2019 Partners in Learning Conference 24 th January 2019 Workshop - PDF document

2019 Partners in Learning Conference 24 th January 2019 Workshop Abstract Session One, 11.00 – 11.30 A Title The English Literature Book club: Genesis, Evolution, and Future Potential Presenters Dr Stefania Ciocia (Subject Lead for English Literature) Nathan Champion and Tommy Carver-Chaplin (English Literature students); Abstract Three years ago a group of English Literature students got together to set up a weekly book club. This is a laudable example of students taking the initiative to build their own learning community. The book club has been providing undergraduates from all three cohorts, as well as MA students, with an opportunity to socialise and talk about literature in an informal context. In time, book club organisers have invited lecturers from the programme to take part in the venture and host individual sessions. In conversation with Stefania, Nathan and Tommy will go through the genesis of this idea, and reflect on the successes, the challenges and the lessons that they have learnt through the book club. They will also consider how best to ensure that the initiative continues to thrive and attract a growing number of students. B Title 331.11423 – Graduate Attributes: developing synergies between Arts and Humanities students and the Library. Presenters Michelle Crowther (Learning and Research Librarian) Angela Majnic-Lane (student) Learning and Teaching Conference 2019 Workshop brief 1

Abstract “Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities”.–R. David Lankes. This session will outline the library’s involvement as a placement provider on the Applied Humanities: Employability in Practice module, and will look more broadly at how librarians are working with staff and students to develop graduate attributes within the university. It will discuss how partnerships with students can be enriching for students, staff and the wider university, not only because they provide fresh insights into relationships and services, but also because they enable shared skills development. Professional services staff have a wealth of professional and workplace experience that is relevant to students, and are well-placed to develop digital capabilities, research and report-writing skills, but sometimes even work places can become stale without new ideas and innovation. Students can supply dynamic disciplinary knowledge, critical-thinking skills and grass roots knowledge of life as a student in the 21st century. This synergetic relationship encourages skills development both now and beyond the curricula, and embeds values of good citizenship, shared learning and responsibility, acknowledging that workplace skills are not static, but evolve in the most complex and unexpected ways. Combined honours student, Angela Majnic-Lane will describe how she worked with the university’s archive to reimagine the artefacts using digital and social media, bringing her own subject skills and unique insights to the collection. This will be followed by the library’s vision for future collaboration with faculty and students. C Title Transforming Practice: Stories of Curiosity, Creativity, Challenge, and Change Presenters Jeannette Head (Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work) Karen Lumsden (Senior Lecturer in Emergency Care, School of Allied and Public Health Professions) Sarah Gooden, Melanie Pitcher, Jennifer Blackwell (BSc Applied practice students who have undertaken the Transforming Practice module). Other prior transforming practice students will also be invited to contribute to the design and facilitation of the workshop. Abstract Within this presentation the Transforming Practice module team and students will showcase completed projects, sharing stories of curiosity, creativity, challenge, and change. This final module within the BSc Applied Practice responds to the need for increasingly flexible modes of delivery. The module utilises a blend of university-based classroom facilitation and in-work project development. This supports the education of those in employment by recognising the value of work spaces and places in learning and development. The learning opportunities offered foster critical thinking through evidence based decisions making, and self-awareness through Learning and Teaching Conference 2019 Workshop brief 2

reflection offering the student the opportunity to explore, clarify and gain new perspectives. Within the module, students prepare a project proposal, design their strategy, and implement their plan before evaluating progress and outcomes. A ‘claims, concerns, issues’ exercise is undertaken to identify the area of practice to be developed. The students then utilise this insight to define the scope and focus of their project, identifying an area in which to innovate. Students enhance their skills in effective communication through negotiation with a range of audiences to achieve the project outcomes. At the end of the module, they are not just upskilled in areas of digital literacy and project management, but are also adaptable agents of change, bringing about positive transformation in challenging circumstances. In addition to learning about the students’ stories, delegates will experience the opportunity to collaborate within a ‘claims, concerns, issues’ exercise. D Title CLIER reflections: thoughts on a student-staff doctoral group as a learning partnership Presenters Prof Adrian Holliday (Director of the PhD Programme, Faculty of Education) Dr Simon Hoult (PhD supervisor, Faculty of Education) Baya Saci, Yasmine Sadoudi and Ahlem Setrallah (PhD Students) Abstract The presentation reflects upon the influence of the student-staff group ‘CLIER’ as a site for a partnership of doctoral learning. ‘CLIER’, or ‘Culture Language and International Education Research’, is a cross-disciplinary group sited within the Faculty of Education and School of Language and Applied Linguistics, within which supervisors and (mostly international) PhD students collaborate as partners in their mutual learning. The group places students at the forefront of their learning, providing opportunities for them all to bring their rich experiences to jointly lead a regular CLIER meeting, contribute to a smaller study group, and to participate/lead seminars/conference presentations. The group recognises that learning has significant emotional and social dimensions, not least in the rich and complex intercultural meeting of international students undertaking a UK PhD. It provides a means for the otherwise rather isolated nature of doctoral learning as student and supervisor to become a group pursuit. In doing so, it provides a means for group members to share exchange and learn from one another, thus building a supportive research community. We anticipate that our biographical/narrative reflections provide not only a means to share the experiences of the group, but will also act as a forum for mutual learning in the spirit of ‘research informed teaching’ to enhance the influence of CLIER in building our research community focused on doctoral learning. Learning and Teaching Conference 2019 Workshop brief 3