Introduction: the nature and purpose of the guide

1.1 This Guide to Good Practice in Teaching and Learning is meant primarily for staff at the Northern College. It is concerned with how all those involved in supporting or promoting student learning can explore, question, develop and enhance practice. It is informed by good practice in the process of teaching and learning in adult education, drawing upon the accumulated experience of staff and upon research findings.

1.2 The Guide seeks consistency with the College's Strategic Plan. In briefly contextualising the work of the College within national, regional and local strategies of widening participation and lifelong learning, it identifies the College's educational priorities and target groups, and relates these to its assumptions, values and philosophical positions on pedagogy. It attempts to address, in a coherent and practical way, some important learning issues identified within these broader strategies through the application of the experience and resources that the College currently has available.

1.3 Having done this, the Guide goes on to examine the nature and range of the College's students, practice relating to outreach and recruitment, student motivation and needs, the curriculum offer, course design and planning, session planning, teaching methods, adult learning, the place of key skills teaching in the curriculum, the use of learning aids and resources, the provision of guidance and support to students, the assessment of student achievement, and the evaluation of these various areas of work.

1.4 The various activities involved in the process of teaching and learning may not be clear and explicit, especially to intending or new staff. Even though the induction process for those coming to work at the College for the first time is rigorous, this process can be prolonged and the culture shift difficult to manage. The Guide is meant not just to help intending or new staff relate to the way in which the College works but also to reinforce good practice with established staff and to help practitioners in other institutions deal with some of the issues raised by the agenda of widening participation and lifelong learning.

1.5 In the initial sections of the Guide there is a deliberate inclusion of some background information. This is to ensure that all its users, and particularly those who are just beginning their jobs, have a sufficiently well-informed view of the College's origins, growth and role.