Gravity assist: propelling higher education towards a brighter future

Design teaching and learning specifically for digital delivery using a ‘pedagogy-first’ approach.

• Teaching and learning materials are designed for delivery in a digital environment.
• Pedagogy is placed at the centre of the design process, as opposed to this process being driven by technology.

• Teaching and learning materials are designed for in person delivery and delivered without any modifications.
• Pedagogy is not driving the design of the digital teaching and learning. Often this is because technology takes primacy.

Co-design digital teaching and learning with students at every point in the design process.

• Students are involved in the design of digital teaching and learning and are regularly asked for feedback.
• Digital teaching and learning is regularly updated and revised in light of student input and feedback.

• Students are not asked for feedback on the design of their digital teaching and learning.
• Digital teaching and learning is static and is not refined in light of student feedback.

Seize the opportunity to reconsider how assessments align with intended learning outcomes.

• Staff regularly reflect on how assessments are linked to intended learning outcomes. Where there is misalignment, this is addressed, and assessments are redesigned.
• Senior leaders and teaching staff understand and use digital teaching and learning to create more ‘authentic’ assessments that focus on the application of acquired knowledge and skills.

• Teaching staff do not reflect on whether assessments are aligned to intended learning outcomes.
• Senior leaders and teaching staff are not open to exploring how digital assessments could take more ‘authentic’ forms.

• Staff work with all students facing digital access challenges on a one-to-one basis to develop personalised action plans that will mitigate digital access challenges and where appropriate identify any additional support needs. The plans are regularly reviewed.
• Students are informed about the digital equipment needed for the course well in advance of the start date, and this information is available to students at the time of choosing a course.
• Higher education providers take every step possible to ensure that no student is without access to digital teaching and learning because of digital access challenges.

• Higher education providers do not know how many students have digital access challenges, or which items of digital infrastructure they are missing.
• Students are not given any information about the items of digital infrastructure they will need. If they are given information, this is given only once the course has started and there is limited time for the student to plan effectively.
• No, or limited, action is taken to support students with digital access challenges.

Build learning and procure technology around the digital access actually available to students, not the access they would have in a perfect world.

• Teaching staff design digital teaching and learning materials with digital access challenges in mind.
• Digital teaching and learning is designed for students with lower bandwidths, and asynchronous alternatives are made available for students with limited or unreliable internet access.

• Digital teaching and learning materials are designed without regard to students who have poor digital access.
• Learning experiences are designed for users with higher specification hardware than most students have access to.
• No alternative formats are offered for students with limited or unreliable internet access.

• Students have a clear understanding of the digital skills they will need for their course and access to the resources they need to develop them.
• Information about the digital skills students will need for their course is available in advance of the start date.

• Students are given no information about the digital skills they will need for their course, or this information is only given once the course has started.
• Students do not have access to resources that enable them to develop the digital skills they need.

• Students can track the digital skills they have developed throughout their course. This may be through digital passports or badges.
• Students are skilled in communicating the digital skills they have developed to employers.

• Students are not able to track the digital skills they develop.
• Students struggle to communicate the digital skills they have developed to employers.

• Excellence in digital teaching and learning is championed and those with particularly advanced knowledge and skills are given ways to share this across the organisation.
• Staff understand the digital skills they need and how their own abilities track against this (this may be through self-assessment).
• Staff are given regular opportunities to improve their digital skills and have a clear understanding of where to go to access training materials and resources.

• Excellence in digital teaching and learning is not recognised and there is not a culture of encouraging those with advanced knowledge and skills to share this across the organisation.
• Staff are unclear on the digital skills they need and are not clear on how their own abilities track against this.
• Staff are not given opportunities to improve their digital skills, or do not know how to access training materials and resources.

• Students and staff can easily access all resources they need for digital teaching and learning, and the need to switch between tools and platforms is limited.
• Staff across departments have a consistent approach to using tools and platforms, and this leads to students having clear expectations about what they are expected to use and how to use it.

• Students and staff feel overwhelmed by the wide range of tools and platforms they are asked to work with.
• There are wide disparities in the way that tools and platforms are used across different departments. Students do not have clear expectations about what they are expected to use or how they are expected to use it.

• Students, especially those with accessibility requirements, are leaders in the decision-making processes about the technology that will be used and how it will be implemented.
• Teaching staff who will be delivering digital teaching and learning are also leaders in these decision-making processes.

• Students and teaching staff do not provide input that informs decisions about the technology that will be used and how it will be implemented.

• An agile approach is taken to the procurement of technology, with tools and platforms reviewed regularly to assess whether they are fit for purpose and whether any new approaches might need to be adopted.
• Senior management teams (or those they rely on for advice) have a strong understanding of the tools and technologies available and the purposes they serve.

• Senior management teams do not engage (or do not regularly engage) in discussions or decisions about the technology that is used. In some cases, this may stem from this being seen as solely the responsibility of IT teams.

• Students, in particular those from underrepresented groups, are able to give feedback on how inclusive and accessible their learning environment is.
• Staff should feel equipped to use student feedback and other information to establish how inclusive the learning and teaching environment is, and empowered and enabled to make improvements.

• Students are unable to give feedback on how inclusive or accessible their learning environment is.
• A lack of expert insight or sharing of effective practice slows or prevents progress.

• Inclusive design is seen as the default for all digital teaching and learning.
• Staff have the confidence and skills to embed inclusivity into the learning environment.
• Individual students are given timely and tailored support where appropriate.
• The needs and experiences of particular groups of students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, are considered.

• The importance of inclusive design is not recognised and this is not a standard feature of the design of digital teaching and learning.
• Existing platforms, service-level agreements and procurement practices do not sufficiently consider accessibility requirements or inclusive design.
• Accessibility considerations are limited or piecemeal, or not part of the process of designing, implementing and evaluating digital teaching and learning at all.

• Effective safeguarding practices are in place and promoted, to tackle online abuse including harassment, racial hate, and sexual misconduct.

• The impact of digital learning and teaching environments is not sufficiently considered in safeguarding practices.
• Students and staff do not know how to seek help or raise safeguarding issues that occur online.