The session was led by Syd King (he/they), the Disabled PTO for the Students’ Union. Chair of the Disabled Students’ Society & Disability Representative for the National Union of Students and covered the topic of Accessibility in Academia. With 19% of students at the University of Manchester being DASS registered (and more being disabled), accessibility […]
Decolonising the Curriculum
Sam Rodgers, a Senior Lecturer in Nursing, lead a session on Decolonising the Curriculum, with a particular focus on work done by Keele Universities Decolonising the Curriculum network. Keele University defines Decolonisation as ‘the withdrawals from its colonies of a colonial power; the acquisition of political or economic independence by such colonies’, and also emphasised […]
Pedagogy Journal Club: January 2022
The paper was ‘English as an Academic Lingua Franca: discourse hybridity and meaning multiplicity in an international Anglophone HE institution’ by Sami Alhasnawi. The paper considers data on English for special or academic purposes and how this shapes their classroom discussions. Attendees discussed the differences between understanding English, English as a Lingua Franca, and being […]
Opportunities in Flipped Learning: Student Voice & Inclusive Curricula
The masterclass was run by Dr Nick Weise, from the Institute of Teaching & Learning, and covered student voice and inclusive curricula in flipped learning. The session covered the general principles of learning, including active, reviewing and passive learning and how to best encourage students to engage in both. Dr Weise mentioned students’ preference for […]
Pedagogy Journal Club: November 2021
Learning Environments The journal article was called ‘Role of technology in the design of learning environments’. The paper considered a different way of designing learning environments using sandpits which are small interactive workshops designed to enable creative thinking with key stakeholders. 13 sandpits were held considering large (the Cube) and small (the Poppy flower) learning […]
Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Rebecca Farrington and Enam Haque delivered this session on inclusivity in academia, with a particular focus on anti-racism. The session covered how academic institutions have a duty to be more inclusive and anti-racist, but often fall short of this, some studies were highlighted that suggested the issue was most prevalent in medical subjects due to […]
Academic Advising – what could we do better?
Jennie Blake, Head of Teaching and Learning Development at the University of Manchester Library, delivered this interactive session focussing on academic advising and how to improve student support. Jennie discussed her project from the Institute of Teaching and Learning which highlighted issues surrounding academic advising especially; feeling unable to support students with health concerns, feeling […]
Pedagogy Journal Club: October 2021
Sense of Belonging The journal article was called ‘An Exploration into the Importance of a Sense of Belonging for Online Learners’. The article considers the importance of sense of belonging for postgraduates’ online education by exploring their lived experience through a small-scale qualitative study. Through the research, three significant themes emerge that are important for […]
Pedagogy Journal Club: July 2021
Learning Environments The journal article was called ‘Learning environments preferred by university students: a shift toward informal and flexible learning environments’. The paper collected quantitative data from 730 students and qualitative data from 230 students attending a research University in Finland, Autumn 2015. Five main themes emerged around the learning environments preferred by these students: […]
Pedagogy Journal Club: April 2021
Reimagining our Educational Futures The journal article was called ‘Future Studies: Reimagining our Educational Futures in the Post-Covid-19 world’. It reflected on the changes in education that had been expedited due to the pandemic and considered how to prepare for the future to minimise further disruption by being proactive rather than reactive. The paper contemplated […]