College sector overview report 2023 to 2024: Approaches to assuring and enhancing the quality of learning and teaching including professional updating
Leadership for improvement of learning and teaching
All curriculum managers make effective use of labour market information (LMI). They apply effectively, their knowledge of current and emerging, local, regional and national skills priorities to plan a curriculum portfolio that meets the needs of stakeholders. Curriculum teams plan and design programmes well to meet the needs of employers and provide flexible opportunities for learners and employees to combine studies with work and other commitments. For colleges who have significantly improved rates of learner attainment, they can articulate well how they achieved this and link improvement to the strategies and approaches they have implemented. Some colleges, however, cannot demonstrate a link to improved learner attainment as a result of their strategies and interventions and have programmes with consistently lower attainment.
All senior managers have used their experiences during the pandemic constructively to continue to broaden the number of learning opportunities available to learners. Colleges continue to extend the use of digital resources to enable staff to produce engaging online learning materials. In most colleges, digital skills specialists offer staff helpful workshops and training to create online resources for learners to access through virtual learning environments (VLEs). Some colleges have developed strategies on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help shape future learning and teaching. An increasing number of teaching staff are making use of AI to develop their approaches to learning and teaching. Staff using AI resources feel motivated to develop and enhance their pedagogical practice. In a few colleges, support service staff are beginning to experiment with the use of AI to identify learners at risk of withdrawing from their programme. Early indications are that this is helping staff to implement timely intervention strategies to help retain learners.
College curriculum managers and support staff work well together to develop digital resources that widen and enhance the learning experience. A few colleges in the Highlands and Islands use specialist software to help learners with reading and writing in Gaelic, addressing their linguistic and cultural needs. However, in some rural and remote areas, access to online facilities is limited which constrains the range of learning options for learners residing in these areas.
Most senior managers have implemented policies and strategies to improve the quality of learning and teaching. Almost all curriculum teams use well-structured meetings to identify employer needs, reflect on learner feedback, and monitor and review key performance indicators (KPIs) to inform improvements. They draw on engagement with employers and industry representatives to enhance the curriculum and ensure learners develop appropriate vocational and employability skills. Colleges are actively engaging with the wider economic and industrial ecosystem to ensure that their curriculum offer remains relevant to current and emerging market demands.
In almost all colleges, quality enhancement arrangements support staff to reflect on their learning and teaching approaches and prepare for their annual professional development and review (PDR). Most managers provide teaching staff with options to evaluate and enhance their pedagogical practice. Some colleges can provide clear examples to how this has improved learner attainment. However, too many colleges cannot demonstrate the impact of strategies to improve learning and teaching practice on learner outcomes. Observations of online lessons, team teaching and informal peer review help some staff to reflect on their pedagogical approaches to improve the learner experience. However, in only a few colleges, teaching staff engage in peer observation of learning and teaching practice mapped to the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) professional standards.
Professional qualifications and registration
Approximately two thirds of teaching staff in colleges hold a teaching qualification that is recognised by the GTCS while a significant minority do not hold a recognised teaching qualification. Currently, only a minority (43%) of all teaching staff hold professional registration with the GTCS. Overall, while there is a commitment to ongoing professional development and quality enhancement in teaching practice across colleges, this is often informal, with notable variability in approach and levels of engagement of staff.
Line managers use PDR arrangements well to engage staff in discussions regarding professional learning and career development, including preparation for future roles or promoted posts. Induction arrangements provide new staff with a useful introduction to professional standards and arrangements for engaging in shadow teaching, online delivery, mentoring, and professional dialogue.
The majority of managers use the GTCS standards as a focus for discussions with staff during their PDR. Almost all staff feel supported to develop their professional practice and participate in self-identified and college-wide professional development activities. These include training on leadership, use of digital technology, mental health first aid, neurodiversity awareness and trauma-informed practice. These align well with the Professional Standards for Lecturers in Scotland's Colleges.
Overall, while almost all staff state that they feel supported in their professional development, the impact of these approaches is not evaluated sufficiently well limiting insight into their effectiveness. Overall, approaches to the evaluation of learning and teaching in colleges are too variable. Across the sector, engagement and participation in the evaluation of learning and teaching is not sufficiently comprehensive or consistent to support improvement in teaching practice. This further restricts the ability of teaching staff and managers to identify aspects of good practice in pedagogical approaches. Addressing these inconsistencies would strengthen the sector’s ability to enhance teaching quality. Strengthening evaluation would provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of these approaches and inform future improvements.
