Each autumn brings fresh curiosity, energy and ideas to the University of Bath - and this year is no exception. We’re delighted to welcome our new cohort of probationary lecturers into the University’s Pathways to Fellowship programme. Over the coming months, colleagues will embark on a supported journey to develop their teaching practice, build community and help one another progress towards fellowship recognition.
Learning as a Community of Practice
From day one, the programme is designed around people rather than paperwork. Probationers join cross-disciplinary workshops that meet on average once per week during the semester to tackle real teaching challenges - designing inclusive assessment, making feedback feed forward, facilitating active learning in large cohorts, or integrating generative AI responsibly. These workshops act as peer-support hubs, where colleagues test ideas, exchange resources and reflect on what works in their contexts. To keep momentum, we also run monthly 1-to-1 online support sessions for fellowship-related questions.
Sharing Good Practice Across the University
Good ideas deserve to travel. Alumni of the Pathways programme regularly contribute to the annual EduFest teaching conference with innovative ideas and case studies, receive teaching prizes, and take forward ideas through the Teaching Development Fund - evidence that local innovation is influencing practice across the University.
A Clear Pathway to Fellowship
For most probationers, fellowship (AFHEA/FHEA) is a key milestone during probation. Our role is to equip them with the toolkit and clear the path: workshops break requirements into manageable steps; triad peer feedback sessions accelerate drafting as participants offer and receive comments on each others’ applications; and additional writing retreats carve out time for reflection. Rather than treating recognition as an add-on to already busy schedules of early career lecturers, we aim to integrate it with day-to-day teaching so that colleagues feel supported in their teaching practice and evidence for fellowship applications builds naturally as practice evolves.
An Invitation
If you’re a new colleague, welcome - your community is ready for you. If you’re an experienced member of staff, consider becoming a Champion or Reviewer for the Pathways to Fellowship scheme; your insight can make all the difference to a probationer finding their voice in the classroom. And to all who are interested in the pursuit of excellent teaching at Bath: join the CLT’s Professional Development Programme for a range of opportunities to connect, share and get involved. Together, we can all contribute to growing a community that is developing, supporting, and leading high quality teaching and learning.
Blog post by: Lenka Banovcova, Curriculum and Academic Lead (Professional Development and Recognition), The Centre for Learning and Teaching.
