Author: DavidWebster
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Guest Post: ‘Please turn on your mobile devices’: Polling software in the classroom – Dr Michael Munnik
A Guest post by Dr Michael Munnik, a Lecturer in the Centre for the Study of Islam at Cardiff University. On twitter he is @michaelmunnik When I designed a new module on Religion and the News for Cardiff University’s department of religion and theology, I knew I would have a few hurdles to overcome. As religion…
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Participatory Spontaneity: Talking to a Texas TeachMeet
This Friday, I am delighted to have been invited, by Dr Helen Teague, to contribute to a Teacher-Led Conference or TeachMeet* in South Texas, via Skype rather than intercontinental travel. I will be contributing a short input on the topic of Participatory Spontaneity. This is a topic I first discussed with Helen, at e-learn 16, and…
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What is academic challenge? Vulnerability, resilience, grit, stretch, toughness and the student experience.
Next month, Ros O’Leary and I will be attending ICERI2017, the 10th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation. The title of our contribution is What is academic challenge? Vulnerability, resilience, grit, stretch, toughness and conceptualising the student experience. This will draw on our Model for Academic Challenge, that we have began to develop here, as well on the concerns…
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Teaching In Higher Ed podcast on Resilience in Education.
Recently, Dr Rivers and I were interviewed by Bonni Stachowiak, from Teaching in Higher Ed, for their podcast series. Ours was number 173 in the series, and there is a wealth of really exciting content to enjoy amongst them. We talked about our work on resilience, notions of grit, student welfare and mental health, and a…
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Public (Free!) Lecture : The Curious Case of Social Media, October 11th 2017
For the third year running, I will be contributing to the University of Gloucestershire’s Public Lecture series. Last year, I did the Christmas Lecture, and in 2015 I gave a (terrifying) Halloween lecture. This time around, I am opening the series with a lecture (tickets HERE), on Social Media. I began to think, publicly, about…
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You’re So Vain, You Probably Think This Blog is About You: Academic Conference Misbehaviour
[Note: conference bingo image is not mine- but not sure where online I originally found it] September is, for many academics, the conference season, but they occur all year, and this post is borne from decades of bad coffee, overstuffed powerpoint slides, humble-brag introductions, and unspeakable ‘social event’ experiences. Much of the behaviour I discuss…
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Talking to Dr Donna Lanclos about active learning, and more – a video interview
Back in June 2017, I had the pleasure of organising the University of Gloucestershire’s inaugural Festival of Learning. The keynote speaker at the event was Dr Donna Lanclos, from UNC Charlotte, who talked with us about active learning, learning spaces, staff development, employability, and more. After the session, I caught up with Donna, and we…
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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…
