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Institute of Teaching and Learning

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

The University has supported staff to undertake small projects to further the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, first through the University Centre for Higher Education Research, Innovation and Learning, CHERIL, (2014-2017) and then through the Institute of Teaching and Learning (ITL) Fellowship Projects (2020-2025). 

Further details about these projects including findings, learning and outputs are shared in project reports on this webpage. Projects are group by theme to help you.

The University's Support for your Scholarship of Teaching and Learning resource has been designed to help you with your own Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and includes information about the SoTL workshop series and the Teaching and Scholarship Network.

ITL Fellowship Projects (2020/21 - 2024/25)

From 2020/21 to 2024/25, the Teaching Excellence team supported colleagues from across the University, appointed as ITL Fellows, to complete a range of projects that explored different areas of teaching and learning practice. All projects were co-delivered with a Student Partner to ensure all outputs were co-designed and co-developed with students.

At the end of each project, ITL Fellow(s) completed an end of project report, sharing learning, resources and their own reflections with a view to supporting others involved in teaching, learning and supporting students. Project outputs have included the development of toolkits and resources, workshops, conference presentations, scholarly publications, and input into institutional decision-making.

To help you find projects of interest to you, end of project reports are available by theme:

Assessment and feedback

Inclusive assessment: What can we learn from the lived experiences of students?, Jennifer Silverthorne NTF PFHEA

Jenny's project utilised an evidence-based approach to develop a set of indicators of inclusive assessment, that can be applied at either a programme or course unit level. Jenny worked with a range of stakeholders to explore the student voice and develop a culture change intervention to facilitate disclosure and access to assessment support for disabled learners. The aim of this project was to co-create a programme-level strategy in order to embed inclusive assessment into the pharmacy undergraduate degree.

Active self-feedback: empowering students to write their own feedback using comparative judgement and making inner feedback explicit, Jenni Rose NTF PFHEA

Active self-feedback empowers students to write their own feedback using comparative judgement and making inner feedback explicit. I’m working on applying this idea using a variety of comparators, sharing my work through a series of workshops and writing up a journal article to spread the word. Once set up this idea requires minimal teacher input, increases student agency as well as increased satisfaction with feedback.

If you are interested in using active self-feedback in your teaching, please see the guide for staff created by Jenni as part of her ITL fellowship project.

Following the success of Jenni's ITL Fellowship project, Jenni worked with colleagues across the University to test active self-feedback in other disciplines. 

Designing smarter assessments, Prof David Schultz SFHEA

David's project explores aspects of assessments such as design, delivery and supporting effective student engagement, with a focus on creating resources and guidance to support staff in developing inclusive, authentic assessments which are less vulnerable to forms of academic malpractice such as collusion and contract cheating.

Staff assessment literacy, Sally Hickson PFHEA

Sally's project sought to explore and enhance the assessment literacy of staff across the University with a focus on assessment design in both formative and summative assessment. Shortly after Sally's project began, government lockdowns in response to the outbreak of Covid-19 increased the focus of Sally's project on delivering timely guidance and resources to support staff and students in adjusting assessments. 

Developing the interplay between "teacher" and student assessment feedback literacy, Karen Beswick SFHEA

Karen's project explored how assessment feedback could be reimagined as a collaborative, process-oriented practice, positioning students as active partners in generating and applying feedback. It examined approaches to developing both teacher and student feedback literacy, moving beyond traditional models towards shared understanding and responsibility. The work demonstrated how student voice could inform scalable improvements in feedback practices and support learners to engage more confidently and effectively with feedback.

Using reflective practice to build feedback literacy in STEM, Alison Harvey SFHEA

Alison's project sought to co-create a programme with students to develop reflective practice skills as an approach to engaging with feedback and the practicalities of embedding this approach into the curriculum. 

Digitally-enabled learning

Out of the margins: harnessing methods of digital annotation as a means of amplifying the student voice, Dr John Roache

John Roache is a Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literatures in English. He has published extensively on issues of textual and socio-political marginality, and strives to harness this work in the development of more inclusive approaches to pedagogy both inside and outside his subject area.

John's project explored established and newer forms of digital annotation as a means of bringing currently marginalised students into a more central, empowered, and visible position within the learning environment. In this sense, the project focused on the co-construction of a hybrid learning environment that combines the best advantages of digital and `in-person` pedagogies and, in the process, help to facilitate a more sustained and nuanced mode of pedagogical engagement. In the long run, this project aims to not only increase levels of student participation, but that it might also enable us to develop a more representative and inclusive understanding of the student voice as a whole.

Come watch with me: blending the synchronous with the asynchronous, Dr Jen McBride PFHEA

Building on a successful trial of “watch-parties” in online teaching, Jen's project aimed to establish the critical – and causal – factors which best promote effective learning, student engagement and community in different flexible and blended learning environments. This project evaluated the effectiveness of flexible and blended learning in different contexts, and created a broader framework to optimise our flexible and digital learning practices which brings together the very best of online and in-person teaching. 

Developing an education framework for simulated learning, Dr Emma Ormerod SFHEA

Emma's project aimed to provide a flexible framework to support staff in embedding simulation as an effective teaching method, integrating an approach that deepens student learning and confidence building while supporting staff in delivering this as a new teaching method or enhancing their existing approach to simulation.

Pilot studies for a flexible, competency-based course in Quantitative Biology, Dr Thomas Nühse SFHEA

In Thomas' project, student volunteers joined small-scale pilot courses to explore the boundaries of flexibility and considered how should we balance flexibility vs timetabling, structure vs openness, guidance vs independence, to provide the best learning experience. The project explored what kinds of materials, assessments, feedback and support keep students engaged and motivated in an unconventionally flexible course. 

Student use of webcams during live online synchronous teaching, Dr Craig Morley SFHEA

Craig's project investigated staff and student perceptions and practice of webcam use and its impact on engagement and learning. The aim of the project was to identify strategies to support students to engage, to enable staff to gauge engagement whether webcams are used, and to produce community-sourced, co-created profiles of recommended best practice.

Developing virtual labs, Dr Maria Canal PFHEA

Maria's project explored the potential of virtual labs to create more flexible, interactive and personalised learning environments through the use of technology. This involved the development and evaluation of one such online 'virtual science lab' practical.

Effective use of online discussion boards, Dr Ralf Becker

Ralf's project explored potential outcomes and the different engagement patterns of student groups with online discussion boards and developed a set of resources to help staff and students to use online discussion boards for learning and community-building effectively. 

Supporting digital capabilities, Dr Jane Mooney SFHEA

Jane's digital literacy project focused on helping students and staff to understand and articulate their digital skills, and on supporting teaching leaders to embed relevant digital skills provision within programmes.

Experiences and perspectives on online teaching and learning, Steve Wheeler

Steve's study analysed student and staff experiences and perspectives of online teaching and learning at the Unviersity and explored effective strategies, areas for enhancement, and the potential for integrating advanced technologies into online education. The outputs of Steve's project include practical recommendations for staff to enhance online teaching and foster a more engaging, flexible, and accessible learning environment.

Inclusive education

Learning for Every Body: Inclusivity and representation in digital learning materials, Dr Chris Sutton SFHEA

As a researcher, teacher and now learning technologist, Chris strives to be an ally, dedicated to challenging dominant narratives and systems of inequity and discrimination, particularly in education. This project acknowledges the considerable disparities in health and healthcare for ethnic minority groups, fat people, older adults, people with disabilities, transgender people and women. These disparities are true not only for patients but also regarding outcomes and obstacles faced by healthcare students and staff. One reason for these disparities is that for much of healthcare education, the `normal` body as presented in teaching materials is that of the white, slim, young, non-disabled, cis-gendered male.

Chris' project makes advances in this area, by collating existing teaching resources and working with people from underrepresented communities to create new ones that authentically reflect the diversity of human life. All outputs will be made open-access for the widest possible impact on health education and patient safety at the University and beyond.

Widening participation for neurodivergent students through curriculum design (teaching, learning and assessment), Janine Dixon SFHEA

Janine's project aims to widen participation for neurodivergent students and to better understand their needs, as well as celebrate their strengths. It will look at the student experience of our neurodivergent learners to highlight what we are doing well on and what can we improve further on. A key part of the project was to join the dots in terms of the support and resources already available at the University to ensure they are easy for students and academic advisors to find, as well as to develop further resources for staff (delivering) and students (experiencing) teaching, learning and assessment at Manchester.

Inclusive assessment: What can we learn from the lived experiences of students?, Jennifer Silverthorne NTF PFHEA

This project utilised an evidence-based approach to develop a set of indicators of inclusive assessment, that can be applied at either a programme or course unit level. Jenny worked with a range of stakeholders to explore the student voice and develop a culture change intervention to facilitate disclosure and access to assessment support for disabled learners. The aim of this project was to co-create a programme-level strategy in order to embed inclusive assessment into the pharmacy undergraduate degree.

Out of the margins: harnessing methods of digital annotation as a means of amplifying the student voice, Dr John Roache

John Roache is a Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literatures in English. He has published extensively on issues of textual and socio-political marginality, and strives to harness this work in the development of more inclusive approaches to pedagogy both inside and outside his subject area.

John's project explored established and newer forms of digital annotation as a means of bringing currently marginalised students into a more central, empowered, and visible position within the learning environment. In this sense, the project focused on the co-construction of a hybrid learning environment that combines the best advantages of digital and `in-person` pedagogies and, in the process, help to facilitate a more sustained and nuanced mode of pedagogical engagement. In the long run, this project aims to not only increase levels of student participation, but that it might also enable us to develop a more representative and inclusive understanding of the student voice as a whole.

Contact, Constraint and Chance: Understanding inequality in Higher Education - Student Experience of Process, Fairness and Targeted Support, Adam Cooke SFHEA and Rachael Howe FHEA

Adam and Rachael's project sought to centre the voices of students on the receiving end of targeted widening participation (WP) initiatives and to explore how structural and cultural conditions shape the journey through higher education for students from WP backgrounds. A key area of exploration was understanding how language, data use, and support mechanisms shape WP students' sense of belonging and mattering in higher education. The findings from this project are shared in a detailed, report designed to support institutional reflection and include an extensive comment bank collated from interview and focus group data. 

Developing a peer support scheme to support the transition of an articulated programme, Dr Li-Chia Chen SFHEA

Li-Chia’s project aims to develop and pilot a staff-facilitated, peer-support scheme for international students on a newly launched articulated programme, the dual-degree BSc Clinical Pharmacy (2+2+1) programme between the China Pharmaceutical University and the University of Manchester, from September 2021. The project will pilot a co-designed peer mentoring scheme to enhance international students' learning experiences and help them reach their potentials without being disadvantaged by estrangement, cultural backgrounds and learning styles.

Developing learning interventions, Steven Broom

Steve's project explored the development, trial and evaluation of targeted learning interventions to reduce unexplained attainment gaps among undergraduate students. It examined existing research, sector-wide practice and student feedback to better understand how to identify and support those at risk of underachievement. The work informed improvements to the Department of Mathematics’ approach and identified transferable lessons for wider application across the University.

Providing effective support to WP students from application through to end of year 1, Dr Emily Cooksey SFHEA

This project aims to look at the support needs of students joining from Widening Participation backgrounds. By focusing on the bridging support between admissions and joining departments, the aim is to provide transitional support to enable our WP students to hit the ground running with their studies and provide them with an effective welcome to the university. 

Professional development in teaching and learning

Evaluating the value and impact of GTA training and mentoring - what is efficient and effective?, Thomas Rodgers PFHEA and Claudia Henninger SFHEA

Claudia and Tom's project evaluated the existing Faculty of Science and Engineering GTA training and mentoring programme through the experiences of some of the GTAs undertaking the training and their teaching. The project will evaluate the impact of the training on the UG learning experience, the attitude of GTAs to their roles and understanding of their own development, and the barriers and success criteria that the GTAs impose on themselves. The project aims to produce guidance on how the training and mentoring can help GTAs with the barriers and success criteria analysed.

Socially responsible curriculum

Flexible learning opportunities and applied pedagogy, Prof Jen O'Brien NTF PFHEA

Jen's project focused on the evaluation and development of the flexible learning opportunities enabled by the University College of Interdisciplinary Learning's (UCIL) digital learning, on exploring the potential of the “Creating a Sustainable World: 21st Century Challenges and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” course and on building the University Living Lab for Pedagogy to enhance partnership for applied learning.

Student engagement and Student Voice

Contact, Constraint and Chance: Understanding inequality in Higher Education - Student Experience of Process, Fairness and Targeted Support, Adam Cooke SFHEA and Rachael Howe FHEA

Adam and Rachael's project sought to centre the voices of students on the receiving end of targeted widening participation (WP) initiatives and to explore how structural and cultural conditions shape the journey through higher education for students from WP backgrounds. A key area of exploration was understanding how language, data use, and support mechanisms shape WP students' sense of belonging and mattering in higher education. The findings from this project are shared in a detailed, report designed to support institutional reflection and include an extensive comment bank collated from interview and focus group data. 

Empowering Students and Building Community: The ABC Toolkit Concept, Rachel Parker-Strak SFHEA and Rachel Studd SFHEA

Rachel and Rachel's project sought to transform a proven best practice discipline concept - the ABC Toolkit - into a strategically underpinned, pedagogically sound and versatile framework that can be applied across various disciplines and delivered effectively across the University.

At the heart of the project is a commitment to prioritising and supporting student voices. The ABC Toolkit concept is shaped by the belief that we can empower students and build stronger, more connected communities by promoting inclusivity, empowerment, and collaboration. By embedding skills development, promoting well-being, and enhancing employability within a structured educational scheme, and ensuring these vital elements are delivered at the right time and pace for all students, the ABC Toolkit helps foster a sense of community and supports student engagement right from the beginning of their academic journey.

Students as course creators on a new independent study course unit, Dr James Brooks

This project involves the creation of a course unit where students independently research a topic of their choosing and build high quality, inclusive learning material for it. More broadly, my vision is for students to use the independent study unit to forge a path for those that follow. We can use this to guide both the specific topics we teach within disciplines and our more general approach to blended learning. Through this course the student gets the option to explore a topic of their choice, to take ownership of their learning, and to see their learning very directly through the eyes of a teacher. Lecturers get rich feedback from the students and a direct and clear path to integrate the student voice into the curriculum.

Developing a peer support scheme to support the transition of an articulated programme, Dr Li-Chia Chen SFHEA

Li-Chia’s project aims to develop and pilot a staff-facilitated, peer-support scheme for international students on a newly launched articulated programme, the dual-degree BSc Clinical Pharmacy (2+2+1) programme between the China Pharmaceutical University and the University of Manchester, from September 2021. The project will pilot a co-designed peer mentoring scheme to enhance international students' learning experiences and help them reach their potentials without being disadvantaged by estrangement, cultural backgrounds and learning styles.

Student-staff partnership in teaching and learning design, John Owen SFHEA

This project explored and evaluated the potential of a new methodology to improve working in partnership with students on curriculum design projects, and how this might be applied to other areas such as assessment and feedback, peer support and research and scholarship.

Supporting students

A Focus on Continuing: Supporting students with resits and interruption, Karen Lander SFHEA

Karen's project drew on her experience as a Programme Director and Academic Advisor to explore what support students receive during resits and after periods of interruption and to identify good practice. Having failed an original assessment, students with resits may lack academic confidence, may find it difficult to admit failure, and may not seek advice on how to turn failure into success. It is essential that we support students to make the most of these situations, as part of an inclusive approach to teaching and learning and with a view to improving student continuation.

Empowering Students and Building Community: The ABC Toolkit Concept, Rachel Parker-Strak SFHEA and Rachel Studd SFHEA

Rachel and Rachel's project sought to transform a proven best practice discipline concept - the ABC Toolkit - into a strategically underpinned, pedagogically sound and versatile framework that can be applied across various disciplines and delivered effectively across the University.

At the heart of the project is a commitment to prioritising and supporting student voices. The ABC Toolkit concept is shaped by the belief that we can empower students and build stronger, more connected communities by promoting inclusivity, empowerment, and collaboration. By embedding skills development, promoting well-being, and enhancing employability within a structured educational scheme, and ensuring these vital elements are delivered at the right time and pace for all students, the ABC Toolkit helps foster a sense of community and supports student engagement right from the beginning of their academic journey.

Academic advising: lived experiences of students and staff, Jennie Blake NTF CATE PFHEA

Jennie's project evaluated the support and structure needed to achieve and sustain change, and the effect on teaching and academic advising. This project produced guidance and resources that enable staff and students to develop effective teaching and learning via the academic advisor-advisee partnership.

Academics in residence and support for commuter students, Dr Nick Weise PFHEA

Nick's project explored ways in which the role of an ‘Academic in Residence’ living in student halls could be supported to function as a link between the student learning experience and the wider university experience. It also explored the impact of expanding both on-campus and residential provision for commuter students, as a means of fostering the inclusion of diverse communities of learners.

Developing learning interventions, Steven Broom

Steve's project explored the development, trial and evaluation of targeted learning interventions to reduce unexplained attainment gaps among undergraduate students. It examined existing research, sector-wide practice and student feedback to better understand how to identify and support those at risk of underachievement. The work informed improvements to the Department of Mathematics’ approach and identified transferable lessons for wider application across the University.

Providing effective support to WP students from application through to end of year 1, Dr Emily Cooksey SFHEA

This project aims to look at the support needs of students joining from Widening Participation backgrounds. By focusing on the bridging support between admissions and joining departments, the aim is to provide transitional support to enable our WP students to hit the ground running with their studies and provide them with an effective welcome to the university. 

Enhancing student confidence and wellbeing through learning, Elaine Clark SFHEA

This project explored the development of a blended learning unit designed to enhance student confidence and mental wellbeing, building on an existing face-to-face course. It investigated how a sense of belonging, peer support and community could be fostered in an online environment, including opportunities for students to act as co-creators in the design process. The work considered how inclusive, flexible approaches could support diverse student needs while maintaining engagement and wellbeing in digital settings.

Student “Study Expenditure” and its Alignment to the “Study Budget” in Flexible Learning, Neil Morrison

This project explores the mechanisms to monitor the student workload ("study expenditure") and its relationship with the “study budgets” in the University’s implementation of flexible learning for 2021-22. The key outcome will be an enhanced understanding of good practice in defining and applying study budgets, and in supporting students in managing their own learning schedules with a view to informing future adjustments to the University’s flexible learning model, and it also has implications for student well-being.

Teaching approaches and curriculum design

Active self-feedback: empowering students to write their own feedback using comparative judgement and making inner feedback explicit, Jenni Rose NTF PFHEA

Active self-feedback empowers students to write their own feedback using comparative judgement and making inner feedback explicit. I’m working on applying this idea using a variety of comparators, sharing my work through a series of workshops and writing up a journal article to spread the word. Once set up this idea requires minimal teacher input, increases student agency as well as increased satisfaction with feedback.

If you are interested in using active self-feedback in your teaching, please see the guide for staff created by Jenni as part of her ITL fellowship project.

Following the success of Jenni's ITL Fellowship project, Jenni worked with colleagues across the University to test active self-feedback in other disciplines. 

Students as course creators on a new independent study course unit, Dr James Brooks

This project involves the creation of a course unit where students independently research a topic of their choosing and build high quality, inclusive learning material for it. More broadly, my vision is for students to use the independent study unit to forge a path for those that follow. We can use this to guide both the specific topics we teach within disciplines and our more general approach to blended learning. Through this course the student gets the option to explore a topic of their choice, to take ownership of their learning, and to see their learning very directly through the eyes of a teacher. Lecturers get rich feedback from the students and a direct and clear path to integrate the student voice into the curriculum.

Flexible learning opportunities and applied pedagogy, Prof Jen O'Brien NTF PFHEA

Jen's project focused on the evaluation and development of the flexible learning opportunities enabled by the University College of Interdisciplinary Learning's (UCIL) digital learning, on exploring the potential of the “Creating a Sustainable World: 21st Century Challenges and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” course and on building the University Living Lab for Pedagogy to enhance partnership for applied learning.

Pilot studies for a flexible, competency-based course in Quantitative Biology, Dr Thomas Nühse SFHEA

In Thomas' project, student volunteers joined small-scale pilot courses to explore the boundaries of flexibility and considered how should we balance flexibility vs timetabling, structure vs openness, guidance vs independence, to provide the best learning experience. The project explored what kinds of materials, assessments, feedback and support keep students engaged and motivated in an unconventionally flexible course. 

Student-staff partnership in teaching and learning design, John Owen SFHEA

This project explored and evaluated the potential of a new methodology to improve working in partnership with students on curriculum design projects, and how this might be applied to other areas such as assessment and feedback, peer support and research and scholarship.

A user-centred design approach to teaching evaluation, Glen Cooper

This project explored the application of a user-centred design approach to teaching evaluation, engaging students, lecturers and external stakeholders to better understand what defines effective teaching. It identified key requirements and areas of best practice to improve how teaching quality is measured and enhanced and drive continuous improvement in teaching and learning.

Student “Study Expenditure” and its Alignment to the “Study Budget” in Flexible Learning, Neil Morrison

This project explores the mechanisms to monitor the student workload ("study expenditure") and its relationship with the “study budgets” in the University’s implementation of flexible learning for 2021-22. The key outcome will be an enhanced understanding of good practice in defining and applying study budgets, and in supporting students in managing their own learning schedules with a view to informing future adjustments to the University’s flexible learning model, and it also has implications for student well-being.

CHERIL Grant Award Projects (2014/15 - 2016/17)

The University's former Centre for Higher Education Research, Innovation and Learning (CHERIL) ran a competitive research grant open to University of Manchester staff and enabled colleagues to promote teaching and learning excellence through research and the sharing of best practice, to enhance the student experience by ensuring distinctive graduate attributes and global awareness and to understand and inform sector developments and higher education policy.

Assessment and Feedback

Enhancing the student experience

Inclusive Teaching and Learning

Student support and student outcomes

Teaching and learning methods

Widening participation and access to HE