Author: DavidWebster
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Why we should be wary of thinking students just want to have fun
Dr Nicola Rivers and Dr Dave Webster. This post is borne out of hearing some in the HE sector talk about the puzzle of student engagement. This is a serious and worthwhile endeavour. Amidst the plethora of good ideas, and a lot of them relate to forms of active learning, however, we have heard the notion that…
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Conclusions: Proposals for stimulating and challenging teaching
Following our model, we have outlined 5 themed proposals for developing stimulating and challenging teaching. This is where the origins of this post in developmental work with colleagues is further unmasked. The example activities are the basis for us to work with staff groups, to ask what might this look like for your students? This…
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Academic Challenge and intellectually Stimulating Teaching: 5. Becoming the subject specialist
Ros O’Leary & David Webster “Knowledge emerges only through invention and reinvention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” Paulo Freire We propose that we take learners backstage. That they are actors in the drama of learning, and not the audience. As noted…
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Academic Challenge and intellectually Stimulating Teaching: 4. Developing community and active citizenship
Ros O’Leary & David Webster The implication for thinking about learning as reconstitution of self (or transformation), puts emphasis on developing cooperative learning and learning communities. Drawing on Vygotsky , action theory (Bredo, 1997; Lave, 1996) and the idea of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ (Lave & Wenger, 1991) becomes important. Here a novice, or our student,…
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Academic Challenge and intellectually Stimulating Teaching: 3. Developing Engagement and Harnessing Uncertainty
Ros O’Leary & David Webster We know from research on effective learning that active engagement is a vital element in enabling students to learn – therefore activities and assessment which promote analysis, evaluation and the synthesis of ideas – across a course and beyond – will support effective learning – including discussion in class, group…
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Academic Challenge and intellectually Stimulating Teaching: 2. Leadership
Ros O’Leary & David Webster The most powerful driver on student attitudes and behaviours is not what we tell them, not how we structure our sessions, not the content, but how we model our engagement with the enterprise of learning and teaching. What are we like when we stand amongst our students? We may or may not…
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Academic Challenge and intellectually Stimulating Teaching: 1. Cultivating Autonomy
Ros O’Leary & David Webster The first of the five areas of our Academic Challenge and intellectually Stimulating Teaching model, is Cultivating Autonomy. While not wishing to overly stress the Kantian notion of the autonomous agent, potentially atomised in neoliberal isolation, and being hostile to discourse about student resilience for related reasons, we still want to…
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Reflections on Academic Challenge and intellectually Stimulating Teaching: Our Model
Ros O’Leary & David Webster This blog emerges from our roles, as part of the University of Gloucestershire’s Academic Development Unit, working with academic teams to help them reflect on what Intellectually Stimulating Teaching and Academic Challenge might look like for them. While we intend to formalise this material, in a formal academic paper, blogging…
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Hidden Narratives, Resilience & Vulnerability.
As, to a degree, previewed in a recent post, this week saw the How Hidden Narratives Challenge Authority event, here at Gloucestershire. I had the privilege of giving the opening session, on Social Media, and was then able to relax and listen to my colleagues. I’ll post another time about the Social Media talk, as…
Dave Webster 