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Centre of Learning and Pedagogic Practice
Latest news and resources

The SCoLPP team regularly deliver talks, are panel hosts or lend their expertise to events and programmes both here in the UK and abroad.

Resources

Universal Evaluation Framework

In this article Professor Jones-Devitt, Director of SCoLPP and Dr Liz Austen, Visiting Professor in SCoLPP provide the context to the forthcoming Universal Evaluation Tool (PDF)

Phenomenon-based Learning Educator Toolkit

As their QAA funded project progresses, SCoLPP’s Sue Lee and Kate Cuthbert share the emerging educator’s toolkit to embed Phenomenon-based Learning as the future-facing pedagogy for delivering Sustainable Development Goals and educational gain

Government priorities are everything, everywhere, all at once

Professor Annabel Kiernan and Vanessa Dodd call for coherence between lifelong learning plans and other aspects of higher education policy in this WonkHE article.

How phenomenon-based learning could empower students

Writing for WonkHE, Kate Cuthbert and Sue Lee ask if we need to rethink traditional course structures to prepare students for the contemporary workplace?

Phenomenon-based learning: what, why and how

Phenomenon-based learning empowers students to apply disciplinary knowledge to real-world situations. Here, Sue Lee and Kate Cuthbert outline the principles of PhBL and how it can be adopted in higher education

Microcredentials, not short courses, should drive lifelong learning plans

Disappointing results from pilot scheme indicate a focus on 10-credit modules, rather than 30-credit courses, is the way forward, says Annabel Kiernan.

Ethnicity Awarding Gap: not all black and white

Writing for the Research Professional News, Sally Andrews says no one knows how to close the ethnicity gap in awarding degrees.

SCoLPP International Pedagogic Conference

Save the date!

20-23 November 2024 will see our first SCoLPP International Pedagogic Conference.

It’s Scholarly but it’s Real: Using Phenomenon Based Learning to future-proof effective learning in Higher Education

Webinars and lectures

In recognition of her new professorial position, SCoLPP leader Professor Stella Jones-Devitt delivered her inaugural professorial lecture at University of Staffordshire.

The long march to critical pedagogy: and why the journey matters?

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This inaugural lecture presents a challenge. As Giroux (2013) notes there is a need to invent modes of pedagogy that release the imagination, connect learning to social change and create social relations in which people assume responsibility for each other. Yet why do we find this so difficult in higher education?

Stella Jones-Devitt recounts some of her struggles and triumphs along the way in trying to make learning engaging for all, whatever the starting point. Within this lecture, she hopes there will be something useful for everyone, concerning her forays with donkey rides, origami frog-making, osmotic walls, zombies and more.

So, What's the Learning? webinar series

This professional development offer brings together pedagogic researchers to a community of practice to share perspectives with the wider HE community. Participants gain the chance to consider how such learning applies within their own context and develop tangible skill(s) for enhanced practice.

People, places and pedagogies: Navigating through the terrain of digital ethnography

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Our first session: People, places and pedagogies: navigating through the terrain of digital ethnography, was led by Fran Brown-Cornwall (@FrankieCornwall) and Dr Jo Basford (@basford_jo) from the Institute of Education, University of Staffordshire.

In this session Fran and Jo shared their insights in adopting a digital ethnographic approach for their SCoLPP research project. We heard how Fran and Jo experienced the changing dynamics of their research and the challenges of employing a photo-elicitation methodology in both digital and in-person contexts. It was discussed how this methodology helps participants to ‘sharpen’ their ability to reflect upon and explain their experiences and perceptions as well as encourage collaborative knowledge production (Auken, Firvoll and Stewart, 2010).

Disentangling cause and effect: the challenges of translating interdisciplinary research into policy

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Our second session, Disentangling cause and effect: the challenges of translating interdisciplinary research into policy was led by Dr Arinola Adefila, Deputy Director of SCoLPP at University of Staffordshire, and Prof Maria Lúcia T. Garcia, Professor and Postgraduate Lead for Political & Social Programmes from The Federal University of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Working across continents (during COVID lockdowns!) this research partnership dealt with concept complexity through an humanitarian lens.

Negotiating the differing contexts in terms of language and culture produced rewarding outcomes for both the project and the researchers. Our presenters share their thoughts on the place of activism as educational researchers. If you need motivating or nourishing- this is the webinar for you!

Latest news

Dr Arinola Adefila is currently employing her evaluation expertise to the Student Mobility programme in Finland using Cultural Mapping to examine how the Collaborative Online International Learning programme has supported learning.

Dr Sally Andrews delivers the findings from the TASO commissioned research into initiatives to tackle the ethnicity awarding gap on Monday 12 June 2023 2-3.30pm, if you are interested in attending, please register for this event online.

3 SCoLPP colleagues will be presenting at the forthcoming International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Utrecht. Gareth Barratt will be sharing his work on student partnerships and coaching. Dr Kate Cuthbert and Sue Lee will be sharing their phenomenon-based learning project outcomes.

Sue Lee presented elements of her PhD research exploring the intangibles in HE at the Higher Education Futures Institute, University of Birmingham Conference, “Educational Gain: Beyond the Metrics” 2023.

Dr Annabel Kiernan and colleagues Vanessa Dodd and Sally Andrews spoke about effective evaluation at Universities UK (UUK) Conference on closing ethnicity awarding gaps in April 2023.

Dr Annabel Kiernan joined the panel on Developing Local Skills at the Lifelong Education Commission’s Investing in Skills for Life conference

Dr Kate Cuthbert and Sue Lee will be leading a workshop about phenomenon-based learning at Edgehill University’s Learning and Teaching Conference: The 2023 SOLSTICE and CLT Conference

Professor Stella Jones- Devitt will be delivering a keynote address on 14 June for QAA Scotland’s Enhancement Conference

Dr Annabel Kiernan will be sharing insights on Lifelong Loan Entitlement at Westminster Higher Education Forum Policy Conference on 6 July, and at the Lifelong Loan Entitlement Conference 2023 on 13 June.

Dr Sally Andrews presented at QAA insights February 2023, engaging delegates with her thinking on How do we know what works in curricula?

Dr Annabel Kiernan will be a panel member, giving expertise on ‘New Models of Delivery’ at the Engineering Professors Council's

Engineering Academics Network Annual Congress 2023 on 14 June.

Professor Stella Jones-Devitt led a Confident Claims online workshop for Scottish HE sector in February 2023

Dr Annabel Kiernan is delivering a presentation at Badge Summit entitled ‘Developing microcredentials as a response to English economic and educational policy’ on 24 July.

We will soon be launching a Video Podcast series. This series is intended to extend the TILE Hub as a platform for discussing the various digital supports and resources available at University of Staffordshire.

Dr Sally Andrews has completed a TASO (Transforming Access and Student Outcomes) commissioned project where she and her team worked with six higher education providers to develop Theory of Change models and evaluation plans for interventions to address the Ethnicity Degree Awarding Gap. This project advances the use of evidence-informed and theoretically derived approaches to develop and evaluate interventions to reduce inequalities in student outcomes in UK higher education.

Sally has since contributed to a QAA podcast exploring ethnicity awarding gaps, a panel discussion at the 2023 Universities UK Access, Participation and Student Success conference and at the Independent Higher Education conference concerning how to support the sector to meaningfully, successfully, and sustainably reduce inequity for non-traditional entrants to higher education.

Sue Lee and Dr Kate Cuthbert continue to build on their research into phenomenon-based learning and the QAA published educator’s toolkit to embed this future-facing pedagogy. Invited by QAA, Sue and Kate led a collaborative workshop at the Quality Insights Conference. Borrowing principles of Phenomenon-based Learning, they explored how academic communities might evolve to meet the demands of future higher education.

Sue and Kate faciliated a workshop to interrogate the digital possibilities that respond to pedagogical needs of Phenomenon-based Learning at Digifest24.

These dissemination activities are building momentum as SCoLPP prepares to host the International Pedagogic Conference in November 2024, “It’s Scholarly but it’s Real: Using Phenomenon Based Learning to future-proof effective learning in Higher Education”. This online event brings together evidence and impact from national and international colleagues. Learn more about the conference and book your place here

Professor Stella Jones-Devitt (SCoLPP Director) and visiting Professor Liz Austen launched the Universal Evaluation Framework (UEF) at an Evaluation Collective event in January 2024.

During the online sector launch, Liz and Stella discussed how the UEF (https://evaluationforall.org) tool has been designed as an open access resource for planning evaluations or for gathering evaluative evidence.

They showed how the UEF enables development of evaluation capabilities and increases confidence in evaluating change. It also provides a platform to build an evidence base for effective decision-making concerning enhanced student outcomes.

Why not try it for yourself by signing up at https://evaluationforall.org like lots of colleagues from a range of providers in the sector have already done?

Events

TILE Webinars

We also offer a number of regular workshops which are updated on the TILE Calendar. This includes:

Lecture Capture Introduction and Workshops
Blackboard Ultra Induction/ refresher and Masterclasses
Interactive Technologies Workshops

These sessions are organised on an ongoing basis, and the schedule can be accessed through the TILE Calendar. They offer further opportunities to engage with innovative learning technologies and develop essential skills for effective pedagogical practice.

TILE Calendar

Digital Activation Day

As a monthly event, Digital Activation Day offers workshops and drop-in sessions to provide personalised support for staff and students interested in various digital technologies. The event is an opportunity to rethink and restructure future teaching and learning practices around innovative techniques and e-learning tools. At this event, we have representatives from Digital Services, and the Library and Academic Skills team to provide guidance, support and live demonstrations (on need basis).