Trainers GCSE students + teachers and PGCE students

+lecturers Research the production of trainers Review of pedagogic, moral, social and economic

issues as teacher trainers

Field ITT students Review of area in terms of art, English, literacy,

history, geography, citizenship Embedded peer observation of teaching

And One More Example

Joining the Dots Primary art and English ITT Nature of creativity- role of teacher and

learner Making a book

And the others – Dare, Vertex, , dissertation as design

R&D

Researching practice to develop practiceArgumentation – understanding graduacy in a disciplinary contextOn-Line learning SuperStella – supervisors as workplace mentors SuperiorStella – do generic tutors have a role? Can

HEIs collaborate in delivering programmes on-line?

High level skills development Reintegrating skills into a functional group Entrepreneurship first, leadership second

Summing Up

On the plus side Engages all staff who want to be engaged Enthuses students

On the downside Process valued over research output Not policy centred - therefore of

questionable influence

But it makes going to work and class more fun!