In this special for Neurodiversity Celebration Week, DMU's Chris Knifton discusses his experiences as an academic with autism. In this fascinating discussion, Chris talks about his experiences of working in higher education as a person with autism, the challenges, his level of openness with colleagues and students about being a person with autism, and how we can better support colleagues with autism in our work as educational developers. This is a fascinating listen.

Chris is an Associate Professor of learning and teaching with a specific focus on dementia studies and cognitive care. Chris is also an Admiral Nurse, specialising in dementia care, as well as being a registered learning disability nurse and social worker. Chris is the co-chair of the Higher Education Dementia network, co-editor for the Journal of Cognitive Care, and is also a Senior Fellow of Advance HE. As such, Chris brings a wealth of experience and expertise in relation to supporting autistic learners.

In this fascinating episode, De Montfort University's Nikki Welyczko provides a enlightening insight into the phenomenon of contract cheating. Nikki helps us to define clearly what contract cheating is, its most common forms, the extent of contract cheating in UK HE, and the trends which may underpin it. Nikki also shares some important ideas on how we can battle contract cheating and also gives her view on the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the potential implications for academic misconduct. This episode is a must for anyone interested in learning, teaching and assessment. 

Nikki Welyczko is an Associate Professor and Associate Head of School at the Leicester School of Nursing and Midwifery at De Montfort University. As a key member of the School and Faculty’s leadership teams, Nikki works closely with the Head of School in providing strategic direction and academic leadership for the Leicester School of Nursing and Midwifery, making a significant contribution to Faculty and University priorities. She is an experienced DMU Teacher Fellow and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Nikki Chairs the School Learning and Teaching Group (SLTG), the Pre and Post Registration Programme Management Boards and is Deputy Chair Nursing and Midwifery Single Tier Assessment Board. A key focus of Nikki’s role is on quality and the continuing development of innovative learning, teaching and assessment activities across the School, Faculty and University. She represents the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS) at the University Learning and Teaching Committee (ULTC) as a Teaching and Learning Champion and is a Pedagogic Champion for the Centre for Academic Innovation and Teaching Excellence (CAITE). She established and leads the University’s Contract Cheating Working Group and represents DMU at the Midlands Integrity Group.

During the sixteen years Nikki has worked at DMU, she has held several key School and Faculty leadership roles. She has experience in module, programme and senior academic leadership and has been involved in the development and design of innovative curricula that enhance learning and teaching and ensure optimum student experience. She is an experienced external examiner, a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) quality reviewer and has also fulfilled the role of external advisor/panel member on multiple occasions for other HEIs. Nikki is an academic reviewer for several nursing publications and publishes regularly for Gastrointestinal Nursing and the Journal of Kidney Care. She is a member of the Nursing Standard’s Art a Science Advisory Panel and networks nationally with a range of academics and senior clinical practitioners advising about publishing content. Nikki is currently in the process of submitting her PhD: ‘Exploring resilience in pre-registration undergraduate nursing students: A constructivist grounded theory study’.

In this, the first of a new short-series on mental health and wellbeing, Susan O'Mahony of University College Cork talks to us about supporting the mental health and wellbeing of academic staff. 

Susan O’Mahony is a Coach, Facilitator and Trainer with a special interest in staff wellbeing.

She holds an MA in HRM Management and a MSc In Personal & Management Coaching from UCC.

Susan is Staff Wellbeing & Development Advisor at UCC with responsibility for developing and delivering wellbeing & development programmes for over 3,500 staff.

She has extensive leadership experience throughout her career, including executive and management positions in the public and not-for-profit sectors.

Susan works with managers and leaders who are interested in constantly learning and connecting with others in their teams and throughout the wider organisation to create a culture of wellbeing.

She offers practical applications for embedding individual and organisational wellbeing including one-one and team coaching programmes.

In this episode, Susan addresses some of the key reasons foe mental health and wellbeing challenges among academic staff, speaks specifically on the role of line managers in supporting staff wellbeing and provides some hints, tips and guidance on how to support wellbeing. This is a great listen! Enjoy!

Dr Jo-Anne Kelder is Adjunct Senior Researcher in the College of Sciences and Engineering at the University of Tasmania, working to embed scholarship and research informed teaching into STEM course curricula. She provides higher education consultancy services through Jo-Anne Kelder Consulting.

She has led institutional and national projects focussing on quality assurance of curriculum and enhancing student experience, as well as research to develop staff capability and practice in curriculum evaluation and scholarship, co-leading the inaugural Australian Council of Deans of Science Fellowship (2019-20).

She is editor of two higher education journals, Advancing Scholarship and Research in Higher Education and Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice.

In this fascinating episode, Jo talks to us about publishing learning, teaching and assessment related work in journals. Jo gives us the editorial insight into how best to go about approaching the publication process from the initial conception of an idea, through to the "nuts and bolts" of putting a high quality submission together. Jo also provides valuable advice around becoming a journal editor, outlining the experience needed as well as the benefits to be gained. This is a fantastic episode! Enjoy!. 

In his 2005 book, Taking an Intelligent Look at Emotional Intelligence, Guy Claxton stated that “learning cannot happen without emotion”. The process of learning is a deeply emotional one, and emotions often sit at the heart of learning experiences. For example, because learning is underpinned by the potential for both achievement and failure, the propensity for heightened feelings and subsequent emotions is augmented. Adjectives such as “frustrated”, “disappointed”, “exhilarated”,” thrilled”, and “excited” may all be associated with learning at given times, and possibly represent states experienced by anyone that has ever engaged in a learning experience. As such, we can all recognise the emotional component of learning.

In this podcast, Dr Kevin Merry will address the role emotion plays in learning. Specifically, Kevin will focus on the critical role emotions play in supporting learner metacognition, enabling learners to develop the learning expertise characteristic of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to instruction. Kevin will discuss the practical steps that teachers can take to learn about the social and emotional variability among their learners, and how such information can be used to reduce or remove emotional barriers to learning. An important part of the podcast will require listeners to reflect on the emotional atmospheres they create, and whether such atmospheres are conducive to effective learning for all learners. This session is a must for anyone involved in learning, teaching and assessment in Higher Education. Resources supporting the ideas in the podcast can be accessed at Kevin's website here https://drkevinl.wixsite.com/drkevinlmerry/learner-variability 

In his 2005 book, Taking an Intelligent Look at Emotional Intelligence, Guy Claxton stated that “learning cannot happen without emotion”. The process of learning is a deeply emotional one, and emotions often sit at the heart of learning experiences. For example, because learning is underpinned by the potential for both achievement and failure, the propensity for heightened feelings and subsequent emotions is augmented. Adjectives such as “frustrated”, “disappointed”, “exhilarated”,” thrilled”, and “excited” may all be associated with learning at given times, and possibly represent states experienced by anyone that has ever engaged in a learning experience. As such, we can all recognise the emotional component of learning.

In this webinar teaser Dr Kevin Merry addresses the role emotion plays in learning, focusing on the critical role emotions play in supporting learner metacognition, enabling learners to develop the learning expertise characteristic of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) .

The webinar entitled Teaching With Emotional Intelligence takes place on December 7th 2023, with tickets available via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/teaching-with-emotional-intelligence-tickets-435674352717 

This podcast explores how entire universities can adopt accessible, inclusive, and equitable approaches to learning, teaching and assessment and in so doing, bring about educational culture change. Focusing on the way in which a large and diverse UK higher education institution successfully adopted Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as its approach to learning, teaching and assessment, the podcast provides clear practical advice, guidance and tips on how institution-wide adoption of accessible, inclusive and equitable educational approaches can be achieved. The podcast will also provide critical insights into the sequential steps that best support change management on a university-wide scale, as well as provide real, practical insights on things to avoid and common mistakes that can occur during the change process. This podcast is a must for anyone interested in accessible, inclusive, and equitable higher education, particularly those responsible for institution-wide educational change.

Welcome to the talking learning and teaching podcast. On the show today we have Professor David Carless. David is Professor of Educational Assessment at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, and a Principal Fellow of Advance HE. His signature publication is the book Excellence in University Assessment: Learning from award-winning practice which was published in 2015 by Routledge. His current research focuses on teacher and student feedback literacy to enhance the impact of feedback processes. His most recent book, Designing effective feedback processes in higher education: A learning-focused approach, co-authored with Naomi Winstone, was published by Routledge in 2019. David shares some truly fascinating insights into feedback in higher education. This is a must listen for anyone with an interest in learning, teaching and assessment. 

Associate Professor John Weldon from Victoria University, Melbourne provides us with a fascinating insight into the world of block teaching. Having played an intimate role in developing VU's pioneering block approach, John provides some fascinating insights into the way in which block teaching differs from traditional termly or semester structures. John discusses the benefits of block for learners and staff, as well as describing how block teaching changes the role of the teacher by placing them at the center of a team of colleagues tasked with supporting effective learning in a lean and targeted way. Finally, John discusses the manner in which assessment supports learning in the block teaching model, discussing how assessment is more aligned with the process than the product of learning. This is a truly fascinating episode that anyone with an interest in learning, teaching and assessment in higher education should listen to. Enjoy!

In this exceptional episode, we discuss all things assessment with the amazing Professor Sally Brown.

Sally is an Independent Consultant in Learning, Teaching and Assessment, and Emerita Professor at Leeds Beckett University where she was, until 2010, Pro-Vice-Chancellor. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) Senior Fellow, and a National Teaching Fellow. Irrespective of the formal accolades she has received, Sally is perhaps one of the most important voices when it comes to issues surrounding assessment in UK higher education today, particularly from an educational development perspective. Sally's work has influenced countless educators at home and abroad, and continues to be a powerful influence on assessment practices in higher education in the post-Covid world. This podcast is essential listening for anyone teaching or supporting student learning in higher education.