Learning Landscape Project, University of Cambridge
Learning Landscape Project
Where does the project fit in?
The University’s
Learning and Teaching Strategy, 2006-2009, has as its first strategic
aim to provide excellent student learning opportunities. As part of the implementation
of that strategy, the University has committed itself “through the Learning Landscape
Project (LLP), [to] investigate the teaching methods which underpin the programmes
offered, both undergraduate and graduate, with a view to exploring how students may
be offered the best opportunities to learn” (§4.1.2 and Action Plan §4.1.2b). It is part
of the University’s ongoing programme of quality enhancement. As can be seen from
the way in which the Aim is expressed, the LLP serves as a first stage in the review of
our existing strategies for supporting student learning.
Aims and Objectives
The Learning Landscape project is creating a descriptive framework that helps in
placing learning and teaching initiatives by providers across the university in the
wider context of methods by which students go about the process of learning. This
framework is being created by mapping how both learning and teaching currently take
place at the University of Cambridge, and by surveying key stakeholders’ views about
the strengths of the current approaches. This will provide a basis for the Education
Committee, as well as Colleges, Faculties and Departments, to decide priorities for
consolidation, new initiatives and support..
The objectives of the project are to:
capitalise on the opportunities offered by current HEA development and
research agendas and funding to undertake the research collegiate Cambridge
finds useful about student learning;
contribute to a shared understanding within the University and the Colleges
about the current range of teaching and learning environments, assessment
processes, and applications of new technologies in the university;
facilitate the identification of the good practice across the university and the
colleges of how student learning is supported by teaching and other activities;
engage widely with staff, students and alumni to identify ways of describing
the teaching and learning provision and experiences of different parts of the
University in such a way that useful comparisons can be made across different
disciplines;
stimulate discussion on current provision, exploring whether it remains fit for
purpose, and contemplating possible changes in provision, with particular
emphasis on appropriate use of small group teaching and e-learning;
create the conditions where engagement in these reflective processes can be
sustained over time;
provide an evidence base for the next phase of the University Learning and
Teaching Strategy and other research and development activities.
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Copyright © University of Cambridge
RR/Project Manager
Learning Landscape Project, University of Cambridge
Approaches
The approaches developed by the project are designed to act as:
replicable models for future activities
models of engagement and development with staff and students
means of generating data and interpretations for inclusion in an evidence base
to support future re-use for a range of purposes
As such the approaches are participatory, iterative and multi-method, integrating
qualitative data (such as interviews, observations and participant accounts) with
quantitative data (including the results of surveys, outcome data and summary data
from other sources).
At the core of the evidence base are case records drawing on these data and
comprising:
disciplinary approaches to teaching and learning
innovations in teaching and learning, including curriculum design, assessment,
learning technologies, and pedagogical approaches
accounts of learner experience (‘user’ accounts rather than ‘provider’
accounts) to complement institutional perspectives
Timescale
The project involves three broad phases of data collection and development:
Phase 1: This phase (April 2007 onwards) involves working with key individuals
across departments, faculties and colleges – many of these individuals also being
members of the project steering group. Interviews with these individuals, and other
data collected including quantitative and qualitative data on student experience,
provide a basis for subsequent phases, as well as identifying appropriate means of
engaging staff and students in Phase 2.
Phase 2: this phase (October 2007 onwards) involves the extension of project
activities into faculties, departments and colleges through the organisation of ‘group
events’ - either based within existing structures or through the establishment of new
groups. While these will vary across contexts, key activities in this phase will be:
further engagement with and extension and revision of case records
comparison across cases and the identification of opportunities for sharing or
transfer of knowledge or practices
identification of ways forward – which might include the prioritisation of
specific practices; the organisation of networking and transfer activities; the
incorporation of project data into departmental teaching reviews; or the
initiation of working groups or other sites for exchange of knowledge or
practices
Phase 3: this phase (January 2008 onwards) involves the initiation of the approaches
and innovations identified in the group phase. In this phase, the role of the project is
to provide support for these activities, to maintain the project evidence base so as to
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Copyright © University of Cambridge
RR/Project Manager
Learning Landscape Project, University of Cambridge
support departmental, faculty and college activities, and to provide a forum, through
its steering group and other events, for higher-level knowledge transfer and synthesis.
Informing Policy and Practice
The project will inform policy and practice by offering a range of issues which can be
included within an agenda for teaching and learning development at Cambridge,
‘phrasing’ key questions from the perspectives of a range of stakeholders. The
discussions generate could help the University to draft visions of teaching and
learning at Cambridge in 5, 10 or 25 years, based on project data, sector-wide
changes, and the changes to teaching and learning environments made possible by
new technologies.
The approaches developed and employed by the project will be elaborated and
‘embedded’ so that it is possible for departments, faculties and colleges to engage in
systematic enquiry and evaluation of practice, further extending the evidence base.
The Steering Committee will be asked to advise on how to develop the project
approaches and findings, so as to be able to contribute to the Learning and Teaching
Strategy. Policy/Strategy workshops will take place during Phase 3 of the project and
possibly afterwards; one purpose of these will be to develop synoptic but evidence-
informed and grounded policy and strategy recommendations.
Beyond the project
A project report will be presented to the Education Committee in July 2008. This will
identify the issues which it wants to take forward and recommend for consideration
by Faculties and Departments and also for further funded research.
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RR/Project Manager
