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We maintain that an understanding of the working contexts of staff is a critical consideration when designing for effective professional development. The process of embedding theory into good practice does not simply depend on the design of a good seminar, because it may also be affected by who else attends, or perhaps by who the participants talk to subsequently. This article presents a case study of the development of an online module at the Open University in the UK that was designed to help staff in understanding how to use online tools for supporting students. The article describes the institutional context in order to demonstrate how we have brought innovations in learning and teaching practice to the attention of our practitioners, using social learning techniques, within their normal working environment. We go on to describe module design and participant perceptions of its effectiveness.

There has been much discussion in this journal of the development of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Indeed the effective enhancement of teaching and learning is more likely to take place when generic lessons are contextualized within the language of the discipline, and adapted to the needs of the students. We describe here a study of the teaching practice of distance tutors on a History course, who were given the opportunity for extended reflection on the demands of the course, and to consider their aims and share their strategies, stimulated by ideas from threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. In line with common practice in a distance environment, the reflection process took place in a workshop followed by participation in an online group, hosted on a wiki. We illustrate the significant or difficult areas of the course that staff reported, and describe their intentions and some of the strategies that they used for helping students with these critical areas. We propose a new approach to professional development which begins with reflection on the demands of the course itself and its students before considering appropriate facilitation strategies to meet those specific demands.

Academic staff who work away from the university campus have few informal opportunities to keep in touch with their peers, and the provision of appropriate professional development for them can be problematic. At the Open University in Scotland an online forum provides a platform for the development of an informal community of distance tutors. It encourages exchange and reflection on the subject of using online media to support students, and has been running continuously for over three years. This paper presents the findings from research undertaken to establish who uses the forum, how and for what purposes, and draws out issues relevant to others supporting and developing staff at a distance.

In the United Kingdom the medical teacher role is being formalized. One result is that Masters level programmes in medical education are proliferating; however little or no attempt has been made to capture any differences in quality offered by them. A small scale project (Allery et al. 2006) set out to rectify this omission.Drawing on data from that study, this paper considers the variation in standards across programmes. Specifically research methods training provided in MMEd courses and levels of support for researchers is investigated.A secondary analysis of the data generated by the evaluative study and gathered via review of programme web sites, semi structured interviews with MSc course directors and case studies in two sites, identified from purposive sampling.Variations in both taught and research elements were identified. The quality of the research experience was compromised for some students many of whom were poorly prepared to undertake educational research and the question of standards raised in respect of those institutions where the examination process lacked real academic rigour.The variance in research methods training and support raises a number of issues in relation to quality standards. The medical education community needs to engage in open and critical dialogue around the whole constellation of paradigms, methods and activities that pertain in educational research. Unless or until we address these deeper concerns, research into medical education will suffer through a lack of design flair, implementation and rigour.

Endoscopy is an important diagnostic and therapeutic procedure that demands high levels of cognitive and technical skill to perform effectively. Surprisingly little is known about how endoscopy is best taught and training is often inadequate. The aims of this study were to explore the learning experiences of endoscopy trainees to improve our understanding of current training. Following the use of an initial focus group to generate appropriate themes semi-structured interviews were performed on 10 trainees to assess their learning experiences. Many different components of the learning experience were identified; one-to-one supervised performance forms the basis for teaching but is often sub-optimal; endoscopy learners experience anxiety and find re-adopting the role of novice difficult; motivation, clear explanation and feedback are crucial to learning; breaking down endoscopy training into segments is seen as valuable and as learners progress a gradual withdrawal of supervision is appreciated. Several of the issues contributing to a positive learning experience relate closely to published evidence and theory relating to skills teaching from other fields. A model identifying the key elements of endoscopy learning is proposed. Further work to apply and test the findings from this study should lead to improved endoscopy training.

We know assessment plays a major formative role in driving student learning appropriately, but what implications does this have for online courses? Is it more important than in a face to face context, or less so? Should we reconceptualize the ways in which we assess students, or are existing methods, tried and tested in conventional teaching and learning situations, appropriate? This paper discusses the practical implications of implementing these online pedagogies and illustrates the powerful formative effects, both intended and unintentional, of assessment on student learning and behaviour. It draws on examples from recent research on two e‐learning courses at UK Open University.

The availability of electronic media challenges our approaches to student learning support in a variety of ways. In spite of much work into online course design and delivery, we have tended to neglect the contribution of other modes and media used in learner support, and there has been a critical lack of overt integration of online use with other good learning support systems. In the SOLACE project, we have been exploring current practices for learner support and the degree to which tutor interventions and interactions with their students map to their use of communication media. The main focus for this study is ‘traditional distance’ tutors at the Open University, and contrasts are drawn with three courses taught within a ‘traditional campus’ setting at the University of Glasgow. Preliminary findings from the first phase of this project reflect present practice in learner support for a range of courses, and describe factors influencing the use of media in a blended solution to learner support.

Electronic information resources are increasingly in use for courses at all levels of Higher Education. They may be employed as reference material when researching particular topics for assignments, as part of a conventionally structured course, or alternatively their use may be a central part of resource based course philosophy. Whilst the use of these resources may offer many advantages in terms of developing more independent learners, there are also information handling skills which students must acquire. This paper discusses the relevance of these skills and the factors influencing their acquisition for students on two networked resource based courses at the UK Open University.

Distance learning is seen as the obvious answer for remote learners, and the use of online media is expected to overcome any access difficulties imposed by geographical distance. However, this belief may be obscuring our understanding of the role that location and individual circumstances have in shaping student experience. This paper explores the variation in experiences of remote rural students who study with the Open University (UK). The researchers found that perceptions of remoteness depended on geography, but were also relative to individual circumstances. With respect to students’ sense of connection with university staff and peers, most mentioned their contact with their personal tutor. Networks with peers were less common, a matter of concern if peer networks are integral to fostering improved retention and progression. In this particular context, distance education may be playing an important and distinctive role for remote students by providing opportunities for connections with like-minded people.

Project 2000 has changed the role of nurse teachers. Thus evaluation of Project 2000 should incorporate a theoretical framework that not only evaluates the individual school/college of nursing curriculum but also enhances the teachers professional development. This paper suggests that teacher professional development would be enhanced by teacher self-evaluation (action research). A collaborative approach between teachers and an evaluation co-ordinator would ensure that the quality of the curriculum is maintained (MacDonald 1991). It is argued that the implementation of monitored innovation would fulfil the criteria for the developing school/college of nursing put forward by Holly et al (1989).

CONTEXT The Association for the Study of Medical Education states that its aim is to improve the quality of medical education. As a consequence, it commissioned through its Education Research Group a small-scale project to explore the quality of the research methods elements in currently available UK master's and doctoral programmes. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the breadth, depth and diversity of the research methods provision of those programmes currently available to course participants. METHODS The study comprised a 3-phase approach which utilised: a web-based search of curricula format and content; semi-structured interviews with key informants, and case studies and site visits to conduct documentary analysis of dissertations and in-depth interviews with core personnel. RESULTS The study revealed wide variation across taught programmes. These discrepancies applied to length of course, requirements for the dissertation in terms of both length and time allowed to complete the study and, crucially, a wide variance in the quality and quantity of the levels of supervision provided for students during this research phase. DISCUSSION This study raises concerns about the aims and functions of courses offering qualifications in medical education. It identifies a number of obstacles to the development of educational researchers who are skilled in the philosophical underpinnings of research activity or equipped to undertake educational research that is of a quality sufficient to withstand the scrutiny of the authors' scientific and clinical counterparts. We argue that if research into medical education is to thrive, it requires the full commitment of all those who are engaged in teaching the topic and supporting researchers.