In my previous blog I explained how metaphors offer a way of making that which is unfamiliar or hard to understand appear more familiar and knowable. In this blog, I’d like to continue this discussion of the role of metaphors … Continue reading...
Tag: teaching and learning
Metaphorically speaking!: Metaphors and educational research (Part One)
Our family recently returned from holidays, and on the outward and returning flight my three year old daughter was fascinated by the safety sheet she found in the seat pocket. She looked intently at the images, trying to piece together … Continue reading...
Teaching literature: who knows what’s going to happen?
To many of us in Modern Languages, literature seems almost made for teaching. Here’s why.
People outside the Arts are sometimes disdainful of subjects that never seem to arrive at conclusive answers and spend endless time defining and re-defining their … Continue reading...
“I look forward to marking essays”
“I look forward to marking essays,” says Dietmar Wetzel.
Those of us who’ve been here a while will know that discussions about marking can feel like a tug of war. The best response to changing attitudes is to build flexibility … Continue reading...
Students were confused, and I thanked them for it
Ready to innovate, an enthusiastic teacher was met with silence and confusion by his students. Here’s how sociologist Dietmar Wetzel responded.
It was such a great idea: replace your bog-standard essay with a complex, multi-dimensional case study that will give … Continue reading...
Intended learning outcome: “I don’t know; let’s find out”
If we’re serious about research-led teaching, we need to tell our students what we don’t – yet – know. Enter teaching-led research!
One of the funniest moments of this academic year came when, in the final session with my fourth-year … Continue reading...
When students don’t care, ask yourself: do you?
I’ve heard a colleague describe their students as ‘wilted parsley.’ If we want to get the juices flowing again, we have to find out what our students are actually interested in.
When colleagues describe a tired classroom, they tend to … Continue reading...
Staged assessments in large Economics unit
In 2019, I became the unit director in Economic Principles, a compulsory unit for first year undergraduate students in Accounting and Finance. Even though students are highly-skilled and the entry requirements for these courses are strict, the students’ writing skills … Continue reading...
How our teaching philosophies shape us as educators.
Why do you teach? The answer may lie in your philosophy of teaching. More specifically, the overarching values and beliefs which guide you as an educator. I believe that an educator’s core beliefs about the purpose of education is one … Continue reading...
Community Engaged Learning
Highlights from the UK Service Learning and Community Engaged Learning Network webinar, 8 March 2023.
In this blogpost, Hannah Cowell shares inspiring stories from the UK SL/CEL Network Webinar hosted last month. Read on to hear more about innovative pedagogy … Continue reading...