The Centre's work in England

The Centre for Bioscience supports teaching in higher education to improve student learning throughout the UK. While the majority of the Centre's activities are on a UK-wide basis, the increasing divergence of the 4 home countries means, where appropriate, the Centre adopts a country-specific approach in addition to the general activities. This page provides links to England-specific activities and resources, as well as pointers to Centre materials that are particularly relevant to those teaching within the English political framework. As a subject centre of the Higher Education Academy the Centre for Bioscience receives funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England

The Centre's Work in England

Discussions with the Centre's departmental representatives indicate that issues of importance to bioscientists are the same throughout the UK (e.g assessment, teaching of ethics, student numeracy [lack of] and feedback/feed forward). The A-Z of Resources page of our website is a convenient pointer to the resources we have in these and other areas. The Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL), the Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) initiative and the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme are the main ways in which England differs from other areas of the UK. The Centre's involvement with these three schemes is outlined below.

CETLs

We have identified 12 CETLs that are of particular relevance within the biosciences:

• Advancing Skills for Professionals in the Rural Economy - Aspire
• Applied Undergraduate Research Skills - CETL AURS
• Bristol ChemLabS
• Centre for Active Learning in Geography, Environment and Related Disciplines - CeAL
• Centre for Effective Learning in Science - CELS
• Centre for Excellence in Leadership and Professional Learning
• Centre for Open Learning in Mathematics, Science, Computing and Technology - COLMSCT
• Experiential Learning in Environmental and Natural Sciences
• Genetics Education Networking for Innovation and Excellence - GENIE
• Inter-disciplinary Ethics Applied - IDEA
• Applied and Integrated Medical Sciences - The Aims Centre
• Centre for Scientific Literacy - Write Now

Currently the Centre has more formalised links with those highlighted in bold. We have produced two publications which aim to raise awareness of CETL activities:

The CETL leaflet brings together brief descriptions of those CETLs with a specific bioscience focus.

The CETL booklet provides a more comprehensive introduction to both the bioscience related CETLs and CETLs of general interest to bioscience learning and teaching staff.

FDTLs

The Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL) was established to support projects aimed at stimulating developments in teaching and learning in higher education and to encourage the dissemination of good teaching and learning practice across the higher education sector. There are no further plans to fund further projects, however, the Centre has worked closely with the bioscience FDTL projects and where possible helped disseminate the work.

Centre Events in England

Centre-funded Projects in England

Engaging students, staff and employers in a collaborative attempt to develop the employability of bioscience graduates
Genie CETL, University of Leicester - Dr Mark Goodwin

Do multimedia resources enhance bioscience education? A systematic review
De Montfort University - Dr Viv Rolfe

Postgraduate Scientific Writing Skills Pilot Programme
University of Leicester - Dr. Alan Cann

Students' initial reaction to the feedback they receive on coursework
University of East Anglia - Dr Harriet Jones

Online Assessment: comparison with paper-based testing
Keele University - Dr Peter Chevins

Academy-England

The Academy supports the higher education sector in England through its UK-wide services, direct work with HEIs and close relations with English organisations and groups. The Higher Education Academy administers the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme which aims to raise the profile of teaching and learning in higher education in England and Northern Ireland and provides a total of £2.5 million funding a year. There are two separate strands: individual awards and projects. We have listed the awards made to bioscientists.

Other Organisations and Further Information

Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE)

HEFCE provides an expert resource on all aspects of English higher education, promotes and supports higher education in England, represents the interests of its members, and negotiates on behalf of England higher education.

QAA England

QAA England has been working closely with the Higher Education Funding Council for England, National Union of Students UK, the Higher Education Academy, and the GuildHE to help colleges and universities provide a high quality to the academic standards. UK and England-specific QAA events are offered