NewU

20 Aug 202024 Oct 2020

In this post I want to share my thoughts about a new system of Higher Education (HE): one that is open, inclusive and equal.  Over the lockdown months I've been…

MCQ musings

30 Jul 2020

Background: A few weeks ago I logged into a Zoom session being run by the staff development unit at Strathclyde Uni. The topic was multiple choice questions (MCQs) and seemed…

Reflections on Stierer’s Learning to Write

30 Apr 201930 Apr 2019

I found Barry Stierer's chapter on Learning to Write about Teaching (1) helpful. It helped me widen my mental 'frame of reference' from that of a 'scientist' to one that…

Challenges of marking

2 Mar 20192 Mar 2019

I was thinking this week about different ways of marking assignments and giving students feedback. I try pretty hard to eliminate as much subjectivity in my marking as possible and…

Poor marks

10 Nov 201815 Sep 2018

A short story as narrated by a student. I'm not sure what to do... Last week I opened up the email and looked at the spreadsheet. It took me a…

Hiring, firing and feedback

13 Sep 201813 Sep 2018

I was discussing 'student feedback' with a friend this week and we started talking about scenarios (real and imaginary) where consumer feedback (be that from students, patients, customers, clients etc)…

Bloom-in Marvellous!

7 Jul 20184 Aug 2020

This week I used my Teaching Model Canvas (TMC)  for the first time. I found it useful, not because it contained some magic ingredient, but because it prompted me to think…

Observational Evaluation

6 Jul 20186 Jul 2018

I subscribe to gatesnotes (Bill Gates’ blog, which – as you’d hope – is a very slick, professional looking website) and was reading this week about the partnership  between the…

Crossing the Thresholds

2 Jul 201813 Sep 2018

On the TLAD course we're looking at threshold concepts. This is the idea that as students learn, they come to point where they need to transition from one 'understanding' to…

Signatures

2 Jul 201811 Dec 2018

On the TLAD course we're looking at signature pedagogies. It's an idea proposed by Lee Shulman in the paper 'Signature Pedagogies in the Professions'. Coming from a science background, it's…