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Chaired by: Dr Jayne Dennis. Facilitated by: Dr Richard Davies, co-convenor of the Academic Practice Network. For more details about the network and its activities, please click here.  

Overview

This two-hour symposium explores the contemporary relevance of David Hargreaves’ 1996 argument that teaching should operate as a research-based profession. Thirty years on, the session invites participants to critically examine whether this vision has been realised within UK higher education, and what challenges and tensions remain.

The event brings together a panel of speakers with expertise in higher education research, policy, and practice to offer short provocations on key themes arising from Hargreaves’ work. These perspectives will confront what it means for teaching in higher education to be genuinely research-informed.

Following the speaker contributions, participants will engage in structured discussion, reflecting on their own institutional contexts and disciplinary practices. The session aims to move beyond abstract debate, encouraging attendees to consider how research, evidence, and scholarship can meaningfully inform teaching in their own work.

By revisiting Hargreaves at this milestone, the symposium provides a timely opportunity to assess progress, question assumptions, and identify practical and strategic ways to strengthen the relationship between research and teaching in contemporary UK higher education.

Schedule

Speaker bios

Jayne Dennis is a Reader in Biomedical Education and Director of Scholarship in the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary University of London. She is a Queen Mary Academy Fellow, identifying best practice in enabling scholarship. Her research focuses on metacognition in teaching and learning in higher education. Jayne has won multiple education awards at Queen Mary. She is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and previously completed an MA in educational psychology at UCL’s Institute of Education. Her PhD at the University of Glasgow was on the molecular classification of cancer.

Earle Abrahamson is a leading international scholar in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), recognised for his sustained impact on advancing educational practice, research, and policy. He is Professor of SoTL at the University of Hertfordshire, a Principal Fellow and National Teaching Fellow of Advance HE, and an inaugural Fellow of ISSOTL. Earle serves on the UK SoTL Alliance Steering Group, is Co-Editor of Teaching & Learning Inquiry (TLI), and sits on the EuroSoTL Board. Through his scholarship, leadership, mentorship, and international collaborations, he has influenced teaching excellence, assessment, feedback, reasoning development, and student success across higher education globally. He is a sought-after keynote speaker, consultant, and supervisor of master's and doctoral researchers, recognised for shaping institutional cultures that enhance learning, employability, and educational impact.

David Kernohan is Deputy Editor of Wonkhe. Until June 2016, he worked at Jisc as a programme manager and senior codesign manager, after being seconded from HEFCE in 2006. He has also worked for the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales).  As Associate Editor, David has responsibility for the development and delivery of a variety of editorial content. His key areas of wonkishness include higher education data, graduate employment, teaching quality enhancement policy, funding policy, sector agency politics and history, and the use of technology in higher education.

Dawne Irving-Bell is a Head of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Arden University, UK, and Deputy Chair of AdvanceHE’s National CATE Committee.  With extensive experience working across secondary, further, and Higher Education, as a teacher, Dawne is passionate about creating opportunities for others. Dedicated to raising the profile of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Dawne established the award-winning National Teaching Repository, an Open Educational Resource with proven reach and impact across the global Higher Education community. Dawne enjoys lecturing on visual thinking and advocates for technology education, for which she received a National Award sponsored by The Royal Academy of Engineering.  Dawne is a National Teaching Fellow (NTF), Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) and holds a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence.

Helen King is Professor and Director of Learning Innovation, Development & Skills at Bath Spa University, UK. With over three decades in educational development, she has led UK-wide learning and teaching initiatives, worked internationally as a consultant, and held senior university roles. Her work focuses on learning, teaching and assessment, with a strong commitment to academic professional development. Her research explores expertise in higher education teaching, and she has edited two Routledge/SEDA books on the topic (2022, 2025). She holds SFSEDA, is a UK National Teaching Fellow, PFHEA, and Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland.