Session 1.1: Comedy in the classroom? Engaging students at the frontiers of innovative teaching
Interdisciplinary
Gill Seyfang, University of East Anglia
Is there room for comedy in the classroom? What is the pedagogical role of the performing arts? In an interdisciplinary school of environmental sciences students who are more used to dealing with ‘facts’ than ‘theories’ often struggle to get to grips with competing perspectives on society and the environment. This session showcases award-winning innovative teaching methods for enhancing student engagement and effective learning. ‘Theoretical Theatre’ is a semi-improvised performance/teaching method with wide applicability across the curriculum. I discuss our experiences of developing delivering and adapting this versatile teaching method to several different topics. I reflect on the benefits and limitations of what we’ve achieved make some suggestions about how the method might be adapted and used in other fields and discuss the potential for theatre and improvisation to play a larger role on the frontiers of teaching. We’ve got comedy glasses and we’re gonna use ‘em.
Session 1.2: An educational evaluation of student satisfaction of criterion based rubrics and the impact this has on feedback to students
Interdisciplinary
Ronnie Meechan, Kingston University
Student dissatisfaction with the quality of assessment feedback remains a challenge for HEIs. The National Student Survey shows that students continue to rate this area less favourably compared to other aspects of course provision (Kane & Williams 2008 Grove 2014).
The use of rubrics has been shown to enhance student performance in assessment (Price & O’Donnovan 2006) and is seen as one strategy to enable HEIs to respond to student feedback and ensure on-going quality enhancement of our programmes.
Learning objectives/outcomes:
- to explore whether rubrics assist students to prepare more effectively for their learning and assessment through enhanced understanding of how assessment elements map against learning outcomes
- to measure the impact of rubrics on student satisfaction with assessment feedback
- to identify whether electronic rubrics result in a positive change in the quality of feedback and marking.
Session1.3: How to deliver a distance learning masters course
Sociology
Graham Gibbs, University of Huddersfield
MSc Social Research and Evaluation at the University of Huddersfield is delivered entirely by distance learning via the Internet. The course is now in its second year of delivery and this paper will report on the experience of start up and running the course. The pedagogic approach which informed the conversion from a face‐to-face course is the flipped classroom. We make much use of videos (own and open sourced) with readings and exercises that are followed by online webinars. Validation was more intensive than the norm: as a distance learning course we had to produce detailed teaching programmes for each module. Now all staff are having to acquire a qualification in facilitating online. Course management has had to address several issues such as changes in staffing poor marketing support and untested enrolment systems.
Session 1.4: Inspiration and perspiration: stimulating law students to recognise transferable skills as vital to their future employability
Law
Helen Taylor and Helen Avis, Nottingham Trent University
The presentation will explain and explore how skills development is becoming embedded in a final year undergraduate law module Path to Professional Practice. The module aims to enable students to develop focussed transferable professional skills to prepare them for employment in professional practice.
The presentation aims to inform delegates about the challenges faced and approaches used to ensure students are both inspired to achieve and equipped with employability skills for the next stage of their careers; employment or further study in the legal or non-legal sector.
Session1.5: Linking learning with industry using Open Badges
Business & Management
Mark Dransfield, York St John University
This presentation aims to introduce colleagues to the emerging field of Open Badges suggesting a strategic approach to the use of badges in order to reward and motivate students. The objective of this presentation is to encourage discussion of the use of open badges as a currency for providing evidence of students’ employability skills.
The presentation will begin by explaining what the emerging Open Badges Initiative (OBI) is and how the concept of Open Badges aligns with a motivational strategy for learning. It looks to explore the use of the open badge concept in relation to learning and employability through links with and endorsement of badges by local industries. The use of industry endorsed open badges within a third year undergraduate module will be explored and critically evaluated.
Initial findings suggest that students placed much more value on the badges which were endorsed by industry than those which were not.
Session 1.6: Saving time and improving quality with rubrics!
Education
Aimie Rimmington and Sanjay Gupta, Nottingham Trent University
Rubrics provides a win-win situation by giving valuable feedback to students while saving time for academics and providing electronic ways of measuring student performance by the same criteria across multiple modules. The workshop provides examples of rubrics and discusses a variety of scenarios for incorporating rubrics in courses. The Rubrics tool built into the Brightspace learning platform can provide both formative and summative evaluation of student work and can record learning objectives achieved. The aim of the workshop is to introduce the innovative tool to Higher Education professionals for the improvement of assessment and feedback and thus student engagement and learning. The clearer and more comprehensive feedback will allow students to review it for their improvement as they progress through their degree.
There will be time in the session to answer questions and discuss solutions about how your institution can get involved in using rubrics. The workshop will also allow for feedback on the tool for its review and improvement.
Session 1. 7: Questioning and answering though Socrative: cutting-edge pedagogy or indulging in trivia?
Sociology
Sam Pryke, University of Wolverhampton
My session will introduce participants to the potential to enhance their teaching through the use of the smart phone and tablet app Socrative. Socrative is a free platform that allows a teacher to put various types of questions to students who respond through the app. I will attempt to answer I pose by demonstrating with audience participation: 1) how Socrative allows a rough and ready indication of initial knowledge of a subject area at the beginning of a module; 2) how Socrative enables relatively fun and creative recapping of information; 3) that there is some evidence to suggest that a quiz format connects with forms of memory that other means don’t access; 4) how Socrative facilitates questioning prior assumptions; 5) that survey evidence suggests that students very much like Socrative and rate it as something that enhances their learning experience.
