Page 29 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

The Role of the Professional Doctorate in Developing Professional Practice in STEM Subjects

adopting this model into my practice I have ensured that academic skills being developed through for-
mative feedback were linked to the next formative and / or summative assessment so as to give students
the opportunity to practice and develop their skills.
A number of dissemination opportunities have been undertaken in order to share the findings from
my professional doctorate including; a staff development book, 2 academic journal papers, 6 conference
presentations (including STEM conferences), a number of staff development workshops and 2 invitations
to visit overseas institutions and give workshops at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense, and
the University of Cape Town in South Africa. This has contributed to my academic standing and formed
the backbone to my submission in the recent Research Evaluation Framework (REF) activity where I
was submitted as part of the Education team in Unit 25. In addition the findings from my professional
doctorate have been included as paper of the curriculum on assessment on the Post Graduate Certificate
in Education (PG Cert) in my University and used as a series of case studies in the sessions that I deliver
on the PG Cert on assessment and feedback.
I am now in the fortunate position to be supervising a group (currently 4) professional doctorate
students and I am able to draw on my experience as a professional doctorate student to understand the
issues from a participant point of view. My experiences as a professional doctorate student have helped
shape the way that I supervise my students and the way that we (the “we” is used on purpose rather than
“I”) run their supervision sessions. I believe that I am more sympathetic, empathetic and understanding
than I would have been had I not undertaken a professional doctorate and been on the other side of the
supervisory relationship
I had a fairly “hairy” experience during my professional doctorate viva and I felt that the examiners
were not “playing fair”. The experience of my viva and subsequent discussion with the chair of the panel
and my supervisor ensured that my outlook on the examination process of the professional doctorate
focusses on being supportive. I always do everything I can in helping to prepare students for vivas, par-
ticipating as examiner in mock vivas (normally for professional doctorate students other than my own),
participating as internal examiner and when I am chairing professional doctorate viva examinations.
The professional doctorate has without doubt had a positive and significant impact on my career.
Undertaking my professional doctorate has led to a number of changes in my professional practice.
Academic aspects of my practice such as exam interventions, academic skills development and helping
students to understand feedback have been incorporated into my teaching. The doctorate has also been
good to have on my CV!
A further impact on my practice has been the opportunity to utilize the educational research principles
developed on the doctorate and apply them in a number of different educational settings. The processes
of evaluating activities and attempting to measure the impact of interventions have been adopted as part
of my continuing and ongoing reflection on my teaching practice.
Undertaking and completing the professional doctorate has made a difference to my professional ex-
pectations of what I should be doing in the workplace and how I should be approaching and undertaking
those tasks. In addition this has had a beneficial impact on my colleagues that I have been working with
and as a result my department, faculty and university. As I have been clearer in my expectations and have
been pushing myself to achieve my goals it has rubbed off on those around me and their performance,
effectiveness, professionalism, and I think their job satisfaction, has improved.
Perhaps the most significant impact from a personal point of view is that the work undertaken for my
professional doctorate contributed to me being awarded the recognition of a National Teaching Fellow-
ship form the Higher Education Academy. This has enhanced my standing in the academic community,

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