LANS Teaching Fellow (CAL) - School of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences - 59986 - Grade 7

Position Details

School of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,942 to £40,322, with potential progression once in post to £42,792.

Grade 7

Part Time 18.75 hours per week (0.5 FTE)

Fixed Term Contract up to 31 August 2022

Closing Date 5 September 2021

Job Summary

‘Liberal Arts and Sciences’ is a new concept in British university education, drawing on the best of international educational experience. Now in its fourth year, Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences (LANS) at the University of Birmingham engages closely with all areas of research and teaching expertise, crossing disciplinary and organisational boundaries. This enables the programme suite (BA/BSc/MArt/MSci) to offer an innovative set of structures within which undergraduate students can, in consultation with academic and support staff, design their own individual programmes of study. The four-year programme has been created to build students’ intellectual, employment, and leadership skills, and attracts the highest calibre students to the university.

At the heart of the programme suite sit a group of core ‘breadth’ modules that develop students’ ability to learn from and through interdisciplinary approaches.

In years one and two, these modules (20/120 credits per year) focus on methodological theory and practice and encourage students to develop expertise in the application of multiple disciplinary perspectives when solving significant and increasingly complex problems. After a year spent studying abroad, in the final year students have the opportunity to design an interdisciplinary research project, and to take modules exploring and developing enterprising behaviour.

Alongside their core interdisciplinary modules students typically select a Major, which eventually equates to half the weight of a traditional Joint Honours degree. Students may change Major at the beginning of year 2, which enables substantial flexibility for developing a distinctive learning pathway leading to a qualification designed around their interests and aspirations. The remaining credits can comprise e.g. studying a language, exploring subjects of contextual or complementary interest, or investigating new disciplines.

The year 4 LANS Interdisciplinary Research Project module, managed by LANS (normally 40 credits), and the year 4 LANS Entrepreneurship modules, represent the optional core for final years.

Given the nature of the degree, personal tutoring is a crucial element of the programme and students engage frequently with their tutors in a variety of ways, including through our impressive extracurricular suite of activities.

As  a Teaching Fellow within Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences, you will work under the guidance of the Dean and Deputy Dean of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences, and with the support of the LANS academic and professional services team. You will teach and advise undergraduate, postgraduate or CPD students within LANS, drawing on your own subject knowledge and interdisciplinary expertise. This may include the delivery of our suite of core modules (years 1, 2, and 4), and providing input into the ongoing reflection on and development of the programme suite. The post thus offers enormous scope for developing excellent, innovative pedagogy, likely to inform best practice in the University.

The post-holder is managed by a member of staff with ultimate responsibility for the design, delivery and assessment of the teaching programme.

Main Duties/Responsibilities

• Lead interdisciplinary workshop sessions and facilitate interdisciplinary learning activities for core modules, as appropriate.

• Contribute to LANS teaching-related activities and teaching-related administration, including participation in the Curriculum Development Group.

• Contribute to the design of modules with other colleagues.

• Devise and supervise projects, student dissertations and practical work.

• Undertake full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining.  (Summative assessment, including assessed work contributing to the final award – as a mark or as a credit – such as unseen examinations, essays, dissertations or presentations, is subject to validation by the academic supervisor.)

• Undertake management/administration arising from teaching, including management of GTA(s) for the core modules.

• Take an appropriate share of LANS Personal Tutees.

• Liaise with colleagues across the university to raise the profile of LANS at appropriate levels in order to facilitate interdisciplinary study

• Participate in the LANS Cultural Programme, including national and international trips and out-of-hours activities which may include overnight stays.

• Frequently update own subject expertise.

• Undertake personal professional development in teaching, including self-reflection on own teaching, using student and peer review feedback, to enhance own teaching and learning processes. 

• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences, and the University. This is likely to include involvement in Applicant Visit Days and Open Days.

• Contribute to the LANS core modules, drawing on peer, student and external feedback (under the guidance and supervision of an academic member of staff, normally the Deputy Dean LANS).

• Contribute to enhancement of the student experience and/or employability.

• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

• PhD, ideally with interdisciplinary aspect.

• High level analytical capability

• Proven ability to design and deliver module materials successfully

• Proven ability to assess and organise resources effectively

• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes

• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

Informal enquiries can be made to Neil Nelson, email: [email protected]

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working