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Celebrating Research at Trinity University College

In 2002, in accordance with the Reaching Higher, Reaching Wider initiative by the HEFCW,

"We want to see a country where every individual is given equal opportunity to fulfil their potential, maximise their earning potential and contribute fully and effectively to society.

We want to see a society where knowledge is valued in its own right, as well as for the benefits of application."

Jane Davidson AM Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning Reaching Higher
(March 2002)

Trinity University College committed itself to a mission statement that concentrated on its role as a community university with an inclusive curriculum focused towards flexible learning routes, the integration of academic and vocational programmes and a widening access agenda designed to provide HE opportunities for the region of South West Wales. The inevitable tension between the demands of the RAE and this educational agenda was resolved by focusing on research activity that supported the curriculum rather than developing a curriculum, determined by staff research.

However, this decision rather than negating the need for a framework defining the teaching-research nexus emphasised the need for an integrated Learning and Teaching Strategy and a Research Strategy for Learning and Teaching which were subsequently developed and refined over a number of years.

The University has a clear commitment to foster academic interest in scholarship and research. This is reflected within the current strategies and in particular with the attention given to:

• Learning about others' research

There is clear evidence that the Trinity curriculum takes advantage of staff research activity when developing the content of both, entire Programmes of Study and of modules within Programmes of Study. The Research for Learning and Teaching Strategy (RLTS) and the Directory of Research and Scholarly Activity is a mechanism through which the University actively encourages and collates the research activity being undertaken by staff. The RLTS is a five year, annually updated document, led by the Director of Research in Learning and Teaching and developed by the Research for Learning and Teaching Committee and the two Faculty Boards, before ratification by Academic Board. The RLTS “seeks to develop a support mechanism to underpin a culture where research in all its forms is regarded as integral to the academic work of the University” and to this end has defined the following aims:

• identifying and supporting clusters of research activity within, and across, schools of study (including collaboration with partner HEIs);
• facilitating the sharing of inter-professional practice (including collaboration with partner HEIs);
• ensuring that learning and teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level is underpinned by the engagement of staff in research and scholarly activity;
• encouraging applied research involving knowledge exchange;
• assisting staff to engage with research and scholarly activity and encouraging them to research for higher degrees by providing additional support where required.

Similarly the role of the Director of Research in Learning and Teaching is to:

• encourage and support staff to be actively engaged in research, and to ensure that critical reflection and dissemination are the norm;
• promote disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research activities which develop knowledge and expertise of direct relevance to the University's teaching programmes;
• support research that will lead to new postgraduate programmes which are being established;
• promote a culture of networking, active dissemination and collaboration through the organisation of research seminars and related events.

A number of important initiatives have taken place to achieve the strategy's aims including the organisation of “Research Days”, where staff made presentations about their own research and listened to that being undertaken by colleagues, the creation of a “Lunchtime Research Support Group” and the identification of “research clusters” within specific academic areas namely: Creative and Performing Arts, Early Years Education, Outdoor Education and Education. The University has also taken forward a number of activities to raise the profile of staff research including an updated Research newsletter and the establishment of a reward scheme for sabbaticals and readerships.

This research activity can be cross-referenced against curriculum developments in Academic Schools. As a University primarily oriented to teaching rather than research, Trinity is able to secure the development of coherent undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of study underpinned by academic research, rather than developing a curriculum based solely around staff research interests.

• Learning to do research - research methods

Within the vast majority of Trinity's undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes the process of scholarly research is included either as discrete modules:

ED-512 - Understanding Research Methods (09/06/2005)
ED-711 - The Nature of Enquiry (15/06/2004)
EY-417 - Academic Skills for Students (24/02/2006)
OE-509 - Research Methods (03/04/2006)
OE-704 - Action Research for Practitioners (27/06/2005)

- or as learning outcomes within a range of modules. The capacity to research effectively is uniformly evidenced in all programme specifications as a result of careful subject benchmarking for Generic and Graduate Skills and adherence to the study level descriptors of the National Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales.

The University also focuses upon enquiry-based teaching and research and in particular:

• Learning in research mode - enquiry-based

A significant amount of the Trinity curriculum, particularly at Levels 6 and 7, falls into this category, in the sense that modules are designed around enquiry-based activities, rather than on the acquisition of subject content. In the Performing and Creative Arts, for example, the concept of creative practice, carefully documented and analysed, fulfils this requirement as the prior experiences of staff in processes of enquiry are integral to the students' learning activities. This specifically relates to the idea of “practice” being legitimised as research through the transmission of knowledge through teaching. A strong case can be made that staff-directed performances are described as “research-performances” acknowledging the creative exploration involved in the activity. This is in line with similar practice elsewhere in the Performing Arts, including the Universities of Warwick, Leeds, Winchester and Reading. Jenkins and Healey go on to note later in the booklet that a willingness to adopt a more flexible curriculum timetable facilitating intensive periods of investigative studies is also of particular value in supporting the teaching-research nexus.

The historical traditions of Trinity as a teacher-training establishment has continued with extensive expertise being in evidence of research into pedagogy, that is why

• Pedagogic research - enquiring and reflecting on learning

is identified as a key driver within the institutional framework for promoting research.

The University's creation of the MA Learning and Teaching and its drive for HEA memberships for all academic staff is further evidence of a tangible commitment to pedagogic research within the institution.