Learning and Teaching Strategy (2021-2032)
- Lucy Orange
The Department of Environment and Geography (DEG) is aiming to be the most influential environment department in the world by our 40th anniversary in 2032. To help us to achieve this goal we will equip our graduates with the skills, knowledge and transformative competencies they need to lead the way on tackling interconnected global challenges. We will also establish DEG as a leading centre for pedagogic approaches to global challenges education. This strategy is in line with the University of York’s civic mission and strategic vision for ethical and empowering education
Higher education currently sits within a wider context of unprecedented global change, a changing workforce and rising concern about environmental issues. As a leading centre for environment and sustainability teaching, DEG has an important role to play in helping to address these challenges, and meeting new employer demands and student aspirations.
Addressing global challenges:
The world is changing fast and requires solutions to unprecedented social, economic and environmental challenges which involve complex interlinkages, uncertainty and conflicts of values. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an urgent call for action to end poverty, improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth, whilst also tackling climate change and preserving our oceans and land. Society is looking to higher education to help equip the next generation to tackle these issues.
Forward-looking education frameworks tell us that, in addition to disciplinary skills and knowledge, graduates will need to be equipped with leadership skills, agency and transformative competencies such as the ability to innovate, reconcile tensions and dilemmas, and have a sense of responsibility. Additionally, the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs report (2020) suggests that the top skills which employers see as rising in prominence over the next few years are critical thinking and analysis as well as problem-solving, and skills in self-management such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility. Higher education curricula will need to equip graduates with these competencies and skills if they are going to be ‘future-ready’.
Meeting workforce demands:
There is expected to be an explosion of jobs in the environment and sustainability sector over the next decades because of increased investment in sustainability initiatives within organisations and commitments to achieving national and international sustainability targets. For example, it is expected that achieving the UK’s net zero target will create 400,000 new jobs across a range of sectors including opportunities for renewable energy scientists, project managers and technicians working on clean energy solutions and expert communicators who can lead on cultural change . The UK Government’s ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’ suggests that 250,000 jobs will be created by 2050 which will create opportunities in nature and land management, flood resilience and green innovation. These jobs will be shaped by the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ involving next generation technology, such as artificial intelligence, which will bring with it new modes of quantitative knowledge production and decision-making. The external environment will be looking to higher education to provide graduates who are equipped to take on these new roles.
Meeting student aspirations:
There is a rising student demand for environment and sustainability teaching in higher education programmes. In recent years young climate activists like Greta Thunberg have captured the world’s attention and this has led to increased environmental activism and growing desire amongst young people to pursue green careers. According to a recent report, one in four UK teens (15-18) are now looking to pursue a green career. Furthermore, a recent National Union of Students (NUS) Sustainability Skills Survey revealed that 83% of the students surveyed would like to see sustainable development actively promoted and incorporated through all courses. In response to ‘the increased urgency for everybody in society to take positive actions in addressing sustainable development issues’, the QAA has recently published revised guidance for UK higher education providers on education for sustainable development. The rising demand for environment and sustainability teaching brings with it opportunities for higher education providers and provides a guide for future curriculum development.
This Learning and Teaching strategy has been developed to ensure the future success of the Department and our graduates, and allow DEG to make an important contribution towards addressing global challenges.
1 OECD (2018) The Future of Education and Skills: Education 2030
2 World Economic Forum (2020) The Future of Jobs report
3 HSBC (2019) Made for the Future Report
4 National Grid (2020) Building the Net Zero Energy Workforce
5 UK Government Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution (2020)
6 Coonan and Pratt-Adams (2018) Building Higher Education Curricula Fit for the Future, Advance HE
7 Royal Society of Chemistry (2020)
8 NUS Sustainability Skills Survey (2019-20)
9 QAA (2020) Education for Sustainable Development Guidance
Formed in 1992, DEG has 37 academic staff members and over 500 taught students. Teaching is supported by 1 teaching technician, additional technicians who provide support for field trips, lab work and dissertation projects, and 13 members of professional support staff.
We run 4 undergraduate degree programmes, including a BSc ‘Environmental Science’, BSc ‘Environmental Geography’, BSc ‘Environment, Economics, and Ecology’ and BA ‘Human Geography and Environment’. BSc programmes have an integrated master’s option. We are further involved in a BA ‘Global Development’ run by the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre (IGDC) based in the Department of Politics in York, and contribute modules to two specialisation pathways within the University of York Natural Sciences programmes.
Our postgraduate taught portfolio comprises MSc programmes in ‘Environmental Economics and Environmental Management’, ‘Environmental Science and Management’ and ‘Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Management’. We are further involved in a MSc ‘Sustainability Science’ and MA ‘Sustainability Studies’ with the Department of Archaeology. We are the lead York Department for the MSc ‘Sustainable Business: Leadership, Innovation and Management’ which is a blended learning programme that has been developed as part of the York-Maastricht Partnership (YMP) and will accept its first cohort in the academic year 21/22.
In line with the York Pedagogy, each of our programmes has a set of employability-focussed programme learning outcomes and a programme leader (PL). The curricula of all programmes have been designed to ensure gradual progression towards programme learning outcomes during the course of study. Our BSc/MEnv programmes are accredited by the Institution of Environmental Sciences.
Table 1: DEG teaching committee membership
Environment and Geography Teaching Management Team (EGTMT) | Department Teaching Committee (DTC) |
Director of Learning and Teaching (Chair) | Director of Learning and Teaching (Chair) |
Chair of Board of Studies | Chair of Board of Studies |
Chair of Board of Examiners | Chair of Board of Examiners |
Student Services Manager | Student Services Manager |
UG and PGT Programme Leaders | |
UG and PGT Administrators | |
Chair of the Equality and Diversity Committee | |
Academic Employability Rep | |
Industry Liaison Officer | |
Student Feedback Champion | |
Department Student Rep |
A new The DLT chairs the Environment and Geography Teaching Management Team (EGTMT) and Department Teaching Committee (DTC). EGTMT has responsibility for Department-level decisions on teaching organisation and policy. DTC is a think-tank for programme-level learning and teaching practice. Membership of EGTMT and DTC are provided in Table 1.
This strategy has been developed based on the outcomes of a series of workshops held with representatives from within and outside of the Department during 2020 (see Table 2). DTC and wider departmental consultation was undertaken in finalising this strategy.
Table 2: DEG Learning and Teaching strategy development
Timing | Details | Focus |
Summer 2020 | Workshop (internal+external) | What would a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy look like? |
Summer 2020 | Workshop (internal) | What would a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy mean for us? |
Autumn 2020 | DTC workshop | Our L&T guiding principles |
Autumn 2020 | DTC workshop | Achieving our ambitions |
Autumn 2020 | DMT presentation | New vision and how it builds on our previous L&T strategy |
March 2021 | Consultation | DTC |
April 2021 | Consultation | Department staff |
At a workshop held in December 2020, DTC agreed on a set of guiding principles for learning and teaching in DEG. These principles are in line with our Department’s core values and guide any decisions made about our teaching and learning.
Inclusive practices in learning, teaching and assessment:
In line with the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, DEG has a commitment to inclusive practices in learning, teaching and assessment. We support all students to do their best and gain the most they can out of their education with us. Our teaching celebrates diversity, enables participation, removes barriers and anticipates and considers a variety of learning needs and preferences. As part of this we have a long-term commitment to decolonise and diversify our curriculum.
Empowering learning experience:
Our approaches to learning and teaching empower students and help them to develop self-efficacy and agency. Graduates from our programmes are prepared to consider and respect varied perspectives, think independently and make their own informed decisions.
Interdisciplinary learning experience:
Current and future environment and sustainability challenges are complex and impossible to understand or resolve from a single disciplinary perspective or knowledge framework. Students studying on our programmes have opportunities to work across disciplines, from both within and outside of their programme, to allow them to apply and realise their expertise in multidisciplinary teams.
Integrative and experiential learning:
All students graduating from our programmes will have had opportunities for integrative and experiential learning appropriate for the discipline. This will be through, for example, field courses and laboratory practicals, curriculum-based engagement with external organisations and the general public, and working on ‘live’ real-world problems. Our research-based approach to teaching also gives students opportunities to get involved in the research underway in the Department. This ‘learning by doing’ and associated reflection enhances learning, a feeling of task value and motivation, and helps with career-development planning.
Evidence-based and innovative approaches to learning and teaching:
Our approaches to learning and teaching are strongly evidence-based, progressive and innovative, where needed, but we also maintain the effective traditional methods.
Student partnerships:
Students studying in DEG feel part of a teaching and research community. Staff and students are actively engaged in and gain from the process of learning and working together, including through research. This partnership approach propels students to greater learning gain and achievement, and brings benefits to all involved.
Environmental sustainability:
We consider the environmental impact of our learning and teaching activities, and strive to reduce negative impacts and increase positive impacts wherever possible.
In order to achieve our overarching vision of being the most influential environment department in the world by 2032 we have established goals in 6 key areas: pedagogy, programme structures, teaching staff, student recruitment, teaching impact and global challenge pedagogic research. Section 7b provides further information and Table 3 (page 11) outlines a plan for achieving the goals in each of the 6 areas.
This learning and teaching strategy will be approved, following wider Departmental consultation, and adopted by the start of the academic year 21/22. Associated implementation plans will also be developed during 21/22. A 12 month review of the strategy will be undertaken at the start of the 22/23 academic year.
Outcomes of this strategy will be that in 5 years’ time we will be the ‘go-to’ place for environment and sustainability education; known internationally for our pedagogy (as evidenced by the metrics laid out in Table 3); and will have seen significant improvements in student satisfaction metrics and league table positions. This means that by 2032 we will be in the top quartile across all dimensions in student satisfaction surveys and in the top 5 in key national and international league tables.
Our pedagogy:
In the 2020 NSS overall satisfaction under ‘teaching on my course’ for the Department was 81.5% (down from 87.1% in 2019). This meant that DEG was in the 4th quartile under this dimension and ranked 17th out of the 22 Russell Group Institutions. This, alongside previous UG and PGT student satisfaction survey results and future education frameworks (OECD1) which call for a greater focus on transformative competencies, suggests that there is a need to adjust our approaches to teaching to ensure the continued future success of the Department and our graduates.
A ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy would: equip our students to tackle interconnected and complex global challenges; improve the student experience; bring consistency with the research strategy and therefore open up opportunities for truly research-led teaching; and, give us a USP with benefits for recruitment and student employability. Alongside delivering discipline-specific skills and knowledge, this pedagogy would put greater focus on teaching our students ‘how’ to think rather than ‘what’ to think and experiential and real-world learning. It would take students beyond problem and project-based learning, and require them to gain the skills needed to develop novel evidence-based solutions which consider complexity and uncertainty.
A series of workshops was held with representatives from within and outside of the Department in summer 2020 to explore what is meant by a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy. A review of ‘solutions-based’ teaching is currently being undertaken by members of the DEG T&S team. The review will be completed and submitted for publication by summer 2021. A description and implementation plan for a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy will be developed by the start of the 21/22 academic year on the basis of outcomes from the workshops, review and further discussions amongst DTC. The implementation plan will include information on what embedding this new pedagogy will mean for our programmes in practice. In 5 years’ time we will be known nationally for our ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy and by 2032 this will be internationally-recognised as a highly effective teaching approach for ensuring graduates are ‘future-ready’. Metrics for these achievements are provided below and in Table 3.
Programme structures:
Our programmes are currently a mixture of 10 and 20 credit modules which are taught across 3 teaching terms. By 23/24 all programmes in York will be taught across two semesters, with all teaching and assessment for individual modules occuring within a single semester, and all UG modules will be at 20 credits (decision on PGT modules expected May 2021). The move to a common module size across the institution is to enable students to take modules from other Departments and thereby enable and encourage multidisciplinary working to develop interdisciplinary solutions. As a Department, the restructure also offers us the opportunity to make our teaching delivery more effective and efficient but it needs careful design.
A plan for transitioning to the new teaching structure is currently being developed by DTC and will be completed by summer 2021. In 2020 DTC established that the key considerations for the restructure are:
- DEG learning and teaching guiding principles laid out in Section 5
- the move to a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy with experiential and real-world learning
- cohering teaching and research
- removing modules with low student numbers
- embedding opportunities for developing advanced numerical skills, including programming
- restructuring MEnv programmes
- improved assessment patterns and reduced assessment loads (all modules in line with Department standard of 1 or 2 assessments for a 20 credit module)
- highly effective and efficient teaching, free up time for research
- allow us to develop new programmes which draw upon existing modules within the Department and wider University and help us to achieve our overall vision
- allow us to run an effective sabbatical system.
Teaching staff:
Time: DEG academic workloads are high with many staff at 100%+ in the workload allocation model. In line with the DEG Research Strategy, we particularly need to free up research time for ART colleagues. This will be partially achieved through teaching restructure. We will also establish a T&S team who can lead on pedagogic developments, alleviate ART teaching loads and can pick up teaching when ART colleagues are on sabbatical. We are recruiting 3 permanent T&S teaching staff in 2021, with further growth planned for subsequent years.
Teaching teams: We will cohere teaching teams by forming Programme Expert groups who will guide the creative enhancement of specific programmes, and monitor programme performance. Programme Expert group lists were agreed by DTC in December 2020. Groups will be expected to meet 2 to 3 times a year during timetabled slots and meetings will be chaired by relevant programme leaders.
Community of practice: During the Covid crisis we came together as a Department to develop an inclusive approach to the move to online/ blended learning. This cohered our teaching community and brought about greater consistency in our approaches. We will build on this success by introducing a series of regular discussions, training and seminars on teaching practice from the start of the 21/22 academic year. This will build a stronger community of teaching practice in the Department, and ensure staff keep up-to-date with learning and teaching innovations.
Student recruitment:
Internationalisation: The SDGs can only be realised through strong global partnerships and cooperation. Studying in an international student body provides an enriched learning experience that helps students to understand other perspectives and cultures. It also prepares our graduates to contribute responsibly to a globally interconnected society. We have an existing partnership with Maastricht University as part of the York-Maastricht Partnership (YMP) through which we run an MSc ‘Sustainable Business: Leadership, Innovation and Management’. This programme allows students to develop an international perspective through working with staff, students and external organisations in the Netherlands. We will actively explore further opportunities for developing teaching partnerships with overseas institutions whilst also working towards increasing the proportion of international students on our programmes.
Overall the student body at Russell Group Universities is made up of 34% international students (24% undergraduates, 54% postgraduates). HESA data reveals that in 18/19 20% of all UG full time students studying in UK Universities were non-UK (16% UG, 55% PGT). In 20/21 only 11% (62/550) of students on DEG taught programmes (10% UG [36/486]; 40% PGT [26/64]) are non-UK EU and non-EU nationals. Given the benefits of internationalisation for students, the Department and the University, we will work with ‘Marketing, Recruitment, Admissions and Outreach’ (MRAO) to develop a recruitment plan which includes attracting more international students to our programmes. In 5 years’ time we will be starting to see an increase in the proportion of international students on our programmes, and by 2032 our international student body will be in line with the Russell Group averages. We will also explore other opportunities to help our students to gain a greater understanding of other perspectives and cultures such as enhancing our Year Abroad programme.
Intake grades: As a Department we frequently go into Clearing to achieve recruitment targets and accept students with grades that are lower than our stated entry requirements. In 19/20 only 36% (53/149) of year 1 undergraduate students entered with grades at ABB and above. The development of a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy and USP will help us to move our recruitment out of Clearing but we will also work with MRAO to develop a recruitment plan to help us to achieve this goal. In 5 years time all new students will be at or above our entry requirements, and by 2032 we will be a selector rather than a recruiter.
Teaching impact:
Employability and graduate achievements: A key goal of this strategy is to ensure we equip students for successful and rewarding graduate-level careers, including as future leaders in tackling global challenges. In the 16/17 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey 94% of York graduates were in employment or further study six months after graduation. The figure for DEG was 82%. The 2017/2018 Graduate Outcomes survey reported that 77% of DEG graduates were in employment 15 months after graduation. This result meant that our Times Good University guide rank for graduate outcomes fell from 20th to 36th.
The introduction of a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy will ensure that students develop the transformative competencies needed to be successful but alongside this we need to provide opportunities for effective career-development planning within the curriculum, including exposure and experiential learning with external organisations. To help with this, in 2020 we introduced an academic Employability Officer role to work with our dedicated Industry Liaison Officer.
A review of employability and employer interaction in the Environmental Science curriculum is currently underway as part of a PGCAP Scholarship of Learning and Teaching project. Learning from the experience from this review we will undertake a similar inventory across all programmes to facilitate the development of a graduate success/ employability enhancement plan by the start of 21/22. This will complement plans for moving to a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy and will be implemented for the start of the 22/23 academic year. The plan will include enhancing the value of existing curriculum-based employer interaction, active engagement with alumni and the establishment of new teaching partnerships with external organisations. It will also aim to maximise the value of teaching by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) colleagues in York, and the accrediting body for our BSc/MEnv programmes (Institution of Environmental Sciences).
In 5 years’ time we will have achieved Graduate Outcome scores which are above the subject area benchmark and starting to move up related league tables. By 2032 our Graduate Outcomes survey results will be above the HE sector average and we will be in the top 5 in related league tables. We will also have a growing number of alumni who have become leaders in the environment and sustainability sector, and are actively engaged with the Department.
University hub for environment and sustainability teaching: Surveys7 have shown that 83% of students from across a wide range of disciplines would like their university to actively promote and incorporate sustainability throughout all courses. The University is currently exploring ways to incorporate interdepartmental and cross faculty teaching, including in the area of sustainability, through a UTC Working Group. Given our expertise, DEG aspires to play a leading role in environment and sustainability teaching across the university. In 2020/2021 we piloted interdisciplinary, futures thinking workshops with civic engagement involving students from across all year groups and programmes in the Department. We will explore running modules like this with students from Departments across the University. These modules will bring together students from diverse disciplines to apply and realise their expertise, and contribute to the University’s civic mission.
Global challenges pedagogy research:
We will need transformational changes in the ways students are educated if they are going to develop the competencies needed to tackle highly interconnected and complex global challenges. We will establish a pedagogic research arm of DEG which will, by 2032, be providing international leadership in the development and evaluation of new approaches to global challenges education. The research will be undertaken by our growing teaching and scholarship team and will allow us to expand the reach of our pedagogy to other institutions worldwide.
By the end of 20/21 we will have submitted 2 publications on global challenges pedagogic research. By the end of 21/22 we will have a growing publication list in this area and have presented on this research at national and international conferences. In 5 years time we will be known nationally as a leading centre for global challenges pedagogy research and by 2032 will be internationally recognised as leaders in this area.
DEG is currently involved in discussions around the establishment of an environmental sustainability ‘entity’ as part of the University restructure plans. The creation of this entity will help us with our plans to become a University hub for sustainability teaching.
We will review our programme portfolio, including programme titles, as plans evolve for the introduction of a ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy. This strategy does not include specific plans for the creation of new taught programmes as this needs to be considered in line with the future DEG financial plan. However, we will explore opportunities for new programmes which help us to meet our overarching vision, are adequately resourced, and fit with financial planning for the Department and our restructure plans. Programmes that will fit with this vision include those which are focussed on training students to address global challenges and have interdisciplinarity, transformative competencies and skills for a sustainable future as core learning outcomes.
Table 3: DEG Learning and Teaching Strategy (2021-2032) plan
Area of focus | End of 20/21 | End of 21/22 | End of 2025 | By 2032 |
Strategy development, and implementation | New Department Strategy for Learning and Teaching approved and adopted with metrics developed to assess performance | As a result of the starting to see improvements in our performance in NSS and PTES | Top quartiles in NSS and PTES across all dimensions | Top 5 in key league tables |
Pedagogy | Descriptor of a new ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy and plan for implementation developed and approved | Initial phase of transition completed | ‘Solutions-based pedagogy’ embedded as a USP. Known nationally for ‘solutions-based pedagogy’ | Known internationally for ‘solutions-based’ pedagogy as evidenced by invitations for external engagement. |
Programme structure | Plan for transitioning to semesters, 20 credit modules developed and approved, including restructure of MEnv programmes. | Initial phases of transition completed | Transitioned to semesters and 20 credit modules. Teaching workloads reduced by 25%. | Seamless and highly effective and efficient programme structures as evidenced by improved student feedback and increased time for research. |
Teaching staff | Recruitment of 3 T&S staff who can lead on pedagogic developments and free up research time for ART colleagues. Establish programme expert teams and a learning and teaching seminar series. | Recruitment of further T&S staff. SSR in line with other Russell Group Universities Teaching seminar series established. | Highly functioning T&S team who are central to pedagogic developments. Achieved 40% research time for ART colleagues. Strong community of teaching practice. | Academic staff who feel professionally fulfilled in all aspects of their role, and part of a community of teaching practice. |
Student recruitment | Recruitment strategy developed and agreed, which will bring a higher proportion of overseas students to the Department and improve intake grades. | Running campaigns to attract a greater proportion of international students to our programmes. | Increasing proportion of international students. All students at or above stated entry requirements. | The ‘go-to’ place for global challenge education, including a highly diverse student body with proportion of international students above the Russell Group average for the subject area and being a selector rather than a recruiter. |
Impact of our teaching at Department and University levels | Review of employability in the curriculum completed. Employability/ student success plan developed and approved. Development of plans for becoming a hub for York environment and sustainability teaching. | Initial stage of implementation. Trial of University-level environment and sustainability teaching initiatives completed. | Above benchmark Graduate Outcomes for the subject area, and starting to move up related league tables. Running interdisciplinary modules that are open to all York students. | Above benchmark Graduate Outcomes for the sector, and top 5 in related league tables. Highly successful and award-winning alumni leading in the environment and sustainability sector. |
Global challenge pedagogic research | Initiate pedagogic research arm of the Department by development of T&S team, and submitting 2 publications on pedagogic research | Growing publication list on pedagogic research. At least 2 conference presentations. T&S team submit >2 applications for funding for pedagogic research. | Known nationally as a leading centre for global challenge pedagogic research T&S team submit > 4 applications for funding for pedagogic research. | Known internationally as a leading centre for global challenge pedagogic research as evidenced by publications and external engagement. |