Case Studies

Reports the findings from interviews with students about how placements at Masters level should be assessed.

Dr Bahram Mahmoodi Kahriz explores an authentic assessment involving peer feedback for undergraduate students in Henley Business School.

This case study by Julia Abery in SMPCS outlines the process of designing a tailored masters-level authentic assessment with the aim of increasing student engagement and promoting transferable skills.

Peer feedback is underutilised in many disciplines. In our study, we wanted to find out the conditions under which peer feedback works, how it is received by students, and ways to remove barriers to its successful implementation.

This article discusses a PlanT project undrtaken by the school of Food and Nutritional Sciences with the aim of enhancing the student experience through assessment. The (TESTA) methodology was used to develop a programme focus assessment strategy that could lead to a reduction in volume and improved distribution of assessment, and overall enhance student and staff experience

This case study outlines how SBS integrated academic tutoring into undergraduate core skills modules to give greater support for academic skills development and engagement between tutors and tutees.

PEBLSS (a Partnership to Enhance Blended Learning – between Staff and Students) was a project seeking to strengthen teaching and learning in SLL. It particularly focuses on enhancing methods of teaching and learning amidst the extraordinary conditions faced by staff and students which has resulted in the transition into blended and online learning.

Find out how ISLI used the OneDrive cloud repository to promote student-student and student-teacher interaction on two Foundation year modules, including our rationale, implementation, examples and student reflections.

Professor Andrew Wade details a method of encouraging students to engage with diversified assessment in the form of field based practicals. The aim was to provide students with a safe and supportive environment in which to develop confidence in using a variety of context specific research methods, applied to what are often ‘messy’ and ‘complex’.

This article outlines the re-design, necessitated partly due to COVID-19, that was undertaken for the Part 1 chemistry module, CH1PRA, which services approximately 45 students per year.

Dr. Allan Laville School of Psychology & Clinical Languages Sciences In this 14 minute video, early rubrics adopter Dr. Allan Laville shares how he and colleagues in Psychology have sought to improve student assessment literacy, and have successfully engaged students with their assessment rubrics by embedding analysis of them into their in-class teaching and by […]

This case study outlines approaches to fostering an active learning environment on the University’s first fully online Undergraduate Pre-sessional Course.

Find out more about the impacts following ISLI’s pilot of paired Oral exams.

This case study outlines ISLI’s process of creating a version of the Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP) for 1-1 online delivery.

The Case Study details how SLL produced new student-facing physical and online posters, designed by a ‘Real Jobs’ student, to instruct students on finding their feedback online, and generated ‘marking checklists’ for staff to indicate what needs to be included in feedback and what needs to be avoided.

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Charlotte Field (Research Assistant and student on MSci Applied Psychology) Overview To improve access to psychoeducational materials by addressing the diverse needs of those accessing Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services. We worked on creating materials that could be used to describe […]

Zainab Abdulsattar (student – Research Assistant), Tamara Wiehe (staff – PWP Clinical Educator) and Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology). School of Psychology and CLS. Overview To help Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology students address the emotional aspect of engaging with and interpreting assessment feedback, we have created a Blackboard […]

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk , Chloe Chessell and Tamara Wiehe Overview To develop our assessment practices, we created electronic assessment overviews for all assessments in Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) programme. Here we reflect on the benefits of completing this project via a student-staff partnership as well as the realised benefits for students. Objectives To […]

Kat Hall,  School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, k.a.hall@reading.ac.uk Overview The Centre for Inter-Professional Postgraduate Education and Training (CIPPET) provide PGT training for healthcare professionals through a flexible Masters programme built around blended learning modules alongside workplace-based learning and assessment.  This project aimed to evolve the department’s approach to delivering one of our clinical skills workshops […]

Tamara Wiehe, Charlotte Allard & Hayley Scott (PWP Clinical Educators) Charlie Waller Institute; School of Psychology and Clinical Language Overview In line with the University’s transition to Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA), we set out to create an electronic Portfolio (e-Portfolio) for use on our Psychological Well-being Practitioner (PWP) training programmes to replace an existing […]

Rita Balestrini and Elisabeth Koenigshofer, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading; e.koenigshofer@reading.ac.uk Overview Working in collaboration with two Final Year students, we designed two ‘flexible’, ‘minimalist’ rubric templates usable and adaptable across different languages and levels, to provide a basis for the creation of level specific, and potentially task specific, marking schemes where sub-dimensions can be […]

Sian Wells (BA French and Italian) and Sophia Acton (BA Italian and Spanish) During the Spring and Summer term of 2019, we participated in a project within the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES, now Department of Languages and Cultures) with the aim of redesigning the marking schemes used for oral and written […]

Hilary Harris, Maria Danos, Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Stephanie Sharp, Cathy Tissot, Anna Tsakalaki, Rowena Kasprowicz – Institute of Education hilary.a.harris@reading.ac.uk Overview The Institute of Education’s (IoE) T&L Group on Assessment Literacy worked collaboratively with 300+ students to ascertain the clarity level of assessment criteria used in all programmes across the IoE.  The findings were used […]

Dr Bolanle Adebola is the Module Convenor and lecturer for the following modules on the LLM Programme (On campus and distance learning): International Commercial Arbitration, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Finance. She is also a Lecturer for the LLB Research Placement Project. Bolanle is also the Legal Practice Liaison Officer for the CCLFR. OBJECTIVES For students: […]

Cathy Hughes and Heike Bruton, Henley Business School catherine.hughes@reading.ac.uk Overview Online peer assessment systems were evaluated for their suitability in providing a platform to allow peer assessment to be conducted in the context of group work. Objectives To establish the criteria against which peer assessment systems should be evaluated. To evaluate the suitability of online […]

Dr Natasha Barrett, School of Biological Sciences n.e.barrett@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2010/11 Overview Objectives Review the quantity, type and timing of assessments carried out in compulsory modules taken by students in the School of Biological Sciences. Recommend better practices for assessment and feedback. Context The massification and marketisation of Higher Education means that it is […]

Dr John Brazier, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy j.a.brazier@reading.ac.uk Overview The MPharm degree at the University of Reading has a diverse student cohort, in terms of both ethnicity and previous academic experience. During the most recent development of our programme, we have introduce a Part One assessment strategy that is focused on developing an independent learning […]

        Lucy Hart (student – trainee PWP)- l.hart@student.reading.ac.uk  Tamara Wiehe (staff – PWP Clinical Educator)- t.wiehe@reading.ac.uk Charlie Waller Institute, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences Overview This case study re-designed an assessment for two Higher Education programmes where students train to become Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWP) in the NHS. The use of […]

  Professor Andrew Wade is responsible for research in hydrology, focused on water pollution, and Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching, including Hydrological Processes OBJECTIVES Colleagues within the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences (SAGES) have been aware of the University’s broader ambition to move towards online submission, feedback and grading where possible. Many had already made […]

OBJECTIVES Colleagues within the IFP wanted to improve the student assessment experience. In particular we wanted to make the end to end process quicker and easier and reduce printing costs for students. We also wanted to offer some consistency with undergraduate programmes. This was particularly important for those students who stay in Reading after their […]

Within the department, I teach primarily in Early Modern and Old English. For more details of my teaching please see Mary Morrissey Teaching and Convening My primary research subject is Reformation literature, particularly from London. I am particularly interested in Paul’s Cross, the most important public pulpit in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England. I retain an interested in early […]

I have been teaching English for over 15 years. I worked on EFL courses in Russia and the UK between 2000 – 2012. I started teaching English for Academic Purposes in 2013 when I joined the International Foundation Programme at the University of Surrey. I have been working as an EAP tutor at the University […]

Dr Geoff Taggart is a lecturer in the Institute of Education and Programme Director for the Early Years Practice programme at Reading. As part of his secondment to the EMA programme, Geoff decided to run a focus group with students from the IoE to gather perspectives on electronic feedback and grading methods. OBJECTIVES To identify […]

Professor Will Hughes has extensively used rubric grids within Grademark across of all of his modules to significantly enhance student engagement with his feedback, student understanding of his marking criteria and student attainment in subsequent essays whilst making his own experience of marking more efficient. My research interests include the control and management of building […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Michael Lyons, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) has run two student focus groups and two whole-cohort surveys as part of our Teaching and Learning Development Fund‘Diversifying Assessments’ project. This is the second of two T&L Exchange entries on this topic. Click here for the first entry which outlines how the feedback […]

Dr Newnham is the module convenor for LLB Family Law. Her areas of interest include, Child Law, Autopoietic Theory, The Common Intention Constructive Trust. Since 2015, Annika has gradually personalised the ‘Quickmarks’ function within Turnitin Grademark to be both discipline specific and also assignment specific. In addition, Dr Newnham has also developed a lengthy comments […]

Cindy Becker is the Director of Teaching and Learning for the School of Literature and Languages and also teaches in the Department of English Literature. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has been awarded a University of Reading Teaching Fellowship. She is an enthusiastic member of several University Communities of […]

Emily Parsons is a Senior Programme Administrator in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development (SAPD). Online assessment has been adopted throughout the SAPD, impacting academic and non- academic colleagues. In this case study, Emily outlines the experiences of her Support Centre team working with SAPD as an Early Adopter School. OBJECTIVES To reduce the administrative […]

Jeanne-Louise teaches design practice, theory and research skills across a range of genres and platforms. She is the Programme Director for the MA Creative Enterprise and the Pathway Lead for the MA Communication Design (Information Design Pathway). OBJECTIVES Typography has been keen to continue to support the move from offline to online submission, feedback and […]

OBJECTIVES I was interested in improving the efficiency of my marking, and liked the idea of having a digital record of written feedback to students. During the PSE induction for new tutors we were told that the University is moving towards e-feedback over the next few years so it seemed like a useful skill to […]

Rachel Warner, School of Arts and Communication Design Rachel.Warner@pgr.reading.ac.uk Jacqueline Fairbairn, Centre for Quality Support and Development j.fairbairn@reading.ac.uk Overview Rachel in Typography and Graphic Communication (T&GC) worked with the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team to rethink an assignment workflow, to improve the student/staff experience when dealing with video submissions. Changes were made to address student […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, Department of English Literature m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2017 I replaced the exam on a Part 3 module I convene (‘Margaret Atwood’) with an online learning journal assessment and I was so impressed with the students’ work that I sought funding to publish selected extracts in a UoR book, Second Sight: The Margaret Atwood […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk Year of activity 2016/17 Overview This entry aims to share the experience of re-designing and evaluating assessment in collaboration with students. It explains the need for developing the new assessment design and then discusses the process of implementing and evaluating its appropriateness. It finally reflects on the impact […]

Dr. Ute Woelfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview In order to improve students’ engagement, support their abilities as independent learners, and increase their feeling of ownership for their academic work, elements of independent research and research dissemination through the creation of research posters were included in a Part 2 module. Objectives […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) is organising student focus groups as part of our TLDF-funded ‘Diversifying Assessments’ project led by Dr Chloe Houston and Dr Madeleine Davies. This initiative is in dialogue with Curriculum Framework emphases engaging students in Programme Development and involving them as stakeholders. […]

Dr Nicola Abram, School of Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry describes the use of online Learning Journals on a Part Three English Literature module. This method of assessment supports students to carry out independent research and to reflect on their personal learning journey, and rewards students’ sustained engagement and progress. Objectives To encourage […]

Dr. Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-6 Overview This entry describes the use of screencasts to deliver skills training on a compulsory Part One English Literature module. As a result of the changes outlined here, every student taking English Literature at the University of Reading will have access throughout their degree […]

Edith Rigby, Henley Business School e.rigby@henley.ac.uk Overview A review of existing University of Reading assessment advice and two staff workshops at Henley Business School to inform a new marker’s guide on fair marking and managing Academic Misconduct. The marker’s guide will specifically cover what to look out for and when and how to use Turnitin […]

Dr Emma Mayhew, Politics, Economics and International Relations e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview PLanT funding was used to research the impact of a new student feedback platform in Politics. Unitu creates an online student forum from which representatives pull issues onto a separate departmental board. Academics can then add responses and show if an […]

Dr Stanimira Milcheva, Henley Business School stani.milcheva@henley.reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We designed a simple game (called the REFinGame) which was aligned with the course material and launched it on Facebook. This approach, which could easily be applied to other discipline areas, was successfully used to enhance student learning and engagement with modules related […]

OBJECTIVES To facilitate the administrative process in submission of summative assessment To inform module convenors and language teaching fellows of the tools supported by the University LMS Blackboard Learn To provide the opportunity to apply the above tools, gather experience and inform decision on best approaches and best practice To explore usability and applicability of […]

Shirin Irvine – TEL Adviser, CQSD Overview For the academic year 2015/16, the Department of History offered a brand-new Part 1 programme as part of the History Project. This resulted in the development of three new core modules. Dr Mara Oliva transformed common practice by using technology to carry out full electronic assessment for her module. […]

Catherine Foley is a lecturer in Primary Maths Education in the Institute of Education. She is Director of the Primary School Direct programme which trains people to be teachers whilst they are working in schools. OBJECTIVES Catherine describes her experience of using the Feedback Studio to move from Word-based marking an assignment to full use […]

Dr Allán Laville, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In the training of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), it is crucial to support students in the development of their reflective thinking and writing skills. Therefore, I implemented the Self-Practice/Self-Reflection (SP/SR; Bennett-Levy, 2001) approach into our PWP training programmes. Impact was measured by asking students […]

Barbara Goff     School of Humanities     b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk Overview In my Part 2 module ‘Ancient Sport’ I offer students a choice between a traditional essay and an ‘outreach project’, which requires them to communicate an aspect of ancient sport to a non-academic audience, perhaps for schools or for the general public. Objectives To develop students’ […]

Lauren McCann, Centre for Quality Support and Development   l.j.mccann@reading.ac.uk Chloe Houston, School of Literature and Languages   c.houston@reading.ac.uk In the 2009 hit film ‘Julie et Julia’, real life American office worker Julie Powell (Amy Adams) spends a year cooking her way through culinary legend Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and ‘blogs’ about it. […]

Emma Mayhew, Academic Director, EMA Programme e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk Geoff Taggart, Academic Partner, EMA Programme and Associate Professor, Institute of Education g.taggart@reading.ac.uk Michelle Reid, Study Advisor, The Library michelle.reid@reading.ac.uk When the EMA Programme ran a staff survey earlier this year, we were really interested to see the response to the use of the QuickMark function on Turnitin […]

Rita Balestrini, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading.ac.uk Overview Between 2016 and 2018, I led a project aiming to enhance the process of assessing foreign language skills in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES). The project was supported by the Teaching and Learning Development Fund. Its scope involved two levels of intervention: […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Emma Mayhew On Tuesday 22nd May 2018, over 150 colleagues from across the university gathered in the Meadow Suite to hear a series of presentations and to engage in conversations about the work that the EMA Programme has been doing to prepare for roll-out of online assessment and feedback. Colleagues […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education                                                                                                    […]

The EMA Programme has delivered a new function within RISIS that allows colleagues to see their students’ sub modular marks on the Tutor Card. We have all had access to the Tutor Card for some time and it has provided an invaluable snapshot of a student’s degree history, particularly useful for writing references and for […]

Context In 2016, in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (DMLES), it was decided that the marking schemes used to assess writing and speaking skills needed to be revised and standardised in order to ensure transparency and consistency of evaluation across different languages and levels. A number of colleagues teaching language modules had […]

Leaner, Cleaner, Greener: How Reading’s assessment data is changing for the better. Dr Emma Mayhew (EMA Academic Director), Dr Madeleine Davies (EMA Academic Partner), Kat Lee (Project Manager, External) The Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA) Programme has been created to deliver the University’s long-term vision for online assessment while improving the underlying processes and supporting […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview During the summer of 2016 we applied for £300 from the funds of Teaching and Learning Dean Dr David Carter and were awarded the full amount. We were keen to develop our professional development scheme for students in the School of Literature and Languages, […]

Dr. Stavroula Karapapa, Law s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview Research Placement Project (LW2RPP) is a module developed within the School of Law that aims to provide Part Two students with a hands-on experience of the academic research process, from the design of a project and research question through to the production of a research output. It is an […]

Stuart Lakin, Law s.j.lakin@reading.ac.uk Overview In a Part Two Law module, Public Law (LW2PL2), we have moved away from the conventional exam to a take-home exam. We publish the exam paper on Blackboard at an arranged date and time. We give the students approximately 48 hours to complete and submit their answers electronically. The impact […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Introduction As joint staff leaders (together with Dr Nora Honkala) on the current Law Feedback Project, we recently presented a paper exploring aspects of the project to the second annual Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship Conference, held at University College London on 28-29 June 2016.  This blog post explains a little about the Law […]

Group work is an integral part of assessment at university but students rarely arrive equipped with the skills, experience and knowledge to deal with the challenges they face when working in groups. This can be a cause of anxiety for students and also a time consuming intervention for lecturers. Henley Business School approached Study Advice […]

Dr. Andrew Charlton-Perez, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences a.j.charlton-perez@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview A flipped learning approach to teaching the part 3 and part 4 module, ‘The Global Circulation’ (MT38A/4YA) in Meteorology was developed and tested. This approach was very successful, encouraging students to apply complex ideas to real-world problems. Objectives Develop a new set […]

Professor Paul Almond, School of Law p.j.almond@reading.ac.uk Overview A project to encourage students enrolled on a Part Three module within the School of Law, Criminology (LW3CRY), to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the links between criminological theory and policy, through a redesign of the Assessed Work project contained within the module. Results have suggested […]

Professor Richard Mitchell, School of Systems Engineering r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk Overview Adjustments were made to teaching, assessment, and feedback in a Part Two module within the School of Systems Engineering, Neural Networks (SE2NN11), successfully using three-staged laboratory practicals in order to encourage students to use neural networks on a ‘real world’ application. Making these changes saw an […]

Dr Arpita Bose, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.bose@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2011/12 Overview A modified problem-based learning approach was developed and implemented in Communication Impairment 3 (PL2CI3/PLMCI3) within the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences.  While the adoption of this approach was unpopular with students on the module, there was a […]

Professor Helen Parish, School of Humanities h.l.parish@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview The project investigated recent research and practice in peer assessment and feedback in order to implement a peer assessment model for use within History, and develop a framework for the adoption of said model in cognate disciplines where evaluation of substantial text-based assignments is […]

Dr Louise Johnson, School of Biological Sciences l.j.johnson@reading.ac.uk Overview In the School of Biological Studies a module, Seminars in Biology (BI3S78) was created, utilising the existing research seminar series within the School to structure assessment. The module is easily adaptable for other subject areas, and has proved very popular with students, and has aided in […]

Dr Christopher Voisey, Henley Business School c.j.voisey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview The core Part Two undergraduate module, International Business Management and Strategy (MM272), was redesigned on two pillars: teamwork, and social media (Facebook). Formal student evaluations were high and feedback from focus groups with students was very positive – students found the use of […]

Professor Jane Setter, School of Literature and Languages j.e.setter@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students and staff worked together during 2014-15 to develop the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics’ new compulsory Part One module Techniques and Skills for Applied Linguistics (LS1TAL), run for the first time in 2014-15, to make it more interesting, […]

Dr John Latsis, Henley Business School j.s.latsis@henley.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview In the postgraduate module Managing People and Organisations (MMM048), provided by the School of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour, assessment methods were altered in a manner that was mindful of the increased internationalisation and marketisation of UK Higher Education, in order to assist the […]

With ever-increasing speed it seems we have reached that time of year again when teaching is finished, exam results are calculated and our thoughts start to turn from the current academic session to planning for the next one. This offers some time to reflect on successes and think about the areas of teaching where we […]

About 10 years ago I was intrigued when a colleague described taking exams at an Australian university, where he was given a blank sheet of paper on which he could write anything he wanted to take into the exam. He referred to this as a ‘cheat sheet’. I was familiar with both open and closed […]

How many times have you heard people say that the Reading student population is becoming more diverse? But what do they mean and what are the implications? Often they mean that they/we are struggling to cope with what feels like the ever increasingly list of different needs for different ‘types of students’. Any quick skim […]

On this day, exactly two years ago, I sat in my study staring at Blackboard. 212 little green symbols were showing in Grade Centre. 212 3,500 word essays needed to be marked in the next three weeks. And they didn’t just need marks. Each of them needed a page of rich, detailed feedback, often crucial […]

This is my new recipe for extending the academic year and helping to welcome our new students. As with any new recipe, some bits of it went really well and some aspects of it were less impressive – and there was one moment when I was in danger of failing to cook up any learning […]

A short while ago I wrote the post “Group work: sure, but what about assessment? This outlines a TLDF- funded project in which Cathy Hughes and I investigated tools for the peer assessment of group work. Cathy and I have now produced a full report, which is available for download here (Cathy Hughes and Heike Bruton […]

Dr Mark Dallas, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy m.dallas@reading.ac.uk Overview Within the School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, coursework on a Part Two Pharmacy module, Therapeutics and Medicines Optimisation B (PM2B), was redesigned to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the new module. In their assessed work, students demonstrated a better appreciation of the interconnectivity […]

Like many colleagues, I have attended a number of interesting talks on the ‘flipped classroom’ approach, whereby, in a role reversal, the main delivery of information takes place outside of the classroom, and the contact time is used instead for reinforcing learning. I haven’t quite identified yet how I can make use of this approach […]

The University of Reading is a project partner in a prestigious project to develop a multi-agent based intelligent tutoring system to support online teachers, trainers, tutors and learners: I-TUTOR. I-TUTOR, which stands for Intelligent Tutoring for Lifelong Learning is to be applied in open source learning environments, and will monitor, track, analyze and give formative assessment and feedback […]

Like a lot of people, I do not consider myself particularly savvy about technology: when I find that something is useful to me, I learn how to use it. That said, I think we can use learning technologies to come up with ‘low tech’ solutions to our teaching needs. Among the advantage is efficiency in […]

Reports the findings from interviews with students about how placements at Masters level should be assessed.

Dr Ekililu Salifu discusses using constructivism learning theory to achieve the objectives of a decolonised curriculum in a pseudo-technical subject area like accounting.

A scholarship of teaching and learning informed collaborative study into personal development teaching on apprenticeship programmes by Elizabeth Houldsworth (Henley Business School) and Emma Watton (Lancaster University Management School)

This case study by Amanda Millmore in the School of Law focuses upon the work of our student-staff partnership project working together on a new elective first year module. Focusing on the role of student partners acting as peer mentors we aimed to support the transition of new students into university and provided a bridge into the Law School community.

This case study by Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries Shweta Gosh outlines how film/TV accessibility tools such as captions can be used to teach filmmaking skills, facilitate creative thinking and create awareness about disability and accessibility.

This case study from Anjali in the CWI outlines how the student voice was used to collaboratively adapt a specific teaching format for postgraduate students on placements.

This case study outlines the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) team’s process of merging timetables for two sister programmes in response to department restructure, and the subsequent curriculum implementation review that inevitably followed.

This article outlines the thinking to drive programme development through student focus groups across three IOE programmes.

This case study outlines how SBS integrated academic tutoring into undergraduate core skills modules to give greater support for academic skills development and engagement between tutors and tutees.

This article discusses how teaching staff in ISLI converted paper-based learning materials to an online format, so that students on our summer Pre-sessional programme, could work independently and receive, where appropriate, automated feedback on tasks.

Professor Andrew Wade details a method of encouraging students to engage with diversified assessment in the form of field based practicals. The aim was to provide students with a safe and supportive environment in which to develop confidence in using a variety of context specific research methods, applied to what are often ‘messy’ and ‘complex’.

This article outlines the re-design, necessitated partly due to COVID-19, that was undertaken for the Part 1 chemistry module, CH1PRA, which services approximately 45 students per year.

Ed Tew shares his thoughts in the final of his three posts on flipped learning.

Find out more about the impacts following ISLI’s pilot of paired Oral exams.

Find out more how ISLI moved to full online teaching in four weeks.

This case study outlines the process of rapidly converting the Academic English Programme (AEP) to online, and reports student feedback and reflections on the experience.

Dr Allán Laville, Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In the training of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), teaching must include a focus on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) as well how this relates to ethical practice. Therefore, I created a 15-minute screencast that tied key D&I principles to clinical practice, with a particular focus on ethical […]

Find out more about how adopting a flipped classroom approach in Law helped to ensure a consistent teaching experience for large cohorts and positively impact on staff workload.

Dr Madeleine Davies and Michael Lyons, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) has run two student focus groups and two whole-cohort surveys as part of our Teaching and Learning Development Fund‘Diversifying Assessments’ project. This is the second of two T&L Exchange entries on this topic. Click here for the first entry which outlines how the feedback […]

Rachel Warner, School of Arts and Communication Design Rachel.Warner@pgr.reading.ac.uk Jacqueline Fairbairn, Centre for Quality Support and Development j.fairbairn@reading.ac.uk Overview Rachel in Typography and Graphic Communication (T&GC) worked with the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team to rethink an assignment workflow, to improve the student/staff experience when dealing with video submissions. Changes were made to address student […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk Year of activity 2016/17 Overview This entry aims to share the experience of re-designing and evaluating assessment in collaboration with students. It explains the need for developing the new assessment design and then discusses the process of implementing and evaluating its appropriateness. It finally reflects on the impact […]

Dr. Ute Woelfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview In order to improve students’ engagement, support their abilities as independent learners, and increase their feeling of ownership for their academic work, elements of independent research and research dissemination through the creation of research posters were included in a Part 2 module. Objectives […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) is organising student focus groups as part of our TLDF-funded ‘Diversifying Assessments’ project led by Dr Chloe Houston and Dr Madeleine Davies. This initiative is in dialogue with Curriculum Framework emphases engaging students in Programme Development and involving them as stakeholders. […]

Dr Stanimira Milcheva, Henley Business School stani.milcheva@henley.reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We designed a simple game (called the REFinGame) which was aligned with the course material and launched it on Facebook. This approach, which could easily be applied to other discipline areas, was successfully used to enhance student learning and engagement with modules related […]

Dr Robert Hosfield, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science r.hosfield@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Lykethos Overview The project tested different methods for producing and disseminating 3D models of existing artefacts in the teaching collections of Classics and Archaeology. 3D scanning was labour intensive and struggled to accurately represent some of the raw materials. By […]

Shirin Irvine – TEL Adviser, CQSD Overview For the academic year 2015/16, the Department of History offered a brand-new Part 1 programme as part of the History Project. This resulted in the development of three new core modules. Dr Mara Oliva transformed common practice by using technology to carry out full electronic assessment for her module. […]

Find out more about how a collaborative partnership was used in Law to design the assessments within a trailblazing new module.

Find out how a professional practice module has transformed how students engage with their work in more professional, thoughtful, and meaningful ways. This has the potential to transform their marketability not only during but also following completion of their degree programme.

Find out how introducing collections in teaching not only improved student attendance and engagement, but also resulted in different teaching methods, positive student evaluations, and longer term, the design of more dynamic and interactive modules.

Karen Drury, Dr Kim Shahabudin, Kerry Webb, Library and Study Advice In a world of constant new teaching and learning initiatives, implementing the Curriculum Framework might seem like one more job to do. If you’re thinking that you could use all the help you can get, we have good news: the Library have done some […]

Barbara Goff, Department of Classics, School of Humanities                                                                                                […]

Amanda Millmore, School of Law,  a.millmore@reading.ac.uk Overview Faced with double-teaching a cohort of 480 students (plus an additional 30 in University of Reading Malaysia), I was concerned to ensure that students in each lecture group had a similar teaching experience. My solution was to “flip” some of the learning, by recording short video lectures covering content […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education                                                                                                    […]

Stephanie Sharp, Lecturer, Institute of Education                                                                                                    […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Rita Balestrini in the Department of Languages and Cultures reflects on the T&L possibilities of Microsoft OneNote in blended learning environments.

This case study by Amanda Millmore in the School of Law focuses upon the work of our student-staff partnership project working together on a new elective first year module. Focusing on the role of student partners acting as peer mentors we aimed to support the transition of new students into university and provided a bridge into the Law School community.

This case study from Anjali in the CWI outlines how the student voice was used to collaboratively adapt a specific teaching format for postgraduate students on placements.

This case study outlines the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) team’s process of merging timetables for two sister programmes in response to department restructure, and the subsequent curriculum implementation review that inevitably followed.

This article outlines the thinking to drive programme development through student focus groups across three IOE programmes.

This article outlines the re-thinking of how to deliver the science practical elements of the subject knowledge enhancement programme (SKE) due to the impact of Covid-19 in March 2020 and a move online.  This focuses on what we learnt from the practical elements of the programme delivery online as it required students to engage in laboratory activities to develop their subject knowledge skills in Physics, Chemistry and Biology related to school national curriculum over two weeks in June and July 2021. 

This article outlines the re-design, necessitated partly due to COVID-19, that was undertaken for the Part 1 chemistry module, CH1PRA, which services approximately 45 students per year.

Allán Laville (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Libby Adams (Research Assistant), SPCLS Overview This project aimed to design a new alternative assessment to form a part of the MSci Applied Psychology course which puts emphasis on the practical sides of training as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP). This included utilising problem-solving […]

Kat Hall,  School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, k.a.hall@reading.ac.uk Overview The Centre for Inter-Professional Postgraduate Education and Training (CIPPET) provide PGT training for healthcare professionals through a flexible Masters programme built around blended learning modules alongside workplace-based learning and assessment.  This project aimed to evolve the department’s approach to delivering one of our clinical skills workshops […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Michael Lyons, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) has run two student focus groups and two whole-cohort surveys as part of our Teaching and Learning Development Fund‘Diversifying Assessments’ project. This is the second of two T&L Exchange entries on this topic. Click here for the first entry which outlines how the feedback […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) is organising student focus groups as part of our TLDF-funded ‘Diversifying Assessments’ project led by Dr Chloe Houston and Dr Madeleine Davies. This initiative is in dialogue with Curriculum Framework emphases engaging students in Programme Development and involving them as stakeholders. […]

This case study explores the development of a student forum for disabled students within the Charlie Waller Institute.

Find out how Cong Xia Li and her colleague Asako Partington created the virtual exchange projects for their students.

Dr Ekililu Salifu discusses using constructivism learning theory to achieve the objectives of a decolonised curriculum in a pseudo-technical subject area like accounting.

This case study by Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries Shweta Gosh outlines how film/TV accessibility tools such as captions can be used to teach filmmaking skills, facilitate creative thinking and create awareness about disability and accessibility.

This article reports on the joint Institute of Education / Department of Computer Science Leverhulme funded project concerned with improving online learning for three groups of students.

Is hybrid learning, with a seminar leader teaching some students online whilst others learn in the classroom, something we should continue to offer in our teaching? A case study from a seminar leader in the Department of English Literature. *It is worth noting that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This post reports the findings of a 2021 ISLI pilot study on the use of hybrid/hyflex teaching and learning methods in teaching contexts which require multiple teacher-student and student-student interaction patterns. It should be noted that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

Learn more about this PLanT funded student-staff partnership project which amplified the voices of students with disabilities and long-term conditions in the School of Law and led to the adoption of recommendations about how to improve blended learning.

This article details Will and Allan’s work aimed at providing evidence based guidance to Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) on the MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) course. It contains practical advice, tools, strategies and reflections on how students can be supported to manage their wellbeing and workload over the course of their placement year.

Find out more about the impacts following ISLI’s pilot of paired Oral exams.

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Charlotte Field (Research Assistant and student on MSci Applied Psychology) Overview To improve access to psychoeducational materials by addressing the diverse needs of those accessing Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services. We worked on creating materials that could be used to describe […]

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk , Chloe Chessell and Tamara Wiehe Overview To develop our assessment practices, we created electronic assessment overviews for all assessments in Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) programme. Here we reflect on the benefits of completing this project via a student-staff partnership as well as the realised benefits for students. Objectives To […]

Dr Sonia Hood, Study Advice Manager, writes how helping students’ to understand their grades is key to their success.

Dr Allán Laville, Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In the training of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), teaching must include a focus on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) as well how this relates to ethical practice. Therefore, I created a 15-minute screencast that tied key D&I principles to clinical practice, with a particular focus on ethical […]

Dan Jones, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, d.jones6@reading.ac.uk   Overview The ‘Universally Speaking’ series provides a platform for students, staff and community members to exchange ideas on culture, heritage, customs, values and traditions, via a seminar presentation. Each seminar is followed by an informal drinks reception to facilitate further discussion and interactions between the different […]

Simon Floodgate, Institute of Education, s.floodgate@reading.ac.uk Overview A form of inter-active, reflective practice for students in which Playback Theatre (an improvisatory form) is used to ‘play back’ individual stories of students’ experiences regarding all aspects of their studies.  This process can support emotional literacy and well-being and promote professionalism in students at all levels of study. […]

Kate Allen, Department of Art, k.allen@reading.ac.uk Overview An investigative artwork that explores identity using 360 cameras developed through practical, alumni led workshops and socially engaged art with current art students, school groups and the general public. Part of ArtLab Movement’ at Tate Exchange (TEx) 2019 at the Tate Modern on March and be archived on […]

Vicki Matthews, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations, v.matthews@reading.ac.uk Context Student Minds is the UK’s Student Mental Health Charity, and was RUSU’s charity of the year for 2018/19. Student Mind’s aspiration is to ensure students have the skills, knowledge and confidence to talk about their own mental health and look out for their peers.  […]

Sue Blackett – Henley Business School, 2018-19 Overview I participated in the university’s Personal Capture pilot as a Champion for my school to trial the Mediasite tool to create screen cast videos for use in teaching and learning. My aim was to help PGT students get to grips with key elements of the module. The videos facilitated students in repeatedly viewing content […]

Find out more about how adopting a flipped classroom approach in Law helped to ensure a consistent teaching experience for large cohorts and positively impact on staff workload.

Shirin Irvine – TEL Adviser, CQSD Overview For the academic year 2015/16, the Department of History offered a brand-new Part 1 programme as part of the History Project. This resulted in the development of three new core modules. Dr Mara Oliva transformed common practice by using technology to carry out full electronic assessment for her module. […]

Find out more about how a collaborative partnership was used in Law to design the assessments within a trailblazing new module.

Dr Allán Laville     School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences     a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In line with the Equality Act (2010) and Department of Health (2011), sexual orientation needs to be considered in the training of the psychological workforce. Since 2011, I have been developing clinical teaching on sexual orientation with student satisfaction rates of 95-100%. […]

Barbara Goff     School of Humanities     b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk Overview In my Part 2 module ‘Ancient Sport’ I offer students a choice between a traditional essay and an ‘outreach project’, which requires them to communicate an aspect of ancient sport to a non-academic audience, perhaps for schools or for the general public. Objectives To develop students’ […]

Kerry Webb, Associate Director (Academic Liaison and Support), The Library                                                                    k.j.webb@reading.ac.uk  New Library LGBT+ research guide We’re all working hard to make our […]

Shelen W. H. Ho, Henley Business School, University of Reading Malaysia                                                                           shelen.ho@henley.edu.my “Academia isn’t for everyone!”  I was warned […]

Richard Mitchell, Computer Science, r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk Preamble Earlier in the year, Laura Bennett and I wrote a blog on making Word and PowerPoint accessible, which reflected our experience of implementing the University’s policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available here. Since that blog was written, the University has included Ally into Blackboard, which provides […]

Preamble Earlier in the year, Laura Bennett and I wrote a blog on making Word and PowerPoint accessible, which reflected our experience of implementing the University’s policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available here. Since that blog was written, the University has included Ally into Blackboard, which provides academics with a view on […]

Preamble Last year the University agreed a new Policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/qualitysupport/Policy_on_Inclusive_Practice_in_Teaching_and_Learn.pdf. The implementation of this policy is being overseen by a working group chaired by Clare Furneaux, and one of its four subgroups, on Staff Training, has been chaired by us both. One aspect of the policy […]

Context As the student population becomes increasingly international, the IWLP language class cohorts are becoming ever more diverse. It has become evident to tutors in IWLP (as throughout the University) that the linguistic, educational and cultural aspects of a student’s background can play an important role in their language acquisition, often helping some aspects while […]

Stephanie Sharp, Lecturer, Institute of Education                                  s.sharp@reading.ac.uk                                                                  […]

Dr Karen Jones & Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education        karen.jones@reading.ac.uk     m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk                                         Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview This entry describes a project which, with funding by the University of Reading Teaching and […]

Alison Fenner, Lecturer, International Study and Language Institute  j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk                                                                                             […]

In Spring 2017 the Student Success & Engagement Team partnered with Positive (and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust (CWMT)) to develop and deliver the Positive Minds pilot programme to 150 university students. The programme provided students with evidence-based cognitive and behavioural tools and techniques to manage pressure and build psychological resilience. The programme’s aim was […]

Language learning and disability: how to avoid the ‘avoidance’? When the university disability office was approached in 2003 by a new member of staff for guidance on the assessment of a dyslexic student enrolled on a language module, the reply was that students with dyslexia are better advised to avoid foreign language courses. Fast-forward to […]

The inaugural ‘Gender, Sexuality and Identities Student Forum’ met on the first day of the summer term, launching a new initiative aiming to create extra-curricular platforms for student debate. I organised this new Forum to respond to our students’ expressed desire to extend conversations about the persistence of binary thinking and inequality beyond the immediate […]

Background The UK pharmacy regulator, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), sets Standards for all UK Pharmacy Schools. The Standards stipulate that the undergraduate programme (MPharm) must provide students with practical experience in working with patients, carers and other healthcare professionals. This has led to a need to expand experiential learning within the pharmacy curriculum across the […]

At the Curriculum framework conference on 25th January 2017, it was a delight to present with Sed Joshi, Diversity and Inclusion Sabbatical officer from RUSU on the topic of “How well do we know our students?” We gave staff a quiz, presented facts and figures about our students from the Annual Diversity and Inclusion Report, […]

I was blown away by Wednesday’s teaching & learning conference “Engaging everyone: addressing the diversity and inclusion expectations of the Curriculum Framework“. This was lead-organised by my CQSD colleagues, especially Nina Brooke, but as a collaborative effort across the T&L patch, working with the T&L Dean Elizabeth McCrum  and others, and with the RUSU Education […]

Dr Ciara Healy, Arts and Communication Design c.healy@reading.ac.uk Overview This case study presents some approaches taken in the Department of Art to encourage relationship building between different cohorts of students and all members of staff. The majority of activities took place in the first 6 weeks of the Autumn term and focused especially on Welcome […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Dr Richard Harris, Institute of Education r.j.harris@reading.ac.uk Overview The focus of this work is on what I do and how I try to ensure that the curriculum I create reflects the diversity in society; this in turn impacts on the trainee teachers I work with and how confident they are in teaching a more diverse […]

Dr Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-6 Overview This entry describes the diversification of a core Part One English Literature module, Research & Criticism (EN1RC). As a result of the changes outlined here, every graduate of English Literature at the University of Reading will have encountered Anglophone texts from across the […]

About 10 years ago I was intrigued when a colleague described taking exams at an Australian university, where he was given a blank sheet of paper on which he could write anything he wanted to take into the exam. He referred to this as a ‘cheat sheet’. I was familiar with both open and closed […]

How many times have you heard people say that the Reading student population is becoming more diverse? But what do they mean and what are the implications? Often they mean that they/we are struggling to cope with what feels like the ever increasingly list of different needs for different ‘types of students’. Any quick skim […]

A scholarship of teaching and learning informed collaborative study into personal development teaching on apprenticeship programmes by Elizabeth Houldsworth (Henley Business School) and Emma Watton (Lancaster University Management School)

This case study by Julia Abery in SMPCS outlines the process of designing a tailored masters-level authentic assessment with the aim of increasing student engagement and promoting transferable skills.

Learn more about this PLanT funded student-staff partnership project which amplified the voices of students with disabilities and long-term conditions in the School of Law and led to the adoption of recommendations about how to improve blended learning.

Professor Andrew Wade details a method of encouraging students to engage with diversified assessment in the form of field based practicals. The aim was to provide students with a safe and supportive environment in which to develop confidence in using a variety of context specific research methods, applied to what are often ‘messy’ and ‘complex’.

Shelley Harris reflects on the experience of taking Employability events online for creative writing students

Amanda Millmore, Law, a.millmore@reading.ac.uk  Alison Cox, PCLS, a.cox@reading.ac.uk Overview This was a collaboration between 2 schools (Law & PCLS) to introduce students to the work of Registered Intermediaries in Court in a practical way by offering co-curricular training. Registered Intermediaries are communication specialists who work in criminal cases to assist vulnerable people with significant communication difficulties to communicate […]

Catherine Langran, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy Daniel Mercer & Selen Morelle, MPharm Part 4 students, School of Pharmacy Background Throughout the Masters of Pharmacy degree (MPharm) students undertake experiential learning in hospital and community pharmacies. Experiential learning through placements is an important approach to teaching and learning; providing a safe learning environment […]

Kat Hall,  School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, k.a.hall@reading.ac.uk Overview The Centre for Inter-Professional Postgraduate Education and Training (CIPPET) provide PGT training for healthcare professionals through a flexible Masters programme built around blended learning modules alongside workplace-based learning and assessment.  This project aimed to evolve the department’s approach to delivering one of our clinical skills workshops […]

Catherine Foley, Institute of Education c.m.foley@reading.ac.uk Overview With interactive whiteboards becoming a well-established feature of English primary schools classrooms over the last decade, it is vital that the primary Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) programme taught at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education prepares it graduates to be confident and competent in using interactive whiteboard technology […]

Find out more about how a collaborative partnership was used in Law to design the assessments within a trailblazing new module.

Find out more about the Art Department’s innovative art and technology facility designed to support Outreach and Widening Participation activities. This ambitious project sees students work as co-researchers with local schools integrating arts with research and uses new technologies to unlock possibilities, raise aspirations, and promote the development of new skills.

Barbara Goff     School of Humanities     b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk Overview In my Part 2 module ‘Ancient Sport’ I offer students a choice between a traditional essay and an ‘outreach project’, which requires them to communicate an aspect of ancient sport to a non-academic audience, perhaps for schools or for the general public. Objectives To develop students’ […]

Find out how a professional practice module has transformed how students engage with their work in more professional, thoughtful, and meaningful ways. This has the potential to transform their marketability not only during but also following completion of their degree programme.

Tamara Wiehe     School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences     t.wiehe@reading.ac.uk Overview Students on our programme – MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) – are training to become qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) so employment is naturally embedded in the curriculum. However, the existing career development session was originally designed for students on the postgraduate course […]

Barbara Goff, Department of Classics, School of Humanities                                                                                                […]

Caroline Crolla, Student Success and Engagement Team, Student Services                                                                          c.s.crolla@reading.ac.uk Overview Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a globally recognised […]

Alison Fenner, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                                  […]

Shelen W. H. Ho, Henley Business School, University of Reading Malaysia                                                                           shelen.ho@henley.edu.my “Academia isn’t for everyone!”  I was warned […]

Barbara Goff, Director of Teaching and Learning, Classics              b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk In the Classics department we reckon we review our curriculum all the time.  We are constantly designing new modules that take cognisance of the latest research and share it with our students.  We teach with epigraphy and 3D modelling, we […]

Dr Madeleine Davies (Department of English Literature) and Bethany Barnett-Sanders (Part 3 student, Department of English Literature) Engaging students in academic conversations outside the classroom presents challenges but recent activity in the Department of English Literature suggests that there are several ways of creating opportunities for this engagement. DEL has worked with Part 2 and […]

Alison Nader and Ali Nicholson, Lecturers, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                            a.m.nader@reading.ac.uk  […]

A successful TLDF application in April provided us with funds to explore the use of different lapel-mounted cameras to look into student-student and student-staff interactions within a practical laboratory environment. This work is still ongoing, but we have learnt some interesting lessons about buying lapel-mounted cameras along the way, and have also used them successfully […]

Overview: Each year a group of part 2 students from Meteorology make their way across campus to the Minghella Building to film weather forecasts in the professional “green screen” studio. As well as improving their forecasting ability this module also helps students to improve their presentation skills – a key employability attribute in many careers. […]

In Spring 2017 the Student Success & Engagement Team partnered with Positive (and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust (CWMT)) to develop and deliver the Positive Minds pilot programme to 150 university students. The programme provided students with evidence-based cognitive and behavioural tools and techniques to manage pressure and build psychological resilience. The programme’s aim was […]

Language learning and disability: how to avoid the ‘avoidance’? When the university disability office was approached in 2003 by a new member of staff for guidance on the assessment of a dyslexic student enrolled on a language module, the reply was that students with dyslexia are better advised to avoid foreign language courses. Fast-forward to […]

Dr Francoise Mazet, Biological Sciences f.m.mazet@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We developed BARS (Bioscience ARticles for Reading Students), a blog showcasing the written work of Part Three students from the School of Biological Sciences. The blog is managed by students working closely with academic staff. This project will increase students’ awareness and skills that […]

Introduction: Students as Partners In recent years, there has been an increased appetite in higher education to explore and enhance the ways in which students can become more involved in the design and delivery of their own learning experiences. A prominent way of doing so is engaging students as equal partners in a range of […]

Anticipation and nervousness, with a hint of bewilderment and panic – we’ve all seen these looks on our new Part 1 undergraduates. As established members of Reading’s academic community, we often forget what it feels like to step into an unfamiliar learning environment. Our increasingly diverse undergraduate intake means that we must recognise the diverse […]

As part of my quest to encourage students to learn broadly as well as encouraging them to engage with Italian deeply (J. Biggs, 2003), I have experimented with using the Chromebooks, which have been recently purchased by ISLI (International Study and Language Institute), in the classroom. Chromebooks are a great tool: they are quick to […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Bethany Layne, School of Literature and Languages m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry offers a model of the way in which the aims embedded in the Curriculum Framework can be articulated via student engagement with research-led activity. Here we discuss the Framework-related teaching and learning benefits of involving our students centrally in […]

Background The UK pharmacy regulator, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), sets Standards for all UK Pharmacy Schools. The Standards stipulate that the undergraduate programme (MPharm) must provide students with practical experience in working with patients, carers and other healthcare professionals. This has led to a need to expand experiential learning within the pharmacy curriculum across the […]

At the Curriculum framework conference on 25th January 2017, it was a delight to present with Sed Joshi, Diversity and Inclusion Sabbatical officer from RUSU on the topic of “How well do we know our students?” We gave staff a quiz, presented facts and figures about our students from the Annual Diversity and Inclusion Report, […]

I was blown away by Wednesday’s teaching & learning conference “Engaging everyone: addressing the diversity and inclusion expectations of the Curriculum Framework“. This was lead-organised by my CQSD colleagues, especially Nina Brooke, but as a collaborative effort across the T&L patch, working with the T&L Dean Elizabeth McCrum  and others, and with the RUSU Education […]

With the start of the new academic year it is always a good idea to reflect on current practices and plan the year ahead. As the incoming chair for the Community of Practice (CoP) of University Teaching Fellows (UTF) I found myself reflecting on the identity and the purpose of this group. What is the […]

Dr Elizabeth Matthew, School of Humanities e.a.e.matthew@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012/13 Overview A collaborative project between the Department of History and the Institute of Education developed an innovative module in History, History Education (HS3HED), allowing Part Three students to test and develop their interest in teaching by undertaking and reflecting on a two-week subject-specific placement […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview During the summer of 2016 we applied for £300 from the funds of Teaching and Learning Dean Dr David Carter and were awarded the full amount. We were keen to develop our professional development scheme for students in the School of Literature and Languages, […]

Stuart Lakin, Law s.j.lakin@reading.ac.uk Overview In a Part Two Law module, Public Law (LW2PL2), we have moved away from the conventional exam to a take-home exam. We publish the exam paper on Blackboard at an arranged date and time. We give the students approximately 48 hours to complete and submit their answers electronically. The impact […]

Professor Elizabeth Page and Dr Philippa Cranwell, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview Group-based research projects have been introduced into the BSc Chemistry programme for final year students. Small teams of students investigate different aspects of a research problem, each working on a separate strand. The results are combined and overall […]

Shweta Band, Law s.band@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview The name ‘Legal Seagulls’ represents all overseas students in the School of Law. I initiated the Legal Seagulls Experience Plan in 2015-16 as a three-step support initiative to enhance the academic and university-life experience for our overseas students. This includes the Pre-arrival Academic Welcome Kit (PAWK), […]

Professor Elizabeth Page, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Overview A series of skills based modules running through the three years of the BSc and MChem Chemistry programmes has been developed. The aim is to promote independent learning and the development of academic and employability skills through subject specific material and activities. This entry describes the […]

Professor James Green, Law j.a.green@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2007-08 Overview Since 2007, the Law School has run a Part Three module entitled ‘International Law Mooting’. This is a highly innovative module, where a team of four students participate in the prestigious Telders International Law Moot Court Competition. The competition involves the team presenting written – […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Professor Lib Taylor, School of Arts and Communication Design l.j.taylor@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012-13 Overview The project explored how tablet technologies can be applied for teaching contemporary performance, through the creation of a Digital Performance Lab for use as part of the optional Part Three Contemporary Performance modules (FT3COA and FT3COB). Objectives Develop student employability […]

Dr Sarah Cardey, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development s.p.cardey@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2012-13 Overview A virtual placement was created with the C4D Network, allowing student taking Communication for Innovation and Development within the Graduate School for International Development and Applied Economics (GIIDAE) to benefit from professional mentoring and networking, improving their employability as […]

Dr Federico Faloppa and Dr Chiara Ciarlo, School of Literature and Languages f.faloppa@reading.ac.uk Overview The project successfully developed an introductory module in general linguistics, with a focus on foreign language specific issues for Part Two students who choose to do a single or joint honours language degree.  Providing a module for the teaching of linguistics to Modern Languages […]

Dr Ute Wolfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Finalist students from German, French and Italian organised a public film season of four films (German, French, Spanish, Italian) with Reading Film Theatre (RFT) on ‘Children in War’ to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The students chose […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview In order to allow a module offered within the Department of English Literature to map onto the needs of the professional world, a PLanT project was created to gain input from professionals on the development and delivery of the module. As a result, […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project aimed to build student expertise in managing task-based approaches to learning, foster active engagement in seminars including international students, and support students’ development of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) skills, through student-led revisions of a popular undergraduate module, with the […]

Dr Ioannis Oikonomou, ICMA Centre i.oikonomou@icmacentre.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview This project reviewed the effectiveness of the ICMA Centre’s use of trading simulation software, a unique combination of problem-based learning and role-playing which uses modern technology.  While it was found that students enjoyed having access to trading simulation software for their learning, a number of […]

Alison Fenner, International Study and Language Institute j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2012-13 Overview The scheme provided training for students to act as Language Learning Advisors (LLAs) to Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) and Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES) students, providing peer support for developing language learning strategies.  The scheme is popular, and has […]

Dr Graham J. Holloway, School of Biological Sciences g.j.holloway@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students (mostly BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation students) carried out species identification activities in The Centre for Wildlife Assessment and Conservation on Wednesday afternoons. Students were encouraged to ‘adopt’ and focus on a taxonomic group (or community) to acquire deep learning. […]

Dr Alan Renwick, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Our Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) award was used to fund the purchase of a laptop and recording equipment to help students in preparing materials for broadcast in the Politics Show on Junction11 Radio, the Reading University Students’ Union radio […]

In the Department of English Literature all of our Parts 2 and 3 modules are available as placement modules, allowing a student to identify (with our help) a suitable placement provider and work with the module convenor and me to craft a placement project or activity which links to the learning on their chosen module. […]

In an effort to rise to the challenge of increasing the employability of graduates, staff from Reading School of Pharmacy worked in a cross-faculty collaboration with colleagues in Henley Business School to develop the UK’s first Post-Graduate Certificate in Business and Administration available to undergraduate MPharm students. This clearly fits with the 2013-15 teaching and […]

Find out more about how adopting a flipped classroom approach in Law helped to ensure a consistent teaching experience for large cohorts and positively impact on staff workload.

Find out more about how a collaborative partnership was used in Law to design the assessments within a trailblazing new module.

Find out more about how student-led audio lecture recording in Law helped aid revision and reduce anxiety around exam season.

Find out more about the Art Department’s innovative art and technology facility designed to support Outreach and Widening Participation activities. This ambitious project sees students work as co-researchers with local schools integrating arts with research and uses new technologies to unlock possibilities, raise aspirations, and promote the development of new skills.

Find out how a professional practice module has transformed how students engage with their work in more professional, thoughtful, and meaningful ways. This has the potential to transform their marketability not only during but also following completion of their degree programme.

Find out how introducing collections in teaching not only improved student attendance and engagement, but also resulted in different teaching methods, positive student evaluations, and longer term, the design of more dynamic and interactive modules.

Find out how Cong Xia Li and her colleague Asako Partington created the virtual exchange projects for their students.

Find out how students and staff in the Department of Languages and Cultures worked together to help peers prepare for the Year Abroad by creating channels to share their experience and advice.

Find out more how ISLI moved to full online teaching in four weeks.

Rebecca Bullard, School of Literature and Languages, r.bullard@reading.ac.uk Overview ‘A-level Study Boost: Unseen Poetry and the Creative Process’ is a two-week online course created by staff and students in the Department of English Literature and the Online Courses team, and hosted on the social learning platform, FutureLearn. It engages a global audience of learners in reading, writing, […]

Dan Jones, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, d.jones6@reading.ac.uk   Overview The ‘Universally Speaking’ series provides a platform for students, staff and community members to exchange ideas on culture, heritage, customs, values and traditions, via a seminar presentation. Each seminar is followed by an informal drinks reception to facilitate further discussion and interactions between the different […]

Dr Darius Widera, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy d.widera@reading.ac.uk Overview After a successful application to act as one of the early adopters of Blackboard Collaborate at the University of Reading, this technology platform was used for a series of cross-campus tutorials within the Fundamentals of Physiology (PM1AM) module between the University of Reading’s Whiteknights […]

Alison Fenner, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                                  […]

Shelen W. H. Ho, Henley Business School, University of Reading Malaysia                                                                           shelen.ho@henley.edu.my “Academia isn’t for everyone!”  I was warned […]

Kate Fletcher, Sue Slade, Kevin Flint, Raj Vaiyapuri, Wee Kiat Ong, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy; Pharmacy Context MPharm Programme: Introduction to Professionalism and Practice Undergraduate (UG) students, Part 1 Number of participants in sessions: 20 (9 in the UK and 11 in Malaysia) Session length: 60 minutes Description  Part 1 students studying […]

Shelen W H Ho, Henley Business School, University of Reading Malaysia                            shelen.ho@henley.edu.my “Academia isn’t for everyone!”  I was warned by my business associates when I decided to become a full-time academic in 2016, after spending decades working outside of the enclaves of […]

Alison Nader and Ali Nicholson, Lecturers, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                            a.m.nader@reading.ac.uk  […]

Alison Nader and Ali Nicholson, Lecturers, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                          […]

As part of my quest to encourage students to learn broadly as well as encouraging them to engage with Italian deeply (J. Biggs, 2003), I have experimented with using the Chromebooks, which have been recently purchased by ISLI (International Study and Language Institute), in the classroom. Chromebooks are a great tool: they are quick to […]

Professor Elizabeth Page, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy; Aaron Woodcock, International Study and Language Institute e.m.page@reading.ac.uk, a.e.w.woodcock@reading.ac.uk Overview Two complementary modules within the Department of Chemistry, English Language for Chemists (CH3ENG) and Health and Safety and Professional Skills (CH3NUI), were created to support students recruited from the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology […]

Shweta Band, Law s.band@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview The name ‘Legal Seagulls’ represents all overseas students in the School of Law. I initiated the Legal Seagulls Experience Plan in 2015-16 as a three-step support initiative to enhance the academic and university-life experience for our overseas students. This includes the Pre-arrival Academic Welcome Kit (PAWK), […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Dr Philippa Cranwell, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy p.b.cranwell@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014/15 Overview The project assessed the impact of the intake of a cohort of 16 3+1 BSc Applied Chemistry students on the existing undergraduate students on programmes within the Department of Chemistry (approximately 72 students, on both BSc and MChem programmes), and […]

Dr John Latsis, Henley Business School j.s.latsis@henley.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview In the postgraduate module Managing People and Organisations (MMM048), provided by the School of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour, assessment methods were altered in a manner that was mindful of the increased internationalisation and marketisation of UK Higher Education, in order to assist the […]

Dr Bahram Mahmoodi Kahriz explores an authentic assessment involving peer feedback for undergraduate students in Henley Business School.

A scholarship of teaching and learning informed collaborative study into personal development teaching on apprenticeship programmes by Elizabeth Houldsworth (Henley Business School) and Emma Watton (Lancaster University Management School)

This case study by Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries Shweta Gosh outlines how film/TV accessibility tools such as captions can be used to teach filmmaking skills, facilitate creative thinking and create awareness about disability and accessibility.

This article reports on the joint Institute of Education / Department of Computer Science Leverhulme funded project concerned with improving online learning for three groups of students.

This article outlines the re-design, necessitated partly due to COVID-19, that was undertaken for the Part 1 chemistry module, CH1PRA, which services approximately 45 students per year.

Kate Allen, Department of Art, k.allen@reading.ac.uk Overview An investigative artwork that explores identity using 360 cameras developed through practical, alumni led workshops and socially engaged art with current art students, school groups and the general public. Part of ArtLab Movement’ at Tate Exchange (TEx) 2019 at the Tate Modern on March and be archived on […]

Shirin Irvine – TEL Adviser, CQSD Overview For the academic year 2015/16, the Department of History offered a brand-new Part 1 programme as part of the History Project. This resulted in the development of three new core modules. Dr Mara Oliva transformed common practice by using technology to carry out full electronic assessment for her module. […]

Kerry Webb, Associate Director (Academic Liaison and Support), The Library                                                                    k.j.webb@reading.ac.uk  New Library LGBT+ research guide We’re all working hard to make our […]

Jeremy Lelean, Staff Engagement                                                                                                        […]

Nasreen Majid, Institute of Education                                                                                            n.majid@reading.ac.uk Overview All students on […]

Stephanie Sharp, Lecturer, Institute of Education                                                                                                    […]

Dr Francoise Mazet, Biological Sciences f.m.mazet@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We developed BARS (Bioscience ARticles for Reading Students), a blog showcasing the written work of Part Three students from the School of Biological Sciences. The blog is managed by students working closely with academic staff. This project will increase students’ awareness and skills that […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Bethany Layne, School of Literature and Languages m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry offers a model of the way in which the aims embedded in the Curriculum Framework can be articulated via student engagement with research-led activity. Here we discuss the Framework-related teaching and learning benefits of involving our students centrally in […]

Students engagement with recommended academic resources is key to developing a deeper understanding of their discipline and, ultimately, a more satisfying and stimulating educational environment. Seamless access to resources cited on reading lists has been much improved over the last 14 months with further investment in Library e-resources and the implementation of the Talis Aspire […]

Dr. Stavroula Karapapa, Law s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview Research Placement Project (LW2RPP) is a module developed within the School of Law that aims to provide Part Two students with a hands-on experience of the academic research process, from the design of a project and research question through to the production of a research output. It is an […]

Dr Katherine Harloe, School of Humanities k.c.harloe@reading.ac.uk Overview All options in Classics Special Options (CLMSO) are research-led and arise directly from current research projects of academic staff. Students greatly enjoy learning about topics of current research within the subject, and members of staff report that they find teaching on their specialised topics of research interest […]

Dr Lotte Meteyard, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences l.meteyard@reading.ac.uk Overview Statistics teaching to Speech and Language Therapists within the Department of Clinical Language Sciences was redesigned in response to module evaluations. Whereas students had previously reported anxiety about statistics and struggled to appreciate the relevance of statistics to their practice, the introduction of […]

Stuart Lakin, Law s.j.lakin@reading.ac.uk Overview In a Part Two Law module, Public Law (LW2PL2), we have moved away from the conventional exam to a take-home exam. We publish the exam paper on Blackboard at an arranged date and time. We give the students approximately 48 hours to complete and submit their answers electronically. The impact […]

Professor Elizabeth Page and Dr Philippa Cranwell, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview Group-based research projects have been introduced into the BSc Chemistry programme for final year students. Small teams of students investigate different aspects of a research problem, each working on a separate strand. The results are combined and overall […]

Professor Elizabeth Page, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Overview A series of skills based modules running through the three years of the BSc and MChem Chemistry programmes has been developed. The aim is to promote independent learning and the development of academic and employability skills through subject specific material and activities. This entry describes the […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Rita Balestrini in the Department of Languages and Cultures reflects on the T&L possibilities of Microsoft OneNote in blended learning environments.

This case study explores the development of a student forum for disabled students within the Charlie Waller Institute.

In this case study, we reflect on how PCLS designed induction booklets for UG programmes, and how they helped students with the transition into higher education.

Find out how Cong Xia Li and her colleague Asako Partington created the virtual exchange projects for their students.

Dr Bahram Mahmoodi Kahriz explores an authentic assessment involving peer feedback for undergraduate students in Henley Business School.

Find out how students and staff in the Department of Languages and Cultures worked together to help peers prepare for the Year Abroad by creating channels to share their experience and advice.

This case study outlines how a carousel technique, whereby trainees complete a small group project then present the outcome to their peers, has been adapted for breakout rooms in Blackboard Collaborate.

Focusing on the use of student voice to support transition into university, this article discusses a successful Teaching and Learning Enhancement Project (TLEP) where videos were produced to help share key messages with new undergraduates.

This case study by Julia Abery in SMPCS outlines the process of designing a tailored masters-level authentic assessment with the aim of increasing student engagement and promoting transferable skills.

This case study by Amanda Millmore in the School of Law focuses upon the work of our student-staff partnership project working together on a new elective first year module. Focusing on the role of student partners acting as peer mentors we aimed to support the transition of new students into university and provided a bridge into the Law School community.

This case study by Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries Shweta Gosh outlines how film/TV accessibility tools such as captions can be used to teach filmmaking skills, facilitate creative thinking and create awareness about disability and accessibility.

Peer feedback is underutilised in many disciplines. In our study, we wanted to find out the conditions under which peer feedback works, how it is received by students, and ways to remove barriers to its successful implementation.

This case study from Anjali in the CWI outlines how the student voice was used to collaboratively adapt a specific teaching format for postgraduate students on placements.

How the IoE trained primary teaching students in using Lego Spike Prime kits as tools for delivering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning. This was based on models of ‘training the trainer’ and ‘resource lending’ for maximum efficiency of resources.

Is hybrid learning, with a seminar leader teaching some students online whilst others learn in the classroom, something we should continue to offer in our teaching? A case study from a seminar leader in the Department of English Literature. *It is worth noting that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This post reports the findings of a 2021 ISLI pilot study on the use of hybrid/hyflex teaching and learning methods in teaching contexts which require multiple teacher-student and student-student interaction patterns. It should be noted that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This case study outlines the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) team’s process of merging timetables for two sister programmes in response to department restructure, and the subsequent curriculum implementation review that inevitably followed.

This article outlines the thinking to drive programme development through student focus groups across three IOE programmes.

This case study outlines how SBS integrated academic tutoring into undergraduate core skills modules to give greater support for academic skills development and engagement between tutors and tutees.

Professor Andrew Wade details a method of encouraging students to engage with diversified assessment in the form of field based practicals. The aim was to provide students with a safe and supportive environment in which to develop confidence in using a variety of context specific research methods, applied to what are often ‘messy’ and ‘complex’.

Shelley Harris reflects on the experience of taking Employability events online for creative writing students

Dr. Allan Laville School of Psychology & Clinical Languages Sciences In this 14 minute video, early rubrics adopter Dr. Allan Laville shares how he and colleagues in Psychology have sought to improve student assessment literacy, and have successfully engaged students with their assessment rubrics by embedding analysis of them into their in-class teaching and by […]

Ed Tew shares his thoughts in the final of his three posts on flipped learning.

The Case Study details how SLL produced new student-facing physical and online posters, designed by a ‘Real Jobs’ student, to instruct students on finding their feedback online, and generated ‘marking checklists’ for staff to indicate what needs to be included in feedback and what needs to be avoided.

The PLaNT project involved the co-creation, with students, of a series and podcasts and other materials for Contract Law (LW1CON).

This case study outlines the process of rapidly converting the Academic English Programme (AEP) to online, and reports student feedback and reflections on the experience.

Allán Laville (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Libby Adams (Research Assistant), SPCLS Overview This project aimed to design a new alternative assessment to form a part of the MSci Applied Psychology course which puts emphasis on the practical sides of training as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP). This included utilising problem-solving […]

Dr Sonia Hood, Study Advice Manager, writes how helping students’ to understand their grades is key to their success.

Calvin James Smith – Department of Maths & Statistics Overview We created short videos advertising the content of modules to enable students to make more informed choices during the module selection process. Staff reported mixed experiences and interest in Mediasite personal capture so other mechanisms were also used (e.g. Camtasia, use of camcorder). Student feedback […]

Amanda Millmore, Law, a.millmore@reading.ac.uk  Alison Cox, PCLS, a.cox@reading.ac.uk Overview This was a collaboration between 2 schools (Law & PCLS) to introduce students to the work of Registered Intermediaries in Court in a practical way by offering co-curricular training. Registered Intermediaries are communication specialists who work in criminal cases to assist vulnerable people with significant communication difficulties to communicate […]

Dr Allán Laville, Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In the training of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), teaching must include a focus on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) as well how this relates to ethical practice. Therefore, I created a 15-minute screencast that tied key D&I principles to clinical practice, with a particular focus on ethical […]

Dan Jones, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, d.jones6@reading.ac.uk   Overview The ‘Universally Speaking’ series provides a platform for students, staff and community members to exchange ideas on culture, heritage, customs, values and traditions, via a seminar presentation. Each seminar is followed by an informal drinks reception to facilitate further discussion and interactions between the different […]

Rita Balestrini and Elisabeth Koenigshofer, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading; e.koenigshofer@reading.ac.uk Overview Working in collaboration with two Final Year students, we designed two ‘flexible’, ‘minimalist’ rubric templates usable and adaptable across different languages and levels, to provide a basis for the creation of level specific, and potentially task specific, marking schemes where sub-dimensions can be […]

Sian Wells (BA French and Italian) and Sophia Acton (BA Italian and Spanish) During the Spring and Summer term of 2019, we participated in a project within the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES, now Department of Languages and Cultures) with the aim of redesigning the marking schemes used for oral and written […]

Kate Allen, Department of Art, k.allen@reading.ac.uk Overview An investigative artwork that explores identity using 360 cameras developed through practical, alumni led workshops and socially engaged art with current art students, school groups and the general public. Part of ArtLab Movement’ at Tate Exchange (TEx) 2019 at the Tate Modern on March and be archived on […]

        Lucy Hart (student – trainee PWP)- l.hart@student.reading.ac.uk  Tamara Wiehe (staff – PWP Clinical Educator)- t.wiehe@reading.ac.uk Charlie Waller Institute, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences Overview This case study re-designed an assessment for two Higher Education programmes where students train to become Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWP) in the NHS. The use of […]

Dr Geraldine (Jay) Mulley – School of Biological Sciences   Overview I produced four screen casts to encourage students to better prepare for practical classes and to reinforce practical theory taught in class. Approximately 45% of the cohort watched at least some of the video content, mainly in the few days leading up to the practical […]

Patrick Finnegan – School of Economics, Politics & International Relations Overview My use of the personal capture scheme was intended to enhance our teaching methods within the department. My initial aims of building additional video capture material into the ongoing lecture series did not come through but I was able to use the capture package […]

Adrian Aronsson-Storrier – School of Law Watch Adrian’s 5 minute video case study about how he used personal capture (the Mediasite tool) to record a lecture cancelled due to bad weather during the personal capture pilot project, 2018-19.

Sue Blackett – Henley Business School, 2018-19 Overview I participated in the university’s Personal Capture pilot as a Champion for my school to trial the Mediasite tool to create screen cast videos for use in teaching and learning. My aim was to help PGT students get to grips with key elements of the module. The videos facilitated students in repeatedly viewing content […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Michael Lyons, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) has run two student focus groups and two whole-cohort surveys as part of our Teaching and Learning Development Fund‘Diversifying Assessments’ project. This is the second of two T&L Exchange entries on this topic. Click here for the first entry which outlines how the feedback […]

Rachel Warner, School of Arts and Communication Design Rachel.Warner@pgr.reading.ac.uk Jacqueline Fairbairn, Centre for Quality Support and Development j.fairbairn@reading.ac.uk Overview Rachel in Typography and Graphic Communication (T&GC) worked with the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team to rethink an assignment workflow, to improve the student/staff experience when dealing with video submissions. Changes were made to address student […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, Department of English Literature m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2017 I replaced the exam on a Part 3 module I convene (‘Margaret Atwood’) with an online learning journal assessment and I was so impressed with the students’ work that I sought funding to publish selected extracts in a UoR book, Second Sight: The Margaret Atwood […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk Year of activity 2016/17 Overview This entry aims to share the experience of re-designing and evaluating assessment in collaboration with students. It explains the need for developing the new assessment design and then discusses the process of implementing and evaluating its appropriateness. It finally reflects on the impact […]

Dr. Ute Woelfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview In order to improve students’ engagement, support their abilities as independent learners, and increase their feeling of ownership for their academic work, elements of independent research and research dissemination through the creation of research posters were included in a Part 2 module. Objectives […]

Dr Nicola Abram, School of Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry describes the use of online Learning Journals on a Part Three English Literature module. This method of assessment supports students to carry out independent research and to reflect on their personal learning journey, and rewards students’ sustained engagement and progress. Objectives To encourage […]

Dr. Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-6 Overview This entry describes the use of screencasts to deliver skills training on a compulsory Part One English Literature module. As a result of the changes outlined here, every student taking English Literature at the University of Reading will have access throughout their degree […]

Dr Emma Mayhew, Politics, Economics and International Relations e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview PLanT funding was used to research the impact of a new student feedback platform in Politics. Unitu creates an online student forum from which representatives pull issues onto a separate departmental board. Academics can then add responses and show if an […]

Dr Stanimira Milcheva, Henley Business School stani.milcheva@henley.reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We designed a simple game (called the REFinGame) which was aligned with the course material and launched it on Facebook. This approach, which could easily be applied to other discipline areas, was successfully used to enhance student learning and engagement with modules related […]

Dr Darius Widera, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy d.widera@reading.ac.uk Overview After a successful application to act as one of the early adopters of Blackboard Collaborate at the University of Reading, this technology platform was used for a series of cross-campus tutorials within the Fundamentals of Physiology (PM1AM) module between the University of Reading’s Whiteknights […]

Dr Andrew Gabey, School of Mathematical, Physical and Computation Sciences a.m.gabey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview The University’s Atmospheric Observatory continuously collects high-quality environmental data, which is used heavily in teaching courses – particularly in Meteorology.  A new web-based system, due to go into service for the Autumn semester, has been developed under this project […]

Dr Robert Hosfield, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science r.hosfield@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Lykethos Overview The project tested different methods for producing and disseminating 3D models of existing artefacts in the teaching collections of Classics and Archaeology. 3D scanning was labour intensive and struggled to accurately represent some of the raw materials. By […]

Dr Hazel McGoff, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science h.j.mcgoff@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview This project established a library of digital images of our key mineral and rock specimens. Annotated explanatory labels were added to the images to create a resource that can be used to help students familiarise themselves with the specimens […]

Shirin Irvine – TEL Adviser, CQSD Overview For the academic year 2015/16, the Department of History offered a brand-new Part 1 programme as part of the History Project. This resulted in the development of three new core modules. Dr Mara Oliva transformed common practice by using technology to carry out full electronic assessment for her module. […]

Dr Michelle Reid, Study Advice michelle.reid@reading.ac.uk Dr Paddy Woodman, Director of Student Services p.e.woodman@reading.ac.uk Paddy and Michelle ran a workshop showcasing our online transitions course, Study Smart, at the AMOSSHE Student Services conference recently. The workshop, attended by over 50 delegates, highlighted the ways we’d used Study Smart to increase student confidence and create a […]

Rita Balestrini, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading.ac.uk Overview Between 2016 and 2018, I led a project aiming to enhance the process of assessing foreign language skills in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES). The project was supported by the Teaching and Learning Development Fund. Its scope involved two levels of intervention: […]

Florian Roithmayr, School of Art and Communication Design                                                                                                […]

Barbara Goff, Department of Classics, School of Humanities                                                                                                […]

Caroline Crolla, Student Success and Engagement Team, Student Services                                                                          c.s.crolla@reading.ac.uk Overview Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a globally recognised […]

Barbara Goff, Director of Teaching and Learning, Classics              b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk In the Classics department we reckon we review our curriculum all the time.  We are constantly designing new modules that take cognisance of the latest research and share it with our students.  We teach with epigraphy and 3D modelling, we […]

Ali Nicholson, International Study and Language Institute       ali.nicholson@reading.ac.uk  Overview Between 2016 and 2018 we have run a Tandem language scheme, whereby students studying a language with the Institution-wide Language Programme (IWLP) are paired up with a native speaker student, usually (though not always) a Visiting student.  Once introduced, the students spend one hour […]

Angelique Chettiparamb and Lucy Newton, Henley Business School a.chettiparamb@reading.ac.uk; l.a.newton@henley.ac.uk Overview Four enterprising and enthusiastic students from different programmes in Henley Business School enquired into the effectiveness of School/University measures to enhance and promote academic integrity. The students were Eilish McDonald, Hetvi Shah, Prinal Shah and Tillie Hunter The project leads were Dr Angelique Chettiparamb […]

Caroline Crolla, Student Success and Engagement Team, Student Services c.s.crolla@reading.ac.uk  Overview Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a globally recognised scheme where more experienced students who have already successfully completed a module work with students who are studying the module for the first time.   One hour, weekly PAL sessions are run by trained and experienced student […]

Nasreen Majid, Institute of Education                                                                                            n.majid@reading.ac.uk Overview All students on […]

Michelle Reid, Kim Shahabudin, and Sonia Hood, Study Advice The successful Study Smart online course will be running again for new Part 1 undergraduates, and will be launched to the new cohort on 28th August. Study Smart helps students make a smooth transition to university study by giving them a shared start point and by […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education                                                                                                    […]

On 31 January the Meadow Suite in Park House was a-buzz with an air of anticipation as attendees at the Curriculum Framework Conference munched on Breakfast Baguettes and gulped down copious quantities of fresh coffee and tea. Following a generous welcome and the obligatory identification of emergency exits, the morning’s session commenced with a thoroughly […]

Professor Stavroula Karapapa, School of Law                          s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2015/2016, we substantially redeveloped our postgraduate provision in commercial law through the introduction of a pioneering, student-engaging, research-informed and multidisciplinary set of postgraduate pathway programmes. Contrary to the programmes previously in place, the new […]

Overview: Each year a group of part 2 students from Meteorology make their way across campus to the Minghella Building to film weather forecasts in the professional “green screen” studio. As well as improving their forecasting ability this module also helps students to improve their presentation skills – a key employability attribute in many careers. […]

Context In 2016, in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (DMLES), it was decided that the marking schemes used to assess writing and speaking skills needed to be revised and standardised in order to ensure transparency and consistency of evaluation across different languages and levels. A number of colleagues teaching language modules had […]

I started university this year, or at least it feels like I have upon starting my new job as a Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences (PCLS). Every face around me is unfamiliar, the campus seems an unnerving maze, and simple processes have become logic puzzles. Oh the joy I felt […]

Dear pre-UoRM Dan (circa 2015), So, you’re looking forward to going to the University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) soon, right? Slightly daunting I’m sure, but you’ll be telling yourself that the UK campus already has a large international cohort and that teaching in Malaysia won’t be that different to what you have already been doing, […]

The Great Hall is the jewel in the crown of the London Rd campus and its cavernous interior gives it a unique atmosphere, ideal for reflective kinds of learning. I was fortunate enough to teach a session there in October and its dramatic, imposing space was a key pedagogical tool. The session lasted two hours […]

Stephanie Sharp, Lecturer, Institute of Education                                  s.sharp@reading.ac.uk                                                                  […]

Over the course of the last academic year, the idea of creating a Language Teaching Community of Practice (LT CoP) has taken shape and developed as part of the University strategy to support and promote language learning and expertise in foreign languages teaching. A number of colleagues involved in language teaching or teacher education from […]

Alina Maroukian, Henley Business School                                        a.maroukian@henley.ac.uk                                                              […]

Nathalie Folkerts, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science nathaliefolkerts@gmail.com                                                                                           […]

Alison Fenner, Lecturer, International Study and Language Institute  j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk                                                                                             […]

In Spring 2017 the Student Success & Engagement Team partnered with Positive (and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust (CWMT)) to develop and deliver the Positive Minds pilot programme to 150 university students. The programme provided students with evidence-based cognitive and behavioural tools and techniques to manage pressure and build psychological resilience. The programme’s aim was […]

For the past four year I have incorporated Flipped Learning into my teaching. Flipped Learning started in the United States in secondary education (Bergmann & Sams, 2012) and it has been expanding into higher education. The principal premise is that instruction moves outside of the classroom and class time is freed up for practice and […]

Dr Despoina Mantzari, School of Law d.mantzari@reading.ac.uk Overview In June 2016 I was awarded a small University of Reading Teaching and Learning grant with the objective to involve a group of ten postgraduate taught students from the School of Law as partners in the process of redesigning the curriculum of a core postgraduate taught module. […]

Language learning and disability: how to avoid the ‘avoidance’? When the university disability office was approached in 2003 by a new member of staff for guidance on the assessment of a dyslexic student enrolled on a language module, the reply was that students with dyslexia are better advised to avoid foreign language courses. Fast-forward to […]

Dr Francoise Mazet, Biological Sciences f.m.mazet@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We developed BARS (Bioscience ARticles for Reading Students), a blog showcasing the written work of Part Three students from the School of Biological Sciences. The blog is managed by students working closely with academic staff. This project will increase students’ awareness and skills that […]

Holly Sandford, Arts & Communication Design Overview Students in the Department of Art created a student-led experiential post-studio practice, DISCOMFORT, for Part Two students and teachers that challenges boundaries and restrictions within our art course (and ourselves), and encourages participatory, experiential sessions and activities, within and outside of the studio. Objectives Build two-way working relationships […]

Introduction: Students as Partners In recent years, there has been an increased appetite in higher education to explore and enhance the ways in which students can become more involved in the design and delivery of their own learning experiences. A prominent way of doing so is engaging students as equal partners in a range of […]

On May 2, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading, Sir David Bell, will formally launch ‘The Monroe Group’ a new interdisciplinary research group at the university focused around the politics and political history of North America and the Caribbean. I’m proud, alongside my colleague Dr. Maddi Davies from our English Literature Department, to […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Bethany Layne, School of Literature and Languages m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry offers a model of the way in which the aims embedded in the Curriculum Framework can be articulated via student engagement with research-led activity. Here we discuss the Framework-related teaching and learning benefits of involving our students centrally in […]

The benefits of research-led teaching for both staff and students are well known. From the perspective of students, it encourages and facilitates deeper learning and engagement with complex intellectual issues in the course materials. In so doing, it gives the students the opportunity to develop critical and creative thinking. For staff, it offers the opportunity […]

Background The UK pharmacy regulator, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), sets Standards for all UK Pharmacy Schools. The Standards stipulate that the undergraduate programme (MPharm) must provide students with practical experience in working with patients, carers and other healthcare professionals. This has led to a need to expand experiential learning within the pharmacy curriculum across the […]

Professor Elizabeth Page and Dr Philippa Cranwell, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview Group-based research projects have been introduced into the BSc Chemistry programme for final year students. Small teams of students investigate different aspects of a research problem, each working on a separate strand. The results are combined and overall […]

Shweta Band, Law s.band@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview The name ‘Legal Seagulls’ represents all overseas students in the School of Law. I initiated the Legal Seagulls Experience Plan in 2015-16 as a three-step support initiative to enhance the academic and university-life experience for our overseas students. This includes the Pre-arrival Academic Welcome Kit (PAWK), […]

Dr Ciara Healy, Arts and Communication Design c.healy@reading.ac.uk Overview This case study presents some approaches taken in the Department of Art to encourage relationship building between different cohorts of students and all members of staff. The majority of activities took place in the first 6 weeks of the Autumn term and focused especially on Welcome […]

Professor James Green, Law j.a.green@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2007-08 Overview Since 2007, the Law School has run a Part Three module entitled ‘International Law Mooting’. This is a highly innovative module, where a team of four students participate in the prestigious Telders International Law Moot Court Competition. The competition involves the team presenting written – […]

Introduction As joint staff leaders (together with Dr Nora Honkala) on the current Law Feedback Project, we recently presented a paper exploring aspects of the project to the second annual Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship Conference, held at University College London on 28-29 June 2016.  This blog post explains a little about the Law […]

I’ve gained more knowledge regarding the module & find it easier to ask for help. (Maths PAL participant) [PAL] is a more interactive way of working, more group work, some sharing about 4th year placement and the usefulness of this module for next year (S&L Therapy PAL participant) It’s great to see people leave sessions […]

Transition to university is often geared towards students from an A-level background, so are we doing enough for students with vocational qualifications starting at Reading? Recent research from UCAS shows that one in four university entrants has done a BTEC (Havergal, 2016). Issues such as culture shock, work/life balance, different assessment methods, and the perception […]

Dr Robert Jackson, School of Biological Sciences r.w.jackson@reading.ac.uk Overview An online learning environment was developed for a module, Microbiology Field Course (BI3B67), within the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). This online learning environment was used to facilitate staff and student communication while on a field trip, and was greatly successful, with students responding well to […]

Professor Richard Mitchell, School of Systems Engineering r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk Overview Adjustments were made to teaching, assessment, and feedback in a Part Two module within the School of Systems Engineering, Neural Networks (SE2NN11), successfully using three-staged laboratory practicals in order to encourage students to use neural networks on a ‘real world’ application. Making these changes saw an […]

Dr Arpita Bose, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.bose@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2011/12 Overview A modified problem-based learning approach was developed and implemented in Communication Impairment 3 (PL2CI3/PLMCI3) within the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences.  While the adoption of this approach was unpopular with students on the module, there was a […]

Professor Helen Parish, School of Humanities h.l.parish@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview The project investigated recent research and practice in peer assessment and feedback in order to implement a peer assessment model for use within History, and develop a framework for the adoption of said model in cognate disciplines where evaluation of substantial text-based assignments is […]

Professor Lib Taylor, School of Arts and Communication Design l.j.taylor@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012-13 Overview The project explored how tablet technologies can be applied for teaching contemporary performance, through the creation of a Digital Performance Lab for use as part of the optional Part Three Contemporary Performance modules (FT3COA and FT3COB). Objectives Develop student employability […]

Dr Louise Johnson, School of Biological Sciences l.j.johnson@reading.ac.uk Overview In the School of Biological Studies a module, Seminars in Biology (BI3S78) was created, utilising the existing research seminar series within the School to structure assessment. The module is easily adaptable for other subject areas, and has proved very popular with students, and has aided in […]

Dr Karsten O. Lundqvist, School of Systems Engineering k.o.lundqvist@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview A flipped classroom approach was trialed for the Part Two Java module (SE2JA11) taught in the School of Systems Engineering.  Objectives Encourage students on the module to become deep-level learners, as they analyse, evaluate and create, rather than simply remembering and understanding. […]

Dr Christopher Voisey, Henley Business School c.j.voisey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview The core Part Two undergraduate module, International Business Management and Strategy (MM272), was redesigned on two pillars: teamwork, and social media (Facebook). Formal student evaluations were high and feedback from focus groups with students was very positive – students found the use of […]

Dr Jeanne-Louise Moys, School of Arts and Communication Design j.l.moys@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014–15 Overview The project explored what kinds of online resources BA Graphic Communication students engage with and need and, through an iterative design process (combining prototyping and user testing), developed a new online resource interface to support learning.  As a result, staff […]

Professor Jane Setter, School of Literature and Languages j.e.setter@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students and staff worked together during 2014-15 to develop the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics’ new compulsory Part One module Techniques and Skills for Applied Linguistics (LS1TAL), run for the first time in 2014-15, to make it more interesting, […]

Dr Ute Wolfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Finalist students from German, French and Italian organised a public film season of four films (German, French, Spanish, Italian) with Reading Film Theatre (RFT) on ‘Children in War’ to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The students chose […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview In order to allow a module offered within the Department of English Literature to map onto the needs of the professional world, a PLanT project was created to gain input from professionals on the development and delivery of the module. As a result, […]

Breaking down Barriers has kicked off the academic year with a workshop in inclusive design with our new Part 1 typography students. Today we had our first session for the BA Graphic Communication Integrated Design Methods module. The students engaged with the new SEE-IT sight exclusive prototype for assessing visual inclusion/exclusion (currently being developed by the […]

Professor Michelle O’Callaghan, School of Literature and Languages m.f.ocallaghan@reading.ac.uk Overview The project ‘Teaching the Digital Text: Literature and the New Technologies’ employed two undergraduate research assistants to help in the design of a Part Three module that aims to introduce students to current research in the digital humanities and teach practical digital skills. Resulting from […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project aimed to build student expertise in managing task-based approaches to learning, foster active engagement in seminars including international students, and support students’ development of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) skills, through student-led revisions of a popular undergraduate module, with the […]

Dr Ioannis Oikonomou, ICMA Centre i.oikonomou@icmacentre.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview This project reviewed the effectiveness of the ICMA Centre’s use of trading simulation software, a unique combination of problem-based learning and role-playing which uses modern technology.  While it was found that students enjoyed having access to trading simulation software for their learning, a number of […]

Alison Fenner, International Study and Language Institute j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2012-13 Overview The scheme provided training for students to act as Language Learning Advisors (LLAs) to Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) and Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES) students, providing peer support for developing language learning strategies.  The scheme is popular, and has […]

Dr Graham J. Holloway, School of Biological Sciences g.j.holloway@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students (mostly BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation students) carried out species identification activities in The Centre for Wildlife Assessment and Conservation on Wednesday afternoons. Students were encouraged to ‘adopt’ and focus on a taxonomic group (or community) to acquire deep learning. […]

Readers of this blog may recall Dr Patricia (Paddy) Woodman’s “Hot tip: Student-led peer learning: a win-win for everyone” posted on January 2015.  She wrote then that “The University of Reading is about to appoint a peer assisted learning co-ordinator and launch a number of trial schemes in 2015/16.”  Happily, I am that peer-assisted learning […]

Dr Alan Renwick, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Our Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) award was used to fund the purchase of a laptop and recording equipment to help students in preparing materials for broadcast in the Politics Show on Junction11 Radio, the Reading University Students’ Union radio […]

Dr Stefán Thór Smith, School of the Built Environment s.t.smith@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2014-15 Overview Active learning methods were explored, and the Environmental Quality and Well-being module (CEM236EQW), a week intensive module offered by the School of the Built Environment, was amended to incorporate suitable active learning methods, improving student satisfaction and engagement.

The Twenty-second International Conference on Learning was held in Madrid on 9th-11th July 2015. It attracted over 300 delegates from the academic and professional arena across the world: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, […]

PLanT stands for Partners in Learning and Teaching. The project allows students and teachers to work together in order to improve a module using a small pot of money to fund meetings, focus groups and equipment. As a small group four of us (Jess, Emily, Daria and Meg) worked with our lecturer Clare Wright in […]

With ever-increasing speed it seems we have reached that time of year again when teaching is finished, exam results are calculated and our thoughts start to turn from the current academic session to planning for the next one. This offers some time to reflect on successes and think about the areas of teaching where we […]

Earlier this summer term, the Minghella Building hosted a lunchtime pop-up research exhibition under the theme of ‘Screen Relations’, which featured the research undertaken by Film, Theatre & Television students as part of their final assessment for the Part 3 module Television and Contemporary Culture. Led by myself as the convenor, the Spring term of […]

  The University is investing in an online reading list and digital content management system from Talis Aspire. Implementation at Reading begins at Easter 2015. This initial phase will involve Library staff transferring all 2014-15 reading lists (which have existing copyright cleared scans associated with them) on to the new system, ready for review and […]

Student-led peer learning or peer assisted learning (PAL) is popping up in all sorts of universities up and down the land and is gaining momentum as a global phenomenon. It has been in an existence in the UK since the early 1990s and has been described as a win-win for everyone involved. The University of […]

How many times have you heard people say that the Reading student population is becoming more diverse? But what do they mean and what are the implications? Often they mean that they/we are struggling to cope with what feels like the ever increasingly list of different needs for different ‘types of students’. Any quick skim […]

This is my new recipe for extending the academic year and helping to welcome our new students. As with any new recipe, some bits of it went really well and some aspects of it were less impressive – and there was one moment when I was in danger of failing to cook up any learning […]

This post relates to activities carried out on the EU ERASMUS Intensive Programme grant awarded to University of Reading to fund 10 students from each of Belgium, Germany and the UK, plus 5 staff in total from the three countries, to travel to Akureyri in Iceland. Once there, the grant funded a 2-week residential field […]

We are living in an increasingly digital world; many of our students grow up immersed in this way of life, having access to a wealth of information online, often accessible wherever they are. But how do they use this appropriately in their learning, and how do we help them harness all of this information? These […]

For colleagues who may be interested in current research advances which may affect how we understand and practice learning and the role of agency and community in the class (involving all co-participants as a human community of practice), this inter-disciplinary theoretical conception may be informative. The problem which may be relevant to any settings of […]

Background There’s a lively community of academics researching postcolonial literature, both across the UK and internationally. Many of us also enjoy the privilege of teaching these texts at undergraduate and postgraduate level, often on increasingly popular courses. Here at Reading, that includes modules on ‘Black British Fiction’, ‘Nigerian Prose Literature’ and ‘Writing Global Justice’ in […]

Group work has many well-documented benefits for students, but it also provides considerable challenges. A frequent complaint from students is that differences in contributions are not recognised when everyone in the group receives the same mark – the free loader issue. However, when students are working unsupervised, it is very difficult for the tutor to […]

Getting young people to engage in the political process appears to be a problem all across western democracies. Politics and politicians seem remote from the young and the gap between the Baby Boomers and Generation X figures holding the reins of power and the Millennials now making their way through university appears ever wider. This […]

  As we continue to develop OSCAR the online student community in Art our students are becoming more involved and more integral to the development of the project. Together we are researching innovative ways to integrate the social network, designed to support our studio modules, across all of our programmes in Art. We have been […]

With the news that the University’s personal tutorial system has been under review (Issue 2, T&L Reading), we thought it would be useful to highlight how we have been successfully combining pastoral and academic responsibilities of a personal tutor. In the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, for the last three years we have operated a […]

The Careers, Placement and Experience Centre’s investment, thanks to a grant from the Annual Fund, in a software package for virtual fair technology, has enabled the service to extend its traditional offer of careers fairs and provide students with a virtual environment in which to interact with employers.

I was asked to contribute this after the Business School scored highly in the NNS survey for Management & Business degrees, and was invited to focus on things the School has done that have contributed to the maintenance of and improvement in our NSS scores that might be shared. The category includes our Accounting programmes, […]

Reports the findings from interviews with students about how placements at Masters level should be assessed.

This case study explores the development of a student forum for disabled students within the Charlie Waller Institute.

Dr Ekililu Salifu discusses using constructivism learning theory to achieve the objectives of a decolonised curriculum in a pseudo-technical subject area like accounting.

Find out how students and staff in the Department of Languages and Cultures worked together to help peers prepare for the Year Abroad by creating channels to share their experience and advice.

Focusing on the use of student voice to support transition into university, this article discusses a successful Teaching and Learning Enhancement Project (TLEP) where videos were produced to help share key messages with new undergraduates.

This case study by Amanda Millmore in the School of Law focuses upon the work of our student-staff partnership project working together on a new elective first year module. Focusing on the role of student partners acting as peer mentors we aimed to support the transition of new students into university and provided a bridge into the Law School community.

Peer feedback is underutilised in many disciplines. In our study, we wanted to find out the conditions under which peer feedback works, how it is received by students, and ways to remove barriers to its successful implementation.

This case study from Anjali in the CWI outlines how the student voice was used to collaboratively adapt a specific teaching format for postgraduate students on placements.

Is hybrid learning, with a seminar leader teaching some students online whilst others learn in the classroom, something we should continue to offer in our teaching? A case study from a seminar leader in the Department of English Literature. *It is worth noting that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This post reports the findings of a 2021 ISLI pilot study on the use of hybrid/hyflex teaching and learning methods in teaching contexts which require multiple teacher-student and student-student interaction patterns. It should be noted that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This case study outlines the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) team’s process of merging timetables for two sister programmes in response to department restructure, and the subsequent curriculum implementation review that inevitably followed.

Learn more about this PLanT funded student-staff partnership project which amplified the voices of students with disabilities and long-term conditions in the School of Law and led to the adoption of recommendations about how to improve blended learning.

Find out how, whilst in lockdown, Amanda Millmore measured the impact of the new Academic Tutor System (ATS) on students in the School of Law, capturing their experiences, both good and bad, with a view to making improvements.

The Case Study details how SLL produced new student-facing physical and online posters, designed by a ‘Real Jobs’ student, to instruct students on finding their feedback online, and generated ‘marking checklists’ for staff to indicate what needs to be included in feedback and what needs to be avoided.

The PLaNT project involved the co-creation, with students, of a series and podcasts and other materials for Contract Law (LW1CON).

Allán Laville (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Libby Adams (Research Assistant), SPCLS Overview This project aimed to design a new alternative assessment to form a part of the MSci Applied Psychology course which puts emphasis on the practical sides of training as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP). This included utilising problem-solving […]

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Charlotte Field (Research Assistant and student on MSci Applied Psychology) Overview To improve access to psychoeducational materials by addressing the diverse needs of those accessing Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services. We worked on creating materials that could be used to describe […]

Zainab Abdulsattar (student – Research Assistant), Tamara Wiehe (staff – PWP Clinical Educator) and Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology). School of Psychology and CLS. Overview To help Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology students address the emotional aspect of engaging with and interpreting assessment feedback, we have created a Blackboard […]

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk , Chloe Chessell and Tamara Wiehe Overview To develop our assessment practices, we created electronic assessment overviews for all assessments in Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) programme. Here we reflect on the benefits of completing this project via a student-staff partnership as well as the realised benefits for students. Objectives To […]

Rebecca Bullard, School of Literature and Languages, r.bullard@reading.ac.uk Overview ‘A-level Study Boost: Unseen Poetry and the Creative Process’ is a two-week online course created by staff and students in the Department of English Literature and the Online Courses team, and hosted on the social learning platform, FutureLearn. It engages a global audience of learners in reading, writing, […]

Catherine Langran, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy Daniel Mercer & Selen Morelle, MPharm Part 4 students, School of Pharmacy Background Throughout the Masters of Pharmacy degree (MPharm) students undertake experiential learning in hospital and community pharmacies. Experiential learning through placements is an important approach to teaching and learning; providing a safe learning environment […]

Rita Balestrini and Elisabeth Koenigshofer, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading; e.koenigshofer@reading.ac.uk Overview Working in collaboration with two Final Year students, we designed two ‘flexible’, ‘minimalist’ rubric templates usable and adaptable across different languages and levels, to provide a basis for the creation of level specific, and potentially task specific, marking schemes where sub-dimensions can be […]

Sian Wells (BA French and Italian) and Sophia Acton (BA Italian and Spanish) During the Spring and Summer term of 2019, we participated in a project within the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES, now Department of Languages and Cultures) with the aim of redesigning the marking schemes used for oral and written […]

Find out more about how a collaborative partnership was used in Law to design the assessments within a trailblazing new module.

Find out more about how student-led audio lecture recording in Law helped aid revision and reduce anxiety around exam season.

Find out more about the Art Department’s innovative art and technology facility designed to support Outreach and Widening Participation activities. This ambitious project sees students work as co-researchers with local schools integrating arts with research and uses new technologies to unlock possibilities, raise aspirations, and promote the development of new skills.

Rita Balestrini, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading.ac.uk Overview Between 2016 and 2018, I led a project aiming to enhance the process of assessing foreign language skills in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES). The project was supported by the Teaching and Learning Development Fund. Its scope involved two levels of intervention: […]

Professor Stavroula Karapapa, School of Law                          s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2015/2016, we substantially redeveloped our postgraduate provision in commercial law through the introduction of a pioneering, student-engaging, research-informed and multidisciplinary set of postgraduate pathway programmes. Contrary to the programmes previously in place, the new […]

Context In 2016, in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (DMLES), it was decided that the marking schemes used to assess writing and speaking skills needed to be revised and standardised in order to ensure transparency and consistency of evaluation across different languages and levels. A number of colleagues teaching language modules had […]

Dr Despoina Mantzari, School of Law d.mantzari@reading.ac.uk Overview In June 2016 I was awarded a small University of Reading Teaching and Learning grant with the objective to involve a group of ten postgraduate taught students from the School of Law as partners in the process of redesigning the curriculum of a core postgraduate taught module. […]

Rita Balestrini in the Department of Languages and Cultures reflects on the T&L possibilities of Microsoft OneNote in blended learning environments.

This case study outlines how a carousel technique, whereby trainees complete a small group project then present the outcome to their peers, has been adapted for breakout rooms in Blackboard Collaborate.

This article reports on the joint Institute of Education / Department of Computer Science Leverhulme funded project concerned with improving online learning for three groups of students.

How the IoE trained primary teaching students in using Lego Spike Prime kits as tools for delivering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning. This was based on models of ‘training the trainer’ and ‘resource lending’ for maximum efficiency of resources.

Is hybrid learning, with a seminar leader teaching some students online whilst others learn in the classroom, something we should continue to offer in our teaching? A case study from a seminar leader in the Department of English Literature. *It is worth noting that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This post reports the findings of a 2021 ISLI pilot study on the use of hybrid/hyflex teaching and learning methods in teaching contexts which require multiple teacher-student and student-student interaction patterns. It should be noted that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

Find out how ISLI used the OneDrive cloud repository to promote student-student and student-teacher interaction on two Foundation year modules, including our rationale, implementation, examples and student reflections.

Learn more about this PLanT funded student-staff partnership project which amplified the voices of students with disabilities and long-term conditions in the School of Law and led to the adoption of recommendations about how to improve blended learning.

This article discusses how teaching staff in ISLI converted paper-based learning materials to an online format, so that students on our summer Pre-sessional programme, could work independently and receive, where appropriate, automated feedback on tasks.

Read Vicky Collins approach to addressing the challenges of remote learning, student engagement and new technology within ISLI. This article details an internal peer review event on the theme of ‘Managing synchronous online teaching.

Shelley Harris reflects on the experience of taking Employability events online for creative writing students

Dr. Allan Laville School of Psychology & Clinical Languages Sciences In this 14 minute video, early rubrics adopter Dr. Allan Laville shares how he and colleagues in Psychology have sought to improve student assessment literacy, and have successfully engaged students with their assessment rubrics by embedding analysis of them into their in-class teaching and by […]

This case study outlines approaches to fostering an active learning environment on the University’s first fully online Undergraduate Pre-sessional Course.

Ed Tew shares his thoughts in the final of his three posts on flipped learning.

This case study outlines ISLI’s process of creating a version of the Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP) for 1-1 online delivery.

This case study outlines the process of rapidly converting the Academic English Programme (AEP) to online, and reports student feedback and reflections on the experience.

Zainab Abdulsattar (student – Research Assistant), Tamara Wiehe (staff – PWP Clinical Educator) and Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology). School of Psychology and CLS. Overview To help Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology students address the emotional aspect of engaging with and interpreting assessment feedback, we have created a Blackboard […]

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk , Chloe Chessell and Tamara Wiehe Overview To develop our assessment practices, we created electronic assessment overviews for all assessments in Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) programme. Here we reflect on the benefits of completing this project via a student-staff partnership as well as the realised benefits for students. Objectives To […]

Will Hughes – School of Built Environment (Construction Management & Engineering) Overview The personal capture pilot project helped me to develop and test ideas to advance what I had been previously trying using YouTube. One important lesson for me was that shorter duration videos better engage students. I also learned how to record videos featuring […]

Rebecca Bullard, School of Literature and Languages, r.bullard@reading.ac.uk Overview ‘A-level Study Boost: Unseen Poetry and the Creative Process’ is a two-week online course created by staff and students in the Department of English Literature and the Online Courses team, and hosted on the social learning platform, FutureLearn. It engages a global audience of learners in reading, writing, […]

Ed Collins – School of Agriculture, Policy & Development Overview Personal capture software was used as a method of coaching, facilitating good study practice and identifying milestones for students in order to develop excellent assignments over two modules at undergraduate level. The impact of the project delivered was two-fold. From a student’s perspective, it enabled […]

Calvin James Smith – Department of Maths & Statistics Overview We created short videos advertising the content of modules to enable students to make more informed choices during the module selection process. Staff reported mixed experiences and interest in Mediasite personal capture so other mechanisms were also used (e.g. Camtasia, use of camcorder). Student feedback […]

Dr Rhianedd Smith – University Museums & Special Collections Services Overview This project looked at creating extension videos to help people to access behind-the-scenes and professional skills from museums and heritage sites which could not be delivered in class. It also allowed revision for skills which might be lost due to issues around memory in […]

Gita Persand – Henley Business School Overview The main motivation for me to use personal capture was to create short videos (lasting six to seven minutes), explaining various financial concepts in Excel. I teach Financial Modelling (a practical hands-on module, taught in a computer lab) to Part 2 students, for which I created the videos using the Mediasite software. I then uploaded them to Blackboard (via a video library) for this module. I was consulting with colleagues working with me on using […]

Elisabeth Koenigshofer – School of Literature & Languages Overview As part of the Personal Capture Pilot Project, I had many ideas to create videos for my students to enhance their learning. Eventually, I created one video that students could refer to if they needed support when adding a post to a blog on Blackboard, which was one […]

Jo Stringer – Henley Business School (Real Estate & Planning) Overview I created catch-up screen-casts for the first two live sessions of my postgraduate Law module. These enabled students to catch-up live sessions missed.  The screen-casts were accessed by 25% of the students and the feedback was very positive. Key finding: the students want more recorded […]

Dr Allán Laville, Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In the training of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), teaching must include a focus on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) as well how this relates to ethical practice. Therefore, I created a 15-minute screencast that tied key D&I principles to clinical practice, with a particular focus on ethical […]

Tamara Wiehe, Charlotte Allard & Hayley Scott (PWP Clinical Educators) Charlie Waller Institute; School of Psychology and Clinical Language Overview In line with the University’s transition to Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA), we set out to create an electronic Portfolio (e-Portfolio) for use on our Psychological Well-being Practitioner (PWP) training programmes to replace an existing […]

Kate Allen, Department of Art, k.allen@reading.ac.uk Overview An investigative artwork that explores identity using 360 cameras developed through practical, alumni led workshops and socially engaged art with current art students, school groups and the general public. Part of ArtLab Movement’ at Tate Exchange (TEx) 2019 at the Tate Modern on March and be archived on […]

Dr Bolanle Adebola is the Module Convenor and lecturer for the following modules on the LLM Programme (On campus and distance learning): International Commercial Arbitration, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Finance. She is also a Lecturer for the LLB Research Placement Project. Bolanle is also the Legal Practice Liaison Officer for the CCLFR. OBJECTIVES For students: […]

Dr Geraldine (Jay) Mulley – School of Biological Sciences   Overview I produced four screen casts to encourage students to better prepare for practical classes and to reinforce practical theory taught in class. Approximately 45% of the cohort watched at least some of the video content, mainly in the few days leading up to the practical […]

Patrick Finnegan – School of Economics, Politics & International Relations Overview My use of the personal capture scheme was intended to enhance our teaching methods within the department. My initial aims of building additional video capture material into the ongoing lecture series did not come through but I was able to use the capture package […]

Adrian Aronsson-Storrier – School of Law Watch Adrian’s 5 minute video case study about how he used personal capture (the Mediasite tool) to record a lecture cancelled due to bad weather during the personal capture pilot project, 2018-19.

Sue Blackett – Henley Business School, 2018-19 Overview I participated in the university’s Personal Capture pilot as a Champion for my school to trial the Mediasite tool to create screen cast videos for use in teaching and learning. My aim was to help PGT students get to grips with key elements of the module. The videos facilitated students in repeatedly viewing content […]

Find out more about how adopting a flipped classroom approach in Law helped to ensure a consistent teaching experience for large cohorts and positively impact on staff workload.

  Professor Andrew Wade is responsible for research in hydrology, focused on water pollution, and Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching, including Hydrological Processes OBJECTIVES Colleagues within the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences (SAGES) have been aware of the University’s broader ambition to move towards online submission, feedback and grading where possible. Many had already made […]

OBJECTIVES Colleagues within the IFP wanted to improve the student assessment experience. In particular we wanted to make the end to end process quicker and easier and reduce printing costs for students. We also wanted to offer some consistency with undergraduate programmes. This was particularly important for those students who stay in Reading after their […]

Within the department, I teach primarily in Early Modern and Old English. For more details of my teaching please see Mary Morrissey Teaching and Convening My primary research subject is Reformation literature, particularly from London. I am particularly interested in Paul’s Cross, the most important public pulpit in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England. I retain an interested in early […]

I have been teaching English for over 15 years. I worked on EFL courses in Russia and the UK between 2000 – 2012. I started teaching English for Academic Purposes in 2013 when I joined the International Foundation Programme at the University of Surrey. I have been working as an EAP tutor at the University […]

Dr Geoff Taggart is a lecturer in the Institute of Education and Programme Director for the Early Years Practice programme at Reading. As part of his secondment to the EMA programme, Geoff decided to run a focus group with students from the IoE to gather perspectives on electronic feedback and grading methods. OBJECTIVES To identify […]

Professor Will Hughes has extensively used rubric grids within Grademark across of all of his modules to significantly enhance student engagement with his feedback, student understanding of his marking criteria and student attainment in subsequent essays whilst making his own experience of marking more efficient. My research interests include the control and management of building […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Michael Lyons, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) has run two student focus groups and two whole-cohort surveys as part of our Teaching and Learning Development Fund‘Diversifying Assessments’ project. This is the second of two T&L Exchange entries on this topic. Click here for the first entry which outlines how the feedback […]

Dr Newnham is the module convenor for LLB Family Law. Her areas of interest include, Child Law, Autopoietic Theory, The Common Intention Constructive Trust. Since 2015, Annika has gradually personalised the ‘Quickmarks’ function within Turnitin Grademark to be both discipline specific and also assignment specific. In addition, Dr Newnham has also developed a lengthy comments […]

Cindy Becker is the Director of Teaching and Learning for the School of Literature and Languages and also teaches in the Department of English Literature. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has been awarded a University of Reading Teaching Fellowship. She is an enthusiastic member of several University Communities of […]

Emily Parsons is a Senior Programme Administrator in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development (SAPD). Online assessment has been adopted throughout the SAPD, impacting academic and non- academic colleagues. In this case study, Emily outlines the experiences of her Support Centre team working with SAPD as an Early Adopter School. OBJECTIVES To reduce the administrative […]

Jeanne-Louise teaches design practice, theory and research skills across a range of genres and platforms. She is the Programme Director for the MA Creative Enterprise and the Pathway Lead for the MA Communication Design (Information Design Pathway). OBJECTIVES Typography has been keen to continue to support the move from offline to online submission, feedback and […]

OBJECTIVES I was interested in improving the efficiency of my marking, and liked the idea of having a digital record of written feedback to students. During the PSE induction for new tutors we were told that the University is moving towards e-feedback over the next few years so it seemed like a useful skill to […]

Rachel Warner, School of Arts and Communication Design Rachel.Warner@pgr.reading.ac.uk Jacqueline Fairbairn, Centre for Quality Support and Development j.fairbairn@reading.ac.uk Overview Rachel in Typography and Graphic Communication (T&GC) worked with the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team to rethink an assignment workflow, to improve the student/staff experience when dealing with video submissions. Changes were made to address student […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, Department of English Literature m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2017 I replaced the exam on a Part 3 module I convene (‘Margaret Atwood’) with an online learning journal assessment and I was so impressed with the students’ work that I sought funding to publish selected extracts in a UoR book, Second Sight: The Margaret Atwood […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk Year of activity 2016/17 Overview This entry aims to share the experience of re-designing and evaluating assessment in collaboration with students. It explains the need for developing the new assessment design and then discusses the process of implementing and evaluating its appropriateness. It finally reflects on the impact […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) is organising student focus groups as part of our TLDF-funded ‘Diversifying Assessments’ project led by Dr Chloe Houston and Dr Madeleine Davies. This initiative is in dialogue with Curriculum Framework emphases engaging students in Programme Development and involving them as stakeholders. […]

Dr Nicola Abram, School of Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry describes the use of online Learning Journals on a Part Three English Literature module. This method of assessment supports students to carry out independent research and to reflect on their personal learning journey, and rewards students’ sustained engagement and progress. Objectives To encourage […]

Dr. Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-6 Overview This entry describes the use of screencasts to deliver skills training on a compulsory Part One English Literature module. As a result of the changes outlined here, every student taking English Literature at the University of Reading will have access throughout their degree […]

Edith Rigby, Henley Business School e.rigby@henley.ac.uk Overview A review of existing University of Reading assessment advice and two staff workshops at Henley Business School to inform a new marker’s guide on fair marking and managing Academic Misconduct. The marker’s guide will specifically cover what to look out for and when and how to use Turnitin […]

Dr Emma Mayhew, Politics, Economics and International Relations e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview PLanT funding was used to research the impact of a new student feedback platform in Politics. Unitu creates an online student forum from which representatives pull issues onto a separate departmental board. Academics can then add responses and show if an […]

Dr Stanimira Milcheva, Henley Business School stani.milcheva@henley.reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We designed a simple game (called the REFinGame) which was aligned with the course material and launched it on Facebook. This approach, which could easily be applied to other discipline areas, was successfully used to enhance student learning and engagement with modules related […]

Dr Darius Widera, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy d.widera@reading.ac.uk Overview After a successful application to act as one of the early adopters of Blackboard Collaborate at the University of Reading, this technology platform was used for a series of cross-campus tutorials within the Fundamentals of Physiology (PM1AM) module between the University of Reading’s Whiteknights […]

OBJECTIVES To facilitate the administrative process in submission of summative assessment To inform module convenors and language teaching fellows of the tools supported by the University LMS Blackboard Learn To provide the opportunity to apply the above tools, gather experience and inform decision on best approaches and best practice To explore usability and applicability of […]

Dr Andrew Gabey, School of Mathematical, Physical and Computation Sciences a.m.gabey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview The University’s Atmospheric Observatory continuously collects high-quality environmental data, which is used heavily in teaching courses – particularly in Meteorology.  A new web-based system, due to go into service for the Autumn semester, has been developed under this project […]

Dr Robert Hosfield, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science r.hosfield@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Lykethos Overview The project tested different methods for producing and disseminating 3D models of existing artefacts in the teaching collections of Classics and Archaeology. 3D scanning was labour intensive and struggled to accurately represent some of the raw materials. By […]

Dr Hazel McGoff, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science h.j.mcgoff@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview This project established a library of digital images of our key mineral and rock specimens. Annotated explanatory labels were added to the images to create a resource that can be used to help students familiarise themselves with the specimens […]

Shirin Irvine – TEL Adviser, CQSD Overview For the academic year 2015/16, the Department of History offered a brand-new Part 1 programme as part of the History Project. This resulted in the development of three new core modules. Dr Mara Oliva transformed common practice by using technology to carry out full electronic assessment for her module. […]

Catherine Foley is a lecturer in Primary Maths Education in the Institute of Education. She is Director of the Primary School Direct programme which trains people to be teachers whilst they are working in schools. OBJECTIVES Catherine describes her experience of using the Feedback Studio to move from Word-based marking an assignment to full use […]

Find out more about how student-led audio lecture recording in Law helped aid revision and reduce anxiety around exam season.

Lauren McCann, Centre for Quality Support and Development   l.j.mccann@reading.ac.uk Chloe Houston, School of Literature and Languages   c.houston@reading.ac.uk In the 2009 hit film ‘Julie et Julia’, real life American office worker Julie Powell (Amy Adams) spends a year cooking her way through culinary legend Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and ‘blogs’ about it. […]

Natasha Barrett, School of Biological Sciences   n.e.barrett@reading.ac.uk Having attended a few Advance HE (HEA) conferences, this was my first time presenting at an external T&L conference.  I was quite nervous in advance – swatting up on the T&L literature, preparing fully copyright compliant materials (they publish your ppt) and rehearsing the talk to nail the […]

Emma Mayhew, Academic Director, EMA Programme e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk Geoff Taggart, Academic Partner, EMA Programme and Associate Professor, Institute of Education g.taggart@reading.ac.uk Michelle Reid, Study Advisor, The Library michelle.reid@reading.ac.uk When the EMA Programme ran a staff survey earlier this year, we were really interested to see the response to the use of the QuickMark function on Turnitin […]

Jeremy Lelean, Staff Engagement                                                                                                        […]

Daniel Kiernan & Graham Philpott, Henley Business School                                                                                              d.kiernan@henley.ac.uk  […]

Kate Fletcher, Sue Slade, Kevin Flint, Raj Vaiyapuri, Wee Kiat Ong, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy; Pharmacy Context MPharm Programme: Introduction to Professionalism and Practice Undergraduate (UG) students, Part 1 Number of participants in sessions: 20 (9 in the UK and 11 in Malaysia) Session length: 60 minutes Description  Part 1 students studying […]

Adrian Aronsson-Storrier, School of Law                                                                                                      […]

Richard Mitchell, Computer Science, r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk Preamble Earlier in the year, Laura Bennett and I wrote a blog on making Word and PowerPoint accessible, which reflected our experience of implementing the University’s policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available here. Since that blog was written, the University has included Ally into Blackboard, which provides […]

Amanda Millmore, School of Law,  a.millmore@reading.ac.uk Overview Faced with double-teaching a cohort of 480 students (plus an additional 30 in University of Reading Malaysia), I was concerned to ensure that students in each lecture group had a similar teaching experience. My solution was to “flip” some of the learning, by recording short video lectures covering content […]

Michelle Reid, Kim Shahabudin, and Sonia Hood, Study Advice The successful Study Smart online course will be running again for new Part 1 undergraduates, and will be launched to the new cohort on 28th August. Study Smart helps students make a smooth transition to university study by giving them a shared start point and by […]

Jonathan Smith is the School Director for Technology Enhanced Learning in ISLI (International Study and Language Institute). He is also a PSE (Pre-sessional English) Course Director and teacher of English. The Pre-sessional English programme accepts around 600 to 800 students each year. Their students develop English skills in academic writing, reading, speaking and listening. In […]

10 Days before the US election, almost 40 students and four academics from across England came together to debate the Trump v Clinton fight for the White House, using Blackboard’s Collaborate platform, writes Politics & IR Director of Teaching & Learning, Mark Shanahan. I’d first come across collaborate at a TEL Showcase event, and had […]

Dr Robert Jackson, School of Biological Sciences r.w.jackson@reading.ac.uk Overview An online learning environment was developed for a module, Microbiology Field Course (BI3B67), within the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). This online learning environment was used to facilitate staff and student communication while on a field trip, and was greatly successful, with students responding well to […]

Professor Lib Taylor, School of Arts and Communication Design l.j.taylor@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012-13 Overview The project explored how tablet technologies can be applied for teaching contemporary performance, through the creation of a Digital Performance Lab for use as part of the optional Part Three Contemporary Performance modules (FT3COA and FT3COB). Objectives Develop student employability […]

Dr. Alice Mauchline, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development; Dr Alastair Culham, School of Biological Sciences; Dr Karsten Lundqvist, School of Systems Engineering; Professor Alison Black, School of Arts and Communication Design; Dr Hazel McGoff, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science a.l.mauchline@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2013-14 Overview A mobile app was developed for the […]

Dr Karsten O. Lundqvist, School of Systems Engineering k.o.lundqvist@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview A flipped classroom approach was trialed for the Part Two Java module (SE2JA11) taught in the School of Systems Engineering.  Objectives Encourage students on the module to become deep-level learners, as they analyse, evaluate and create, rather than simply remembering and understanding. […]

Dr Christopher Voisey, Henley Business School c.j.voisey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview The core Part Two undergraduate module, International Business Management and Strategy (MM272), was redesigned on two pillars: teamwork, and social media (Facebook). Formal student evaluations were high and feedback from focus groups with students was very positive – students found the use of […]

Dr Jeanne-Louise Moys, School of Arts and Communication Design j.l.moys@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014–15 Overview The project explored what kinds of online resources BA Graphic Communication students engage with and need and, through an iterative design process (combining prototyping and user testing), developed a new online resource interface to support learning.  As a result, staff […]

Professor Jane Setter, School of Literature and Languages j.e.setter@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students and staff worked together during 2014-15 to develop the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics’ new compulsory Part One module Techniques and Skills for Applied Linguistics (LS1TAL), run for the first time in 2014-15, to make it more interesting, […]

Professor Michelle O’Callaghan, School of Literature and Languages m.f.ocallaghan@reading.ac.uk Overview The project ‘Teaching the Digital Text: Literature and the New Technologies’ employed two undergraduate research assistants to help in the design of a Part Three module that aims to introduce students to current research in the digital humanities and teach practical digital skills. Resulting from […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project aimed to build student expertise in managing task-based approaches to learning, foster active engagement in seminars including international students, and support students’ development of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) skills, through student-led revisions of a popular undergraduate module, with the […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project funded a small team of researchers and teaching practitioners from the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics to explore teaching and learning implications of the University of Reading’s pilot Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), A Beginner’s Guide to […]

Dr Ioannis Oikonomou, ICMA Centre i.oikonomou@icmacentre.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview This project reviewed the effectiveness of the ICMA Centre’s use of trading simulation software, a unique combination of problem-based learning and role-playing which uses modern technology.  While it was found that students enjoyed having access to trading simulation software for their learning, a number of […]

Dr Matthew Nicholls, School of Humanities m.c.nicholls@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2012-3 Overview Following on from the success of the Virtual Rome project, a Classics module was constructed to teach Part Three undergraduate students 3D digital modelling for the purposes of historical reconstruction. Student satisfaction with the module has been high, and students have benefited from […]

Dr Alan Renwick, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Our Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) award was used to fund the purchase of a laptop and recording equipment to help students in preparing materials for broadcast in the Politics Show on Junction11 Radio, the Reading University Students’ Union radio […]

Like a lot of people, I do not consider myself particularly savvy about technology: when I find that something is useful to me, I learn how to use it. That said, I think we can use learning technologies to come up with ‘low tech’ solutions to our teaching needs. Among the advantage is efficiency in […]

Barbara Goff, Director of Teaching and Learning, Classics              b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk In the Classics department we reckon we review our curriculum all the time.  We are constantly designing new modules that take cognisance of the latest research and share it with our students.  We teach with epigraphy and 3D modelling, we […]

Karen Drury, Liaison Librarian for Art, Typography and Graphic Communication, and Management Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser Kerry Webb, Associate Director (Academic Liaison and Support), The Library In a world of constant new teaching and learning initiatives, implementing the Curriculum Framework might seem like one more job to do. If you’re thinking that you could […]

Preamble Earlier in the year, Laura Bennett and I wrote a blog on making Word and PowerPoint accessible, which reflected our experience of implementing the University’s policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available here. Since that blog was written, the University has included Ally into Blackboard, which provides academics with a view on […]

Florian Roithmayr, School of Art and Communication Design                f.roithmayr@reading.ac.uk Overview The two-day workshop “Attention Please” engaged students across the School of Art and Communication Design and the School of Architecture in a series of exercises to re-focus and sharpen their attention onto different materials, in different settings, under […]

Shelen W H Ho, Henley Business School, University of Reading Malaysia                            shelen.ho@henley.edu.my “Academia isn’t for everyone!”  I was warned by my business associates when I decided to become a full-time academic in 2016, after spending decades working outside of the enclaves of […]

Richard Mitchell and Pat Parslow, Department of Computer Science                                r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk     p.parslow@reading.ac.uk The Department of Computer Science held a workshop recently to consider our use of Group Work. This was facilitated by Pete Inness, School Deputy DTL, and Pete Andrews […]

Michelle Reid, Kim Shahabudin, and Sonia Hood, Study Advice The successful Study Smart online course will be running again for new Part 1 undergraduates, and will be launched to the new cohort on 28th August. Study Smart helps students make a smooth transition to university study by giving them a shared start point and by […]

Nasreen Majid, Institute of Education, n.majid@reading.ac.uk All students on the BA Primary Education (QTS) programme develop a piece of research, entitled, Advanced Teaching Project (ATP). This blog entry summarises how the ATP conference is used to develop peer learning in order for part 2 students to learn from the research experiences of part 3 students. […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Emma Mayhew On Tuesday 22nd May 2018, over 150 colleagues from across the university gathered in the Meadow Suite to hear a series of presentations and to engage in conversations about the work that the EMA Programme has been doing to prepare for roll-out of online assessment and feedback. Colleagues […]

Dr Madeleine Davies (Department of English Literature) and Bethany Barnett-Sanders (Part 3 student, Department of English Literature) Engaging students in academic conversations outside the classroom presents challenges but recent activity in the Department of English Literature suggests that there are several ways of creating opportunities for this engagement. DEL has worked with Part 2 and […]

Preamble Last year the University agreed a new Policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/qualitysupport/Policy_on_Inclusive_Practice_in_Teaching_and_Learn.pdf. The implementation of this policy is being overseen by a working group chaired by Clare Furneaux, and one of its four subgroups, on Staff Training, has been chaired by us both. One aspect of the policy […]

We’re all hearing about the University’s new Curriculum Framework in meetings and training. But how do we start to put this process of alignment into action for individual programmes? Three Typography & Graphic Communication (T&GC) colleagues decided to thrash out a clearer strategy for achieving this objective for our BA Graphic Communication programme. Background In […]

On 31 January the Meadow Suite in Park House was a-buzz with an air of anticipation as attendees at the Curriculum Framework Conference munched on Breakfast Baguettes and gulped down copious quantities of fresh coffee and tea. Following a generous welcome and the obligatory identification of emergency exits, the morning’s session commenced with a thoroughly […]

Jonathan Smith is the School Director for Technology Enhanced Learning in ISLI (International Study and Language Institute). He is also a PSE (Pre-sessional English) Course Director and teacher of English. The Pre-sessional English programme accepts around 600 to 800 students each year. Their students develop English skills in academic writing, reading, speaking and listening. In […]

The EMA Programme has delivered a new function within RISIS that allows colleagues to see their students’ sub modular marks on the Tutor Card. We have all had access to the Tutor Card for some time and it has provided an invaluable snapshot of a student’s degree history, particularly useful for writing references and for […]

A successful TLDF application in April provided us with funds to explore the use of different lapel-mounted cameras to look into student-student and student-staff interactions within a practical laboratory environment. This work is still ongoing, but we have learnt some interesting lessons about buying lapel-mounted cameras along the way, and have also used them successfully […]

One of the highlights of 2017 for me was launching the FLAIR CPD scheme at the University of Reading Malaysia. A substantial part of my role involves talking to colleagues about their work to help them to develop ideas for their FLAIR CPD application. These conversations give me wonderful snapshots into the fantastic work happening […]

Overview: Each year a group of part 2 students from Meteorology make their way across campus to the Minghella Building to film weather forecasts in the professional “green screen” studio. As well as improving their forecasting ability this module also helps students to improve their presentation skills – a key employability attribute in many careers. […]

Context As the student population becomes increasingly international, the IWLP language class cohorts are becoming ever more diverse. It has become evident to tutors in IWLP (as throughout the University) that the linguistic, educational and cultural aspects of a student’s background can play an important role in their language acquisition, often helping some aspects while […]

Context In 2016, in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (DMLES), it was decided that the marking schemes used to assess writing and speaking skills needed to be revised and standardised in order to ensure transparency and consistency of evaluation across different languages and levels. A number of colleagues teaching language modules had […]

During December 2016, we had the chance to share our teaching and learning experiences here at the University of Reading with thousands of other educators around the world by providing a case study for a seasonal online course called ‘The 12 apps of Christmas’. The free, open, short, online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course was […]

I started university this year, or at least it feels like I have upon starting my new job as a Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences (PCLS). Every face around me is unfamiliar, the campus seems an unnerving maze, and simple processes have become logic puzzles. Oh the joy I felt […]

Dear pre-UoRM Dan (circa 2015), So, you’re looking forward to going to the University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) soon, right? Slightly daunting I’m sure, but you’ll be telling yourself that the UK campus already has a large international cohort and that teaching in Malaysia won’t be that different to what you have already been doing, […]

The Great Hall is the jewel in the crown of the London Rd campus and its cavernous interior gives it a unique atmosphere, ideal for reflective kinds of learning. I was fortunate enough to teach a session there in October and its dramatic, imposing space was a key pedagogical tool. The session lasted two hours […]

Being a student mentor for the Study Smart online course for Part 1 undergraduates has offered me an opportunity for personal development, through examining the perspectives of upcoming students to the University. It has allowed me to reflect on my university experiences, and develop further skills in communication. These are areas particularly important to me, […]

Over the course of the last academic year, the idea of creating a Language Teaching Community of Practice (LT CoP) has taken shape and developed as part of the University strategy to support and promote language learning and expertise in foreign languages teaching. A number of colleagues involved in language teaching or teacher education from […]

With the start of the new term most of us will focus once again on one thing: How can we offer the best teaching to all of our students? Many of us will also face a very similar challenge: Class sizes are getting bigger and the student cohort is becoming increasingly diverse. Some of you […]

In Spring 2017 the Student Success & Engagement Team partnered with Positive (and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust (CWMT)) to develop and deliver the Positive Minds pilot programme to 150 university students. The programme provided students with evidence-based cognitive and behavioural tools and techniques to manage pressure and build psychological resilience. The programme’s aim was […]

Leaner, Cleaner, Greener: How Reading’s assessment data is changing for the better. Dr Emma Mayhew (EMA Academic Director), Dr Madeleine Davies (EMA Academic Partner), Kat Lee (Project Manager, External) The Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA) Programme has been created to deliver the University’s long-term vision for online assessment while improving the underlying processes and supporting […]

For the past four year I have incorporated Flipped Learning into my teaching. Flipped Learning started in the United States in secondary education (Bergmann & Sams, 2012) and it has been expanding into higher education. The principal premise is that instruction moves outside of the classroom and class time is freed up for practice and […]

Language learning and disability: how to avoid the ‘avoidance’? When the university disability office was approached in 2003 by a new member of staff for guidance on the assessment of a dyslexic student enrolled on a language module, the reply was that students with dyslexia are better advised to avoid foreign language courses. Fast-forward to […]

Introduction: Students as Partners In recent years, there has been an increased appetite in higher education to explore and enhance the ways in which students can become more involved in the design and delivery of their own learning experiences. A prominent way of doing so is engaging students as equal partners in a range of […]

Anticipation and nervousness, with a hint of bewilderment and panic – we’ve all seen these looks on our new Part 1 undergraduates. As established members of Reading’s academic community, we often forget what it feels like to step into an unfamiliar learning environment. Our increasingly diverse undergraduate intake means that we must recognise the diverse […]

On May 2, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading, Sir David Bell, will formally launch ‘The Monroe Group’ a new interdisciplinary research group at the university focused around the politics and political history of North America and the Caribbean. I’m proud, alongside my colleague Dr. Maddi Davies from our English Literature Department, to […]

The inaugural ‘Gender, Sexuality and Identities Student Forum’ met on the first day of the summer term, launching a new initiative aiming to create extra-curricular platforms for student debate. I organised this new Forum to respond to our students’ expressed desire to extend conversations about the persistence of binary thinking and inequality beyond the immediate […]

As part of my quest to encourage students to learn broadly as well as encouraging them to engage with Italian deeply (J. Biggs, 2003), I have experimented with using the Chromebooks, which have been recently purchased by ISLI (International Study and Language Institute), in the classroom. Chromebooks are a great tool: they are quick to […]

The benefits of research-led teaching for both staff and students are well known. From the perspective of students, it encourages and facilitates deeper learning and engagement with complex intellectual issues in the course materials. In so doing, it gives the students the opportunity to develop critical and creative thinking. For staff, it offers the opportunity […]

Reluctance My application to the HEA through the FLAIR Scheme was a task I deferred for as long as possible. I did not have time; it looked too difficult; I had so many other things to do, including research, marking, teaching and administration. To indicate that I would get down to applying eventually, I attended […]

Background The UK pharmacy regulator, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), sets Standards for all UK Pharmacy Schools. The Standards stipulate that the undergraduate programme (MPharm) must provide students with practical experience in working with patients, carers and other healthcare professionals. This has led to a need to expand experiential learning within the pharmacy curriculum across the […]

A Collaborative Initiative between Dr Madeleine Davies (Department of English Literature), Dr Ute Wolfel (Department of Modern European Languages), Dr Tony Capstick (Department of English Language and Linguistics) and Dr Alicia Pena Bizama (Counselling and Wellbeing) PROJECT OUTLINE In December 2016 the three Senior Tutors of the School of Language and Literature (SLL) met to […]

Have you ever had to deliver lecture materials so cognitively challenging and dull at the same time, that your students either become utterly befuddled or fall asleep before you finish delivering them? I have. The conundrum I am the Module Convenor for a pharmacy practice module that focuses on pharmacy laws and regulations relating to […]

At the Curriculum framework conference on 25th January 2017, it was a delight to present with Sed Joshi, Diversity and Inclusion Sabbatical officer from RUSU on the topic of “How well do we know our students?” We gave staff a quiz, presented facts and figures about our students from the Annual Diversity and Inclusion Report, […]

I was blown away by Wednesday’s teaching & learning conference “Engaging everyone: addressing the diversity and inclusion expectations of the Curriculum Framework“. This was lead-organised by my CQSD colleagues, especially Nina Brooke, but as a collaborative effort across the T&L patch, working with the T&L Dean Elizabeth McCrum  and others, and with the RUSU Education […]

On a chilly week mid-November, Clare McCullagh and Angela Buckingham headed out of Heathrow to fly fifteen hours east to reach the ancient city of Nanjing in China. Colleagues at Nanjing University of Information, Science and Technology (NUIST) were waiting for us to deliver the Teaching and Learning Development Course, contributing to the University of […]

On the 10th November the University Teaching Fellows (UTFs) came together for their termly Community of Practice meeting. As chair of the Community for 2016/17, I welcomed all UTFs and outlined my focus for this academic year: “Raising the profile of UTFs”. It was our great pleasure to welcome Prof Gavin Brooks to this meeting. […]

10 Days before the US election, almost 40 students and four academics from across England came together to debate the Trump v Clinton fight for the White House, using Blackboard’s Collaborate platform, writes Politics & IR Director of Teaching & Learning, Mark Shanahan. I’d first come across collaborate at a TEL Showcase event, and had […]

Student Charter ActivitiesStudent Charter ActivitiesHave you heard of the University of Reading Student Charter? Have you used the Student Charter with your students? Although many colleagues can recall it being launched a few years ago, fewer staff and, crucially, even fewer of our students are really aware of what the Charter is, or how it […]

Context As the student population becomes increasingly international, the IWLP language class cohorts are becoming ever more diverse. It has become evident to tutors in IWLP (as throughout the University) that the linguistic, educational and cultural aspects of a student’s background can play an important role in their language acquisition, often helping some aspects while […]

Introduction In July this year, four members of teaching staff from the International Study and Language Institute (ISLI) headed up north to this year’s InForm Conference.  InForm is a journal published by ISLI and widely read by international foundation programme professionals across the UK.  Its annual conference this year was held at Durham University and […]

There can’t be many more nerve-wracking oral exams than the PhD viva. A several-year build-up –and then… what? To give research students an impression of what’s it actually like on the day, Dr Carol Fuller from the Institute of Education has produced a short, entertaining and informative video. Using some Teaching and Learning Development Fund […]

Students engagement with recommended academic resources is key to developing a deeper understanding of their discipline and, ultimately, a more satisfying and stimulating educational environment. Seamless access to resources cited on reading lists has been much improved over the last 14 months with further investment in Library e-resources and the implementation of the Talis Aspire […]

With the start of the new academic year it is always a good idea to reflect on current practices and plan the year ahead. As the incoming chair for the Community of Practice (CoP) of University Teaching Fellows (UTF) I found myself reflecting on the identity and the purpose of this group. What is the […]

Teaching of large cohort sizes is becoming more and more prominent at Universities. Many colleagues will have experienced this and also faced the challenges which come with teaching large class sizes. I am delighted that the University decided to support our research into large class size teaching with the special aspect of diversity. Rachel Pye […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Introduction As joint staff leaders (together with Dr Nora Honkala) on the current Law Feedback Project, we recently presented a paper exploring aspects of the project to the second annual Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship Conference, held at University College London on 28-29 June 2016.  This blog post explains a little about the Law […]

Group work is an integral part of assessment at university but students rarely arrive equipped with the skills, experience and knowledge to deal with the challenges they face when working in groups. This can be a cause of anxiety for students and also a time consuming intervention for lecturers. Henley Business School approached Study Advice […]

In February 2016, we presented at a one-day English for Academic Purposes (EAP) conference at St Andrews University, showcasing Reading’s ‘English Language for Chemists’ module, a collaboration between the International Study & Language Institute (ISLI) and the Department of Chemistry.  As it turned out,  collaboration between EAP and subject study departments, and its power to […]

I’ve gained more knowledge regarding the module & find it easier to ask for help. (Maths PAL participant) [PAL] is a more interactive way of working, more group work, some sharing about 4th year placement and the usefulness of this module for next year (S&L Therapy PAL participant) It’s great to see people leave sessions […]

Transition to university is often geared towards students from an A-level background, so are we doing enough for students with vocational qualifications starting at Reading? Recent research from UCAS shows that one in four university entrants has done a BTEC (Havergal, 2016). Issues such as culture shock, work/life balance, different assessment methods, and the perception […]

The Teaching-Focussed Academic Staff Network, whose inaugural conference was hosted by the University of Durham on 16th and 17th July, now has a dedicated website. When we read the call for papers of the conference, entitled ‘Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship’, we realised that besides providing an opportunity to share innovative scholarly activities across […]

As the new academic year starts it seems a good time to focus on the Community of Practice of University Teaching Fellows (UTF). It is a growing community of teaching enthusiasts who are not only committed to teaching innovation and excellence, but to continuing professional development of themselves and their colleagues.  As incoming chair of […]

Breaking down Barriers has kicked off the academic year with a workshop in inclusive design with our new Part 1 typography students. Today we had our first session for the BA Graphic Communication Integrated Design Methods module. The students engaged with the new SEE-IT sight exclusive prototype for assessing visual inclusion/exclusion (currently being developed by the […]

Consider these classroom examples. In an architecture class, students are invited to spend time examining natural materials they have found and to use their forms as the basis for a structural design. In a module on the philosophy of mind and how it interacts with the body, tables are pushed back and undergraduates engage in […]

Readers of this blog may recall Dr Patricia (Paddy) Woodman’s “Hot tip: Student-led peer learning: a win-win for everyone” posted on January 2015.  She wrote then that “The University of Reading is about to appoint a peer assisted learning co-ordinator and launch a number of trial schemes in 2015/16.”  Happily, I am that peer-assisted learning […]

The Twenty-second International Conference on Learning was held in Madrid on 9th-11th July 2015. It attracted over 300 delegates from the academic and professional arena across the world: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, […]

PLanT stands for Partners in Learning and Teaching. The project allows students and teachers to work together in order to improve a module using a small pot of money to fund meetings, focus groups and equipment. As a small group four of us (Jess, Emily, Daria and Meg) worked with our lecturer Clare Wright in […]

Online reading list systems can be seen as an easy win for the lazy student: ‘spoon-feeding’ them with the sources they need rather than encouraging them to develop their independent research skills. However, we believe that the new online reading list system at Reading will offer opportunities for tutors to boost their students’ independent skills […]

In Autumn 2014, the Department of Chemistry welcomed their first cohort of final year students studying for the [3+1] BSc Applied Chemistry course from NUIST, China. By January, we could already see that there were some valuable lessons that we could learn from these students. We decided to carry out a review, asking all students […]

On June 15th, Begin Robotics began – the second massive open online course (MOOC) from Systems Engineering running on the FutureLearn platform. One of its aims is to interest potential students in the areas of robotics, cybernetics, artificial intelligence and electronic engineering – following the success of Begin Programming, which we know has attracted students […]

With ever-increasing speed it seems we have reached that time of year again when teaching is finished, exam results are calculated and our thoughts start to turn from the current academic session to planning for the next one. This offers some time to reflect on successes and think about the areas of teaching where we […]

On 24 April, 2015: 40 academic educators from 19 institutions came together to discuss key issues in MOOC design and implementation. The one-day workshop, hosted and funded by the University of Reading, a leading member of the FutureLearn MOOC consortium, offered the opportunity to evaluate practical lessons in designing and delivering MOOCs, particularly in relation […]

Intro URL: http://peterloveland.com/development/plant/ The PLanT project is a University funded programme that is designed to get students involved with the design and delivery of strategies regarding teaching and learning. If an application is successful, the group is rewarded £500 to see the project through. We as a group, applied for one of these grants, using the […]

Earlier this summer term, the Minghella Building hosted a lunchtime pop-up research exhibition under the theme of ‘Screen Relations’, which featured the research undertaken by Film, Theatre & Television students as part of their final assessment for the Part 3 module Television and Contemporary Culture. Led by myself as the convenor, the Spring term of […]

Academic staff acting as Library Representatives for their school or department, other teaching and learning experts, and Library staff came together over lunch recently for their fifth annual Community of Practice meeting. Its theme was skills development within the curriculum and showcased collaborative work in one department to establish information literacy levels required at each undergraduate stage. One definition of information literacy […]

About 10 years ago I was intrigued when a colleague described taking exams at an Australian university, where he was given a blank sheet of paper on which he could write anything he wanted to take into the exam. He referred to this as a ‘cheat sheet’. I was familiar with both open and closed […]

  The University is investing in an online reading list and digital content management system from Talis Aspire. Implementation at Reading begins at Easter 2015. This initial phase will involve Library staff transferring all 2014-15 reading lists (which have existing copyright cleared scans associated with them) on to the new system, ready for review and […]

LLAS (Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies) recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the annual e-Learning Symposium at Southampton. During the past 10 years the e-Learning Symposium has provided an area where academics and educators in the field of linguistics and languages have had a common place to share innovation, creativity and results […]

Student-led peer learning or peer assisted learning (PAL) is popping up in all sorts of universities up and down the land and is gaining momentum as a global phenomenon. It has been in an existence in the UK since the early 1990s and has been described as a win-win for everyone involved. The University of […]

How many times have you heard people say that the Reading student population is becoming more diverse? But what do they mean and what are the implications? Often they mean that they/we are struggling to cope with what feels like the ever increasingly list of different needs for different ‘types of students’. Any quick skim […]

On this day, exactly two years ago, I sat in my study staring at Blackboard. 212 little green symbols were showing in Grade Centre. 212 3,500 word essays needed to be marked in the next three weeks. And they didn’t just need marks. Each of them needed a page of rich, detailed feedback, often crucial […]

This is not a topic that has had much airing within the University and so it may not be well known to many. However, we have just completed a substantial project exploring the issue at Reading and are set to do more work in the near future in preparation for submitting an institution-wide application for […]

So you’re a lecturer at Reading and you find yourself going over and over information in handbooks, course outlines, books and journals with students-anything from tricky academic concepts to essay writing and ECFs. Of course it’s difficult in an age of information overload. Really important stuff gets lost and sometimes it’s hard to make our […]

This is my new recipe for extending the academic year and helping to welcome our new students. As with any new recipe, some bits of it went really well and some aspects of it were less impressive – and there was one moment when I was in danger of failing to cook up any learning […]

The University of Reading now has ‘KiteSite’ – a free, bespoke mobile app for biodiversity recording on the Whiteknights campus. KiteSite has been designed as a generic tool to support field training in biodiversity and taxonomy at the University and it can be used in any module for field data collection. There is a supporting […]

There are many things that spring to mind as influencing student success, but did you know that research carried out across 21 UK universities (under the auspicious of the HEA, HEFCE, Action on Access and the Paul Hamyln Foundation) determined that the number one factor is that students need to feel a ‘sense of belonging’. […]

A short while ago I wrote the post “Group work: sure, but what about assessment? This outlines a TLDF- funded project in which Cathy Hughes and I investigated tools for the peer assessment of group work. Cathy and I have now produced a full report, which is available for download here (Cathy Hughes and Heike Bruton […]

Last year I wrote all about the pedagogical value of cake in my seminars. This year I want to extend this notion and talk about the value of croissants and coffee as a means to encourage student engagement and develop further a sense of community in the department. I knew from my experience with cake […]

This post relates to activities carried out on the EU ERASMUS Intensive Programme grant awarded to University of Reading to fund 10 students from each of Belgium, Germany and the UK, plus 5 staff in total from the three countries, to travel to Akureyri in Iceland. Once there, the grant funded a 2-week residential field […]

I’ve just returned from a visit to the University of Reading Malaysia where I was delivering the first half of Module 1 of our new APP (Academic Practice Programme) to members of staff over there. (Sam Weston posted a blog message here about this after our first day). It was a fascinating visit for me […]

We are living in an increasingly digital world; many of our students grow up immersed in this way of life, having access to a wealth of information online, often accessible wherever they are. But how do they use this appropriately in their learning, and how do we help them harness all of this information? These […]

Today in Johor Bahru, academic staff from University of Reading Malaysia embarked upon Day 1 of the first module of the Academic Practice Programme, being delivered by Clare McCullagh from the UK campus. All began well, despite jetlag and complications with fonts conspiring to throw her off-stride! The day began with an introduction to EDMAP1 […]

For colleagues who may be interested in current research advances which may affect how we understand and practice learning and the role of agency and community in the class (involving all co-participants as a human community of practice), this inter-disciplinary theoretical conception may be informative. The problem which may be relevant to any settings of […]

The GRASS (Generating Resources and Access to Screen capture Software) project aims to enable, enhance and support access to screen capture technology across the University. It is a Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) maxi-project which will run for two years and, although the official launch is in September, we are already excited by what […]

Dear Colleagues of this University, I thought it may be worthwhile sharing via our blog the news on an exciting inter-disciplinary research in Henley Business School’s Centre of Social and Organisational Studies (CSOS) in association with the Centre of Economic History of the University.  Specifically on June 17, 2014 I organised an international academic symposium […]

On 4th June at London Road, CQSD ran their first writing retreat for UoR staff embarking on the pilot FLAIR CPD programme, to document their previous teaching experience and apply for HEA recognition at Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow and Principal Fellow status. The day began with a tag-team presentation from Clare and Nina outlining […]

Given the focus on the research-teaching nexus within the University at present I thought it would be useful to post a short video on the University’s involvement in an international journal that only publishes student research. Bioscience Horizons was established about 8 years ago, with Reading as one of the consortium members. The link below […]

Background Students on the BA (QTS) in Primary Education juggle conflicting roles right from the beginning of their programme. On the one hand they are undergraduate students with all that entails – getting to grips with being away from home, managing their social lives and budgets, learning how to become academically independent. On the other, […]

Background There’s a lively community of academics researching postcolonial literature, both across the UK and internationally. Many of us also enjoy the privilege of teaching these texts at undergraduate and postgraduate level, often on increasingly popular courses. Here at Reading, that includes modules on ‘Black British Fiction’, ‘Nigerian Prose Literature’ and ‘Writing Global Justice’ in […]

Group work has many well-documented benefits for students, but it also provides considerable challenges. A frequent complaint from students is that differences in contributions are not recognised when everyone in the group receives the same mark – the free loader issue. However, when students are working unsupervised, it is very difficult for the tutor to […]

Engaging with literary representations of ‘race’, racism and ethnicity This workshop offers university teachers of literature a forum to reflect on texts that enquire into the construction of ‘race’, the practices of racism, and the representation of ethnic difference. Delegates will articulate the ethical value of such teaching and evaluate relevant practical approaches, working together […]

Facebook can be a distraction to learning but it can also be an aid. I believe strongly that lecturers should do their best to make their subject interesting to students.  It can be an uphill battle.  However, this year’s experiment in using Facebook as a student engagement technology with a first year Photosynthesis class of 300 […]

Like many colleagues, I have attended a number of interesting talks on the ‘flipped classroom’ approach, whereby, in a role reversal, the main delivery of information takes place outside of the classroom, and the contact time is used instead for reinforcing learning. I haven’t quite identified yet how I can make use of this approach […]

In the Department of English Literature all of our Parts 2 and 3 modules are available as placement modules, allowing a student to identify (with our help) a suitable placement provider and work with the module convenor and me to craft a placement project or activity which links to the learning on their chosen module. […]

Getting young people to engage in the political process appears to be a problem all across western democracies. Politics and politicians seem remote from the young and the gap between the Baby Boomers and Generation X figures holding the reins of power and the Millennials now making their way through university appears ever wider. This […]

There is an on-going multi-disciplinary, student-led project at the University of Reading to create an app for recording biodiversity sightings on the Whiteknights campus. This project was funded by the Teaching & Learning Development Fund and is currently engaging students, staff and external natural history groups alongside design and technology experts to create and customise […]

Have you ever wondered if students actually read their handbooks? Many probably don’t get all the way to the end and miss out on crucial information. If handbooks aren’t always delivering then how can we communicate with our students in a more engaging, captivating and accessible way? One solution is video. It’s much, much, easier […]

In an effort to rise to the challenge of increasing the employability of graduates, staff from Reading School of Pharmacy worked in a cross-faculty collaboration with colleagues in Henley Business School to develop the UK’s first Post-Graduate Certificate in Business and Administration available to undergraduate MPharm students. This clearly fits with the 2013-15 teaching and […]

As a recipient of funding under the PLanT (Partnerships in Learning and Teaching) scheme (PLANT Projects Scheme), I am delighted to be able to report on the project – which is still a bit of a work in progress.  The PLANT awards are aimed at facilitating projects which get students involved with staff as partners […]

Seneca the Younger (4 B.C. – A.D. 65) was a famous Roman statesman and stoic philosopher. As the young Nero’s tutor, he at some point was de facto Rome’s Emperor by all but the title. His Epistulae Morales (‘Moral Letters’) constitute a major part of his philosophical work. The 108th epistle of that collection provides […]

I was thrilled to be heading to the Gordon Research Conference on ‘Chemical Education Research and Practice’ in Newport, Rhode Island, thanks to an ‘Activating Chemistry Education Research’ bursary from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Having been to Gordon Conferences in the past, I was familiar with the format: busy mornings of talks, free afternoons […]

Niccolò Perotti, the Italian humanist, preserved a collection of fables ascribed to the ancient Roman fabulist Phaedrus. This collection, commonly known as the Appendix Perottina, contains a poem called Prometheus et Dolus (‘Prometheus and Trickery), subtitled De ueritate et mendacio (‘Of Truth and Falsehood). It reads as follows: Olim Prometheus saeculi figulus noui cura subtili Veritatem […]

The Digital Development Forum in July was an ideal opportunity to begin sharing some of the thinking and planning around Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) that has been happening over the last 6 months. In January 2013 the TEL Strategy Group was established, chaired by Professor Gavin Brooks and with representation from across the University.   The […]

Library Info tips have been a feature of our website since 2009 but how well-known and used are they? Which are the most popular? These bite-sized articles, which are aimed at developing students’ academic and research skills, cover topics that are relevant to all students, such as: Referencing Finding specific types of materials such as […]

Many of us enjoy attending the University’s T&L Showcase Series of seminars, as not only do these events give an insight into the exciting things going on across the University, but they also give us food for thought with regards potential teaching enhancements we may wish to try out ourselves. It was somewhat with this […]

At an away day prior to our Periodic Review, staff had an opportunity to have some creative dialogue around how we can better support our postgraduate students. This came up as a response from some thought provoking feedback from our current students when asked how we can improve. International students, students with English as an […]

The use of the free open source GIS package “Quantum GIS (QGIS)” is increasing slowly but steadily and for many purposes provides a viable alternative to commercially produced software like MapInfo and ArcGIS. QGIS is licensed under the GNU General Public License. Data indicates that interest in QGIS, as measured by the relative number of […]

I recently attended this QAA event on MOOCS in London for the University. Speakers included David Willetts, the Minister for Universities and Science, and Sir Timothy O’Shea, Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh University which has been running 6 MOOCs for the last year (including very popular courses on philosophy and on equine health). The guiding topic […]

On Wed 5 June, rather too many people crammed into rather too warm a room to hear about where we are going wrong when teaching students about referencing practices – and a suite of teaching materials that will hopefully help us avoid such pitfalls. Our speaker was Diane Schmitt, Senior Lecturer in EFL/TESOL at Nottingham […]

The academic year 2012-13 has been a dynamic time for the SSLC of the BA Ed programme. In response to results on the NSS and internal evaluations, two sub-committees were set up to focus on specific areas for development within the course: Organisation/communication and Assessment/feedback. This student input has resulted in many changes. For example, […]

1.  Dr Nicholls, you are particularly interested in the digital modelling of ancient buildings and places, especially the city of Rome, and you are currently talking to Cambridge University Press about a book and related digital / app publications as well as showcasing your work at the up-coming Higher Education Academy Storyville Conference.  Why did […]

  As we continue to develop OSCAR the online student community in Art our students are becoming more involved and more integral to the development of the project. Together we are researching innovative ways to integrate the social network, designed to support our studio modules, across all of our programmes in Art. We have been […]

1.          How long has the Department of Philosophy offered the Part One ‘Reason and Argument’ module (PP1RA) and why have you decided also now to offer a new Part Two module ‘Truth and Bullshit’ (PP2TBS)? The module ‘Reason and Argument’ was offered for the first time last year. It is a revised version of a […]

1.       Why has the Department of History decided to introduce the third-year module History Education? The idea for History Education arose from two coincidental events in mid-January 2011.  A message landed in my inbox calling for applications for Faculty of Arts and Humanities ‘Think Space’ funding for curriculum-development projects to enhance student employability.  Earlier the […]

With the news that the University’s personal tutorial system has been under review (Issue 2, T&L Reading), we thought it would be useful to highlight how we have been successfully combining pastoral and academic responsibilities of a personal tutor. In the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, for the last three years we have operated a […]

On Thursday 18th April, the HEA hosted a conference in Bristol, showcasing some innovative uses of old technologies as well as demonstrating the cutting edge of new tech used in the delivery of teaching materials to undergraduates in medicine and dentistry. We attended in the hope that some of these ideas might be adaptable for […]

The University of Reading recently hosted the Classical Association Conference, the UK’s largest annual meeting for Classicists. As well as research papers, the CA traditionally hosts panels exploring the teaching of the subject at both school and University levels and covering new developments. Classics, despite its ancient subject matter, has always been at the forefront of modern […]

My paper on the project What did I do wrong? Supporting independent learning practices to avoid plagiarism was well received in Manchester last week at LILAC. What is the project about? It is one year project at the University of Reading involving collaboration between Library staff (including a Study Adviser); staff from the International Study […]

This month sees the publication of my latest book, Teaching in Higher Education, written with Professor Pam Denicolo and published as part of the SAGE series Success in Research of which we are editors. I suppose it is inevitable, given our busy lives, that we do not always have the time to analyze all the ways in […]

Dr Elizabeth Page and Professor Matthew Almond developed an online distance learning course in 2011-2012 with funding support from the National HE STEM programme. The distance learning course entitled ‘Fundamental Analytical Techniques for Industry’ encompasses a host of analytical chemistry techniques typically used in a variety of scientific industries – pharma, food, agrichemicals etc. The […]

The T&L away day in September 2011 focused on the theme ‘Building an Undergraduate Research Community’. Arising from these discussions a group of staff met to investigate ways in which undergraduate research at Reading might be more effectively showcased across the institution (and beyond). The group has expanded since its conception in 2011 and now meets once […]

Even more online support has been made available for students here at Reading seeking work placement and graduate employment. A new online tool dedicated to helping students find opportunities within the life sciences industry has been launched this month by the Biopharma Skills Consortium (BSC), which is led by the University of Reading and comprises seven universities […]

The recent announcement that Reading has been selected as a partner in the Futurelearn project to provide free online courses is an exciting move towards new ways of engaging with a potentially massive cohort of students. However, concerns have been expressed about the lack of support for students studying the courses, especially those run by […]

The Careers, Placement and Experience Centre’s investment, thanks to a grant from the Annual Fund, in a software package for virtual fair technology, has enabled the service to extend its traditional offer of careers fairs and provide students with a virtual environment in which to interact with employers.

Congratulations to Matthew Nicholls, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics, who has been shortlisted for a prestigious Learning on Screen Award by the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUVFC) in the Courseware and Curriculum Non Broadcast/Multimedia Award category. Here is a short clip from Matthew’s entry, ‘Digital Modelling of Ancient Rome and the Roman World’: […]

The Internationalising Student Support COP has been established with the remit to offer opportunities for staff involved with and interested in the development and enhancement of student support and experience in relation to internationalisation; to share best practice and discuss current challenges and opportunities for providing a high quality international student experience for all students. […]

Every year, students on the first year Analysing Museum Displays optional module have a talk from Dr Amy Smith at the Ure Museum, looking at the display there about the Greek symposium. This year I put the lecture online along with a transcript, photographs of the display, and a worksheet. I told them to use […]

The new placement guide has been written for all University staff involved in managing student placement options, internships, work placement programmes and volunteering schemes in and outside of the curriculum.operational processes involved in managing placements, alongside the details of key people within the University who can provide support. The guide also refers to national guidance […]

In the Department of English Literature we have been working hard, as have so many of our colleagues across the university, to make the most of the intellectual, personal and career advantages that placement learning can offer our students. We have devised a system of academic placements which is open to all undergraduates studying in […]

I was asked to contribute this after the Business School scored highly in the NNS survey for Management & Business degrees, and was invited to focus on things the School has done that have contributed to the maintenance of and improvement in our NSS scores that might be shared. The category includes our Accounting programmes, […]

Forrest (Forensic Research and Teaching) is an annual conference partly organised by Higher Education Academy. Two of the strengths of this meeting are its multidisciplinary nature; chemists, biologists and physicists meet with lawyers and that it genuinely brings together research and teaching – both areas inform each other during the meeting.

As part of its remit, the Higher Education Academy offers professional recognition to its members – colleagues are able to apply to be an Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow or Principal Fellow. I was very recently successful in gaining recognition as a Senior Fellow, the first at the University of Reading. The process is relatively […]

The University of Reading is a project partner in a prestigious project to develop a multi-agent based intelligent tutoring system to support online teachers, trainers, tutors and learners: I-TUTOR. I-TUTOR, which stands for Intelligent Tutoring for Lifelong Learning is to be applied in open source learning environments, and will monitor, track, analyze and give formative assessment and feedback […]

Recently, we had the opportunity to participate in the Teaching & Learning Showcase event on ‘Flexible Learning’, put together by the CDoTL team, during which we presented the Existing and Emerging Biotechnologies (EEB) Framework. You can read more about our presentation on our blog: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/bioscience-skills/tflexible-learning-presentation.

Having students say they are 100% satisfied with what we offer is not an everyday occurrence.  This is what happened in Clinical Language Sciences in the 2012 NSS.  All of the students who responded said they definitely agreed with the statement: “Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course”.  We were obviously extremely […]

It is important that students turn up for our three hour laboratory practicals suitably prepared, but just providing the Lab Scripts in advance is not enough, as often students don’t read them! Now in Systems Engineering we embed a series of questions throughout the Scripts which are available on Blackboard in the form of a […]

Avant-Propos The University of Reading, like any other Higher Education Institution, is a diverse place, with many stakeholders, but – at least in theory – one mutual mission: ‘our mission is to educate talented people well, to conduct outstanding research, and to promote the responsible application of new knowledge.’ Unsurprisingly, the various stakeholders have diverse, […]

Late in September 2012 we received our National Student Survey (NSS) results: 98% overall satisfaction across the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, including a perfect 100% for our BSc Mathematics programme, putting us (obviously) first place for all G100 courses, and second place in the Mathematics and Statistics (JACS code 3) table. A number of […]

The University Strategy for Teaching and Learning identified “communities of practice” as key vehicles for informal dialogue with the ‘academic voice’ and for mutual support, for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of good practice between different role groups involved in the whole University teaching and learning agenda. The Internationalising Student Support COP has […]

The University of Reading is part of a three-year HEA-funded project considering the use of technology in fieldwork. The project is now in its final year and has led to the production of a wide range of resources and publications which can be viewed on the project website at http://www.enhancingfieldwork.org.uk. Alice Mauchline and Julian Park […]

An eye-opening T&L seminar, presented by Dr Neil Morris (University of Leeds) outlined how terribly, terribly easy the majority of our undergraduates find using technology…of all kinds! Having seen his short video clip about how one of his students used his tablet to video record a lecture, whilst simultaneously annotate lecture slides provided on the […]

Avid readers of this blog might recall that I completed the University’s Teaching and Learning Support Programme in 2011. I recently took the opportunity to complement this valuable training by attending a subject-specific event run by the Council for College and University English, at Keele University. The event began with a fruitful workshop on close […]

‘What did I do wrong?’ may be a sadly familiar phrase to tutors when notifying students of poor academic practice in their written work. It was chosen for the title of our collaborative TLDF-funded project because it captures the confusion and lack of understanding which is characteristic in student responses to plagiarism and poor academic […]

Last week’s T&L seminar, by Dr Neil Morris, on the use of technology in enhancing the student experience was a superb overview of the array of technology that our students seem to be familiar with and that many institutions are incorporating into teaching.  A key highlight for me was the data that Neil was able […]

Significant effort at the University of Reading has been focused on all aspects of Internationalisation. In the School of Biological Sciences, we are working toward enhancing Global Employability of our students (both home and overseas) to produce high quality, highly competitive Global Graduates. Our vision of a Global Graduate will be someone who is highly […]

I am excited to announce the launch of OSCAR the Online Studio Community at Reading. This new digital platform has been developed to support the vast range of teaching and learning activities that happen across studio modules in Art, within the department itself but also off-campus and internationally. While the studio remains an important environment […]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6OjCAq5u-TQ Our Teaching & Learning Showcase Series continued yesterday with a session on ‘Sharing good practice in the use of Turnitin’. Turnitin is an online service which allows educators to check students’ work for similarity with other sources as a tool for plagiarism prevention and development of academic writing skills. Turnitin automatically generates an ‘Originality Report’ with a […]

In September British baking was celebrated during National Cupcake Week. The BBC’s Great British Bake Off has been tremendously popular. Niche cup-cake shops have been springing up on the high street…and quite right. Most of us love cake. With this in mind, last year I introduced a 10 minute break in the middle of my […]

Having sketched out my pedagogical interest in combining the teaching of critical practice with a close study of Samuel Beckett’s work in the first part of this blog post double bill, let me now tell you more about the actual teaching project itself: after a series of lectures, seminars, presentations and workshops, I give the […]

Here in Film, Theatre & Television, over the last couple of years, I have been fortunate to be able to devise an interesting teaching project that draws on the Department’s long-standing expertise in teaching critical practice, the Faculty’s expertise on the work of Samuel Beckett, as well as the University’s unique resources, including the facilities […]

I have been working with a placement student, Rachel Glover, a third-year undergraduate in Politics and International Relations, to carry out research into digital literacies for student employability, focusing on the University’s extra- and in-curricular work placement schemes. This research is part of the Digitally Ready project (www.reading.ac.uk/digitallyready), a JISC-funded initiative under the Developing Digital […]

The Department of History has been running a module for Part 2 students called Historic Themes in Practice (HTP) for the last three years. It is an innovative module in conception, organisation and structure. It is designed to make second year students enlarge their views of career possibilities, particularly within the heritage sector, and learn […]

Like a lot of people, I do not consider myself particularly savvy about technology: when I find that something is useful to me, I learn how to use it. That said, I think we can use learning technologies to come up with ‘low tech’ solutions to our teaching needs. Among the advantage is efficiency in […]

By Helen Bilton, Institute of Education (NTFS 2012) I had never heard of the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, nor the University Teaching Fellowships, until a colleague who had achieved the status of University Teaching Fellow came and talked to our research group about the achievement. I actually was having a very bad day and missed the […]

I have previously blogged about my trip to ALT-C in Manchester. In the same week I went to the RAISE Conference in Southampton. The Researching, Advancing & Inspiring Student Engagement day was my first opportunity to speak about some of the findings of our research so far. At the last-minute, my supervisor Nadja Guggi had […]

As usual, it was great to see so many colleagues at a Teaching and Learning away day – it always reminds me how much we all care about this important aspect of our lives as academics. I enjoyed this session especially because I met several colleagues with whom I have never worked before. Two of […]

There are an exciting range of T&L seminars, showcases and events taking place this term. See the CDoTL website for further details at http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/cdotl/NewsandEvents/cdotl-LatestNews.aspx

The term internationalisation is thrown about very easily in HE nowadays, so I enjoyed a recent opportunity to sit around a table and discuss pedagogy and policy in detail with two visiting academics from the Sudan University for Science and Technology (SUST). As Academic Staff Development Managers in CSTD my colleague Nina Brooke and I […]

The 19th international conference of the Association for Learning Technology ( University of Manchester, UK, 11-13 September 2012) was buzzing with 700 participants, where I had the opportunity to attend some excellent sessions and to keep a watching brief on what is happening in the HE sector in terms of learning technologies and pedagogy. Below […]

The Study Advice team found David Nutt’s post (Preparing to turn the classroom upside down, 14th Sept 2012) very timely as we too are embarking on a project to ‘flip’ the classroom. Flipped learning has been a significant driver in the increase in open online courses for higher education. It has been used in higher […]

I think it was at the HEA-STEM conference (London, April 2012) in a talk given by Prof Simon Bates from the University of Edinburgh (now at the University of British Columbia) that I first heard of the “flipped” or “inverted” classroom. The basic premise really appealed to me: contact time with lecturers is limited and […]

Technology has played a core role in supporting learning and teaching on the GG2FC Crete Field Class module. The module typically enrols 30 students who work in small groups collecting data and evidence to solve Human and Physical Geography related problems in Sfakia, SW Crete. In previous years groups have completed daily blog entries or produced short […]

When I got appointed as a Lecturer in 2010 I found that I had to do the PGCAP course as part of requirements for my probation. Initially I did not feel happy about this. I had quite a heavy teaching workload and also the pressure to develop research papers and grant proposals. I certainly felt the […]

In July, Rob Jackson and Ben Neuman led nine Part 3 students from the School of Biological Sciences to the University of Akureyri in Northern Iceland, about 100km south of the Arctic circle. At UnAk, they met with Dr Oddur Vilhelmsson, his PhD student Auður Sigurbjörnsdóttir and 8 Icelandic Masters and undergraduate students. This was the inaugural joint UK-Icelandic module, […]

Museum ethics, display design and object-based research are some of the areas for which online resources are being developed in a JISC-funded project between the University of Reading, University College London and the Collections Trust. The project, called Object-Based Learning for Higher Education, prioritises usability and aims to make the resources part of syllabuses. On […]

The 2011/12 academic year saw a teaching initiative that brought together two of the University’s distinguished departments, Meteorology and Film, Theatre & Television, using the excellent facilities in the Minghella Building. Second year undergraduates in Meteorology have for some time undertaken a module that partly involves ‘bench’ forecasting, when they learn, for example, how to […]

I was glad to find out recently that I’m a Digital Hero. Though disappointed that the title does not appear to confer any super-powers, I’m glad that the University recognises the innovative work that many of us are doing in our different fields – Reading feels like a place that values digital innovation and encourages […]

Four mini-reports have been published by the NUS following a 12 month, QAA commissioned, research project into the UK higher education student experience. Below are the links to each of these reports which have the following themes: Teaching and Learning; Independent Learning and Contact Hours; Subject Differences and First Year Student Experience. Teaching and Learning […]

Completing the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) portfolio provided the perfect opportunity for me to reflect on teaching and learning and how my approach has developed over the years. I was surprised at how well I mapped onto Kugel’s five ages of a lecturer (1993). I certainly started out at stage 1 (self) where […]

Digitally Ready for the Future: Sharing Good Practice Thursday 19 July 2012 10.45 -15.00, Agriculture Building The digital age has presented Higher Education with our greatest opportunity. We have new techniques, new technologies, changes in student expectations along with a phenomenal increase in access to information. Amongst our colleagues are early adopters and forward thinkers […]

Fieldwork is an important component of Higher Education in a number of subjects. As a Learning Space it provides good educational opportunities for students; including the teaching & practice of skills such as observation, data recording & analysis to report writing and teamwork. Two University of Reading staff members, Julian Park and Alice Mauchline (together […]

The TEDx-style conference Od „Ala Ma Kota” Do E-Matury brought together typographers, designers, publishers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and policy makers from different European countries, to explore the correlation of the design of educational materials and efficiency in education. The UK was represented by Gerry Leonidas from the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, who spoke about […]

Still smiling at the end of their introductory seminar in June, these students are pioneering an exciting addition to the BA History programme, allowing them to test and develop their interest in teaching careers before applying for postgraduate teacher-training. Thanks to Faculty of Arts and Humanities Teaching and Learning ‘Think Space’ funding, and much appreciated […]

I mentioned in my last post for this blog that I’d attended some Higher Education Academy workshops in order to develop my teaching practice. I’d like to share a little about my most recent outing, Teaching Post-Millennial Literature (University of Brighton, 2nd July 2012) [http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/detail/2012/seminars/disciplines/DW238]. Attending this one-day symposium was thoroughly invigorating. The presentations ranged […]

I’m surprised and thrilled to have won the University of Reading’s Teaching and Learning Support Programme Portfolio Prize! I’m looking forward to attending the Teaching and Learning Awards ceremony on the 18th September, where Professor Gavin Brooks, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), will make the presentation. Let me explain… I’ve had the privilege of contributing to […]

Those of you who attended the University/RUSU debate on the motion that Part One should count towards students’ degree classifications (30th November 2011) will recall the persuasive arguments presented by both teams (see the Part One Debate summary for a reminder). Like me, you may have found your initial conviction in one side of the argument wavering […]

  Way back in October 2011, at the beginning of the Autumn Term, Parts 2 and 3 English students were told about a fantastic opportunity. We were now able to go and seek experience beyond the university and go on a placement as part of any module in our year. This would be an integral […]

The 2nd May saw CDoTL host an exciting event billed as ‘Exploring Student Engagement at Reading and Beyond’. Attending as a students’ union staff member with a passion for student engagement on a local and national level, I was excited to get the chance to hear about different viewpoints and approaches – especially from Scotland, […]

Last month I attended the first part of an afternoon conference on ‘Exploring Student Engagement at Reading and Beyond’, which took place in the Agriculture Building at Reading University. Towards the end of Cathy Bovill’s excellent keynote talk I asked the following: “Shouldn’t we be thinking about why we want to engage students in the curriculum? […]

The Institute of Education’s move to the refurbished London Road site has provided an opportunity for the University to show a willingness to become more actively involved in the cultural life of the town. By way of seizing this opportunity, all schools and arts organisations within a 30 mile radius were invited to attend an […]

There is good news for staff concerned with placement provision, particularly those involved for the first time. A new Placement Guide for Staff will provide quick reference points for managing the different types of placement and provide answers to FAQs. Once approved, it will be on the Web for easy search and update. In the […]

Shortly after receiving the news that I had been made a Teaching Fellow of the University I found myself talking to a number of colleagues from other institutions involved in teacher education. I must admit to being a little embarrassed when my host, who I had told about the Fellowship in a quiet conversation, introduced […]

On Wednesday 18th January 2012 CDoTL played host to a visit from colleagues from the Teaching and Learning Unit (‘Ionad Bairre’) at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. Professor Grace Neville (VP Teaching and Learning), Dr Bettie Higgs and Marian McCarthy (Co-Directors of Ionad Bairre) spent the day meeting with the CDoTL team to find out […]

Professor Nick Battey, School of Biological Sciences n.h.battey@reading.ac.uk Overview A module for Part Three students was created by a collaborative effort between the Department of English Literature, the Department of History, and the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), called Science in Culture. This module was well-received by students, who found value in obtaining the perspective […]

Cathy Hughes and Heike Bruton, Henley Business School catherine.hughes@reading.ac.uk Overview Online peer assessment systems were evaluated for their suitability in providing a platform to allow peer assessment to be conducted in the context of group work. Objectives To establish the criteria against which peer assessment systems should be evaluated. To evaluate the suitability of online […]

Dr Natasha Barrett, School of Biological Sciences n.e.barrett@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2010/11 Overview Objectives Review the quantity, type and timing of assessments carried out in compulsory modules taken by students in the School of Biological Sciences. Recommend better practices for assessment and feedback. Context The massification and marketisation of Higher Education means that it is […]

Catherine Foley, Institute of Education c.m.foley@reading.ac.uk Overview With interactive whiteboards becoming a well-established feature of English primary schools classrooms over the last decade, it is vital that the primary Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) programme taught at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education prepares it graduates to be confident and competent in using interactive whiteboard technology […]

Ali Nicholson, International Study and Language Institute       ali.nicholson@reading.ac.uk  Overview Between 2016 and 2018 we have run a Tandem language scheme, whereby students studying a language with the Institution-wide Language Programme (IWLP) are paired up with a native speaker student, usually (though not always) a Visiting student.  Once introduced, the students spend one hour […]

Angelique Chettiparamb and Lucy Newton, Henley Business School a.chettiparamb@reading.ac.uk; l.a.newton@henley.ac.uk Overview Four enterprising and enthusiastic students from different programmes in Henley Business School enquired into the effectiveness of School/University measures to enhance and promote academic integrity. The students were Eilish McDonald, Hetvi Shah, Prinal Shah and Tillie Hunter The project leads were Dr Angelique Chettiparamb […]

Caroline Crolla, Student Success and Engagement Team, Student Services c.s.crolla@reading.ac.uk  Overview Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a globally recognised scheme where more experienced students who have already successfully completed a module work with students who are studying the module for the first time.   One hour, weekly PAL sessions are run by trained and experienced student […]

Nasreen Majid, Institute of Education                                                                                            n.majid@reading.ac.uk Overview All students on […]

Alison Nader and Ali Nicholson, Lecturers, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                          […]

Professor Stavroula Karapapa, School of Law                          s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2015/2016, we substantially redeveloped our postgraduate provision in commercial law through the introduction of a pioneering, student-engaging, research-informed and multidisciplinary set of postgraduate pathway programmes. Contrary to the programmes previously in place, the new […]

Kim Shahabudin & Helen Hathaway, Library (Study Advice)    k.shahabudin@reading.ac.uk                                                                                            […]

Stephanie Sharp, Lecturer, Institute of Education                                  s.sharp@reading.ac.uk                                                                  […]

Dr Karen Jones & Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education        karen.jones@reading.ac.uk     m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk                                         Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview This entry describes a project which, with funding by the University of Reading Teaching and […]

Alina Maroukian, Henley Business School                                        a.maroukian@henley.ac.uk                                                              […]

Nathalie Folkerts, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science nathaliefolkerts@gmail.com                                                                                           […]

Alison Fenner, Lecturer, International Study and Language Institute  j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk                                                                                             […]

Sonia Hood, Study Adviser, Library                                                             s.hood@reading.ac.uk                                       […]

Dr Despoina Mantzari, School of Law d.mantzari@reading.ac.uk Overview In June 2016 I was awarded a small University of Reading Teaching and Learning grant with the objective to involve a group of ten postgraduate taught students from the School of Law as partners in the process of redesigning the curriculum of a core postgraduate taught module. […]

Dr Francoise Mazet, Biological Sciences f.m.mazet@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We developed BARS (Bioscience ARticles for Reading Students), a blog showcasing the written work of Part Three students from the School of Biological Sciences. The blog is managed by students working closely with academic staff. This project will increase students’ awareness and skills that […]

Holly Sandford, Arts & Communication Design Overview Students in the Department of Art created a student-led experiential post-studio practice, DISCOMFORT, for Part Two students and teachers that challenges boundaries and restrictions within our art course (and ourselves), and encourages participatory, experiential sessions and activities, within and outside of the studio. Objectives Build two-way working relationships […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Bethany Layne, School of Literature and Languages m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry offers a model of the way in which the aims embedded in the Curriculum Framework can be articulated via student engagement with research-led activity. Here we discuss the Framework-related teaching and learning benefits of involving our students centrally in […]

Dr Elizabeth Matthew, School of Humanities e.a.e.matthew@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012/13 Overview A collaborative project between the Department of History and the Institute of Education developed an innovative module in History, History Education (HS3HED), allowing Part Three students to test and develop their interest in teaching by undertaking and reflecting on a two-week subject-specific placement […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview During the summer of 2016 we applied for £300 from the funds of Teaching and Learning Dean Dr David Carter and were awarded the full amount. We were keen to develop our professional development scheme for students in the School of Literature and Languages, […]

Dr. Stavroula Karapapa, Law s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview Research Placement Project (LW2RPP) is a module developed within the School of Law that aims to provide Part Two students with a hands-on experience of the academic research process, from the design of a project and research question through to the production of a research output. It is an […]

Professor Elizabeth Page, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy; Aaron Woodcock, International Study and Language Institute e.m.page@reading.ac.uk, a.e.w.woodcock@reading.ac.uk Overview Two complementary modules within the Department of Chemistry, English Language for Chemists (CH3ENG) and Health and Safety and Professional Skills (CH3NUI), were created to support students recruited from the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology […]

Dr Katherine Harloe, School of Humanities k.c.harloe@reading.ac.uk Overview All options in Classics Special Options (CLMSO) are research-led and arise directly from current research projects of academic staff. Students greatly enjoy learning about topics of current research within the subject, and members of staff report that they find teaching on their specialised topics of research interest […]

Dr Lotte Meteyard, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences l.meteyard@reading.ac.uk Overview Statistics teaching to Speech and Language Therapists within the Department of Clinical Language Sciences was redesigned in response to module evaluations. Whereas students had previously reported anxiety about statistics and struggled to appreciate the relevance of statistics to their practice, the introduction of […]

Stuart Lakin, Law s.j.lakin@reading.ac.uk Overview In a Part Two Law module, Public Law (LW2PL2), we have moved away from the conventional exam to a take-home exam. We publish the exam paper on Blackboard at an arranged date and time. We give the students approximately 48 hours to complete and submit their answers electronically. The impact […]

Professor Elizabeth Page and Dr Philippa Cranwell, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview Group-based research projects have been introduced into the BSc Chemistry programme for final year students. Small teams of students investigate different aspects of a research problem, each working on a separate strand. The results are combined and overall […]

Shweta Band, Law s.band@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview The name ‘Legal Seagulls’ represents all overseas students in the School of Law. I initiated the Legal Seagulls Experience Plan in 2015-16 as a three-step support initiative to enhance the academic and university-life experience for our overseas students. This includes the Pre-arrival Academic Welcome Kit (PAWK), […]

Jackie Skinner, Library jackie.skinner@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview This is an ongoing project to devise and implement a framework of skills to be developed by undergraduate students in Food and Nutritional Sciences throughout their degree programme. I have worked closely with staff in the Department on this project and so far it has resulted […]

Professor Elizabeth Page, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Overview A series of skills based modules running through the three years of the BSc and MChem Chemistry programmes has been developed. The aim is to promote independent learning and the development of academic and employability skills through subject specific material and activities. This entry describes the […]

Dr Ciara Healy, Arts and Communication Design c.healy@reading.ac.uk Overview This case study presents some approaches taken in the Department of Art to encourage relationship building between different cohorts of students and all members of staff. The majority of activities took place in the first 6 weeks of the Autumn term and focused especially on Welcome […]

Professor James Green, Law j.a.green@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2007-08 Overview Since 2007, the Law School has run a Part Three module entitled ‘International Law Mooting’. This is a highly innovative module, where a team of four students participate in the prestigious Telders International Law Moot Court Competition. The competition involves the team presenting written – […]

Dr Richard Harris, Institute of Education r.j.harris@reading.ac.uk Overview The focus of this work is on what I do and how I try to ensure that the curriculum I create reflects the diversity in society; this in turn impacts on the trainee teachers I work with and how confident they are in teaching a more diverse […]

Dr Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-6 Overview This entry describes the diversification of a core Part One English Literature module, Research & Criticism (EN1RC). As a result of the changes outlined here, every graduate of English Literature at the University of Reading will have encountered Anglophone texts from across the […]

Dr. Andrew Charlton-Perez, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences a.j.charlton-perez@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview A flipped learning approach to teaching the part 3 and part 4 module, ‘The Global Circulation’ (MT38A/4YA) in Meteorology was developed and tested. This approach was very successful, encouraging students to apply complex ideas to real-world problems. Objectives Develop a new set […]

 Dr Amanda Callaghan, School of Biological Sciences a.callaghan@reading.ac.uk Overview The Cole Museum of Zoology (the Cole) houses a number of satellite collections for use in outreach, teaching and learning. In 2014 we transferred 50% of the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science (SAGES) fossil collection to the Cole and in 2015 acquired the other […]

Dr Robert Jackson, School of Biological Sciences r.w.jackson@reading.ac.uk Overview An online learning environment was developed for a module, Microbiology Field Course (BI3B67), within the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). This online learning environment was used to facilitate staff and student communication while on a field trip, and was greatly successful, with students responding well to […]

Professor Paul Almond, School of Law p.j.almond@reading.ac.uk Overview A project to encourage students enrolled on a Part Three module within the School of Law, Criminology (LW3CRY), to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the links between criminological theory and policy, through a redesign of the Assessed Work project contained within the module. Results have suggested […]

Professor Richard Mitchell, School of Systems Engineering r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk Overview Adjustments were made to teaching, assessment, and feedback in a Part Two module within the School of Systems Engineering, Neural Networks (SE2NN11), successfully using three-staged laboratory practicals in order to encourage students to use neural networks on a ‘real world’ application. Making these changes saw an […]

Dr Arpita Bose, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.bose@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2011/12 Overview A modified problem-based learning approach was developed and implemented in Communication Impairment 3 (PL2CI3/PLMCI3) within the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences.  While the adoption of this approach was unpopular with students on the module, there was a […]

Professor Helen Parish, School of Humanities h.l.parish@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview The project investigated recent research and practice in peer assessment and feedback in order to implement a peer assessment model for use within History, and develop a framework for the adoption of said model in cognate disciplines where evaluation of substantial text-based assignments is […]

Professor Lib Taylor, School of Arts and Communication Design l.j.taylor@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012-13 Overview The project explored how tablet technologies can be applied for teaching contemporary performance, through the creation of a Digital Performance Lab for use as part of the optional Part Three Contemporary Performance modules (FT3COA and FT3COB). Objectives Develop student employability […]

Dr Sarah Cardey, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development s.p.cardey@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2012-13 Overview A virtual placement was created with the C4D Network, allowing student taking Communication for Innovation and Development within the Graduate School for International Development and Applied Economics (GIIDAE) to benefit from professional mentoring and networking, improving their employability as […]

Dr Louise Johnson, School of Biological Sciences l.j.johnson@reading.ac.uk Overview In the School of Biological Studies a module, Seminars in Biology (BI3S78) was created, utilising the existing research seminar series within the School to structure assessment. The module is easily adaptable for other subject areas, and has proved very popular with students, and has aided in […]

Helen Hathaway, Library; Clare Nukui, International Foundation Programme; Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Advice; Dr Elisabeth Wilding, International Study and Language Institute h.m.hathaway@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012-13 Overview The development of an Academic Integrity Toolkit for academic tutors to draw on, which collated evaluated teaching and support resources for supporting the development of independent learning practices […]

Dr. Alice Mauchline, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development; Dr Alastair Culham, School of Biological Sciences; Dr Karsten Lundqvist, School of Systems Engineering; Professor Alison Black, School of Arts and Communication Design; Dr Hazel McGoff, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science a.l.mauchline@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2013-14 Overview A mobile app was developed for the […]

Dr Karsten O. Lundqvist, School of Systems Engineering k.o.lundqvist@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview A flipped classroom approach was trialed for the Part Two Java module (SE2JA11) taught in the School of Systems Engineering.  Objectives Encourage students on the module to become deep-level learners, as they analyse, evaluate and create, rather than simply remembering and understanding. […]

Dr Federico Faloppa and Dr Chiara Ciarlo, School of Literature and Languages f.faloppa@reading.ac.uk Overview The project successfully developed an introductory module in general linguistics, with a focus on foreign language specific issues for Part Two students who choose to do a single or joint honours language degree.  Providing a module for the teaching of linguistics to Modern Languages […]

Dr Christopher Voisey, Henley Business School c.j.voisey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview The core Part Two undergraduate module, International Business Management and Strategy (MM272), was redesigned on two pillars: teamwork, and social media (Facebook). Formal student evaluations were high and feedback from focus groups with students was very positive – students found the use of […]

Dr Jeanne-Louise Moys, School of Arts and Communication Design j.l.moys@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014–15 Overview The project explored what kinds of online resources BA Graphic Communication students engage with and need and, through an iterative design process (combining prototyping and user testing), developed a new online resource interface to support learning.  As a result, staff […]

Professor Jane Setter, School of Literature and Languages j.e.setter@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students and staff worked together during 2014-15 to develop the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics’ new compulsory Part One module Techniques and Skills for Applied Linguistics (LS1TAL), run for the first time in 2014-15, to make it more interesting, […]

Dr Ute Wolfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Finalist students from German, French and Italian organised a public film season of four films (German, French, Spanish, Italian) with Reading Film Theatre (RFT) on ‘Children in War’ to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The students chose […]

Dr Philippa Cranwell, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy p.b.cranwell@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014/15 Overview The project assessed the impact of the intake of a cohort of 16 3+1 BSc Applied Chemistry students on the existing undergraduate students on programmes within the Department of Chemistry (approximately 72 students, on both BSc and MChem programmes), and […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview In order to allow a module offered within the Department of English Literature to map onto the needs of the professional world, a PLanT project was created to gain input from professionals on the development and delivery of the module. As a result, […]

Dr Amanda Branson, Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.branson@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project focused on identifying challenges faced by mature students studying alongside full time employment, and developing ameliorative practices and resources. Structured interviews conducted with 40 current students and alumni revealed barriers including weak IT and study skills and role conflict. […]

Professor Michelle O’Callaghan, School of Literature and Languages m.f.ocallaghan@reading.ac.uk Overview The project ‘Teaching the Digital Text: Literature and the New Technologies’ employed two undergraduate research assistants to help in the design of a Part Three module that aims to introduce students to current research in the digital humanities and teach practical digital skills. Resulting from […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project aimed to build student expertise in managing task-based approaches to learning, foster active engagement in seminars including international students, and support students’ development of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) skills, through student-led revisions of a popular undergraduate module, with the […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project funded a small team of researchers and teaching practitioners from the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics to explore teaching and learning implications of the University of Reading’s pilot Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), A Beginner’s Guide to […]

Dr Ioannis Oikonomou, ICMA Centre i.oikonomou@icmacentre.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview This project reviewed the effectiveness of the ICMA Centre’s use of trading simulation software, a unique combination of problem-based learning and role-playing which uses modern technology.  While it was found that students enjoyed having access to trading simulation software for their learning, a number of […]

Dr John Latsis, Henley Business School j.s.latsis@henley.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview In the postgraduate module Managing People and Organisations (MMM048), provided by the School of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour, assessment methods were altered in a manner that was mindful of the increased internationalisation and marketisation of UK Higher Education, in order to assist the […]

Dr Matthew Nicholls, School of Humanities m.c.nicholls@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2012-3 Overview Following on from the success of the Virtual Rome project, a Classics module was constructed to teach Part Three undergraduate students 3D digital modelling for the purposes of historical reconstruction. Student satisfaction with the module has been high, and students have benefited from […]

Alison Fenner, International Study and Language Institute j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2012-13 Overview The scheme provided training for students to act as Language Learning Advisors (LLAs) to Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) and Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES) students, providing peer support for developing language learning strategies.  The scheme is popular, and has […]

Dr Graham J. Holloway, School of Biological Sciences g.j.holloway@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students (mostly BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation students) carried out species identification activities in The Centre for Wildlife Assessment and Conservation on Wednesday afternoons. Students were encouraged to ‘adopt’ and focus on a taxonomic group (or community) to acquire deep learning. […]

Dr Alan Renwick, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Our Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) award was used to fund the purchase of a laptop and recording equipment to help students in preparing materials for broadcast in the Politics Show on Junction11 Radio, the Reading University Students’ Union radio […]

Dr Stefán Thór Smith, School of the Built Environment s.t.smith@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2014-15 Overview Active learning methods were explored, and the Environmental Quality and Well-being module (CEM236EQW), a week intensive module offered by the School of the Built Environment, was amended to incorporate suitable active learning methods, improving student satisfaction and engagement.

Dr Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview This entry describes the use of screencasts to deliver skills training on a compulsory Part One English Literature module. As a result of the changes outlined here, every student taking English Literature at the University of Reading will have access throughout their degree […]

Dr Mark Dallas, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy m.dallas@reading.ac.uk Overview Within the School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, coursework on a Part Two Pharmacy module, Therapeutics and Medicines Optimisation B (PM2B), was redesigned to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the new module. In their assessed work, students demonstrated a better appreciation of the interconnectivity […]

Rita Balestrini in the Department of Languages and Cultures reflects on the T&L possibilities of Microsoft OneNote in blended learning environments.

Reports the findings from interviews with students about how placements at Masters level should be assessed.

This case study explores the development of a student forum for disabled students within the Charlie Waller Institute.

In this case study, we reflect on how PCLS designed induction booklets for UG programmes, and how they helped students with the transition into higher education.

Find out how Cong Xia Li and her colleague Asako Partington created the virtual exchange projects for their students.

Dr Ekililu Salifu discusses using constructivism learning theory to achieve the objectives of a decolonised curriculum in a pseudo-technical subject area like accounting.

Dr Bahram Mahmoodi Kahriz explores an authentic assessment involving peer feedback for undergraduate students in Henley Business School.

Find out how students and staff in the Department of Languages and Cultures worked together to help peers prepare for the Year Abroad by creating channels to share their experience and advice.

This case study outlines how a carousel technique, whereby trainees complete a small group project then present the outcome to their peers, has been adapted for breakout rooms in Blackboard Collaborate.

A scholarship of teaching and learning informed collaborative study into personal development teaching on apprenticeship programmes by Elizabeth Houldsworth (Henley Business School) and Emma Watton (Lancaster University Management School)

Focusing on the use of student voice to support transition into university, this article discusses a successful Teaching and Learning Enhancement Project (TLEP) where videos were produced to help share key messages with new undergraduates.

This case study by Julia Abery in SMPCS outlines the process of designing a tailored masters-level authentic assessment with the aim of increasing student engagement and promoting transferable skills.

This case study by Amanda Millmore in the School of Law focuses upon the work of our student-staff partnership project working together on a new elective first year module. Focusing on the role of student partners acting as peer mentors we aimed to support the transition of new students into university and provided a bridge into the Law School community.

This case study by Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries Shweta Gosh outlines how film/TV accessibility tools such as captions can be used to teach filmmaking skills, facilitate creative thinking and create awareness about disability and accessibility.

Peer feedback is underutilised in many disciplines. In our study, we wanted to find out the conditions under which peer feedback works, how it is received by students, and ways to remove barriers to its successful implementation.

This case study from Anjali in the CWI outlines how the student voice was used to collaboratively adapt a specific teaching format for postgraduate students on placements.

This article reports on the joint Institute of Education / Department of Computer Science Leverhulme funded project concerned with improving online learning for three groups of students.

How the IoE trained primary teaching students in using Lego Spike Prime kits as tools for delivering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning. This was based on models of ‘training the trainer’ and ‘resource lending’ for maximum efficiency of resources.

Is hybrid learning, with a seminar leader teaching some students online whilst others learn in the classroom, something we should continue to offer in our teaching? A case study from a seminar leader in the Department of English Literature. *It is worth noting that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This post reports the findings of a 2021 ISLI pilot study on the use of hybrid/hyflex teaching and learning methods in teaching contexts which require multiple teacher-student and student-student interaction patterns. It should be noted that hybrid teaching is not currently university policy and is not recommended for use.

This article discusses a PlanT project undrtaken by the school of Food and Nutritional Sciences with the aim of enhancing the student experience through assessment. The (TESTA) methodology was used to develop a programme focus assessment strategy that could lead to a reduction in volume and improved distribution of assessment, and overall enhance student and staff experience

This case study outlines the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) team’s process of merging timetables for two sister programmes in response to department restructure, and the subsequent curriculum implementation review that inevitably followed.

This article outlines the thinking to drive programme development through student focus groups across three IOE programmes.

This case study outlines how SBS integrated academic tutoring into undergraduate core skills modules to give greater support for academic skills development and engagement between tutors and tutees.

PEBLSS (a Partnership to Enhance Blended Learning – between Staff and Students) was a project seeking to strengthen teaching and learning in SLL. It particularly focuses on enhancing methods of teaching and learning amidst the extraordinary conditions faced by staff and students which has resulted in the transition into blended and online learning.

Find out how ISLI used the OneDrive cloud repository to promote student-student and student-teacher interaction on two Foundation year modules, including our rationale, implementation, examples and student reflections.

This article outlines the re-thinking of how to deliver the science practical elements of the subject knowledge enhancement programme (SKE) due to the impact of Covid-19 in March 2020 and a move online.  This focuses on what we learnt from the practical elements of the programme delivery online as it required students to engage in laboratory activities to develop their subject knowledge skills in Physics, Chemistry and Biology related to school national curriculum over two weeks in June and July 2021. 

Learn more about this PLanT funded student-staff partnership project which amplified the voices of students with disabilities and long-term conditions in the School of Law and led to the adoption of recommendations about how to improve blended learning.

This article discusses how teaching staff in ISLI converted paper-based learning materials to an online format, so that students on our summer Pre-sessional programme, could work independently and receive, where appropriate, automated feedback on tasks.

This article details Will and Allan’s work aimed at providing evidence based guidance to Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) on the MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) course. It contains practical advice, tools, strategies and reflections on how students can be supported to manage their wellbeing and workload over the course of their placement year.

Read Vicky Collins approach to addressing the challenges of remote learning, student engagement and new technology within ISLI. This article details an internal peer review event on the theme of ‘Managing synchronous online teaching.

Professor Andrew Wade details a method of encouraging students to engage with diversified assessment in the form of field based practicals. The aim was to provide students with a safe and supportive environment in which to develop confidence in using a variety of context specific research methods, applied to what are often ‘messy’ and ‘complex’.

This article outlines the re-design, necessitated partly due to COVID-19, that was undertaken for the Part 1 chemistry module, CH1PRA, which services approximately 45 students per year.

Shelley Harris reflects on the experience of taking Employability events online for creative writing students

Dr. Allan Laville School of Psychology & Clinical Languages Sciences In this 14 minute video, early rubrics adopter Dr. Allan Laville shares how he and colleagues in Psychology have sought to improve student assessment literacy, and have successfully engaged students with their assessment rubrics by embedding analysis of them into their in-class teaching and by […]

This case study outlines approaches to fostering an active learning environment on the University’s first fully online Undergraduate Pre-sessional Course.

Ed Tew shares his thoughts in the final of his three posts on flipped learning.

Ed Tew shares the ‘in-class flipped’ idea and explores ways to apply it in an online platform such as Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.

Find out how, whilst in lockdown, Amanda Millmore measured the impact of the new Academic Tutor System (ATS) on students in the School of Law, capturing their experiences, both good and bad, with a view to making improvements.

Find out more about the impacts following ISLI’s pilot of paired Oral exams.

Find out how a TLDF mini project helped to improve Pharmacy student’s transition from our Malaysia campus to our Whiteknights campus.

This case study outlines ISLI’s process of creating a version of the Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP) for 1-1 online delivery.

Dr Edward Tew reflects on Flipped Learning and its application during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Case Study details how SLL produced new student-facing physical and online posters, designed by a ‘Real Jobs’ student, to instruct students on finding their feedback online, and generated ‘marking checklists’ for staff to indicate what needs to be included in feedback and what needs to be avoided.

The PLaNT project involved the co-creation, with students, of a series and podcasts and other materials for Contract Law (LW1CON).

Find out more how ISLI moved to full online teaching in four weeks.

This case study outlines the process of rapidly converting the Academic English Programme (AEP) to online, and reports student feedback and reflections on the experience.

Allán Laville (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Libby Adams (Research Assistant), SPCLS Overview This project aimed to design a new alternative assessment to form a part of the MSci Applied Psychology course which puts emphasis on the practical sides of training as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP). This included utilising problem-solving […]

Find out how Professor Cindy Becker created a YouTube channel to reassure students that she is still here, still wants to teach them, and is as keen to stay in touch as they are.

Find out how SAGES provided their students with the field-based teaching elements of their courses when access to sites was impossible.

Dr Alison MacLeod from SAGES outlines her experience of running an 100% online exam.

How did it go? What was the student opinion? Did they hate it? Would there be a mass protest? Read more to find out.

This account explores how the Academic Practice Team re-designed three full days of face to face teaching from the Academic Practice Programme into two mornings of synchronous online teaching using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology) and Charlotte Field (Research Assistant and student on MSci Applied Psychology) Overview To improve access to psychoeducational materials by addressing the diverse needs of those accessing Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services. We worked on creating materials that could be used to describe […]

Zainab Abdulsattar (student – Research Assistant), Tamara Wiehe (staff – PWP Clinical Educator) and Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk, (Dean for D&I and Lecturer in Clinical Psychology). School of Psychology and CLS. Overview To help Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology students address the emotional aspect of engaging with and interpreting assessment feedback, we have created a Blackboard […]

Dr Allán Laville, a.laville@reading.ac.uk , Chloe Chessell and Tamara Wiehe Overview To develop our assessment practices, we created electronic assessment overviews for all assessments in Part 3 MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) programme. Here we reflect on the benefits of completing this project via a student-staff partnership as well as the realised benefits for students. Objectives To […]

Dr Sonia Hood, Study Advice Manager, writes how helping students’ to understand their grades is key to their success.

Melanie Jay and Suzy Tutchell, Institute of Education The Project Seeds of Diversity was an ambitious, enriching and highly creative project drawing together the University of Reading’s community of teachers and learners to produce a collaborative and evolving sculptural installation. This innovative project celebrated the University’s roots and growth over the past 90 years as well […]

Will Hughes – School of Built Environment (Construction Management & Engineering) Overview The personal capture pilot project helped me to develop and test ideas to advance what I had been previously trying using YouTube. One important lesson for me was that shorter duration videos better engage students. I also learned how to record videos featuring […]

Rebecca Bullard, School of Literature and Languages, r.bullard@reading.ac.uk Overview ‘A-level Study Boost: Unseen Poetry and the Creative Process’ is a two-week online course created by staff and students in the Department of English Literature and the Online Courses team, and hosted on the social learning platform, FutureLearn. It engages a global audience of learners in reading, writing, […]

Ed Collins – School of Agriculture, Policy & Development Overview Personal capture software was used as a method of coaching, facilitating good study practice and identifying milestones for students in order to develop excellent assignments over two modules at undergraduate level. The impact of the project delivered was two-fold. From a student’s perspective, it enabled […]

Calvin James Smith – Department of Maths & Statistics Overview We created short videos advertising the content of modules to enable students to make more informed choices during the module selection process. Staff reported mixed experiences and interest in Mediasite personal capture so other mechanisms were also used (e.g. Camtasia, use of camcorder). Student feedback […]

Dr Rhianedd Smith – University Museums & Special Collections Services Overview This project looked at creating extension videos to help people to access behind-the-scenes and professional skills from museums and heritage sites which could not be delivered in class. It also allowed revision for skills which might be lost due to issues around memory in […]

Gita Persand – Henley Business School Overview The main motivation for me to use personal capture was to create short videos (lasting six to seven minutes), explaining various financial concepts in Excel. I teach Financial Modelling (a practical hands-on module, taught in a computer lab) to Part 2 students, for which I created the videos using the Mediasite software. I then uploaded them to Blackboard (via a video library) for this module. I was consulting with colleagues working with me on using […]

Elisabeth Koenigshofer – School of Literature & Languages Overview As part of the Personal Capture Pilot Project, I had many ideas to create videos for my students to enhance their learning. Eventually, I created one video that students could refer to if they needed support when adding a post to a blog on Blackboard, which was one […]

Jo Stringer – Henley Business School (Real Estate & Planning) Overview I created catch-up screen-casts for the first two live sessions of my postgraduate Law module. These enabled students to catch-up live sessions missed.  The screen-casts were accessed by 25% of the students and the feedback was very positive. Key finding: the students want more recorded […]

Amanda Millmore, Law, a.millmore@reading.ac.uk  Alison Cox, PCLS, a.cox@reading.ac.uk Overview This was a collaboration between 2 schools (Law & PCLS) to introduce students to the work of Registered Intermediaries in Court in a practical way by offering co-curricular training. Registered Intermediaries are communication specialists who work in criminal cases to assist vulnerable people with significant communication difficulties to communicate […]

Catherine Langran, Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy Daniel Mercer & Selen Morelle, MPharm Part 4 students, School of Pharmacy Background Throughout the Masters of Pharmacy degree (MPharm) students undertake experiential learning in hospital and community pharmacies. Experiential learning through placements is an important approach to teaching and learning; providing a safe learning environment […]

Kat Hall,  School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, k.a.hall@reading.ac.uk Overview The Centre for Inter-Professional Postgraduate Education and Training (CIPPET) provide PGT training for healthcare professionals through a flexible Masters programme built around blended learning modules alongside workplace-based learning and assessment.  This project aimed to evolve the department’s approach to delivering one of our clinical skills workshops […]

Dr Allán Laville, Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In the training of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), teaching must include a focus on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) as well how this relates to ethical practice. Therefore, I created a 15-minute screencast that tied key D&I principles to clinical practice, with a particular focus on ethical […]

Tamara Wiehe, Charlotte Allard & Hayley Scott (PWP Clinical Educators) Charlie Waller Institute; School of Psychology and Clinical Language Overview In line with the University’s transition to Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA), we set out to create an electronic Portfolio (e-Portfolio) for use on our Psychological Well-being Practitioner (PWP) training programmes to replace an existing […]

Dan Jones, School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, d.jones6@reading.ac.uk   Overview The ‘Universally Speaking’ series provides a platform for students, staff and community members to exchange ideas on culture, heritage, customs, values and traditions, via a seminar presentation. Each seminar is followed by an informal drinks reception to facilitate further discussion and interactions between the different […]

Rita Balestrini and Elisabeth Koenigshofer, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading; e.koenigshofer@reading.ac.uk Overview Working in collaboration with two Final Year students, we designed two ‘flexible’, ‘minimalist’ rubric templates usable and adaptable across different languages and levels, to provide a basis for the creation of level specific, and potentially task specific, marking schemes where sub-dimensions can be […]

Sian Wells (BA French and Italian) and Sophia Acton (BA Italian and Spanish) During the Spring and Summer term of 2019, we participated in a project within the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES, now Department of Languages and Cultures) with the aim of redesigning the marking schemes used for oral and written […]

Simon Floodgate, Institute of Education, s.floodgate@reading.ac.uk Overview A form of inter-active, reflective practice for students in which Playback Theatre (an improvisatory form) is used to ‘play back’ individual stories of students’ experiences regarding all aspects of their studies.  This process can support emotional literacy and well-being and promote professionalism in students at all levels of study. […]

Hilary Harris, Maria Danos, Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Stephanie Sharp, Cathy Tissot, Anna Tsakalaki, Rowena Kasprowicz – Institute of Education hilary.a.harris@reading.ac.uk Overview The Institute of Education’s (IoE) T&L Group on Assessment Literacy worked collaboratively with 300+ students to ascertain the clarity level of assessment criteria used in all programmes across the IoE.  The findings were used […]

Kate Allen, Department of Art, k.allen@reading.ac.uk Overview An investigative artwork that explores identity using 360 cameras developed through practical, alumni led workshops and socially engaged art with current art students, school groups and the general public. Part of ArtLab Movement’ at Tate Exchange (TEx) 2019 at the Tate Modern on March and be archived on […]

Dr Sarah Greenwood, Lecturer, Physician Associate Programme, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, s.l.greenwood@reading.ac.uk Physician Associate (PA) students are talented life-sciences postgraduates who must quickly develop critical thinking skills in relation to medicine. Our PA programme focuses on the core skill of applying bioscientific and medical theory to skills of history taking, clinical examination, investigation diagnosis and […]

Vicki Matthews, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations, v.matthews@reading.ac.uk Context Student Minds is the UK’s Student Mental Health Charity, and was RUSU’s charity of the year for 2018/19. Student Mind’s aspiration is to ensure students have the skills, knowledge and confidence to talk about their own mental health and look out for their peers.  […]

Dr Bolanle Adebola is the Module Convenor and lecturer for the following modules on the LLM Programme (On campus and distance learning): International Commercial Arbitration, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Finance. She is also a Lecturer for the LLB Research Placement Project. Bolanle is also the Legal Practice Liaison Officer for the CCLFR. OBJECTIVES For students: […]

Professor Nick Battey, School of Biological Sciences n.h.battey@reading.ac.uk Overview A module for Part Three students was created by a collaborative effort between the Department of English Literature, the Department of History, and the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), called Science in Culture. This module was well-received by students, who found value in obtaining the perspective […]

Dr Natasha Barrett, School of Biological Sciences n.e.barrett@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2010/11 Overview Objectives Review the quantity, type and timing of assessments carried out in compulsory modules taken by students in the School of Biological Sciences. Recommend better practices for assessment and feedback. Context The massification and marketisation of Higher Education means that it is […]

Cathy Hughes and Heike Bruton, Henley Business School catherine.hughes@reading.ac.uk Overview Online peer assessment systems were evaluated for their suitability in providing a platform to allow peer assessment to be conducted in the context of group work. Objectives To establish the criteria against which peer assessment systems should be evaluated. To evaluate the suitability of online […]

Catherine Foley, Institute of Education c.m.foley@reading.ac.uk Overview With interactive whiteboards becoming a well-established feature of English primary schools classrooms over the last decade, it is vital that the primary Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) programme taught at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education prepares it graduates to be confident and competent in using interactive whiteboard technology […]

Dr John Brazier, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy j.a.brazier@reading.ac.uk Overview The MPharm degree at the University of Reading has a diverse student cohort, in terms of both ethnicity and previous academic experience. During the most recent development of our programme, we have introduce a Part One assessment strategy that is focused on developing an independent learning […]

        Lucy Hart (student – trainee PWP)- l.hart@student.reading.ac.uk  Tamara Wiehe (staff – PWP Clinical Educator)- t.wiehe@reading.ac.uk Charlie Waller Institute, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences Overview This case study re-designed an assessment for two Higher Education programmes where students train to become Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWP) in the NHS. The use of […]

Dr Geraldine (Jay) Mulley – School of Biological Sciences   Overview I produced four screen casts to encourage students to better prepare for practical classes and to reinforce practical theory taught in class. Approximately 45% of the cohort watched at least some of the video content, mainly in the few days leading up to the practical […]

Patrick Finnegan – School of Economics, Politics & International Relations Overview My use of the personal capture scheme was intended to enhance our teaching methods within the department. My initial aims of building additional video capture material into the ongoing lecture series did not come through but I was able to use the capture package […]

Adrian Aronsson-Storrier – School of Law Watch Adrian’s 5 minute video case study about how he used personal capture (the Mediasite tool) to record a lecture cancelled due to bad weather during the personal capture pilot project, 2018-19.

Sue Blackett – Henley Business School, 2018-19 Overview I participated in the university’s Personal Capture pilot as a Champion for my school to trial the Mediasite tool to create screen cast videos for use in teaching and learning. My aim was to help PGT students get to grips with key elements of the module. The videos facilitated students in repeatedly viewing content […]

Find out more about how adopting a flipped classroom approach in Law helped to ensure a consistent teaching experience for large cohorts and positively impact on staff workload.

  Professor Andrew Wade is responsible for research in hydrology, focused on water pollution, and Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching, including Hydrological Processes OBJECTIVES Colleagues within the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences (SAGES) have been aware of the University’s broader ambition to move towards online submission, feedback and grading where possible. Many had already made […]

OBJECTIVES Colleagues within the IFP wanted to improve the student assessment experience. In particular we wanted to make the end to end process quicker and easier and reduce printing costs for students. We also wanted to offer some consistency with undergraduate programmes. This was particularly important for those students who stay in Reading after their […]

Within the department, I teach primarily in Early Modern and Old English. For more details of my teaching please see Mary Morrissey Teaching and Convening My primary research subject is Reformation literature, particularly from London. I am particularly interested in Paul’s Cross, the most important public pulpit in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England. I retain an interested in early […]

I have been teaching English for over 15 years. I worked on EFL courses in Russia and the UK between 2000 – 2012. I started teaching English for Academic Purposes in 2013 when I joined the International Foundation Programme at the University of Surrey. I have been working as an EAP tutor at the University […]

Dr Geoff Taggart is a lecturer in the Institute of Education and Programme Director for the Early Years Practice programme at Reading. As part of his secondment to the EMA programme, Geoff decided to run a focus group with students from the IoE to gather perspectives on electronic feedback and grading methods. OBJECTIVES To identify […]

Professor Will Hughes has extensively used rubric grids within Grademark across of all of his modules to significantly enhance student engagement with his feedback, student understanding of his marking criteria and student attainment in subsequent essays whilst making his own experience of marking more efficient. My research interests include the control and management of building […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Michael Lyons, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) has run two student focus groups and two whole-cohort surveys as part of our Teaching and Learning Development Fund‘Diversifying Assessments’ project. This is the second of two T&L Exchange entries on this topic. Click here for the first entry which outlines how the feedback […]

Dr Newnham is the module convenor for LLB Family Law. Her areas of interest include, Child Law, Autopoietic Theory, The Common Intention Constructive Trust. Since 2015, Annika has gradually personalised the ‘Quickmarks’ function within Turnitin Grademark to be both discipline specific and also assignment specific. In addition, Dr Newnham has also developed a lengthy comments […]

Cindy Becker is the Director of Teaching and Learning for the School of Literature and Languages and also teaches in the Department of English Literature. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has been awarded a University of Reading Teaching Fellowship. She is an enthusiastic member of several University Communities of […]

Emily Parsons is a Senior Programme Administrator in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development (SAPD). Online assessment has been adopted throughout the SAPD, impacting academic and non- academic colleagues. In this case study, Emily outlines the experiences of her Support Centre team working with SAPD as an Early Adopter School. OBJECTIVES To reduce the administrative […]

Jeanne-Louise teaches design practice, theory and research skills across a range of genres and platforms. She is the Programme Director for the MA Creative Enterprise and the Pathway Lead for the MA Communication Design (Information Design Pathway). OBJECTIVES Typography has been keen to continue to support the move from offline to online submission, feedback and […]

OBJECTIVES I was interested in improving the efficiency of my marking, and liked the idea of having a digital record of written feedback to students. During the PSE induction for new tutors we were told that the University is moving towards e-feedback over the next few years so it seemed like a useful skill to […]

Rachel Warner, School of Arts and Communication Design Rachel.Warner@pgr.reading.ac.uk Jacqueline Fairbairn, Centre for Quality Support and Development j.fairbairn@reading.ac.uk Overview Rachel in Typography and Graphic Communication (T&GC) worked with the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team to rethink an assignment workflow, to improve the student/staff experience when dealing with video submissions. Changes were made to address student […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, Department of English Literature m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2017 I replaced the exam on a Part 3 module I convene (‘Margaret Atwood’) with an online learning journal assessment and I was so impressed with the students’ work that I sought funding to publish selected extracts in a UoR book, Second Sight: The Margaret Atwood […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk Year of activity 2016/17 Overview This entry aims to share the experience of re-designing and evaluating assessment in collaboration with students. It explains the need for developing the new assessment design and then discusses the process of implementing and evaluating its appropriateness. It finally reflects on the impact […]

Dr. Ute Woelfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview In order to improve students’ engagement, support their abilities as independent learners, and increase their feeling of ownership for their academic work, elements of independent research and research dissemination through the creation of research posters were included in a Part 2 module. Objectives […]

Dr Madeleine Davies, School of Literature and Languages Overview The Department of English Literature (DEL) is organising student focus groups as part of our TLDF-funded ‘Diversifying Assessments’ project led by Dr Chloe Houston and Dr Madeleine Davies. This initiative is in dialogue with Curriculum Framework emphases engaging students in Programme Development and involving them as stakeholders. […]

Dr Nicola Abram, School of Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry describes the use of online Learning Journals on a Part Three English Literature module. This method of assessment supports students to carry out independent research and to reflect on their personal learning journey, and rewards students’ sustained engagement and progress. Objectives To encourage […]

Dr. Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-6 Overview This entry describes the use of screencasts to deliver skills training on a compulsory Part One English Literature module. As a result of the changes outlined here, every student taking English Literature at the University of Reading will have access throughout their degree […]

Edith Rigby, Henley Business School e.rigby@henley.ac.uk Overview A review of existing University of Reading assessment advice and two staff workshops at Henley Business School to inform a new marker’s guide on fair marking and managing Academic Misconduct. The marker’s guide will specifically cover what to look out for and when and how to use Turnitin […]

Dr Emma Mayhew, Politics, Economics and International Relations e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview PLanT funding was used to research the impact of a new student feedback platform in Politics. Unitu creates an online student forum from which representatives pull issues onto a separate departmental board. Academics can then add responses and show if an […]

Dr Stanimira Milcheva, Henley Business School stani.milcheva@henley.reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We designed a simple game (called the REFinGame) which was aligned with the course material and launched it on Facebook. This approach, which could easily be applied to other discipline areas, was successfully used to enhance student learning and engagement with modules related […]

Dr Darius Widera, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy d.widera@reading.ac.uk Overview After a successful application to act as one of the early adopters of Blackboard Collaborate at the University of Reading, this technology platform was used for a series of cross-campus tutorials within the Fundamentals of Physiology (PM1AM) module between the University of Reading’s Whiteknights […]

OBJECTIVES To facilitate the administrative process in submission of summative assessment To inform module convenors and language teaching fellows of the tools supported by the University LMS Blackboard Learn To provide the opportunity to apply the above tools, gather experience and inform decision on best approaches and best practice To explore usability and applicability of […]

Dr Andrew Gabey, School of Mathematical, Physical and Computation Sciences a.m.gabey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview The University’s Atmospheric Observatory continuously collects high-quality environmental data, which is used heavily in teaching courses – particularly in Meteorology.  A new web-based system, due to go into service for the Autumn semester, has been developed under this project […]

Dr Robert Hosfield, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science r.hosfield@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Lykethos Overview The project tested different methods for producing and disseminating 3D models of existing artefacts in the teaching collections of Classics and Archaeology. 3D scanning was labour intensive and struggled to accurately represent some of the raw materials. By […]

Dr Hazel McGoff, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science h.j.mcgoff@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview This project established a library of digital images of our key mineral and rock specimens. Annotated explanatory labels were added to the images to create a resource that can be used to help students familiarise themselves with the specimens […]

Shirin Irvine – TEL Adviser, CQSD Overview For the academic year 2015/16, the Department of History offered a brand-new Part 1 programme as part of the History Project. This resulted in the development of three new core modules. Dr Mara Oliva transformed common practice by using technology to carry out full electronic assessment for her module. […]

Find out more about how a collaborative partnership was used in Law to design the assessments within a trailblazing new module.

Catherine Foley is a lecturer in Primary Maths Education in the Institute of Education. She is Director of the Primary School Direct programme which trains people to be teachers whilst they are working in schools. OBJECTIVES Catherine describes her experience of using the Feedback Studio to move from Word-based marking an assignment to full use […]

Find out more about how student-led audio lecture recording in Law helped aid revision and reduce anxiety around exam season.

Find out more about the Art Department’s innovative art and technology facility designed to support Outreach and Widening Participation activities. This ambitious project sees students work as co-researchers with local schools integrating arts with research and uses new technologies to unlock possibilities, raise aspirations, and promote the development of new skills.

Dr Allán Laville, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In the training of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs), it is crucial to support students in the development of their reflective thinking and writing skills. Therefore, I implemented the Self-Practice/Self-Reflection (SP/SR; Bennett-Levy, 2001) approach into our PWP training programmes. Impact was measured by asking students […]

Dr Michelle Reid, Study Advice michelle.reid@reading.ac.uk Dr Paddy Woodman, Director of Student Services p.e.woodman@reading.ac.uk Paddy and Michelle ran a workshop showcasing our online transitions course, Study Smart, at the AMOSSHE Student Services conference recently. The workshop, attended by over 50 delegates, highlighted the ways we’d used Study Smart to increase student confidence and create a […]

Dr Allán Laville     School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences     a.laville@reading.ac.uk Overview In line with the Equality Act (2010) and Department of Health (2011), sexual orientation needs to be considered in the training of the psychological workforce. Since 2011, I have been developing clinical teaching on sexual orientation with student satisfaction rates of 95-100%. […]

Barbara Goff     School of Humanities     b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk Overview In my Part 2 module ‘Ancient Sport’ I offer students a choice between a traditional essay and an ‘outreach project’, which requires them to communicate an aspect of ancient sport to a non-academic audience, perhaps for schools or for the general public. Objectives To develop students’ […]

Find out how a professional practice module has transformed how students engage with their work in more professional, thoughtful, and meaningful ways. This has the potential to transform their marketability not only during but also following completion of their degree programme.

Find out how introducing collections in teaching not only improved student attendance and engagement, but also resulted in different teaching methods, positive student evaluations, and longer term, the design of more dynamic and interactive modules.

Tamara Wiehe     School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences     t.wiehe@reading.ac.uk Overview Students on our programme – MSci Applied Psychology (Clinical) – are training to become qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) so employment is naturally embedded in the curriculum. However, the existing career development session was originally designed for students on the postgraduate course […]

Lauren McCann, Centre for Quality Support and Development   l.j.mccann@reading.ac.uk Chloe Houston, School of Literature and Languages   c.houston@reading.ac.uk In the 2009 hit film ‘Julie et Julia’, real life American office worker Julie Powell (Amy Adams) spends a year cooking her way through culinary legend Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and ‘blogs’ about it. […]

Natasha Barrett, School of Biological Sciences   n.e.barrett@reading.ac.uk Having attended a few Advance HE (HEA) conferences, this was my first time presenting at an external T&L conference.  I was quite nervous in advance – swatting up on the T&L literature, preparing fully copyright compliant materials (they publish your ppt) and rehearsing the talk to nail the […]

Emma Mayhew, Academic Director, EMA Programme e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk Geoff Taggart, Academic Partner, EMA Programme and Associate Professor, Institute of Education g.taggart@reading.ac.uk Michelle Reid, Study Advisor, The Library michelle.reid@reading.ac.uk When the EMA Programme ran a staff survey earlier this year, we were really interested to see the response to the use of the QuickMark function on Turnitin […]

Kerry Webb, Associate Director (Academic Liaison and Support), The Library                                                                    k.j.webb@reading.ac.uk  New Library LGBT+ research guide We’re all working hard to make our […]

Karen Drury, Dr Kim Shahabudin, Kerry Webb, Library and Study Advice In a world of constant new teaching and learning initiatives, implementing the Curriculum Framework might seem like one more job to do. If you’re thinking that you could use all the help you can get, we have good news: the Library have done some […]

Rita Balestrini, School of Literature and Languages, r.balestrini@reading.ac.uk Overview Between 2016 and 2018, I led a project aiming to enhance the process of assessing foreign language skills in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES). The project was supported by the Teaching and Learning Development Fund. Its scope involved two levels of intervention: […]

Florian Roithmayr, School of Art and Communication Design                                                                                                […]

Barbara Goff, Department of Classics, School of Humanities                                                                                                […]

Jeremy Lelean, Staff Engagement                                                                                                        […]

Caroline Crolla, Student Success and Engagement Team, Student Services                                                                          c.s.crolla@reading.ac.uk Overview Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a globally recognised […]

Daniel Kiernan & Graham Philpott, Henley Business School                                                                                              d.kiernan@henley.ac.uk  […]

Alison Fenner, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                                  […]

Shelen W. H. Ho, Henley Business School, University of Reading Malaysia                                                                           shelen.ho@henley.edu.my “Academia isn’t for everyone!”  I was warned […]

Kate Fletcher, Sue Slade, Kevin Flint, Raj Vaiyapuri, Wee Kiat Ong, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy; Pharmacy Context MPharm Programme: Introduction to Professionalism and Practice Undergraduate (UG) students, Part 1 Number of participants in sessions: 20 (9 in the UK and 11 in Malaysia) Session length: 60 minutes Description  Part 1 students studying […]

Adrian Aronsson-Storrier, School of Law                                                                                                      […]

Richard Mitchell, Computer Science, r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk Preamble Earlier in the year, Laura Bennett and I wrote a blog on making Word and PowerPoint accessible, which reflected our experience of implementing the University’s policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available here. Since that blog was written, the University has included Ally into Blackboard, which provides […]

Amanda Millmore, School of Law,  a.millmore@reading.ac.uk Overview Faced with double-teaching a cohort of 480 students (plus an additional 30 in University of Reading Malaysia), I was concerned to ensure that students in each lecture group had a similar teaching experience. My solution was to “flip” some of the learning, by recording short video lectures covering content […]

Barbara Goff, Director of Teaching and Learning, Classics              b.e.goff@reading.ac.uk In the Classics department we reckon we review our curriculum all the time.  We are constantly designing new modules that take cognisance of the latest research and share it with our students.  We teach with epigraphy and 3D modelling, we […]

Ali Nicholson, International Study and Language Institute       ali.nicholson@reading.ac.uk  Overview Between 2016 and 2018 we have run a Tandem language scheme, whereby students studying a language with the Institution-wide Language Programme (IWLP) are paired up with a native speaker student, usually (though not always) a Visiting student.  Once introduced, the students spend one hour […]

Angelique Chettiparamb and Lucy Newton, Henley Business School a.chettiparamb@reading.ac.uk; l.a.newton@henley.ac.uk Overview Four enterprising and enthusiastic students from different programmes in Henley Business School enquired into the effectiveness of School/University measures to enhance and promote academic integrity. The students were Eilish McDonald, Hetvi Shah, Prinal Shah and Tillie Hunter The project leads were Dr Angelique Chettiparamb […]

Caroline Crolla, Student Success and Engagement Team, Student Services c.s.crolla@reading.ac.uk  Overview Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a globally recognised scheme where more experienced students who have already successfully completed a module work with students who are studying the module for the first time.   One hour, weekly PAL sessions are run by trained and experienced student […]

Karen Drury, Liaison Librarian for Art, Typography and Graphic Communication, and Management Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser Kerry Webb, Associate Director (Academic Liaison and Support), The Library In a world of constant new teaching and learning initiatives, implementing the Curriculum Framework might seem like one more job to do. If you’re thinking that you could […]

Preamble Earlier in the year, Laura Bennett and I wrote a blog on making Word and PowerPoint accessible, which reflected our experience of implementing the University’s policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available here. Since that blog was written, the University has included Ally into Blackboard, which provides academics with a view on […]

Florian Roithmayr, School of Art and Communication Design                f.roithmayr@reading.ac.uk Overview The two-day workshop “Attention Please” engaged students across the School of Art and Communication Design and the School of Architecture in a series of exercises to re-focus and sharpen their attention onto different materials, in different settings, under […]

Shelen W H Ho, Henley Business School, University of Reading Malaysia                            shelen.ho@henley.edu.my “Academia isn’t for everyone!”  I was warned by my business associates when I decided to become a full-time academic in 2016, after spending decades working outside of the enclaves of […]

Richard Mitchell and Pat Parslow, Department of Computer Science                                r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk     p.parslow@reading.ac.uk The Department of Computer Science held a workshop recently to consider our use of Group Work. This was facilitated by Pete Inness, School Deputy DTL, and Pete Andrews […]

Nasreen Majid, Institute of Education                                                                                            n.majid@reading.ac.uk Overview All students on […]

Michelle Reid, Kim Shahabudin, and Sonia Hood, Study Advice The successful Study Smart online course will be running again for new Part 1 undergraduates, and will be launched to the new cohort on 28th August. Study Smart helps students make a smooth transition to university study by giving them a shared start point and by […]

Nasreen Majid, Institute of Education, n.majid@reading.ac.uk All students on the BA Primary Education (QTS) programme develop a piece of research, entitled, Advanced Teaching Project (ATP). This blog entry summarises how the ATP conference is used to develop peer learning in order for part 2 students to learn from the research experiences of part 3 students. […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Emma Mayhew On Tuesday 22nd May 2018, over 150 colleagues from across the university gathered in the Meadow Suite to hear a series of presentations and to engage in conversations about the work that the EMA Programme has been doing to prepare for roll-out of online assessment and feedback. Colleagues […]

Dr Madeleine Davies (Department of English Literature) and Bethany Barnett-Sanders (Part 3 student, Department of English Literature) Engaging students in academic conversations outside the classroom presents challenges but recent activity in the Department of English Literature suggests that there are several ways of creating opportunities for this engagement. DEL has worked with Part 2 and […]

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education                                                                                                    […]

Alison Nader and Ali Nicholson, Lecturers, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                            a.m.nader@reading.ac.uk  […]

Preamble Last year the University agreed a new Policy on Inclusive Practice in T&L, which is available at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/qualitysupport/Policy_on_Inclusive_Practice_in_Teaching_and_Learn.pdf. The implementation of this policy is being overseen by a working group chaired by Clare Furneaux, and one of its four subgroups, on Staff Training, has been chaired by us both. One aspect of the policy […]

Alison Nader and Ali Nicholson, Lecturers, International Study and Language Institute                                                                                          […]

Stephanie Sharp, Lecturer, Institute of Education                                                                                                    […]

We’re all hearing about the University’s new Curriculum Framework in meetings and training. But how do we start to put this process of alignment into action for individual programmes? Three Typography & Graphic Communication (T&GC) colleagues decided to thrash out a clearer strategy for achieving this objective for our BA Graphic Communication programme. Background In […]

On 31 January the Meadow Suite in Park House was a-buzz with an air of anticipation as attendees at the Curriculum Framework Conference munched on Breakfast Baguettes and gulped down copious quantities of fresh coffee and tea. Following a generous welcome and the obligatory identification of emergency exits, the morning’s session commenced with a thoroughly […]

Professor Stavroula Karapapa, School of Law                          s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview In 2015/2016, we substantially redeveloped our postgraduate provision in commercial law through the introduction of a pioneering, student-engaging, research-informed and multidisciplinary set of postgraduate pathway programmes. Contrary to the programmes previously in place, the new […]

Jonathan Smith is the School Director for Technology Enhanced Learning in ISLI (International Study and Language Institute). He is also a PSE (Pre-sessional English) Course Director and teacher of English. The Pre-sessional English programme accepts around 600 to 800 students each year. Their students develop English skills in academic writing, reading, speaking and listening. In […]

The EMA Programme has delivered a new function within RISIS that allows colleagues to see their students’ sub modular marks on the Tutor Card. We have all had access to the Tutor Card for some time and it has provided an invaluable snapshot of a student’s degree history, particularly useful for writing references and for […]

A successful TLDF application in April provided us with funds to explore the use of different lapel-mounted cameras to look into student-student and student-staff interactions within a practical laboratory environment. This work is still ongoing, but we have learnt some interesting lessons about buying lapel-mounted cameras along the way, and have also used them successfully […]

One of the highlights of 2017 for me was launching the FLAIR CPD scheme at the University of Reading Malaysia. A substantial part of my role involves talking to colleagues about their work to help them to develop ideas for their FLAIR CPD application. These conversations give me wonderful snapshots into the fantastic work happening […]

Overview: Each year a group of part 2 students from Meteorology make their way across campus to the Minghella Building to film weather forecasts in the professional “green screen” studio. As well as improving their forecasting ability this module also helps students to improve their presentation skills – a key employability attribute in many careers. […]

Context As the student population becomes increasingly international, the IWLP language class cohorts are becoming ever more diverse. It has become evident to tutors in IWLP (as throughout the University) that the linguistic, educational and cultural aspects of a student’s background can play an important role in their language acquisition, often helping some aspects while […]

Context In 2016, in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies (DMLES), it was decided that the marking schemes used to assess writing and speaking skills needed to be revised and standardised in order to ensure transparency and consistency of evaluation across different languages and levels. A number of colleagues teaching language modules had […]

During December 2016, we had the chance to share our teaching and learning experiences here at the University of Reading with thousands of other educators around the world by providing a case study for a seasonal online course called ‘The 12 apps of Christmas’. The free, open, short, online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course was […]

I started university this year, or at least it feels like I have upon starting my new job as a Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences (PCLS). Every face around me is unfamiliar, the campus seems an unnerving maze, and simple processes have become logic puzzles. Oh the joy I felt […]

Dear pre-UoRM Dan (circa 2015), So, you’re looking forward to going to the University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) soon, right? Slightly daunting I’m sure, but you’ll be telling yourself that the UK campus already has a large international cohort and that teaching in Malaysia won’t be that different to what you have already been doing, […]

The Great Hall is the jewel in the crown of the London Rd campus and its cavernous interior gives it a unique atmosphere, ideal for reflective kinds of learning. I was fortunate enough to teach a session there in October and its dramatic, imposing space was a key pedagogical tool. The session lasted two hours […]

Kim Shahabudin & Helen Hathaway, Library (Study Advice)    k.shahabudin@reading.ac.uk                                                                                            […]

Stephanie Sharp, Lecturer, Institute of Education                                  s.sharp@reading.ac.uk                                                                  […]

Dr Karen Jones & Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, Institute of Education        karen.jones@reading.ac.uk     m.kambouridanos@reading.ac.uk                                         Year of activity: 2016/17 Overview This entry describes a project which, with funding by the University of Reading Teaching and […]

Being a student mentor for the Study Smart online course for Part 1 undergraduates has offered me an opportunity for personal development, through examining the perspectives of upcoming students to the University. It has allowed me to reflect on my university experiences, and develop further skills in communication. These are areas particularly important to me, […]

Over the course of the last academic year, the idea of creating a Language Teaching Community of Practice (LT CoP) has taken shape and developed as part of the University strategy to support and promote language learning and expertise in foreign languages teaching. A number of colleagues involved in language teaching or teacher education from […]

Alina Maroukian, Henley Business School                                        a.maroukian@henley.ac.uk                                                              […]

With the start of the new term most of us will focus once again on one thing: How can we offer the best teaching to all of our students? Many of us will also face a very similar challenge: Class sizes are getting bigger and the student cohort is becoming increasingly diverse. Some of you […]

Nathalie Folkerts, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science nathaliefolkerts@gmail.com                                                                                           […]

Alison Fenner, Lecturer, International Study and Language Institute  j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk                                                                                             […]

In Spring 2017 the Student Success & Engagement Team partnered with Positive (and the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust (CWMT)) to develop and deliver the Positive Minds pilot programme to 150 university students. The programme provided students with evidence-based cognitive and behavioural tools and techniques to manage pressure and build psychological resilience. The programme’s aim was […]

Sonia Hood, Study Adviser, Library                                                             s.hood@reading.ac.uk                                       […]

Leaner, Cleaner, Greener: How Reading’s assessment data is changing for the better. Dr Emma Mayhew (EMA Academic Director), Dr Madeleine Davies (EMA Academic Partner), Kat Lee (Project Manager, External) The Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA) Programme has been created to deliver the University’s long-term vision for online assessment while improving the underlying processes and supporting […]

For the past four year I have incorporated Flipped Learning into my teaching. Flipped Learning started in the United States in secondary education (Bergmann & Sams, 2012) and it has been expanding into higher education. The principal premise is that instruction moves outside of the classroom and class time is freed up for practice and […]

Dr Despoina Mantzari, School of Law d.mantzari@reading.ac.uk Overview In June 2016 I was awarded a small University of Reading Teaching and Learning grant with the objective to involve a group of ten postgraduate taught students from the School of Law as partners in the process of redesigning the curriculum of a core postgraduate taught module. […]

Language learning and disability: how to avoid the ‘avoidance’? When the university disability office was approached in 2003 by a new member of staff for guidance on the assessment of a dyslexic student enrolled on a language module, the reply was that students with dyslexia are better advised to avoid foreign language courses. Fast-forward to […]

Dr Francoise Mazet, Biological Sciences f.m.mazet@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview We developed BARS (Bioscience ARticles for Reading Students), a blog showcasing the written work of Part Three students from the School of Biological Sciences. The blog is managed by students working closely with academic staff. This project will increase students’ awareness and skills that […]

Holly Sandford, Arts & Communication Design Overview Students in the Department of Art created a student-led experiential post-studio practice, DISCOMFORT, for Part Two students and teachers that challenges boundaries and restrictions within our art course (and ourselves), and encourages participatory, experiential sessions and activities, within and outside of the studio. Objectives Build two-way working relationships […]

Introduction: Students as Partners In recent years, there has been an increased appetite in higher education to explore and enhance the ways in which students can become more involved in the design and delivery of their own learning experiences. A prominent way of doing so is engaging students as equal partners in a range of […]

Anticipation and nervousness, with a hint of bewilderment and panic – we’ve all seen these looks on our new Part 1 undergraduates. As established members of Reading’s academic community, we often forget what it feels like to step into an unfamiliar learning environment. Our increasingly diverse undergraduate intake means that we must recognise the diverse […]

On May 2, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading, Sir David Bell, will formally launch ‘The Monroe Group’ a new interdisciplinary research group at the university focused around the politics and political history of North America and the Caribbean. I’m proud, alongside my colleague Dr. Maddi Davies from our English Literature Department, to […]

The inaugural ‘Gender, Sexuality and Identities Student Forum’ met on the first day of the summer term, launching a new initiative aiming to create extra-curricular platforms for student debate. I organised this new Forum to respond to our students’ expressed desire to extend conversations about the persistence of binary thinking and inequality beyond the immediate […]

As part of my quest to encourage students to learn broadly as well as encouraging them to engage with Italian deeply (J. Biggs, 2003), I have experimented with using the Chromebooks, which have been recently purchased by ISLI (International Study and Language Institute), in the classroom. Chromebooks are a great tool: they are quick to […]

Dr Madeleine Davies and Dr Bethany Layne, School of Literature and Languages m.k.davies@reading.ac.uk Overview This entry offers a model of the way in which the aims embedded in the Curriculum Framework can be articulated via student engagement with research-led activity. Here we discuss the Framework-related teaching and learning benefits of involving our students centrally in […]

The benefits of research-led teaching for both staff and students are well known. From the perspective of students, it encourages and facilitates deeper learning and engagement with complex intellectual issues in the course materials. In so doing, it gives the students the opportunity to develop critical and creative thinking. For staff, it offers the opportunity […]

Reluctance My application to the HEA through the FLAIR Scheme was a task I deferred for as long as possible. I did not have time; it looked too difficult; I had so many other things to do, including research, marking, teaching and administration. To indicate that I would get down to applying eventually, I attended […]

Background The UK pharmacy regulator, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), sets Standards for all UK Pharmacy Schools. The Standards stipulate that the undergraduate programme (MPharm) must provide students with practical experience in working with patients, carers and other healthcare professionals. This has led to a need to expand experiential learning within the pharmacy curriculum across the […]

A Collaborative Initiative between Dr Madeleine Davies (Department of English Literature), Dr Ute Wolfel (Department of Modern European Languages), Dr Tony Capstick (Department of English Language and Linguistics) and Dr Alicia Pena Bizama (Counselling and Wellbeing) PROJECT OUTLINE In December 2016 the three Senior Tutors of the School of Language and Literature (SLL) met to […]

Have you ever had to deliver lecture materials so cognitively challenging and dull at the same time, that your students either become utterly befuddled or fall asleep before you finish delivering them? I have. The conundrum I am the Module Convenor for a pharmacy practice module that focuses on pharmacy laws and regulations relating to […]

At the Curriculum framework conference on 25th January 2017, it was a delight to present with Sed Joshi, Diversity and Inclusion Sabbatical officer from RUSU on the topic of “How well do we know our students?” We gave staff a quiz, presented facts and figures about our students from the Annual Diversity and Inclusion Report, […]

I was blown away by Wednesday’s teaching & learning conference “Engaging everyone: addressing the diversity and inclusion expectations of the Curriculum Framework“. This was lead-organised by my CQSD colleagues, especially Nina Brooke, but as a collaborative effort across the T&L patch, working with the T&L Dean Elizabeth McCrum  and others, and with the RUSU Education […]

On a chilly week mid-November, Clare McCullagh and Angela Buckingham headed out of Heathrow to fly fifteen hours east to reach the ancient city of Nanjing in China. Colleagues at Nanjing University of Information, Science and Technology (NUIST) were waiting for us to deliver the Teaching and Learning Development Course, contributing to the University of […]

On the 10th November the University Teaching Fellows (UTFs) came together for their termly Community of Practice meeting. As chair of the Community for 2016/17, I welcomed all UTFs and outlined my focus for this academic year: “Raising the profile of UTFs”. It was our great pleasure to welcome Prof Gavin Brooks to this meeting. […]

10 Days before the US election, almost 40 students and four academics from across England came together to debate the Trump v Clinton fight for the White House, using Blackboard’s Collaborate platform, writes Politics & IR Director of Teaching & Learning, Mark Shanahan. I’d first come across collaborate at a TEL Showcase event, and had […]

Student Charter ActivitiesStudent Charter ActivitiesHave you heard of the University of Reading Student Charter? Have you used the Student Charter with your students? Although many colleagues can recall it being launched a few years ago, fewer staff and, crucially, even fewer of our students are really aware of what the Charter is, or how it […]

Context As the student population becomes increasingly international, the IWLP language class cohorts are becoming ever more diverse. It has become evident to tutors in IWLP (as throughout the University) that the linguistic, educational and cultural aspects of a student’s background can play an important role in their language acquisition, often helping some aspects while […]

Introduction In July this year, four members of teaching staff from the International Study and Language Institute (ISLI) headed up north to this year’s InForm Conference.  InForm is a journal published by ISLI and widely read by international foundation programme professionals across the UK.  Its annual conference this year was held at Durham University and […]

There can’t be many more nerve-wracking oral exams than the PhD viva. A several-year build-up –and then… what? To give research students an impression of what’s it actually like on the day, Dr Carol Fuller from the Institute of Education has produced a short, entertaining and informative video. Using some Teaching and Learning Development Fund […]

Students engagement with recommended academic resources is key to developing a deeper understanding of their discipline and, ultimately, a more satisfying and stimulating educational environment. Seamless access to resources cited on reading lists has been much improved over the last 14 months with further investment in Library e-resources and the implementation of the Talis Aspire […]

With the start of the new academic year it is always a good idea to reflect on current practices and plan the year ahead. As the incoming chair for the Community of Practice (CoP) of University Teaching Fellows (UTF) I found myself reflecting on the identity and the purpose of this group. What is the […]

Teaching of large cohort sizes is becoming more and more prominent at Universities. Many colleagues will have experienced this and also faced the challenges which come with teaching large class sizes. I am delighted that the University decided to support our research into large class size teaching with the special aspect of diversity. Rachel Pye […]

Dr Elizabeth Matthew, School of Humanities e.a.e.matthew@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012/13 Overview A collaborative project between the Department of History and the Institute of Education developed an innovative module in History, History Education (HS3HED), allowing Part Three students to test and develop their interest in teaching by undertaking and reflecting on a two-week subject-specific placement […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview During the summer of 2016 we applied for £300 from the funds of Teaching and Learning Dean Dr David Carter and were awarded the full amount. We were keen to develop our professional development scheme for students in the School of Literature and Languages, […]

Dr. Stavroula Karapapa, Law s.karapapa@reading.ac.uk Overview Research Placement Project (LW2RPP) is a module developed within the School of Law that aims to provide Part Two students with a hands-on experience of the academic research process, from the design of a project and research question through to the production of a research output. It is an […]

Professor Elizabeth Page, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy; Aaron Woodcock, International Study and Language Institute e.m.page@reading.ac.uk, a.e.w.woodcock@reading.ac.uk Overview Two complementary modules within the Department of Chemistry, English Language for Chemists (CH3ENG) and Health and Safety and Professional Skills (CH3NUI), were created to support students recruited from the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology […]

Dr Katherine Harloe, School of Humanities k.c.harloe@reading.ac.uk Overview All options in Classics Special Options (CLMSO) are research-led and arise directly from current research projects of academic staff. Students greatly enjoy learning about topics of current research within the subject, and members of staff report that they find teaching on their specialised topics of research interest […]

Dr Lotte Meteyard, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences l.meteyard@reading.ac.uk Overview Statistics teaching to Speech and Language Therapists within the Department of Clinical Language Sciences was redesigned in response to module evaluations. Whereas students had previously reported anxiety about statistics and struggled to appreciate the relevance of statistics to their practice, the introduction of […]

Stuart Lakin, Law s.j.lakin@reading.ac.uk Overview In a Part Two Law module, Public Law (LW2PL2), we have moved away from the conventional exam to a take-home exam. We publish the exam paper on Blackboard at an arranged date and time. We give the students approximately 48 hours to complete and submit their answers electronically. The impact […]

Professor Elizabeth Page and Dr Philippa Cranwell, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview Group-based research projects have been introduced into the BSc Chemistry programme for final year students. Small teams of students investigate different aspects of a research problem, each working on a separate strand. The results are combined and overall […]

Shweta Band, Law s.band@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview The name ‘Legal Seagulls’ represents all overseas students in the School of Law. I initiated the Legal Seagulls Experience Plan in 2015-16 as a three-step support initiative to enhance the academic and university-life experience for our overseas students. This includes the Pre-arrival Academic Welcome Kit (PAWK), […]

Jackie Skinner, Library jackie.skinner@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-16 Overview This is an ongoing project to devise and implement a framework of skills to be developed by undergraduate students in Food and Nutritional Sciences throughout their degree programme. I have worked closely with staff in the Department on this project and so far it has resulted […]

Professor Elizabeth Page, Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy e.m.page@reading.ac.uk Overview A series of skills based modules running through the three years of the BSc and MChem Chemistry programmes has been developed. The aim is to promote independent learning and the development of academic and employability skills through subject specific material and activities. This entry describes the […]

Dr Ciara Healy, Arts and Communication Design c.healy@reading.ac.uk Overview This case study presents some approaches taken in the Department of Art to encourage relationship building between different cohorts of students and all members of staff. The majority of activities took place in the first 6 weeks of the Autumn term and focused especially on Welcome […]

Professor James Green, Law j.a.green@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2007-08 Overview Since 2007, the Law School has run a Part Three module entitled ‘International Law Mooting’. This is a highly innovative module, where a team of four students participate in the prestigious Telders International Law Moot Court Competition. The competition involves the team presenting written – […]

This post has been uploaded to the T&L Exchange, and can now be found at: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/take-home-exam/

Introduction As joint staff leaders (together with Dr Nora Honkala) on the current Law Feedback Project, we recently presented a paper exploring aspects of the project to the second annual Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship Conference, held at University College London on 28-29 June 2016.  This blog post explains a little about the Law […]

Group work is an integral part of assessment at university but students rarely arrive equipped with the skills, experience and knowledge to deal with the challenges they face when working in groups. This can be a cause of anxiety for students and also a time consuming intervention for lecturers. Henley Business School approached Study Advice […]

In February 2016, we presented at a one-day English for Academic Purposes (EAP) conference at St Andrews University, showcasing Reading’s ‘English Language for Chemists’ module, a collaboration between the International Study & Language Institute (ISLI) and the Department of Chemistry.  As it turned out,  collaboration between EAP and subject study departments, and its power to […]

I’ve gained more knowledge regarding the module & find it easier to ask for help. (Maths PAL participant) [PAL] is a more interactive way of working, more group work, some sharing about 4th year placement and the usefulness of this module for next year (S&L Therapy PAL participant) It’s great to see people leave sessions […]

Dr Richard Harris, Institute of Education r.j.harris@reading.ac.uk Overview The focus of this work is on what I do and how I try to ensure that the curriculum I create reflects the diversity in society; this in turn impacts on the trainee teachers I work with and how confident they are in teaching a more diverse […]

Dr Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015-6 Overview This entry describes the diversification of a core Part One English Literature module, Research & Criticism (EN1RC). As a result of the changes outlined here, every graduate of English Literature at the University of Reading will have encountered Anglophone texts from across the […]

Dr. Andrew Charlton-Perez, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences a.j.charlton-perez@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2015/16 Overview A flipped learning approach to teaching the part 3 and part 4 module, ‘The Global Circulation’ (MT38A/4YA) in Meteorology was developed and tested. This approach was very successful, encouraging students to apply complex ideas to real-world problems. Objectives Develop a new set […]

Transition to university is often geared towards students from an A-level background, so are we doing enough for students with vocational qualifications starting at Reading? Recent research from UCAS shows that one in four university entrants has done a BTEC (Havergal, 2016). Issues such as culture shock, work/life balance, different assessment methods, and the perception […]

 Dr Amanda Callaghan, School of Biological Sciences a.callaghan@reading.ac.uk Overview The Cole Museum of Zoology (the Cole) houses a number of satellite collections for use in outreach, teaching and learning. In 2014 we transferred 50% of the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science (SAGES) fossil collection to the Cole and in 2015 acquired the other […]

Dr Robert Jackson, School of Biological Sciences r.w.jackson@reading.ac.uk Overview An online learning environment was developed for a module, Microbiology Field Course (BI3B67), within the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). This online learning environment was used to facilitate staff and student communication while on a field trip, and was greatly successful, with students responding well to […]

Professor Paul Almond, School of Law p.j.almond@reading.ac.uk Overview A project to encourage students enrolled on a Part Three module within the School of Law, Criminology (LW3CRY), to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the links between criminological theory and policy, through a redesign of the Assessed Work project contained within the module. Results have suggested […]

Professor Richard Mitchell, School of Systems Engineering r.j.mitchell@reading.ac.uk Overview Adjustments were made to teaching, assessment, and feedback in a Part Two module within the School of Systems Engineering, Neural Networks (SE2NN11), successfully using three-staged laboratory practicals in order to encourage students to use neural networks on a ‘real world’ application. Making these changes saw an […]

Dr Arpita Bose, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.bose@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2011/12 Overview A modified problem-based learning approach was developed and implemented in Communication Impairment 3 (PL2CI3/PLMCI3) within the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences.  While the adoption of this approach was unpopular with students on the module, there was a […]

Professor Helen Parish, School of Humanities h.l.parish@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview The project investigated recent research and practice in peer assessment and feedback in order to implement a peer assessment model for use within History, and develop a framework for the adoption of said model in cognate disciplines where evaluation of substantial text-based assignments is […]

Professor Lib Taylor, School of Arts and Communication Design l.j.taylor@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012-13 Overview The project explored how tablet technologies can be applied for teaching contemporary performance, through the creation of a Digital Performance Lab for use as part of the optional Part Three Contemporary Performance modules (FT3COA and FT3COB). Objectives Develop student employability […]

Dr Sarah Cardey, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development s.p.cardey@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2012-13 Overview A virtual placement was created with the C4D Network, allowing student taking Communication for Innovation and Development within the Graduate School for International Development and Applied Economics (GIIDAE) to benefit from professional mentoring and networking, improving their employability as […]

The Teaching-Focussed Academic Staff Network, whose inaugural conference was hosted by the University of Durham on 16th and 17th July, now has a dedicated website. When we read the call for papers of the conference, entitled ‘Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship’, we realised that besides providing an opportunity to share innovative scholarly activities across […]

Dr Louise Johnson, School of Biological Sciences l.j.johnson@reading.ac.uk Overview In the School of Biological Studies a module, Seminars in Biology (BI3S78) was created, utilising the existing research seminar series within the School to structure assessment. The module is easily adaptable for other subject areas, and has proved very popular with students, and has aided in […]

Helen Hathaway, Library; Clare Nukui, International Foundation Programme; Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Advice; Dr Elisabeth Wilding, International Study and Language Institute h.m.hathaway@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2012-13 Overview The development of an Academic Integrity Toolkit for academic tutors to draw on, which collated evaluated teaching and support resources for supporting the development of independent learning practices […]

Dr. Alice Mauchline, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development; Dr Alastair Culham, School of Biological Sciences; Dr Karsten Lundqvist, School of Systems Engineering; Professor Alison Black, School of Arts and Communication Design; Dr Hazel McGoff, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science a.l.mauchline@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2013-14 Overview A mobile app was developed for the […]

Dr Karsten O. Lundqvist, School of Systems Engineering k.o.lundqvist@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview A flipped classroom approach was trialed for the Part Two Java module (SE2JA11) taught in the School of Systems Engineering.  Objectives Encourage students on the module to become deep-level learners, as they analyse, evaluate and create, rather than simply remembering and understanding. […]

Dr Federico Faloppa and Dr Chiara Ciarlo, School of Literature and Languages f.faloppa@reading.ac.uk Overview The project successfully developed an introductory module in general linguistics, with a focus on foreign language specific issues for Part Two students who choose to do a single or joint honours language degree.  Providing a module for the teaching of linguistics to Modern Languages […]

Dr Christopher Voisey, Henley Business School c.j.voisey@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview The core Part Two undergraduate module, International Business Management and Strategy (MM272), was redesigned on two pillars: teamwork, and social media (Facebook). Formal student evaluations were high and feedback from focus groups with students was very positive – students found the use of […]

Dr Jeanne-Louise Moys, School of Arts and Communication Design j.l.moys@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014–15 Overview The project explored what kinds of online resources BA Graphic Communication students engage with and need and, through an iterative design process (combining prototyping and user testing), developed a new online resource interface to support learning.  As a result, staff […]

Professor Jane Setter, School of Literature and Languages j.e.setter@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students and staff worked together during 2014-15 to develop the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics’ new compulsory Part One module Techniques and Skills for Applied Linguistics (LS1TAL), run for the first time in 2014-15, to make it more interesting, […]

Dr Ute Wolfel, Literature and Languages u.wolfel@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Finalist students from German, French and Italian organised a public film season of four films (German, French, Spanish, Italian) with Reading Film Theatre (RFT) on ‘Children in War’ to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The students chose […]

Dr Philippa Cranwell, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy p.b.cranwell@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014/15 Overview The project assessed the impact of the intake of a cohort of 16 3+1 BSc Applied Chemistry students on the existing undergraduate students on programmes within the Department of Chemistry (approximately 72 students, on both BSc and MChem programmes), and […]

As the new academic year starts it seems a good time to focus on the Community of Practice of University Teaching Fellows (UTF). It is a growing community of teaching enthusiasts who are not only committed to teaching innovation and excellence, but to continuing professional development of themselves and their colleagues.  As incoming chair of […]

Dr Cindy Becker, Literature and Languages l.m.becker@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview In order to allow a module offered within the Department of English Literature to map onto the needs of the professional world, a PLanT project was created to gain input from professionals on the development and delivery of the module. As a result, […]

Dr Amanda Branson, Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences a.branson@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project focused on identifying challenges faced by mature students studying alongside full time employment, and developing ameliorative practices and resources. Structured interviews conducted with 40 current students and alumni revealed barriers including weak IT and study skills and role conflict. […]

Breaking down Barriers has kicked off the academic year with a workshop in inclusive design with our new Part 1 typography students. Today we had our first session for the BA Graphic Communication Integrated Design Methods module. The students engaged with the new SEE-IT sight exclusive prototype for assessing visual inclusion/exclusion (currently being developed by the […]

Consider these classroom examples. In an architecture class, students are invited to spend time examining natural materials they have found and to use their forms as the basis for a structural design. In a module on the philosophy of mind and how it interacts with the body, tables are pushed back and undergraduates engage in […]

Professor Michelle O’Callaghan, School of Literature and Languages m.f.ocallaghan@reading.ac.uk Overview The project ‘Teaching the Digital Text: Literature and the New Technologies’ employed two undergraduate research assistants to help in the design of a Part Three module that aims to introduce students to current research in the digital humanities and teach practical digital skills. Resulting from […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project aimed to build student expertise in managing task-based approaches to learning, foster active engagement in seminars including international students, and support students’ development of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) skills, through student-led revisions of a popular undergraduate module, with the […]

Dr Clare Wright, School of Literature and Languages c.e.m.wright@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview This project funded a small team of researchers and teaching practitioners from the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics to explore teaching and learning implications of the University of Reading’s pilot Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), A Beginner’s Guide to […]

Dr Ioannis Oikonomou, ICMA Centre i.oikonomou@icmacentre.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview This project reviewed the effectiveness of the ICMA Centre’s use of trading simulation software, a unique combination of problem-based learning and role-playing which uses modern technology.  While it was found that students enjoyed having access to trading simulation software for their learning, a number of […]

Dr John Latsis, Henley Business School j.s.latsis@henley.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2013-14 Overview In the postgraduate module Managing People and Organisations (MMM048), provided by the School of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour, assessment methods were altered in a manner that was mindful of the increased internationalisation and marketisation of UK Higher Education, in order to assist the […]

Dr Matthew Nicholls, School of Humanities m.c.nicholls@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2012-3 Overview Following on from the success of the Virtual Rome project, a Classics module was constructed to teach Part Three undergraduate students 3D digital modelling for the purposes of historical reconstruction. Student satisfaction with the module has been high, and students have benefited from […]

Alison Fenner, International Study and Language Institute j.a.fenner@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2012-13 Overview The scheme provided training for students to act as Language Learning Advisors (LLAs) to Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) and Modern Languages and European Studies (MLES) students, providing peer support for developing language learning strategies.  The scheme is popular, and has […]

Dr Graham J. Holloway, School of Biological Sciences g.j.holloway@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of activity: 2014-15 Overview Students (mostly BSc Ecology and Wildlife Conservation students) carried out species identification activities in The Centre for Wildlife Assessment and Conservation on Wednesday afternoons. Students were encouraged to ‘adopt’ and focus on a taxonomic group (or community) to acquire deep learning. […]

Readers of this blog may recall Dr Patricia (Paddy) Woodman’s “Hot tip: Student-led peer learning: a win-win for everyone” posted on January 2015.  She wrote then that “The University of Reading is about to appoint a peer assisted learning co-ordinator and launch a number of trial schemes in 2015/16.”  Happily, I am that peer-assisted learning […]

Dr Alan Renwick, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview Our Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) award was used to fund the purchase of a laptop and recording equipment to help students in preparing materials for broadcast in the Politics Show on Junction11 Radio, the Reading University Students’ Union radio […]

Dr Stefán Thór Smith, School of the Built Environment s.t.smith@reading.ac.uk Year(s) of case study activity: 2014-15 Overview Active learning methods were explored, and the Environmental Quality and Well-being module (CEM236EQW), a week intensive module offered by the School of the Built Environment, was amended to incorporate suitable active learning methods, improving student satisfaction and engagement.

The Twenty-second International Conference on Learning was held in Madrid on 9th-11th July 2015. It attracted over 300 delegates from the academic and professional arena across the world: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, […]

PLanT stands for Partners in Learning and Teaching. The project allows students and teachers to work together in order to improve a module using a small pot of money to fund meetings, focus groups and equipment. As a small group four of us (Jess, Emily, Daria and Meg) worked with our lecturer Clare Wright in […]

Online reading list systems can be seen as an easy win for the lazy student: ‘spoon-feeding’ them with the sources they need rather than encouraging them to develop their independent research skills. However, we believe that the new online reading list system at Reading will offer opportunities for tutors to boost their students’ independent skills […]

In Autumn 2014, the Department of Chemistry welcomed their first cohort of final year students studying for the [3+1] BSc Applied Chemistry course from NUIST, China. By January, we could already see that there were some valuable lessons that we could learn from these students. We decided to carry out a review, asking all students […]

On June 15th, Begin Robotics began – the second massive open online course (MOOC) from Systems Engineering running on the FutureLearn platform. One of its aims is to interest potential students in the areas of robotics, cybernetics, artificial intelligence and electronic engineering – following the success of Begin Programming, which we know has attracted students […]

With ever-increasing speed it seems we have reached that time of year again when teaching is finished, exam results are calculated and our thoughts start to turn from the current academic session to planning for the next one. This offers some time to reflect on successes and think about the areas of teaching where we […]

On 24 April, 2015: 40 academic educators from 19 institutions came together to discuss key issues in MOOC design and implementation. The one-day workshop, hosted and funded by the University of Reading, a leading member of the FutureLearn MOOC consortium, offered the opportunity to evaluate practical lessons in designing and delivering MOOCs, particularly in relation […]

Intro URL: http://peterloveland.com/development/plant/ The PLanT project is a University funded programme that is designed to get students involved with the design and delivery of strategies regarding teaching and learning. If an application is successful, the group is rewarded £500 to see the project through. We as a group, applied for one of these grants, using the […]

Earlier this summer term, the Minghella Building hosted a lunchtime pop-up research exhibition under the theme of ‘Screen Relations’, which featured the research undertaken by Film, Theatre & Television students as part of their final assessment for the Part 3 module Television and Contemporary Culture. Led by myself as the convenor, the Spring term of […]

Academic staff acting as Library Representatives for their school or department, other teaching and learning experts, and Library staff came together over lunch recently for their fifth annual Community of Practice meeting. Its theme was skills development within the curriculum and showcased collaborative work in one department to establish information literacy levels required at each undergraduate stage. One definition of information literacy […]

About 10 years ago I was intrigued when a colleague described taking exams at an Australian university, where he was given a blank sheet of paper on which he could write anything he wanted to take into the exam. He referred to this as a ‘cheat sheet’. I was familiar with both open and closed […]

  The University is investing in an online reading list and digital content management system from Talis Aspire. Implementation at Reading begins at Easter 2015. This initial phase will involve Library staff transferring all 2014-15 reading lists (which have existing copyright cleared scans associated with them) on to the new system, ready for review and […]

LLAS (Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies) recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the annual e-Learning Symposium at Southampton. During the past 10 years the e-Learning Symposium has provided an area where academics and educators in the field of linguistics and languages have had a common place to share innovation, creativity and results […]

Student-led peer learning or peer assisted learning (PAL) is popping up in all sorts of universities up and down the land and is gaining momentum as a global phenomenon. It has been in an existence in the UK since the early 1990s and has been described as a win-win for everyone involved. The University of […]

How many times have you heard people say that the Reading student population is becoming more diverse? But what do they mean and what are the implications? Often they mean that they/we are struggling to cope with what feels like the ever increasingly list of different needs for different ‘types of students’. Any quick skim […]

On this day, exactly two years ago, I sat in my study staring at Blackboard. 212 little green symbols were showing in Grade Centre. 212 3,500 word essays needed to be marked in the next three weeks. And they didn’t just need marks. Each of them needed a page of rich, detailed feedback, often crucial […]

This is not a topic that has had much airing within the University and so it may not be well known to many. However, we have just completed a substantial project exploring the issue at Reading and are set to do more work in the near future in preparation for submitting an institution-wide application for […]

So you’re a lecturer at Reading and you find yourself going over and over information in handbooks, course outlines, books and journals with students-anything from tricky academic concepts to essay writing and ECFs. Of course it’s difficult in an age of information overload. Really important stuff gets lost and sometimes it’s hard to make our […]

This is my new recipe for extending the academic year and helping to welcome our new students. As with any new recipe, some bits of it went really well and some aspects of it were less impressive – and there was one moment when I was in danger of failing to cook up any learning […]

The University of Reading now has ‘KiteSite’ – a free, bespoke mobile app for biodiversity recording on the Whiteknights campus. KiteSite has been designed as a generic tool to support field training in biodiversity and taxonomy at the University and it can be used in any module for field data collection. There is a supporting […]

There are many things that spring to mind as influencing student success, but did you know that research carried out across 21 UK universities (under the auspicious of the HEA, HEFCE, Action on Access and the Paul Hamyln Foundation) determined that the number one factor is that students need to feel a ‘sense of belonging’. […]

A short while ago I wrote the post “Group work: sure, but what about assessment? This outlines a TLDF- funded project in which Cathy Hughes and I investigated tools for the peer assessment of group work. Cathy and I have now produced a full report, which is available for download here (Cathy Hughes and Heike Bruton […]

Dr Nicola Abram, Literature and Languages n.l.abram@reading.ac.uk Year of activity: 2014/15 Overview This entry describes the use of screencasts to deliver skills training on a compulsory Part One English Literature module. As a result of the changes outlined here, every student taking English Literature at the University of Reading will have access throughout their degree […]

Dr Mark Dallas, School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy m.dallas@reading.ac.uk Overview Within the School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy, coursework on a Part Two Pharmacy module, Therapeutics and Medicines Optimisation B (PM2B), was redesigned to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the new module. In their assessed work, students demonstrated a better appreciation of the interconnectivity […]

Last year I wrote all about the pedagogical value of cake in my seminars. This year I want to extend this notion and talk about the value of croissants and coffee as a means to encourage student engagement and develop further a sense of community in the department. I knew from my experience with cake […]

This post relates to activities carried out on the EU ERASMUS Intensive Programme grant awarded to University of Reading to fund 10 students from each of Belgium, Germany and the UK, plus 5 staff in total from the three countries, to travel to Akureyri in Iceland. Once there, the grant funded a 2-week residential field […]

I’ve just returned from a visit to the University of Reading Malaysia where I was delivering the first half of Module 1 of our new APP (Academic Practice Programme) to members of staff over there. (Sam Weston posted a blog message here about this after our first day). It was a fascinating visit for me […]

We are living in an increasingly digital world; many of our students grow up immersed in this way of life, having access to a wealth of information online, often accessible wherever they are. But how do they use this appropriately in their learning, and how do we help them harness all of this information? These […]

Today in Johor Bahru, academic staff from University of Reading Malaysia embarked upon Day 1 of the first module of the Academic Practice Programme, being delivered by Clare McCullagh from the UK campus. All began well, despite jetlag and complications with fonts conspiring to throw her off-stride! The day began with an introduction to EDMAP1 […]

For colleagues who may be interested in current research advances which may affect how we understand and practice learning and the role of agency and community in the class (involving all co-participants as a human community of practice), this inter-disciplinary theoretical conception may be informative. The problem which may be relevant to any settings of […]

The GRASS (Generating Resources and Access to Screen capture Software) project aims to enable, enhance and support access to screen capture technology across the University. It is a Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) maxi-project which will run for two years and, although the official launch is in September, we are already excited by what […]

Dear Colleagues of this University, I thought it may be worthwhile sharing via our blog the news on an exciting inter-disciplinary research in Henley Business School’s Centre of Social and Organisational Studies (CSOS) in association with the Centre of Economic History of the University.  Specifically on June 17, 2014 I organised an international academic symposium […]

On 4th June at London Road, CQSD ran their first writing retreat for UoR staff embarking on the pilot FLAIR CPD programme, to document their previous teaching experience and apply for HEA recognition at Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow and Principal Fellow status. The day began with a tag-team presentation from Clare and Nina outlining […]

Given the focus on the research-teaching nexus within the University at present I thought it would be useful to post a short video on the University’s involvement in an international journal that only publishes student research. Bioscience Horizons was established about 8 years ago, with Reading as one of the consortium members. The link below […]

Background Students on the BA (QTS) in Primary Education juggle conflicting roles right from the beginning of their programme. On the one hand they are undergraduate students with all that entails – getting to grips with being away from home, managing their social lives and budgets, learning how to become academically independent. On the other, […]

Background There’s a lively community of academics researching postcolonial literature, both across the UK and internationally. Many of us also enjoy the privilege of teaching these texts at undergraduate and postgraduate level, often on increasingly popular courses. Here at Reading, that includes modules on ‘Black British Fiction’, ‘Nigerian Prose Literature’ and ‘Writing Global Justice’ in […]

Group work has many well-documented benefits for students, but it also provides considerable challenges. A frequent complaint from students is that differences in contributions are not recognised when everyone in the group receives the same mark – the free loader issue. However, when students are working unsupervised, it is very difficult for the tutor to […]

Engaging with literary representations of ‘race’, racism and ethnicity This workshop offers university teachers of literature a forum to reflect on texts that enquire into the construction of ‘race’, the practices of racism, and the representation of ethnic difference. Delegates will articulate the ethical value of such teaching and evaluate relevant practical approaches, working together […]

Facebook can be a distraction to learning but it can also be an aid. I believe strongly that lecturers should do their best to make their subject interesting to students.  It can be an uphill battle.  However, this year’s experiment in using Facebook as a student engagement technology with a first year Photosynthesis class of 300 […]

Like many colleagues, I have attended a number of interesting talks on the ‘flipped classroom’ approach, whereby, in a role reversal, the main delivery of information takes place outside of the classroom, and the contact time is used instead for reinforcing learning. I haven’t quite identified yet how I can make use of this approach […]

In the Department of English Literature all of our Parts 2 and 3 modules are available as placement modules, allowing a student to identify (with our help) a suitable placement provider and work with the module convenor and me to craft a placement project or activity which links to the learning on their chosen module. […]

Getting young people to engage in the political process appears to be a problem all across western democracies. Politics and politicians seem remote from the young and the gap between the Baby Boomers and Generation X figures holding the reins of power and the Millennials now making their way through university appears ever wider. This […]

There is an on-going multi-disciplinary, student-led project at the University of Reading to create an app for recording biodiversity sightings on the Whiteknights campus. This project was funded by the Teaching & Learning Development Fund and is currently engaging students, staff and external natural history groups alongside design and technology experts to create and customise […]

Have you ever wondered if students actually read their handbooks? Many probably don’t get all the way to the end and miss out on crucial information. If handbooks aren’t always delivering then how can we communicate with our students in a more engaging, captivating and accessible way? One solution is video. It’s much, much, easier […]

In an effort to rise to the challenge of increasing the employability of graduates, staff from Reading School of Pharmacy worked in a cross-faculty collaboration with colleagues in Henley Business School to develop the UK’s first Post-Graduate Certificate in Business and Administration available to undergraduate MPharm students. This clearly fits with the 2013-15 teaching and […]

As a recipient of funding under the PLanT (Partnerships in Learning and Teaching) scheme (PLANT Projects Scheme), I am delighted to be able to report on the project – which is still a bit of a work in progress.  The PLANT awards are aimed at facilitating projects which get students involved with staff as partners […]

Seneca the Younger (4 B.C. – A.D. 65) was a famous Roman statesman and stoic philosopher. As the young Nero’s tutor, he at some point was de facto Rome’s Emperor by all but the title. His Epistulae Morales (‘Moral Letters’) constitute a major part of his philosophical work. The 108th epistle of that collection provides […]

I was thrilled to be heading to the Gordon Research Conference on ‘Chemical Education Research and Practice’ in Newport, Rhode Island, thanks to an ‘Activating Chemistry Education Research’ bursary from the Royal Society of Chemistry. Having been to Gordon Conferences in the past, I was familiar with the format: busy mornings of talks, free afternoons […]

Niccolò Perotti, the Italian humanist, preserved a collection of fables ascribed to the ancient Roman fabulist Phaedrus. This collection, commonly known as the Appendix Perottina, contains a poem called Prometheus et Dolus (‘Prometheus and Trickery), subtitled De ueritate et mendacio (‘Of Truth and Falsehood). It reads as follows: Olim Prometheus saeculi figulus noui cura subtili Veritatem […]

The Digital Development Forum in July was an ideal opportunity to begin sharing some of the thinking and planning around Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) that has been happening over the last 6 months. In January 2013 the TEL Strategy Group was established, chaired by Professor Gavin Brooks and with representation from across the University.   The […]

Library Info tips have been a feature of our website since 2009 but how well-known and used are they? Which are the most popular? These bite-sized articles, which are aimed at developing students’ academic and research skills, cover topics that are relevant to all students, such as: Referencing Finding specific types of materials such as […]

Many of us enjoy attending the University’s T&L Showcase Series of seminars, as not only do these events give an insight into the exciting things going on across the University, but they also give us food for thought with regards potential teaching enhancements we may wish to try out ourselves. It was somewhat with this […]

At an away day prior to our Periodic Review, staff had an opportunity to have some creative dialogue around how we can better support our postgraduate students. This came up as a response from some thought provoking feedback from our current students when asked how we can improve. International students, students with English as an […]

The use of the free open source GIS package “Quantum GIS (QGIS)” is increasing slowly but steadily and for many purposes provides a viable alternative to commercially produced software like MapInfo and ArcGIS. QGIS is licensed under the GNU General Public License. Data indicates that interest in QGIS, as measured by the relative number of […]

I recently attended this QAA event on MOOCS in London for the University. Speakers included David Willetts, the Minister for Universities and Science, and Sir Timothy O’Shea, Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh University which has been running 6 MOOCs for the last year (including very popular courses on philosophy and on equine health). The guiding topic […]

On Wed 5 June, rather too many people crammed into rather too warm a room to hear about where we are going wrong when teaching students about referencing practices – and a suite of teaching materials that will hopefully help us avoid such pitfalls. Our speaker was Diane Schmitt, Senior Lecturer in EFL/TESOL at Nottingham […]

The academic year 2012-13 has been a dynamic time for the SSLC of the BA Ed programme. In response to results on the NSS and internal evaluations, two sub-committees were set up to focus on specific areas for development within the course: Organisation/communication and Assessment/feedback. This student input has resulted in many changes. For example, […]

1.  Dr Nicholls, you are particularly interested in the digital modelling of ancient buildings and places, especially the city of Rome, and you are currently talking to Cambridge University Press about a book and related digital / app publications as well as showcasing your work at the up-coming Higher Education Academy Storyville Conference.  Why did […]

  As we continue to develop OSCAR the online student community in Art our students are becoming more involved and more integral to the development of the project. Together we are researching innovative ways to integrate the social network, designed to support our studio modules, across all of our programmes in Art. We have been […]

1.          How long has the Department of Philosophy offered the Part One ‘Reason and Argument’ module (PP1RA) and why have you decided also now to offer a new Part Two module ‘Truth and Bullshit’ (PP2TBS)? The module ‘Reason and Argument’ was offered for the first time last year. It is a revised version of a […]

1.       Why has the Department of History decided to introduce the third-year module History Education? The idea for History Education arose from two coincidental events in mid-January 2011.  A message landed in my inbox calling for applications for Faculty of Arts and Humanities ‘Think Space’ funding for curriculum-development projects to enhance student employability.  Earlier the […]

With the news that the University’s personal tutorial system has been under review (Issue 2, T&L Reading), we thought it would be useful to highlight how we have been successfully combining pastoral and academic responsibilities of a personal tutor. In the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, for the last three years we have operated a […]

On Thursday 18th April, the HEA hosted a conference in Bristol, showcasing some innovative uses of old technologies as well as demonstrating the cutting edge of new tech used in the delivery of teaching materials to undergraduates in medicine and dentistry. We attended in the hope that some of these ideas might be adaptable for […]

The University of Reading recently hosted the Classical Association Conference, the UK’s largest annual meeting for Classicists. As well as research papers, the CA traditionally hosts panels exploring the teaching of the subject at both school and University levels and covering new developments. Classics, despite its ancient subject matter, has always been at the forefront of modern […]

My paper on the project What did I do wrong? Supporting independent learning practices to avoid plagiarism was well received in Manchester last week at LILAC. What is the project about? It is one year project at the University of Reading involving collaboration between Library staff (including a Study Adviser); staff from the International Study […]

This month sees the publication of my latest book, Teaching in Higher Education, written with Professor Pam Denicolo and published as part of the SAGE series Success in Research of which we are editors. I suppose it is inevitable, given our busy lives, that we do not always have the time to analyze all the ways in […]

Dr Elizabeth Page and Professor Matthew Almond developed an online distance learning course in 2011-2012 with funding support from the National HE STEM programme. The distance learning course entitled ‘Fundamental Analytical Techniques for Industry’ encompasses a host of analytical chemistry techniques typically used in a variety of scientific industries – pharma, food, agrichemicals etc. The […]

The T&L away day in September 2011 focused on the theme ‘Building an Undergraduate Research Community’. Arising from these discussions a group of staff met to investigate ways in which undergraduate research at Reading might be more effectively showcased across the institution (and beyond). The group has expanded since its conception in 2011 and now meets once […]

Even more online support has been made available for students here at Reading seeking work placement and graduate employment. A new online tool dedicated to helping students find opportunities within the life sciences industry has been launched this month by the Biopharma Skills Consortium (BSC), which is led by the University of Reading and comprises seven universities […]

The recent announcement that Reading has been selected as a partner in the Futurelearn project to provide free online courses is an exciting move towards new ways of engaging with a potentially massive cohort of students. However, concerns have been expressed about the lack of support for students studying the courses, especially those run by […]

The Careers, Placement and Experience Centre’s investment, thanks to a grant from the Annual Fund, in a software package for virtual fair technology, has enabled the service to extend its traditional offer of careers fairs and provide students with a virtual environment in which to interact with employers.

Congratulations to Matthew Nicholls, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics, who has been shortlisted for a prestigious Learning on Screen Award by the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUVFC) in the Courseware and Curriculum Non Broadcast/Multimedia Award category. Here is a short clip from Matthew’s entry, ‘Digital Modelling of Ancient Rome and the Roman World’: […]

The Internationalising Student Support COP has been established with the remit to offer opportunities for staff involved with and interested in the development and enhancement of student support and experience in relation to internationalisation; to share best practice and discuss current challenges and opportunities for providing a high quality international student experience for all students. […]

Every year, students on the first year Analysing Museum Displays optional module have a talk from Dr Amy Smith at the Ure Museum, looking at the display there about the Greek symposium. This year I put the lecture online along with a transcript, photographs of the display, and a worksheet. I told them to use […]

The new placement guide has been written for all University staff involved in managing student placement options, internships, work placement programmes and volunteering schemes in and outside of the curriculum.operational processes involved in managing placements, alongside the details of key people within the University who can provide support. The guide also refers to national guidance […]

In the Department of English Literature we have been working hard, as have so many of our colleagues across the university, to make the most of the intellectual, personal and career advantages that placement learning can offer our students. We have devised a system of academic placements which is open to all undergraduates studying in […]

I was asked to contribute this after the Business School scored highly in the NNS survey for Management & Business degrees, and was invited to focus on things the School has done that have contributed to the maintenance of and improvement in our NSS scores that might be shared. The category includes our Accounting programmes, […]

Forrest (Forensic Research and Teaching) is an annual conference partly organised by Higher Education Academy. Two of the strengths of this meeting are its multidisciplinary nature; chemists, biologists and physicists meet with lawyers and that it genuinely brings together research and teaching – both areas inform each other during the meeting.

As part of its remit, the Higher Education Academy offers professional recognition to its members – colleagues are able to apply to be an Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow or Principal Fellow. I was very recently successful in gaining recognition as a Senior Fellow, the first at the University of Reading. The process is relatively […]

The University of Reading is a project partner in a prestigious project to develop a multi-agent based intelligent tutoring system to support online teachers, trainers, tutors and learners: I-TUTOR. I-TUTOR, which stands for Intelligent Tutoring for Lifelong Learning is to be applied in open source learning environments, and will monitor, track, analyze and give formative assessment and feedback […]

Recently, we had the opportunity to participate in the Teaching & Learning Showcase event on ‘Flexible Learning’, put together by the CDoTL team, during which we presented the Existing and Emerging Biotechnologies (EEB) Framework. You can read more about our presentation on our blog: http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/bioscience-skills/tflexible-learning-presentation.

Having students say they are 100% satisfied with what we offer is not an everyday occurrence.  This is what happened in Clinical Language Sciences in the 2012 NSS.  All of the students who responded said they definitely agreed with the statement: “Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course”.  We were obviously extremely […]

It is important that students turn up for our three hour laboratory practicals suitably prepared, but just providing the Lab Scripts in advance is not enough, as often students don’t read them! Now in Systems Engineering we embed a series of questions throughout the Scripts which are available on Blackboard in the form of a […]

Avant-Propos The University of Reading, like any other Higher Education Institution, is a diverse place, with many stakeholders, but – at least in theory – one mutual mission: ‘our mission is to educate talented people well, to conduct outstanding research, and to promote the responsible application of new knowledge.’ Unsurprisingly, the various stakeholders have diverse, […]

Late in September 2012 we received our National Student Survey (NSS) results: 98% overall satisfaction across the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, including a perfect 100% for our BSc Mathematics programme, putting us (obviously) first place for all G100 courses, and second place in the Mathematics and Statistics (JACS code 3) table. A number of […]

The University Strategy for Teaching and Learning identified “communities of practice” as key vehicles for informal dialogue with the ‘academic voice’ and for mutual support, for the exchange of ideas and the sharing of good practice between different role groups involved in the whole University teaching and learning agenda. The Internationalising Student Support COP has […]

The University of Reading is part of a three-year HEA-funded project considering the use of technology in fieldwork. The project is now in its final year and has led to the production of a wide range of resources and publications which can be viewed on the project website at http://www.enhancingfieldwork.org.uk. Alice Mauchline and Julian Park […]

An eye-opening T&L seminar, presented by Dr Neil Morris (University of Leeds) outlined how terribly, terribly easy the majority of our undergraduates find using technology…of all kinds! Having seen his short video clip about how one of his students used his tablet to video record a lecture, whilst simultaneously annotate lecture slides provided on the […]

Avid readers of this blog might recall that I completed the University’s Teaching and Learning Support Programme in 2011. I recently took the opportunity to complement this valuable training by attending a subject-specific event run by the Council for College and University English, at Keele University. The event began with a fruitful workshop on close […]

‘What did I do wrong?’ may be a sadly familiar phrase to tutors when notifying students of poor academic practice in their written work. It was chosen for the title of our collaborative TLDF-funded project because it captures the confusion and lack of understanding which is characteristic in student responses to plagiarism and poor academic […]

Last week’s T&L seminar, by Dr Neil Morris, on the use of technology in enhancing the student experience was a superb overview of the array of technology that our students seem to be familiar with and that many institutions are incorporating into teaching.  A key highlight for me was the data that Neil was able […]

Significant effort at the University of Reading has been focused on all aspects of Internationalisation. In the School of Biological Sciences, we are working toward enhancing Global Employability of our students (both home and overseas) to produce high quality, highly competitive Global Graduates. Our vision of a Global Graduate will be someone who is highly […]

I am excited to announce the launch of OSCAR the Online Studio Community at Reading. This new digital platform has been developed to support the vast range of teaching and learning activities that happen across studio modules in Art, within the department itself but also off-campus and internationally. While the studio remains an important environment […]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6OjCAq5u-TQ Our Teaching & Learning Showcase Series continued yesterday with a session on ‘Sharing good practice in the use of Turnitin’. Turnitin is an online service which allows educators to check students’ work for similarity with other sources as a tool for plagiarism prevention and development of academic writing skills. Turnitin automatically generates an ‘Originality Report’ with a […]

In September British baking was celebrated during National Cupcake Week. The BBC’s Great British Bake Off has been tremendously popular. Niche cup-cake shops have been springing up on the high street…and quite right. Most of us love cake. With this in mind, last year I introduced a 10 minute break in the middle of my […]

Having sketched out my pedagogical interest in combining the teaching of critical practice with a close study of Samuel Beckett’s work in the first part of this blog post double bill, let me now tell you more about the actual teaching project itself: after a series of lectures, seminars, presentations and workshops, I give the […]

Here in Film, Theatre & Television, over the last couple of years, I have been fortunate to be able to devise an interesting teaching project that draws on the Department’s long-standing expertise in teaching critical practice, the Faculty’s expertise on the work of Samuel Beckett, as well as the University’s unique resources, including the facilities […]

I have been working with a placement student, Rachel Glover, a third-year undergraduate in Politics and International Relations, to carry out research into digital literacies for student employability, focusing on the University’s extra- and in-curricular work placement schemes. This research is part of the Digitally Ready project (www.reading.ac.uk/digitallyready), a JISC-funded initiative under the Developing Digital […]

The Department of History has been running a module for Part 2 students called Historic Themes in Practice (HTP) for the last three years. It is an innovative module in conception, organisation and structure. It is designed to make second year students enlarge their views of career possibilities, particularly within the heritage sector, and learn […]

Like a lot of people, I do not consider myself particularly savvy about technology: when I find that something is useful to me, I learn how to use it. That said, I think we can use learning technologies to come up with ‘low tech’ solutions to our teaching needs. Among the advantage is efficiency in […]

By Helen Bilton, Institute of Education (NTFS 2012) I had never heard of the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, nor the University Teaching Fellowships, until a colleague who had achieved the status of University Teaching Fellow came and talked to our research group about the achievement. I actually was having a very bad day and missed the […]

I have previously blogged about my trip to ALT-C in Manchester. In the same week I went to the RAISE Conference in Southampton. The Researching, Advancing & Inspiring Student Engagement day was my first opportunity to speak about some of the findings of our research so far. At the last-minute, my supervisor Nadja Guggi had […]

As usual, it was great to see so many colleagues at a Teaching and Learning away day – it always reminds me how much we all care about this important aspect of our lives as academics. I enjoyed this session especially because I met several colleagues with whom I have never worked before. Two of […]

There are an exciting range of T&L seminars, showcases and events taking place this term. See the CDoTL website for further details at http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/cdotl/NewsandEvents/cdotl-LatestNews.aspx

The term internationalisation is thrown about very easily in HE nowadays, so I enjoyed a recent opportunity to sit around a table and discuss pedagogy and policy in detail with two visiting academics from the Sudan University for Science and Technology (SUST). As Academic Staff Development Managers in CSTD my colleague Nina Brooke and I […]

The 19th international conference of the Association for Learning Technology ( University of Manchester, UK, 11-13 September 2012) was buzzing with 700 participants, where I had the opportunity to attend some excellent sessions and to keep a watching brief on what is happening in the HE sector in terms of learning technologies and pedagogy. Below […]

The Study Advice team found David Nutt’s post (Preparing to turn the classroom upside down, 14th Sept 2012) very timely as we too are embarking on a project to ‘flip’ the classroom. Flipped learning has been a significant driver in the increase in open online courses for higher education. It has been used in higher […]

I think it was at the HEA-STEM conference (London, April 2012) in a talk given by Prof Simon Bates from the University of Edinburgh (now at the University of British Columbia) that I first heard of the “flipped” or “inverted” classroom. The basic premise really appealed to me: contact time with lecturers is limited and […]

Technology has played a core role in supporting learning and teaching on the GG2FC Crete Field Class module. The module typically enrols 30 students who work in small groups collecting data and evidence to solve Human and Physical Geography related problems in Sfakia, SW Crete. In previous years groups have completed daily blog entries or produced short […]

When I got appointed as a Lecturer in 2010 I found that I had to do the PGCAP course as part of requirements for my probation. Initially I did not feel happy about this. I had quite a heavy teaching workload and also the pressure to develop research papers and grant proposals. I certainly felt the […]

In July, Rob Jackson and Ben Neuman led nine Part 3 students from the School of Biological Sciences to the University of Akureyri in Northern Iceland, about 100km south of the Arctic circle. At UnAk, they met with Dr Oddur Vilhelmsson, his PhD student Auður Sigurbjörnsdóttir and 8 Icelandic Masters and undergraduate students. This was the inaugural joint UK-Icelandic module, […]

Museum ethics, display design and object-based research are some of the areas for which online resources are being developed in a JISC-funded project between the University of Reading, University College London and the Collections Trust. The project, called Object-Based Learning for Higher Education, prioritises usability and aims to make the resources part of syllabuses. On […]

The 2011/12 academic year saw a teaching initiative that brought together two of the University’s distinguished departments, Meteorology and Film, Theatre & Television, using the excellent facilities in the Minghella Building. Second year undergraduates in Meteorology have for some time undertaken a module that partly involves ‘bench’ forecasting, when they learn, for example, how to […]

I was glad to find out recently that I’m a Digital Hero. Though disappointed that the title does not appear to confer any super-powers, I’m glad that the University recognises the innovative work that many of us are doing in our different fields – Reading feels like a place that values digital innovation and encourages […]

Four mini-reports have been published by the NUS following a 12 month, QAA commissioned, research project into the UK higher education student experience. Below are the links to each of these reports which have the following themes: Teaching and Learning; Independent Learning and Contact Hours; Subject Differences and First Year Student Experience. Teaching and Learning […]

Completing the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) portfolio provided the perfect opportunity for me to reflect on teaching and learning and how my approach has developed over the years. I was surprised at how well I mapped onto Kugel’s five ages of a lecturer (1993). I certainly started out at stage 1 (self) where […]

Digitally Ready for the Future: Sharing Good Practice Thursday 19 July 2012 10.45 -15.00, Agriculture Building The digital age has presented Higher Education with our greatest opportunity. We have new techniques, new technologies, changes in student expectations along with a phenomenal increase in access to information. Amongst our colleagues are early adopters and forward thinkers […]

Fieldwork is an important component of Higher Education in a number of subjects. As a Learning Space it provides good educational opportunities for students; including the teaching & practice of skills such as observation, data recording & analysis to report writing and teamwork. Two University of Reading staff members, Julian Park and Alice Mauchline (together […]

The TEDx-style conference Od „Ala Ma Kota” Do E-Matury brought together typographers, designers, publishers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and policy makers from different European countries, to explore the correlation of the design of educational materials and efficiency in education. The UK was represented by Gerry Leonidas from the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, who spoke about […]

Still smiling at the end of their introductory seminar in June, these students are pioneering an exciting addition to the BA History programme, allowing them to test and develop their interest in teaching careers before applying for postgraduate teacher-training. Thanks to Faculty of Arts and Humanities Teaching and Learning ‘Think Space’ funding, and much appreciated […]

I mentioned in my last post for this blog that I’d attended some Higher Education Academy workshops in order to develop my teaching practice. I’d like to share a little about my most recent outing, Teaching Post-Millennial Literature (University of Brighton, 2nd July 2012) [http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/detail/2012/seminars/disciplines/DW238]. Attending this one-day symposium was thoroughly invigorating. The presentations ranged […]

I’m surprised and thrilled to have won the University of Reading’s Teaching and Learning Support Programme Portfolio Prize! I’m looking forward to attending the Teaching and Learning Awards ceremony on the 18th September, where Professor Gavin Brooks, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), will make the presentation. Let me explain… I’ve had the privilege of contributing to […]

Those of you who attended the University/RUSU debate on the motion that Part One should count towards students’ degree classifications (30th November 2011) will recall the persuasive arguments presented by both teams (see the Part One Debate summary for a reminder). Like me, you may have found your initial conviction in one side of the argument wavering […]

  Way back in October 2011, at the beginning of the Autumn Term, Parts 2 and 3 English students were told about a fantastic opportunity. We were now able to go and seek experience beyond the university and go on a placement as part of any module in our year. This would be an integral […]

The 2nd May saw CDoTL host an exciting event billed as ‘Exploring Student Engagement at Reading and Beyond’. Attending as a students’ union staff member with a passion for student engagement on a local and national level, I was excited to get the chance to hear about different viewpoints and approaches – especially from Scotland, […]

Last month I attended the first part of an afternoon conference on ‘Exploring Student Engagement at Reading and Beyond’, which took place in the Agriculture Building at Reading University. Towards the end of Cathy Bovill’s excellent keynote talk I asked the following: “Shouldn’t we be thinking about why we want to engage students in the curriculum? […]

The Institute of Education’s move to the refurbished London Road site has provided an opportunity for the University to show a willingness to become more actively involved in the cultural life of the town. By way of seizing this opportunity, all schools and arts organisations within a 30 mile radius were invited to attend an […]

There is good news for staff concerned with placement provision, particularly those involved for the first time. A new Placement Guide for Staff will provide quick reference points for managing the different types of placement and provide answers to FAQs. Once approved, it will be on the Web for easy search and update. In the […]

Shortly after receiving the news that I had been made a Teaching Fellow of the University I found myself talking to a number of colleagues from other institutions involved in teacher education. I must admit to being a little embarrassed when my host, who I had told about the Fellowship in a quiet conversation, introduced […]

On Wednesday 18th January 2012 CDoTL played host to a visit from colleagues from the Teaching and Learning Unit (‘Ionad Bairre’) at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. Professor Grace Neville (VP Teaching and Learning), Dr Bettie Higgs and Marian McCarthy (Co-Directors of Ionad Bairre) spent the day meeting with the CDoTL team to find out […]

Read Vicky Collins approach to addressing the challenges of remote learning, student engagement and new technology within ISLI. This article details an internal peer review event on the theme of ‘Managing synchronous online teaching.

This article outlines the re-design, necessitated partly due to COVID-19, that was undertaken for the Part 1 chemistry module, CH1PRA, which services approximately 45 students per year.

Shelley Harris reflects on the experience of taking Employability events online for creative writing students

This case study outlines approaches to fostering an active learning environment on the University’s first fully online Undergraduate Pre-sessional Course.

Ed Tew shares his thoughts in the final of his three posts on flipped learning.

Ed Tew shares the ‘in-class flipped’ idea and explores ways to apply it in an online platform such as Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.

Find out how, whilst in lockdown, Amanda Millmore measured the impact of the new Academic Tutor System (ATS) on students in the School of Law, capturing their experiences, both good and bad, with a view to making improvements.

This case study outlines ISLI’s process of creating a version of the Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP) for 1-1 online delivery.

Dr Edward Tew reflects on Flipped Learning and its application during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Find out more how ISLI moved to full online teaching in four weeks.

This case study outlines the process of rapidly converting the Academic English Programme (AEP) to online, and reports student feedback and reflections on the experience.

Find out how Professor Cindy Becker created a YouTube channel to reassure students that she is still here, still wants to teach them, and is as keen to stay in touch as they are.

Find out how SAGES provided their students with the field-based teaching elements of their courses when access to sites was impossible.

Dr Alison MacLeod from SAGES outlines her experience of running an 100% online exam.

How did it go? What was the student opinion? Did they hate it? Would there be a mass protest? Read more to find out.

This account explores how the Academic Practice Team re-designed three full days of face to face teaching from the Academic Practice Programme into two mornings of synchronous online teaching using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.