The Teaching Excellence Alliance (TEA) has been set up by members of the University Alliance, of which Teesside is a member, in order to enhance and promote excellence in professional and technical education (the distinctive model of Alliance universities) and to achieve sustained student success.
Our areas of distinctiveness focus on progressive and innovative teaching strategies which integrate live, employer-relevant challenges for learning and assessment with input from employers, community groups and service users, using real world environments and simulations to provide work-based learning opportunities.
We also share a commitment to try alternative modes of provision (e.g. degree apprenticeships) and to create learning spaces that support student-focused and employer led education.
The focus of the TEA is:
- To develop students equipped with the skills and aptitudes to succeed in a world shaped by next generation technology by supporting staff to improve their teaching practice and develop innovative courses.
- To demonstrate that Alliance universities are world leaders in professional and technical education for sustained student success by evidencing our success.
- Ultimately, through evidencing our success and demonstrating our approach delivers better outcomes for some students, to retain a competitive edge in the sector as evidenced in increased policy influence, secure funding, prestige and student numbers.
The TEA is made up of three interconnected strands of activity to enhance and develop UA teaching & learning:
- Shared and new CPD for teaching staff and those that enable teaching, to provide support for staff members to remain in good standing.
- A critical friend function – known as the Peer Review College (PRC) – that will provide support and challenge to members e.g. on professional practice and course design, and provide development opportunities for PRC members.
- Special interest groups that will support institution-wide enhancements such as assessment and feedback practices and graduate attributes/employability.
Further information on TEA can be found here.
To find out more about how staff and students can engage with TEA, please contact Dr Jonathan Eaton, Acting Academic Registrar.