ABSTRACT. In this talk I will explore how my own initial work in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at Durham University, such as using virtual screen experiments to prepare students for the laboratory and designing online courses to facilitate students’ transition into university life led me to develop institutional wide support for SOTL and embed it within our Education Track.

Through always using failure always as a learning experience, I’ll give some examples of how critical getting advocacy and allyship from colleagues at all levels across the University is in supporting and embedding changes in both teaching practice and how teaching is considered in a research-intensive environment and how we’ve been able to rethink support to develop an Education Lab which works through student-partnership projects to support staff to flourish.

I’ll give some recent examples, including projects using how the latest ideas in digital learning have been employed to enhance the student learning experience, showcasing their transformative potential in educational settings. I will discuss how this approach not only empowers faculty but also is catalysing an ongoing cultural shift within academic departments towards more innovative and inclusive teaching methodologies.

Through focussing on creative and inclusive approaches to education leadership I will conclude on how we’re trying to reimagine the educational landscape, demonstrating the impact of strategic support in promoting the evolution of teaching and learning and working with education focussed academics to support educational change.

Sam Nolan is Professor (Education) and Director at the Durham Centre for Academic Development at Durham University. Following his Ph.D.in Astrophysics at Durham and a fellowship funded by NASA in the States, Sam’s career evolved following roles as a research physicist to have a stronger focus on adult science education and widening participation, before moving into an institutional wide role focussed on Educational Leadership and Innovation. Sam’s scholarship interests include AI; augmented reality; the use of active learning pedagogies to enhance student engagement and leadership development. For the national impact of his work, Sam has been awarded National Teaching Fellow status and is a Principal Fellow of the HEA/Advance HE.

ABSTRACT. Navigating the career path as an education-focused academic requires tailored strategies and insights, particularly given the diverse contexts of institutions and departments. This panel session brings together distinguished academics to share their experiences and practical advice for career progression. Chaired by Dr. Paula Miles (University of St Andrews), the panel includes Prof. Abel Nyamapfene (UCL), Dr. Asha Akram (Sheffield), Dr. Rob Daley (Herriot Watt), and Prof. Clare Peddie (University of St Andrews). Topics will include navigating institutional frameworks, enhancing teaching and scholarship, and leveraging unique departmental contexts for professional growth. 

ABSTRACT. Graduate teaching assistances (GTAs) are PhD researchers, who have taken on a teaching role within their institution. Balancing their roles as students and emerging educators, GTAs navigate a unique landscape where they contribute to teaching, as staff, while pursuing their own research, as students.. Despite their pivotal role, existing research on GTAs often overlooks their specific learning needs and instructional practices.. Within The University of Manchester, the Mentoring Excellence Program was developed to support our GTAs in gaining recognition for their teaching practices by being supported to apply for Associate Fellow of Advance HE through peer support. Within this dynamic relationship, the mentor assumes various roles, serving as a role model, teacher, advisor, guide, and resource for their peers (Biaggio, 2001; Galbraith and James, 2004). The multifaceted nature of mentoring in higher education thus underscores its significance in fostering a collaborative and enriching learning experience for both mentor and mentee. Research highlights that mentoring is a highly effective form of training, surpassing the impact of campus-wide seminars or departmental training programs (Jones, 1993). Bhatti and Viney (2010) emphasise various benefits associated with mentoring, including the development of professional identities, improvement in clinical and interpersonal skills, career guidance, opportunities for career advancement, increased research productivity, and enhanced job satisfaction. Additionally, mentoring provides mentees with crucial emotional and psychological support, particularly during times of stress or difficult situations (Davies and Gibbs, 2011). It also provides opportunities to reflect on teaching practices and more importantly how GTAs themselves learn. Whilst there are drawbacks associated with mentoring, such as time pressures seeing as GTAs are both students and staff and/or imposter syndrome (e.g., Poulsen (2013); Muzaka (2009). A model tailored for GTAs should address the inherent tension between teaching and research (Park, 2004). This tension significantly influences job satisfaction, research progress, and thesis completion rates for individual graduate students. This paper seeks to understand the firsthand experiences of GTAs participating as mentors on the Mentoring Excellence programme. The paper examines how the design of the programme helps not only the mentees but also the mentors themselves to develop. In addition, the paper investigates what the mentors gain from the different aspects of the programme and what practice they bring with them from their own experience of being mentees.

ABSTRACT. The relationship between emotions and the quality of thinking has been identified as a crucial aspect of learning and teaching within higher education. It can shape the quality of educational experiences for better or for worse but is frequently overlooked within teaching practices. A training package and professional development approach was developed to support higher education teachers to explicitly consider and plan for the role of emotions within their practice, their subject, and their contexts.

To achieve this an educational design research approach was adopted - chosen for its emphasis on developing applied solutions to practical problems. Initially the range of existing conceptions of academic staff in relation to the role of emotions within their teaching and their wider roles was considered. A training package was then developed over a series of iterations, with each created version being informed by user evaluations.

The training programme was designed to support higher education teachers to select and embed approaches that focus on the development of the emotion-intellect partnership. The package focused on creating an approach that encouraged strategies to be adapted and nuanced to the needs and priorities of varied subjects and learning environments. Whilst primarily focused on developing classroom practice and teachers’ response to the emotions of their students there was also a recognition that teaching roles bring with them emotional labour that can be framed by institutional and external drivers.

The aim was to offer strategies that encouraged a focus on emotions within practice to be more conscious and deliberate through a package that offered choice in its support of professional development. The process itself offered insights into the ways that teachers respond to emotion in the classroom. The process also offered further suggestions around the ways in which this area could continue to be explored and developed.

ABSTRACT. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBI) have gained interest within HE as supportive measures for students' academic advancement and mental well-being. Recent studies highlighted the positive impact of MBI on both externalizing and internalizing symptoms, emotional regulation, and perceived stress (Segal et al., 2021). Empirical evidence, comprising both qualitative and quantitative data, has indicated significant benefits in fostering self-compassion, enhancing emotional regulation and cognitive skills, developing coping strategies, and elevating awareness of emotions and feelings (Yogeswaran & Morr, 2021). Furthermore, emerging research suggests a potential correlation between MBI and improved academic performance. Notably, associations have been observed between enhanced academic outcomes and factors such as increased resilience, heightened self-compassion, forward-thinking orientation, and reduced tendencies towards procrastination after MBI participation (Egan et al., 2021).

Despite these promising findings, the exploration of MBI's influence on academic performance remains in its early stages. To further investigate this area, we provided students with access to asynchronous mindfulness resources and encouraged their engagement throughout the term. Over a five-week period, students participated in pre-study meditation sessions, body scan exercises, and listened to podcasts on the benefits of mindfulness practices. Students were then invited to reflect on their experiences. Early feedback has indicated that mindfulness practices improved concentration during revision and helped in managing exam-related stress. In light of this preliminary feedback, we are considering the integration of MBI practices within psychology modules for the upcoming academic year. The limitations of the current study and considerations for broader implementation of MBI within HE settings will be discussed.

ABSTRACT. The internationalisation of higher education, and increased recruitment of international students in many institutions, is shaping the landscape of UK universities. This paper examines the interplay between the provision of UK higher education to international students and the evolving discourse from the UK government that is problematising current levels of recruitment of students, especially students from China. As diplomatic tensions and shifting political narratives about international students have translated into universities’ strategic plans, this paper offers a close reading of statements from The Russell Group and The University of Manchester about strategies for diversifying international student recruitment. The analysed statements display discourse that problematically associates international students with ‘cash’ and ‘competition’ (Stein and de Andreotti, 2016). Such discourse risks reinforcing orientalist and sinophobic narratives that circulate in the West. The paper argues that recognising and challenging these discourses will be an important part of promoting anti-racist and inclusive educational practices in academia.

Stein, S. and de Andreotti, V. O. (2016) ‘Cash, competition, or charity: international students and the global imaginary’, Higher Education, 72(2), pp. 225–239.

ABSTRACT. The Equality Act 2010 (UK) safeguards individuals against discrimination, vital not only in broader society, but also within teaching and learning settings. It is insufficient merely to avoid discrimination, however, there also needs to be proactivity to incorporate inclusivity into our curricula and teaching practice. There is therefore a need to review teaching practices to decolonise curricula, but also to foster an environment embracing inclusive teaching in Higher Education. This will ensure that the education we provide to our students remains accessible, and reflective and representative of everyone.

Embedding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) into teaching and curricula can initially seem daunting. Many of us may fear making mistakes or misusing language, and often do not know where to start. To overcome this, offering training and resources providing insight into how EDI can be creatively and effectively incorporated into curricula might help build confidence and thus create greater momentum for change across the sector.

To support this, we propose a workshop discussing examples of how EDI can be embedded into Higher Education curricula, based on our experience doing this in a science curriculum. This workshop will adopt a collaborative approach beginning with a 15-minute introduction to provide a contextual background, followed by a 15-minute participant-led discussion centred around the concepts of equality and equity as foundational elements and how justice breaks down barriers. The workshop leaders will deliver a 15-minute presentation giving examples of how EDI can be integrated throughout a programme, drawing from our own practice ranging from bespoke honours level courses to standalone workshops, considering vertical curriculum integration and assessment, along with challenges faced and benefits gained. This will provide tangible examples that participants can adapt and adopt into their own practice. The following 30 minutes, participants will develop actionable plans for incorporating EDI principles into their specific disciplines, with support from the workshop leaders. They can discuss these in small groups, before sharing their thoughts with the wider cohort. We will conclude with 15 minutes of reflecting on the lessons learned from the workshop. Participants will be invited to share their plans and insights anonymously as a direct output from this workshop, contributing to a broader dialogue on embedding EDI in Higher Education curricula.

The goal of this workshop is to instil confidence, showcase examples and inspire educators to adopting innovative EDI practices, and hence enhance student learning by fostering a more inclusive and representative curriculum.

ABSTRACT. The UK Higher Education (HE) sector approach to digital learning is in an emergent, post-pandemic context. While there is much to learn about digital transformation from other sectors, HE has some specific complexities that need consideration. Alignment between the physical and virtual learning spaces, the activities and pedagogical practice taking place, and the required enabling infrastructure will continue to develop and change. Digital technology has been pervasive in all aspects of life for many years; it develops rapidly, extends possibilities, and continually shifts society's expectations and behaviours. The sector has undergone unprecedented change during the pandemic to enable teaching and support for students using technology and now we can move beyond this and embed the pedagogic use of technology to digitally enhance learning.

Leadership is not the only factor that influences digital transformation, but buy-in, role modelling, and advocacy by leaders is understood to be a significant enabler. By ‘leaders’ we include all levels of leadership within the organisation, including student leaders as co-producers and partners. Bringing more diverse perspectives together gives outcomes that are much greater than the sum of the constituent parts. Having a greater involvement of stakeholders in development of teaching practice and curriculum innovation can increase accountability and ownership of the change while also improving perceptions of value and quality, which results in more innovative outcomes and greater impact.

This workshop session explores the role of leaders in the transformation of the digital learning experience. Participants will be invited to explore the themes of digital learning and digital leadership and what it means for them. An initial photo elicitation method will engage participants in thinking about 'digital learning' before we move into a dialogue-based method where small groups will engage in conversation and scribing around a prepared 'dialogue sheet'. Participants will also be given the option of opting into research data collection through capture of their responses. A summary analysis of learning gained from the dialogue sheets will be shared with all participants after the event.

ABSTRACT. Over the last two decades, significant investments have been made in the UK Higher Education estate, prompting increased interest in the impact of physical classroom environments on students' educational outcomes. However, existing research often overlooks individual and situational differences in people-environment transactions, assuming a uniform experience for all students. While Universal Design for Learning (UDL) aims to accommodate diverse learning needs, research on inclusive classroom design, particularly in universities, remains limited.

This presentation reports on an exploratory, mixed-methods study, which investigated perceptions of inclusive classroom design among neurotypical and neurodivergent students. An online questionnaire, incorporating qualitative and quantitative questions, was administered to 122 students across UK universities.

Thematic template analysis revealed distinct environmental challenges and impacts reported by both student groups. Themes included accessibility, audibility/visibility, classroom size, and predictability, extending beyond traditional UDL guidelines. In contrast, quantitative analysis revealed no significant differences between groups in their agreement with UDL principles such as Flexibility and Choice, Outdoor Connections, and Control over the Environment.

The disconnect between qualitative and quantitative findings underscores the importance of question type (open and closed) and order in student engagement processes for classroom design and evaluation. Qualitative data highlights varying perceptions of the importance and impact of classroom design characteristics based on individual differences, emphasising the need for inclusive consultation with diverse student groups to ensure equitable learning environments.

This study highlights the nuanced nature of classroom experiences among neurotypical and neurodivergent students in higher education, advocating for collaborative consultations with both populations to create truly inclusive learning environments.

ABSTRACT. Aiming to enhance the student learning experience De Montfort University (Leicester, UK) embarked on a significant university-wide curriculum transformation project, to review and redesign academic programmes of study for delivery in an intensive, block modular approach. The approach enhances consistency of curriculum design and delivery through the development and implementation of standardised 30 credit, sequential, block modules per level of undergraduate study.

Curriculum transformation facilitated opportunities for teams within the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media, to revisit, reimagine and redesign the curriculum in response to student feedback, employer and industrial recommendations aligned with graduate outcomes, and a desire to create a future-facing unique curriculum offer that best responds to the needs of students, individually and collectively.

The strategic leader for this curriculum transformation within the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Media, which is home to around 5,500 students at the Leicester campus, explains the rationale and process that facilitated re-validation (curriculum approval) for 51 programmes in a fourteen month period; the majority within just three months, and those requiring greater liaison with external accrediting bodies taking a little longer. Each programme required a unique set of considerations, aligned with the underlying principles of the University’s approach to change, recognising the varied nature of content, delivery and engagement across a wide range of taught subjects.

Opportunities and challenges arising through extensive and fast-paced curriculum transformation, both within the Faculty and across the University, are explored through this presentation. Alongside curriculum change was the need to review and re-align academic regulations and academic processes to facilitate re-validation and delivery in reduced timeframes. An overview of changes will be summarised, along with how exemptions from the University’s standard model were considered and supported.

Examining innovation and inclusivity at the heart of this curriculum change, as well as impact within the first two years of delivery, the continuous evolution of academic programmes is explored. Learning from curriculum design and curriculum change processes provides insights into the most effective methods for initial curriculum redesign.

As the second year of delivery in the new block approach concludes, learning and impact from the initial experiences of students and staff are explored, considering strengths and areas for further development, enhancement and growth. As a Faculty and University we ask what comes next for Higher Education? Is block delivery the future?

ABSTRACT. Objectives This study evaluated a mentoring scheme for people who identify as women from ethnic minority backgrounds working in academic medicine and health sciences in the UK.

Design A longitudinal study over six months using online questionnaires.

Setting UK higher education institutions

Participants Individuals who had participated in the Academic Intersectionality Mentoring in Medical Schools (AIMMS Mentoring) scheme. The scheme is open to people who identify as women from minority ethnic backgrounds working in academic medicine and health sciences in the UK.

Main outcome measures Two questionnaires (baseline and after 6m) captured descriptive data about AIMMS Mentoring participants and information about the practical aspects of the mentoring scheme. Participants were asked about their experience of and satisfaction with the scheme, whether it matched their expectations and what they felt were the scheme’s rewards and challenges. Questions were also asked about the organisation of the scheme, its process and structure, how accessible it was and how it could be improved. The productiveness and usefulness of the mentoring relationship was explored, including personal and professional development outcomes, and whether participants felt it was important that mentoring takes place between people with similar characteristics.

Results Sixteen pairs took part in mentoring, and ten mentees and four mentors completed evaluation questionnaires at follow-up. Questionnaire two responses indicated that the scheme was helpful. All mentor and mentee responses reported personal and professional development within the 6m period. Mentee responses in particular reported gaining insight into career development, and both groups felt they had gained understanding about institutional ways of working. Participants gave the scheme a positive rating and indicated they would recommend it to others. Being in mentoring relationships with women from similar backgrounds was ascribed value, as was mentor partners being empathetic. The evaluation revealed ways in which the scheme could be improved, most notably by the provision of additional support through mentoring training.

Conclusions Women from ethnic minorities working in academic medicine and health sciences can face challenges at work and barriers to progress into leadership roles. This formative and summative evaluation of the AIMMS Mentoring scheme showed that mentoring between women from similar backgrounds is valuable and can assist with personal, professional and career development. The scheme is an example of positive action and a model national activity aimed at achieving an equitable environment and equity of opportunity in academic medicine and health sciences

ABSTRACT. In response to the Climate Emergency, and to reflect the fact that many practising Structural Engineers work on existing buildings and other structures, staff from The University of Sheffield set up a new ‘Reuse of existing structures’ module in September 2022.

The paper describes the rationale behind the module, the module content, the approach to learning, teaching and assessment, as well as reflecting on the overall success of the module, taking into account the quality of the working submitted and student feedback.

ABSTRACT. It has long been recognised that introducing Arts and Humanities into medical education can have benefits for students. These include taking a more holistic view of patients, increasing empathy and reducing burnout. There are disagreements on how this should be delivered, and no standard structure has emerged. Most medical schools who are formally teaching arts and humanities have it as an ‘add-on’ course or elective - something students can choose to do that is separate from the mainstream medical education needed to complete their degree. This lack of uniform delivery can impair study of the topic and make the benefits difficult to quantify. This in turn can make the introduction of arts and humanities into a crowded curriculum more difficult to justify.

My plea is for individual practitioners to jump in and try integrating arts and humanities into their practice as a matter of routine.

As a generalist clinical mentor on the ScotGEM graduate medical degree programme since its inception in 2018, I have been interested in incorporating arts and humanities into everyday medical teaching. This approach does not see arts and humanities as an ‘add-on’ but rather an integral part of what the students learn about their weekly cases.

As well as giving the students a ‘bigger picture’ view of medicine and its place in society, it introduces them to a diverse range of potential role models and inspirations outside of the usual constraints of traditional medical teaching.

The feedback from students is hugely positive and I will give some examples of this.

My talk will be a practical, whistle-stop tour going from Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns and Shakespeare, to Little Richard and Punk Rock via Star Trek. I hope to entertain the audience but give serious food for thought on how the arts and humanities can be truly integrated into everyday teaching – not just in medicine, but in other disciplines too.

ABSTRACT. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, many AI-assisted programmes have emerged, serving as supporting tools across a range of professional landscapes. Among these innovations, ChatGPT, introduced in 2022, has became a widely used tool among university students to enhance their learning and teaching experience. While here at Newcastle university, responsible and transparent use of AI tools is encouraged, limited practice exists for students regarding the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating ChatGPT and other AI technologies in their learning. Moreover, the utilization of ChatGPT in teaching settings is still limited, and students may benefit from additional insights to thoroughly understand how to use it to support their education. To promote responsible use, a seminar activity was designed wherein students worked in small groups to analyse two case studies. They were tasked with identifying diseases based on provided patient history and laboratory results, providing a rationale based on their knowledge from teaching material. Students then compared their findings with those obtained through ChatGPT queries, revealing instances where ChatGPT failed to correctly identify diseases or provided superficial and inconsistent information across different queries. Feedback from the seminar demonstrated that this activity helped students to understand the limitations of ChatGPT, emphasizing the importance of combining AI tools with their own skills and knowledge for in-depth critical information evaluation.

ABSTRACT. Higher Education can include power dynamics between staff and students which are unhelpful to learning and may prevent all learners being appropriately supported and included. As an ambitious, energetic and engaging educator who advocates for diversity and inclusion in Higher Education, as we pivoted to online lectures I missed interacting with learners and welcoming them into the room. Additionally, I was unable to “read the online room” and consequently modify my teaching style and delivery as I routinely did for in-person lectures. To mitigate this and understand how students were feeling I began online teaching with a short anonymous and interactive poll - simply asking learners “How are you today?” when beginning the teaching session and giving them a variety of multiple-choice responses as shown:

Question – “How are you today?”:

• Doing great. • Feeling ok. • Not feeling great today. • Chuffed–Wales won the rugby. • Brrrrrr–it’s cold! • Show me the answers.

Wellbeing polls provide permission and an opportunity for learners to anonymously check-in with themselves. Furthermore, I proactively sought out iACT mental health first aid training, so I can confidently and briefly summarise the poll results and discuss how I am feeling, helping to break down barriers between learners and educators. I then signpost to and remind learners of support services and personal tutors as appropriate.

Wellbeing polls have been such a hit with students that I have retained them for in-person lectures. Through this simple addition to my teaching sessions, learners are reminded that academic staff care about their wellbeing. I am also aware of students who have sought additional support as a direct result of the use of wellbeing polls.

Student feedback on this simple addition to teaching sessions has been extremely positive: “I love the wellbeing polls. Emma, you understand and care about us. I appreciate that you ask us how we are…especially useful when I was feeling low…you reminded me people do care –Year-1 Student”.

ABSTRACT. As the world around us progresses, new complex problems emerge including climate change, pollution, food insecurity, and socioeconomic instability. Tackling such complex problems requires joint effort through the integration of several disciplines and fields of study. This necessitates educating future cohorts with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills that allows them to tackle complex problems and find solutions for the contemporary problems that our present societies are facing. In this conference, I would like to demonstrate how my interdisciplinary research on the effects of air pollution and climate change on health and the socioeconomic inequalities in these effects guided me to design an interdisciplinary module. The planned module entitled “Environment and Health” is intended for fourth year honours students at the University of St Andrews. The module covers topics related to the environment-health nexus, environmental determinants of health, ethnic inequalities in air pollution exposure and health, water pollution, the role of green and blue spaces in physical and mental health, solid waste management in developing and developed countries, and climate change. Additionally, the module covers the different methodologies and theories applied in studying the interconnection between the environment, health, and socioeconomic inequalities. Therefore, this interdisciplinary module offers a bridge between different, yet interrelated fields and equip the students with the needed knowledge and skills to analyse and contribute to the complex problems faced by present communities from an environmental, health and socioeconomic lens.

ABSTRACT. In Stage 3 of the Biomedical Sciences degree at the School of Biomedical, Nutritional, and Sport Sciences, Newcastle University, students choose three optional modules from a list of nine based on their interests. This project aimed to understand the factors influencing students' choices of optional modules in Stage 3 of the Biomedical Sciences degree and explore whether these choices are driven by perceptions of module difficulty, or by specific content interests developed during Stage 1 and 2. A survey was administered to Stage 1 and Stage 2 students to identify key drivers in module selection (84 participants). Following survey data analysis, 18 students were further interviewed to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors guiding their optional modules choices. Thematic analysis using Nvivo software was performed to identify common themes. Both the survey and interviews revealed that students are primarily motivated by their interest in the optional module content and the relevant information provided by the School. Stage 1 students tended to diversify their knowledge by selecting modules of different content, fostering exploration of new fields and cultivating broader interests. In contrast, Stage 2 students considered the perceived difficulty level as crucial. In Stage 2, students were more inclined to choose modules perceived as easier to increase their chances of obtaining a higher final grade. Understanding the drivers that influence students’ engagement with different modules allows Schools to optimize the curriculum enhancing the overall learning and teaching experience.

ABSTRACT. Conference Closing Talk and Next Steps