THE DEAKIN TEACHING CAPABILITY FRAMEWORK

What is the framework?

The Teaching Capability Framework articulates the areas of activity, key knowledge and professional values that are important for staff who design, deliver, enable and lead teaching and learning at Deakin

Why do we need a Teaching Capability Framework?

At Deakin, we recognise that enhancing the capabilities of our teaching teams is one of the most important ways we can ensure a high-quality experience for our students. This framework will help us to identify and articulate good practice in learning and teaching, and will drive our capability building activities.

What is special about it?

This framework brings together the UKPSF, an internationally recognised professional standards framework for higher education, with Deakin’s Curriculum Framework and Premium Principles for Learning and Teaching, to articulate areas of activity, core knowledge and professional values demonstrated by teaching teams, contextualised to Deakin.
For academic staff, the areas of activity in the framework are aligned with learning and teaching tasks in Deakin’s Minimum Standards for Academic Levels. The level of autonomy, complexity and influence with which these activities are undertaken increase as staff move up through the academic levels (A-E)

The framework is for everyone who contributes to learning and teaching at Deakin. The Teaching Capability Framework is unique, in that it recognises the multitude of academic and professional roles who work collaboratively to contribute to teaching and learning at Deakin across four domains – design, deliver, enable and lead. It clearly articulates the types of activities, core knowledge and professional values in context, for teaching teams working across a range of roles at Deakin.

Who is the framework for?

We know that at Deakin, teaching and supporting learning is a collaborative, multidisciplinary activity.  The framework recognises all staff contributing to teaching and learning at Deakin including those who design, deliver, enable and lead learning and teaching, in both academic and professional roles. Table 1 shows some these roles and the domain in which they may work, recognising that many staff work across a range of domains. 
 
Those who design learning opportunities at Deakin work together to design curriculum, resources, pedagogical strategies, learning activities, assessment and ways to use technology in learning.
 
Those who deliver learning activities and interactions at Deakin support students learning on-campus, at work, online and in communities.
 
Those who enable student experiences at Deakin provide resources, structures and services which support student learning.
 
Those who lead teaching teams at Deakin influence and impact on others learning and teaching practice.  They work to build capability of teaching teams to provide premium experiences to our students.
 
 
 
 
Table 1: Typical staff roles across the 4 domains of design, deliver, enable and lead.
 
 

What can I use the Framework for?

For individuals:
 
Aligning your practice to the Teaching Capability Framework will assist you to
 
  •  understand the areas of activity, core knowledge and professional values that are important for Deakin staff
  • reflect on your current teaching and learning practice and identify strengths and capabilities that could be further developed
  • identify suitable professional learning activities to build your capability
  • use as a starting point for conversations about professional learning and career development as part of your DeakinAchieve
  • identify areas of practice that you can use as evidence in applications for recognition and reward such as promotion, awards and HE Fellowships
For leaders in learning and teaching:
 
You can use the Teaching Capability Framework in your leadership of teaching and learning to:
 
  • provide a basis for conversations about learning and teaching practice at a course/faculty/university level
  • reflect on the strengths of your team’s current teaching and learning capabilities at a course/faculty/university level
  • inform the design of professional learning activities to build capability at a course/faculty/university level
  • identify areas of practice that can be used as evidence in applications for awards by teaching teams
 

How was the Framework developed?

The framework has been developed by teaching and learning staff across Deakin. The typical activities, knowledge and values in each domain of the framework were based on the UKPSF, and then contextualised to Deakin and to the four domains in consultation with learning and teaching staff in a range of professional, academic and leadership roles at Deakin.  We recognise this as a living document, and welcome feedback.