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About CLAD

The Centre for Learning and Academic Development (CLAD) comprises a multi-professional team of staff with expertise in e-learning, we proteaching in HE, academic skills development, and learning enhancement. CLAD works in partnership with the academic community to take forward all aspects of educational enhancement with the development of a distinctive ‘Birmingham’ approach to the academic curriculum and experience.

Student skills enhancement

  • Helping all students to fulfil their full academic potential by designing and providing a range of academic skills support initiatives, through face to face or eLearning. Activities include Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), Doctoral Researchers Supporting Undergraduate Study Skills programmes, and ICT skills training.

  • A recent innovation is Skills4Campus, a new interactive study skills resource available on the Guide to Effective Learning website.

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Teaching expertise

  • Working directly with academic schools and colleges to provide bespoke development sessions, events, consultation sessions and advice for individuals and teams who teach.
  • Supporting the development of teaching expertise by running courses and workshops, including the Higher Education Academy accredited Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice.
  • Offering English language support and other services for international staff, and assisting in the use of learning technologies, offering assistance in the design and delivery of online content, assessment, communication and administration.
  • Supporting our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Wimba Voice Tools (a suite of interactive voice and audio tools), PebblePad (electronic portfolio tools), Questionmark Perception (advanced online assessment software) and Respondus (a question-authoring tool for online assessments).

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Funded educational enhancement projects

  • The CLAD Advisory Board funds small and large educational enhancement projects across the University.

  • The CLAD Project Team collaborates with project leaders by providing advice and support on projects and activities that aim to enhance the student learning experience.  The project support and dissemination process encourages linkages to be made between academic staff across a range of disciplines to enable the sharing of ideas and good practice. 

  • CLAD College Education Enhancement Fellows (college-based colleagues who are appointed on a part-time secondment to work with CLAD) all lead projects that will have cross-college or institution-wide impact, and are key to the dissemination process.

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Teaching and student learning support

  • Administering annual Heads of Schools and Colleges awards scheme for excellence in teaching or supporting student learning (School and College prizes). Offering two University Teaching Fellowships of £5,000 each year, and providing support for institutional nominees for the National Teaching Fellowship scheme. Running an annual University Teaching and Learning Conference and other smaller events throughout the year.

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Find out more

To learn more about CLAD and the services we provide, please visit the CLAD website.

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