Westminster’s Learning and Teaching Symposium 2020 – an update from the Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation (CETI)

This year’s Learning and Teaching Symposium, will now take place online. However it is possible that the date may move and CETI will keep you informed about this via Sharepoint and future editions of Westminster Weekly. So as to allow potential participants more time to prepare, the deadline for receipt of abstracts has been extended to 30th April.

To submit an abstract please use the Symposium Application Form  which also provides information regarding length and required contact details. CETI will also be interested to receive abstracts that focus on staff experiences of the move to online teaching and learning, its impact and examples of innovative practice.

If you have any queries, please contact the CETI team on CETI@westminster.ac.uk

Westminster Pedagogy: Making a Difference

The Westminster Learning and Teaching Symposium is an opportunity for staff to share innovations, contribute to debates and build networks and collaborations.
In its first year of operation, Westminster’s Centre for Teaching Innovation met, networked and consulted across the University with staff who teach and support learning and teaching and elicited that teaching and learning at Westminster has three key areas of distinctiveness:

1. Transformative Learning and Teaching (e.g. critical pedagogies, digital learning, collaborative learning, cross disciplinarily, learner autonomy, innovative feedback etc.)
2. Diversity and Inclusion (e.g. valuing difference, co-creation, partnership, intercultural learning, multilingual learning, internationalising the curriculum etc.)
3. Inspirational Professional Practice (e.g. experiential, questioning, practice-focused learning etc.)

This year’s Symposium provided an opportunity to explore in more detail these areas of distinctiveness and took place on 26 June 2018 at the Marylebone campus.

Here is the link to the 2018 Symposium Progamme

Keynote

The keynote this year was delivered by Tansy Jessop who is Professor of Research Informed Teaching at Southampton Solent University. She thrives on developing intellectual curiosity in students through linking research and teaching, and through valuing the pedagogic relationship. In a climate of metrics, markets and mass higher education, Tansy believes in articulating a counter-cultural purpose for higher education. She leads the ‘Transforming the Experience of Students through Assessment’ (TESTA) research and change process, strengthening programme approaches to assessment in more than 50 universities in the UK, India and Australia. Tansy’s interest in student learning is driven by democratic and participatory approaches to pedagogy. She began her career as a secondary school teacher in South Africa, completing a PhD on teacher development in rural KwaZulu-Natal in 1997. She has published on social justice in education, narrative inquiry, learning spaces, and assessment and feedback, technology and is working up a few pieces on research informed teaching and curriculum.

Presentations

Please click on the links below to view the presentations at this year’s Learning and Teaching Symposium:

Getting personal with ipsative feedback – Richard Paterson & Katherine Mansfield, SSH

Practice and reliability of self and peer assessment and feedback – Iwona Wilkowska, WBS

Evaluating the benefits of virtual training for students – Caroline L. Smith & Sarah K. Coleman, FST

“Step Back In Time” – Digital transformation with student engagement in collaborative learning – Li Jin, FST

We all know what excellent teaching is, don’t we – Gillian Rhodes, FST

Learn to Code Application – Wendy Purdy & Anne-Gaelle Colom, FST

Inclusive and Interactive Mathematics Support for the Biosciences – Chrystalla Ferrier & Paul Curley, FST

Embedding Inclusive Course Design – Daniela de Silva, Student & Academic Services

Using Action Learning to Inspire Compassionate Professional Practices – Kathryn Waddington, FST

Primed, Prepped and Primped Reflections on enhancing student psychological well- being in tertiary education – Donna Jodhan-Gall, Lisa Matthewman, Jenni Nowlan, Nuala OSullivan, Zorica Patel, WBS

Embedding Employability in the Curriculum Don’t we already do that – Tony Burke, Centre for Teaching Innovation and ABE

Some photographs of the day: