ABSTRACT. Welcome to the conference from Sam Nolan (Conference Chair) and Paula Miles (Local Organising Committee Chair)

ABSTRACT. The University of St Andrews has for 600 years delivered an educational experience informed by the most recent advances in research. The students are taught by academics that have excellence in their discipline and can expect to learn about advances in their field that are on the brink of publication. As the new millennium turned, students increasingly came to expect, not only the very best in terms of discipline acquisition but also to be taught through methods that reflected the most recent pedagogical and digital advances. Academic staff interested in teaching developed their skills accordingly and some became so excellent at teaching that pressure was brought to bear to recognise this new expertise in the new concept of an education-focussed academic career. Twenty-four years on, this presentation reflects on the journey at the University of St Andrews from these initial beginnings to the current recognition of the value of education-focused academics. It tells the story from the perspective of the career of the presenter, and in doing so, outlines the advances made at St Andrews. The presentation concludes with a wider exploration of the benefits and unresolved challenges of the education-focused career structure both for the student experience and for the Higher Education sector.

ABSTRACT. This abstract presents the outcomes of the white paper titled authored by the Scoping Extended Educational Realities (SEER) research group at the University of Glasgow with a specific focus on accessibility aspects. The white paper and accompanying report, published in February 2024, outline key findings and recommendations for policymakers and funders. It explores the practicalities, benefits, and challenges of XR implementation in education, including teacher training, classroom deployment, and the potential for paradigm shifts in teaching methodologies and outcomes. Proposed conference presentation will focus on a crucial aspects of XR accessibility, including customizable experiences, selective simulation, haptics, considerations for neurodivergent learners, and the importance of inclusive co-design processes. It also discusses ongoing challenges such as perception and cognition in VR, safety concerns, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to establish standards and best practices. Overall, the abstract encapsulates SEER's comprehensive examination of XR's impact on education, advocating for a thoughtful and inclusive approach to harnessing XR's full potential while addressing ethical, accessibility, and safety considerations.

ABSTRACT. Online education faces a challenge: inclusion of all learners in student co-creation projects. Traditional unpaid in-person internships often exclude underrepresented students. This session explores a solution – paid virtual internships – implemented within a STEM faculty co-creation project at the Open University. Interns were recruited exclusively from underrepresented student groups identified by the university's access and participation policies. A scholarly evaluation of the project was undertaken via student focus groups and supervisor interviews.

This session focuses on the project's impact on inclusion:

•Removing Barriers: Paid virtual internships ensured participation from a wider range of students, enriching teaching and learning practices.

•Empowering Students: Evaluations emphasised the importance of intern autonomy in project design, leading to impactful contributions.

•Improved Staff Experiences: Student voices directly informed staff development, promoting better understanding of diverse student needs.

In addition, the session explores the following challenges:

•Virtual Collaboration: Strategies for fostering collaboration and engagement in a virtual environment.

•Supervision and Development: Approaches to providing meaningful mentorship and fostering skills relevant to STEM careers.

This session presents a practical case study for educators seeking to implement inclusion initiatives within online learning. Paid virtual internships offer a model for promoting student co-creation, ensuring a wider range of voices are heard, and fostering employability for underrepresented students in STEM fields.

ABSTRACT. The Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT), since its public release, has become a trendy and fast-growing set of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, given its transformative capacities to understand and human-like responses in natural language, perform data analysis, or even incorporate voice and images to simulate interactive conversations. Within the higher education context, these revolutionary features and capabilities of ChatGPT, unsurprisingly, have opened potential opportunities for innovation in teaching practices and curriculum designs, with space for implementing personalised and adaptive learning. However, there have also been concerns about the use of ChatGPT in education, particularly regarding academic integrity, students’ reliance on ChatGPT without efforts to develop knowledge and skills, or disinformation.

Even though the debate about ChatGPT is ongoing, attracting attention and participation from relevant key stakeholders, there appears to be an incontrovertible fact that the higher education sector has witnessed significant impacts of ChatGPT. This, simultaneously, raises several questions, for example, “What does the future of assessment look like to deal with the ChatGPT?”, “How to authentically assess students’ learning outcomes in light of the ChatGPT?”, or “How will educational and pedagogical practices transform to embrace ChatGPT?”. Without exaggeration, the stakeholders in the higher education sector will have been experiencing a period of time when surreal becomes real, necessitating more efforts and investigations to fully leverage the potentials of ChatGPT while mitigating its drawbacks.

Therefore, this qualitative study, involving semi-structured interviews with 15 academics from several UK universities, aims to explore their opinions on the presence of ChatGPT in UK higher education. Part of this project focuses on ChatGPT within the pedagogical landscape of higher education, including the potential opportunities and challenges of using ChatGPT in teaching, learning, and assessment activities. The findings reveal not only paradoxical feelings about the existence of ChatGPT but also inclinations towards innovative pedagogical approaches among the participants. The paper also discusses suggestions for what might come next for teaching practices in the AI-and-ChatGPT-influenced higher education.

ABSTRACT. This presentation explores the transformative journey of educational technology integration in UK education, spotlighting a decade-long case study of the Bett Show from 2014 to 2024. Recognised as a leading forum for the global education technology community, the Bett Show encapsulates the dynamic interplay between educational needs and technological innovation. Our methodology involved a comprehensive analysis of publicly available materials from the Bett Show's Facebook page, including posts, links to articles, and videos falling within the theoretical frame of the Education 4.0 concept (Dao et al., 2022). We collected materials relating to the conversation on technology's role in reshaping educational experiences for teachers and learners alike, which were then transcribed and examined through thematic analysis. The findings reveal a significant shift in the Bett Show's thematic focus over a decade. Initially, its narrative centred around the integration of computers into classrooms in order to enhance the digital competencies of teachers and students. This focus gradually evolved, underscoring the critical nature of digital literacy as a cornerstone of all learning modalities. A notable shift was observed from addressing the logistical challenges of incorporating new computer courses into existing curricula towards emphasising personalised learning approaches and fostering student adaptability in their learning strategies. The evolving discourse at the Bett Show mirrors the broader societal acceptance and integration of technology in education (Fischbacher-Smith, 2020), highlighting a transition from a technology-centric to an education-centric narrative. Key trends identified in our study include a growing emphasis on digital skills across all societal segments and the pivotal role of technology in enhancing student engagement and catering to special educational needs. From 2014 to 2024, the narrative progression from technology as a mere tool to an integral component of educational strategy was evident. The early narrative of being "always ahead of the game" in 2014 evolved into recognising "game changers" in 2017, culminating in 2023 with a focused narrative on leadership skills development. This transition underscores a paradigm shift towards viewing technology as tools that enable innovative teaching methods, a logical extension of the evolving education. This research highlights the importance of understanding these narrative shifts, to offer educators insights into the potential of new technologies to transform educational paradigms. By positioning technology not merely as a transient trend but as a cornerstone of future educational objectives, our study contributes to the discourse on preparing higher education for what comes next, fostering an innovative and inclusive environment.

ABSTRACT. The experimental School SOS (SOS) convenes around a free-to-attend programme that provides an inclusive space to post-graduates for conversations and guidance in developing critical spatial practices. Young designers, artists, writers, and filmmakers join to initiate live projects in communities against often violent institutional practices against refugees and migrants, gendered groups including women and transgender communities alongside the wider LGBTQI community, as well as working-class, black and ethnically diverse communities.

The SOS programme is an evolving curriculum that centres participants and their projects in coordination with their respective communities. Supported by academics, practitioners and hosted by internationally recognised partners, the programme to contributes in strengthening peer-to-peer support networks, and the future of emerging critical spatial practices, from outside the institutional framework.

Narrated through a selection of participants’ work, this Short Talk reflects on the role and changing responsibility of academic programme to respond to the politics of space in resistance to structures of power. By seeing critical spatial practice and pedagogy as a method of activism, the talk argues for a reengagement of social purpose to the design of academic programmes.

‘Criticality’ in this talk is defined by a recognition of the political agency in everyday acts and practices. SOS follows a lineage of understanding criticality from the Frankfurt School, Henri Lefebvre, radical black feminism and social feminism to more recent theories in abolitionism. Across these different objectives is the task of identifying inequalities of power, status and opportunity between different groups of society. Fundamentally for the design of the SOS programme, ‘criticality’ is key in unpicking how society is unfairly structured, in order to understand how it might be more inclusive.

The SOS project forms part of PhD research that combines interviews with leaders in higher education, direct participation of students and the design and practice of curriculum. The Short Talk will present research that demonstrates unique contribution to the issues of rising student costs and the changing practice of art and design pedagogy in a landscape of increasing vocational pedagogy. The research draws on feminist theory, pedagogic theory, critical social theory, history and theory of design higher education as well as the alternative arts school landscape, with the aim of forming support mechanisms for new forms of critical practice and propose how, as educators, we might equip graduates with the confidence and skills to engage with the practices of the future.

ABSTRACT. In recent years it has become increasingly crucial and all the more pressing, that mathematicians, engineers and scientists should be made aware of key discipline-specific ethics issues, in order to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to realise the external impact of their work. This extends even to those more highly trained, ranging from graduate students to academic staff. While ethical training is often embedded in practical design-focused courses in STEM curricula, there is no toolkit available documenting how to incorporate the teaching of ethics in highly technical, mathematics-based modules.

This lends itself to the question: what content should we be teaching our students and how should we go about doing it? In this presentation talk, I will discuss the need for inclusion of such ethical aspects to diversify mathematics-based STEM curricula, present examples of tutorial-style exercise problems drawn from our recently developed toolkit that I have incorporated within my own undergraduate mathematics modules and reflect on how the student evaluation feedback received can help other lecturers and education practitioners also implement these within their own teaching practices.

ABSTRACT. The paper sets out a the proof-of-concept for a multiverse of learning approach to learning design in which teaching in three academic ‘worlds’ – business, medicine, and psychology – are designed on a common platform using bespoke academic comics and animations as a means of 'disrupting' the more traditional approaches to learning design that often prevail in higher education. It illustrates how simpler forms of technology can generate affordances for the learner that have the potential to disrupt more conventional academic practices. The comics and animations serve to provide a multi-disciplinary perspective on learning and teaching and draw upon research around the use of images (both still and moving) within a dual channel learning approach. The approach also reflects the use of multi-disciplinary systems perspective in learning design and which the approach is co-produced through the involvement of potential end-users in determining the affordances of the technologies used. The creation and use of an avatar to deliver the learning (on both the animations and the comics) has the potential to provide a different academic 'voice' as a means of providing alternative perspectives on issues which might be contentious from a single disciplinary perspective. The presentation highlights the systems thinking in practice (STiP) approach that was used in the development of the learning design format and does so in a way that would allow others to following a similar approach to addressing issues of learning design. It begins with Ison's PFMS (Practitioner, Frameworks, Methods, Situation) framework drawn from systems thinking in practice and then moves on to consider the issues using different systems modelling lenses as a means of considering the parameters of the approach. The aim of the approach is to outline the elements of what such a multiverse of learning might entail and to use that as the basis for a discussion around learning design, its testing with various communities of practice, and ultimately its implementation across courses within the three academic schools. The presentation concludes by outlining areas for further research around a systems approach to learning design and considering how affordances within learning technologies can have a disruptive effect.

ABSTRACT. Anyone working in a teaching capacity within HE will have similar stories when it comes to the release of grades. While students eagerly anticipate finding out their marks, it can sometimes feel like they struggle to engage with the written comments we provide. Personal circumstances during winter 2020 led me to experiment with delivering feedback in audio form while lecturing at the University of Nottingham and I was pleasantly surprised to find improved levels of engagement among students. Not only in terms of reflections on academic performance but also in relation to feeling part of a scholarly community. While I have changed institutions since that point, I have maintained an interest in how audio feedback might be used most effectively. The purpose of this work in progress paper is to act as a check-in/review of the research I’m currently doing around the efficacy of audio feedback and its potential value as a tool for community building within the contemporary university.

ABSTRACT. Since language assessment continues to adapt to rapid change, a major challenge for universities is how to ensure high-stakes decisions around admissions tests are informed by empirical data. Research evidence to support some of these emerging developments remains nascent at best, while reflecting on the impact of change for test score users is important if inclusive language standards are to be maintained.

In recent years a broader range of English tests has been used as proof of language proficiency. Whilst providing enhanced choice and accessibility, concerns have been raised about the proficiency levels of international students and ensuing impact on their ability to engage and thrive (Wood, 2023). Low language proficiency and lack of support are often cited as reasons why international students may have an inferior academic experience (Russell et.al., 2022). However, the potentially detrimental impact of the language tests themselves, including construct-related issues, security concerns, and challenges in interpreting scores meaningfully, should not be overlooked. Furthermore, although institutions may have a process for selecting and evaluating admissions tests, transparency around decision making is often limited, creating barriers to inclusivity and fair treatment for students.

To investigate these issues, a cross-institutional research group was set up including University of Cambridge, University of Dundee, IELTS/British Council and Cambridge University Press and Assessment. This paper reports on the resulting large scale mixed-methods study, investigating the prevalence of different tests at institutions, perceptions of the various tests used, and transparency around decision-making for inclusive test acceptance. Combining qualitative and quantitative data, the study involved: i) desk-based research on admissions tests, required scores and how the range of accepted tests have changed (n=50 institutions); ii) survey data (n=300) and interviews (n=20) with key groups of university personnel (faculty, recruitment, admissions, EAP) and focus group discussions (n=20) with international students across year groups and disciplines.

Preliminary results indicate processes around test acceptance are not uniform. A divide is also apparent between admissions or recruitment-focused staff (prioritising access and student numbers) and faculty or EAP staff, many of whom feel responsible for upholding standards or providing support. Although test score users expected a broader range of assessments to continue long term, many expressed concern around new forms of online testing.The presentation concludes by outlining how findings may underpin an inclusive framework for evaluating language tests, in addition to developing language assessment literacy for stakeholders through workshops and targeted support (Baker, 2016, Taylor, 2013).

ABSTRACT. The Higher Education sector is mobilising vast resources in its response to the use of Generative AI in student coursework. This response includes institutional policies, training for staff and students and AI detection tools. This paper is concerned with one aspect of this fast-moving area; the assessment of the provenance of a piece of written student coursework. The question of the provenance of student work is a surprisingly complex one, which, in truth can only ever be answered by the student themselves. As academics we must understand the difference between checking for plagiarism and generative AI use. When assessing a student's possible use of generative AI there is no ground truth for us to test against and this makes the detection of AI use a completely different problem to plagiarism detection. A range of AI detection tools are available, some of which have been adopted within the sector. Some of these tools have high detection rates, however, most suffer with false positive rates meaning institutions would be falsely accusing hundreds of students per year of committing academic offences.

This paper explores a different approach to this problem which complements the use of AI detection tools. Rather than examining the work submitted by a student, the author examines the creation and editing of the that work over time. This gives an understanding how a piece of work was written, and most importantly how it has been edited. Inspecting a documents history requires that it is written on a cloud-based platform with version history enabled. The author has created a tool which sits on top of the cloud-based platform and integrates with the virtual learning environment. The tool records each time a student digitally touches their work, and the changes are recorded. The tool interface gives an overview for a cohort, with the ability to delve more deeply into an individual submission.

The result is an easily accessible interactive history of a document during its development, giving some kind of provenance to that document. This history of construction and editing, shows how a piece of written work has been crafted over time, providing useful evidence of academic practice. Data on the points where students digitally touch their work can also be useful beyond questions of academic practice. The Author gives an example of using a data-driven approach to give formative feedback and discusses how data-driven approaches could become common in teaching practice.

ABSTRACT. In this session delegates will explore innovative programme design, delivery, and assessment methods for enhancing student employability, well-being and inclusivity. The session will involve structured round-table activities with provocations from NMITE (New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering) a new HEI offering a unique challenge-led, industry-linked learning approach, to address skills gaps and develop work-ready graduates.

The session will begin with an overview of NMITE, a new HEI, established to widen access to engineering education and address national skills gaps. NMITE’s model uses block learning in a studio environment, without traditional exams, lectures, seminars or lab classes. Rather, students learn in a challenge-led, industry-linked environment that models the workplace, and are assessed through producing real-world outputs of the type demanded of professional engineers in practice.

After introducing NMITE, the workshop will provide a space for delegates to explore how aspects of NMITE’s approach could have relevance and be adapted to their own contexts, using a structured framework to allow for full exploration of ideas and opportunities. Participants will join colleagues in small groups to explore a topic of their choice, with a range of possibilities, including:

- Empowering students to discover their agency and recognise their industrial relevance through bridging the gap between industry and education via direct industry involvement in programme design, delivery and assessment;

- Enhancing student and staff well-being through reconsidering traditional approaches and embracing innovative pedagogies, such as block learning and assessment for learning;

- Contextualising the development of transferable and professional skills within degree programmes to enhance student attendance and engagement in learning experiences designed to promote such skills; and

- Making assessment work harder as part of the learning experience that models workplace outputs rather than simply an end-point measure of learning gain.

In concluding the session, we will invite each group to share one key idea and action and encourage each delegate to establish their key takeaway and set themselves a next action to make it happen in their context.

ABSTRACT. The discussion question most central to this proposed workshop is “What Comes Next for Teaching Practice?” The workshop will outline the interim findings of a research project investigating educator identity in UK higher education (HE) and will provide a space for participants to reflect on the findings in relation to their own educator identities, and collaboratively brainstorm recommendations about how institutions might further develop the careers and identities of educators working in HE.

Research Questions: The project draws on the social identity approach (SIA) (Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner et al., 1987) as a theoretical framework for investigating the following questions:

1. What educator identities exist within the HE context? 2. What is the content of these social groups? 3. What indicates the boundaries between groups? 4. What behaviours, perceptions and beliefs characterise intergroup relations?

Project Rationale: SIA may be particularly useful when considering the question, ‘What comes next for teaching practice in HE?’, as the theory specifies detailed processes through which an individual’s sense of self is constructed through their social identity (Haslam, 2017). The degree to which lecturers identify with particular social groups may therefore impact their approach(es) to teaching. The case for learner-centred approaches to teaching has been made convincingly Biggs (e.g. 2012) amongst a plethora of other scholars. Understanding the ways in which lecturers identify with particular social groups might therefore provide researchers with information that is useful to designing interventions to broaden their conceptions of teaching and strengthen their educator identity. Whilst identification is an important consideration, it is in fact the content of particular identities (their norms, values, and beliefs) that lead to collective social products, such as social change (Bliuc, McGarty & Reynolds, 2007). Therefore, understanding what it is that lecturers are identifying with might also provide information useful to designing interventions to alter lecturers’ conceptions of teaching.

Project Methods: Data was collected through thirty-six semi-structured interviews. Participants were lecturers working in UK HE. The data were analysed using inductive and deductive thematic approaches as well as constant comparison between cases and between groups.

Interim Findings: Findings suggest that several groups and subgroups exist. The three largest are: • Education Oriented Academics • Research Oriented Academics (inclusive of ‘Reluctant Educators’) • Universal Academics (inclusive of ‘Established Universals’ and ‘Emerging Universals’)

There was significant evidence of cross-cutting identities, and that stronger education orientated groups occupy a lower status position within the UK HE sector.

ABSTRACT. Academic motivation, defined as desire or interest in engaging with learning and educational experience, is positively associated with academic attainment in higher education (Wu, 2019). Motivation can come from intrinsic sources, for example a passion for the subject studied, or extrinsic sources, such as the pressure from family members to do well (Biggs & Tang, 2007, pp35-36). Higher intrinsic motivation is associated with increased resilience (Ling et. al., 2016), academic persistence (Mtshweni, 2024) and academic success (Li et al., 2023). The present study aimed to investigate how intrinsic motivation (‘personal interest in the subject’) and extrinsic motivation (‘academic pressure to succeed’) correlated with academic attainment in a 3rd year undergraduate neuroscience module. Participants (n=18) filled in a survey reporting their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on scales of 1-10, and motivation ratings were matched to students’ exam grades. Students (n=4) also participated in semi-structured interviews performed by a student researcher, where they were asked questions related to motivation. Questions were adapted from the Academic Motivation Scale (Vallerand et. al., 1992). Survey participants had a median self-reported level of motivation from personal interest of 7/10 (IQR: 3) and a median self-reported level of motivation from academic pressure of 8/10 (IQR: 3). There was no significant correlation between self-reported motivation from academic pressure and exam grade (Spearman’s Rho r(18) = 0.271, p = 0.295). Surprisingly, a significant negative correlation was observed between self-reported motivation from personal interest and exam grade (Pearson’s correlation r(18) = 0.418, p < 0.05). In semi-structured interviews, students reported a strong personal interest in neuroscience in general. They identified module choice as a positive contributor to their motivation to study, and pressure from workload or impending deadlines as provoking a shift from motivation from personal interest (intrinsic) to motivation from academic pressure (extrinsic). Our study differs from the literature in that it suggests a negative relationship between intrinsic motivation and exam scores. Findings from the semi-structured interviews may go some way to explaining this: exams may be associated with more pressure and less choice so may not favour students who wish to pursue their own interests in a topic in a more independent manner.

ABSTRACT. UCL East – the new campus of University College London in East London, was officially opened in 2023. This is the single biggest expansion of the university since its foundation in 1826. With the aim to integrate research and education, theory and practice – with cross-disciplinarity, innovation and public engagement, UCL East has provided us with a great opportunity to offer transformative education that can accommodate these objectives. This practice paper presents our work of developing and delivering a recently initiated module, named “Group Manufacturing Challenges”, in our new Master’s level (MSc) programme – Future Manufacturing and Nanoscale Engineering (FMNE), which was launched at UCL East in October 2023. This new MSc programme is housed in a new, interdisciplinary and collaborative research laboratory, called Manufacturing Futures Lab (MFL), formed by the departments of Biochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry. This new MSc programme aims to engage students in the design, characterisation and application of nanomaterials and their manufacturing techniques, to enable them to be the future leaders in this growing field. As the flagship module and hub in this programme, the aim of this “Group Manufacturing Challenges” module is to enable students to solve real-world problems by integrating the knowledge and skills they learnt from all modules of this programme. We aim to help students learn and develop as a whole engineer through knowing, thinking, feeling and doing. This module consists of four challenges, which are group-based, problem-based, hands-on and open-ended activities in our state-of-the-art laboratories. Each challenge is associated with another compulsory module in the FMNE MSc programme. Students are expected to develop an understanding of the concepts taught in the associated modules, learn practical skills and apply the knowledge to solve manufacturing challenges. In the challenges, students can implement the entire workflow of tackling an engineering problem, from define the requirements and design a solution to manufacture and test a prototype. For example, in one of the challenges students designed, manufactured and tested a structurally efficient motorbike brake using composite materials. This way we can create a well-connected curriculum to help students progress from knowing (from more lecture-based modules) to doing (in the manufacturing challenges). Moreover, all challenges have a focus on sustainability, EDI, and team collaboration. In the first year we ran this module (October 2023 – March 2024) we had 100% attendance is the timetabled lab sessions and received very positive feedback from students.

ABSTRACT. Hybrid learning environments are attracting increased interest in higher education, with potential benefits in widening participation, inclusive teaching, flexible use of campus, reduced climate impact and skills development (remote collaborative teams). Yet there are many challenges with hybrid teaching, with a risk of remote students being marginalised and experiencing a lower quality education. Active learning approaches offer a promising way to ensure the benefits of hybrid learning are realised and the challenges are effectively addressed. In this paper, hybrid learning followed the Hyflex principles as far as possible, with the exception of not allowing a purely asynchronous mode of study. Remote learning was not imposed, and students were welcome to study entirely in person if they wanted to. Active learning used a Team Based Learning approach, with an exception that teams rotated for the first 5 weeks (allowing each team to be purely online or purely in person). Assessment included individual and team summative components, together with in class tests and peer evaluation (both formative). Using these assessments, together with a survey and a focus group, both attitudes and performance were examined. The results suggest that opportunities to engage in hybrid learning modes of study are generally welcomed, hybrid learners are not disadvantaged, and engagement level is more important than mode of study. In order to maximise the learning experience of remote students, attention needs to be paid to appropriate technology (as expected) but also process and culture, including any assumptions made by in person students.

ABSTRACT. At a time when pedagogy at higher education institutions is rapidly evolving, the need for good quality and meaningful scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to improve the student experience and develop the professional skills of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) academics has never more important.

With over 13 years of experience, eSTEeM is the STEM Faculty’s Scholarship and Innovation Centre based at The Open University (OU) in the UK. The main aim of the centre is to guide the scholarship activities of the STEM Faculty through fostering a dynamic community engaged in innovative and sustainable SoTL and educational research. These activities are intended to: - Design, investigate and evaluate innovative approaches to teaching and learning. - Improve the student experience. - Create a supported open learning environment that attracts and retains students. - Develop the capacity and professional skills of academics to engage in scholarship of teaching and learning. - Enhance the external profile of our scholarship

In April 2024, eSTEeM held their 13th annual conference, titled Sharing Scholarship and Best Practice – Implementing What Works. Open to all staff and students connected with scholarship, celebrating and disseminating current practice within the STEM Faculty we attracted nearly 200 attendees either online or face-to-face in a blended format. The conference is one example of how eSTEeM develops new pathways for future growth and development of both scholarship practitioners and teaching and learning within the STEM faculty. During day two of the conference, we held a workshop exploring some of the approaches by which projects can influence practice and ways we can overcome the barriers to implementing what works. Additionally, we launched our inaugural Conference Proceedings Journal, designed to allow authors to publish short pieces of scholarship or teaching innovation as a result of a project presented at the eSTEeM conference. With an aim of allowing new authors to publish in a “friendly” and fully supported environment and gain valuable experience writing papers.

During this presentation we will explains the mechanism and methodology behind the work of eSTEeM and outline our activities for creating pathways for future growth and development. The examples of such activities include a continuous professional development programme to allow STEM practitioners to build a sustainable community, a framework to capture internal impact, increasing the involvement of students in the development of scholarship and a new initiative to cascade findings of scholarship projects.

ABSTRACT. Rapid innovation in online and digital education necessitates a robust approach to scholarly teaching, yet the fast pace of delivery and institutional targets for student outcomes, bring pressures on staff and the time and space available for scholarship. We propose a shift towards a more collaborative “slow scholarship” model that prioritises sustained, in-depth exploration over quick fixes. This aligns well with the complexities of higher education, where understanding student needs and developing successful methodologies takes time and collaborative reflection. Across the sector, the changing nature of academic roles, with a growing population of teaching focused staff necessitates opportunities to engage in scholarly teaching (i.e., evidence-informed practice) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) for accreditation and career progression.

Within The Open University, faculty scholarship centres play a pivotal role in fostering a culture for slow scholarship. The centres provide dedicated academic professional development to equip staff with the educational research skills necessary for SoTL (e.g., professional development workshops, peer mentoring and constructive feedback). Through supporting cohorts of project teams, the centres align related SoTL projects and promote collective reflection across disciplines to empower scholarly teaching and promote collaborative inquiry. Another key role, at the institutional level, is to champion scholarship by raising awareness of its value within the university, and further developing pathways for the impact and recognition of longer-term scholarship programmes.

Although, faculty-driven scholarship offers significant benefits, for more substantial impact on teaching and learning at the institutional level, we aspire to develop further support for collaboration across the faculties. Combined SoTL insights are required to inform how the institution tackles systemic teaching and learning issues. However, collaboration at scale under our current structure presents challenges. SoTL activities often function better within smaller, focused groups and communities. We feel, a supportive institutional environment is vital to leverage strategically the accumulated knowledge from within the faculties. This includes an openness to engage with practitioners from very different contexts and support the implementation of SoTL findings.

By promoting supportive environments for scholarship at the group, school, faculty and institutional levels universities can foster a vibrant culture for SoTL. This multi-level approach, anchored by the support of the faculty scholarship centres, encourages a deeper understanding of teaching and learning issues within the complexities of higher education. It creates a supportive environment for career progression and continuous improvement through collaboration and shared inquiry, ultimately benefiting both staff and students.

ABSTRACT. Almost a decade ago, at the first ESLTIS Conference, a colleague and I gave a presentation that addressed a number of issues, specific to the tradition of languages as a university subject, which hindered the Scholarship of Language Learning and Teaching and affected the career development of teaching-focussed language professionals.

This paper describes what has changed since then in my institution, and critically reflects on some initiatives and activities that I undertook to contribute to raising the profile of ‘teaching’ and promote the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoTL) within my discipline and beyond (e.g., setting up and coordinating a Language Teaching Community of Practice, negotiating better conditions of work for teaching-focussed academics in my university). After providing an overview of these activities, which include successes and failures, I will show how the scholarship pathway has evolved, but not without posing new challenges.

The SoTL is still a highly debated topic in HE, and the lack of a strong agreement on its definition (Fanghanel et al., 2016) can potentially blur the difference between the notions of ‘scholarship’, ‘professional development’, and ‘pedagogic research’ and create unclear expectations. Drawing on literature relating to the SoTL, I will highlight some problematic aspects of the current use of the term ‘scholarship’, and conclude by discussing different theoretical positions on the relation between ‘scholarship’ and ‘research’, and possible pathways for future development.

ABSTRACT. In this short talk, we will discuss our approach to enhancing the teaching of an IT module within the School of Computer Science for the lifelong learning programme. The lifelong learning programme attracts diverse students of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities. The modules are offered in a hybrid teaching format, with some students being physically in the classroom and others attending online. Catering to an extensive range of technical capabilities can be particularly challenging when teaching IT, especially while ensuring students all get a sense of belonging despite physical separation. We have taken several approaches to help everyone feel included.

We will first cover our hybrid teaching setup using several cameras and software to provide a more immersive learning experience. By leveraging these technologies, we aim to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment that fosters active participation, a high level of teaching environment awareness, and student engagement. Initial feedback from students has been highly positive, motivating us to refine further and expand our technological initiatives.

We will also discuss how adding a reflective element to coursework can help tackle students' vast differences in technical knowledge and skills at the beginning.

Additionally, we will explore how teaching an IT module for the lifelong learning programme provided invaluable insight into the technical challenges faced by UK students of all ages, particularly mature learners. Through interactions with industry guest speakers on our module, such as the Head of Policy and Communications at the Digital Poverty Alliance, we gained a deeper understanding of national-level issues, particularly digital poverty.

This first-hand experience prompted a purposeful shift in some of our MSc and SH student project proposals towards addressing societal challenges, specifically tackling digital poverty. Through these initiatives, we aim to not only enrich our student's educational experiences but also contribute to meaningful societal change by addressing pressing issues such as digital poverty.

In conclusion, we extend an invitation to fellow educators and researchers who share our passion for addressing the pressing social issue of digital inclusion, where technology, education, and social impact intersect. Towards the end of our talk, we will present possible ways forward and open the floor for suggestions to help address the challenges in evening degree teaching.

ABSTRACT. We present a mixed methods comparative assessment of three online discussion tools widely used in higher education. We combine different data types (quantitative, qualitative) and sources (usage data, survey responses) to assess Piazza, Padlet, and Blackboard discussion boards. We highlight and discuss the differences between, and relative merits of, the tools and report the preferences of students on a large (1000+ students) introductory Economics unit for them. We summarise lessons learnt from using the tools and make recommendations to engender greater student engagement with online discussion spaces.

ABSTRACT. Exploring the challenges experienced by international MSc students is crucial to ensuring that they can be effectively supported during their relatively short period of study within an institution. Given the diversity of students, including their prior educational experience and socioeconomic background, the challenges of moving to a new country and the cultural shocks that this can bring, it is not surprising that students highlight challenges when they begin their studies. It is essential for institutions to provide effective support for students to enable them to enjoy their studies, become members of the academic and local community and obtain their intended qualification. As a post 92 modern university, we recruit a significant number of international students across a range of programmes from a wide variety of backgrounds. Given the diversity of our students we are keen to understand the core challenges students face, especially current challenges, but also the specific problems faced by students from different backgrounds. There is a real need to support the transition into the University and their new life in Scotland to ensure our students are successful and have an enjoyable experience. We need to develop more supportive learning environments that let these students successfully engage with the curriculum. To do this we need to find out their needs and challenges and what support they would like. We have set about trying to understand the specific challenges faced by our international postgraduate students to identify interventions that might support an improvement in the postgraduate experience. Through a combination of surveys and focus groups we have attempted to gain a clearer understanding of the challenges students face and identify how they could feel more supported. Alongside two international students as active researchers in this project, we have identified key aspects that we would like to share with you including some of the voices of our students to improve your knowledge of their experience. Though there is a growing body of literature on supporting international students, there is limited focus on students of Scottish universities. Besides, most of the existing studies seem to focus on predetermined aspects of student support such as mental health, social support, sense of belonging, peer mentoring, etc. We add a new dimension to these by emphasising how the students feel they could be supported and how they evaluate our current support. We believe understandings these will contribute to student satisfaction and improved academic performance.

ABSTRACT. There are increasing concerns about growing levels of non-attendance and non-engagement in traditional lecture settings across the Higher Education Sector. The current qualitative study sought to understand students’ perspectives on barriers to attendance, and to explore their positive experiences of engagement. Three focus groups were conducted, consisting of Undergraduate Psychology students from two institutions in the UK. Thematic analysis revealed suggestions for content delivery, the importance of encouraging social relationship, and highlighted a variety of barriers individual students faced (including lack of childcare and work responsibilities). The impact of findings for fostering inclusive educational environments are considered in this talk.

ABSTRACT. This paper introduces the Master’s Dissertation Marking Framework (MDMF), a tool designed to enhance fairness and equity in the assessment of master’s dissertations. Drawing upon a comprehensive literature review and empirical data from two fact-finding studies—a survey and interviews—the framework addresses critical challenges in dissertation marking, such as marker reliability, fairness, bias, and the use of technology. The MDMF is structured around five core components: identifying issues related to fairness and equity, pre-marking tasks, assigning marking based on marker characteristics, the marking process, and the use of technology to facilitate fair assessment practices. Key innovations include the implementation of anonymity in marking, specialised training for markers, and the adoption of technology to ensure consistent and bias-free grading. The paper outlines pedagogical strategies that integrate technology with these core components, providing practical applications to promote equity in marking practices. Future work will focus on refining the MDMF through ongoing design cycles and extending its application beyond computing science to a wider academic context. This framework serves as a foundation for institutions seeking to uphold high standards of fairness in academic assessments.

ABSTRACT. In response to intensive demands from increased student numbers in final-year undergraduate research projects, and aligned with the emerging emphasis on enterprise-related teaching, we have developed a novel approach to projects that is efficient in resourcing and student focussed in our assessment processes. The Psychology Team Enterprise Project Modules rethink the assessment for projects, resulting in several innovations:

1. Rather than a single high-stress, high-stakes dissertation-based assessment, students present work as video presentations, impact and research pitches, and a reflective portfolio.

2. Peer marking- and feedback-processes are supported by the second innovation; incorporating the process of giving and receiving feedback in a work-team as part of the formal curriculum through a training programme created in collaboration with Educational Developers.

3. The student-learning focus of the assessment arises from (a) multiple presentations where prior feedback can be developmental, and (b) students also give peer feedback on multiple occasions and receive feedback on their feedback, allowing the peer-feedback process to improve over time.

4. The final innovation is the quality control and further student development component whereby the student feedback on peer pitch talks is itself evaluated and marked by module leaders.

Peer feedback is seen as an ideal form of student orientated assessment; however, debates often centre on conflicting implications for workload and concerns over quality control and fairness. Our module design has adopted a diverse range of authentic assessment types drawing upon broad discussion about the optimal student use of assessment (e.g., Murillo-Zamoramo & Montanero, 2018; Winstone & Carless, 2020).

• We foreground peer-based grading and feedback recognising the value for academic performance (e.g., Double et al., 2020). • We emphasise peer feedback on oral presentations which have been shown to be a key factor in improved outcomes (e.g., Townsend, 2021) • We provide explicit training in giving and receiving feedback. This is supported by a meta-analysis of 58 studies showing that the strongest impact on good peer assessment is training (Li et al., 2019). • Our module places enterprise and employability skills at its heart. Pushpakumara (2021) shows that peer assessment enhances employability, with students reporting improvement in their independent evaluative skills; collaboration and teamwork; communication skills; critical and analytical skills.

Feedback suggests that this approach has been very well received by students. We wish to promote this multi-pronged approach as a practical way to support student oriented, quality-controlled peer assessment with the additional benefits of supporting enterprise attributes.

ABSTRACT. The Masters in Public Health (MPH) is an on-campus, postgraduate Programme which has experienced a surge in student numbers over the last five years, with minimal growth in staffing levels. I undertook a review of the programme, seeking to remove all high-stake, tokenistic assessments, and replace with meaningful assessments, constructively aligned to the Course and Programme ILOs, and devised in accordance with the UofG’s Teaching and Learning Strategy.

An integral part of a master’s degree is a student-led project worth 60 credits. Historically in the MPH, these credits were gained through a 15,000-20,000-word dissertation. For 2022-23, I reduced the dissertation length (10,000-12,000/80%) and include a presentation (8-10 minutes/20%). However, it was important I sought a suitable way to assess students that enhanced the student experience, while avoiding a negative impact on staff workload. I decided to create the annual MPH Student Conference. The conference was designed to provide students with a space to undertake their assessment in a meaningful way, while providing space for Careers sessions, engaging with MPH alumni, and keynotes from academics at various career stages.

Student volunteers were involved in all aspects of the conference, participating in organisation, and chairing and timekeeping during sessions. For their assessment, students were required to give a 'work in progress' presentation on their project. Similar to typical conference formats, students were asked to prepare a short abstract, which served as the formative assessment for this task. A standardised conference format was adopted, with the aim of mirroring experience students may experience in their professional careers. It was anticipated that this would help them build confidence to discuss contemporary public health issues and to engage critically with the work of their peers.

A questionnaire was circulated following the June 2023 conference to evaluate students' experiences of attending and presenting, and staff's experiences of the new assessment process. This presentation will showcase analysed data from both surveys to provide an evidence-based justification for the following arguments: • Student conferences are a useful active learning and meaningful assessment strategy to manage growth within large programmes. • Student conferences are a means to nurture transferable skills – including the ability to condense complex information into clear and concise presentations and engaging with others in a professional and meaningful way. Embedding skills development in this way equips our graduates with the with the skills and expertise necessary to thrive within an increasingly competitive job market.

ABSTRACT. This longitudinal appraisal provides empirical evidence that higher education needs to focus on developing graduates with strengths in communications and collaborations, as well as capability.

Using primary baseline data from ten years ago, a Journal of Education and Work paper (O’Leary, 2017) confirmed a series of disciplinary variations in employability-related support across higher education institutions. A complementary Studies in Higher Education publication (O’Leary, 2021) highlighted that gendered inconsistencies in such provision were of an indirect nature, as they reflected variable provision across disciplinary subject areas while persistent gendered choices of degree subject matter exist. This third study assesses progress and establishes future priorities for course developments.

The first study outlined that variations exist in how students and graduates prefer to see employability-related support delivered in their courses. Nine in ten want it included, but differences exist as to whether it is best provided as an optional feature (the desire within Humanities and Sciences), or it is fully integrated into the course (the preference in Engineering and Social Sciences).

However, the second study highlighted that actual student and graduate experiences of employability-related support vary and, as a result, more female students and graduates appear to miss out because of the variations across disciplinary areas and the fact that females are predominant in those subject fields where the visibility of employability-related support is relatively lower.

To complement the earlier studies and establish a longitudinal perspective over the last decade, the author instigated a recent third survey. This was completed by over one hundred students and graduates. A preliminary assessment of the data has been made for this proposal, and the full analysis can be expected to be completed for the conference. The initial appraisal indicates that the gaps exposed previously are closing and the focus for future course developments should be on developing graduates with particular strengths in communication and collaboration, as well as on capability.

References:

O'Leary, S. (2017), Graduates’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, the inclusion of employability-related support in undergraduate degree programmes; trends and variations by subject discipline and gender, Journal of Education and Work, 30(1), 84-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2015.1122181

O’Leary, S. (2021), Gender and management implications from clearer signposting of employability attributes developed across graduate disciplines, Studies in Higher Education, 46(3), 437-456. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2019.1640669

O’Leary, S. (2024), Transitioning higher education employability-related support with a focus on communications, collaborations and capabilities. Graduate College Working Paper, Canterbury Christ Church University. In progress. https://cccu.canterbury.ac.uk/

ABSTRACT. With some exceptions, the primary model of humanities doctoral education in the UK is still largely based on the master-apprentice model. While this model has proven fruitful for developing new generations of humanities researchers to succeed in academic contexts, it is clear that this career trajectory can no longer be the only one for which a doctorate prepares early career researchers. With employment opportunities in higher education drastically declining as a result of a sector-wide shortfall in university finances (O’Hara 2024), humanities PhD researchers have to be able to show how the specialist knowledge they acquire during their doctoral studies translates to skills useful outside of the confines of the university. To this end, this presentation will pose a provocation: I argue that we need to think in more specific terms about ‘the doctoral curriculum’ as an alternative to the master-apprentice model, and consequently identify how to implement training in transferable skills into this curriculum. The emergent field of the Public Humanities, with its extensive focus on collaborative research both between teaching staff and students, as well as between universities and the wider communities of which they are part, foster crucial skills in collaboration, scholarly communication, and creative events management. Unlike many institutions in the United States the UK has not yet institutionalised the Public Humanities more widely (e.g., as degree programmes). Against the assumption that collaborative, communicative, and leadership skills are adequately developed in the ‘hidden doctoral curriculum’ (Elliot et. al 2020), I argue that building elements of the Public Humanities into the humanities doctoral curriculum could represent an opportunity for both institutions and PhD researchers to reimagine doctoral education in the UK. Addressing the question ‘What Comes Next for the Shape and Composition of Academic Programs?’, the presentation will specifically focus on two aspects of how to implement such training: reenvisioning how we measure success in humanities doctoral education, and building a humanities doctoral curriculum that recognises the value of combining specialist knowledge with employability skills without feeding into narratives of the ‘low value’ of humanities degrees (Butler 2022).

Butler, Judith. 2022. “The Public Futures of the Humanities.” Daedalus 151, no. 3 (Summer): pp. 40-53. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01927. Elliot, Dely L., Søren S. E. Bengtsen, Kay Guccione, and Sofie Kobayashi. The Hidden Curriculum in Doctoral Education (Palgrave Pivot Cham, 2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41497-9. O’Hara, Glen. ‘Saving Humanities’, Research Professional News, 25 February 2024, https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-views-of-the-uk-2024-february-saving-humanities/, accessed 5 May 2024.

ABSTRACT. Our being-in-the-world is inherently sensorial and the tacit knowledge we gain through sensory and emotional perception is key to how we learn to navigate and make meaning of the world. Yet higher education heavily favours cognitive knowledge as a medium of instruction and learning, based on pedagogical concepts of knowing educator and learning student, leading to a hierarchy of intelligences. Explicitly incorporating sensory knowledge into teaching and learning practices enables students to become experts in the classroom. We explore the links between sensory perception, emotion and cognition through an urban anthropology lecture and workshop that enables students to connect popular music with urban theory. It is the combination of sensory and cognitive knowledge that enriches the learning process as student use their expertise in musical genres to embed their learning on urban theory. This conference paper demonstrates the potential to incorporate sensory teaching and learning into other disciplines. It is based on an article submission co-authored by the lecturer and two undergraduate students of the 'Music in the City' urban anthropology class,facilitated by the St Andrews Internship Research Scheme. The session will be co facilitated by Karen Lane and students Charlotte Welch and Archie Miller

ABSTRACT. In their seminal book, ‘Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation,’ Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger demonstrate that learning is a social process, as well as a cognitive one. They go on to show that effective learning occurs in an environment of social interaction that requires knowledge to be presented within authentic contexts. Thus, learning occurs within Communities of Practice (CoP), where regular interaction and collaboration supports enhanced practice. CoP create support networks that facilitate learners to solve problems through collective thinking, the exchange of knowledge & experiences and through the creation of new knowledge and ideas. During this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to explore the benefits of institutional-wide communities of practice, through the lens of two established communities at the University of St Andrews, the Community for Evidence-Led Practice in Education (CELPiE) and the Technology Enhanced Learning Hive. Over 90-minutes, the workshop will provide an overview of the structure, aims and educational and social benefits of the two communities. Through experiential activities, participants will then explore how establishing a CoP within their institutions could support learning across the institution, provide a pathway for the future growth and development of academic and professional colleagues engaged in Education and Scholarship, enhance collaborative activity and promote social engagement.

ABSTRACT. Music is popularly assumed to be ‘universal’ to human culture, but although this art form’s capacity to arouse and express emotions seems to be common, there are obviously hugely variant forms of sonic characteristics, social function, and aesthetic value. This workshop aims to help participants explore how ethno-musicological approaches to music education can help non-specialists to think reflectively about the role of culture in knowledge-building processes. Taught as an interdisciplinary elective, music can help encourage diversity awareness and thoughtful approaches to inclusive practice.

Music education, historically, concentrated on developing repertoire and performance competencies: university courses assumed standardized patterns of prior learning that supported this focus on technical competence. While this is still essential for future music professionals, insisting on prior technical competency prioritizes some forms of musical cultures over others in ways that create barriers for inclusive practice for non-specialist learners (Green, 2012).

Why teach music to non-practitioners at all? As students develop as independent adult learners, music education can make an ethical contribution to the broader HE curriculum by helping students to understand how cultural knowledge is constructed and shared, providing experiences that reflect on epistemological processes as much as on ontological fact-gathering (e.g. Jorgensen, 2012). As today’s HE campuses are increasingly international gathering-places, interdisciplinary encounters with music can help students to reflect upon their own categories of knowledge, and to explore how their engagement with and understanding of the world may be shaped by cultural forces as much as by material reality.

The workshop will introduce participants to the basic taxonomy of musical instruments, work in groups to create different ways of categorizing instruments using whatever terms and qualities they can invent, discuss together how these categories reflect different ways of seeing the world, and finally consolidate this understanding through introducing some applied case studies from different communities of musical practice. The approach used could potentially be re-engineered and applied to other areas of the creative arts. References - Green, Lucy. (2012). Music Education, Cultural Capital, and Social Group Identity. in Clayton, Herbert and Middleton (eds.), The Cultural Study of Music: A Critical Introduction. 2nd edn. Routledge. 206-216. - Jorgensen, Estelle. (2012). Constructing Communities of Scholarship in Music Education. Oxford Handbook of Music Education. Vol. 2, 637-640.