Queen Margaret University

1. About this programme/module

The MSc in Professional and Higher Education is a postgraduate programme aimed at teachers in post -16 education. This includes teachers in colleges and universities as well as those teaching outwith these formal settings e.g. in placement settings such as hospitals. 

The programme can be completed in one year by studying full time. However, students on the programme tend to be mature learners who are studying alongside work and therefore the majority of learners are studying part time. Students must take eight modules and submit a thesis to complete the programme. The typical student chooses to study two modules per year meaning the programme takes 4-5 years to complete. 

The current (2018-19) cohort is 72 students comprising of students based across the world; from the UK to Australia and Singapore.

2. Design and delivery

The programme is fully online with all of the teaching happening within the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Curriculum content and learning activities are explicitly linked to practice throughout, with students drawing on their own learning and teaching experiences to inform their work. Group and collaborative activities are used within each module. 

The programme has been designed in response to the continuing professional development needs of professionals with an educational role. It is accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (nurses and midwives) for teacher status and for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy by Advance HE. It seeks to develop students’ understanding and skills of facilitation and teaching.  

At the start of each module there is a different online icebreaker activity (e.g. post a picture, describe yourself) plus introductory video clips from staff, in order to begin to establish a friendly and informal environment: “it’s about “bringing them into our space and getting to know people as people”. 

Each module is divided into three sections and students are given one month to complete each of these. Within a section there are 2-3 core activities, plus additional optional learning activities allowing students to engage more deeply with the content that is of interest or relevance. Timescales are given against each activity to indicate how long students should spend on them, and there is a deadline for their completion. Activities are done individually, in groups and in pairs, and students give peer feedback on all of these. Example activities include: producing a conference poster as a group, developing learning outcomes as pairs, reading and summarising articles individually on the online discussion boards. These activities can take place using various aspects of the VLE, and through other technology. So students may use discussion boards, virtual classrooms, email, live chat etc. Through undertaking these activities with their fellow students, a community of learners develops. 

Throughout the programme, summative assessments are explicitly linked to the activities undertaken within each section of the modules, and frequently use the outputs from these activities and bring them together. As a result, many assessments are portfolio in nature. For example, for one module assessment is a case study analysis with evidence built from an e-portfolio. Students describe a learning situation and add in details over the duration of the module, reflecting on how they would develop the situation in light of the learning they have acquired through the module. Students are able to use outputs from activities (e.g. discussion board posts) and integrate these into their portfolio. 

Within each module, the virtual classroom (Collaborate) is used for many group activities. The facility to have break out areas for small group discussion is particularly valuable, as is the ability for students to give slideshow presentations and then to give and receive verbal feedback on these. These synchronous experiences help to cement the relationships between staff and students, and students and students. 

3. Induction and orientation

There is a standalone induction module which is available to students in as soon as they are accepted on the programme. It covers three main areas: 

• Studying online
• Study at Masters levels
• Sources of support 

The module is highly interactive and students are required to undertake the kinds of activities that they will experience in their modules. As the module is non-credit-bearing, this allows them to play around with the technology, and become familiar with the online space before it starts ‘mattering’. As a result they hopefully begin to view technology as an enabler rather than a barrier to learning. 

The beginning of the module is focused on establishing a trusting, supportive and fun learning space based on unconditional positive regard. There are videos of the teaching team introducing themselves which are deliberately ‘low tech’ and informal. An introductory activity then asks students to introduce themselves on the discussion board and put up a photo of themselves too, if they feel comfortable with this. There is also signposting to where students can get support and additional support resources such as videos of previous learners giving hints and tips and guides on netiquette etc. Tutors are present within the module at all points (even over the summer) to interact with students in the online space. 

To get students familiar with the experience of studying online the module also contains ‘learning’ activities e.g. directing them to view resources such as videos or online journal articles and then asking them to engage with discussions tools. This gets students to use the technology way in advance of the programme starting, takes away some of the anxiety that may be associated with online study, and really prepares students to get going when the programme starts. 

The asynchronous content described above is complemented with scheduled synchronous sessions using the online virtual classroom (Collaborate).  These scheduled sessions are led by the tutors. There is also an ‘open’ Collaborate room which staff are not present in, but which provides an online space for students to meet each other synchonously.

4. Sense of belonging

The key aspects to creating a sense of belonging are: 

• Philosophy social constructivist online community-based – collegiate supportive
• Attitude of tutors- friendly and supportive
• Activities to be relevant for learners in their professional roles
• Regular synchronous sessions (programme/module) plus tools for learners to have their own meetings without tutors
• Group work (formal and informal)
• Extensive use of discussions
• Heavy use of Personal Academic Tutor
• Extensive use of audio and video feedback for tutor communications, short introductions and formative and summative assessment
• Online student representation
• Librarian involvement in a/synchronous sessions
• Variety of modes for communications with tutors
• Ensuring reading materials are accessible

5. Student experience

People who were reluctant about online study and are nervous have also been really positive about it. It’s not a ‘distance learning’ programme. Not just read stuff and submit their assignment. 

“Loved the second group exercise on learning outcomes. Enjoyable context, and even though there was only two of us, the rapport was there from the outset and we both contributed an even amount. Reviewing the work of other groups went well too.” 

“I really enjoyed the assignment, yes, it was difficult but is that not the point. I do feel it stretched me to think in ways I wouldn’t normally. And it gave an opportunity to 'apply' what we learnt so made the connection many courses don't...” 

“I really liked the way in which videos were used to give an analysis of the discussion forums, picking up on elements from all contributors. It felt very authentic.”

“Feedback was very thoughtful and thought provoking. I think xx and xx had the right combination of waiting for students to share and then providing really valuable, directive feedback.”

6. Recommendations

The key elements to delivering a successful online programme such as this are: 

• Getting students online as a priority- making sure that there is an easy registration process
• Providing engaging activities that have relevance to students’ work or learning
• Including lots of group activities
• Providing a thorough induction
• Structuring the programme and giving clear guidance of what students need to do and when (clear language is very important here)
• Using the activities to build up to the assessment; so the assessment is not an ‘add on’ to the course materials. This really helps to get student engagement.
• An online tutor presence is vital, but not OTT- give students the space to do the work!
• Not overloading students with content. As a lot more scaffolding and signposting has to be done with online students it’s usually inappropriate to transfer material from a face to face programme into an online context.
• Making it clear that there are core and optional otherwise students think they have to do everything. It is helpful to think about what students need to know, what is nice to know etc. This should not result in dumbing down but engaging in deep learning about fewer topics.