Catering!

Possibly the most important part of an event like this is the food and drink!

After much thought, we have agreed to book with a local company who can provide minimum: 85% locally sourced food (the main problem apparently is that although the bread will be baked locally, it is difficult to guarantee the source of flour).

Our caterers are Hedley’s and they have agreed to organise a menu which will include local Gloucestershire fayre. We have to finalise the menus, so please get your booking forms to us if you haven’t already so we can ensure that special requirements can be met. We will be provding tea, coffee and water throughout the event.

If the food and drink is important to you, then watch this space for more details!

Kenny

Forum News update!

Copied from the PRSI wesbite:

http://www.glos.ac.uk/tli/prsi/forum.cfm

A Research into Higher Education’ Forum

Facilitating Pedagogic Research Debates Across Institutions

Organised by the Pedagogic Research and Scholarship Institute (PRSI) University of Gloucestershire

‘Informing Active Engagement in Learning and Teaching for 21st Century Universities’

Date: Thursday 12th June 2008
Venue: Park Campus, Cheltenham

Spirit of the Forum event

The spirit of this Forum event is that different universities are probably doing the similar sorts of pedagogic or higher education research (PedR) development and capacity building activity among their staff. We could avoid duplication and increase the effectiveness of our research development activity by getting colleagues together to discuss opportunities for further collaboration. There are diverse reasons for strengthening PedR links with our colleagues within HEIs in the broader region: to explore potential shared research agendas as well as potential collaborators for bidding, writing, advisory panels and project evaluators. If possible, there should be incentives put in place to carry forward the potential collaborative outputs from this Forum event. In this spirit, we have established a weblog [Ed: that's us!] so that participants and others can begin collaboration in advance of the event, and carry on discussions afterwards.

Forum themes

The University of Gloucestershire has identified several key research themes that tie into its strategic planning for teaching and learning. These have the overarching remit of ‘Informing active engagement in learning and teaching for a 21st Century University’ and involve:

• Internationalisation, learning and teaching and the curriculum
• Linking research, knowledge exchange, practice and teaching
• Education for Sustainable Development
• Technology enhanced learning
• Engaging diverse communities in the curriculum (including employers and other stakeholders)

We will also have a catch-all theme under ‘Informing active engagement in learning and teaching for a 21st Century University’’ where we will have a particular focus on ‘Leadership and Learning in higher education/academic work‘. We recognise that many other HEIs will have overlapping research interest and look forward to discussing areas of research synergy!

Aims of event

• To allow cross-institutional research exchange and inter-institutional capacity building in PedR
• To provide colleagues with the opportunity to explore research initiatives and partnerships and collaborations beyond their institutions
• To provide a springboard for further collaborative initiatives with incentives

Participating Higher Education Institutions

Initially five partner institutions were invited to the forum but this has been extended to include several more as information about the Forum has been disseminated by University of Gloucestershire to their contacts. The spirit of the day be inclusive and respond positively to requests to join us. HEIs participating in the Forum and links to information about their research interests are listed here.

List of participants

Here is the up-to-date list of participants with their institutional affiliation and research theme interests. We are anticipating that there will be 60-70 participants at the Forum. We are keen that colleagues have a chance to contact each other before the forum if they wish, either through the weblog [Ed: that's us!] or directly.

Participants were asked to signal their thematic interests in Research into Higher Education on the registration form. This has allowed us to identify people with specific research interests but also people who form important bridges between the different research groupings because they have interests in more than one research theme. Email addresses are provided in case you want to liaise with any participant in advance of the event. The weblog [Ed: that's us again!] will allow any initial exploration of potential collaborative research themes.

Leadership and Learning in HE

Hi

during the discussions with colleagues in the several universities who are participating in the Research in to HE Forum, a theme that has arisen that is not really covered by the themes we proposed, but probably is a part of all. That is the theme of ‘Leadership for Learning in HE’. Colleagues highlighted for example the fact that initiatives for academic leadership focus on department management and course management, but not on the role that for example professors might play in leading, inspiring or developing the vision required for successful HE activities. A quick literature search provides little. However, what does become evident is the dichotomy between leadership and management. For example Bryman (2007) finds that department managers are so constrained by their job requirements that they are limited in their ability to display leadership. What then is the role for other academic leaders? Also Colleagues in Education and teacher training have done far more research on the issue of academic leadership in school education. Perhaps we can learn from our colleagues?

Please let me know what you think?

Kenny

Engaging Diverse Communities

Hi

Researching engaging diverse communities in HE. Mmmmh! this is a potentially wide topic, because it is about tackling a wide range of communities who are stakeholders in the HE sector. The most obvious perhaps are communities that have traditionally not been engaged by the HE sector in the past. This includes disabled students, students from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, students and potential students from areas which have not traditionally sent children to higher education.

Under these headings we have some people at Gloucestershire who have tackled these issues. For example Prof Mary Fuller led a project funded by the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme on Enhancing the quality and outcomes of disabled students’ learning in higher education. This project involved collaboration with the Universities of Edinburgh, Lancaster, Central Lancashire. We very much hope that Mary or her Research Assistant Hazel Roberts will be able to present something on this project.

Carolyn Roberts, Kenny Lynch and Wendelin Romer (Natural & Social Sciences) are working on a project with Judy Ling Wong at the Black Environment Network, concerning the active learning experiences of BME students, home based or international, in environment/geography/related disciplines. The project engages with three universities (Wolverhampton, Birmingham and ourselves). Most students are home based. The project is not looking explicitly at the curriculum, though it does look at the implications of active learning styles. There are clear links across to the Internationalisation theme.

Another way in which we have interpreted this theme is to engage other kinds of communities For example communities of ‘third sector’ (not public or private) institutions. these could be NGOs, social entrepreneurs, community groups or organisations that straddle the public-private divide. Another community that HE may increasingly have to engage is that of graduate employers or employers of potential graduates. For example Prof Lindsey McEwen is working with Lily Wang and Christine Williams from UoG Business School on an HE Academy funded project on work based learning. This project focuses on engaging employers in effective support for WBL. Christine and Lily will be presenting on this at the Forum.

How do you interpret this theme? Have you been working in any of these areas?

Kenny

21st Century Student Learning

Hi

The ‘noughties’, as the first decade of the 21st Century has been labeled, in teaching and learning in the UK HE sector have been largely dominated by the Centres for Excellence in Teaching & Learning. The evaluation of the CETLs is only just beginning, with initiatives such as the Knowledge Network CETL Evaluation and the Internal Pedagogic Research & Evaluation Network. Much of the agenda that has come from these has been about the development of professional practice, the raising of the profile of excellence in teaching and learning, linking teaching and research and in the case of our own CETL, the Centre for Active Learning, the development of constructivist – or active/enquiry based – learning.

As we come to the end of the ‘noughties’ and indeed the funding for the CETLs, what will be the agenda for the ‘teenies’ =- the decade approaching 2020? What is our ‘2020 vision’ for researching teaching and learning in HE? Will this be more of the same or are there new agendas that need to be addressed and underpinned by a research/evidence base? Is there fertile ground for us to collaborate? And is there funding sources available?

Perhaps you have ideas or you disagree with my assessment? This is to get the conversation going, please post a Comment below.

Kenny

Starting the conversation about Technology Enhanced Learning

Technology Enhanced Learning

There are a number of colleagues attending the conference who have indicated an interest in technology enhanced learning as a theme of research into higher education.

For example, Kenny Lynch has been involved in the IMPALA project, led by Gilly Salmon at Leicester, examining the potential of pocasting to promote learning and the different models of using podcasting in an HE learning environment.  Kenny is a geographer and has been podcasting to support learning for more than three years.  He has developed re-usable content that is applicable in Level 1 courses and Level 2 research methods courses.  These have been evaluated as part of the IMPALA project.  He is now keen to see how this can be developed, for example through the provision of audio feedback, through student created content.

Alan Howe has been using Pebblepad as a tool to promote the development of reflective learning and personal development planning, encouraging students to reflect on their professional social work practice.

I am sure there are more UoGloucestershire colleagues who I should have mentioned.  Please add your/their details.

If you would like to add your detailsor any other information add here using the ‘comment’ link

Kenny

Internationalisation Conference at Oxford Brookes

Hi

Yesterday (15th May) Lindsey and the University of Gloucestershire’s Professor of Sustainability, Daniella Tilbury visitied colleagues in Oxford Brookes who are interested in the international agenda. Unfortunately, although colleagues from Brookes (such as Margaret Price and Hamed Adetunji who are both presenting) will be attending the Forum, colleagues , particularly Val Clifford, are unable to. However, they may be interested in contributing to this blog? You may be interested in contacting them? I know that Hamed’s interests are linked to international perspectives on HE.

They are organising a meeting on the 20th June called ‘Using formal and informal curricula to improve interactions between home and international students‘ (Details in the link). Hamed may be able to provide more information at the Forum?

Kenny

Linking Teaching, Research, Knowledge Exchange, etc.

Hi

In Gloucestershire, PRSI recently organised a seminar led by Prof Alan Jenkins. In this we discussed amongst other things a report he produced with Mick Healey for the HE Academy called Linking teaching and research in disciplines and departments. This complements Jenkins & Healey’s 2005 paper Institutional strategies to link teaching and research.

This event triggered very lively debate about the institutional approach, about how to link the Teaching Learning and Assessment Strategy to the Research Strategy and about initiatives at various levels of the institution.

Alan is an External Advisor for PRSI and Mick is a Professor here in Gloucestershire. Mick and other Gloucestershire colleagues including Chris Short, will be at the Researching into HE Forum on the 12th June and some, including Mick, have indicated their interest in engaging in the discussions under this theme.

Mick, Lindsey, Chris and Kenny are involved with a HE Academy NTFS project entitled Leading, promoting and supporting undergraduate research in the new university sector.

This project is directed by Mick and Prof Peter Childs University of Gloucestershire’s Dean of Research, and the project Research Assistant is Wendelin Romer who will also be attending the Researching into HE Forum on the 12th June and is intending presenting some preliminary results from the project.

Part of this project involves a survey of university teaching Learning and Assessment Strategies, Research Strategies and Research informed Teaching Strategies. Another part of this project comprised a recent showcase of activity in this area. The materials from this showcase will be appearing on the project website over the summer.

Are there any colleagues from other universities who are interested in forming a network, bidding for research or collaborating on publications? What are the initiatives or the issues in your institution?

Kenny

Greener by Degrees

Hi

Here is a link to a book edited by Carolyn Roberts  & Jane Roberts last year  that provides some examples of ongoing work in  Gloucestershire in the Education for Sustainable Development across the university.  One or two of these colleagues have registered to attend.  Click on the book cover to go to the online version of the book.  These are not in-depth research chapters, but intended to be short case studies for other HE practitioners.  However, they do represent fertile ground for possible collaborations, I think?

Any other examples from other institutions?

Kenny

Internationalisation

Here at Gloucestershire we have a number of colleagues who are actively researching the international dimension in the curriculum. For example:

Nadine Sulkowski & Mike Deakin (Business School) are researching the dynamics of intercultural communication competence, focusing on the skills and experiences of the growing number of international students entering the Business School.

Janet Rose & Sally Palmer (Department of Education) are about to embark on a project examining the learning experience and impact on understanding and practice of a field trip to compare Swedish Early Years Education practice with the UK.

Carolyn Roberts, Kenny Lynch and Wendelin Romer (Natural & Social Sciences) are working on a project with Judy Ling Wong at the Black Environment Network, concerning the active learning experiences of BME students, home based or international, in environment/geography/related disciplines. The project engages with three universities (Wolverhampton, Birmingham and ourselves). Most students are home based. The project is not looking explicitly at the curriculum, though it does look at the implications of active learning styles. There are clear links across to the Engaging Diverse Communities theme.

Kenny Lynch coordinates a link with Kaliro National Teachers’ College, Uganda, part of the activity of which is an annual field course (set up by Jane Roberts in 2001). Alex Steele is currently working on a project researching the impacts of this over a 7 year period on the Kaliro staff and students. Jane is completing a project using video diaries to researching the student experience of a the intense experience of African fieldwork for a European student. She has also published on ‘bridging the digital divide’ and ‘empowering student sustainability practitioners’. An example undergraduate project which has come out of this regular field course is written up by one of the students, Kate Sullivan in book chapter form. Kenny is keen to build on these projects and his own previous work. For example, he wrote a book chapter setting out the importance of such activities to the student learning experience.

I am sure this is not an exhaustive list and not all colleagues will be able to make the Forum, but are there colleagues from other participating universities who might have complementary interests?