Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Entry requirements

If you wish to apply to join the programme you must:

• teach and/or support learning of students who are studying at the University of Cambridge;
• have confirmed teaching commitments at Cambridge during the course of the Postgraduate Certificate;
• normally have at least one to three years’ experience of teaching in higher education;
• be able to attend all day-schools, tutorials and peer learning activities, as well as engage fully in online learning through the course VLE;
• be able to arrange your commitments so that you are able to undertake a significant amount of independent study during the course.

Months of entry

August

Course content

The course is aimed at staff who teach and/or support learning of students who are studying at the University of Cambridge. Participants normally have at least one to three years’ experience of teaching in higher education. The course assumes a significant amount of independent study, as well as active involvement in teaching and/or supporting learning during the course. The course is not normally open to PhD students.

The course is designed so that participants are able to investigate aspects of teaching and learning that are particularly important to them. Some of the outcomes that are likely to arise from taking the course are:

• greater understanding of student engagement in higher education;
• increased confidence;
• an ability to think creatively and from an evidence base, about how to improve education within and beyond your own practice.

Aims of the programme

The course is designed to enable its participants to develop enquiry-based approaches to engaging with educational challenges and contributing to improvements in the education of students at Cambridge and at tertiary level more broadly. You will:

• develop your understanding of how students learn;
• extend your repertoire of teaching, learning and assessment methods; and
• develop a cogent personal philosophy of education drawing on understanding, use and critical awareness of educational research methods and reflective practice.

In doing so, you will develop practical understanding of how research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge about teaching and learning in higher education. The programme is also designed to facilitate cross-disciplinary discussion of teaching, learning and assessment.