If you would like to lead one of our events, or use some time during one of our events to get feedback on a project or host a discussion about learning/teaching careers, we’d love to hear from you! Please let us know by emailing either louise.e.taylor@brookes.ac.uk or burgessKV@cardiff.ac.uk
Coming up (please scroll down for past events)
Monday 24th February, 2025, 12 noon GMT ‘Speed SOTL’ session
Kindly hosted by Laura Stinson, from Nottingham Trent University.
Speed SoTL will provide an opportunity for multiple conversations facilitated through discussion cards. There will be four opportunities to engage with someone new and to hear a diverse range of experiences and practice across the session.
It is important that we have space to establish a sense of our practice and how this is positioned in relation to others. Being able to have that social comparison and the opportunity to put one’s own practice into context through purposeful yet informal discussions with peers can really help us to take things forward. This session will give participants dedicated and facilitated space to meet, share and establish new connections.
There might be a spark with someone and you might find you can take your discussions further but whatever happens you will go away having learned something.
Monday 24th March, 10:30 GMT, Professor Alison Cook-Sather, Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania
Alison Cook-Sather is the Mary Katharine Woodworth Professor of Education and Director of the Peace, Conflict and Social Justice Studies concentration at Bryn Mawr College, and Director of the Teaching and Learning Institute at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges. In this talk she will offer an overview/outline of her career trajectory, discuss choices she made at the outset and along the way, and how she has kept her energy up! Do check out her website, Developing Pedagogical Partnership, for more information and resources.
Alison holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, an M.A. from Stanford University, and a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Between 2011 and 2015, Alison was the Jean Rudduck Visiting Scholar at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England. In this role she ran the Cambridge Student Voice Seminars that brought together scholars, teachers, students, and policy makers from around the world. Alison’s research focuses on how differently positioned participants in education can work together toward more equitable and inclusive learning. She is an internationally recognized scholar on student voice work, particularly student voice in teacher education and professional development, and on pedagogical partnership in higher education.
Alison has consulted on pedagogical partnership at over 80 institutions on six continents and published over 100 articles and book chapters and eight books, including Co-Creating Equitable Teaching and Learning: Structuring Student Voice into Higher Education, Promoting Equity and Justice through Pedagogical Partnership, and Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty.
Thursday 22nd May 2025 14:00 GMT
Dr Emily Nordmann, University of Glasgow
I am a teaching-focused Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Director Education for the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow. My research predominantly focuses on lecture capture, how it can be used as an effective study tool by students and the impact on students from widening participation backgrounds as well as those with disabilities and neurodivergent conditions. In all my work, I draw on theories of learning from cognitive science and self-regulation, as well as theories of belonging and self-efficacy.
My leadership roles have centered around supporting those on the learning, teaching, and scholarship track and I am centre head for the Pedagogy and Education Research Unit in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, as well as the lead of the College of MVLS LTS Network.
See her open access educational resources here! https://www.emilynordmann.com/
Past events
(reverse chronological order)
Wednesday 22nd January, 2025 12:30 – 14:00 GMT
Dr Thomas Davies, University of York: Ensuring department student support aligns with university widening participation goals
Working class students and male students are underrepresented in Higher Education throughout the UK, and in particular males are highly underrepresented in Psychology. Many universities, including the University of York, have an Access and Participation Plan for underrepresented student groups. At the University of York, one goal is to increase the percentage of students who live in an area of socio-economic deprivation (measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Quintile 1) from 10% to 13% by 2028. In addition to widening participation, it is good practice to support those underrepresented students during their time at University. Indeed, if we are to encourage students from widening participation backgrounds to come to University, we have a duty of care to provide enhanced support for these students when they do arrive, particularly when the evidence suggests they face emotional, financial, and academic challenges during their time at University. For example, in the Psychology Department at York, there is an award gap whereby 93% of women get a good Psychology degree classification, compared with only 84% of men. In addition, 97% of higher SES students get a good degree classification compared with only 90% of lower SES students.
This interactive presentation will first provide a brief overview of underrepresentation of student groups in the UK Higher Education Sector. I will then outline the work I have done in the past 2 years to support working class students and male students in the Psychology Department at York. To engage with these groups of students and to provide specific support, two separate initiatives were developed: a working-class students community group and a men’s student community group. This presentation will share some of the successes and challenges associated with providing support for underrepresented groups. There will be time in the presentation for attendees to reflect on and share the support available for underrepresented groups in their own Departments. This presentation aims to share good practice and encourage the development of support for underrepresented student groups throughout the Teaching-Focused University Network.
Friday 29th November, 2024, 13:00-14:30 GMT Inaugural Launch Event
Shining a spotlight on scholarship: building and developing your profile in an education-focused career.
Julie Hulme, Professor of Psychology Education, Nottingham Trent University, will discuss: Shining a spotlight on scholarship: building and developing your profile in an education-focused career. Please join our mailing list to receive the zoom login details
A copy of Julie’s slides are available to download here as google slides and a copy of the recording can be found on youtube here