How
How do I decide which is the right HEA Individual Recognition Award for me at this time?
An e-portfolio can be a very effective tool to support your thinking about which examples from your L&T practice you will use as the basis of the HEA Fellowship application and how these address the Dimensions of Practice. It also provides a place to collect examples of evidence and your reflection on these that can be shared with others e.g. mentor, peers, assessor. Clicking on the icon to your left will show you an example developed by York St. John University. The example provided was developed for a Professional Dialogue assessment process which may not be the method used in your institution but this type of activity could still form a very useful part of the preparation of your case. In addition, although it was developed in Mahara, the principles are transferable to other electronic platforms such as Blackboard.
Click the icon to your left to listen to Mandy Asghar, Head of Learning and Teaching Development at York St. John describe more about their procedures and the use of e-portfolios.
Some key questions and short activities to get you started:
1. Does your role/experience involve all of the 5 Areas of Activity in the UKPSF?
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Jot down in your journal which of these you can evidence :
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If you can evidence a maximum of two from A1 to A5 above – Descriptor 1 (AFHEA) may be appropriate for you at this stage. This is most likely if you are in a learning support or part time teaching role or have limited experience teaching in HE.
If you can evidence A1-A5 above – you should be able to meet Descriptor 2 (FHEA) and possibly Descriptor 3 (SFHEA) or 4 (PFHEA).
Review the summary below from the UKPSF to double check the 'fit' for your role and current achievements.
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HEA Award |
Associate Fellow |
Fellow |
Senior Fellow |
Principal Fellow |
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UKPSF Descriptor |
D1 |
D2 |
D3 |
D4 |
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Demonstrates an understanding of specific aspects of effective teaching, learning support methods and student learning .
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Demonstrates a broad understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning support as key contributions to high quality student learning. |
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of effective approaches to teaching and learning support as a key contribution to high quality student learning. |
Demonstrates a sustained record of effective strategic leadership in academic practice and academic development as a key contribution to high quality student learning. |
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Typical role Descriptors |
a. Early career researchers with some teaching responsibilities (e.g. PhD students, GTAs, contract researchers/post doctoral students etc.) b. Staff new to teaching (including those with part-time academic responsibilities) c. Staff who support academic provision (e.g. learning technologists, learning developers and learning resource/library staff) d. Staff who undertake demonstrator/technician roles that incorporate some teaching-related responsibilities e. Experienced staff in relevant professional areas who may be new to teaching and/or supporting learning, or who have a limited teaching portfolio. |
a. Early career academics b. Academic-related and/or support staff holding substantive teaching and learning responsibilities c. Experienced academics relatively new to UK higher education d. Staff with (sometimes significant) teaching-only responsibilities including, for example, within work-based settings. |
a. Experienced staff able to demonstrate, impact and influence through, for example, responsibility for leading, managing or organising programmes, subjects and/or disciplinary areas b. Experienced subject mentors and staff who support those new to teaching c. Experienced staff with departmental and/or wider teaching and learning support advisory responsibilities within an institution. |
a. Highly experienced and/or senior staff with wide-ranging academic or academic-related strategic leadership responsibilities in connection with key aspects of teaching and supporting learning b. Staff responsible for institutional strategic leadership and policymaking in the area of teaching and learning c. Staff who have strategic impact and influence in relation to teaching and learning that extends beyond their own institution.
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Once you've got some idea of which Descriptor might be appropriate for you, click on the icon to your left to get more detailed information on each of the Descriptors. This will open up an interactive version of the Descriptors for you to explore. |
2. What teaching and learning support activities have I undertaken/experience do I have?
This is a crucial first stage when thinking through how to evidence any of the Descriptors but can also help determine which of the Descriptors is the right one for you at this stage of your career.
It is very easy to forget past experience/achievements/impact and with multiple activities, even more recent achievements and impact. Therefore, taking the time to make some kind of list or summary can save you a lot of effort later as completing this can also help to clarify which small number of your many activities and achievements can best be used to demonstrate multiple Areas of Activity as well as the Core Knowledge and Professional Values in an integrated fashion.
Many colleagues have found using a simple proforma helpful in stimulating their thinking in this area. A completed example can be seen below but this is purely one example, the format and content of the proforma could be adapted to suit your needs and achievements.
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Click here to a completed proforma example |
Click here for a blank proforma that you could use |
3. How do I capture the breadth and depth of my experience and expertise? How do I decide which small number of examples to focus on?
You may intuitively be clear about which examples from your practice your application should be based on – if this is the case, map these against the relevant Areas of Activity, Core Knowledge and Professional Values. This will:
- clarify that the examples you have chosen can potentially evidence all the necessary areas;
- identify any gaps that are not likely to be addressed by the examples chosen. This may mean that you need to think differently about how/why a specific example addresses specific elements of the Dimensions and how you could articulate this, or that you choose a different example;
- identify unnecessary overlap between your chosen practice examples.
It is more likely you are not clear which small number of activities or achievements from your teaching and supporting learning experience can best be used together to demonstrate your achievement of the relevant Descriptor. Here, it is often useful to make a list of a range of activities or achievements from your practice (some of these might emerge from the activity above), mapping each against the 3 Dimensions of Practice using a simple proforma . This activity should enable you to more easily identify which examples can address the broadest range of elements which when taken together are most likely to enable you to demonstrate your achievements against the Dimensions of Practice.
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Click here to download a Word version of the Dimensions to Practice Intial Mapping Worksheet
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Click here to download an Excel version of the Dimensions to Practice Intial Mapping Worksheet
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4. Keeping a record
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You may find it useful to update your journal/e-portfolio with your results of the activities you have undertaken so far. This will help in the development of your actual HEA application whatever format is required for the application process that's relevant for you. |
5. What next?
Now you've got an idea what Descriptor is right for you at this time, click on the relevant button below for more details on how to apply.
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