Teacher accreditation

We offer various forms of certification for teacher development activities:

• Letters confirming attendance at workshops
• The LSE Teaching Record
• The LSE Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE)

Workshop attendance

Letters of attendance can be issued on request, subject to verification through our in-house attendance register.

The LSE Teaching Record

We will produce an LSE Teaching Record, following completion of the requirements set out below. This should provide useful evidence for those wishing to pursue a career in higher education (HE) in the UK. It may enable you to gain exemptions from some elements of future training in teaching, which increasing numbers of HE institutions now make compulsory. In order to achieve the teaching record you must:

• attend the induction workshops/ departmental briefings, covering student learning, class teaching, presentation skills and assessment - contact TLC, tlc@lse.ac.uk for dates;
  
  
• attend a briefing on developing the LSE Teaching Record;
  
  
• produce a record of at least one observed teaching session (ie where your teaching is observed by a colleague);
  
  
• write a short report of the results you receive from student feedback (this should ideally be based on LSE Teaching Quality Assurance and Review Office (TQARO) surveys, but can also include informal or teacher-collected data);
  
  
• make an assessment of personal strengths and weaknesses in teaching preparation and delivery;
  
  
• prepare a teaching development plan, based on the evidence above; and
  
  
• have a tutorial meeting with the Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC), to review evidence and plan.

The LSE Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education

Nationally, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the new Higher Education Academy (HEA) are pressing ahead with the White Paper recommendation that by 2006 all new teaching staff will obtain a teaching qualification linked to national professional teaching standards.

The LSE Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE) is a new programme tailored to the needs and interests of all those directly involved in teaching at the LSE. It is open to postgraduate students with teaching responsibilities, as well as new and experienced staff who are interested in developing their teaching and who wish to become eligible for "registered practitioner status" with the Higher Education Academy (the HEA is a professional association for university teachers in the UK). The programme offers considerable choice and flexibility of approach within a framework that makes clear what learning has to be achieved and demonstrated in order to qualify for the Certificate. This formal teaching qualification should be recognised by other UK higher education institutions, several of which now require new full-time academic staff who have not already undertaken such programmes to complete them during their probationary period (ie usually the first three years of a full time post).

The programme operates at two 'levels': the 'associate' certificate and 'full' certificate. This is in line with HEA membership levels. At the associate level, you can join the HEA and benefit from information and training opportunities. At the full level, that is on completion of the programme, you will qualify for the PGCertHE.

The programme is modular and there are five modules. These are:

1. Developing teaching practice
2. Student learning and student support
3. Assessing student learning
4. Course design and development
5. Course evaluation and quality framework

The associate level of the certificate (which is set at a minimum of 20 'M' level credits) involves working through three modules. Module 5 (Course evaluation and Quality Frameworks) is a mandatory module with participants then choosing two further modules from 1-4 (as above). The full level certificate (which is set at 60 'M' level credits) involves working through all five modules.

The assessment for the associate and full certificates takes the form of an evidenced portfolio. There are two submission dates each year in June and November.

It is anticipated that most participants will work towards submitting a portfolio at associate level initially. This provides a useful milestone in the process of completing the whole programme. This means you will begin work on three of the modules (module 5 plus two others). Once you have undertaken most of the work towards that level, you will then decide whether to upgrade for the full certificate. Alternatively, you may wish to stop at the associate level and possibly continue later, either at LSE or to take your portfolio forward for consideration by another institution's programme.

As noted above, the programme is "practice-based". You must EITHER be actively involved in some teaching and learning activities in the HE sector (though not necessarily exclusively at the LSE), or have clear evidence to indicate that you have recently undertaken teaching (within the last 3 years) to the minimum requirement. The minimum requirement is to provide class/tutorial support for one full LSE unit, or equivalent number of formal student contact hours . The minimum requirement for the "full" certificate is involvement in at least two full unit courses at the LSE (or equivalent).

Time commitment to the programme is estimated at around an additional half day per week over an LSE teaching year (or less time per week, when spread over a full calendar year, or longer) on top of your actual teaching, teaching preparation and marking load. This includes time for reading, reflection on your teaching, workshops, tutorials, meetings etc and preparation of the portfolio.

Programme duration

Associate level: the normal expectation is that this will be a 9 month programme, starting in October, with portfolio submission the following June.
Upgrade to the full certificate: we normally expect participants to complete the programme the following academic year from their associate level submission. In total then we expect you to spend 2 years to complete the full PG Cert. HE portfolio. This will enable you to encompass and reflect upon two full academic years of teaching experience. The minimum allowed is an additional 5mths following completion of the associate level portfolio (ie: 14 months in total, with submission in the November following initial associate level registration).

Extension of enrolment beyond 2 years needs to be formally approved by the Programme Co-ordinator.

For further details, please contact Liz Barnett l.barnett@lse.ac.uk, ext 6623 or Neil Mclean n.d.mclean@lse.ac.uk, ext 7180 for further information.

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