Professor Sam Elkington, Teeside University (ANTF Pedagogic Research Officer), and Haleh Moravej (ANTF Deputy Pedagogic Research Officer)
This year’s Association of National Teaching Fellows annual symposium in Hereford will mark the second year of the ANTF flagship Collaborative Innovation Project (CiP) Scheme.
What is the CiP scheme?
Launched in the 2023/24 academic year, the Collaborative Innovation Project (CiP) Scheme was designed as a catalyst for excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The scheme reflects the ANTF’s commitment to supporting bold, creative, inclusive and collaborative educational innovation.
The Collaborative Innovation Project (CiP) scheme represents a unique opportunity to bring together National Teaching Fellows from higher education institutions nationwide and to support projects that develop and enhance innovative teaching and learning initiatives and interventions. The overarching goal is to promote and develop National Teaching Fellows’ scholarship of learning and learning (SoTL) through as wide a variety of project work and associated outputs as possible, with these outputs also benefitting the ANTF network and broader higher education sector.
What sort of projects are supported through the CiP scheme?
We adopt a broad view of SoTL as the scholarly approach to developing teaching practice, enhancing curricula, and improving student learning through focused inquiry that is grounded in context, methodologically sound, conducted in partnership with students and made public to wider communities of practice (Felton, 2013).
As the name suggests, collaboration and inclusion are at the heart of every CiP project. We actively encourage project teams to partner with both current and aspiring NTFs, ensuring that reach, value, and impact remain central to every initiative.
Spotlight on Funded Projects.
Three projects were funded to run during the 2023/4 academic year:
Piloting a survey to evaluate initiatives that enhance students’ Being, Belonging and Becoming, led by Professor Harriet Dunbar-Morris (University of Buckinghamshire).
Using AI in teaching, learning and assessment: inclusive, ethical, and sustainable innovation, led by Professor Jenny Lawrence (Oxford Brookes University).
Supporting students’ identities as learners to increase inclusion: Evaluating and disseminating a research-informed teaching intervention, led by Dr. Louise Taylor (Oxford Brookes University).
A further two projects are funded to run during the 2024/25 academic year:
Creation of a new model/ identification of contemporary approaches that increase healthcare students who are carers sense of belongingness pre programme, and as they journey towards successful professional registration, led by Professor Jacqueline Leigh (Edge Hill University).
Shining the Spotlight on Scholarship (SOS): Building a Web Resource for All, led by Professor Earle Abrahamson (University of Hertfordshire).
We will be providing interim updates from these projects via our website over the coming weeks and you will be able to hear more about each of this year’s Collaborative Innovation Projects at the May symposium, where project teams will be reporting on their progress and outcomes.
What are the future plans for the CiP scheme?
The Collaborative Innovation Project (CiP) scheme for the 2025/26 academic year will be launching after the conclusion of the May symposium. Watch this space – and in the meantime, start to think about the projects and initiatives you think would deliver particular reach, value, and impact for the sector.
If you want to arrange an informal discussion around prospective CiP ideas, please reach out to our Pedagogic Research Leads Professor Sam Elkington (s.elkington@tees.ac.uk) and Haleh Moravej (haleh.moravej@outlook.com).
Image: Image by Ravindra Panwar from Pixabay
