For this part of the session we were introduced to TEF (Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework) which measures teaching quality, learning environments and student outcomes. I was not familiar with this award, and the more I read about it the more I wondered just how do they measure these things?
Doing the quiz task that was set up for us was confusing and frustrating in equal measure. I found it difficult to answer some questions, and it sort of left me with more questions than answers. Going over it in the session shed light on the framework grading system, and revealed perhaps that there were inconsistencies in the measurement system.
I was surprised to find that UAL released such a strong statement against the TEF grading system, but was also quite pleased to see them challenge a perhaps flawed system. The whole thing left me thinking….what are good ways to measure teaching excellence? Should it be so consumer focused? It will be interesting to see the new iteration of this framework when it comes out, and how they have responded and improved the measurement system.
I agreed with what the university stated:
‘From the start, students learn within a high trust and progressively more independent learning environment. This is a different teaching paradigm to many mainstream subjects that place greater emphasis on direction and knowledge transfer.
We explicitly teach our students that developing creativity is about taking risks to produce innovation. This is deliberately uncomfortable for them, especially so in their final year, which we consider a further factor in our NSS scores and in the negative flags in our TEF metrics. The NSS does not in our view measure the effectiveness of our teaching and learning, but rather satisfaction at a point before our students fully appreciate the value of their experience.’
In my experience the year 1 students can sometimes struggle with the agency given to them in year one if they come straight from school, without doing a foundation which seems to be the norm these days. It got me thinking is the 3 year degree the best format? Should UAL be offering different options?
When students reflect in the moment while still at university is this a valid measurement? Sometimes with the stress of the final hand in and the disappointment that can come from not necessarily getting the mark you though you wanted, compared to a year down the line, when you have a job and you can reflect on your university experience with a bit of distance, you may give an entirely different answer.
TEF Short Guide, accessed here: https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1049028/mod_resource/content/1/TEF%20short%20guide.pdf
https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/excellent-teaching-at-ual/teaching-quality