Our principles of innovation in teaching

Innovation is one of the key pillars that support our teaching and learning. We’re applying it to our pedagogy, in our approach to scholarship, in the policies that shape our work and in the technology that we implement. We are embedding innovation across all subject areas.

Education that empowers

The University of York nurtures and fulfils ambitions, and prepares our students for an ever-evolving world. We design innovative pedagogies and curricula, underpinned by technology, widen access locally and globally and eradicate achievement gaps.

To us, an empowering education means transforming the whole student experience to create high quality, flexible, inclusive and accessible lifelong learning journeys. It’s a core element of our University Strategy.

To provide an education that empowers, our approach will be defined by three pillars, all of which are underpinned by data and our people:

Portfolio - offering a range of standard and non-standard options, on campus and online, to suit a range of learners and learning styles.
No gaps - eradicating achievement gaps through outreach and inclusivity.
Innovation - in technology, styles of teaching and learning, and through new module models.

Portfolio

Our portfolio encompasses standard and non-standard options, with innovative cross disciplinary modules playing a key role for many students. We offer on campus and online learning, apprenticeship degrees, continuing professional development and transnational education.

York students benefit from our expertise in research and practice, by having opportunities to become knowledge creators themselves through capstone research or service-related projects across all our Bachelors and Integrated masters programmes. Opportunities to embrace the benefits of interdisciplinary skills, perspectives and practice enriches student employability which combined with a focus on real world content in our curricula prepare our students for the ever-evolving world.

Students are inspired to develop specialisms and explore critical perspectives within their chosen field.

Staff who are discipline experts deliver subject content informed by cutting-edge scholarship and research, encouraging students to engage with complex topics. Additional modules provide students with opportunities to engage with areas of knowledge they may not have covered in their previous education. Students are inspired to develop specialisms and explore critical perspectives within their chosen field. They are actively engaged in their learning and opportunities for stretch and encouraged to pursue their personal interests.

Small group teaching and problem-based learning are essential parts of our pedagogical approach. This includes offering high quality, practice learning designed collaboratively with local and regional partners, who are the main employers of the graduates.

https://youtu.be/nzpi2b8VMRo?si=JlzJsxQMbwcI8xt4

We are developing students’ skills to tackle the environmental, societal and global challenges facing our rapidly changing world. Students are given opportunities to undertake placements in an industry of their choice for up to 12 months as part of their degree programme.

Enabling students to thrive, regardless of their background or learning style.

No gaps

We're eradicating achievement gaps through outreach and inclusivity.

This includes tailoring our teaching, feedback and assessment practices to ensure that they are highly effective in supporting our students' learning, progression, and attainment.

Using a range of teaching and assessment approaches ensures inclusivity, enabling students to thrive, regardless of their background or learning style.

This goes beyond traditional academic roles with departmentally embedded Academic and Communication Skills Advisors involved in the delivery of postgraduate provision. The advisors engage students in a supportive journey of self development which facilitates their transition to studying and succeeding in an unfamiliar, culturally diverse context. This work has been highlighted by the Office for Students as an example of good practice in supporting students from diverse backgrounds.

We react to what's affecting our students... we adapt our spaces to reflect their needs.

We react to what's affecting our students; during the pandemic, we were quick to implement changes to academic regulations to support and protect students’ assessment practices and outcomes.

Our high quality learning environments ensure tailored, personalised and discipline-specific learning support is easily available to students. We adapt our spaces to reflect the needs of our students - the family study room in our Library allows parents to work while their children enjoy the books, toys and child-sized furniture.

https://youtu.be/ZAjun-IFKls

By putting students at the centre of their learning we empower them to choose the direction of, and increase engagement with, their studies and learning experiences. Extensive optionality in programmes beyond the first year allows students to engage with the most innovative areas of their subjects and study the topics they are most enthusiastic about, which we know leads to achieving their best results.

Innovation

Research is embedded throughout all programmes with capstone research or service-related projects forming part of all Bachelors and Integrated Masters programmes.

Our students benefit from being taught by research-active staff, in many cases being taught by the people who wrote their textbooks.

We adopt pioneering new pedagogic approaches and each of our programmes is mapped to ensure that student work, contact time and formative and summative assessment for each module contribute to the progressive achievement of the programme learning outcomes (PLOs).

A key strength of the student experience at York is that staff deliver subject content that pushes students.

Our innovative approach stands up well in national and local student surveys. The University’s NSS results repeatedly indicate that a key strength of the student experience at York is that staff deliver subject content that pushes students and encourages them to engage with complex topics.

We also know from the First Impressions survey carried out by YUSU (the University’s students’ union) that this has become embedded in our reputation: 65% of first year students chose York because they believed it would be the best institution to help them to broaden their horizons and to grow in their field of study.