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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

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

Colleagues’ case study showcased in QAA publication

Josh Simpson

Kevin Fernandez (Three Counties School of Nursing and Midwifery), Lauren Wright (Worcester International) and Kerry Whitehouse (College Director of LTQE) have had their University of Worcester case study ‘Developing collaborative partnerships that foster the international nursing student’s sense of belonging’ published in the QAA guide Supporting and enhancing the experience of international students in the UK. Staff who support international students will find relevant information across many themes, including induction, academic support and skills, professional services, and careers and employability. In addition to case studies, the guide links to resources such as frameworks and toolkits. Colleagues are encouraged to read and share the UW case study with their networks.

Vignette of Practice: When the World Shuts Down: Delivering a Successful Teacher Training Course

Josh Simpson

When the World Shuts Down: Delivering a Successful Teacher Training Course Dan Hughes, School of Education I was the course leader for PGCE Primary when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a lockdown in March 2020 and the challenges for the course were significant. The impact was that our 2019/20 trainees could not go into school for their final placement and face-to-face lectures were stopped. Placements are fundamental to professional courses; they give the trainees time to put theory into practice. The third placement of their year is also where they are assessed against the Teachers’ Standards (Department for Education, 2021). This could not happen, and the question was simply, what do we do? We delivered an entire nine-week online curriculum, supported by coaches/mentors, that focused on… Read moreVignette of Practice: When the World Shuts Down: Delivering a Successful Teacher Training Course

Vignette of Practice: How a Team Approach to Practice Education Combatted the COVID-19 Effect

Josh Simpson

How a Team Approach to Practice Education Combatted the COVID-19 Effect Terri Grant, School of Allied Health and Community This case study demonstrates how effective leadership has led to increased placement capacity that resulted in occupational therapy and physiotherapy students at the University of Worcester meeting their placement requirements as the country went into lockdown in 2020. In addition, it demonstrates how we have prepared for a 350% increase in placement capacity over a 6-year period. The Practice Education team was developed in 2018 after the professional regulatory body identified the need for an increase in staff dedicated to placement development. I saw the opportunity to develop a more integrated strategy, suggested the creation of an integrated team to my line manager and agreed to… Read moreVignette of Practice: How a Team Approach to Practice Education Combatted the COVID-19 Effect

Resources for understanding and supporting student engagement with learning

Josh Simpson

Resources for understanding and supporting student engagement with learning have been collated into a spreadsheet for staff to review and use. The resources are organised into different tabs according to type (such as conference outputs) and with the following information provided: title, year, summary, institution or author and website link. Questions can be sent to j.simpson@worc.ac.uk.

Vignette of Practice: “Not another three-hour lecture”: A Blended Delivery Approach

Josh Simpson

“Not another three-hour lecture”: A Blended Delivery Approach Team Teaching Award – Richard Pepperell; Dr Christian Edwards; School of Sport and Exercise Science     Introduction Our case studies focused on the development (case study 1) and delivery (case study 2) of two new scientific principles modules in the undergraduate Physical Education (PE) curriculum. Here, we focus specifically on case study 2 demonstrating our use of a blended approach to the delivery of these modules during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background The Wolf report (2011) prompted several UK Government policy changes across the 14-19 education sector that were designed to increase the rigour of accredited courses. Within the PE and sports sector, these policy changes led to an increase in the sports science content required within… Read moreVignette of Practice: “Not another three-hour lecture”: A Blended Delivery Approach

Vignette of Practice: Embedding Real World Learning Through Inspirational Guest Speakers

Josh Simpson

Embedding Real World Learning Through Inspirational Guest Speakers Team Teaching Award – Dr Kay Emblen-Perry, Senior Lecturer and PRME Coordinator; Dr Paulo Mora-Avila, Lecturer and School Liaison Coordinator; Rachel Cooper, Lecturer and Accounting and Finance Course Leader; Worcester Business School In the Responsible Business L5 module, we include weekly guest speakers [A1]. This approach is inspirational to students, module tutors and the guest speakers themselves, as we will explain. The use of guest speakers each week is unique within Worcester Business School (WBS) and is innovative, as it is not seen elsewhere within education for sustainability. Our practice frames our pedagogical approach to the module which involves students exploring a live case study, and in 2020/21, this was the University of Worcester (UW); weekly guest… Read moreVignette of Practice: Embedding Real World Learning Through Inspirational Guest Speakers