Higher Education Research at Manchester Met
Introduction
Manchester Met is supporting pedagogic research across the university, extending our reach across the UK sector as a significant contributor to the HE learning & teaching discourse.
There is a focus for pedagogic research in HE (PedR) which is more definable and tangible than a loose network of research-related activities. An important part of that focus is on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), which is now developing as an established, world-wide, scholarly discourse around: the theory and practice of learning and teaching; what we mean by excellence in those practices; and how we develop and share that good practice with colleagues.
Pedagogic research outputs are encouraged from all staff with a relevant interest, whether experienced researchers or new to the research arena. If you would like to discuss your research ideas with colleagues from UTA please contact utacpd@mmu.ac.uk.
Professional Development through pedagogical research (PedR)
SoTL and pedagogic research for higher education at ManMet are not just about producing research outputs. Engaging in research is a highly developmental, capacity building process, and ManMet is able to formalise this capacity building through postgraduate qualifications, including the MA in Higher Education and PhD or EdD.
MA in Higher Education
The MA HE has been redeveloped to ensure that it is flexible enough to provide an advanced postgraduate qualification route for staff with a wide range of interests beyond a specific focus on learning, teaching and assessment; to include, for example, interests in technology enhanced learning in HE, or higher education policy and management.
A specifically research-focused units is currently offered as part of the PGCLTHE/MAHE and can be taken with or without credits. Researching Higher Education uses problem- and enquiry-based learning approaches to prepare participants to carry out their own research projects in academic practice.
Effective use of Research in Learning and Teaching
What are the benefits of linking teaching and research?
Some of the key contributions to the discussion of the ‘proper’ relationship between teaching and research are summarised on the discussion page of this resource. An important principle connects them all, in that teaching and learning benefit in a number of ways when they draw directly on the research process and its outputs:
- Curriculum which draws on current research stays fresh and dynamic, and students can see how learning about a subject in the abstract is connected to real time development of the subject, and of the aspects of the world that it is concerned with.
- Curriculum which draws on the teacher’s own research gives the teacher an added incentive to engage with the students, and gives the students a sense of connection with the research process and with the dynamic nature of their discipline.
- Curriculum which allows students to engage in research processes engages them more actively in their learning and in the subject. It supports important notions such as active learning, students as partners and students as co-creators of the curriculum. It plays an important role in developing a range of important graduate attributes, both professional and personal, helping to build student confidence, ability to communicate effectively, and sense of an academic and specialist self.
How can I strengthen the links between my teaching and research?
There are many steps you can take, from simple to complex, which can reinforce research-teaching linkages:
- Make sure reading lists are current (although that doesn’t mean ignoring important, seminal resources just because they are a few years old!), and that you use them in your teaching and assessment design;
- Bring new research outputs to your students’ attention; if an interesting new paper is published, get the students to review it themselves, for instance;
- Explain your own research to them. As an exercise get them to critique your research design, or to review draft papers
- Use research-like activities in your teaching and assessment design, such as problem-based or enquiry-based learning
Read the full version of this paper with discussion and references: Effective use of Research in Learning and Teaching
Discipline Based Pedagogy
Much pedagogic research focuses on the teaching of particular disciplines: how the discipline is most effectively sustained as knowledge and practice for the next generation of specialists by means of the higher education process. As a result there is a vast pedagogic literature based in the disciplines: medicine is probably the most extensive, but there is also a growing literature in many other disciplines too; largely in sciences and engineering, but in the arts and humanities as well.
Manchester Met Scholarship Outputs
Learning and Teaching in Action
Past issues of LTiA, Manchester Met’s in-house journal, have been archived in our Learning and Teaching Research blog. A browse through the articles is a fascinating record of developments at the University during the last 20 years!
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) Research Grants
UTA has supported a wide range of funded SoTL projects. The purpose of the grants is to promote scholarly work in Manchester Met which leads to the development of staff research capacity and the enhancement of the learning experience for students.