Category: News

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Case Study: Class generated content: Student Perspective

Picture of Sarah Atkinson

By Sarah Atkinson former Speech and Language Sciences student and current MSc student in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences

“Professional Issues… Sounds fascinating.” Thus my (admittedly extremely sarcastic) thought  upon hearing a module of this name would comprise the greater part of my workload during semester one of my final year becoming a speech and language therapist.

Despite hearing great things about it from my forebears in the year above, the prospect of this module did not fill me with delight. I certainly could not have guessed it would turn out to be one of the most enjoyable modules I have had the happy chance to participate in. Continue reading “Case Study: Class generated content: Student Perspective”

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Education Strategy – consultation Open Forum

Last week we launched a University wide consultation on the draft of a new Education Strategy – further details of the Strategy are in this blog post.

We said then that we would be arranging a number of Forums to give colleagues across the University the opportunity to discuss and give feedback on the current draft.  Each of these Forum meetings will be led by Suzanne Cholerton as PVC – Learning and Teaching, and they will take place between 12:00 and 13:00 on 5, 15 and 22 March 2018.

 

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National Teaching Fellowship Scheme 2018

The Higher Education Academy’s National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) celebrates excellent practice and outstanding achievement in learning and teaching in higher education. The awards support individuals’ professional development in learning and teaching and provides a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes.

More details about the scheme can be found on the HEA’s website.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the 2018 National Teaching Fellowship Scheme. The HEA has announced that the 2018 round will open on the 12th February and will close on the 30th of April. This closing date refers to when applications need to be submitted to the HEA by the University. If you are considering applying, please note the earlier submission date below.

Application to be an institutional nominee

Nominations are welcomed from all members of staff who feel their work has a major, positive impact on student teaching and learning. Staff who would like to be considered should provide a maximum of 1000 words which address the following criteria.

    • Your personal practice and why this should be recognised as outstanding,
    • Your impact on colleagues, both internally and externally,
    • Your reflection on the above.

Nominations should be sent electronically to ltds@ncl.ac.uk by 12 noon on Friday the 23rd February.

View the LTDS website for more information.

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Active Learning Workshop: Transforming students from rebellious prisoners to engaged learners

The School of Pharmacy is organising a one-day workshop on active learning, open to all Newcastle University staff, on 27 June 2018.
The workshop will focus on strategies to promote active learning such as:
  • team-based learning
  • flipped classroom
  • technology-enhanced learning.
Facilitators on the day include:
  • Professor Simon Lancaster, Professor of Chemistry Education, School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia
  • Steve Wheeler, Associate Professor in Information & Computing Technology, Plymouth Institute of Education, Plymouth University
  • Simon Tweddell, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, University of Bradford

The event will showcase innovative and pedagogically-informed practice across undergraduate healthcare education, but will have effective practice to share across many disciplines.

Please complete this form to indicate your attendance.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Dr Hamde Nazar, or Prof Andy Husband.

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Draft Education Strategy – consultation launches

Since September 2016 a new University education strategy has been under development to replace the University’s existing Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Strategy (which was approved in 2013).  This work has been led by Suzanne Cholerton, as PVC – Learning and Teaching, and has been carried out on the basis of a significant amount of work and consultation with colleagues across the University – including as part of the development of the new University Strategic Vision.

In December ULTSEC considered a first draft of a new University Education Strategy, and agreed that the Draft Education Strategy should now go out across the University for consultation.  This draft too consultation is therefore available to all members of the University at this link – Draft University Education Strategy, to 2023.

The consultation is open until the end of this term.  As part of this consultation the Draft Education Strategy will be discussed at Faculty Executive Boards, FLTSECs and Faculty Graduate School Committees.

We will also be running three open forums at the Newcastle campus, where colleagues can come to discuss and feedback on the Draft Education Strategy.  And we will run webinar/videoconferencing forums for all three of the University’s branch campuses, so that all members of the University have the opportunity to contribute to the consultation.  Details of these sessions and how to book on them will be published shortly.

We’re also keen to receive feedback directly from schools, subject areas and individual colleagues as well. If you want to pass on your views on the draft, please comment below this blog post or alternatively send any feedback directly via ltds@ncl.ac.uk

The consultation closes at the end of 23 March 2018.

 

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Postgraduate Loans for Masters Study

Soon LTDS will be asked to complete the postgraduate course information return for the next academic year in relation to Postgraduate Loans. Ahead of the release of the details by the Student Loans Company (SLC) for 2018/19 programmes and applicants, this post serves as a reminder of the funding available to postgraduate student in the current academic year. Note that students who have commenced studies during 2017/18 may still be able to apply for funding and should be directed to the relevant funding body. Continue reading “Postgraduate Loans for Masters Study”

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Guest Blog: Exploring the reading practices of undergraduate students

Photo of Helen St-Clair Thompson

by Helen St Clair-Thompson,  School of Psychology

In 2015/16 I took part in the university EQuATE programme (Equal Acclaim for Teaching Excellence). This introduced me to staff elsewhere in the university who were interested in similar aspects of learning and teaching, and I soon found myself in a conversation about students’ reading habits. Given the importance of reading we wondered how much time and effort student invest in reading material related to their course.

Working with Alison Graham and Sara Marsham from the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, I then began some research into students’ reading practices.  Continue reading “Guest Blog: Exploring the reading practices of undergraduate students”

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Higher Education Academy: Communities of Practice

Are you looking to share knowledge and ideas with higher education professionals nationally and globally?

The Higher Education Academy (HEA)  Communities of Practice offer an exciting opportunity for members to take part in discussions, webinars, blogs, thought platforms and more .  Communities  focus on a number of keys areas including employability,  and assessment and feedback.

Interested? Read on to find out more. Continue reading “Higher Education Academy: Communities of Practice”

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Education for life: Celebrating partnership, encouraging innovation. Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2018. Call for submissions extended

Image for Learning and Teaching Conference 2018 of Tyne Bridge.

The Learning and Teaching Conference 2018 theme has been announced: Education for Life: celebrating partnership, encouraging innovation.

This one-day event will take place Wednesday 21 March 2018, 9am-5.30pm.  Read more about the conference theme, find full details of the event and register on the conference webpage.

Call for submissions: extended deadline Friday 19 January 2018

Proposals are welcomed from academic staff, students and Professional Services staff, for individual or collaborative submissions. Further information about the conference theme Education for Life: celebrating partnership, encouraging innovation is available on the conference webpage.

Session formats

All sessions will have a member of LTDS staff allocated to help in advance of the event, who will also be in the session on the day.

Workshops (45 or 60 minutes)

A hands on session to solve a problem, practice something new, showcase a method. Learning by doing. Choose a flat teaching space arranged cabaret style, or a PC cluster.

Presentations (15 minutes)

These sessions will be chaired by a member of academic staff, and wherever possible grouped into themed sessions to enable a short panel discussion and Q&A at the end.

Lightning talks (3 minutes)

A speedy way to introduce a new idea, share an approach, or ask a question. Grouped in themed sessions wherever possible. A chance to meet people doing similar things to you. Several lightning talks will be followed by a Q&A session. You can choose whether or not to use audio visual aids, or you could submit a 3 minute video!

Posters

Posters will be on display all day in the Boiler House. Poster presenters should be available by their poster to answer questions during the lunch break. Delegates will vote on their favourite and a prize will be awarded.

Submit your idea

Complete the call for submissions form to submit your ideas by Friday 19 January 2018.

All submissions will be reviewed by the Learning and Teaching Conference Programme Committee, and session allocations will be confirmed by Wednesday 31 January 2018. We will wherever possible try to accommodate your preferred session, however you may be allocated a different session format, at the discretion of the committee.

Contact

If you have a query email LTDS@ncl.ac.uk

Share the poster

If you have somewhere to put it up you can print out this poster, or use this version to send out to colleagues.