Conference workshops

Morning workshops ran between11:40 and 12:35, and afternoon workshops between 15:10 and 16:05. A full list of workshops with a brief synopsis can be found below. Where available, PowerPoint presentations and/or videos of the event will be added.

Education Enhancement provided a presentation to run between sessions - Education Enhancement Conference Presentation

As well as introducing the Education Conference, Professor Janice Kay (Deputy Vice-Chancellor - Education) gave a closing speech for the Conference. Please click to view the slides for this speech JK Education Conference 2012

Morning Sessions
ConvenersTitle and information
Alex Thompson (BS) & Carol Evans (GSE) Enhancing understanding of feedback: the student lecturer dynamic within the feedback landscape

The relationship between assessment and feedback has historically played an integral role in higher education. Despite this robust relationship, some scholars have argued that feedback is not valued (Fritz, et al. 2000), that students are more concerned with their mark than feedback (Wojtas, 1998), or feedback may only be acted upon if there is a desire to obtain a better mark on a subsequent occasion (Smith & Gorard, 2005). In this workshop session, we hope to move away from misconceptions associated with assessment and feedback, and towards a better understanding of capabilities required by both students and instructors in creating excellence within and beyond the classroom. The conceptual framework of the “feedback landscape” (Scott et al., 2011) will be used to explore the feedback process and the respective roles of student and lecturer.
Sarah Dyer, Sarah Burton & Johanna Harris (English) Introduction to research communities: Meet my Professor

This workshop starts with a conversation between three members of staff who all ran a similar project in three very different departments (Biosciences, Geography, and English). The project was designed to introduce first years to the university and their department. It asked them to interview a member of staff in their department about their research. We reflect on the outcomes – some of them unexpected.
Greta Bosch & Lauren Mercer (Law), Andy Pye & Robert Plastow (Bio Tremough) Personal Tutoring and Peer Tutoring– Expectations and Suggestions.

 This workshop aims to refresh effective tutoring skills to meet student and University expectations and offers some practical suggestions on how to deliver these. In addition the pros and cons of peer tutoring (i.e. students tutoring students) will be discussed, with insights and tips on how to make this approach successful in your own department. Once the scene has been set, common tutoring issues will be acted out by drama students, which will hopefully trigger some lively discussions about tutoring and peer tutoring issues.

Please click to view the slides for this workshop Personal Tutoring and Peer Tutoring - Expectations and Suggestions
Guild and Derfel Owen Making the first year count

Changes to the academic calendars and the new fees environment have triggered internal reviews of the first year experience.

In February, a student research team volunteered to carry out some research among their peers to steer the University's priorities. Nick Davis, President of the Students' Guild has led this project.

The project has focussed in the following themes:
- Social integration
- Emotional Support
- Academic Integration
- Peer Mentoring

During this session, the students will share their research and findings.

Please click to view the slides for this workshop The First Year Experience, Making the First Year Count - Peer Mentoring
Andy Holbrook, Pippa Whitton and Dilys Thorp (INTO) Being an international student

What are some of the issues faced by students studying for degrees through a second language in an environment which may be different from home? We will explore this topic  in two ways. Based on the experiences of an INTO teacher and her students attending law lectures, we will discuss language issues that confront students studying law. Secondly, using data from focus groups, we will report on how students entering the Business School from INTO courses have dealt with their new environment. We hope that the session will promote discussion and awareness about how best to support the learning needs of international students. 

Please click to view the slides for this workshop Being an International Student.

 

Zena Wood (EMPS) Engineering and Maths: Outreach issues

Outreach is a fundamental activity for all university departments but in order for it to have maximum benefit, both for those attending and those delivering the activity, it is crucial that is planned and delivered appropriately. The College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences carry out a wide range of different outreach opportunities both on and off of campus. This workshop will use some of the College's experiences to investigate the issues that are faced in delivering outreach and the ways in which these problems may be overcome.
Matt Newcombe, Nick Birbeck & Mike Highfield
 Technology Enhanced Learning

 The session will focus on new and exciting facilities initiatives in E-Learning, including the facilities we offer in the Forum, developments in assessment and ELE resources.

 

Afternoon Session
ConvenerTitle and information
Dilly Fung (EE) and Fiona Macbeth (Drama) Telling tales of first year student experience: learning from our students’ stories.

 In this session, we’ll hear extracts from stories told by students on a range of humanities programmes, describing personal experiences of their first year at the University of Exeter, and discuss the implications of their tales for our teaching and assessment practices. The stories, animated in the session by Drama students, are taken from a research study (Fung, 2007), the findings of which highlight the role of peer group support in enabling students to engage in collaborative, research-like learning.  The study also raises some controversial class-related issues, relating to the differences, as perceived by a number of participants in the study, between students who have attended public (fee-paying) schools, and those who attended state schools: how can peer study groups and collaborative learning activities help to address the situation experienced by some students as a division between ‘them and us’?
Sarah Burton, Sarah Hodge (Bioscience) and Antonia Coppen (Education) A degree is not enough; the benefits of running student-led initiatives to boost graduate employability

In the new competitive fees market, the employability statistics of our graduates will be ever more important. As such, it is essential that we equip our students with the skills and experience necessary to find worthwhile and fulfilling employment before they complete their degree. This workshop will draw on the experiences of Biosciences at both the Streatham and Cornwall campuses, where a number of student-led initiatives have been running to encourage students to engage with the employability agenda. We will also discuss the success of the different initiatives including SIFE (an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders) and also hear student opinions on what employability provision they want during their degree.
Head Teachers, Will Katene and Carol Evans (Education) Supporting learner transitions into higher education

There is currently much debate around the extent to which we should be supporting and challenging students within the context of higher education. In this session we will discuss the impact of government educational policy on school curriculum developments and the relevance of these in supporting student transitions into higher education bearing in mind social justice considerations and specifically, widening participation agendas.  In contributing to this debate, we will also explore the role and responsibilities of students and the challenges that they face and will be encouraging student participation in a healthy debate in relation to mollycoddling v challenge.
Michele Shoebridge, Paul Barton, Sue Burkill The Exeter Grand Challenge 2013...The Summer Experience

This session will introduce the plans which are emerging for a first year summer programme . The programme aims to fit with what the students are saying they would like from education at Exeter: pushing the creative limits of conventional educational events, generating themes endorsed by tangible employability targets and engaging with interdisciplinary 'grand challenges'. During this workshop there will be an opportunity to explain some of our early thinking and for others to discuss the concept with us.

Please click to view the The Exeter Grand Challenge 2013...The Summer Experience slides for this workshop.


Harriet Sjerps-Jones (EE) and Students Today’s students and their future challenges

“What if education systems prepared learners to enter the workforce as well as handle a crisis, be resilient, become responsible citizens, adapt to change, recognize and solve local problems with global roots, meet other cultures with respect, and create a peaceful and sustainable society? Then we would be educating for a more sustainable future.” (UNESCO)

 The session will have a short introduction explaining how the University of Exeter has set out to embed Education for Sustainability into the curriculum, working closely with students, academics and employers. The workshop will further explore how practitioners could find their own inspiration and ways to address global challenges in their teaching, making it relevant to own discipline as well as meeting students’ expectations.
Caroline Gale, Aeronwen Allison (Library) And Students Championing the Library: involving students in development, advocacy and stock selection

This year the Library has been piloting a scheme to recruit Library Champions across the University. The scheme is designed to provide a practical way for students to enhance the library experience of their peers, whilst developing their own employability in the process. This workshop will look at the scheme so far, the issues raised and potential enhancements.

Please click to view the Championing the Library slides for this workshop.
Sarah Dyer and Ian Cook (Geog) Research-like Education in Human Geography

In this workshop we will explore the possibilities and challenges of modules designed to engage learners in creating their own knowledge. Sarah teaches a first year compulsory module (Investigating human geographies) which has asked students to work in groups and create wiki guides to Exeter human geographies. Ian Cook teaches an optional third year module (Geographies of material culture) which has asked students to research examples of commodity activism for publication on an online 'shopping' site. We will be discussing Marmite, tightrope walks, and not knowing the answer. We would love to know what you think.