The The Teaching/Research Teaching/Research Interface - Lessons Interface - Lessons from Project LINKfrom Project LINK

Bridget DurningOxford Brookes

Project Manager for LINK

Project LINKProject LINK

•FDTL phase 3: 2000-2003

•Built Environment (town and country planning, land and property management and construction)

• Four ‘new’ universities

Two questions: • What do we understand and mean by

linking teaching and research?

• How can we implement and strengthen the relationship between teaching and research?

From

an education and curriculum development project

to

a project on educational research and institutional change

Conclusions from Conclusions from Project LINK?Project LINK?

The link does not occur automatically it has to be managed

Strategies for linking teaching and research are needed at three levels:

Institutional level policies and strategies for teaching, research, staffing and programme development /audit;

Faculty/departmental level policies for staffing, workload planning, and managing teaching and research;

Curriculum level for design, delivery and assessment and programme monitoring.

Nature of the link is shaped by the discipline.

Many of the findings of Project LINK are generic

Vocational and professional areas like the built environment are more likely to be research-based rather than research-led.

What does this mean for What does this mean for departments?departments?

“The link between research and teaching happens or not within departments and faculties.”

Zetter (2003) Making the Departmental Link Between Research and Teaching, Exchange

Institutional setting - formative

Departmental level - enactment

Curriculum level - implementation

Consider - how does Consider - how does your T&R fit your L your T&R fit your L &T?&T?

• how does the l&t strategy articulate research and teaching/learning links?

• how are the teaching and research cultures, organised, motivated and resourced? are they managed for mutual engagement?

• how do research teams and course teaching teams link with each other? how are these links facilitated?• are research ‘clusters’ also ‘teaching teams’?

• is there an ‘inclusive’ culture? how are teaching staff ‘managed’ in developing research capacity and vice versa?

• do staffing policies, line management, appraisal and workload planning facilitate research/teaching links?

Management and Management and

Organisational Structure Organisational Structure

e.g.e.g.

• what are the mechanisms for disseminating and communicating research outputs and teaching practice? are they shared?

• how is the research culture and activity given visibility to students? how do they come into contact with departmental research?

• what are the strategies to disseminate research-based teaching experience from the module level?

• what profile is given to pedagogic research? how is it applied?

• how is impact of external agencies taken into account? - e.g. professional institutes, institutional T&L strategies

Inclusive Culture e.g.Inclusive Culture e.g.

How can you embed the How can you embed the teaching/research link in your teaching/research link in your department?department?

• Focus groups and departmental meetings - to understand the nature of the LINK in your discipline

• Department audit/SWOT analysis

• Detailed audit of courses and research

• Review staff development policies

• Develop programme monitoring and review

• Teaching and Learning and Research Strategies

• Harmonizing teaching teams and research clusters

Departmental Change Departmental Change Strategies and Strategies and PoliciesPolicies

SOME ‘GOOD SOME ‘GOOD PRACTICE’ EXAMPLES PRACTICE’ EXAMPLES from Project LINKfrom Project LINK

Students use data from research projects and re-conduct analysis.

Use research papers and/or research projects to understand/critique methodology and findings.

Engage students as research assistants in finite parts of projects.

Develop role-play from research - different actors and stakeholders.

Projects with employers as clients incorporate research activity.

Research students, research assistants debrief on research work.

Students simulate tendering based on live research/ consultancy projects.

Make research papers available on intranet.

Resources for youResources for you

Project LINK website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/LINK.

Linking Teaching and Research in the Disciplines website on the LTSN Generic Centre website.

Exchange Edition 3 (in delegates pack).

Jenkins and Zetter (2003) Linking Teaching and Research in Departments. LTSN Generic Centre (due end of Feb 2003).

Jenkins et al (2003) Reshaping Teaching in Higher Education: Linking Teaching and Research. Kogan Page.