Small-scale ‘experimental’ innovation projects: Dissemination event

Date: Monday 10 December 2018

Location: London

This  Office for Students event is open to those in the higher education sector and will showcase 67 small-scale ‘experimental’ innovation projects in learning and teaching

See more details and register: www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/events/small-scale-experimental-innovation-projects-dissemination-event/

Success for Dr Hélène Tyrrell at the Northern Law Awards

Dr Helene Tyrrell receiving her award

Congratulations to Newcastle University Law Lecturer, Dr Hélène Tyrrell, who won the Law Teacher of the Year award at the Northern Law Awards 2018.

To be eligible for the award individuals were expected to have demonstrated a number of excellent teaching qualities including innovative teaching practices, an interest in student development and the ability to enhance the student learning experience through scholarly activities.

Dr Tyrrell stood out to the judges who noted that she:

“..consistently demonstrated a high level of achievement across all of the criteria with clear evidence for genuine warmth and ability to build rapport with students”

Northern Law Awards Winners Guide 2018

One of the nominations highlighted a number of Dr Tyrrell’s key achievements including:

  • Redesigning and running the PARTNERS Summer School resulting in exceptional feedback from participants.
  • Successfully engaging over 200 students with detailed case and statute reading in a lecture setting . Read more about this in Dr Tyrrell’s case study.
  • Incorporating research knowledge into her teaching from her time researching in Parliament and her work on the UK Supreme Court. This ensured that students greatly benefited from her expertise.

The award was open to any law teacher working in Higher Education in the North of England so a fantastic achievement for Dr Tyrrell to win the award.

Dr Jennifer Stephens, also a lecturer here at Newcastle, was shortlisted for the award recognising the excellent work she has carried out with student support services.

There was further success for Newcastle Law School at the awards with the student-led Street Law initiative winning the Pro Bono/ Community Initiative of the Year.  Read more on the University website.

Teesside University Learning and Teaching Workshop: Minecraft as a teaching tool

If you’re interested in the use of games in learning and teaching sign up to this workshop exploring the use of Minecraft, particularly how it can be used in Biosciences.

The programme includes a keynote from Joel Mills,  Minecraft Mentor & Deputy Director of Learning & Teaching Enhancement, Hull University,  as well as lots of opportunities to use the software and trial the virtual field trip exercise.

Thursday 12th July 2018
10am-4pm
Teesside University

To find out more and book your place please visit http://www.tees.ac.uk/sections/whats_on/events_details.cfm?event_id=10172 

 

Conference Summary: Advance HE Surveys 2018

Dr Joe Barton (Representation & Research Coordinator, Newcastle University Students’ Union)

On 9 May, I ventured to Leeds to present at the Surveys 2018 conference, organised by Advance HE (formed from the recent merger of the Higher Education Academy, the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and the Equality Challenge Unit).

As far as I am aware, I was the only representative of a Students’ Union at the conference, and so this was a unique opportunity to promote NUSU’s work and our partnership with the University.

This year’s Surveys conference explored ‘the potential of insight from surveys, metrics, qualitative research and wider methods of capturing the student voice for driving excellence and enhancement within higher education’.

At NUSU, we have been reflecting on similar themes as we prepare our third Teaching Excellence Awards Report. In recent months, we have consulted with staff at the University about the extent to which our TEAs Reports are useful as enhancement tools and what we might do to improve them. These discussions have in turn focused our attention on the methodological and theoretical challenges inherent in dealing with student-led teaching award nomination data.

Continue reading “Conference Summary: Advance HE Surveys 2018”

Inter-disciplinary Learning and Teaching Conference

The University is currently consulting on a draft of a new Education Strategy (see this blog post for further information on this).  One of the important strands running through the draft Education Strategy is the emphasis on multi- and inter-disciplinary educational opportunities:  encouraging and promoting these opportunities is one of the draft Strategy’s aims.

Colleagues working and/or interested in this area might be interested in a conference that’s taking place at Leeds University next month.  The conference title is Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching:  Pedagogy and Practice.  The programme is available at Initial Programme IDLT 2018, and places on the conference can be booked online.

Undergraduate research: present at BCUR, get Newcastle to pay for it, CV points

If you are an undergraduate or a recent graduate with a piece of independent research that you’re proud of—or you’re a lecturer with students like that—please read on! Newcastle University is looking for people to represent us at the British Conference of Undergraduate Research 2018.

Continue reading “Undergraduate research: present at BCUR, get Newcastle to pay for it, CV points”

HEA Conference 2017 – Generation TEF: Teaching in the Spotlight

The Higher Education Academy conference will be held on 4th, 5th and 6th July 2017 in Manchester and will concentrate on ‘improving the quality of teaching and learning in the age of the Teaching Excellence Framework.’

Structured over three days, the conference will provide a platform for higher education professionals to share their experiences, ideas, research and good practice in a community of their peers and learn from internationally respected speakers.

The conference format allows for cross-fertilisation of pedagogies, with a day dedicated to addressing sector priorities, such as retention, assessment and employability, sandwiched between two days of discipline-led activities.

The conference is an ideal opportunity to meet like-minded peers, build networks, and expand your knowledge of sector issues and innovations, thus strengthening your own professional practice and reputation.

Proposals for posters are invited from higher education professionals that relate to this year’s chosen theme and/or one of the sub-themes below:

  • Transforming assessment;
  • Student access, retention, attainment and progression;
  • Embedding employability;
  • Internationalising higher education;
  • Student engagement through partnership;
  • Flexible learning;
  • Curriculum design;
  • Student choice landscape;
  • Leadership of learning and teaching in the disciplines;
  • New pedagogic research in the disciplines.

The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2016.

See more on the conference website.