Manchester Metropolitan University

The HEA has just published a summary, literature review and case studies on the topic of student engagement, by Paul Trowler and Vicki Trowler from Lancaster University.

Here’s the link to the report.

The Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP) Subject Centre send out a monthly e-bulletin about their activities. To read about SWAP and subscribe to the bulletin, visit the SWAP web pages. Forthcoming events include:

• Successfully integrating discipline characteristics within generic education development programmes
• Living and Learning, Learning and Teaching: Mental Health in Higher Education

 

Are you interested in enhancing the use of technology within your department?
The Discipline-focused Learning Technology Enhancement Academy 2010 provides a programme of workshops and the ongoing support of an expert ‘critical friend’ over a twelve month period to help you plan and implement a learning and teaching enhancement project within your department. The programme will benefit you most if you are at an early stage of thinking about possibilities, as you will be invited to attend an initial workshop in order to develop your ideas. Further details

 

 

The last ESCalate bulletin of 08/09 has just been published. It contains details of events, funding opportunities and new resources relevant to education.

Enhancing Success for All Students

Old Staff Common Room, Queen’s University Belfast

Tuesday 23 June 2009, 10.30 – 15.30

This seminar will consider strategic institutional measures and interventions for building successful educational experiences for all students, including those with disabilities. In addition to policy and
institutional measures presentations will take account of effective teaching practices.  Drawing upon recent research, and evidence-informed practice, the seminar will look at what factors students say are
important in promoting or inhibiting success and academic achievement. Critical points in the student’s experience will be examined through the use of case studies.
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/RSS_QueensBelfast_230609

Monday, July 6th 2009, 10.30 – 14.00 (lunch included)
University of Worcester
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a positive and inspiring way to stimulate and manage change. It also provides a framework for researching or evaluating different forms of professional practice, including learning, teaching and the student experience.
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/RSS_Worcester_060709

The HEA Physical Sciences Centre has published an updated version of ‘Designing assessment to improve Physical Sciences Learning: A Physical Sciences Practice Guide’. The author is Phil Race. View the booklet online.

The latest newsletter from the HEA subject centre for Business, Management, Accounting and Finance is now available on their website at http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/business/home

ESCalate, the HEA subject centre for Education, is offering research grant funding in 2009 on the topic of Assessment. This fits nicely with the MMU Challenging Assessment agenda, of course but in this case the funding is only available to support students on Education courses.

More information is available on the ESCalate website. Help with writing bids is available from Maureen Dawson or Rachel Forsyth in CeLT.

A report commissioned by DIUS on the future of teaching and the student experience is now available. It chimes well with many of the discussions which have been happening around MMU  and should be a good read for anyone interested in the next few years of HE teaching. The summary indicates the challenge being laid out to HE institutions:

“Universities and colleges should be prepared to contemplate remodelling their curricula, perhaps radically, and building a more flexible workforce. Government and agencies should be ready to introduce funding models and quality systems that will realise a vision of higher education as an engaged partnership between students and providers.I”.

Another report, on On-line Innovation in Higher Education, looks at how ICT should be used over the next decade and concludes that we need better ICT infrastructure and more open access materials.

All nine of the reports in the series are available on the DIUS website. together with a link to a blog where comments can be made.

Further details