APP PGR
About APP PGR
Welcome to the home page of the Academic and Professional Pathway for Postgraduate Researchers who Teach. We have been proudly supporting PGR teachers for many years with a programme that helps develop and build confidence in those colleagues who have teaching roles alongside PhD/postdoctoral/early careers research commitments. This professional programme is externally accredited by Advance HE and leads to a recognised Higher Education teaching status.
APP PGR is a popular programme and we have a waiting list for those who wish to join, which is currently on hold. If you are not on this list as yet, but you are interested in the programme, please drop us a message at apppgr@warwick.ac.uk
How to apply
There will be two APP PGR groups running in January 2025 and we are also now recruiting for Autumn 2025. Those on our waiting list have been contacted and there will be more information about these opportunities on this page soon.
Programme overview
Postgraduate researchers who teach have a pivotal role to play in the continuity and success of learning and teaching at Warwick, and Higher Education as a sector has a long tradition of working with these colleagues. PGR teachers are likely to occupy positions which mean frequent and close contact at the point at which learning is taking place and as such can be integral to student success in the disciplines. As both students and researchers themselves, postgraduate researchers who teach occupy a unique and insightful space. The APP PGR programme is designed specifically to support the needs of these colleagues.
The APP PGR has four broad programme aims and associated learning objectives which align to the teaching and assessment on the programme. They provide sufficient breadth to enable participants to gain from a holistic curriculum that prepares them for working as an educator in the Higher Education context, but with a focus and expectation of deeper understanding around the key concepts which are most relevant to postgraduate researchers who teach, and those which are related to summative assessment on the programme.
Our aspiration is that by the end of the programme PGR teachers will feel an increased confidence in both their teaching work and their understanding of pedagogy and Higher Education practice. We provide an opportunity to gain a professional teaching status, and to connect with peers from a range of disciplines across Warwick - join us!
Programme aims and learning outcomes, and an overview of the programme themes are listed within the page linked below, with an indication of the relationship between them.
Themes & Workshops
The aims and objectives of APP PGR are achieved through six course themes which are interconnected, supporting an approach which starts with the participant and moves through understandings of working with students, colleagues and the wider community.
The six themes of the programme are:
-
Theme 1: Teacher role and identity (A5, K1, K2, V3)
-
Theme 2: Inclusive learning and teaching (A2, V1, V2, V3)
-
Theme 3: Engaging with learners (A1, A2, A4, K3, K4, V2, V3)
-
Theme 4: Assessment and feedback (A1, A3, K1, K2 V3)
-
Theme 5: Peer dialogue and professional learning (A2, A5, K1, K2, V3)
-
Theme 6: Wider issues in HE learning and teaching (A4, A5, K5, K6, V3, V4)
Entry requirements and guidance
- A minimum of 15 hours teaching activity preferably over the duration of the course which is to enable the content to be most meaningful to participants, and enable them apply and critically consider it in their own context. Crucially, also, those starting the pathway must be teaching higher education level work (e.g. Level 4 - first year undergraduate - or above). Other types of teaching work (e.g. working with children) make interesting comparisons for the portfolio of evidence, but cannot be counted in the required 15 hours.
- Completion of the Preparing to Teach programme which is an initial introduction to learning and teaching offered by ADC and in conjunction with departments. Those with a GTA contract will be invited to attend this as part of their contractual arrangements.
- PhD supervisor’s support to embark upon the programme – the APP PGR takes time out of a postgraduate student’s research schedule. It is important that a participant’s PhD supervisor is supportive of this and it is courteous to agree this with them.
- To, ideally, be at the early or mid-stage of their PhD, in order to most benefit from the pathway. This is because participants are most likely to have active teaching duties during this time, and sufficient time to complete the programme before the end of their registration. Those who are writing up, or have had their viva, but have teaching commitments at Warwick can be considered, negotiating this with the course leader.
- To have a departmental teaching mentor who can support them on the programme with regards to discipline-specific departmental practices and policies, for example. The mentor would usually also observe/provide authentication of a participant's teaching.
Delivery and Assessment
APP PGR is a blended programme, which means it combines in-person teaching (6 workshops: 4 hours each) and online learning (6 sections: 3 hours each) as well as additional reading and CPD activities. Although attendance at workshops is an expectation, there is the opportunity to catch up on missed sessions through flexible, recorded and online materials.
APP PGR is assessed, formatively, through short, ongoing online tasks and reflective practice, and a small group project. A final summative portfolio of evidence containing authentication of practice (provided by the department), a recorded teaching philosophy dialogue and a written narrative of practice (1800 words) is required and will enable participants to gain AFHEA status (see Advance HE section below).
Workshop dates
Route A (January 2025)
Theme 1 - TBA
Theme 2 - TBA
Theme 3 - TBA
Theme 4 - TBA
Theme 5 - TBA
Theme 6 - TBA
Route B (January 2025)
Theme 1 - TBA
Theme 2 - TBA
Theme 3 - TBA
Theme 4 - TBA
Theme 5 - TBA
Theme 6 - TBA
In-person workshops are scheduled between 10am and 3pm, with refreshments provided. There will be accompanying online work relating to these workshop themes. Applicants will be invited to choose which 'Route' (cohort) they prefer and will then learn within that group for the duration of the course.
Advance HE
Advance HE is the external accrediting body for all of Warwick's Academic and Professional Pathways, including this programme. APP PGR is aligned to the requirements of Descriptor One (AFHEA) and the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF): a nationally recognised benchmark for success and continuing professional development within HE teaching and learning support.
As such, APP PGR is not a Warwick credit-bearing programme, but one where participants will have to demonstrate, through evidence from their own teaching practice, that they have met these national standards.
AFHEA status is appropriate for PGR teachers, some early career researchers and those supporting learning and is nationally and internationally recognised in the sector.
