Category: Uncategorized

by Deb Catavello

“Complete, relevant, fairly sophisticated response to task”. This is how the first descriptor in the 70s band of the International Foundation Programme (IFP) marking criteria reads. But what do these words – to which we could add “criticality”, “thorough” “in-depth” “systematic” analysis – mean to my students on the IFP? Although we’d discussed some of this language in class – sometimes using this visual of Bloom’s taxonomy – I wanted to provide my IFP students with a toolkit they could use to go about doing analysis. (more…)

by Donna Mac Lean

I joined CALD’s Research and Publications Project with the idea of co-creating a blog post with Pre-Sessional 10-week students for publication on the CALD blog. I was originally interested in “students as agentic actors rather than objects of research” (Charteris, 2020), so I hoped that meetings with the students would suggest the topic of the blog post and provide pedagogical insights to research further. This research idea evolved through a blog post I had co-authored with PS6 students in 2021, as well as in discussions with Kevin Haines around contextualising the idea broadly within Students as Partners research, among other critical perspectives. (more…)

by Kerry Boakes

A sociomaterial perspective views a ‘learning space’ as consisting of a range of actors that shape educational practices which are material and social. ‘Space’ is a social construction, according to French philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre (1991); it is a product and a process defined by the power distribution of its social context. Therefore, rather than a static container to be filled, a ‘learning space’ can be considered a ‘sociomaterial’ process that exists through the interconnectivity of human and non-human actors. It allows us to see these different actors not in isolation but in the way they interact with one another. Digital platforms are often seen as tools that we utilise for a particular outcome, but learning space theorists claim that what is happening is more complex (Lamb et al. 2021). (more…)

by Anna Baker

As part of an Assessment and Feedback special interest group (SIG) session (26 October 2022) led by Maxine Gillway, participants read Can a rubric do more than be transparent? Invitation as a new metaphor for assessment criteria (Bearman and Ajjawi, 2021).

“Invitation as a new metaphor” reminded me of this poem by Oriah Mountain Dreamer and inspired me to re-work it as the invitation I extend to my students in the Maths classroom. (more…)

by Martha Partridge

Introduction 

Feedback is often identified by students as among the most important aspects of a course, and there is abundant literature showing the impact of quality feedback on student learning (see Hattie and Timperley, 2007, for a summary of meta-analyses on feedback). Most of this research is about the traditional written form of feedback, but I want to learn more about alternative modes such as audio and audio-visual. Surely some students would find these forms of feedback more effective than written, just as some people are better able to follow written instructions, while some need visuals and some prefer a spoken explanation. (more…)

by Martha Partridge and Agnieszka Tarnowska

Introduction

At the very beginning of the 2022 pre-sessional course, a colleague I had not previously worked with – Agnieszka Tarnowska – shared an idea for encouraging students to engage with reflection. She used Flipgrid – a free video-sharing platform – as a space in which students could record reflective videos throughout the course, to which the teacher would respond with written comments (read her explanation below. This had worked very effectively with her class last year, she explained, with her students choosing to regularly use it of their own accord. My own attempts at incorporating Flipgrid had consistently been far less successful; I was impressed, and curious. (more…)

by Debra Jones

This is a question I asked my postgraduate research students in the first session of the REAL (Research English and Academic Language) course last term. I can’t take credit for the idea – it was from a colleague – but I’m glad I tried it. Despite being overwhelmed initially, after a few minutes preparation, the students were all able to introduce their research and the impact it will have. (more…)

by Catriona Johnson

Introduction
For IFP students, the advantages of participating regularly in peer review are widely acknowledged. Developing learners’ ability to give and receive feedback has far-reaching benefits beyond their foundation year as it enables them to evaluate and improve their own work more effectively, develop their own internal perception of ‘quality’, and build confidence with the skill of reviewing, useful for their future academic and professional lives. However, encouraging students to engage actively in the process is not always straightforward, as there are a number of barriers which can inhibit participation. I decided to investigate these challenges through an action research project with my Academic Writing class this year to explore how to improve engagement. (more…)

by Maggie Boswell

Initial hurdles

Reflective practice seemed to be a new and difficult hurdle for some international Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) pathway foundation year students. It seemed as if these students felt reflection was something they weren’t used to doing, something they had not encountered in their educational journey. Some openly questioned its quantifiable validity. This raised questions in my own mind.

(more…)

by Cathy Faulkner and Fiona Hartley

A lack of student engagement as a result of less interaction in online lessons during the Covid pandemic is documented (Aljahromi, 2020). Less has been written about the continuing lack of oral participation upon return to the physical classroom, although anecdotally this legacy would seem to be very real. Perhaps enforced periods of isolation have affected young adults’ ability to collaborate in the co-construction of knowledge with their peers. (more…)