Editor’s Introduction 
 

Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol 8, No 12, 2016 
 

Welcome to our twelfth issue of Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching . This issue of Compass 

reflects key current issues affecting Higher Education: observation of teaching, e -learning (with 

particular reference to flipped classrooms) and methodology designed to develop broad student 

skillsets to enhance employability. The issue also focuses upon  ways of meeting the needs of ‘non-

traditional’ students, explores a student champion approach to improving staff -to-student feedback 

and celebrates an occasion devoted to the creation of mobile phone apps. 

In the context of the Teaching Excellence Framework, Martin Compton’s opinion piece about the use 

of observation of teaching in Higher Education weighs up both adverse and favourable methods, 

drawing on the Further Education experience. The linkage between observation as a part of 

appraisal and government determination to eliminate poor teaching is not, in his opinion, likely to 

produce pedagogical improvement, marginalising as it does peer and developmental observation 

practices. Far from adopting a confrontational stance, however, he explores various studies of 

observation approaches that are not about grading performance but instead focus upon delivery and 

impact rather than the person, or involve more than just two participants. The potential benefits to 

both observed and observers are clear; within a non-judgemental and properly-resourced 

framework, developmental observation has much to offer HE institutions keen to improve the 

quality of teaching and learning. 

A closely-related paper by Zeynep Kacmaz about the peer observation of teaching, specificall y in the 

less-researched area of e-learning, presents some of the challenges faced in monitoring practice and 

ensuring high standards in the delivery of online teaching and learning, its virtual nature and the fact 

that many staff are often home-based and ‘associate’ both militating against effective observation 

methods. The thorough examination of a cross-section of UK universities and interviews with 

academics reveals an inconsistent application of peer observation  of e-teaching/learning, at a time 

when online learning is becoming ever more sophisticated (Virtual Learning Environments are now 

ubiquitous in Higher Education) and teachers are needing to adapt to very different environments 

and roles in the context of blended, distance and open learning optio ns.  Having painted a 

fascinating picture of the current situation, the paper concludes that much research still needs to be 

done and suggests a range of potential macro- and micro-level studies to address the 

reprofessionalisation of teachers in this area, to achieve promotion of best practice and to improve 

the quality of teaching. 

Several contributors to this issue of Compass have found themselves much exercised by the realities 

of institutional Virtual Learning Environments and provide their take on experiences of e -learning 
and flipped practices: 

Adele Atkinson’s case study of the application of a flipped classroom to a six -week healthcare 

professionals’ module finds that there are some real benefits to collaborative, enquiry-

based/problem-based learning sessions when all  participants have, in their own time, adequately 

explored the available online resources and activities. The case study makes clear the importance 

both of students’ digital skills and of the quality of the materials they are accessing; additionally, the 

tutors’ roles as facilitators and questioners are key to successful face -to-face sessions. Participants’ 

previous passive learning experiences may be a barrier to this much more active approach; in future, 

she intends to provide students with a preliminary rationale to overcome that and also to develop 
colleagues’ questioning skills to improve the problem-based learning in module sessions. 

Another exploration of flipped-classroom methods by Alan Dix involved the reuse of MOOC video 

materials and the fine-grain analytics provided by a new universal media player. His account of his 

first steps in flipping the classroom points to the necessity of very diverse ways of using materials to 



Editor’s Introduction 
 

Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol 8, No 12, 2016 
 

meet student needs and to the advantages, thanks to the analytics, both of targeted feedback to 

students and (for the academic, very much accountable) a comforting sense of control over learning. 

The MOOC materials, intended to be read or watched unsupervised online, proved to be very 

suitable for student access prior to face -to-face activities, though he does refer to students’ own 
concerns about off-campus internet availability and insufficiently powerful personal computers.  

A third piece about flipped learning by Katie Stripe considers the responses garnered from an 

audience at the University of Greenwich APT2015 Conference to the question ‘Is flipped learning a 

challenge, an opportunity or a necessity?’ She suggests that digital and oral expression, as evident in 

mentimeter and verbal responses to specific questions, reflects a contrast in individuals’ preferences 

for either technological or person-to-person communication in the learning/teaching context; this is 

emblematic of the institutional gulf between those teachers who resist and those who readily 

embrace digital technology. Institutions must, she says, have consistency of policy and provide good 

pedagogical and technological support. The sharing of good practice is fundamental to achieving 
both general acceptance of, and high standards in, flipped learning. 

A fourth paper on this theme by Sue Watling presents some preliminary findings from a three-year 

action research project into that very matter of staff reluctance to move from face -to-face to e- and 

blended-learning practices. The project led to the establishment of TELEDA (Teaching and Learning 

in a Digital Age) course for aspiring e-teachers, itself entirely interactive and collaborative. She 

argues that e-teaching must be made explicit and that teachers must have the necessary technical 

and pedagogical knowledge to create effective (i.e. activity-based) online learning environments. 

Putting TELEDA participants into an experiential course design context resulted in their increased 

empathy with their own students and increased the likelihood of their consistent adoption of digital 

practices. Fundamentally, the shift needs to be from a technology-training to a teacher-education 

model. 

Two papers consider the power of particular approaches to learning, both of them at the University 
of Greenwich: 

In the Faculty of Education and Health, Jim Gritton, Jill Stewart, Charlotte Jeavons, Nevin Mehmet, 

and Vincent La Placa explore how using film to stimulate discussion amongst public health, wellbeing 

and leadership students has proved efficacious in developing their sensitivity, understanding and 

powers of empathy, to enhance their future work as prof essional practitioners. Outlining the 

approach provides a substantial amount of academic evidence to support the educational and 

stimulation value of viewing film from health and leadership perspectives and describes the authors’ 

workshop to offer best practice methodology to teaching colleagues. Close focus on the possibilities 

of one specific film, Erin Brockovich, demonstrates how teachers might apply the approach to their 

own disciplines and offers some clear insights into the issues involved. 

Angela Byrne’s case study focuses on the introduction of podcasting on an undergraduate History 

course as a means of learning and assessment. It intended to foster a range of student skills as well 

as diversifying assessment methods, with both formative peer and summative lecturer feedback. 

The podcast not only presented students’ original research; it enhanced their digital and 

communication expertise, highly relevant to employability. Student feedback was largely positive. 

She describes refinements to be incorporated to enhance it for the future.  

Helping students (especially those from non-traditional backgrounds and those who are the first in 

their families to undertake higher education) to access education and find their way into 
employment presents considerable challenge.  



Editor’s Introduction 
 

Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol 8, No 12, 2016 
 

One case study by Noel-Ann Bradshaw describes how the Greenwich Graduate Work Experience 

Scheme (GWES) enabled a graduate i ntern with film experience to help combat student 

apprehensions about the graduate job application process; she selected students, trained them in 

film-making and got them to use their own ideas in several videos which they created on CV s, extra-

curricular activities, mentoring and placements. The case study includes student comments about 

the skills and confidence acquired during the project and demonstrates how film and film -making 

represent a decidedly effective way of allowing real insight into the stages of preparing for, seeking 
and acquiring a relevant graduate post. 

Another paper by Melanie Thorley and Clifton Kandler reviews and explores the effectiveness of 

lecture capturing at the University of Greenwich, specifically its own cross-faculty application of the 

Panopto system as a means of supporting disabled and non -traditional students who may not be 

able to access education equally with their peers. The trial threw up significant benefits, as the 

system operates on personal electronic equipment, al lowing for live-streaming, replaying and 

searching of recorded lectures/presentations and adjustment of fonts and colours. Thus the 

approach can meet the needs of students with diverse abilities, but there are implications for 

institutions, which may need to address such matters as staff skills/awareness and legal and policy 

issues. The paper considers also the system’s potential at a time of cuts to student disability 
allowances for a reduction in the need for in-class notetakers. All in all, the advantage s win the day. 

Cornelia Boldyreff, Yasmine Arafa, Asif Malik, Andrew Wicks, and Gillian Windall cover the BCS 

Appathon events at the University of Greenwich, one of several UK locations collectively aiming to 

engage in one hour as many people as possible i n producing a mobile phone app. The authors 

describe the method, the software and the outcomes. Very much the brainchild of BCSWomen and 

with creation rather than consumption at its heart, the day not only drew a wide  age range of 

people, but also triggered the idea of exposing first-year students of Computer and Information 

Sciences to the Appathon experience; as ambassadors, these students might then go out to schools 

to generate programming interest there. 

Twenty-seven student ‘champions’ at the University of Southampton acted as change agents in a 

project designed to improve the quality, practice and culture of feedback from staff to students. A 

thorough portrayal of the multi-faceted, cross-discipline project is provided in a case study by 

Laurence Georgin, Kristina Stewart, Rebecca Wainwright, Rameesha Anwar and Abisola Tina 

Hammed shows how a much better understanding of why feedback didn’t work well for students 

was achieved. The paper contains references to some  useful transferable resources, such as a video 

and interactive tool, and clearly describes the various means by which the project’s findings were 

disseminated. Though the case study suggests that embedding good practice will be challenging and 

will need institutional resolve, there are encouraging signs that, at Southampton, things are moving 
in the right direction. 

We hope that you enjoy reading these thought provoking accounts, discussing the ideas raised with 
colleagues, and help continue to extend the conversations concerning teaching and learning by 
submitting to our future issues.   
 
Danielle Tran 
 
Editor  
 
Educational Development Unit, University of Greenwich