Summary
This blog reflects on five years of the Learning and Teaching Community and its evolution into the City St George’s Learning Circle. It highlights inspiring themes like creativity in higher education, digital literacies, and inclusive practice. From storytelling and playful practice to digital skill-building and hybrid teaching, the community continues to celebrate creativity and connection.
It’s hard to believe that five years have passed since one of the most challenging societal and health crises of our time began. Yes, it has been five years since the pandemic started—and five years since we established the Learning and Teaching Community alongside the LEaD Light Lunch, inviting colleagues to come online and share ideas about teaching under such challenging conditions. Since its inception, the community has hosted nearly 60 sessions. This year the newly launched City St George’s Learning circle, means it all still continues. Here are just a sample of some of the presentations that were generously given, sparking thoughtful discussions and inspiring community members.
For the very first time October’s theme was Creativity in HE. This seemed to fire everyone,who joined the conversations, up. It featured fantastic talks on Storytelling to persuade looking at how good story telling in the practice of Law is key, DIY approach in Creativity how to use visual methods, such as collages with both students and staff to activate ideas, and then a really insightful session on understanding the value of playful practice. While these ideas may perhaps seem not very academically highbrow, they highlighted, in a powerful way, the essential role of creativity in education.
“Education is an operation of imagination, discovery, and unveiling.” (Morris & Stommel. 2018)
In November, the theme shifted to Digital Literacies. Highlights include a presentation on Investigating Digital Scholarship, examining staff and student digital literacy at City St George’s while challenging the pervasive myth of the “digital native.” This was followed by a practical session detailing a collaborative project aimed at enhancing law students’ digital skills for academic and career success. The month concluded with an invitation to join the ISLA community of practice, which explores how hybrid teaching can widen participation and enhance learning. The session emphasized the importance of supporting both students and staff in developing the critical skills needed for success in hybrid learning environments.
The discussion on hybrid learning seamlessly transitioned into December’s theme of Inclusive Practice. A thought-provoking question“ Why are informal learning environments so important? sparking rich debate as participants reflected on how much learning now takes place beyond formal spaces. The final learning Circle of 2024 was an exciting introduction, for the learning and teaching community, to an inclusive teaching framework in healthcare and science. There were some great examples such as approaches around patient narratives or persona-based visual posters to support student learning, particularly when tackling complex and sensitive topics. I felt that some aspects of this session beautifully brought us back full circle, reconnecting with our starting point: the power of creativity in education.
Do join the community and you will be invited to all the learning circle events in 2025 Learning and Teaching community on Teams
Interested in sharing an idea ? Fill out the form
