Evidencing Learning and Teaching Skills

There are both immediate and longer terms benefits for participants who successfully obtain AFHEA through ELTS. 

Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy: 

• Is an internationally recognised indicator of professional teaching standards within Higher Education

• Demonstrates your commitment to enhancing your teaching career opportunities

• Is based on extensive research across the HE sector as to what constitutes professional teaching and supporting learning, giving you confidence in your teaching

• Supports you in developing a reflective and critical approach to your teaching practice that will support life-long learning and development in your career

The ELTS pathway will support your development to achieving AFHEA by introducing you to some key pedagogy and practice in Higher Education.

ELTS is comprised of six one-hour interactive workshops (in-person or online) supported with some online materials available on Canvas. These workshops and materials are designed to facilitate your critical observations and reflections on your previous and ongoing teaching practice. From these observations and reflections, you will draw out examples that demonstrate how you apply the descriptors and dimensions of the PSF. Here’s an outline of the workshop topics: 

1.  Introducing the PSF and reflective practice 
2. How learners learn: applying learning theories 
3. Appropriate methods for small group teaching in context 
4. Assessment and feedback for learning 
5. Professional values for effective and inclusive practice 
6. Developing your claim for Associate Fellow 

Once you’ve started preparing your application you can sign up to an additional 2 hour workshop to support you with reviewing your AFHEA application. In the workshop the Academic Practice Team will guide you through the process of reviewing an application, and you’ll have the opportunity to receive some feedback from an ELTS peer to help you develop your final application.  

You should complete ELTS by submitting your final Associate Fellowship application within 12 months of starting the initial 6 ELTS workshops. The process of preparing your application is designed to be flexible so that you can manage it around your other time commitments.  

You can submit to any of the 3 submission dates each academic year, which are scheduled in early October, early January, and mid-April each year (the exact dates for the current year will be shared with you when you begin ELTS). Some participants choose to submit to the next available date after starting ELTS, meaning they complete within 6 months, while other participants use the full 12 month period. 

The total time commitment for complete ELTS and submit your application: 

• Workshop: 6 hours. The ELTS workshops run twice a year, starting in October and February, and take place at the same time each week for 6 consecutive weeks. 

• Reviewing your AFHEA application workshop: 2 hours. This workshop is usually scheduled 6-8 weeks before each submission deadline, sign up to attend the one that precedes the deadline you are working towards. 

• Recommended total time for prepare AFHEA application: 2 working days. You can choose to work on your application over a time period that suits your schedule. 

To be eligible for ELTS you must: 

• Have completed the Introduction to Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (ILTHE) training; 
• Be able to attend ALL six workshops; 
• Have a minimum of 15-hours of HE teaching experience (which can include seminar leading, demonstrating, marking and tutoring/supporting students). The experience needs to be in past 3 years and can include experience at other institutions with Higher Education provision, including outside of the UK 
• Have the support of your PhD supervisor(s). We recommend sharing the link to this page with your supervisor so that they can check the detail of what ELTS involves, the benefits, and the time commitment needed. 
• If you are a full-time PhD student you will be eligible for ELTS in year 2 or year 3, or equivalent if you are a part-time student. If you are at other years/stages of your PhD of if you are a MPhil student, you will need to get supervisor approval.

ELTS has an annual capacity of 80 to ensure full and consistent support for all participants, these are divided into two cohorts in each semester (i.e. 4 cohorts of 20). If you are eligible, please complete the following ELTS Application Form

When you complete the ELTS application form you will select whether you have an accessibility requirement to attend the ELTS workshops in person or online. If you do not have an accessibility requirement you can select if you have a preference for in person or online.  

Once your application has been reviewed you will be notified with details of which semester’s cohort you are assigned to, and when your workshops are scheduled. If the next available cohort is at capacity, you will be assigned to the next available future cohort, although we will try to prioritise students who are closer to their final year. We will prioritise accessibility requirements when assigning you to either the in person or online group. If you do not have any accessibility requirements we will try to accommodate your first preference, but this may not always be possible. 

Briefing sessions

Briefing sessions about ELTS and other professional development opportunities for postgraduates who teach/ demonstrateare offered in each faculty as part of the Post Graduate Development Training Programmes. Please contact your faculty co-ordinator for further information.  

ELTS is supported by a small and experienced team in the Learning and Teaching Development Service. To support you application, the team can arrange a mock dialogue or review your written application before you submit. To contact us email apt.lts@newcastle.ac.uk.