Staff in the School of Science came together on Wednesday 18 May to share good practice in learning and teaching, at the Inaugural Learning and Teaching Showcase.
The event was opened by the VC Bob Allison who recognised the efforts of all staff in the School and the vast range of teaching methods utilised in order to enhance the learning experience for the students. He mentioned the upcoming TEF and how the work of all School staff is already demonstrating its objectives.
Over the last month, staff in the School of Science were able to nominate their colleagues in the following categories: Best use of LEARN, Best Peer-Identified Practice and Best Electronic Resources.
They were nominated for the new teaching initiatives they have been developing and the way in which their projects have supported learning and teaching.
As well as short presentations by nominees, there was an overview of the School’s TestED programme (Teaching and Student Experience Development) which was introduced to enable innovative developmental work for teaching and student experience.
Dr Sandie Dann, AD(T) for the School of Science, said: “Part of my role as ADT is supporting staff and students to be the best they can be. This show and tell event has enabled us to share good practice from across the School and raise awareness of ideas to facilitate student engagement and support learners. Many staff said they have come away with ways to quality enhance their teaching suggesting we have achieved our goal for the day.”
The event proved to be not just interesting for those who attended, but there was also a sense of anticipation of the possibilities that were to be revealed.
Professor Mark Biggs, Dean of School of Science, added: “This event demonstrated that simple actions can deliver major improvements in student learning experience as well as save staff time in the long run. This time can be used for further efforts in teaching & learning, research and enterprise. It also showcased some more advanced possibilities that, if more widely adopted, would help cement Loughborough’s position as one of the top UK universities.”
The nominations in each category were:
Best use of LEARN
- Iain Phillips – Online tools for collaborative learning
- Maureen McIver – Online testing to support learning
- Helen Reid – Flexible lectures via LEARN
- Sasha Balanov – Maximising the utility of LEARN
- Mike Walsh – Formative lecture quizzes for deeper understanding
Best Peer-Identified Practice
- Paul Kelly – Encouraging data recording skills and reducing the laboratory marking burden and developing the use of a group as a genuine research tool
- Mike Cropper – Assessing laboratory skills (rather than writing skills)
- Paul Hernandez-Martinez – Designing teaching to develop employability skills
- Lara Alcock – Engaging students in large lectures
- Marc Kimber – Holistic programme (re)design
Best electronic resources
- Marco Discacciati – Supporting student learning through computer aided activities
- Upul Wijayantha – Pre-lab videos, a step towards dynamic lab manuals
- Ian Murray – Using screencasts to support student learning
- Carol Robinson – Personal experiences of using lecture capture
The winners were:
Best use of Learn: Mike Walsh (Foundation Studies)
Best Peer-Identified Practice: Mike Cropper (Physics)
Best electronic resources: Carol Robinson (MEC)