Informal account – T&L Exchange

Flipped learning – ‘In-class flipped’

23 July 202023 July 2020 By edwardwhite Comment Closed

Dr Edward Tew – Lecturer in Accounting, HBS.

In my previous article (https://sites.reading.ac.uk/t-and-l-exchange/2020/06/22/3143/), I have considered the definition of Flipped learning and four key pillars advocated by Flipped learning network (FLN, 2014) and explored how we can adapt and applied these four pillars in online flipped lessons which students learn either synchronously or asynchronously to meet the demand for distance/online learning, especially given the current pandemic.

On the FLN site, I came across a fascinating idea advocated by Martha Ramirez, called in-class flip. In this article, I’d like to share this in-class flipped idea with you and explore ways to apply it in an online platform such as UoR BB.

Why in-class flip?

The flipped learning is usually designed where knowledge transfer takes place online and students can pace their own learning with preassigned readings and tasks before coming into their classroom. Then the application of the knowledge takes place in the classroom, where students get support from the tutor and their peers.

However, there a few issues which require attention, particularly during this Covid-19 pandemic. Two major concerns I have are:

students may not have access to technology outside of classroom
students coming to class unprepared because of the issue above or generally not completing the flipped homework beforehand

Based on my past experience, in order to have a successful and effective flipped learning, students play a vital role here i.e. they must complete the at-home learning or flipped contents and come to class with some level of understanding of the lesson. This must absolutely happen. I also learn that I have no control over what happens outside the classroom. For example, I can’t guarantee reliable internet access in every student’s home at any location even I assume they have access to the internet. Not to mention the firewall issues I faced recently in my teaching with students located in China. Absolutely zero control! In addition, we cannot assume students have a perfect home-learning environment, particularly in this challenging time. In reality, we also need to acknowledge there are students who have a tendency to skip their homework for whatever reasons.

Solution: In-class flip with Station rotation model

One way to address both of these concerns is to combine the station rotation model and the flipped learning with an in-class flip (Barnes & Gonzalez, 2015).

First, let’s unpack what is In-class flip.

Gonzalez (2014) explains it in the following:

“An In-Class Flip works like this. Just like with a traditional flip, the teacher pre-records direct instruction, say, in a video lecture. But instead of having students view the content at home, that video becomes a station in class that small groups rotate through. The rest of their time is spent on other activities — independent work and group work, with some activities related to the lesson and others focusing on different course content. As with a traditional flip, the direct instruction runs on its own, which frees the teacher for more one-on-one time with students.”

In brief, an in-class flip can be defined as doing in-class stations rotation work with flipped contents. In other words, the flip takes place inside the classroom. Reading from Gonzalez’s (2014) explanation above, you probably already get some idea about the station rotation model. As the name suggests, students rotate through learning stations at the teacher’s instructional strategy for the lesson.

Ramirez (2019) suggests there are six types of stations that can be used in an in-class flip:

Flip station: where the flipped content is. Content could be digital or paper-based
Practice station: where students apply and practise of what they have learned from the flipped content
Independent station: where there are “extra” resources for students to work on while other stations become available
Feedback station: where students are asked to provide feedback about their own learning, the lesson itself, their classmates’ work or the content
Teacher support station: where the teacher helps and provides support for students who are struggling
Peer Instruction station: where students teach the content to each other

In a nutshell, in an In-class flip lesson, you can therefore provide the flipped content (which was supposed to be homework in flipped learning) to students in the classroom. They can go to different stations in the classroom depending on their comprehension level. For example, students can revisit the Flip station to re-learn the topic, when they are ready, they can move to a Practice station to apply what they have learned. Alternatively, they might want to visit the Teacher support station to get more support. The goal is to provide students with a variety of ways and methods to learn a class topic at their own pace and within their control.

During the in-class flip lesson, there are 4 variations to design the station rotation model, i.e. Sequence, Mixed, Looped and Half n’Half (Ramirez, 2019). Details can be read here. I’d like to consider the following two types which I think most of us can relate to.

Simple sequence

The figure above illustrates how a lesson can look like. This design has the following characteristic (Ramirez, 2017):

Stations can be sequenced
Students begin in sequential order and complete all tasks in each station
The first station contains the instruction, knowledge required for the tasks – Flip station(s)
The following stations are focus on the practice. Students apply what they learn from the first station – Practice station(s)
Where there is a lot of students, stations can be duplicated to ensure all students start at the same pace

Mixed sequence

According to Ramirez (2017), “in this design, each student can choose and moves to any station at their own pace. Teacher monitors, clarifies and provide support. Students who need instruction will start at the flip station; those who previously know the content will skip the flip stations and start at the practice stations. Some students might know the content of one flip station and not another, and some need to go back and review content explanations, so their flow sequence varies according to previous knowledge and needs.”

Application

UoR has published Teaching and Learning: Framework for Autumn term 2020 and highlighted T&L will be a mixture of online and face to face interactive sessions. The key rationale is that “Students need time to make sense of the online recorded lectures they have engaged with and will need opportunities to verbalise, develop and apply their understanding, with tutors and with each other” (UoR, 2020, p.4). With this in mind, the in-class flip may be a solution for us to consider particularly taking into account the two major concerns I raised earlier on.

The tricky part is the application of in-class flip in an online platform. In order to apply what we understand about in-clip flip above in line with UoR T&L framework, I reckon one of the key features in Blackboard Collaborate Ultra can definitely serve the purposes of station rotation model within the in-class flip lesson. Yes, you are right! The BREAKOUT ROOMS. More about BB breakout rooms can be read here.

I must admit I have not tried this feature in the past, but I am planning to learn and use it and incorporate some of the ideas above in my modules. Perhaps this is a future post I would be writing about, at the meantime please feel free to contact me and let me know what you think about in-class flip via email at w.tew@henley.ac.uk

References

Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P™ , Reproducible PDF can be found at www.flippedlearning.org/definition.

Barnes, M., & Gonzalez, J. (2015). Hacking Education: 10 Quick Fixes for Every School (Hack Learning Series). Cleveland, OH: Times 10 Publication.

González, J. (2014) Modifying the Flipped Classroom: The “In-Class” Version. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipped-classroom-in-class-version-jennifer-gonzalez

Ramirez (2017) What’s an in-class flip? Retrieved from http://martharamirez.com.co/blog/whats-an-in-class-flip/

Ramirez, M (2019) What’s an in-class flip – revisited. Retrieved from https://flippedlearning.org/in-flip/whats-an-in-class-flip-revisited/

UoR (2020) Teaching and Learning: Framework for Autumn term 2020, available at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/files/leadershipgroup/autumn-teaching-proposal-v11.pdf

*Figures taken from https://flippedlearning.org/in-flip/whats-an-in-class-flip-revisited/ and http://martharamirez.com.co/blog/whats-an-in-class-flip/

Want your students to succeed? Then help them to interpret their grades

19 March 202019 March 2020 By edwardwhite Comment Closed

Dr Sonia Hood, Study Advice Manager

We all know that grades are important. Despite our efforts to encourage students to take note of their feedback, it is the grade (the number) that they focus on. We also know that grades have an impact on a student’s belief in their capability, their self-efficacy belief, which in itself is a precursor of academic achievement (Richardson, Abraham & Bond, 2012); self-efficacious students will set themselves higher grades and are more likely to overcome barriers to achieve them (Bandura, 1997).

But my recent doctoral research has highlighted that it’s not the grade itself that impacts on self-efficacy beliefs but how a student interprets this grade. This may sound obvious, or even a moot point, but it is arguably a key distinction.

Students need to make sense of these grades and, in the absence of clear expectations, they will compare their grades with their peers. Inevitably, unfavourable comparisons will negatively impact on self-belief. Even if students have fared better, they will make judgements on the comparative efforts they put in to achieve these results, which can also damage their belief in their academic capabilities. Students also believe that their grades should continually increase, despite the assignment genre or subject, and if they don’t, further damage to self-belief occurs. This is perhaps not surprising when we consider the secondary school environments in which many arrive here from, with its focus on attainment and progress tracking.

So, what can we, as educators, do to foster self-efficacy beliefs in our students? Fundamentally, we need to support our students to ‘understand’ their grade and lessen the need to compare their grades with others. When they arrive, we should explain the university grading system, sharing with them grade ranges and averages; openly discuss that grades may not always increase and this may be a reflection of their different strengths in the variety of assessments they undertake; and above all, ensure they feel in control of their learning and are empowered to develop skills throughout their university journey.

Self-efficacy is a powerful concept and key to academic success. Fostering this by supporting students to interpret their mastery experiences in realistic ways is something we can all do to help.

For more information on this contact Dr Sonia Hood, Study Advice Manager

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy : the exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.

Richardson, M., Abraham, C., & Bond, R. (2012). Psychological correlates of university students’ academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 138(2), 353-387. doi: 10.1037/a0026838

Working in partnership with our lecturers to redesign language marking schemes

20 November 201917 January 2020 By edwardwhite Comment Closed

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 pieces of work. This was a follow-up to a 2016 project by Rita Balestrini, which aimed to improve the process of assessing foreign language skills within the department. As we had both taken part in the focus groups in our second year, we were asked to take part in the follow-up project and work alongside Rita Balestrini and her colleague Elisabeth Koenigshofer to improve the rubrics currently used in the department.

This project was influenced by Complexity Theory in the context of Second Language Development. Before the project started, we as students were not aware of research into Second Language Learning and research into the effectiveness of marking schemes. At the beginning of the project we were provided with reading material to gain a better understanding of the science and theory behind the project. We did find the reading quite difficult initially but it became clearer how second language development is a complex process which involves a number of interacting factors. Diane Larson-Freeman, a leading researcher into Complexity Theory defines the process as ‘a complex nonlinear system’ (1997), by which language learners do not simply master one item and then move on to another. Instead, they acquire the second language at different rates: some grammatical structures will be consolidated early on whilst others will take longer to master, and “mistakes” will still occur at all levels (Larson-Freeman, 1997). Thus, feedback becomes an integral part of the learning process. Effective feedback will eventually help learners to reach a high level of proficiency. There are many aspects involved in the process of Second Language Learning, for example the source language and the target language with their respective components (eg. phonology, morphology, lexicon, syntax, semantics and pragmatics); the amount and type of input, interaction, and of feedback (Larson-Freeman, 1997). This complexity raises the question of how to effectively evaluate Second Language Learning. Some research has found that rubrics are not very useful for measuring and evaluating objectively complex processes like Second Language Development. They do not acknowledge setbacks which are part of the learning process and cannot account for the effort put in by the student. This is a problem which also emerged from the analysis of focus group discussions.

Working with our lecturers was a very positive experience because we were able to contribute ideas to the project. We came up with examples of new descriptors and we hope our collaborative effort has produced new rubrics which will support better the process of language learning in the DLC. Being students, it meant that we could provide a unique insight because we have used the marking schemes throughout our four years of studying in the department. We could use our own experience to improve the experience of future students. We also realised how difficult it is to effectively evaluate the learning of a language from the perspective of a lecturer, as there are so many components that go into one single piece of work and also because language tasks can vary enormously, from writing a recipe to writing an essay. The difficulties of creating a marking scheme, which adequately evaluate the level of a student in all pieces of work, became apparent to us. One of the hardest parts of the project was coming up with new descriptors for each grade boundary. Based on the analysis of focus group discussions and on research on the use of rubrics, descriptors should avoid evaluative language and be encouraging for students, both, for those getting lower grades and needing to improve, and those achieving higher grades and wanting to continue to improve. Firstly, Sophia and I were given time to come up with our own new descriptors which we then shared with Rita and Elisabeth. Our lecturers used our ideas to come up with a proposal of what a new marking scheme would look like and which criteria and descriptors could be used. This was a really good way of working because it allowed equal input from both, us students, and lecturers, and meant that we could fully contribute to the project and have our ideas incorporated into the final marking and feedback schemes.

Overall, it was a really positive experience as we valued the expertise of our lecturers regarding the theory surrounding the project and could share the difficulties in evaluating pieces of work. Our lecturers in turn valued our experience as second-language learners who had used the rubrics as students and could provide ideas of how to improve them. We felt that our ideas and input were really appreciated and we hope to have helped create more effective marking schemes which will improve how students are assessed in the department.

Links to related posts

The report about the the follow-up project can be found here:

‘How did I do?’ Finding new ways to describe the standards of foreign language performance. A follow-up project on the redesign of two marking schemes (DLC)

The first stages of this ongoing project to enhance the process of assessing writing and speaking skills in the Department of Languages and Cultures (DLC, previously MLES) are described in the following blog entries:

Involving students in the appraisal of rubrics for performance-based assessment in Foreign Languages

Sharing the ‘secrets’: Involving students in the use (and design?) of marking schemes

Look After Your Mate: promoting student mental health and peer support within the School of Politics, Economics and International Relations

15 October 20199 March 2020 By edwardwhite Comment Closed

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. To this end they provide research-driven training and supervision to university staff to enable students to be equipped to bring about positive change on their campuses through peer support.

Throughout the higher education sector concern is being expressed that universities are witnessing a decline in the general wellbeing of students, some being more vulnerable to the onset of mental health difficulties than the sector has experienced in the past. Research undertaken by Student Minds (Press Release) suggests that, despite the substantial and increasing investment in welfare services provided by some universities across the country, students are more likely to disclose challenges they are experiencing to a friend than to their university. The research suggests that a fear of being judged is the greatest challenge to students when considering whether to access dedicated professional services. Discussions with students who attended Academic Engagement meetings in 2017/18 and 2018/19 within the School of Politics, Economics and International Relations highlighted the wide range of challenges some students may experience during times when there is a peak in the demand on their time and mental capacity. In seeking to address this, and as part of a wider Transition Strategy, the School will be offering Student Minds Look After Your Mate workshops this academic year.

Overview

The Look After Your Mate initiative encourages peer support whilst also making students aware of the need to look after their own mental health should they find themselves supporting a friend. We all know how difficult it can be to broach difficult subjects and to initiate discussions surrounding mental health; by giving students the skills and confidence to facilitate support, and to enable an effective response to those who confide they are struggling, this will hopefully enable students to receive the help and support they need sooner than would otherwise be the case.

Objectives

We welcome a diverse range of students to the University and it is essential that we acknowledge the challenges some may face. By equipping students with an awareness of the range of support services available, and raising awareness of how to support friends effectively, we hope to see an improvement in the mental health and wellbeing of the student community.

Look after your mate image The objectives are:

To increase knowledge and understanding of what mental health is, the difficulties faced and the support available.
To increase the skills and confidence required to support a friend who is experiencing difficulties.
To increase knowledge of students’ own wellbeing and how to look after themselves.

It is also hoped that students who take part in the Look After Your Mate workshop will benefit from the interactive nature of the sessions where they will have the opportunity to explore their own thoughts surrounding mental health and consider their own self-care.

The Look After Your Mate workshops count towards the RED Award, speaking volumes for the personal development opportunity for students.

Implementation

The November workshops will be advertised to Part 2 and Part 3 students during the School’s autumn term “Welcome Back” sessions and students will be able to sign up at these sessions. Part 1 students will have the opportunity to attend in the spring term, again with the sessions being advertised at the “Welcome Back” sessions. The interactive nature of the session means that numbers are, sadly, limited to 15 per workshop.

It is made clear to the students who take part that they are not being trained for the role of a counsellor but that they are being provided with the information necessary to approach conversations empathetically and signpost appropriate support services both on campus and within the wider community.

Reflections

In response to the launch of this initiative, RUSU Welfare Officer, Gemma King (welfareofficer@rusu.co.uk) commented “Having this initiative at our University is really important as peer support can be vital in encouraging students to access the help they need. Looking after a friend with mental health difficulties whilst at University can be tough and having a space to discuss these issues and understand how to look out for peers is a positive step to changing the conversation and stigma surrounding mental health.”

Students who attended the pilot welcomed the opportunity for students to be able to access the workshop in the future, citing the benefit to both themselves as individuals and to their wider friendship groups through the development of communication skills.

Follow-up

The initiative was piloted with volunteers in January 2019 and we now look forward to building on the feedback received as we roll out the programme more widely with separate workshops for undergraduates at Part 1, 2 and 3.

Drawing on our Study Smart success at AMOSSHE

23 July 201917 January 2020 By peteandrews Comment Closed

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 sense of university community before arrival. The audience from university Student Services teams across the country were keen to share experiences and learn from our leading example of an online, pre-arrival course. They were interested in how we’d used the FutureLearn platform to create a safe and honest space for students to share their excitement and anxiety about starting university study.

After attending many purely T&L events, going to the national Student Services conference gave a much wider picture of the social and wellbeing issues that we, as university staff, help students negotiate during their time with us. Common themes raised in our workshop were the desire to create communities that included different student groups (mature students, commuter students, care-leavers); how to maintain community beyond Welcome Week; and the difficult task of evaluating the impact of these social events.

Our session ended with a ‘draw your university community’ activity which participants really enjoyed. Each person’s drawing revealed different features of their university that stood out as important. The act of drawing tapped into more intuitive and emotional responses, and provided a fun activity that also prompted much deeper reflections on ideas of social cohesion.

We are all, in our different roles, aiming to help students feel a sense of belonging to our universities. The workshop showed that we are all aware of the importance of enabling students to form meaningful connections with many different groups – personal, local, and wider – during their time at university. Study Smart helps students find a common start point and shared experiences before they arrive, but it is only the beginning…

For more staff information about Study Smart – see our Tutors’ Guide: https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/studysmart

HEA STEM Conference 30-31 January 2019

27 March 201917 January 2020 By peteandrews Comment Closed

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 timings, but the friendly attitude of the organisers and delegates meant I needn’t have worried.

The conference brought together about 200 delegates from across STEM, though many of the topics could apply across the humanities too. Spread over 2 days, 7 parallel sessions run, giving a wide range of topics and making each session small enough for real discussions and an opportunity to meet others interested in similar approaches. Representing the School of Biological Sciences (SBS) including the division of Biomedical Engineering, I was presenting on a project investigating cutting edge haptic (touch/VR) technology in teaching cell biology. Philippa Boyd from Construction Management and Engineering also presented on empowering diversity in STEM recruitment.

Here are some of my highlights:

Some uni’s have moved to online exams! Taken in invigilated computer suites, you need to consider the risks and benefits e.g. Keyboard noise so loud that students are given ear plugs but still complain! Need 5 to 10% capacity overhead for computer crashes etc. Marking faster (quick marks). Intelligent Assessment Technologies (online exam software) allows diagrams, anonymous marking, double marking, exam feedback to students.
Aston uni has a “my progress” student dashboard, based on attendance and attainment, giving a star rating system (gold, silver, bronze, lead) – students love it.
Creating an inclusive timetable – at Kingston Uni distance travelled to uni correlates to NSS qu 16 score. Average commute for white students is 3.7 miles, whilst for BME students it is 7.2 miles. Because they have a higher proportion of commuters their timetable tries to avoid days with only 1 hour (£25 commute for 1h), avoid 9am or end of day, and to cluster sessions together.
Peerwise Package – students can upload their own MCQs to a class bank for each other. May be useful here at Reading as we don’t release past MCQ papers to students. Can make it a summative exercise to drive engagement.
Stats best taught using real examples. Opendatastat.org (made by Mario Orsi from UWE Bristol) is a bank of curated datasets from open sources, each linked to activities and tutorials and quizzes. Could be used to teach stats or as data for projects. Mario is happy to be sent more datasets if anyone has any.
scientistsarehumans.com – A blog site sharing human stories. The presenters suggested that minority groups (by definition) will always be the statistical outliers, so reporting stats doesn’t always help. They suggested that real life stories have much greater impact. This website posts short stories where individuals share what it is like… to cope with mental health issues whilst doing a PhD; to be the only girl in the class; to be the only black person in your Year group. The organisers hope that understanding personal stories can kick start the processes leading to positive changes. Their motto is “be more kind” – Set kind deadlines, give kind lectures (think inclusive), give kind feedback (constructive criticism and praise, but doesn’t have to be all good comments), develop a work-life balance.

University of Reading custom QuickMarks: 21 new comments to help students act on feedback

28 February 201917 January 2020 By peteandrews Comment Closed

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 Grademark. We asked 47 colleagues from the Institute of Education, the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development and the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environment Science what they considered the most important benefits of online assessment to be. 28 identified the use and reuse of QuickMarks, more than any other potential benefit. Colleagues highlighted how the use of QuickMarks could save marking time, could lead to clearer feedback, and could trigger broader conversations around marking criteria. In addition to this, a focus group carried out at the IoE in 2018 showed that students particularly appreciated the use of Quickmarks when they were used to provide specific examples of errors described more generally in the rubric and narrative comments. More recently, an EMA Programme evaluation exploring student responses to online submission, feedback and grading found that, out of 314 responders, 78% said that it would be useful if in-text or QuickMark comments could include a link to a Study Advice resource.

These responses fed into some thinking that the Programme team had already been doing around QuickMarks, particularly surrounding how we might gain the maximum benefit from this feature in terms of student engagement, learning and feedforward.

We were aware that some colleagues within the Institute of Education had worked together to develop a set of shareable, discipline specific comments. We wondered whether we could draw on this idea to develop a set of shareable, institution specific QuickMarks to help save marking time and enhance the quality of feedback but which would also appeal to colleagues in all disciplinary areas.

This thinking led us to create a small project group made up of Emma Mayhew (EMA Programme), Geoff Taggart (EMA Programme), Michelle Reid and Erika Delbecque (Study Advice). We worked together, and liaised with colleagues, to create a set of 21 commonly used comments.

But we wanted to go a little further than this. We were also really cognisant of the need to support feedforward and, to do this, we decided to include a hyperlink at the end of each shareable QuickMark comment to direct students to sources of support created by the Study Advice team and wider Library resources.

As an example, if a marker believes that a student has included an inappropriate source for an academic piece of writing, they might like to use the following shareable QuickMark:

This is not an appropriate source for an academic piece of work. Evaluate your sources whether they are books, journals, websites or other texts, and consider whether they are suitable to support the point that you are making. For more advice, see this guide from the Library: https://www.reading.ac.uk/lib-literature-searching.aspx

In this way, the new QuickMark sets underline the role that students have in their own self-learning and also highlights the range of existing supporting video and written material available to enhance student assessment literacy.

We divided the QuickMarks into categories-referencing, structure, style and critical analysis-and invited colleagues to download one or more of the categories, pulling them into their own QuickMark libraries which are available to them each time they mark. The new QuickMark comments can be used as they are but we would also encourage colleagues to edit the QuickMarks, keeping the hyperlink, but amending the text to add further discipline-specific context, or adding text to reflect feedback for an individual student.

We have housed these QuickMarks on the EMA online resource map which provides direct links for academic colleagues and professional staff to key university resources ordered around the Assessment and Feedback lifecycle. The QuickMark sets can be found in the light blue ‘marking’ section. They can also be found directly on the EMA Programme site.

The EMA Programme Resource Map

Available at https://sites.reading.ac.uk/ema/resource-map/

To support their use, we created a 90 second screencast to show colleagues how to download the comments and amend the QuickMarks. Click on the image below to view this.

We have disseminated this resource through the T&L community within the University and also through the TEL Practitioner Forum. After only six weeks, we counted 194 views of the QuickMarks site and, in total, 413 QuickMark comments were downloaded by colleagues. The set focused on essay writing structure has been the most popular with 29 downloads of the whole set.

The response from colleagues so far has been very positive. Comments include:

‘Because I haven’t used QuickMarks before and was not sure of what they might be used for, the generic QuickMark sets gave me a good starting point.’

‘I like the way you can tweak them to fit into your own assessment criteria and group them into your own personalised set.’

We hope that these institution specific QuickMarks sets will be a useful additional tool for colleagues. If you do have any questions about these sets and how to use them or if you would like to provide further feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Discovering and developing our diverse Library collections

6 February 201917 January 2020 By peteandrews Comment Closed

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 LGBT+ students feel welcomed and included at UoR. One way the Library aims to do that is by highlighting the resources we hold to support the study of LGBT+ topics. In celebration of February’s LGBT History Month, the Library has introduced a new online guide to support research into LGBT+-related topics. The guide takes the same format as our subject guides but focuses on the range of materials available from the Library and Special Collections relating to LGBT+ topics.

It has been created, in consultation with staff and student representatives from RUSU, to help staff and students find some of the key resources the Library can provide in this area, as well as point you towards other useful online resources, libraries and archives.

We’d love to hear your feedback on our new guide, so let us know what you think!

Help us develop more guides like this

We are planning to create a series of similar cross-disciplinary guides to support research around topics such as disability, race and ethnicity, and gender. If you would be interested in working with us on any of these, either by suggesting resources, commenting on the content of the guides, or meeting with us to talk through your own research interests in these areas, we’d love to hear from you – and your students. Please email Kerry Webb if you would like to be involved in some way or would like to share with us your ideas for additional guides.

Suggest resources to help diversify our collections

You can also help us to diversify the Library’s collections by putting forward your suggestions for Library materials to help support a more diverse curriculum.

If you would like to suggest other items for the Library, please complete our regular book suggestion form.

Examples of material recently purchased from this fund include:

You can see all the Diversity fund titles purchased in current and previous academic years on our dedicated Library Diversity fund reading lists

Implementing the Curriculum Framework – how can the Library help?

11 January 201917 January 2020 By peteandrews Comment Closed

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 work for you, listing practical ways in which Liaison Librarians and Study Advisers can help to support the development of graduate attributes and academic principles.

Supporting Curriculum Review

Liaison librarians have already been discussing ways in which the Library can support schools and departments with their curriculum review, including Typography & Graphic Communication and Henley Business School.

Providing practical support: working with Typography & Graphic Communication

Following discussions with Typography and Graphic Communication about their Curriculum Review, Karen and Ruth (the Department’s subject Liaison Librarians) now have a better understanding of those areas identified as needing extra support.

We have concentrated on encouraging students to engage with course texts. This has led to us working closely with the lecturer to arrange a session for one Part 3 module that involved giving the students the opportunity to handle and explore the books on the reading list. Another approach has been to encourage confidence and accuracy with using citations. A session was arranged that was open to all Typography undergraduate students, to teach the principles of Harvard referencing, and importantly, to show the students that help and support is available from the Library and Study Advice teams. We are looking forward to working closely with our academic colleagues to build on this in the future.

Karen Drury, subject Liaison Librarian for Typography and Graphic Communication

Involving the Library in the process can have a positive impact on curriculum review, providing further opportunities for collaborative working between Liaison Librarians and our academic colleagues:

BA Graphic Communication students need to master a wide range of practical, professional and technical skills in addition to disciplinary and transferable academic skills. Knowing that we can work with our Library colleagues to better support how students across different years of study develop specific skills and graduate attributes is exciting. There are lots of possibilities but as a starting point we are focusing on helping students engage with a more diverse range of sources, critically evaluate sources and understand how copyright and attribution works across both practice and research.

Dr Jeanne-Louise Moys (Typography & Graphic Communication)

Mapping practice on to principles

To assist Schools and Departments with implementing the Curriculum Framework, the Library has produced two documents which outline ways in which subject liaison librarians and study advisers can support the embedding of academic literacy skills within your programmes.

The first of these, Implementing the Curriculum Framework – how can the Library help? can be downloaded from the Further Support for Curriculum Review webpage. It outlines practical ways in which our Liaison Librarians and Study Advisers can support you, mapped against the graduate attributes and academic principles defined in the Framework.

The second outlines in more detail the pedagogic principles which underlie our practice, drawing upon elements of established information and digital literacy models, again mapped against the Framework. Please contact Kerry Webb (the Library’s Associate Director for Academic Liaison & Support), if you would like a copy.

Please get in touch with your subject Liaison Librarian or a member of the Study Advice team if you would like to know more about how we can support you in implementing the Curriculum Framework in your school or department.

Attention Workshop

4 January 201917 January 2020 By peteandrews Comment Closed

Florian Roithmayr, School of Art and Communication Design f.roithmayr@reading.ac.uk

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 different circumstances, and at different speeds, challenging established routines and habits.

Objectives

experience and develop skills to collaborate across disciplines and year groups
develop team building skills
develop skills in mindfulness and sustained attention
challenge usual routines and habits of engaging with materials and objects
challenge discipline specific practices, narratives and vocabulary of engaging with materials and objects

Context

The workshop was conceived as an extra curriculum activity independent of regular departmental teaching and learning to address attitudes and practices that affect students and researchers across disciplines and year groups. Funding allowed and facilitated a whole program of exercises and in-depth engagement over two full-days of activities across the two Schools.

Implementation

A number of specialist coaches and mentors were invited to facilitate different exercises and workshops as individual or group activities to build a program that develops and unfolds over the course of the two days: a percussion workshop to develop skills in listening and responding within groups, to work with and against rhythms and melodies, volume levels and intensities. A voice coach gave a workshop in speaking and shouting, assertiveness in discussions and silence. A body coach gave a workshop in posture, attention to body language and reading behaviour. A flower-arranging specialist offered a workshop in composition and attention to details. Workshops also engaged participants in sustained periods of mindfulness, concentration and awareness, to each other, themselves, or their surrounding environment and context.

Impact

Student feedback on the days and reflective feedback at the end suggests a real need for more cross-school activities and engagements, and peer learning. Especially postgraduate researchers expressed the positive impact engaging with other student years had on their work/research habits.

Reflections

The timing of the workshop proved to be a major contributing factor to the success of the activities: although not pre-planned and designed as such, the end of the summer term offered the chance for a large uptake by participants as students had finished their exams and were keen and open and very interested to participate in extra curriculum activities across the school without the restrain of clashes with teaching and other commitments.

Follow up

There has not been any further development, but there is always the possibility to repeat the activity again in the future and build on the workshop as a whole.