The course covers the following subject areas:

• A critical review of (and opportunity to engage with) contemporary education practices in health and social care.
• Current and future developments in regulation of health and social care education.
• Approaches to curriculum design and delivery.
• Theories and models concerning the nature and processes of teaching, learning, assessment and student support.
• Principles of evidence-based practice and research into learning and teaching issues, including evaluation.
• Quality assurance and enhancement of programmes supporting learning of health and social care professionals.

The course comprises of three modules:

• Introduction to Learning and Teaching in HE aims to provide course members with an overview of teaching and learning issues within the context of Higher Education and specifically at the University of Central Lancashire and to increase confidence to engage with teaching and learning activities and professional practice within a higher education learning environment.
• Teaching, Learning and Assessment links explicitly with  Introduction to Learning and Teaching in HE and develops participants' professional practice in the spheres of teaching, learning, assessment and student support.
• Preparation of Teachers: Health and Social Care Professions aims to provide students with an opportunity to critically reflect on the context within which they work in supporting student learning and to assess their academic professional practice against the expectations of professional standards frameworks and role expectations.

The aim of this course is to prepare and develop nurses and midwives working within higher education and clinical practice to meet the UK professional standards framework for learning and teaching in higher education (Higher Education Academy 2006) and Nursing and Midwifery Council professional standards for teachers. The NMC has revised its standards to support learning and teaching in practice (NMC 2006) and as a result, UCLan has created new courses for mentors, practice teachers and teachers. This course focuses on the teacher standard, which is mandatory for those registrants who are teachers employed in higher education and who support students on NMC approved programmes in practice settings. The teacher course may also be accessed by clinical staff who would like to develop their careers in the direction of teaching in higher education.

The course is designed to enable students to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the student learning experience within the context of contemporary academic and practice settings, encompassing key themes including establishing effective working relationships, creating and maintaining a learning environment, facilitating learning and assessment and evaluating learning by utilising evidence-based practice and leadership strategies. On completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Organise and coordinate learning activities in both academic and practice settings.
• Supervise students in learning situations and provide them with constructive feedback on their achievements.
• Set and monitor achievement of realistic learning objectives in theory and practice.
• Assess performance and provide evidence as required of student achievement.
• The course has been mapped against professional standards specifically for Nursing and Midwifery and the Higher Education Academy. In addition the course has also been mapped to the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework.