Your toolkit
The Continuum Model of Scholarship: A Toolkit for Professional Development, Dr Dave Collins
Introduction
Welcome to the Continuum Model of Scholarship Toolkit. This developmental toolkit is based on the Advance HE/HEA publication ‘The Continuum Model of Scholarship’ (Collins, 2016) and its central purpose is to encourage you to self-reflectively explore the essential links between your scholarly activity and your engagement with teaching and learning in Higher Education.
Because it is set in the context of the UK Professional Standards Framework, this toolkit can be used to act as a springboard in applying for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
Building your portfolio
You can export your writing into an Excel spreadsheet or take a screenshot of it which you could then use, for example, for your own record of academic development, your appraisal documentation, or for a formal application for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
The toolkit follows the outline of the UKPSF Dimensions of the Framework with its three key sets:
- Areas of Activity (A) with five aspects
- Core Knowledge (K) with six aspects
- Professional Values (V) with four aspects
You will see that each aspect of the Dimensions has been broadly aligned to either ‘teaching and learning’ or ‘scholarship’. However, there will inevitably be overlap.
Note: Completion of this toolkit does not constitute Fellowship - the distinction between scholarly activity and teaching and learning is for the purposes of this toolkit only, and does not necessarily reflect the requirements for any formal application for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (Associate, Fellow, Senior Fellow, or Principal Fellow).
Using the Toolkit
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Start with a reflective narrative in each of the aspects of the Dimensions: Areas of Activity, Core Knowledge, Professional Values. Exemplars have been given which span the four levels of reach and influence. Your text will be automatically saved until you next return to it. You might want to export your notes to print out or share with a colleague or a mentor. There is no requirement to work through in any particular order. Try to avoid straightforward description – make your writing reflective.
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Once you feel that you have completed each section, consider where your account of your professional practice sits: if it relates to the teaching and learning drop down menu, then decide as to the locus or place where this aspect of your practice is broadly situated and has reach and influence (at programme level, departmental level, national/ international level). If the drop down menu refers to your scholarly activity, aim to reflect upon where this part of your practice has reach, influence and impact.
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Once you have done this, your choice will be automatically transferred to the graph which shows the two axes of scholarly activity, and teaching and learning.
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You'll be able to see - as you work through the toolkit - how you have positioned your practice with reference to the four categories of fellowship. There may be a clustering in one particular category. This will act as a guide only for when you make a formal application.
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Above all, this process should enable you to become more aware of the relationship between your scholarly activity and your teaching and learning.
Please note that you will not be able to save your data to this tool or be able to return to it at another time. We advise that you remember to take a screenshot or export your graph once you've populated it so that you have a record of it. You can then return to this page at any time and re-populate it as many times as needed.
Useful links to help you
The Dimensions of the Framework indicate typical activities which relate to the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning, for practitioners working in a range of settings. Those working in colleges would find the CBHE Dimensions the most useful.
Specific guidance on how to formally claim HEA Fellowship can be found here.
Associate Fellow
Fellow
Senior Fellow
Principal Fellow
Continuum of Scholarly Activity: Impact
National/ International
Institutional
Department
Programme
Programme
Department
Institutional
National/ International
Continuum of Teaching and Learning: Locus of Practice