Kim Hibbert-Mayne (Secondary PGCE PE Tutor) Learning mats have been a tool in primary and secondary education for many years now; used to guide pupils around a topic or remind them of key ideas, concepts or vocabulary during a lesson. They can be used to extend the learning during an independent task or for homework. For the same reasons I have been using learning mats in my own sessions for teacher training in secondary education. In this context they are a tool for information gathering, thought organising and for increasing the level of engagement when it comes to students taking their own notes. I find that learning mats encourage students to decipher the information being transferred and summarise it to ‘fit’ into the relevant boxes…. Read moreTeacher Training using Learning Mats

Jane Moreton (Secondary Mathematics PGCE Tutor) and Isabelle Schafer (PGCE Secondary Modern Languages Subject Leader) In January 2018, PGCE Modern Languages trainees and PGCE Mathematics trainees planned cross-curricular activities at the University of Worcester. Trainees’ interpretation of how to embed numeracy in their teaching and how to take into account pupils’ language needs were influenced by professional dialogue. They created thought provoking activities and they taught each other symmetry through famous French buildings, sports vocabulary through probability, food through combinations, averages through world competitions etc.             Feedback from trainees was overwhelmingly positive: Modern Languages trainee: “This week the session with the maths trainees really helped me to see the infinite number of ways in which we can incorporate elements of… Read moreShared cross-curricular activities for PGCE Modern Languages trainees and PGCE Mathematics trainees

Over the past two summers while I have been thinking about having a break, two Vacation Teaching Development Assistantship (VTDA) students planned their summers around enhancing the student experience. More specifically, they were involved in designing 12 weeks of flipped learning activities for different modules as part of the Foundation Degree (FD) programmes in Health and Social Care. One of the aims of the project was to encourage the development of higher-level skills, such as critical thinking, through the use of technology. This is increasingly seen as an essential feature of FD courses, where the focus is on supporting student transition into higher education. E-learning can provide flexible access to student centred learning materials. It is also essential that that is compliments the more traditional… Read moreShowcasing VTDA projects – the flipped classroom: never stop learning

There have been an increasing number of students entering the university at Level 5 and 6 over the past 5 years from a range of partners’ institutions including BMET (Stourbridge), Heart of Worcestershire College, TCAT and transfers from other HEI’s.  There are a number of key transition stages for students within higher education. Transition stages can highlight perplexing times for students, these could be an adjustment in academic activities or a transition within their personal and/or social life. These key transition points could be entry into the first or second year of study or even a top-up into the final year of study (Whittaker, 2008).  It is important to engage early within the transition process in higher education, to establish methods for effective learning and… Read moreShowcasing SAP projects – Supporting Student Transition into Top-Up Programmes

For an interesting and insightful example of research inspired teaching and learning see the recently published article in the Journal of Disability and Society by Peter F. Unwin, Joy M. Rooney, Nina Osborne & Charmaine Cole http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2017.1322498 The article reports the findings of two small-scale qualitative studies which engaged service users and carers (SUACs) as researchers in co-production with an academic researcher. Findings were that SUAC participants reported considerable levels of self-transformation via involvement in training health and social work professionals. Students reported heightened empathy and having had their perceptions about disability challenged. Further research regarding whether any learned values and attitudes regarding disability are carried through to the world of practice is recommended.