{"id":3593,"date":"2021-10-01T11:54:43","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T11:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/?p=3593"},"modified":"2022-04-13T15:46:21","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T15:46:21","slug":"qa-with-helen-spittle-director-of-education-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/qa-with-helen-spittle-director-of-education-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Helen Spittle, Director of Education Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does your role with the LT Academy involve?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m the\u00a0Director of Education Support, meaning\u00a0I lead the\u00a0<\/span>Cardiff Learning and Teaching Academy<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(LT Academy)\u00a0to make sure it\u2019s providing the right kind of support for schools to enhance the learning and teaching experience of\u00a0our\u00a0students.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In practical terms, this means running the day-to-day operation of the LT Academy and working with Academic Partners<\/a> and the Pro Vice Chancellor for Education and Student Experience to plan and deliver change projects around the Education and Students Sub-strategy<\/a>. The LT Academy delivers <\/span>Continuing\u00a0Professional\u00a0Development (CPD),<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>enhancement\u00a0support\u00a0<\/span>for staff involved in learning and teaching,\u00a0so<\/span>\u00a0the recent mandate from University Executive\u00a0Board (UEB)\u00a0to put the student experience at the heart of\u00a0the University\u2019s work\u00a0is an exciting opportunity to further develop our\u00a0partnership approach\u00a0with the University community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What did you do before working for the LT Academy?<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

During the lockdown period, I worked with the\u00a0<\/span>LT\u00a0<\/span>Academy to\u00a0<\/span>manage<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Digital Education Programme, which\u00a0<\/span>is where we developed our agile<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>partnership approach to delivering\u00a0<\/span>change.\u00a0<\/span>Prior to that, I spent over a decade working as School Manager in the School of Geography and Planning.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Describe a project you\u2019ve enjoyed working on with the LT Academy<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

In 20\/21, we\u00a0received\u00a0<\/span>HEFCW<\/span><\/a>\u00a0funding\u00a0to address the student experience during the pandemic, which resulted in us launching our new student feedback mechanism,\u00a0<\/span>Cardiff Pulse.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0We were able to work with\u00a0staff\u00a0to provide student engagement support at a school level and bought in an external company-\u00a0<\/span>Explorance<\/span><\/a>– to deliver Cardiff Pulse.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pulse asked students questions about their university experience each month. We would then analyse these results at a school and university level and provide feedback to students on how we were responding to their concerns. The pilot of Cardiff Pulse took place from March \u2013 June 21 and was very successful, receiving the highest response numbers a student survey has ever had at Cardiff University. Subsequently, it will be returning in October 2021 and at key points throughout the academic year 21\/22.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was great that this project showed us that student engagement happens\u00a0most effectively\u00a0at school level,\u00a0with our students identifying\u00a0with the learning community within their school. This provides\u00a0a good model as to where things could go in the future\u00a0to deliver\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>Education and Students sub-strategy<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you looking forward to working on with the LT Academy<\/span>?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

We recently renamed\u00a0to the\u00a0Cardiff Learning and Teaching Academy\u00a0(previously CESI)\u00a0as we want to better reflect the work that goes on\u00a0in\u00a0our\u00a0specialist\u00a0teams, which has changed\u00a0considerably\u00a0over the last year. I\u2019m currently speaking\u00a0with\u00a0our Directors of Learning and Teaching\u00a0and trying\u00a0to gauge their\u00a0schools\u2019\u00a0awareness\u00a0and perception of the LT Academy.\u00a0I want to find out what is working well\u00a0and\u00a0what other things\u00a0we\u00a0could be\u00a0doing to fully\u00a0understand\u00a0exactly what schools need from us.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking bigger than this, UEB\u2019s\u00a0recent mandate\u00a0means\u00a0that the\u00a0student\u00a0experience needs to be at the heart of what we do, and we\u00a0must show\u00a0clearly how any\u00a0university\u00a0projects\u00a0will\u00a0improve that experience.\u00a0As we develop plans\u00a0and business cases around the sub-strategy, we would like to work\u00a0in a similar way to\u00a0the DE Programme of\u00a0summer 2020;\u00a0by bringing\u00a0together\u00a0Academic and Professional Service\u00a0Leads from schools\u00a0to work\u00a0partnership\u00a0with LT Academy staff, and students.\u00a0There\u00a0is a huge opportunity\u00a0for us to\u00a0invest back into learning and teaching and student experience at the University and to join up the efforts in schools with the work of the LT Academy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you tell us an interesting fact about yourself?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

As I mentioned in my last \u2018Meet the team\u2019 profile,\u00a0I live on a smallholding\u00a0and this year,\u00a0we\u2019ve been making cider which will be ready by Christmas!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also just started being a\u00a0School\u00a0Governor\u00a0at\u00a0Chepstow\u00a0School and it\u2019s\u00a0interesting\u00a0to see similar issues and conversations that we\u2019re having in Higher Education from a secondary school\u2019s perspective.\u00a0For example,\u00a0how the\u00a0approach to determining A-Level grades within schools has been managed, and how this has impacted on the pupils.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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