Blog Article
Enhancing Learning and Teaching Quality through Collaborative Observation (ELTQCO) was an 18-month project, funded by the QAA’s collaborative enhancement project scheme from January 2023 to July 2024. It included a collaborative partnership between three universities - Birmingham City University (BCU), Loughborough University (LU) and the University of Wolverhampton (UoW) with Professor Matt O’Leary from BCU as the project lead.
This project builds on our previous HEFCE funded project, Improving learning and teaching through collaborative observation.
ELTQCO used the CoCO model as a conceptual and operational tool to engage participants in collaborative discussion and reflection on the quality of learning and teaching through a range of discipline-specific case studies. The three participating universities focused on specific themes relevant to their local contexts (e.g. student engagement at BCU; student inclusivity and belonging at UoW; and dialogical assessment and feedback practices at LU).
ELTQCO was underpinned by the premise that improving the student learning experience starts by improving the teacher learning experience. Shaped and informed by innovative observation research and practice, the project team implemented and evaluated two cycles of this innovative approach to observation, involving groups of students and teaching staff from varied disciplines, co-observing and co-reflecting on the quality of their learning and teaching experiences and perceptions.
Key Project Aims
- Increase student engagement in shaping their learning experiences by empowering them to become directly involved in informing and improving the quality of learning and teaching on their course/module
- Implement 2 cycles of collaborative observation (CoCO) with students and staff across three universities and to evaluate its impact at course/module level
- Provide students and staff with conceptual, practical tools to promote authentic collaboration and inquiry into the quality of their learning and teaching
- Work collaboratively with staff and students at three universities to share a reconceptualised approach to the use of observation as a tool for enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, with a view to sharing the findings/recommendations across these institutions and the QAA membership
Project Impacts
Our project findings reinforce the belief that students and academic staff learn about teaching and learning by interacting with their peers and with each other, by sharing their insights and experiences in collaborative, cooperative forums. It therefore makes sense that any attempt to enhance understanding of and improve these practices is best served by allowing its key participants to be part of a collective community in which they are encouraged to engage in reflexive dialogue and collective sense making.
Our case studies reveal that creating the conditions in which students and staff have the opportunity to examine their understanding and experiences of teaching and learning and open them up to dialogic exchange is fundamental to developing greater awareness of the strengths and areas for development in their practices. Participation in the Cycle of Collaborative Observation (CoCO) helped to create these shared spaces in which teaching staff were able to come together with their peers, and equally with their students, to engage in reflexive pedagogical dialogue on their classroom teaching and learning, with the ultimate aim of improving the learning experiences for all.
The project has been extremely successful in producing a range of high-quality outputs, many of which are open educational resources that are free to access via the project webpage. In summary, the project has achieved the following outcomes in each of the participating universities:
- Developed a reconceptualised approach to the use of observation as a tool to enhance the quality of teaching and learning
- Implemented two cycles of collaborative observation with students and staff across three universities and evaluated its impact at the course/module level
- Provided students and staff with conceptual and practical tools to promote authentic collaboration and inquiry into the quality of their learning and teaching
- Produced a practical step-by-step guide and accompanying resources for institutions to use to support the training, reparation and implementation of CoCO as a quality enhancement tool for students and staff
- Produced a series of blog posts by the project team and project participants capturing their experiences and perspectives on student-staff collaborative partnerships through CoCO
- Produced a podcast in which members of the project team and project participants discuss the opportunities that CoCO offers for enhancing student learning experiences
- Created a series of digital video case studies providing insights into the learning and teaching experiences and practices of students and staff
- Increased student engagement in shaping their learning experiences by empowering them to become directly involved in informing and improving the quality of learning and teaching on their course/module
- Delivered an end of project launch webinar at a QAA event ‘Implementing and Evaluating a Cycle of Collaborative Observation to Improve Learning and Teaching Quality’
Contact
For further information on the project please contact matthew.oleary@bcu.ac.uk