One if the many important questions to have arisen during the current pandemic, is how we can effectively induct and orient students into new ways and, indeed, new modes of learning. Although this is to be very much welcomed, some of us would also want to caution against and unfortunate move people sometimes make when […]
Leicester Learning Institute: Enhancing learning and teaching
Thoughts on live-streamed lessons
Thoughts on live streamed lessons An observation of a child taking part in a Year 7 Live-streamed Science class, during the Covid-19 crisis. Okay, so I do have some bias to be aware of. I find it hard to engage with didactic live-streamed lessons, and feel there must be some better way of […]
Supporting student transition to higher education: what (not) to do
The LLI is working with Schools to devise and develop approaches supporting pre-entry students’ academic transition to university-level study. Our key reference point for this is the Transitions Toolkit. This resource was published some time before the COVID-19 pandemic, but whilst this means a certain level of adaptation is required where the activities themselves are […]
The BAME awarding gap: what we know, what we don’t know, and how we might respond
There are so many roots to the tree of anger that sometimes the branches shatter before they bear. (from “Who Said It Was Simple”, by Audre Lorde, 1973) As part of our broader commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) in the curriculum, we have been looking at ways of […]
How can I manage difficult discussions in group work?
Created by Tracy Dix and Alex Patel Sometimes during teaching, difficult conversations emerge, and sometimes, we deliberately start these conversations around sensitive topics. Currently, our University is looking at awarding and satisfaction gaps for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students, which means many of us will be straying into conversations with students around […]
Peer Assisted Learning in Computer Architecture, Informatics
What is Peer Assisted Learning? Initially developed in America as Supplemental Instruction (SI), and adapted into Peer Assisted Study Scheme (PASS) and the more flexible Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), it involves more senior students facilitating discussion sessions with more junior students. Peer learning can help learners make sense of knowledge and unsaid rules in academia, […]
Green screen technology in the Classroom
The technology is now surprisingly easy to use (see below), but WHY would you want to place yourself or students in front of a different background? Purely for the fun of it? Help students visualise themselves in a specific environment related to their discipline? Perhaps placing a medical student within a ward round setting […]
Extended induction teaching resources
In recent weeks, we’ve been compiling some teaching resources and activities designed to help introduce new students to certain aspects of higher education study. While these await finalisation, and in order to share them in good time for the new term, I have created draft versions, here, for colleagues to make use of and adapt. […]
Introducing students to what lectures are for (and not for)
This is a draft preview version of a resource currently in production. During the initial weeks of the first term, when most new students will be encountering lectures for the first time, it’s worth spending a little time clarifying what lectures are for, setting out expectations, and demonstrating how students can get the most […]
Supporting students’ active listening and note-making practices
This is a draft preview version of a resource currently in production. The earlier lectures on your course can provide a good opportunity to help students develop more effective, efficient and purposeful approaches to note-making. Students might be tempted to try and write down every word (a strategy that can easily lead them to […]
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