Adventures in Academic Development
Faculty Development, Hochschuldidaktik, Play and Creativity in Higher Education, SoTL
Maybe not all mindfulness techniques but some of the most common: deep breathing, and body check are not as simple or risk free as you might think: How Deep Breathing Can Worsen Trauma Responses | Psychology Today It is a dreich rainy first November here in Scotland. And at 7 am I am contemplating my … Continue reading Mindfulness is NOT a panacea for anxious students
Dr Vicki Dale and I are running a very hands-on postgraduate course around creative pedagogies. One of the core messages I think we still have to make stronger: take a step back from discipline specific pedagogies. Teaching methods are in the least interdisciplinary–although I vote for transdisciplinarity! So I am making a public plea: teaching … Continue reading Looking Beyond: Thoughts on Teaching Models
Some Evening Thoughts You are, you are in teaching. The whole you. Your past, your present, your envisaged future. When your learners bring something to you, challenge you, question you, ask you. They are bringing themselves to you. They are making themselves vulnerable—even if it might not feel like it to you in that moment. … Continue reading What is in Teaching?
My efforts to publish working–out–loud pieces have been thwarted by overwhelm. So let’s step back by a month. There was some learning from this summer’s holiday-domain during which I ran out of words. This is a meandering thoughts blog, I am trying to figure something out–solve a teaching dilemma. Any ideas are welcome! If you … Continue reading Painting a Diary
When the topic for this week’s combined #AdvanceHE_chat and #LTHEchat was announced my first reaction was that I cannot think of any examples of a transformative chat either undertaken with my students, or having experienced for myself. Only to realised that this is not entirely true. While I might not remember a significant Heureka moment … Continue reading Transformative Conversations
The Hunt for Teaching Eggcellence! This month’s SoTLwalk is all about teaching treasures so these were the instructions: Have you made a discovery – tips, tools, delicious treasures – this year that you’d like to share with others? Where did you find them? Maybe you gamify your syllabus to make things more fun for your … Continue reading Sotlwalk April 2021
I am always intrigued how some themes or topics seem to come at you from all (or at least several directions) at a point in time, just to fade out of focus again once you have engaged. So this week it seems to be all about reflecting this academic year (and a bit) and the things we want to keep or stop doing in the coming months. Continue reading To keep or not to keep?
Muhahaha. Let’s get the skeletons out of the pedagogical closet. These are the prompts Natasha gave us this month: Ghostbusters! (It is Halloween, after all!)…Are there are demons in your teaching and learning closet? Any fright-nights to share? Maybe a trick or treat in your curriculum? Play with the ideas and themes associated with this … Continue reading SoTLwalk October
An accidental insight. I had the opportunity to obtain coaching supervision, and this session led to a profound insight about one of my postgraduate courses: Creative Pedagogies for Active Learning. Brief background: The course has only been in its second iteration, after a complete restructure, and the first year went really well. However, the second … Continue reading Coaching Supervision: and Course Development
I am just out of a meeting where we planned a half day lecture training session and the discussion around lecture capture came up. As a learner, a student, I would have loved lecture capture and when contemplating why it constitutes such a problem to me two issues were emerging: The issue of permanence When … Continue reading The Issue with Lecture Capture
A reflective poem I am becoming evermoreMaturePatientWiserResilientOlderComplexDeeperQuirkierRiskierFunnierCompliantCategoricalUnconsciously professional And that’s just on a Monday. If you are not prepared to be challenged, to question your believes and assumptions, you are in danger. The classroom is not a safe space for a fixed mindset. Continue reading The autopoietic lecturer: a poem
If it doesn’t work pull the plug I experimented with writing for 30 days in a row and see what happens’ based on articles like this one by Glen Allsopp. However, it doesn’t work. Maybe it works for keeping the notes to yourself until they are ready to be shared. But it doesn’t work for … Continue reading If it doesn’t work…
This writing exercise is challenging. It feels as if I share snapshots of a road-trip without telling you where I was going. My thoughts a junction of a conceptualization exercise. Hoping a cartography of thought will emerge. Continue reading The Autopoietic Teacher
Identity and integrity have as much to do with our shadows and limits, our wounds and fears, as with our strengths and potentials. (Palmer, 1997) Continue reading Teaching as a Healing Art
I had a storyteller as coach Remember a while back my peer reviewer said that PowerPoint doesn’t work well for me because I am a storyteller? The problem with being a storyteller who has to rely on a linearly structured aid is that sometimes it works very well and sometimes not at all. So I … Continue reading Of story telling, coaching, and teaching in HE
Adventures in Academic Development 