Teaching and Learning in SRPC

Even before the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics was created, the various disciplines which comprise it were well-regarded for their commitment to teaching and learning. This means that the new School has a wealth of experience on which to draw when it comes to facilitating and promoting teaching and learning.

As of 2012, a number of projects are on the go as part of our Teaching & Learning Strategic Plan.

In the first project, the strategy is to identify the differences between what first-year students have in terms of relevant academic skills and what lecturers assume them to have. Once this has been established, we will be developing a programme whereby we aim to close the gap by introducing scaffolding programmes for all first-year students in SRPC.

The second project is already underway on a small scale but will be expanded much further. We have introduced a skills-oriented tutorial programme where students learn the skills required to complete the assignments set for them: critical analysis, referencing, time management, note-taking, reading academic texts, avoiding plagiarism and so on. Many students drop out of university before their degrees are complete and one reason for this is that many of them come into the university without the skills needed to succeed. These projects attempt to tackle this problem by providing on-going support for undergraduate students and by tracking our students’ progress.

We also hope to begin changing perceptions of what is needed to succeed at university. We plan to offer different skills training at different points in the undergraduate and postgraduate experience in the near future.

The SRPC is also proud to have two recipients of the Distinguished Teachers’ Award among its members.