Art Design Media North West Network Group

A one-day event

Linking Disciplinary Research to Teaching

The Universities of Bolton, Central Lancashire, Chester, Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan and Cumbria Institute of the Arts came together to form a North West (NW) Network Group to undertake a research project based on the Higher Education Academy (HEA) Support for New Academic Staff  (SNAS) Strand 3 project “Linking Disciplinary Research to Teaching”. This had developed out of the original HEA’s SNAS project which was to produce annotated resources which focused on key areas such as the curriculum, assessment and student support. It also aimed to inform the wider debate on research-informed teaching from a disciplinary perspective.

A feature of the project has been to ensure that the resources are developed and embedded within the context of discrete disciplines.  Accordingly, the Art, Design Media Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy (ADM-HEA) has been involved with the SNAS project since its inception.

The ADM-HEA NW Network Group comprises individuals with a known interest in research into learning and teaching in the departments of Art, Design and Media in the Universities listed above.  The institutions represent a specialist art school, Russell Group members and post ’92 Universities which have well established or growing departments of Art, Design and Media.

The research has taken an exploratory case study approach with interviews spanning the disciplines of - Fine Art, Fashion, Fashion and Textiles Retailing, Knitwear, Interior Design, Photography, Ceramics and Design History. These were followed by departmental workshops which followed have included additional representation from - Graphics, Animation, Illustration, Video and Art and Design History. A regional seminar is being held at the University of Bolton. (March 1st 2007) to disseminate findings, generate further evidence and develop understanding of how teachers externalise their research in relation to their teaching.

Find out more about this project and read the case studies.