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Annual Learning and Teaching Conference: Third external speaker – Dr Dyddgu Hywel

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We are delighted to announce our third external speaker to this year’s Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, Dr Dyddgu Hywel, senior lecturer in Education at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Dyddgu studied BSc (Hons) ‘Design and Technology Secondary Education leading to Qualified Teacher Status’ at Bangor University, where she graduated with first class honours. Her early career started as a Design and Technology A Level lecturer at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor, before being appointed as a Design and Technology teacher at Rhydywaun Comprehensive School.

She has now been working at Cardiff Metropolitan University for the past seven years, working as a senior lecturer in the School of Education, with expertise in innovative teaching, student engagement and health and well-being. Following 8 years of playing rugby for her country in the red shirt, she has adopted several effective ways of living healthily, maintaining a positive mindset, and mastering a work-life balance.

Dyddgu’s workshop will focus on prioritizing the health and well-being of staff. The workshop will benefit all academic staff at the university, to identify effective ways of protecting their personal health and well-being, as well as providing pastoral care for all students.

Workshop objectives:

  • An opportunity to reflect on your personal health and well-being
  • Consider the right balance between everyday life and work pressures
  • Identify the role of educators in student health and well-being
  • Identify personal stress management, attitude and positive thinking
  • Adopt time management and prioritization
  • Promote Welsh-language resources for effective relaxation and reflection

Dyddgu will be presenting online through the medium of Welsh and we will be providing simultaneous translation.

The ninth Annual Learning and Teaching Conference will be held online between Tuesday 29 June and Friday 2 July. You can book a place by completing this online form.

Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol: Online Research Conference (29 June 2021)

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CIRCULAR Funding Projects in Further Education Institutions from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol's Strategic Development Fund

The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol are hosting their Online Research Conference on 29 June 2021.

This conference is for anyone who is interested in multi-disciplinary academic research through the medium of Welsh. Scientists, humanists and sociologists from all over Wales and beyond are invited to share the results of their research and to meet other like-minded Welsh researchers.

The aim of the conference is to give the next generation of academics the opportunity to present their research to an audience of peers. It will also be an opportunity to network with Welsh-speaking researchers and to foster a wider community of academics who promote Welsh-medium provision in our universities.

Here is the full programme for the conference, which includes the conference schedule along with contributor biographies and abstracts.

You are welcome to register for the conference by completing this registration form.

Full programme: Aberystwyth University’s Learning and Teaching Conference 2021

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We are looking forward to welcoming you to the 9th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, which is just over a month away, 29th June – 2nd July 2021. This year’s conference theme, Improvisation within Constraint: Reshaping a Learning Community in a Time of Change aims to reflect the commitment that AU staff have to enhance the student learning experience. 

We’re pleased to confirm our full programme.

You can register for the conference by completing this online form.  

We’re very excited to welcome four external speakers this year: 

  • This year’s keynote speaker is Dr Chrissi Nerantzi who is Principal Lecturer – Academic CPD, University Teaching Academy (UTA), Manchester Metropolitan University. Dr Nerantzi will focus on open and flexible pedagogies.  
  • Our second external speaker, Andy McGregor, who is Director of edtech for JISC, will be delivering a workshop focusing on the future of assessments.  
  • Our third external speaker is Dr Dyddgu Hywel, Senior Lecturer in Education at Cardiff Metropolitan, will be delivering an interactive presentation on prioritising student and staff well-being. (Dr Hywel’s presentation will be delivered through the medium of Welsh and we will be offering simultaneous translation.)  
  • Our final external speaker, Joe Probert, who is Customer Success Manager at Vevox, will deliver a session on how to make effective use of polling to engage learners.  

We have an exciting and varied programme this year from representatives from all faculties. In addition to our four external speakers, we will also have a presentation from students, Distance Learning forum and a Welsh-medium Business School panel.  

We look forward to seeing you at the conference, and please remember to register for the conference by completing this online form. 

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

Last chance to register! Mini-conference, 25 March 2021

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Mini Conference BannerOn Thursday 25th March, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be hosting the second Academy Mini-Conference online of this academic year. The theme will be ‘Embedding Well-being in the Curriculum’, where will explore the links between mental well-being and learning and how this could help to maximise success for both students and staff.

You can see our full programme here. The Mini-Conference will run from 09:30-16:50.

We hope that you will be able to join us. *You can register to attend the Mini-Conference by clicking on this link*. If you have any queries, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

NEW Welsh-medium Teams site and CPD (March ’21)

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NEW Teams Site:
We have set up a new Teams site, Dysgu ac addysgu cyfrwng Cymraeg. This site is for staff at the University who teach through the medium of Welsh or who can speak Welsh. It is an informal place for us to share information about Welsh-medium training with you and a place for everyone to share good teaching practice.

*To be added to the site, please e-mail lteu@aber.ac.uk *
Welsh-medium Learning and Teaching site
Welsh-medium training (March):
The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit offers several sessions for Continued Professional Development (CPD) covering a range of topics. We are holding two Welsh-medium sessions during March.

  1. Hanfodion E-ddysgu Uwch: Beth allaf ei wneud gyda Blackboard (22 March; 14:00-15:30)
  2. Fforwm Academi: Addysgu grwpiau bychain (24 March; 11:00-12:30) *Open to staff from other universities in Wales

For a full list of all sessions (both English- and Welsh-medium) and to book a place on any course, please visit the staff training website. If you have any questions about any of the sessions, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

 

Mini Conference: ‘Embedding Well-being in the Curriculum’, Thursday 25 March, 09:30am

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Mini Conference Banner
On Thursday 25th March, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be hosting the second Academy Mini-Conference online of this academic year. The theme will be ‘Embedding Well-being in the Curriculum’, where will explore the links between mental well-being and learning and how this could help to maximise success for both students and staff. The Mini-Conference will run from 09:30-16:50.

We’re excited to confirm our programme:

  • Flourishing at Aberystwyth – Putting Positive Education into Practice (Frederica Roberts – Keynote)
  • Online Communities and Student Well-being (Kate Lister – Keynote)
  • Well-being in the Curriculum at Aberystwyth University (Samantha Glennie)
  • Well-being in the Curriculum – a Foundation Year Pilot (Sinead O’Connor)
  • Supporting Students in Building a Resilient Approach to their Learning (Antonia Ivaldi)
  • What Can Lecturers Do to Get Students to Embrace Mistakes? (Marco Arkesteijn)
  • Building Resilience (Alison Pierse)
  • Meeting Students’ Needs (using simple tools) (Panna Karlinger)
  • Resilience – a Valuable Student Skill (Sadie Thackaberry)

We will also be running an optional yoga and meditation session during two of the breaks for all conference attendees.

We hope that you will be able to join us. You can register to attend the Mini-Conference by clicking on this link. If you have any queries, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

Call for proposals deadline – Mini-Conference: Embedding Well-being in the Curriculum

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On Thursday 25th March, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be hosting the second Academy Mini-Conference online of this academic year. The theme will be ‘Embedding Well-being in the Curriculum’, where will explore the links between mental well-being and learning and how this could help to maximise success for both students and staff.

The three main strands for this Mini-Conference are:

  • Building resilience in students
  • Recognising barriers to student well-being
  • Encouraging students to flourish

We are looking for proposals from staff, postgraduate teaching assistants and students to give presentations, demonstrations, workshops, and discussions on their current practices on embedding well-being in the curriculum. Even if your proposal does not particularly fit the strands above, other relevant proposals are very welcome.

If you would like to submit a proposal to this year’s Mini-Conference, please fill in this online form before Friday 26th February.

You can register to attend the Mini-Conference by clicking on this link. If you have any queries, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

Mini-Conference: Embedding Well-being in the Curriculum (Call for proposals)

WordPress User [sil12] Mini Conference 2021 Well-being, Uncategorised 3 Comments

On Thursday 25th March, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be hosting the second Academy Mini-Conference online of this academic year. The theme will be ‘Embedding Well-being in the Curriculum’, where will explore the links between mental well-being and learning and how this could help to maximise success for both students and staff.

The three main strands for this Mini-Conference are:

  • Building resilience in students
  • Recognising barriers to student well-being
  • Encouraging students to flourish

We are looking for proposals from staff, postgraduate teaching assistants and students to give presentations, demonstrations, workshops, and discussions on their current practices on embedding well-being in the curriculum. Even if your proposal does not particularly fit the strands above, other relevant proposals are very welcome.

If you would like to submit a proposal to this year’s Mini-Conference, please fill in this online form before Friday 26th February.

You can register to attend the Mini-Conference by clicking on this link. If you have any queries, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

Academy Forums 2020/21

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The Academy Forum provides a platform for sharing good practice in learning and teaching. The Forum is open to members of the University community: teaching staff, postgraduate tutors, support staff, and students are all welcome. All forums will be held online for the year 2020/21 and you can book your place on the Staff Training Website.

The two Academy Forums running in the next few months are:

27.01.2021 (15:00-16:30): How can I plan online and in-person activities?

    In this session, we will discuss differences in designing and conducting sessions in three different formats: online, in-person and blended. As part of the session, attendees will be required to work with their colleagues in designing an activity for one type of delivery. The group work will be followed by reflecting on and discussing different approaches taken and their suitability regarding various sessions’ formats. We will collectively identify factors essential for effective teaching in an online, in-person and blended design.

19.02.2021 (10:00-11:30): How can I make my teaching more inclusive?

    In this session, we will discuss the benefits and challenges of making teaching more inclusive at university and we will explore these ideas through a series of group-based scenarios. We will also be joined by a member of the Student Support team who will give a brief overview of the student demographic at the University; strategies that are in place to deal with issues relating to inclusivity; and some practical tips on how you could make your teaching more inclusive.  

We will also be running other Academy Forums throughout the rest of the academic year, including:

24.04.2021 (14:00-15:30): How can I embed wellbeing into the curriculum?
28.04.2021 (14:00-15:30): Preparing students for assessments
24.05.2021 (14:00-16:00): Reflections on this year’s Academy Forum

We hope that you will be able to attend these forums. Please contact us with any questions (lteu@aber.ac.uk).

How can I check for understanding whilst teaching online?

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Checking for understanding (CFU) plays a crucial role in the learning and teaching process and can verify to the lecturer what is being learnt but also provides students with an opportunity to reflect on their own learning. CFU is one of the biggest challenges in teaching and having to do so within the virtual classroom can make this even more challenging than in a traditional face-to-face setting! However, there are several useful features in MS Teams that can be used to help you CFU. Here are a few tips on how to utilise these features:

The chat function.
You can use the chat function in a variety of ways to CFU. Some ideas include asking students to summarize a concept or idea, or to paraphrase a theory in just a couple of sentences. The chat can also prove as a valuable tool in CFU of quieter students who may not wish to reply verbally to your questions. Here are some tips on how to manage the chat effectively in MS Team.

Emojis.
To inject a bit of fun into the classroom and as a way of avoiding “yes/no” answers, you could ask your students to react to comments on questions that you have posted in the chat to express how they’re feeling about a topic or concept. For example:
Screenshot showing reactions to a post in the chat

Raise your hand feature.
The raise your hand feature in Teams allows users to notify the lecturer that they have a question or a comment to make, but you could also use it to CFU. How about asking students to use the feature in response to a question? For example, “raise your hand if you want me to show you how to do that again”.
You could also use the feature to encourage students to elaborate on their answers in the chat, for example, “raise your hand if you can tell me more about that”. If students are unsure about unmuting themselves, you can encourage them to respond with a written response in the chat.

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