Abstract

At the University of Leeds, our aim is to provide our PGCAP participants with a balance between theoretical knowledge and practical applications. At this symposium, we would like to focus on sharing how we have designed some of these practical applications through the use of individual micro-teaches and group micro-modules. As well as allowing participants to apply some of what has been covered on the programme, engaging in a micro-teach and a micro-module provides further opportunity for participants to reflect on the approaches they employ within these tasks to their potential value in their wider ongoing practice.

In Module 1 of our PGCAP, the individual micro-teach asks participants to design and deliver a single 25-minute teaching experience consisting of both an asynchronous and a synchronous component on an academic topic of their choosing. Module 2 builds from Module 1 with a move towards the considerations needed to design and develop a coherent series of learning, rather than simply individual episodes of teaching.

Participants work with a group of peers from across the University to employ overarching curriculum design principles to create a 2-hour teaching experience consisting of two asynchronous components and one synchronous component. In addition to this, the groups must design an assessment task for their micro-module which they mark and provide feedback on. In both cases, fellow PGCAP participants in the cohort become the ’students’ who engage with the micro-teaches and micro-modules and provide peer feedback on their experiences.

Before the pandemic, our PGCAP was delivered in a blended mode made up of online learning and in person teaching. However, since Sept 2020 the PGCAP has been delivered fully online which has allowed us to maintain the aims of our course whilst also supporting colleagues with their transition to delivering more teaching online. This fully online environment has meant a significant redesign of our micro-teach into the format described above, as previously the micro-teach consisted of a 10-minute in person session. This redesign then sparked the format described for our group micro-module task. Therefore, as part of this presentation we would also like to share the additional digital skills participants develop when engaging with the micro-teach and micro-module tasks. These skills aim to further support colleagues to grow in confidence across this developing digital education landscape in their wider ongoing practice.

Examples of participant feedback:

"I learned a lot from my own experience and observing that of other colleagues. My mentor was amazed by the level of professionalism involved in the planning and delivery stages of micro-teach. Learning how to take advantage of Microsoft tools will be a great takeaway and I will try to pass it on to my colleagues who have not taken PGCAP."

"The group micro module experience was unique and valuable. Working with colleagues of different disciplines on a subject that none of us was particularly knowledgeable/good at is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I learned things from my peers that I could have never learnt from my colleagues in our own school."

Expected outcomes of this session:

Describe how individual micro-teaches can be employed to allow PGCAP participants to apply approaches to delivering single episodes of teaching
Describe how group micro-modules can be employed to allow PGCAP participants to apply overarching curriculum design principles to develop a coherent sequence of learning
Explain how digital skills development can be embedded into a PGCAP
The aim is that attendees will be able to find out about how the University of Leeds has employed individual micro-teaches and group micro-modules as practical applications within our PGCAP, which since the pandemic has also allowed further digital skills development to be embedded into the programme.

Powerpoint: Victoria Taylor Individual Micro-Teaches and Group Micro-Modules.pptx