Dumfries and Galloway College’s Turnaround: A New Era with the HOW2 Platform

For over 15 years, Dumfries and Galloway College (DGC) struggled with low-performance indicators, consistently falling short of national benchmarks. Despite some isolated improvements, student outcomes were persistently below expectations, and the college only surpassed the national average once in a decade. Education Scotland’s annual reviews continued to highlight unsatisfactory results, which became a key concern for the institution.

A new senior leadership team was appointed in 2020 to address these long-standing issues. Their first task was to conduct a thorough review of the college’s Career-Long Professional Learning (CLPL) needs. The findings were clear: there was an urgent need for more effective pedagogical training and time-efficient professional development tools to support lecturers in both traditional and hybrid learning environments.

Echoing these findings, data from the College Development Network (CDN) identified similar challenges across Scotland’s Further Education sector, further underscoring the need for classroom-focused, evidence-based teaching (EBT) techniques and flexible, asynchronous professional learning solutions.

With these challenges identified, DGC recognised the need for a significant shift in how teaching practices were supported and developed. The college responded by creating a comprehensive strategy that focused on three core elements: fostering an inquiry mindset among lecturers, introducing an innovative Observation of Learning Process, and establishing a structured Pillars of Learning framework.

To bring this strategy to life, DGC partnered with TeachingHOW2s, implementing its cutting-edge teacher development platform as a core resource. This platform provided lecturers with on-demand access to easy-to-learn EBT techniques, helping them reflect on and broaden their classroom practices while adapting to evolving educational demands. The HOW2 Platform’s flexibility, with its time-efficient asynchronous professional development, played a crucial role in supporting lecturers by providing easy access to EBT techniques that fit well within their demanding schedules.

Fast forward to 2024, and the transformation at DGC is striking. Education Scotland’s latest report praised the college’s remarkable turnaround, with the quality framework supporting learning and teaching now recognised as a major strength. For the first time, no areas for further action were identified in the report — an unprecedented achievement.

The report highlighted the college’s ​‘Observation of Learning Process’ and the use of ​‘TeachingHOW2 guidelines’ as pivotal in engaging staff in CPD. Both initiatives were credited with helping lecturers share effective practices and extend teaching approaches to support learners with increasingly complex needs. These initiatives were key contributors to DGC’s ability to foster a more reflective teaching culture, enabling lecturers to collaborate more effectively and continuously improve classroom outcomes.

The HOW2 Platform was essential to the success of DGC’s comprehensive strategy. Its role went beyond simply providing a useful tool — it actively fostered a reflective mindset among lecturers, encouraging continuous improvement.

The college’s new Observation of Learning Process reinforced this inquiry mindset, encouraging lecturers to engage in self-reflection and peer reflection. The HOW2 Platform played a crucial role by offering on-demand access to EBT techniques directly linked to observation outcomes. This allowed lecturers to immediately access practical solutions to improve their classroom practices following observations and peer-to-peer learning conversations.

Inspired by the support and collaboration within the HOW2 Community — a network that allows educators to stay connected with experts and peers — DGC established its Pillars of Learning, which became part of the college’s structured framework for ongoing development. The HOW2 Platform supported these pillars by enabling the creation of ​‘Sets’ of techniques that directly aligned with the college’s learning goals, allowing lecturers to implement these techniques in their classrooms.

The HOW2 Platform has become central to DGC’s professional learning strategy, with several key features driving improvements in teaching practices.

Among these is the HOW2 AI Assistant, which has been transformative in enabling staff to adapt EBT techniques to their specific teaching contexts. It offers step-by-step guidance, helping lecturers tailor methods to suit different subjects and learning needs.

Additionally, DGC’s partnerships with other colleges, through the platform, open opportunities to connect beyond traditional organisational and national boundaries. These connections foster a collaborative culture where staff can share insights and best practices, enhancing learning and teaching across institutions.

DGC’s focused initiatives have resulted in a significant 10% improvement in student outcomes, which now exceed the national sector average.

The college achieved an impressive 97% positive student satisfaction rating, with 95.4% of students agreeing that ​“The way I am taught helps me learn” across all modes of delivery.

Additionally, overall student retention has improved by 8%, reflecting the college’s sustained efforts to enhance student support and engagement.

Education Scotland’s 2024 report commended the college’s dramatic turnaround, specifically recognising its strategy to understand, develop, and enhance teaching practices, with the integration of the HOW2 Platform as instrumental in this transformation. For the first time, the report identified no areas for further action — a testament to the effectiveness of the college’s comprehensive strategy.

The shift in teaching culture has been equally transformative. Lecturers across the college are now engaging in more frequent and meaningful discussions about teaching and learning — a clear indicator of the inquiry-based mindset fostered by the HOW2 Platform.

Dumfries and Galloway College’s journey from underperformance to educational success demonstrates the power of a clear, focused strategy supported by the right tools. By leveraging the HOW2 Platform, the college has fostered a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning, leading to better student outcomes and enhanced professional development for lecturers. As DGC continues to build on this success, its commitment to fostering reflective practice and collaborative learning stands as a model for other institutions seeking to improve educational outcomes.