Journals (University of Staffordshire)
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Lecture Theatre Pantomime: A creative delivery approach for teaching undergraduates
Full text linkLecture theatre based teaching is common place pedagogic method in Higher Education especially when teaching large classes. Lecture theatre pantomime is an interactive and diverse teaching strategy that uses lecture theatres but aims to make sessions as interactive, diverse and enjoyable as small group tutorials. The Central Dogma of molecular biology was taught using a pantomime approach that included a 3D washing line and a handstand by the lecturer. Overall 90% of students found the pantomime delivery style enjoyable compared to more traditional non-pantomime lectures. Students in the pantomime lecture showed a statistically significant (p = 0.0009) improvement in student exam performance compared to the previous year’s cohort
SUMEC: Building the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Programme into HE Staff Development
Full text linkThis poster presentation will convey the findings from a Pilot study into the Staffordshire University Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Coaching Programme (known as SUMEC). This first of its kind staff development coaching programme supports staff towards applying for and obtaining Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert status, whilst simultaneously enabling staff to focus on their own personal goals with using technology to enhance the experience of their learners at the university. According to the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (2020) coaching and mentoring is an approach which can be used to help learners accelerate their careers, their development and successes. The Department for Education (2020) acknowledge the significance of coaching and mentoring within education and signpost the education sector to resources which encourage an ethos of coaching and mentoring in and amongst colleagues in educational establishments. Race (2020) highlights that purposeful coaching is a useful component is effective learning in Higher Education and reminds us that to be a principle fellow of the HEA an individual must demonstrate strategies for supporting and promoting others giving mentoring and coaching as explicit examples of such effective practice. Therefore, it is identifiable that programmes of CPD whereby coaching s the vehicle are desirable in education and specifically in HE CPD. Similarly, digital skills and innovation in teaching is at the forefront of the HE agenda, with JISC (2021) reporting to have a 2030 vision that will see HE providers respond to student feedback which identifies that they appreciate online/digital learning, but that sometimes approaches are unengaging and more fatiguing. For HE staff to maximise on the positive aspects of digital learning, teaching and wider student experience, it is important staff seek to continually improve their digital capabilities to ensure students remain fully engaged and involved. Therefore, it is arguably timely that the SUMEC pilot project combined coaching and digital skills into a single programme
Reflexivity, methodologies and collaboration in art practice: Plough Through and The Air We Breathe
Full text linkBeing a practicing artist and conducting practice-based research today may involve re-framing and re-thinking beyond discipline boundaries. It can be said that art prospers from such spillage, which can create opportunities for collaborations where knowledges and meanings can be articulated in new and innovative ways. 
Student and Lecturer Reflections on Merging the Physical and Digital Classroom with a ‘Tech and Tactile’ Approach
Full text linkThis paper shares lecturer and student reflective accounts of a ‘tech and tactile’ approach to delivering BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies and BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies with Early Years Teacher Status courses. The ‘tech and tactile’ approach combines gamification, playful pedagogy, digital, creative and tactile methods of facilitating learning. Every task has a concurrent physical and digital counterpart, or the digital and physical tasks are purposefully sequenced. The paper shares examples of reflections that convey that students are not sedentary or attached to their device. Instead, the embedded digital and physical elements enabled attendance and engagement to be magnified. Furthermore, the approach accommodates multiple learning styles, preferences and needs by allowing a choice of subject content based on context and digital literacy. The approach was well-received by students who value its tacit, multi-modal and self-referent nature. The paper proposes a cyclical approach to curriculum planning and reflective questions which are transferable across disciplines for lecturers wishing to adopt the ‘tech and tactile approach
Higher Education for Sustainable Development
Full text linkShephard, K. (2015). Higher Education for Sustainable Development. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmilla
Exploring \u27academic depth\u27 in Higher Education
No full textInformation discernment is an important skill that is part of studying in Higher Education, although it often seems that students might not be aware of this crucial part of academic practice. This paper presents the evaluation of a visual method for introducing students to the provenance of secondary sources, using the metaphor of sea creatures living in an academic ocean. The same resources were used as a starting point for sessions delivered to a number of programmes in different disciplines in three different HE institutions in the UK at different academic levels. The findings discussed here introduce the different perspectives of the tutors who led the sessions, providing an insight into potential challenges and opportunities of using this visual concept to introduce academic practice to students in art, media and design, communication and public relations, education, as well as international students. The conclusions drawn from this episodic overview show that while there was some polarisation, overall a visual approach seemed to have potential in assisting students in building their academic literacy skills. Furthermore, it was the facilitation of a discussion of provenances of sources that seems most important in this endeavour
Jarvis, J. and Clark, K. (eds.) (2020) Conversations to Change Teaching. St Albans: Critical Publishing
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Employing history: Enhancing ‘employability’ in BA history degrees with recorded video presentation assessments
Full text linkUntil recently, British university history departments have rarely made use of assessed recorded video presentations. Inspired by the increased popularity of Online Educational Resources (OERs), it moves away from traditional essays, exams, and oral presentation-centred assessment strategies. This article outlines an intervention undertaken on a first-year cultural history module to incorporate such an assessment and evaluates its effectiveness in promoting greater ‘digital literacy’. Building on the greater availability of more effective submission platforms, and acknowledging increased student tech-literacy, changing skill requirements for history-related career paths and the growing significance of the employability agenda, the article explores how history graduates can be made more ‘employable’. Using a mixture of open questionnaires and a focus group, student experience and interpretation is used to gauge the effectiveness of the intervention from the perspective of its prospective beneficiaries
Creation of an Off-campus Domestic Program Assignment: A Reflective Account
Full text linkStudy abroad is a well-known way to expose students to different cultures, but participation rates in the U.S. have remained troublingly low. This reflective account describes the creation of an authentic assessment for graduate students in a global education course in the form of an off-campus domestic program assignment as an accessible alternative to traditional study abroad. Benefits of the assignment include students’ use of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, writing, public speaking, and knowledge application, all skills which employers value. Further, students are introduced to domestic off-campus programs as a form of study away which may be more inclusive, affordable, and accessible than traditional study abroad programs. Guidance is provided for individuals wishing to construct a similar assessment, including activities and resources used to orient students to the subject, organizational details of the assignment, examples of student work, and suggestions for tailoring the assignment to undergraduates and different disciplines
