City University London is one of the institutions taking part in the a Higher Education Academy change academy programme focused on Recognising Teaching Excellence. The programme provides the opportunity for a team to examine a range of issues around this topic with other institutions and the support of critical friends and experts. The team from City…Continue Reading Teaching Excellence Project
According to two articles in Times Higher Education change is moving both too fast and too slow as these quotes demonstrate: “Many students will “defend to the death” the need for traditional campus-based lectures, and will only delve into the world of free online educational resources if instructed to by their teachers, a conference has…Continue Reading Traditional versus radical change in education
At City University, London we are developing more and more flexible learning spaces. Increasingly academics are using pedagogic models that enhance learning by utilising the learning technologies we have and focus on interactivity, collaboration and participation. We have a number of smaller flexible learning spaces, but how does this work with larger groups? The Educational…Continue Reading New Models for Teaching in HE Working Group
What is it? ‘A Massive Open Online course (MOOC) is a model for delivering learning content online to virtually any person, with no limit on attendance (hence the word massive), that want to attend the course’. Educause,2011 Where has the idea of MOOCs come from? The MOOC is a response to the challenges faced by…Continue Reading Ten things you need to know about MOOCs
Increasingly we are aware that learning does not happen by passively receiving information. The traditional lecture where one lecturer talks and students sit quietly in rows listening and taking notes has limited use. At City University London we are bringing about changes in the smaller learning spaces we have to create a number of flexible…Continue Reading Creating flexible learning spaces and the flipped lecture
Significance of research at City University London It is clear that the development of research is and will continue to play a major role in many institutions not precluding City University London. As can be demonstrated by the university’s vision, plans are already underway to steer the university towards an international level of research standing….Continue Reading A Moodlefield of Research Development
An exhibition with the theme of death may not immediately spring to mind as place for teaching and learning but proved to be a rich source of ideas for a group of MAAP students (Masters in Academic Practice) as part of their Leading Change in Higher Education Module. I led this session at The…Continue Reading Using Cultural Spaces for Learning
Why go to learning development conferences The annual Learning at City conference at City University London provides an opportunity for colleagues from all schools to come together to celebrate achievements and developments in learning and teaching(L&T) from across the university. Since it’s our fifth annual learning and teaching conference this year, I thought I’d look…Continue Reading A reflection of our learning and teaching conferences to date
Dear Colleagues and Friends, As you can see the Educational Vignettes has been relaunched. The LDC is proud to be working with so many of you to make the Educational Vignettes Blog a hub for education matters at City University London and beyond. “The Educational Vignettes Blogs appeared to be a popular and well-maintained…Continue Reading Educational Vignettes Relaunched
My final blog post reflecting on newly implemented practices last year is a long-overdue write-up of my experiences teaching different classes in one of City’s innovative Learning Spaces, which have been much talked about recently on Educational Vignettes. I have followed the Learning Spaces project with interest since its inception, so I was delighted that…Continue Reading The New Learning Space: Experiences of Three Different Classes