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Welcome to the Realising Teaching Excellence blog at the University of Worcester, where we hope to keep you informed about teaching and learning developments, create dialogue around developing excellence and introduce you to examples of interesting practice. The ‘Teaching Excellence’ page has the latest news on learning and teaching The ‘Interesting Practice’ page has a range of learning and teaching case studies See the ‘Resources’ page for useful guides and information including the “Busy lecturer’s Guide to Inclusive Practice” and information on student transitions and Teaching Awards The ‘Tried and Tested’ page contains examples of enhancement activities undertaken at module and course level which have been evaluated and proven to have been effective. Our ‘Projects’ page shows updates and outputs from the various learning and… Read moreWelcome

Schedule and abstracts now available for ‘AI generations’ Symposium (2nd November 2023 online)

Josh Simpson

The full schedule and abstracts are now available for the Thursday 2 November Symposium, ‘AI generations: Staff and Student Innovations Unplugged’ and can be downloaded at the following link: AI Generations Symposium – Schedule and abstracts Many exciting talks are planned, including those on the use of AI in assignments, in planning and structuring lectures, and in subjects such as History and Fine Art. The keynote from Sue Attewell, Co-Director of the Jisc National Centre for AI, will be on ‘The Impact of AI in Education’. Places are still available. To book, please visit the Staff Development page and join the Symposium Teams site. Queries can be sent to j.simpson@worc.ac.uk.

Apply now: Applications open for 2023/24 SAPs Scheme

Josh Simpson

Project applications for the 2023/24 SAPs Scheme have now opened. To apply: Please visit the Scheme webpage to review the Application Guidance and submit a proposal. Applications close at 15:00 on Friday 27 October 2023. Queries can be made to j.simpson@worc.ac.uk and k.blackmore@worc.ac.uk. Save the date: There will be an information session for successful project applications on Tuesday 28 November 2023, 13:15-14:15 (EGA G010). Staff whose projects are successfully funded, and students who are interested in applying to participate, should plan to attend.

Symposium: ‘AI generations: Staff and Students Innovations Unplugged’ – 2nd November 2023 (Online)

Josh Simpson

AI generations: Staff & Student Innovations Unplugged Thursday 2 November 2023 1.00-4.15pm (Teams meeting online) Keynote speaker: Sue Attewell, Co-Director of the Jisc National Centre for AI A symposium aimed at exchanging ideas and experiences about the impact of generative artificial intelligence on education, learning, and assessment for use in future academic practice. WANTED: Contributors for 5-minute lightning talks Whether you have developed and polished tried-and-tested outputs in the form of assessments or teaching sessions, or are planning to experiment, we would like you to share your practice and reflections. Contributions from both staff and students are welcome. The time limit is 5 mins and 5 slides. To be considered: Please email Josh Simpson j.simpson@worc.ac.uk with the title of your talk and a couple of… Read moreSymposium: ‘AI generations: Staff and Students Innovations Unplugged’ – 2nd November 2023 (Online)

Vignette of Practice: Out of sight, out of mind? Academic Liaison Librarians Online and Beyond

Josh Simpson

Vignette of Practice: Out of sight, out of mind? Academic Liaison Librarians Online and Beyond Sarah Purcell, Kathryn Devine, Shona Raymond, Alison Taylor, Jennifer Dumbelton, Ros Sykes, Jo Dunn, Beth Connors and Andy Searle – Library Services Figure 1: L to R: Jo Dunn, Shona Raymond, Sarah Purcell, Ros Sykes, Allie Taylor, Kathryn Devine, Andy Searle, [Beth Connors]. The Academic Liaison Librarian Team advises, teaches, and supports students, researchers and academic colleagues at the University of Worcester and across our partnerships (V1, V2). We are a professionally qualified team (A5) who support literature searching and academic referencing, and promote the effective use of physical and online library services, integrated at both course and module level. Our team ethos of sharing knowledge, undertaking professional development and… Read moreVignette of Practice: Out of sight, out of mind? Academic Liaison Librarians Online and Beyond

Vignette of Practice: Course design and development including enhanced use of Pebble Pad and the Pebble Pocket App for undergraduate level 4-6 teaching

Josh Simpson

Course design and development including enhanced use of Pebble Pad and the Pebble Pocket App for undergraduate level 4-6 teaching Glyn Harding, Michelle Morgan, Craig Williams and David Mycock – School of Sport and Exercise Science One of the assessments in SPRT 2034 ethics requires students to collaborate with Drama and Law staff and students to participate in a real-life innovation cross department experience court case to analyse the ‘ethical implications’ of applied practice. Through this approach, we underpin our delivery with the School of Sport and Exercise Science core teaching values (see Figure 1) to ensure high-quality teaching and the promotion of inclusive practice. Furthermore, synchronous online learning (developed through Covid 19) has enabled students and lecturers to interact live, retaining the student-teacher interactions… Read moreVignette of Practice: Course design and development including enhanced use of Pebble Pad and the Pebble Pocket App for undergraduate level 4-6 teaching

2023/24 SAPs Scheme Expressions of Interest invited

Josh Simpson

Following on from the University of Worcester Student Experience Conference, in which staff and students shared about a range of exciting projects under the 2022/23 Students as Academics Partners (SAPs) Scheme, we are looking forward to launching the 2023/24 Scheme early in the new academic year. Colleagues from across the University who have a role in learning and teaching, and who are interested in submitting a project proposal, should complete the Expression of Interest form.    Further details, including how to submit a proposal, will be released in due course and posted on the Scheme webpage. Queries can be sent to Karen Blackmore k.blackmore@worc.ac.uk and Josh Simpson j.simpson@worc.ac.uk.   

Vignette of Practice: The PGCE Secondary Education Magazine Commonwealth Edition

Josh Simpson

The PGCE Secondary Education Magazine Commonwealth Edition Rebecca Davidge, Simon Huson, Elena Lengthorn and Rachael Moore – School of Education Our Secondary PGCE team developed and delivered a series of teacher educator workshops on decolonising, diversifying, and democratising our subject curriculums in light of the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 and the local Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022. A further catalyst for this project was the exploration of the inspirational text Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Satnam Sanghera (Sanghera, 2021). Reading of Empireland enabled us, as a group of university tutors, to discuss our preconceptions of the British Empire. The book took us on a learning journey which included a clearer understanding of the past, present and possible… Read moreVignette of Practice: The PGCE Secondary Education Magazine Commonwealth Edition

Vignette of Practice: Enhancing the student experience in occupational therapy and physiotherapy practice placement modules

Josh Simpson

Enhancing the student experience in occupational therapy and physiotherapy practice placement modules Annabel Heaslop, School of Allied Health and Community   As part of the BSc Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy courses, students are required to complete over 1000 hours of successful practice placement for students to register with the HCPC as Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists following graduation. While students generally provided positive feedback regarding the practice placements themselves, historically, practice placement modules (in which placement occurs) have not received high levels of student satisfaction on modules evaluations. When planning to deliver my second-year practice placement module for Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy students and associated learning, I reviewed student feedback from the preceding module. I used this feedback to implement changes to my existing module and… Read moreVignette of Practice: Enhancing the student experience in occupational therapy and physiotherapy practice placement modules

The Use of Generative AI In Education

Josh Simpson

The Use of Generative AI In Education Martin Whiteside, Chief Information Officer, University of Worcester Martin Whiteside, our Chief Information Officer, has written a very interesting piece on what generative AI tools can and can’t do. It includes some fascinating analysis about what ChatGPT can do in producing ‘assignments’ in Literature, Art, Science and Maths. The paper is available to download via this link.

Registration for UW Student Experience Conference now open

Josh Simpson

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Student Experience Conference 2023, which is being held 12-13 June. The conference will follow the previous year’s format of a half day online on the 12th and a full day on campus on the 13th. The keynote speaker will be Dr Diana Beech, Vice-Chair of the University’s Board of Governors and Chief Executive of London Higher, who will deliver a session on ‘Thinking about the student experience in an age of hyper-diversity’. As demand for higher education grows, so too do the different types of students entering higher education, and universities across the country will be wanting to provide a first-rate student experience for the whole student community. Drawing on her experiences as… Read moreRegistration for UW Student Experience Conference now open