Talking About…
Learning & Teaching
Talking About…Learning & Teaching
Page 1
College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
2
Welcome
- Welcome
- BEACON – Professional
Recognition for Teaching
We hope this Spring Edition stimulates your interest and encourages you to
explore educational enhancement further.
- Birmingham Education
Fellowships
- Educational Enhancement
Funding Call
- Spotlight on an Educational
Enhancement Project: Advanced
Modern Asia Media Project
3
4
5
- Supporting Students Around
Assessment and Feedback:
Banks of Assessed Work
– What’s On: Save the Date
- Reporting Requirements for
Scanned or Uploaded Chapters
and Articles to Canvas
- Exploring the Inclusive
Curriculum
6
7
8
- Developing and Embedding
Inclusive Policy and Practice
within the University of
Birmingham
- Birmingham puts LGBTQ
identities at the heart of its
curriculum
BEACON – Professional Recognition for
Teaching
Dr Sue Morón-García, Centre for Learning and Academic Development
The Centre for Learning and Academic Development and Learning Spaces
(CLAD&LS) are launching a new Higher Education Academy (HEA)
accredited professional recognition framework, which will allow colleagues to
apply for HEA fellowships through the institution, as opposed to applying
directly to the HEA: there is no financial cost for this institutional route. We
have approval to grant professional recognition against D1, D2 and D3 of the
UK Professional Standards Framework i.e. Associate Fellow, Fellow and
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. There will be a link between
HEA fellowship and membership categories for the institutional Teaching
Academy (under discussion currently).
If you are interested in finding out more or being invited to the introductory
workshops which will start after Easter send an email to
[email protected].
- Cartoon Caption Competition
Please note that we will only be able to cater for small numbers initially while
we build capacity. We are particularly keen to hear from those colleagues who
• have teaching focused positions
• lead and mentor colleagues in teaching and learning
• are involved with any of our programmes / courses who don’t yet have
professional recognition (i.e. as facilitators or mentors).
Edited by Danielle Hinton
(CoSS
ELearning)
and
Professor Mike McLinden
(School of Education).
Please submit articles
[email protected].
to:
College of Social Sciences
Those applying should be willing to help with future applications as a
disciplinary mentor or as a member of an assessment panel (development to
fulfill this role will be provided); in this way we hope to build institutional
capacity to support more colleagues. More information is available from:
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/UKPSF_2011_En
glish.pdf
Vol 8 No 2, 2015
Talking About…Learning & Teaching
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Birmingham Education Fellowships
Professor Jonathan Green, DPVC Education
Dr Clare Saunders, Centre for Learning and Academic Development
The University will be offering up to four Birmingham Education Fellowships (BEFs) this
year, of £5,000 each plus a salary increment (or one-off payment for those already at
the top of their scale). The BEF web pages give further details: see
https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/teachingfellowship, Note that all those involved in
supporting student learning may apply, not just those on academic contracts. Please
note that the closing date for this round of BEF applications is noon on Monday
11th May 2015.
Educational Enhancement Project Funding
Do you have an idea to improve the educational experience of our students? The
University has funds available to support educational enhancement projects for 201317, and the application period is now open for both staff (deadline Monday 18 May
2015) and student lead project (deadline Friday 19 June 2015) applications.
Spotlight on an Educational Enhancement
Project: Advanced Modern Asia Media Project
Dr Julie Gilson, Senior Lecturer in Japanese Politics, Department of Political Science
and International Studies
Danielle Hinton, CoSS ELearning Team
This project builds on previous CLAD funded Media projects (Chemistry, Biosciences
and International Development) and aims to challenge third year undergraduate
students to
•
•
Learn how to promote complex ideas (about the Mekong River) in an
academically rigorous, digestible and understandable (but not simplistic) way.
Develop new communications and team-working skills that will enhance
employability and will be useful in their future careers.
Instead of an exam students now undertake a two part assessment made up of (a) an
individual reflective log and a (b) group based 3-5 minute documentary. In groups of 67 students were given a theme based around the Mekong River along with two targeted
training sessions to support this new assessment.
Firstly a session took place focusing on project planning. This included the analysis and
storyboarding of a short documentary style film as well as exploring some examples
from a previous International Development Department module student project. This
session was followed two weeks later with the second session styled ‘The Speed
Documentary’ [view]. Students groups were challenged to create a 20-30 second video
called "Advice for First Years from Current Students". This immersive session
condensed the film making process (including exploring the software) into 50-55
minutes and allowed students to explore and discuss issues in a safe environment
before tackling the real thing.
We are running an in-depth evaluation of this form of assessment (based on surveys,
interviews and focus groups) and look forward to the module’s Film Festival at the end
of April when all the documentaries will be viewed and celebrated.
College of Social Sciences
Vol 8 No 2, 2015
Talking About…Learning & Teaching
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Supporting Students Around Assessment and
Feedback: Banks of Assessed Work
Thomas Mandall, College Student Experience and Compliance Officer
You Said
We Did
Work on the construction of Banks of Assessed Work is ongoing across the College,
with work in the Schools supported by postgraduate assistants. These online
resources respond directly to student comments about assessment and feedback,
particularly understanding the marking criteria and interpreting feedback. The first
phase of the Banks will include examples of final year modules which demonstrate a
spread of marks: essays that achieved solid 1, 2.1, and 2.2. Each essay is
accompanied by the marker’s feedback comments so that the students using the
Bank can track the performance against the marking criteria. We hope to expand and
develop these banks to include a wider range of assignment types and levels in the
coming months. The following is an example from the School of Government and
Society’s Bank of Assessed Work.
College of Social Sciences
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Talking About…Learning & Teaching
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Distance Learning Special Interest Group:
Exploring MOOCs: The Journey So Far
Monday, April 20, 2015 from 1pm
Muirhead Tower, Room 109
The DL SIG is now open for booking for the event on Monday 20 April focusing on
MOOC development – University of Birmingham and FutureLearn.
Liz Wragg (Operations Manager for MOOCs) will join us to share lessons learnt
and behind the scenes stories of Birmingham MOOCs so far. We also look forward
to Tom Harrison and Danielle Leane Wartnaby (School of Education) sharing their
insight into creating and delivering the two week ‘What Is Character? Virtue Ethics
In Education’ course (19 – 31 Jan 2015).
Going to the Polls: Teaching and Learning with
TurningPoint
Tuesday, 21 April 2015, 09:30 - 14:10, lunch included, Room 121, Muirhead Tower
The University of Birmingham is hosting an event to showcase the use of
TurningPoint voting, sometimes known as 'clickers'. The event is intended to
highlight current use of polling technology in teaching and learning. We have
University of Birmingham presenters from Biochemistry, Chemistry and Law
describing their experiences of using TurningPoint and the current trial of mobile
version, ResponseWare. We also have a guest speaker from the University of
Surrey, who will discuss pedagogy and his perspectives on polling in the arts and
humanities. There will be an opportunity to discuss key themes and issues raised
by the presentations. The full event programme and booking information can be
found at: www.weblearn.bham.ac.uk/polling/
Academic Practice Writing Group
Dr Petia Petrova, Centre for Learning and Academic Development
The Academic Practice Writing Group is welcoming new members. We meet once
a month, on a Friday, for a full day (9:00-17:00) dedicated to writing. The group
welcomes in particular colleagues writing about aspects of higher education and
those targeting education-related journals in your field or discipline. Our
forthcoming dates are:
·
·
·
·
24 April 2015
05 June 2015
03 July 2015
07 August 2015
For further information, please contact Petia Petrova (e-mail:
[email protected], tel: 43692. To book a place: please email your name and
staff ID number to [email protected]
College of Social Sciences
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Talking About…Learning & Teaching
Reporting Requirements for Scanned or
Uploaded Chapters and Articles to Canvas
Alex Fenlon, Copyright and Licensing Advisor, Library Services
If you have scanned extracts from printed books or journals, or uploaded
extracts of e-books and e-journals to Canvas using the University’s Copyright
Licensing Agency (CLA) licence, you need to report them to Library
Services. Any scanning/ uploading since 1st June 2014 must be reported along
with any old scans and uploads that have been re-used in 2014-15.
All scanning/ uploading should be in line with the Procedures for scanning
which details what is and is not covered, with reporting via Step 3.
Please ensure that all scanning/ uploading activity during 14/15 has been
reported by Friday 29th May 2015 so that Library Services can report to the
CLA directly.
If you have any queries please contact [email protected].
Exploring the Inclusive Curriculum
The Higher Education Academy commissioned a guide in 2011 to support the
higher education sector to think creatively about inclusive curriculum design
from a generic as well as subject or disciplinary perspective.
An inclusive
curriculum is one
where all students’
entitlement to access
and participate in a
course is anticipated,
acknowledged and
taken into account.
“It is an imperative on institutions that they design their curriculum in
such a way as to promote success among all students. An inclusive
curriculum design approach is one that takes into account students’
educational, cultural and social background and experience as well as
the presence of any physical or sensory impairment and their mental
well-being. It enables higher education institutions (HEI) to embed
quality enhancement processes that ensure an anticipatory response to
equality in learning and teaching. This practical guidance draws on a
wide range of activity and innovation within the sector and offers
examples of effective strategies and general resources to support the
curriculum design process.”
The guide is divided into four sections as below. For ease of access, the
different sections and subject specific guides are all published as separate
documents. Section one includes a contents page providing links to the other
26 documents that make up the full publication.
Section one: Introduction and overview
Section two: Generic considerations of inclusive curriculum design
Section three: Subject specific considerations
Section four: References and resources
The University of Birmingham established an ‘Inclusive Curriculum Working
Group’ in February 2014 to explore how inclusivity can become more effectively
developed and embedded within the curriculum in order to support colleagues
in thinking about inclusive curriculum design so as to promote success amongst
all students. The main focus of the Working Group is to identify challenges and
barriers in order to provide practical solutions and embedded changes to policy
and practice.
College of Social Sciences
Vol 8 No 2, 2015
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Talking About…Learning & Teaching
Developing and Embedding Inclusive Policy and Practice
within the University of Birmingham
Michael McLinden, Michael Grove, Jon Green, & Andy Birch
This article describes the innovative data collection methods that will be drawn upon through a process of
educational enquiry to monitor change over a given timeframe in relation to agreed goals and success criteria.
This includes an organisational change framework (McKinsey 7S) that will be used to enable the impact of the
Working Group to be measured and monitored over a given timeframe in relation to agreed goals and success
criteria.
Future publications will report on progress in relation to the proposed activities, evaluate the methodology and
data collection methods and explore the extent to which the project outcomes can be drawn upon more broadly
within the higher education sector.
[Read More]
Indicative evidence sources and measures in relation to the McKinsey 7S Framework
College of Social Sciences
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Talking About…Learning & Teaching
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Birmingham puts LGBTQ identities at the heart of its
curriculum
Dr Nicola Gale, Lecturer in the Sociology of Health Care, Health Services Management Centre
Dr Nicki Ward, Lecturer in Social Work, School of Social Policy
The University of Birmingham is taking steps to ensure that its curriculum is inclusive towards
those with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) identities.
The new project is innovative within the higher education sector and will draw on current
effective practice across the University to develop a guide for colleagues seeking to embed
LGBTQ issues in all of the institution’s academic disciplines.
From scoping work carried out by the project co-ordinators, the focus of initiatives to tackle
inclusivity previously centred around the social and pastoral experiences of LGBTQ students at
the University, rather than on the content and delivery of teaching. However, students have
reported that interactions in lectures, seminars and laboratories are crucial to their experience.
Positive experiences signposted include good staff role models and the use of case studies
that acknowledge LGBTQ identities. Nationally, LGBTQ students in higher education
experience higher than average rates of drop out, use of student support services, mitigating
circumstances (health and social problems) and suicide rates.
The project at the University of Birmingham will explore the experiences of staff and students,
through a survey and local-level workshops over two years. These findings will be synthesised
with a review of course literature and compared with experience across the education sector
internationally.
Champions across the University and the newly-formed Inclusive Curriculum Working Group
will promote best practice recommendations that are tailored to different academic disciplines.
These initiatives will support the work the University already undertakes around equality and
diversity, with the institution fully committed as a Stonewall Diversity Champion.
Co-Project Leader Dr Nicola Gale, Lecturer in the Sociology of Health Care, Health Services
Management Centre said: ‘For LGBTQ students, coming to university can be a really positive
experience socially, with the opportunity to meet new people and, here at Birmingham, join the
excellent student LGBTQ Association. However, we would like to ensure that this experience
translates in to the actual content of their courses.’
Co-Project Leader Dr Nicki Ward, Lecturer in Social Work, School of Social Policy added: ‘Our
project seeks to identify good practice across all the academic disciplines at Birmingham and
to offer practical support to lecturers on making their classroom a more LGBTQ-inclusive
place.’
Along with the production of best practice resources and workshops, those involved in the
project hope to present their research at the University’s prestigious Teaching and Learning
Conference in 2015, as well as publish results in a peer-reviewed journal. Findings from the
study will also be shared nationally and internationally amongst colleagues at over researchintensive universities.
College of Social Sciences
Vol 8 No 2, 2015
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Talking About…Learning & Teaching
Cartoon Caption Competition – Autumn 2014
Congratulations to Tamsin Waterhouse, Lecturer, Institute of Applied Social Studies for the winning entry:
Cartoon Caption Competition – Spring 2015
Create a caption and email it to [email protected] by 1st June.
College of Social Sciences
Vol 8 No 2, 2015