Professor Earle Abrahamson, University of Hertfordshire
Educators pursuing national teaching excellence awards demonstrate a commendable dedication to elevating teaching and inspiring others. However, the application process can be daunting. This short blog reflects upon how Teaching Excellence Award Leads (TEALs) can guide educators in crafting narratives that showcase excellence and resonate with award criteria.
A significant challenge for applicants is translating exceptional practices into a clear narrative aligned with diverse award criteria. TEALs play a crucial role in supporting this process. One key area of focus is quantifying impact. Data is essential, but many educators struggle with identifying and analysing relevant learning outcomes in pursuit of impactful evidence against cited examples. Many TEALs partner with educators to find impactful data sources such as surveys, exam results, or career placement rates. This data becomes the cornerstone of the educator’s narrative, adding weight to claims of exceptional impact and grounding them in evidence.
Identifying stakeholders is another important step. Who benefits from the educator’s teaching excellence? It could be a specific student population, colleagues within the department, or the entire institution. By helping educators identify stakeholders and the value they bring, TEALs ensure the narrative resonates with the award standards. A winning application goes beyond simply listing achievements. It should showcase the transferability of the educator’s work. This can be achieved by highlighting workshops led, published articles outlining the educator’s pedagogy, or evidence of wider adoption of the educator’s strategies within the department or institution.
How could TEALS better support and prepare aspiring award winners for the complexities of the writing process? Reflecting on past applications, key takeaways have emerged. These include:
1. Starting early allows ample time for evidence gathering, reflection, and application refinement. Highlighting the “why” behind the teaching philosophy helps demonstrate its impact on student learning.
2. Data-driven decisions strengthen applications, while clear communication about who benefits from the educator’s work showcases the broader impact of their pedagogy.
3. Demonstrating the scalability of the educator’s practices enhances the potential reach of their teaching excellence.
4. Finally, weaving achievements into a compelling narrative connects with the judges and showcases the educator’s passion for teaching.
Supporting aspiring award winners is a rewarding endeavour for TEALs. To further strengthen this support, TEALs can:
1. Continuously develop their expertise. Staying abreast of emerging data sources and analysis methods ensures TEALs can guide educators in utilising the most impactful data for their applications.
2. Foster connections between award winners creates a network of support and best practice sharing. Highlighting past winners and their approaches inspires new applicants and showcases the value of the TEAL support system.
3. Advocate for broader recognition of teaching excellence within institutions encourages more educators to pursue these awards.
In conclusion, crafting an award-winning claim for teaching excellence requires a focus on evidence-based storytelling that demonstrates the impact on stakeholders and the scalability of the educator’s practices. TEALs play a vital role in this process, providing educators with the guidance, tools, and support needed to achieve recognition for their exceptional contributions. The key to success is making visible the primary threads that connect experience with expectation and expose evidence against examples.
Earle and colleagues delivered an engaging showcase and workshop on this topic at #ANTF2024 symposium. Earle is the TEAL for the University of Hertfordshire.
X (formerly Twitter): Follow @earleabrahamso2 for more information about crafting a national teaching excellence narrative
