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UKAT Annual Conference 2018 – Workshop: Staff and Student perspectives of Personal Tutoring

Workshop: Staff and Student perspectives of Personal Tutoring – Gemma Taylor – University of Derby

MA dissertation research on personal tutoring with a small case study conducted between Jan and March 18 on a UG Programme. Consider student perspective on if the tutorial scheme was fit for purpose and if this enhances the student experience, and for staff to identify any training of changes. Improvement for EDI, widening participation, retention and support. Tutors are frontline for pastoral support; create sense of belonging with relationship with tutor; influence on student engagement; effect on satisfaction, wellbeing and retention rates; development of self-motivation. Continue reading “UKAT Annual Conference 2018 – Workshop: Staff and Student perspectives of Personal Tutoring”

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Celebrating 10 years of ReCap

Members of the ReCap Team at the Celebrating Success event

The ReCap team were invited to  last week’s Celebrating Success Event in recognition of their fantastic work, in collaboration with staff across the University, over the past 10 years.

Newcastle University has now been involved in lecture and event capture since 2007/08 which was a number of years before the majority of UK HEIs even began to consider the potential benefits of such a service.  From the outset the team involved envisioned a pervasive institutional service that would enhance student experience by providing supportive learning resources for all students and especially those with disability, international students and those whose circumstances make attendance at all lectures problematic. Continue reading “Celebrating 10 years of ReCap”

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The Future of Work: Stimulus Event

Students and staff in the Urban Sciences Building

Be bold, be brave and think about the new possibilities, words from Professor Julie Sanders set the tone for The Future of Work : Stimulus Event held on the 13th June. In an area that often results in fear and uncertainty, with much of the media focussing on loss of jobs as a result of AI developing at an ever increasing speed, it was refreshing to see this topic being tackled from such a positive perspective.

This approach was continued by Professor Suzanne Cholerton who outlined how the new Education Strategy embraced the challenges ahead and aimed to give our students an education for life in a world that we don’t yet know. A focus was placed on the strategy theme,  ‘developing students as the whole person by supporting and preparing them to shape the societies in which they will live and the professions they choose to enter’ and this focus was evident from other speakers throughout the day. An emphasis was placed on developing attributes, and thinking about how our graduates can engage creatively and critically with the digital environment. Continue reading “The Future of Work: Stimulus Event”

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Module Evaluation Results

How and when are results of Module Evaluations received by Academic Staff?

Each module should be evaluated every time it is delivered using the University’s module evaluation system, EvaSys. The results are usually sent to Academic staff via email in the form of PDF attachments, and this is done in one of two ways;

  1.  The survey is set up by local Professional Services staff to automatically send the PDF results upon closure of the survey. This option can be selected during the creation of the survey.
  2.  Local Professional Services staff manually send the results in PDF format from within the EvaSys system at an agreed time. This option can be used if the automatic dispatch is not selected during survey setup.

In both instances the timing of the surveys and the receipt of results should be agreed within the academic unit, paying particular attention to survey close times to allow for discussion of results with senior colleagues if required.

More information regarding Module and Stage Evaluations is available on our webpages

The Policy on Surveying and Responding to Student Opinion details who is entitled to see results of Module Evaluations.

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June 2018 Learning and Teaching Newsletter

Information gathering: future demand for online exams and in course tests

The eAssessment and Feedback Steering Group are currently gathering information about potential demand for online exams and in course tests in the next 5 years.

We are asking all colleagues who are interested in introducing a new online exam (whether for a new module, or a change to assessment method in a current module) to complete a short online form for each potential new exam.

The information collected will be used to gauge demand and assist in planning future provision.

Continue reading “June 2018 Learning and Teaching Newsletter”

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Reflections on the Learning and Teaching Conference

By Ma. Brenda Carbonilla Pancho,  MD, MPH, PGDipMedEd, FHEA Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Student Support, NUMed Malaysia

Brenda Pancho standing in front of her poster presentation
Ma. Brenda Carbonilla Pancho, Associate Professor

The Learning and Teaching Conference covered a range of topics, from broad issues such as the Newcastle University Education Strategy, to more specific topics such as the use of technology to support and enhance learning, approaches that promote active student engagement in the classroom, inclusive learning and other innovative teaching strategies.   I think that because of this, the conference was able to cater to the interests of everyone, from those who set educational policies within the institution, heads of departments who implement educational programmes, those involved in providing academic and other types of support to students, and those involved in teaching.

My own contribution to the conference was a poster entitled ‘Student Support Services at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia’, which was basically an audit of student support services during the Academic Year 2015-2016, the aims of which were to determine the distribution of students seen by Student Support Services, the types of problems affecting these students and the types of support provided, and to make recommendations to improve service provision. Continue reading “Reflections on the Learning and Teaching Conference”

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NUTELA Small Grants Fund: Deadline 1st June 2018

NUTELA logo

The application deadline  for the NUTELA Small Grants Fund is approaching quickly but there is still time to submit an application this academic year.

Key facts about the fund:

  • Funding is available to help you  explore technology-enhanced practices in your learning and teaching.
  • Activities might include; conferences, visits to other institutions, or trialing new software. Other ideas are also welcome.
  • In your application you should identify how you will disseminate ideas among colleagues.
  • Apply for up to £500; this might fully fund or part fund an activity.

Previous successful applicants

This is the first year that the fund has been available but we have already received some successful applications. Read more about the applications from Sonia Bussey and Dr Jo Matthan here:  https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/ltdev/2018/04/27/success-for-nutela-small-grants-fund-applicants/ 

Ready to apply?

You can find full guidance notes and application forms for the fund on this blog post https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/ltdev/2017/01/07/nutela/

If you have any questions get in touch with nutelaops@newcastle.ac.uk

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Windows 10 update in teaching spaces

Update from Gary Atkinson, Infrastructure Systems Manager, NUIT

Desktops located in teaching clusters, flat floor teaching, lecture theatres and meeting rooms will start to move to Windows 10 over the summer period.

Why are we upgrading? 

Windows 7 has been our preferred desktop operating system for the last 9 years and will fall out of support in 2020.

Moving to Windows 10 will allow us to present a modern up to date desktop which our current and prospective students have come to expect and may already be using on their personal devices.

Moving to Windows 10 will allow us to improve our customer experience: Continue reading “Windows 10 update in teaching spaces”

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Media enhanced learning special interest group

The Media Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) is a group of academics, learning technologists, staff developers and others whose purpose is to:

  • develop a self-sustaining UK Special Interest Group and community of practice for Media Enhanced Learning that adds value, builds capacity, and stimulates global partnerships and networks;
  • facilitate discussion and dissemination of the pedagogic use, purposes and benefits of digital and social media in post-compulsory education, and to consider its future uses;
  • provide a staff development focal point for media-enhanced academic practice (digital audio, video, smart and social media, and the use of related technologies), from ‘novice‘ to ‘expert’;
  • integrate ‘the student experience’ and ‘student views’ into SIG activities and deliberations;
  • be a resource for pedagogic research and investigation in the areas relating to digital and social media, related new technologies and applications;
  • co-ordinate a network of practitioners;
  • provide information and guidance on practice through its association;
  • provide an annual futures report based on a survey of leading international practitioners in the area of media-enhanced learning.

With a diverse stering group drawn from post compulsory education from all over the UK, it is an active group sharing effective practice widely.

There is already a great set of co-produced resources on the MELSIG website, including :

Regular events (usually free to attend)  provide opportunities for networking with others from different disciplines and institutions to co-produce more toolkits, collaborate and share effective practice. The next event, on 21 June 2018 in Sheffield, focuses on enhancing practice with digital and social media.

There is a jiscmail list which anyone can join.

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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”