In May the Faculty Learning and Teaching Forum, (Show & TEL) was dedicated to showcasing a range of technologies that enhance the delivery of both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching here at Newcastle University. If you didn’t make it to the forum, here’s a handy list of what’s available and where you can find help and support.

If you want more information about individual sessions go to the L&T internal webpage: https://internal.ncl.ac.uk/medical/teaching/events/forum.htm

Some of the comments from forum delegates included:

“I had not heard of OMBEA before. I look forward to using it in my lectures”

“I was amazed to learn that ReCap can be used in the way shown in this session”

“it was good to see how Adobe Connect works from both university and student perspective.”

What route has your career taken to get you where you are today?
I was asked to talk for an hour on this a few years ago and illustrated my career as a piece of unfinished, multi-coloured knitting. The various strands of my work have interwoven without a neat or recognizable pattern, but have reinforced and linked with each other to make something that I hope is strong, coherent and useful.

I qualified BChD (hons) from Leeds in 1984 and was inspired and encouraged by teachers to pursue a clinical academic career. Early years were dominated by clinical experiences and Royal College Fellowship examinations, before immersing myself in a full-time microbiology PhD at Edinburgh Medical School from 1986-99. During that time, I married Janet, who has supported and carried me every step of the way. We came to Newcastle for 1 year in 1999 to consolidate clinical skills and have stayed ever since. My career has been marked by unexpected interactions and opportunities, and I could list many individuals and organisations that have inspired, encouraged and cajoled me at key moments. Professor Ian Barnes first drew me into Endodontology and taught me the value of international collaboration during 2 weeks of orientation in the Netherlands, while the British and European Endodontic Societies gave me opportunities to teach and share enthusiasms. Professor Robin Seymour granted me a 6 month sabbatical at the University of Texas, San Antonio and unlocked clinical and scholarly collaborations that have been foundational. Numerous editors have chosen to involve me in established textbooks, and a succession of bright and able researchers have allowed me to collaborate on a broad patchwork of projects. In all of this, I have been conscious of the privileges of public service, the joys of working every day with bright and enquiring students and providing the best clinical services possible for members of the public. There really hasn’t been much premeditated planning, but my career has been defined by the people who have supported, linked and opened doors. And as I approach my concluding chapter of paid employment, I’m conscious more than ever of the opportunities I need to facilitate for others.

What do you find most challenging about working in HE learning and teaching?
Keeping the plates spinning. The conflicting demands of Consultant clinical practice, undergraduate and postgraduate education, pastoral care, engagement, personal and supervised research, in addition to national and international scholarly and administrative roles sometimes feels like a circus act. But there are two ways of looking at it – that you’re not as good as you’d like to be in any of your roles, or that you’re privileged to have a varied and interesting career with at least one element going well at all times. Challenge isn’t always a bad thing, it motivates, energises and leaves you without a dull moment. And it’s important to remember that we’re public servants, paid by the tax payer to work hard and serve to the best of our abilities in our various roles. It’s also worth remembering that it is me who has not yet learned to say no.

What’s the best thing you’ve been involved in since you started working with Newcastle University?
That’s quite easy. The School of Dental Sciences in Newcastle is a close-knit, engaged and vibrant community that respects diverse skill sets and treats people as valuable human beings. It is a deep privilege, every day, to be part of a positive and constantly evolving team, to be appreciated and appreciate others in all of our diverse roles.

What’s the wisest piece of advice you’ve received from a mentor or colleague?
Always prepare, no matter how well acquainted you are with the subject.

To prepare well is to recognise and honour those we are serving, both in terms of teaching materials and the spirit in which we conduct ourselves.

What’s your top educational research interest?
My first is to understand more fully the spiralling levels of anxiety, depression and low self esteem that are robbing so many dazzling young people of their formative years. Unlocking the individual and societal factors at play will be a lengthy task but one in which those involved in the nurture of young people should be interested.

I’m also greatly engaged in skills acquisition, and how best to develop the refined personal and tactile skills required to deliver exacting operative procedures. Nowhere is that more so than in clinical endodontology, and exciting developments in digital imaging, including haptic simulation may hold exciting opportunities for the future.

If you could have dinner with 3 famous people from history who would they be?
If I’m honest, I’d be quite happy to have dinner in the back garden, on a warm evening, with my wife and two grown-up kids – a rare privilege these days.

I imagine dinner involving Jesus of Nazareth, CS Lewis and Ötzi, the iceman of Bolzano may be enlightening. We should need a team of translators and food consultants and a space outside for CS Lewis to light-up between courses.

John Whitworth
Professor of Endodontology/hon Consultant in Restorative Dentistry
Director of Student Progress and Support
Engagement Lead
School of Dental Sciences

Welcome to this, the Spring Edition of the FMS ERDP Newsletter.

In this edition you will read about some of the work that has been undertaken with the support of funding from the ERDP grant scheme.  I am pleased that the Committee have been able to fund such a wide range of activity including a Study Visit to Harvard, a workshop for anatomy educators, a study on resilience in students and a trial of Voice Thread; studies that are supporting curriculum development, development of our staff and work with our students.  We have two further deadlines for applications for funding in April and June and I look forward to receiving more applications that speak to the great range of educational activities that staff in the Faculty are undertaking.

Can I also remind you of our events programme?  Many of you have attended Journal Club, What I mean When I Say or Seminar events.  If you have not been before please can I encourage you to come along? They are informal and with plenty of opportunity for discussion provide opportunities to talk about teaching and share experiences away from the desk or teaching room.  If you have only managed to come to occasional events please come to more and find out what your colleagues are doing or are interested in.

In this newsletter Patrick Rosencrantz draws our attention to a resource for teachers in psychology.  This publication from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology is truly comprehensive and while there is a lot of content that is discipline-specific this e-book contains much that will be of interest to all teachers in HE.  It is a good example of how well-developed some of these discipline-based teaching networks are in the USA.  They exist for many disciplines, certainly two that I know of in anatomy as part of the American Association of Anatomists and the teaching networks for Engineers are extremely well-developed.  So, if you have not investigated whether your discipline has a well-developed teaching network in North America then I would urge you to find out as it would be a valuable means to find out what is going on in teaching in your area of interest and could also be a route to dissemination of your own work.

In June ERDP will be joining an event organized by Jarka Glassey in CEAM when Suzanne Kresta from Alberta and one of the editors of the Education for Chemical Engineers journal will be speaking on learning and teaching and we will be advertising that event shortly.  This an event whose interest will extend well-beyond chemical engineering because education is an activity that unites all who teach students in Newcastle and we can all learn something from the way subjects are taught in other disciplines.

Finally, many of you will be going to education conferences between now and when the next newsletter is due to appear.  If you would like to write a short piece on the highlights of the conference you attended we will be happy to receive it. Please send it through to fms.educational.research@newcastle.ac.uk.

Prof Steve McHanwell, Director, FMS Unit for ERDP

The TEAs are a chance for students to nominate members of staff who they think have been outstanding and helped improve their student experience here at Newcastle.

This year we have Faculty staff and PG students nominated in every category.  Congratulations to all that were nominated.  The results will be announced at the TEA ceremony on the 4th May.  Keep an eye on the TEA website to find out who gets shortlisted and the eventual winner.

Outstanding Contribution to Feedback

Dante Roel Fernandez ( NUMed)
Laura Delgaty ( SME)
Mary Cronin ( NUMed)
Melissa Walker ( SDS)
Tan Shihmay ( NUMed)
Yoav Tadmor ( PSY)

Outstanding Contribution to Innovation

Colin Brown ( ICaMB)
Eleanor Holmes ( SME)
Ellen Tullo ( BMS)
Kenneth McKeegan ( NUMed)

Outstanding Contribution to Pastoral Support

Amy Fielden ( PSY)
Dr Luisa Wakeling ( SDS)
Faye Horsley ( PSY)
Joanna Matthan ( SME)
Julie Fitzgerald ( SDS)
Kate Goodman ( NUMed)
Lindsey Ferrie ( BMS)
Michael Taggart ( IGM)
Michele Sweeney ( BMS)
Penny Lovat ( ICM)
Janice Ellis ( SDS)
John Whitworth ( SDS)
Sarah Jayne Boulton ( BMS)

Outstanding Contribution to Teaching (FMS)

Bruce Charlton ( PSY)
Chris O’Connor ( SDS)
Chris Ward ( ICM)
Clare Guilding ( SME)
Colin Brown ( ICaMB)
Daniel Nettle ( IoN)
Debra Patten ( SME)
Dr Luisa Wakeling ( SDS)
Dr Ralf Kist ( SDS)
Eimear Fagan ( SME)
Elizabeth Evans ( IHS)
Emma McAllister ( SME)
Felicity may ( NICR)
Iad Gharib ( SDS)
Ian Ellis ( SDS)
Jeffry Hogg ( IGM)
Laura Delgaty ( SME)
Liz Evans ( IHS )
Paul Hubbard ( SME)
Prof Steve McHanwell ( SDS)
Richard McQuade ( IoN)
Sarah Jayne Boulton ( BMS)
Simon Whitehall ( ICaMB)
Stephen McHanwell ( SME)
Yoav Tadmor ( PSY)

Outstanding Contribution to Teaching (Global Campus)

Tim Smith ( NUMed)
Amit Bhardwaj ( NUMed)
Angus Aranan ( NUMed)
Carlo Adrillana ( NUMed)
Dante Roel Fernandez ( NUMed)
Harinarayan Radhakrishna  ( NUMed)
Htar-Htar Aung ( NUMed)
Huai Seng Loh ( NUMed)
Imam Shaik ( NUMed)
Jhoram Funtanares-Nufable ( NUMed)
Kartini Mohd-Nor ( NUMed)
Kenneth McKeegan ( NUMed)
Mary Cronin ( NUMed)
Moe Kyawthu ( NUMed)
Ratnadeep Saha ( NUMed)
Roshan Mascaenhas ( NUMed)
Sarah Simmons ( NUMed)
Tayyaba Tahseen ( NUMed)
Valliammai Valliyappan ( NUMed)
Vivian Andayaverbo ( NUMed)

Postgraduate Student who Teaches of the Year

Jonathan Guckian ( SME)
Robert Kerr ( SME)

Professional Services Staff Member of the Year

Vanessa Armstrong ( BMS)

Research Supervisor of the Year

Evelyne Sernagor and Gerrit Hilgen ( IoN)
Farhad Kamali ( ICM)
Gabriele Jordan ( PSY)

Taught Supervisor of the Year

Bruce Charlton ( PSY)
Laura Delgaty ( SME)
Stuart Watson ( IoN)
Terry Aspray ( ICM)

Online programmes are required to facilitate 4 student-staff committees per academic year. As students are often scattered across the UK there is a need to find alternative ways to replace the traditional face to face committees.  The eLearning team that supports the Clinical Research, Oncology and Palliative Care and Clinical and Health Sciences programmes have been looking for new ways to engage students in the process.

VoiceThread
Finding a format which would encourage distance learners to participate in virtual student staff committee meetings has been challenging. When setting up a discussion board on Blackboard for each committee was unsuccessful, with the help of an ERDP Development Grant, we decided to trial the commercially available VoiceThread. VoiceThread offered an aesthetically appealing and interactive forum for students with options to communicate via video, text or voice messaging.
Once we started to test the system we ran into a few issues, the key one being students needed to create an account to be able to log in and post on the forums.  This made the system much less student friendly.

Padlet
We decided to trial a free system called Padlet. It has similar features to VoiceThread but the students don’t need to log in and it can be embedded into Blackboard. It looks aesthetically pleasing, and it has encouraged more participation than we’d had previously. We think this might be because the posts are anonymous.
However, we still found that the majority of feedback was given to Course Reps via email, and Padlet was only used for the first SSC.

What next?
Once the 2017/18 modules are finished, we will look into trialling a new process for the virtual meetings.

Jenny Yeo, Degree Programme Director, MSc Clinical and Health Sciences and Clinical Research (elearning) programmes
Victoria Petrie, Programme Coordinator
Gemma Todd, eLearning Administrator

Congratulations to Patrick Rosenkranz, School of Psychology, who has been awarded Higher Education Academy Senior Fellow Status. An HEA fellowship is an international recognition of a commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning in higher education and demonstrates alignment of teaching practice with the UK Professional Standards Framework.

Patrick joined the Faculty in 2008 as a lecturer in Psychology. He has been designing and teaching modules across all stages of the undergraduate degree in Psychology including modules in philosophical and conceptual issues, psychometric survey design and his own research field, the Psychology of Religion.  Since 2015, Patrick has acted as Degree Programme Director with a focus on developing and researching assessment and feedback practices as well as enhancing the employability and psychological literacy of his students. Patrick has acted as Faculty Programme Liaison Officer to the CASAP programme. In this role he has worked with colleagues from across the Faculty on personal development in learning and teaching.

Workshop for HEA Annual Conference 5th July 2017

Abstract: Developing enterprise skills and entrepreneurial learning within degree programmes is a propitious way of enhancing employability and preparing students for the workplace and their chosen career. We have developed a set of “enterprise challenges” and embedded them at different stages in the psychology degree. These challenges ask students to use their subject –specific knowledge and skills to develop and then pitch an idea to support specific client groups. In the first part of the workshop we will present different models of delivering enterprise challenges within a psychology degree programme; in the second part we will set participants the challenge to design their own scenario within their discipline.

Patrick Rosenkranz & Amy Fielden, School of Psychology

Alecia Dunn & Charlotte Warin, Careers

The following recent publication from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology is freely available on the web under http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/teachingtips.
The e-book summarises educational research and teaching practice from a large number of mainly North American based conferences concerned with the teaching of psychology.
The ebook is a vast repository of teaching practice, helpfully ordered into different sections such as “Assessment”, “Critical Thinking” and various subfields of Psychology such as “Clinical Psychology“.
While the focus is clearly on Psychology, the teaching tips will also be of interest to educators from other fields. Topics such as “Online teaching” (p. 215 ff.), “Scholarship of Learning and Teaching” (p.429 ff.) or “Writing” (p.625 ff.) are clearly transferable and relevant to many of our teaching interests in the Faculty.

A second compendium, this one based on UK practice, focusses on the development of psychological literacy in various areas. The compendium consists of short case studies of practice (including one on peer-mentoring in Psychology at Newcastle, pp 49-51).

The case studies cover topics such as employability, peer-assisted learning and innovative assessment.

The compendium can be found here: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/22906/.
A lead article introducing the compendium was published in the Psychology Teaching Review (see reference below).

Patrick Rosenkranz, School of Psychology

References

Miller, R. L., & Collette, T. (Eds.). (2017). Teaching Tips: A Compendium of Conference Presentations on Teaching, 2015-16. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology web site: http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/

Taylor, J. and Hulme, J.A. (2015). Psychological Literacy: A Compendium of Practice. Retrieved from: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/22906/

Taylor, J., and Hulme, J.A. (2015). Introducing a compendium of psychological literacy case studies: Reflections on psychological literacy in practice. Psychology Teaching Review, 21(2