By Mahbub Sarkar and Tim Fawns
Posted Tuesday 19 November, 2024

The Teaching Excellence Program (TEP) at Monash University has been a cornerstone of professional development for probationary academic staff since its inception in 2019. The program provides a structured pathway for participants to demonstrate their teaching capabilities and to engage critically with pedagogical theories and practices. Designed to cultivate reflective and evidence-informed teaching practices, the program also supports educators to secure Advance HE Fellowship. The Fellowship is a global professional recognition awarded to higher education staff who demonstrate a strong commitment to teaching, learning, and student support. It offers professional learning opportunities, supports career progression, and connects educators with a community dedicated to improving the student learning experience (Botham, 2018; Cathcart et al. 2021).

We recently redesigned TEP to align more closely with institutional priorities and the revised Professional Standards Framework (PSF) 2023 and launched it with 65 participants. This blog post outlines the key changes in the revamped program. We have been ambitious with our design, striving to give participants more choice, deeper engagement with their teaching practices, and a stronger sense of connection to a community of peers. We are excited and we acknowledge that we are on a journey. There’s much to learn as we move forward together.

We have been ambitious with our design, striving to give participants more choice, deeper engagement with their teaching practices, and a stronger sense of connection to a community of peers

Key changes in the redesigned TEP

1. Stronger alignment with Monash’s strategic priorities: The new TEP is now more closely aligned with the Monash Education Plan (2020–2025), ensuring that participants engage with the broader institutional objectives. Participants are encouraged to explicitly connect their assessment tasks to strategic priorities.
   
2. Emphasis on peer and group work: Responding to participant feedback, the redesign places greater emphasis on peer learning and collaboration. Participants are now assigned to small groups that meet regularly for peer review and feedback, fostering a stronger sense of community and mutual support. This aligns with PSF 2023’s heightened value of collaboration and the importance of learning from and with peers.
   
3. Adapting to a changing educational landscape: The redesigned TEP more explicitly considers the external challenges facing higher education in Australia, such as the University ACCORD process and the rise of generative AI technologies. The program emphasises inclusivity and encourages participants to critically engage with emerging technologies like AI, while upholding academic integrity in teaching and assessment practices.
   
4. Streamlined assessments for better integration: To reduce workload and enhance the coherence of assessments, TEP now features a streamlined approach. Participants complete five formative portfolio tasks that scaffold towards a single, summative Whole of Practice task. This restructuring ensures that assessments are more directly connected to participants’ real teaching experiences, promoting more applied learning and reflection.
   
5. Two strands for differentiated assessment: Recognising the diversity of participants’ teaching contexts and experiences, TEP now offers two strands of assessment: one for participants eligible for Fellowship (i.e. those who can demonstrate all Areas of Activity, Core Knowledge and Values of the PSF) and another for those aligning with Associate Fellowship. 
   
6. Comprehensive support mechanism: In the redesigned TEP, participants have access to a range of support mechanisms designed to help them integrate their practice and assessments. This includes the following:
   • Workshops: Three synchronous and one asynchronous workshops aimed at facilitating the alignment of participants’ accounts of practice with the assessment criteria and the PSF Dimensions.
   • Formative feedback: As participants work through their assessment tasks, they receive formative feedback from peers and facilitators. This guides them in shaping their final narrative for the Whole of Practice assessment piece, ensuring it meets the criteria and covers the relevant PSF Dimensions.
   • Online content and resource library: Participants have access to a Moodle site, which includes curated materials, resources, and discussion forums. These forums encourage further engagement with peers and strengthen the collaborative learning environment.
   • Ongoing support: The academic team, program administration leads, and peer groups will offer ongoing support throughout the program, promoting a community-driven approach to learning where participants can share insights and experiences.

A commitment to excellence in teaching

The redesigned TEP represents Monash’s dedication to fostering high-quality teaching and learning practices across its academic community. We have endeavored to strengthen its alignment with strategic priorities outlined in Monash’s Impact 2030 plan and adapt to a rapidly changing educational environment. The program promotes peer collaboration and peer feedback. In doing so, we believe, TEP will continue to empower educators to be reflective, innovative, and evidence-informed in their teaching. However, we are not sure yet how our ambitious design (e.g., more choice, more peer connection) is going to work. 

The redesigned TEP represents Monash’s dedication to fostering high-quality teaching and learning practices across its academic community

Questions for the readers

We are gathering participants’ ongoing feedback on this program to improve it further and we’d love to hear your thoughts as well. Here are a few questions we’re curious about:

• Are you running a similar program at a different institution? If so, what approach are you taking?

• Have you recently started teaching in higher education? What do you see as the key areas you need to develop?

References

Botham, K. A. (2017). The perceived impact on academics’ teaching practice of engaging with a higher education institution’s CPD scheme*. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(2), 164–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2017.1371056

Cathcart, A., Dransfield, M., Floyd, S., Campbell, L. A., Carkett, R., Davies, V., … Smart, F. (2021). Tick-box, weasel words, or a transformative experience? Insights into what educators consider the real impact of HEA Fellowships. International Journal for Academic Development, 28(3), 319–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2021.1938075