Continuing Professional Development

Inclusive Teaching and Learning 

This session was aimed for academic teaching staff and professional services involved in teaching. The session was very informative, covering different areas of inclusivity, such as: 

I was able to leave this session feeling more confident in my own inclusive teaching practices, which I had learnt and applied from my time an an 11-19 teacher.  For example, my practice already focuses on setting clear structures to taught sessions and communicating the structure as part of the lesson objectives, presentations are designed with knowledge of different educational needs, and use verbal prompts and repetitions of main points.

From this session, there are a few actions I have set for myself: 

  1. Look into the expansion of multi-sensory teaching
  2. Avoid metaphors
  3. Complete further reading around good teaching practice for inclusivity

The full PowerPoint can be located here:  

Password protected. 

Developing digital fluency with the open web : Disruptive Media Learning Lab (DMLL)

I can easily begin this review by saying the session was extremely useful. The DMLL representative presented a fresh new and easy method to plan lessons from 1 single lecture to a full module of lectures and seminars. 

I attended this in-person session, but I would strongly recommended others take the online workshop available here: https://dmll.org.uk/tool/learn/
The DMLL have a whole host of workshops and support materials available here: https://dmll.org.uk/toolbox/ 

The basis of the new method is LEARN and was developed by the DMLL team of Coventry University. I have taken the definitions below directly from the DMLL resource here: http://flipped.coventry.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Beyond-Flipped-LEARN-Guide-1.pdf

L: Locate – Define a short question or task for the exploration of a relevant topic. Explore ascribed problem domain through an appropriate means within a defined space

E: Evaluate – Identify and utilise credible sources of information to develop considered opinions relating to key aspects of the predefined topic. Focus your evaluation to formulate an academically rigorous argument.

A: Articulate – Present findings for discussion and analysis through a medium that both engages and informs. Debate different points of view to gain a deep understanding of the problem domain.

R: Re-evaluate – Amalgamate disparate ideas formulated by peers with those of your own to create an in-depth understanding of the original topic. Consolidate information into a reasoned understanding of initial topic and resultant arguments.

N: Naturalise – Identify common themes and establish links between prior knowledge and new findings gained through this exercise. Transform information into knowledge for future adoption.

Using the above premise and the LEARN cards available, I was able to immediately plan a session for a colleague in my wider department, who was struggling with ideas. LEARN and the host of ideas available have been a great help in shortening planning and preparation time for myself and colleagues. I would continue to use this method if transferring to teaching my subject. 

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