Accessible Academia

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 […]

Transforming Assessments

The session was led by Sally Hickson. The session focused on the principles of good assessment, the benefits of alternative assessment and the importance of including students in assessment design. At the beginning of the session, the group were asked ‘Why do we assess students?’, and answered on JamBoard – you can find their answers […]

LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Academia

The session was led by Syd King (he/they), with guest speakers Daz Skubich (they/them), Doron Cohen (he/him) & Stacey McKnight (she/her). The session focused on the importance of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in academia, starting by defining some common LGBTQ+ related terminology & talking about the importance of Language, followed by getting people’s pronouns correct and what […]

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: February 2021

Professional Identity The journal article was called ‘Teachers telling tales: the narrative mediation of professional identity’ and it was presented by the author, Julian Williams. It considered the biographical narrative of two successful maths teachers who had different approaches to teaching college students (16-19 year olds). John described himself as ‘traditional’ and Sally described herself […]

Pedagogy Journal Club: March 2020

Teacher Dilemmas The journal article was called ‘Teacher dilemmas in challenging students in higher education’. The article considered the dilemmas teachers come across when challenging students which they used to develop a model of dilemma analysis. The paper raised interesting reflective thoughts around our own teaching and interactions and the group thought it would be […]

Supporting International Students – Challenges and Opportunities

Colleagues from International Relations, Counselling, the Students Union and Lecturers in FBMH delivered an interactive session alongside student participants on ‘Supporting International Students – Challenges and Opportunities’.  The session was co-created and delivered by current students and colleagues from across the University.  The session explored academic attainment, culture and culture values and transition issues as […]

55 Behaviours of Transformational Educators

Dianne Burns and Judy Williams gave an interactive Masterclass based on their research findings which identifies the 55 core behaviours of ‘transformational educators’.  They encouraged participants to reflect on ways in which they adopted such behaviours and how they could support colleagues to develop them as well.  The session enabled participants to reflect on their […]

Pedagogy Journal Club: January 2020

Playful Learning The Journal article was called ‘Playful learning in higher education: developing a signature pedagogy’. The article encouraged activities to go beyond play or games as a means of enhancing engagement or increasing motivation as these can often have the reverse effect if overused. Instead it encouraged the use of a signature pedagogy to […]