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EDU Annual Report 2013-14

PG Diploma ULT

The Postgraduate Diploma in University Learning and Teaching
is designed for staff who teach Imperial students and who have
successfully completed the PG Certificate ULT or equivalent
programmes at other institutions. The PG Diploma ULT is taught
part-time and students are expected to complete it within one
academic year.

The face-to-face teaching and learning is organised explored include relationships between teachers’
as two five day blocks and two half-day sessions. and learners’ approaches, threshold concepts and
The first taught week is in mid-September, before learning within communities of practice.
the autumn term begins, and the second taught
week takes place in early January, prior to the spring The Diploma ran for the third time in 2013-14, with
term. Students’ learning from each taught week, and ten students successfully completing the course,
associated independent study, is assessed by written six of whom are continuing their studies on the MEd
assignments. The Diploma culminates in a supervised University Learning and Teaching in 2014-15. The
library project, a more substantial written report Diploma attracts students from a range of disciplines
that is submitted in the summer term. The course is across Imperial and creates a unique opportunity for
more theoretical in character than the PG Certificate, staff to discuss educational issues across subject
encouraging more analytical and critical engagement areas from an increasingly theoretically informed,
with educational literature, while still emphasising critical perspective. The feedback has been very
the application of theory to participants’ educational positive, but we continually look at ways that the
practice. Participants are encouraged to consider course can be improved. Recently, in recognition that
the key perspectives from which their learners’ our students’ academic expertise lies in scientific
experiences can be examined and understood and medical disciplines, we have significantly
(Learning as behaving; Learning as thinking; Learning enhanced the support for reading and writing in the
as interacting; Learning as belonging; Learning less familiar field of Education. The Diploma not only
as feeling) and this contributes to the course’s prepares participants for the MEd ULT, the critical
coherence and level of criticality. Other topics engagement with educational literature and theory

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