Higher Education Research & Support Officer

Are you interested in conducting research about/into pedagogical research in Higher Education? (meta-research, “research of research": impact, sustainability, enablers, blockers and drivers of pedagogical research in Higher Education/Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) Are you interested in supporting and enabling pedagogical research in Higher Education by supporting others? Are you interested in working with colleagues to design, deliver and evaluate the success of projects that will have real impact on student education at the University of Leeds and the wider sector? Can you contribute to the LITE's scholarly community?

You will be working alongside and supporting an impressive team of LITE Fellows and other LITE researchers to deliver a wide range of projects addressing important pedagogic challenges.

We are inviting applications for a LITE Higher Education Research & Support Officer to join the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE).

The Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE) embodies the University’s commitment to excellence and innovation in education as its Research and Development function in Student Education. It achieves its goals through conducting strategic educational research, supporting and developing a community of Fellows and research communities of practice embedded in the Leeds community, and through events and activities for the Student Education Community at Leeds and more widely.

LITE is launching an exciting 5-yr Strategy “Fostering Student Education Success for All” driving our own research in Higher Education, in addition to supporting the development of Pedagogical Research in Higher Education/Discipline-based Educational Research/Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (PedRes/DBER/SoTL) at the University of Leeds. Please note that given subject-dependency in the use of these terms (PedRes/DBER/SoTL), and our positioning in the University working across all subjects, LITE uses these terms broadly defined and interchangeably, focusing on robustness and quality of activity, instead. You can read more about our Strategy here: teachingexcellence.leeds.ac.uk/about-lite/lite-strategy, which includes focusing activity within incubators of good pedagogical research practice (teachingexcellence.leeds.ac.uk/lite-incubators).

As part of our new strategy, we will conduct high-quality meta research (“research of the research”,) on PedRes/DBER/SoTL activities at Leeds and more broadly, their impact and affordances. To fulfil our mission, it is essential that we map and understand the relationships between enablers, blockers and impact of PedRes/DBER/SoTL activity. At Leeds, PedRes/DBER/SoTL is not just conducted by academic staff, but also by professional services staff; we are also growing our provision for co-creation and co-production of PedRes/DBER/SoTL with students. The proposed research will therefore explore issues across these groups, in addition to other intersectional characteristics.

In this research, you will work closely together with Prof Gabriel Cavalli, Director of LITE, as well as other LITE researchers and more broadly across Leeds and external partners. Thus, this role provides exciting opportunities for networking in the field.

You will apply your planning, analytical and evaluative skills and experience to contribute to the success of LITE projects, through short- and longer-term evaluation and publication. You will provide guidance and support to University colleagues carrying out PedRes/DBER/SoTL projects to ensure they achieve maximum impact.

You will be expected to contribute fully to the dynamism of the LITE’s scholarly community, contribute content towards the digital and external-facing profiles of LITE and act as an ambassador at internal and external events. You will operate as part of the LITE team supporting all LITE projects and activities.

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