In this interview, we sit down with Dr Saranne Weller, Programme Director of our postgraduate certificate in Healthcare and Biomedical Education.
Academic interests and expertise
Can you tell us about your academic and research background?
I have worked in education development for nearly 25 years in a range of different UK universities, joining City St George’s, University of London in 2018 as Reader in Higher Education Practice and Development. In my role I support higher education educators to develop their teaching practice and approaches to curriculum design and assessment as well as contribute to institutional enhancement of education for all students.
How do you see your field evolving over the next decade?
New technologies have expanded what and how we can teach. The debates right now are about the impact of generative AI on teaching but what I think and hope will be most transformative about new technologies is how they will enable us to radically rethink the standard three-year undergraduate or one-year postgraduate full-time degree curriculum as the norm. I think the next decade will see greater integration of higher education into the workplace with students driving the need for flexible, stackable, just-in-time and on demand education that they can access throughout their lives. How we design the curricula and effectively teach these students who are engaging with the university and driving their own learning in new ways will be critical to the sustainability of higher education.
What do you enjoy most about teaching and mentoring students?
Earlier in my career I read a book by Stephen Brookfield and Stephen Preskill called Discussion as a Way of Teaching that was a practical guide to how to use discussion in our classrooms to enhance democratic participation in learning. It is a really inspiring book about higher education teaching. What I enjoy most about teaching is actively creating those safe spaces for my students, at any stage of their studies, to join in by speaking up, disagreeing, agreeing, listening and doing all of this with civility, equality, respect and a shared commitment to learning.
Why this course?
What makes this postgraduate programme unique within its field?
The programme is designed specifically for educators working in health professions education in academic and practice-based settings. It is a blended programme taught in intensive teaching blocks to enable students to complete while also working as educators and often practitioners. The programme is accredited by Advance HE in relation to the Professional Standards Framework and leading to Fellowship (Descriptor 2). Graduates of the programme will achieve a highly-regarded recognition of their experience and expertise as higher education teachers.
What support is offered to help students transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study?
The programme is scaffolded to provide opportunities for students to practice and test out their ideas in a safe environment through formative and low stake assessments throughout the programme. We emphasise dialogic spaces for discussion and support for developing understanding and skills at postgraduate level. The use of peer and self-generated feedback helps to develop students’ independent evaluative capacity as critically reflective professionals. Every student will also work closely with an academic tutor who will support them individually.
Career paths
How does the programme help students develop skills for their future careers, whether in academia or industry?
The programme is specifically designed for individuals who are already teaching higher education students in academic or practice-based settings.
For those who are planning to continue in an education-focused career in university or healthcare settings, the programme develops an understanding of teaching and learning theory and practice as well as the skills to engage with the wider research and practice community to maintain their currency as scholarly educators throughout their career.
For those who do not pursue this career route, the programme develops advanced skills including the capacity to critically evaluate evidence in complex and unpredictable contexts, problem-solve in professional settings and communicate information to a diverse audience of patients, junior colleagues, peers and specialists.
Tips for offer holders
If you could highlight one thing that students should look forward to in this programme, what would it be?
Being observed during teaching practice, whether in person or online, is often identified by students as one of the most valuable learning experiences on the programme. During microteaching, students prepare a short teaching session which can be recorded for review as well as give and receive peer feedback on observed practice. Students also complete a teaching observation in their everyday practice with feedback and reflective dialogue facilitated by an experienced educator.
What advice would you give offer holders as they prepare to join this course?
The programme is practice-based so applicants should already have an ongoing teaching and assessment role in their professional practice. This needs to be sufficient to enable students to reflect on their experience, implement enhancements as an outcome of their learning and evaluate the outcomes of improvements.