The best of...
HEA Annual Conference, 2-3 July 2014,
Aston University
‘Preparing for learning futures: the next
ten years’
Attended by: Dawn Morley (CEL theme leader/ Senior lecturer in Adult Nursing) dmorley@bournemouth.ac.uk, Sharon Waight (Associate
Lecturer in Adult Nursing) swaight@bournemouth.ac.uk Julian McDougall (Associate Professor / Director of CEMP) Julian@cemp.ac.uk
Margarete Parrish (Programme Lead, MA Social Work) mparrish@bournemouth.ac.uk Ashley Spriggs (Associate lecturer in Adult Nursing)
aspriggs@bournemouth.ac.uk Kate Rowe- Jones (Programme Lead Clinical Exercise Science) krjones@bournemouth.ac.uk
Title, summary and key words from conference presentation
Dawn: Students as partners in Learning and Teaching: the
launch of a national framework- Abbi Flint, Kathy Harrington,
Mick Healey, HEA
Key words: Partnership, Dialogue Sheet
Summary: The facilitators ran a high quality workshop
challenging our perceptions on different ways of working in
partnership with students. They put us in groups; coordinating
our discussion and feedback though a dialogue sheet (a large
Contacts of presenters/ reports/ additional resources
abbi.flint@heacademy.ac.uk
HEA report written by facilitators “Engagement through partnership:
students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education” (HEA, July
2014)
Link to Dialogue sheets:
pre printed sheet with questions and gaps to write our inputs).
It was effective for academics who were new to the concept of
partnership working and who needed ideas on how to do it.
Dawn: The big debate: multi- tasking pedagogy in action Patricia Harris, Kingston University
http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=124
harris@kingston.ac.uk
Key words: Debating as preparation for assessment, branding
pedagogy
Summary: In an effort to reduce exams Patricia et al had
designed four controversial titles for debates in her course.
Students received a pack and a preparation lecture the week
prior to the debate. On average 80 students turned up out of a
cohort of 100. The debates were kick started by volunteer
students, facilitated by Patricia and what was thought to be a
20 minute debate lasted 2 hours! The debate them formed the
basis of a 1,500 reflective summative assessment.
All the debates were branded “the big debate” with
accompanying logo that appeared on all student materials
related to the event.
An ingenious way of putting life and purpose back into
lectures.
Dawn: Keynote 2: Prof. Shirley Alexander, Deputy VC,
University of Technology, Sydney
Shirley.Alexander@uts.edu.au
Key words: Creating student learning space, Flipped classroom,
SPARK
Link to Flipped classroom:
Summary: Shirley is a compelling presenter who mapped her
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf
work over the last seven years. Most notably:
1. Development of student learning spaces out of the
darkest, least inhabited areas of the buildings. She used
students to take photos of the worst examples and
systematically transformed them. Asking for feedback
was her trade mark style.
2. A simple learning strategy of collaborative learning was
emphasised across all areas from learning space to
analysis of student engagement. Using a flipped
classroom approach emphasis on lectures is
disappearing to one where students’ pre prepare their
materials in order to engage actively in collaborative
learning at university.
3. SPARK plus software was used to measure engagement
of students in group work by their peers.
Sharon: FLO’s Story The development and evaluation of a
Facebook-based Learning Object about persistent pain in
older people - Cormac Ryan, Teeside University.
Key Words : Developing student empathy and understanding;
older people experiencing persistent pain; Student experiences
using social media.
Increasingly older people require health and social care and
will be a group which students of nursing will frequently
experience during a number of placements. Having empathy is
a key skill in a therapeutic nurse / patient relationship and
students need help and support to improve their skills and
understanding. The idea is based on a university in Boston
who buddy up medical students with service users across their
Link to Spark plus: http://www.engineering.unsw.edu.au/miningengineering/peer-assessment
The work is funded by HEA.
academic year. Teeside engaged a best-selling, credible author
and writer of considerable experience to write a monthly blog
in the life of Flo. Flo is factitious not fictitious story based on
real life accounts of older people with chronic pain. Students
follow the blog, engage, ask questions and complete
assignments based on the story. The daily accounts are based
on research of older people experiencing pain and each blog
will deal with a separate issue, e.g. at Christmas the experience
of social isolation.
Sharon: Narratives of European immersive clinical nursing
exchanges. Dr Sheila Cunningham, Middlesex University.
Key Words: European Nursing exchange of 6 months;
independent, innovative; Employability; Working across
boundaries.
Sheila very inspirational and engaging speaker.
This session shared the challenges, benefits and personal
professional journeys of student nurses who experienced a 6
month European study exchange as part of their nursing
degree programme.
The students undertake a 6 month programme of theory and
practice in a number of European countries. The data source
included, professional reflective blogs, student narratives,
reflective accounts as part of learning documents, focus
groups, placement evaluations. Exchange is not for the faint
hearted, involves hard work, however, opens up minds and
perspectives. Key learning outcomes included heightened
awareness of global diversity, cultural diversity and people
S.cunningham@mdx.ac.uk
Reference:
Cunningham.,S 2012 Student experiences in the real world of nursing –
Starting Out, Nursing Standard, November 28 (27) 13
from many backgrounds, skills of flexibility, developing new
learning patterns, resilience, persistence and self-efficacy,
students undertaking European study had increased
employability, all got jobs, some good jobs. Challenges to
consider included - educators effectively preparing students
for exchanges, manage the challenges of those who are unable
to go on exchange, disappointment etc.
Sharon: E-presence, e-practice, e-performance: using video
conferencing software to deliver practical activities and
opportunities in an on line theatre studies programme. David
Matthews and Jayne Richards, Rose Burford College, London
Rose Burford College London, a conservatoire college teaching performance
and drama.
Transferrable application to undergraduate nursing.
Key Words; webinars; Multiply and amplify practical teaching
and learning; on line real time teaching / assessment and study
support.
Webinars are being used to deliver teaching and assessment of
learning across a diverse range and geographically spread
students. In this example the sessions covered theatrical
performance and stage management, students on line with
tutor demonstrated skills and discussed the learning around
these topics. Both session presenters delivered their session
with passion and enthusiasm and demonstrated what can be
achieved using webinars and the opportunities presented for
reaching across geographical boundaries.
Sharon: iTube;YouTube;WeTube – social media videos in
education and outreach. Professor David Smith, University of
York.
Professor David Smith University of York. Inspirational session presenter,
engaging audience effectively with some of the concepts of chemistry.
YouTube - Professor David Smith – Chemistry in Context.
Key Words: YouTube; inspirational teaching; Engaging students
in learning; Students as interactive partners; Students as global
educators
Transferrable application to some of the assignments in BU
A YouTube channel was developed to inform and engage
students of Chemistry, to explain Chemistry in context.
Undergraduates in York making assessed videos, developing
skills and even being empowered as global educators. An
online global community has spontaneously emerged. The
YouTube video’s are part of an assessment of learning, marked
and graded. Some of the student led video’s are very well
presented, engaging, explaining chemistry concepts in practical
and meaningful ways, supports embedded learning. Some of
the videos have been able to explain news breaking headlines
and myths such legal high’s - drugs. Assignments are creative
and enable students to take responsibility and ownership of
their work.
Kate: Empowering students to produce interactive online
content for the disciplines - Terry McAndrew, HEA and David
Cheseldine, Trinity Saint David University
A presentation illustrating the range of approaches taken by 9
discipline based projects under “digital literacy in the
disciplines” to give students the opportunity to create
interactive online resources. Students are empowered to
create Open Educational Resources using free e-learning
software and learn how to promote these through feeds and
repositories.
Introduced to the possibilities of using XERTE as an on-line resource as an
alternative to Blackboard
XERTE.ORG.UK
A particularly useful Xerte for Teachers is recommended
Kate: Enhancing the curriculum through social, environmental
and global responsibility; the QAA/HEA education for
sustainable development guidance document- Simon Kemp,
University of Southampton, James Longhurst, University of
the West of England and Laura Bellingham, QAA
Keywords: Global Citizenship, environmental stewardship,
Ethics and Wellbeing, Future-facing Outlook.
Introduction and discussion of the brand new guidance
document from QAA (June 2014) for sustainable development
in education; really helpful.
Julian: Keynote: Working Together for Future Employability:
an employer’s perspective.-Anne Morrison, BBC
Keywords: Employability, Partnership, Diversity, Fusion,
Change.
This was of great interest as CEMP had a short course
partnership with BBC so the declaration that HE has what they
need – accreditation – was interesting as our accreditation of
their CPD at masters level recently came to an end. Key themes
emerging from this keynote were:
 Fusion (of humanities and creativity, ref Brighton Fuse
project – recently presented at BU Media School
Research Day) and interdisciplinary, embracing change,
preparing graduates for ‘the unwritten future’;
 New landscape for employability: freelance,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/managementstructure/biographies/morrison_anne/
HEA workstreams: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/working-with-us/HEA_Working_with_us.pdf

disintermediation, going straight to market
(entrepreneurship), converging self-expression with
institutional remits. Note – one of our Ed C&M students
are researching this currently.
Diversity – the BBC’s role in pro-active strategies to
avoid self-fulfilling narrowing of demographic brought
about by the self-funding routes into media being open
only to the privileged. Role of HE in this (but perhaps
ironic when current govt attempting to undermine
media as subject?)
The keynote followed Stephanie Marshall’s ‘state of the HEA’
address on self-sustainability and their new workstreams and
sub-themes, of which Digital Literacies (within Curriculum
Design) and Innovative Pedagogies (including student
engagement and collaborative learning) are the most strikingly
relevant to the UoA Education strategy at BU, and the work of
CEL more broadly.
Julian: Creativity, Enterprise and Co-Production (discussion
session)- Pat Callum (University of Huddersfield), Rachel
Hallett (University of Leeds) and Jamie Wood (University of
Lincoln)
Keywords: Co-production, Fusion, collaboration.
This forum shared three HEA funded co-production / digital
literacy research projects (form Leeds, Lincoln and
Huddersfield) and invited expressions of interest to join a
special interest group. Shared themes of the research
Pat Callum, University of Huddersfield:
https://www.hud.ac.uk/ourstaff/profile/index.php?staffuid=smusphc
Raphael Hallett, University of Leeds:
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/profile/20041/383/raphael_hallett
Jamie Wood, University of Lincoln: http://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/jwood
disseminated: collaboration – students with academics and
researchers, modes of engagement, public facing outputs,
aligning research based teaching with employability
Discussion arising – the extent of the transformations here –
more success and confidence for already successful students or
some more ‘redistributive’ outcomes?
Clear relevance to fusion and CEL / UoA themes. Contact made
for SIG membership, also BU SRHE grant application in
development to measure transformative outcomes of coproduction projects.
Margarete: The benefits and barriers to online learning Catherine Hack, University of Ulster
Keywords: “Natives and Immigrants”, “Visitors or Residents”,
Learning preferences, digital literacy.
Using a “visitor or resident” paradigm to discuss the approach
and fluency with online learning, Kay Hack addressed different
ways of approaching online learning. She considered reasons
for adoption and non-adoption of technology from differing
aspects of digital literacy and learning preferences.
She identified the primary barriers as: functional access, skills,
competencies, learning preferences
She also made some very relevant observations linked with
some professional and generational distinctions with fluency
with digital technology.
cjhack@ulster.ac.uk
Margarete: Psychological capital—building resilience, selfefficacy and positivity through the curriculum.- Richard Sant,
Southampton Solent University
Keywords: Self-efficacy, Hope, Optimism, Resilience.
Sant questions how we support our students in the acquisition
of attributes that provide psychological capital. He proposes
that positive psychological capital entails the following key
skills:
enthusiasm, positive attitude, communication skills, tenacity,
time management. He also proposes that the following are
core features of psychological capital: self-efficacy/beliefs,
hope/aspirations, goals – confidence, optimism/internal
attributions, resilience/overcoming of adversity/adaptability —
capacity to find meaning in experiences
Ashley: Supporting the development of university students’
ethical thinking skills- Chris Richester and Ruth Healey,
University of Chester
Chris Richester and Ruth Healey, University of Chester
This could be used for group interviews in light of us moving to a more value
based interview & selection procedure.
Keywords: Ethical thinking skills, debate, assessment
This workshop explored how non subject specific scenarios can
be used to encourage student debate on ethical issues and
student reflection on different approaches to tackling ethical
problems. Examples scenarios were used and debated. They
use progressive scenarios from areas of the students’ personal
world, academic world and professional world.
They believed an effective scenario is one that ‘requires
It would also be a good way of carrying out an assessment with student
nurses. It could draw on their knowledge of diversity and policies within the
NHS that need to be adhered to & challenge their own ethical beliefs.
lengthy reflection, critical thinking and, hopefully, learning
about ethical decision-making and/or self (and others)’.
The students would work in groups and debate a scenario.
Depending on answers given the students would then progress
to further scenarios with varying levels of ethical issues.
Their reflections were then submitted for assessment.