"Having students retrieve information from long-term memory on a regular basis, is known to have a positive impact on learning. This is especially true when learners need to put a bit of effort into that retrieval process. Hence providing opportunities for learners to take tests (e.g. computer based multiple choice tests) can be a very effective strategy. This session will examine some of the evidence in favour of testing and discuss options for using this strategy."

"The teaching strategy peer instruction was popularised by Eric Mazur to support the teaching of physics to undergraduate students at Harvard and is now one of the most widely used instructional strategies in undergraduate physics education. It has wide applicability outside of the physics discipline. This session will demonstrate peer instruction in action and discuss some of the evidence in favour of its effectiveness."

The pause procedure and minute paper are two simple teaching strategies that can be introduced into any lecture. This session will provide examples of their use in action and point to some evidence of their effectiveness.

Instructors often state that they provide lots of feedback but to little effect. This session will explore some of the reasons why this may happen and outline options for engaging students with assessment and feedback. In particular, providing choice, opportunities to apply feedback and cultivating trust are all known to encourage students to engage with the assessment processes.

Quality feedback (i) recognises what is good (ii) identifies limitations and (iii) suggests how the work could be improved. Shifting feedback responsibility from instructors to learners. Self-assessment & peer-assessment

While presenting learners with the assessment criteria and standards is good practice - they don’t necessarily result in learners developing a good understanding of the criteria and standard. This session explores the importance of dialogue around assessment and how a shared understanding of assessment requirements can be developed by applying rubrics to exemplars.

If our learners are to become more independent and develop the capacity to assess their own learning they must know what the assessment criteria and standards are. This session presented different types of assessment rubrics. Examples of different rubrics or marking sheets were presented so that these can be critiqued, and good practice identified.

This session explored staff attitudes towards assessment. The session focused on presenting an overview of assessment models that encourage, support and develop independence, self-regulation, etc. Components of these models were then explored in detail in later sessions.

Getting feedback from our learners is important because it is the only way we can determine if our teaching methods are effective. On a day-to-day basis we can use a variety of short classroom assessment techniques to determine if our learners are “getting it”. While we can put a lot of time and effort into making our lectures clear and well organised, that the pace is right, etc. it is only by asking students that we find out if they are perceived that way or not. Simple mid-term evaluation forms are highly effective as they can be acted upon and changes made to enhance the quality of the lecture. Examples of commonly used end of semester evaluation forms will also be highlighted.

One of the factors that has a big impact on positive student evaluations of teaching is course organisation. In this session we will explore some ideas related to course organisation including the need to reimagine our topics from the perspective of someone who has never encountered them before, focus on core ideas and principles and relationships between those principles and the need to revisit difficult concepts over time. Defining intended learning outcomes for lectures and linking these to module learning outcomes and past lectures helps students to see the course structure and organisation.

How we structure a lecture can have a significant impact on student’s ability to engage with it and learn from it. A lecture needs to have an introduction that motivates and engages students and outlines learning objectives. The body of the lecture needs to focus on three of four key points that are carefully elaborated. The conclusion should summarise and integrate the learning. In a basic way, learning is a function of content & retention. Placing more emphasis on retaining information, will lead to more learning.

In order for students to learn we need to get their attention and then maintain it. There are a variety of ways in which we can try to get students attention and then motivate them to engage with the material. This session will explore this topic, discuss some ways of motivating students (other than the use of assessments) and provide some examples of these techniques in action.

Stephen Brookfield talks about how when teaching something that we love, how difficult it is for us to empathise with students that find the topic boring. The more that we teach the topic, the further removed we become from our first experiences of learning it and the less empathy we are likely to have. Yet empathy and respect strongly correlate with student motivation and motivation is essential to developing understanding. This, final session will explore the importance of empathy and respect.

Increasingly, its being recognised that subjects tend to have a specific “way of thinking” that is quite unique to that subject. Experts have adopted and internalised that inner logic. For our students to develop proficiency in our subject areas that inner logic needs to be verbalised and made explicit. This session will introduce the concept and provide some examples of how to reveal the inner logic.

"Universal Design for Learning Co-Designing Your Classroom Dr Amanda Bastoni, Educational Research Scientist, CAST Dr Amanda Bastoni’s workshop introduced the concept of co-design and (using the UDL framework) highlighted how educators can increase creativity, collaboration, and learning in their classroom by designing learning with their students. In the workshop, we covered the why and how of co-design, including stories from the field, resources, and strategies educators can use immediately - in any learning environment.

"UDL-ifying a university and its people Prof Jo Rushworth National Teaching Fellow and Professor of Bioscience Education Dr Jo Rushworth draws on her experience as a UDL champion for her School as she outlins a range of options and starting points for colleagues who are starting out on their Universal Design journey. This work focussed on providing students with flexible learning resources, flexible ways to engage with their learning and flexible ways to demonstrate knowledge and skills, that impacted both learning and teaching and institutional policy. In an interactive presentation, Jo tells us about how the UDL guidelines were brought to life and implemented across DMU and leads us in a discussion of early steps toward achieving UDL compliance in teaching practice and of options for continuing development and enhancement. Jo’s work on co-creation with students was among the highlights from her case study.

Within every topic there are elements that are central to the topic but which students really struggle to understand. If they don’t develop an understanding they may never get the topic. This session will introduce and explain this concept and why we need to identify and focus on these concepts

The literature on teaching and learning continues to endorse the use of active learning and in-class discussions to develop understanding. In this session a few of the more frequently used in-class techniques will be demonstrated.

Having a good module structure and being well organised really helps students develop understanding. This session will explore this concept, provide examples of how to structure and organise a module.

"This seminar explored concerns around academic integrity in Higher Education and how assessment redesign can eliminate many of these concerns. The seminar was divided into two elements. The first session explored why, how and when students cheat in Higher Education. It opened up discussion and debate on academic integrity, plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating and the role we play in it as educators. The second part of the seminar focused on re-thinking how we assess and redesigning assessment approaches. The presenter discussed strategies that include encouraging students to see assessment, both, as an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to demonstrate their excellence and skills. Redesigning and rethinking the tasks we ask our students to complete in order to demonstrate attainment of the desired life-long skills in tandem with module and programme learning outcomes can effectively eliminate both the desire and the opportunity to ‘cheat’. Across the two sessions participants were asked to self-reflect, to consider their values and establish why they assess as they do. Traditions and assumptions were challenged & participants were supported in the redesigning of assessment approaches."

This seminar explored concerns around academic integrity in Higher Education and how assessment redesign can eliminate many of these concerns. The seminar was divided into two elements. The first session explored why, how and when students cheat in Higher Education. It opened up discussion and debate on academic integrity, plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating and the role we play in it as educators. The second part of the seminar focused on re-thinking how we assess and redesigning assessment approaches. The presenter discussed strategies that include encouraging students to see assessment, both, as an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to demonstrate their excellence and skills. Redesigning and rethinking the tasks we ask our students to complete in order to demonstrate attainment of the desired life-long skills in tandem with module and programme learning outcomes can effectively eliminate both the desire and the opportunity to ‘cheat’. Across the two sessions participants were asked to self-reflect, to consider their values and establish why they assess as they do. Traditions and assumptions were challenged & participants were supported in the redesigning of assessment approaches.

"Examinations and assessments in education vary greatly depending on the stage of a programme, the discipline being examined and the prescribed learning outcomes. The most important feature of any examination relates to its suitability in allowing a student display their knowledge and competence through a fair, consistent and authentic means of assessment. Never before has this process been under more threat from essay mills, contracting cheating companies, and artificial intelligence algorithms, all of which are now freely available to vulnerable and misguided students. This seminar updated participants on the scale of the problem locally, nationally and internationally, the types of challenges every lecturer and student is now facing, and what can be done to protect against breaches of academic integrity through the design of authentic assessments."

"The science of learning, also known as learning sciences, is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines how people learn. An understanding of this field can help to improve our teaching practice so that we can have a greater impact on students’ learning. In this seminar, existing research related to how students learn was presented and the practical implications for teaching and learning were discussed. It provided participants with: A summary of existing research from cognitive science relating to how students learn. A variety of effective easily applicable teaching strategies that have evolved from this research. An insight into how to match the study method to specific learning outcomes"

Lectures are still the most widely used teaching method in higher education today. As a method for enhancing learning, the lecture is frequently criticised as being ineffective as most students are passive and disengaged. Yet, lectures can be engaging and highly effective. This workshop aimed: Provide some insight into how students learn Identify some of the barriers to learning students commonly face Encourage participants to reflect on and critique their own lectures Provide some practical and easy ways to make lectures more successful Encourage participants to identify one, or more techniques, that they intend to adopt in the next academic year.

This workshop offered an overview of some of the EdTech tools and apps provided and supported by the Technology Enhanced Learning department. It offered the opportunity to: - Find out how fully online courses are being delivered and assessed and how you can use the same technology with your on-campus learners. - Learn about Canvas, the institute’s new Learning Management System and the way it is being integrated with a host of new apps and tools. Find out about tools you can use today to make your classes more engaging and how to create media rich screencasts or video tutorials with software licenced by the Department of Technology Enhanced Learning.