After a year of so much change in learning and teaching, as in all other areas, there were a few sessions in the Learning and Teaching community where colleagues reflected on their experiences of teaching in the academic year 20/21.
In one of the first LEaD Light Lunch Patrick Goold, program director for the undergraduate Law school, gave us a tour of the welcome Moodle module for first-year students starting a new academic life in a pandemic. Patrick had used H5P to create interactive elements and he talked about how students were virtually introduced to their new teachers via a podcast. In the podcast, lecturers discussed their take on a book of fiction, that students had received a copy of over the summer and were asked to think about what qualities were needed to make a good lawyer. So a creative way of welcoming new students with a very person-centered approach.
Stian Reimers, Reader in Psychology (School of arts and social sciences) reflected on teaching online with Zoom in term 1. Stian and colleagues talked about how they used breakout rooms, supported teaching buddies, and developed active learning approaches to use with large groups Stian also shared with the community some resources that he had developed around this.
Communicating with students, as learning and teaching were off-campus, was a challenge for all universities in the academic year 2020/21. In this session, Dr. Michelle Hennelly, Interim/Joint Head of Division of Optometry and Visual Sciences and MSc in Clinical Optometry Programme Director, shared her experience of thinking about strategies around communicating with and engaging students.
Finally, in the session Reflections on teaching Dr. Jane Secker (Senior lecturer in Educational development in LEaD) gave her valuable insights into the last year, which makes for an interesting story. Jane focuses a lot on what the theory, behind using technology in education, translates to in practice; so a many-layered take on the experience of pivoting online.
LEaD Light lunch sessions, during term time, are short 30 minutes informal presentations and discussions in the Learning and teaching community in Teams. If you are interested in sharing some ideas with colleagues from across City in the new academic year then do register
