Post by ISTonline

Recognising Technicians' Contributions to Teaching Excellence For many years, technicians have played a vital role in delivering learning, developing practical skills, supporting innovation, and enhancing the student experience across HE. Yet historically, their contribution to teaching excellence has often gone unrecognised. New analysis by Dr Tim Savage PFHEA explores how technicians are represented within Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) submissions and reveals some encouraging progress. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/e6KFV3Pr 📈 In 2017, fewer than 20% of providers referenced technicians in their narratives of teaching excellence. 📈 By 2023, that figure had risen to over 34%. The research highlights technicians contributing through: 🔹 Teaching practical skills and demonstrations 🔹 Delivering workshops and specialist training 🔹 Supporting independent and student-led learning 🔹 Developing industry-relevant technical competencies 🔹 Contributing to curriculum delivery and educational innovation The findings reinforce something that many within the technical community have known for a long time: technicians are not simply supporting learning >> they are actively shaping it! Particularly interesting is an emerging finding from the author, that institutions signed up to the Technician Commitment appear to be almost twice as likely to recognise technicians within their TEF submissions. While progress is being made, the research also suggests that for many institutions, the contribution of technical professionals remains underrepresented in formal narratives of teaching excellence. At the IST, we believe technical expertise deserves visibility, recognition and professional respect. Technicians and Technical Professionals are critical to developing skills, enabling innovation and supporting the next generation of professionals. 👏 Thank you to Dr Tim Savage for continuing to shine a light on the impact of technical professionals and helping to strengthen the evidence base for technician recognition. #TechniciansMakeItHappen #TeachingExcellence