OER1138 Oral Presentation ppt

Thursday 12 May 15.45 Breakout Room 4/4a

Developing the inclusive practitioner: How OERs can support the development of 'Professional Values' in HE.

Christine Hockings & Paul Brett, University of Wolverhampton

Conference Theme: Academic practice and digital scholarship

Abstract: Since the UK Professional Standards Framework for HE was introduced for use in accrediting programmes and individuals to the status of associate or fellow of the Higher Education Academy, there has been concern in the sector about the understanding and evidence for what are described 'Professional Values'. These values include 'respect for individual learners', 'commitment to encouraging widening participation in HE', 'acknowledging diversity and promoting equality of opportunity', yet there is little evidence that PGCert programmes of academic development currently 'go beyond a superficial treatment of widening participation, equality, diversity and inclusive practice' (Hockings, 2010). In response to this concern, the sector has recently revised and clarified the professional values within the framework, and committed investment to aid their development through the creation of Open Educational Resources, to be freely available for the sector. In this paper, we discuss the ways in which one OER project, (Learning to Teach Inclusively), funded under the HEA/JISC OER OMAC scheme, has attempted to address the gap in the understanding and development of professional values. These OERs have been designed to promote the understanding and application of the principles of inclusive practice in HE (Hockings 2010), and include learning materials and activities to change practice in curriculum design, classroom pedagogy, assessment practice, and in institutional policy. They draw on a range of resources, including a wide range of video clips of authentic learning and teaching sessions. illustrative of inclusive approaches. In our presentation we will demonstrate some of the OERs and outline the ways in which individuals and programme providers might engage with them so as to embed these values in their own and others' practice. We will also illustrate the community of practice in inclusive learning and teaching, which has grown out of this project, and is leading to the development and sharing of further learning resources.

Keywords: inclusive practice; professional values; professional standards; video; academic development

References:

Hockings, C. (2010) Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education: a research synthesis. York, Higher Education Academy. Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/evidencenet