Contents

Self-evaluation and reflection

Self-evaluation and reflection

Note

This is a reflection on my current knowledge and skills in teaching, as well as my plans for future development.

Teaching skills

Previous teaching experience and qualifications, classroom and online teaching, facilitating, mentoring and coaching skills, planning, assessment, etc.

💪🏽 Strengths

My previous teaching experience includes 3 years designing, delivering, and assessing undergraduate courses in Brazil, as well as several online and in-person workshops on a range of topics. This has provided me with hands-on experience in many dimensions of the UKPSF (A1-4, K1-5, V1-2). To acquire formal pedagogy training, I completed the Software Carpentry Instructor Training Program, which focuses on research-informed pedagogy including various aspects of lesson design, how students learn, learning evaluation and feedback, among others. I also have experience in mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, which is supplemented by self-reflection and sharing of experiences with colleagues.

🛠️ Areas for development

Formal training in mentoring would be very beneficial since I am mostly self-taught by following my instincts and emulating good practices from others. Another area where further CPD would be beneficial is in assessing learning during the course through formative activities and adapting to results in real time. I find this difficult to implement in practice, in particular because of the lack of time (both to think deeply and research the subject and also to fit in an already full module timetable).

Knowledge of learning and teaching

Other teaching/training qualifications, courses/workshops attended, reading around learning, teaching and assessment, application of theory to practice, etc.

💪🏽 Strengths

Besides personal experience, I also have a teaching qualification from the Software Carpentry (SWC) organisation. The approach taught by the SWC when designing a module is: start from the learning objects (LO), then work backwards by (1) creating summative assessments that test knowledge of the key LOs, (2) creating formative assessments to gage progress, (3) create the actual content that gets students from one formative assessment to the next. I have used aspects of this when teaching and its definitely help me to avoid content bloat and focus on the important concepts that are needed to achieve the LOs. My reading is mostly concentrated on blogs and other internet content created by other practicing lecturers in my own field and adjacent subjects. I also regularly attend sections on teaching and learning at academic conferences and participate in professional discussion groups around teaching practice.

🛠️ Areas for development

More extensive reading of current pedagogical literature and foundational text books to supplement the anecdotal accounts I already consume on a regular basis. I struggle with the application of some of the practices I am already familiar with, in large part due to the short time available. More knowledge of practical applications of pedagogical techniques to my particular field would certainly help with that since it would require less time to implement. I also lack experience with the quality assurance and moderation practices implemented in the UK.

Characteristics of a lecturer

Qualities, knowledge and skills brought to teaching, subject knowledge, inspiring students, active learning, willingness to try out new approaches, etc.

💪🏽 Strengths

I am fairly comfortable in the classroom and have little difficulty in engaging and connecting with students. I rely heavily on computational tools to aid my teaching (digital notebooks, programming, interactive exercises). These are particularly useful as guided activities for active learning, where students can interact and experiment with real data, theory, and abstract concepts. I always try to build on the programming skills that the students are already acquiring in other modules, which are in very high demand in all industries. I have a fairly broad understanding of difference subjects in my own and adjacent fields and can bridge gaps between modules. I endeavour to make my teaching accessible to students from different backgrounds by providing as much of the prerequisite knowledge as possible at the start and providing resources for filling in any remaining gaps. I continuously iterate and improve my teaching material and technique given the outcomes and formal/informal feedback received from students and my peers.

🛠️ Areas for development

My experience with creating accessible teaching material and lectures to cater to students special needs and different learning styles could also be improved. Inspiring students to engage with material in an online setting is particularly challenging and needs improvement.

Subject knowledge and other relevant skills/attributes

Range and depth of subject knowledge, both own subject and learning and teaching, interpersonal skills, communication skills, etc.

💪🏽 Strengths

As previously stated, I have a fairly broad knowledge of my field of study and deep knowledge both of my particular research field and computational skills. The computational side allows my to provide students with highly valued transferable skills in programming and data analysis. I have some understanding of the scholarship around teaching and learning and good communication skills. I have always had an interest in the public dissemination of scientific knowledge through the use of technology (websites, animations) and video platforms, which proved to be very useful during this past year of online teaching.

🛠️ Areas for development

Since most modules I teach are outside my direct expertise, I need to improve and update my knowledge of these subjects to be able to bring in more modern concepts, techniques, data, and use cases. I could also benefit from more formal training in pedagogy theory and the practical implementation of these concepts in my own field.

Professional skills framework

Based on the “Areas of Activity” defined on page 3 of the UKPSF.

💪🏽 Strengths

I have experience and am fairly confident in my ability to design and plan learning activities, deliver teaching and support for learning, and develop effective learning environments. I have engaged with professional development activities for pedagogy in the past and have experience with assessment and providing feedback to learners.

🛠️ Areas for development

My biggest areas for development are in designing effective assessments (both summative and formative) and the quantitative evaluation of my teaching practices so that I can use this data to improve in the future in a more targeted way.

Reflection

My self-evaluation showed appropriate level to meet the D2 for all dimensions except for A5, K5, V1, V2, and V4. Through my past experience, I have also identified room for improvement in teaching assessment (A3 and K5), quality assurance / moderation (K6), accessibility (V1), and the wider context of higher education in the UK (V4), which were the key things I hoped to acquire from PGCAP. I see now the need to increase my participation in CPD activities offered by the University and other professional bodies as a way to improve on these dimensions and meet descriptors I, II, and VI. I will search for new ways to promote wider participation, including engaging with outreach activities developed by my department, as a way to meet descriptor III. Another action point is to search and read more of the pedagogical literature for my particular field to support my current teaching practices or provide insights for improvements that can be implemented within the tight time constraints (meeting description V).

Literature

Key pedagogic literature read or intend to read to support my teaching practices.

Have read:

Will read:

  • “Building a better teacher” [Green, 2014]

  • “Experiences With Efficient Methodologies for Teaching Computer Programming to Geoscientists” [Jacobs et al., 2016]

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