Departmental Teaching Enhancement Scheme

The Centre's Departmental Teaching Enhancement Scheme provided bioscience schools and departments with additional funds to develop and implement some aspect of practice that would lead to an improved learning experience for students. The scheme aimed to effect change across entire department(s) rather than within a single module or one individual’s teaching practice. No further funding calls will be issued by the Centre. However, you may wish to seek funding from the Higher Education Academy.

Funded projects

2011 projects

The following projects have received various levels of funding:

• Sustainable literacy for the Biosciences (University of Leicester)
• Developing Support for Postgraduates who teach in two STEM subject areas (University of Glasgow)
• Developing a supportive framework for field courses through video-based resources (University of Gloucestershire)
• University of Leeds Bioscience Education Research Group (University of Leeds)
• ROVER - Robotic Open Virtual Educational Resources (University of Leicester)
• The benefit of hind-sight: capturing post-graduation experiences to enhance graduate engagement and employability (University of Hull)
• Developing Peer 'Coaching Networks' (University of Exeter)
• Rewarding partial knowledge in negatively marked multiple choice tests in the life sciences: effect on performance, gender bias, student satisfaction and use as an evaluation tool for effectiveness of teaching (Swansea University)

2010 projects

This year the Centre received 25 expressions of interest for a potential £15000. Nine of these were invited to submit a full application.The five successful projects funded were:

• ELE-Biolabs
• Enhancing the Student Experience of the Application of Scientific Techniques in Practice
• Reinventing Laboratory Teaching in Microbiology and Pathology
• Switching on the skills for lifelong learning: revision of programmes and modules to enhance the development of learning autonomy
• Physical principles for bioscience students: A problem based learning tool

2008 projects

In 2008, £15,000 was on offer to department-wide projects from a total of £45,000. Four projects were invited to submit full proposals from a total of 31 expressions of interest. Projects in 2008 were funded on:

• Enhancing Final Year Projects: A Stakeholder Perspective, Karen Gresty
• Personal Learning Environments, Personal Development Planning and Lifelong Learning
• The role of Data in the Development of Scientific Knowledge

2007 projects

In 2007 the Centre again received a very positive response to its call for department-wide projects. Thirty expressions of interest were received and 12 applicants were invited to submit full bids. The following projects received funding:

• Addressing diversity of student needs in large class teaching using Personal Response Systems
• Improving levels of literacy in science undergraduates
• A system to deliver oral and visual feedbackon-line, personal to each student
• The development of a science communication course for undergraduates
• Attendance and assessment outcomes: relationships and coping strategies

2006 projects

Grants were first offered in March 2006. A total of £45,000 was earmarked to fund three to five projects (with a maximum award for individual projects of £15,000). Such was the response to the call, the Centre increased the 2006 budget to £61,453.

• Development and implementation of a policy for delivering effective feedback to students within The School of Biology, Chemistry and Health Sciences at MMU
• Creating a Departmental web-based resource centre to support the Teaching and Learning of numerical techniques
• Combining 'Peer' and 'Online' assessment methods for large-class laboratory practicals to enhance the effective feedback to and learning experience for students
• A 'toolbox' for the development of student research skills and related employability
• Towards sustainable teaching of bioscience