LOCATION: Outside G101, First Floor, Campus Centre

Come and collect your mini-programme at the beginning of the day as a quick reminder of session timings.

The Welcome/Help Desk will relocate to the ground floor of the Postgraduate Centre after the morning refreshment break (11am) and will be staffed throughout the day to support with any queries.

LOCATION: Outside G101, First Floor, Campus Centre

Welcome and Housekeeping

Time: 09:15 - 09:20

Dr Steve Briggs, Director for Learning and Teaching Excellence will note H&S points and introduce PVC to formally open the Bedfordshire Learning and Teaching Excellence Conference. 

Welcome and AdvanceHE Awards Celebration

Time: 09:20 - 09:45

Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Julie Brunton 

Professor Brunton will open the Bedfordshire Learning and Teaching Excellence Conference and lead AdvanceHE Awards Celebration. 

Room: G101 Lecture Theatre, Campus Centre

Keynote: Power, Partnership & ‘Post-Pandemic’ Pedagogy:
Building an inclusive and socially-just educational experience for all

Time: 09:45 - 10:45

Professor Sally Everitt, Kings College London

Many university strategies state that they aim to offer an education and student experience that ensures all students can demonstrate their full potential, however research on how we make our pedagogic approaches, curriculum and assessment truly inclusive, accessible and diverse remains rather theoretical. Although there has been significant attention placed on adopting universal design principles and a move towards concepts such as an ‘assessment for inclusion’ strategy (Nieminen, 2022), there is little scholarship about how curriculum design and our educational practices should reflect and consider broader social justice issues and global challenges (McArthur, 2010). Recent high-profile student cases, the pandemic and far-reaching policy changes have made the need for a high-quality, inclusive educational offering more urgent than ever. Therefore, through the lens of ‘justice, equality, diversity and inclusion’, this keynote will consider the impact of our own identities and how our educational practices can positively respond to calls for a more inclusive and culturally sustaining pedagogy (Hanesworth, Bracken and Elkington, 2019) which challenges structural inequality, exclusion and marginalisation. By exploring how we might build meaningful partnerships, foster diversity, and embed accessibility into our curriculum it is hoped that delegates will feel a little more confident pursuing and implementing strategies and approaches that enable all our students to thrive. 

Room: outside G101, First Floor, Campus Centre

Coffee and refreshments are served 

No need to register for morning refreshments, just come along for tea, coffee, or a light snack. Please bring your own reusable cup or mug if possible.

Following this refreshment break, the help desk will relocate to the ground floor of the Postgraduate Centre.

Attend this session.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 1.1 - REC World Café

This spotlight session includes three presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Mohammad Alramahi (Principal Lecturer in Law, University of Bedfordshire Business School) 

Room: P103

Our Education and Student Experience Strategy will “provide an exceptional student-focused experience, founded on: outstanding research-informed teaching; digital, innovative and inclusive practices; and global perspectives, embedded in all our courses. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion will be embedded into our teaching, assessment and curriculum practices aligned to our commitments as a university, as stated within our University Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Race Equality Charter“

In this highly interactive world-style cafe session, there will be an opportunity for colleagues to consider the impact of academic practices from the Race Equality Charter (REC) perspective and in the context of the NSS.

Concerning new and existing courses, we will be considering themes relevant to how we consider race equality within 1) course content; 2) within different teaching and assessment methods; and 3) how academics are supported and developed to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to consider race equality in their teaching and course development.’

Attend a session from the following options.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 1.2A - PRME in the curricula, helping students to achieve the UN SDGs

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Mohamed Saeudy (Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance, University of Bedfordshire Business School) 

Time: 11:00 - 11:20

Room: PM03

The Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) is a United Nations-supported initiative founded in 2007. It is a platform to raise the profile of sustainability to equip today's business students with the understanding and ability to deliver change tomorrow. This session aims to explore the role of PRME in delivering the curricula planning priorities in business schools. I will explain the role of PRME in creating more sustainable social, environmental, and economic values for staff and students. This session will be delivered as a workshop to offer some practical learning experiences to colleagues and students. This workshop should be highly interactive and will include some group discussions and collaborative work.

Parallel Session 1.2B - Assessment design and support considerations for international students

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Richard Ogston (Senior Lecturer in Management, University of Bedfordshire Business School) 

Time: 11:25 - 11:45

Room: PM03

HEI teaching staff often expend much effort in detailing assessment criteria but students still state that they lack clarity in terms of what exactly is expected of them in this regard (Gibbs 2009). Research has shown that this reality is exacerbated for those students whose first language is not English, who often struggle with unit material comprehension and the writing of assignments (Ajjawi et al., 2019). Student engagement and unit-level attainment are heavily influenced by socio-cultural perspectives (Balwant, 2017) e.g., studying in a new country, in a second language, and in a unique UK Higher Education Institutional (HEI) environment. Therefore, teaching and learning practices should be adapted to address student inclusivity needs (Finkelstein et al., 2019), rather than heeding the common expectation of students needing to adapt to the needs of the HEI.

Exploring this theme in practice, I will give a 10 minute ‘lightning talk’ where I will outline some of the assessment challenges that have been facing the MBA Luton cohort which I manage. I will also highlight planned actions which I’m hoping will positively impact how we as teaching staff can better consider unique cohort demographics in the design of assessment briefs and related support. We can then finish off with a high-level interactive discussion about the potential implications and opportunities for your own student cohorts.

Attend a session from the following options.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 1.3A - LGBTQ + Inclusive Curriculum & Pedagogy for HE

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Alex Baird (Lecturer in Sport and Physical Education
EES, Deputy-Chair of UoB LGBTQ Alliance Staff Network, University of Bedfordshire School of Sport Science and Physical Activity) 

Time: 11:00 - 11:20

Room: P107

Voices of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer plus (LGBTQ+) community as a minority can be overlooked, misunderstood or not heard at all in HE. Though evidence suggests UK HE may be a more welcoming setting for LGBTQ+ individuals compared to other global settings and employment sectors, further work is still required to ensure full equitable inclusion. This should embrace the growing number of students identifying as LGBTQ+ as a consequence of living in a more affirmative UK society, recognising that many students will come to identify as LGBTQ+ during their time at university.

The initial seminar (10 mins) will highlight relevant terminology and considerations for curriculum and pedagogy. This will draw upon the ‘University of Birmingham Best Practice Guide’.
Focus will then shift to the audience who will work in groups to drive their own learning and share experiences/insights/resources across department areas (10 mins). Case study/scenarios will be offered by the speaker who will become a facilitator.’

Parallel Session 1.3B - Professional groups of Learning, Practice and Development

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by:

• Clio Spanou (Head of Professional and Academic Development, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence)
• Diana Pritchard (Principal Curriculum Developer, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence
• James Bishop (Senior Lecturer, Construction Management and Building Technology, Principal Curriculum Developer (CATS), University of Bedfordshire Business School) 
  

Time: 11:25 - 11:45

Room: P107

The Academy understands the multiple values and benefits of peer, collaborative and co-created approaches to professional development. Consequently, it coordinates or supports groups who need or want to develop their professional interests and practices in whatever configuration of model that best suits their objectives and aspirations.

This interactive session aims to encourage participants to think about forming or getting involved in a group. Through a physical game of lotto - requiring participants to match-defining features to the various models - they will explore the similarities and distinctions between a community of practice, special interest group, or professional network. In conversation with a couple of practitioners of the University’s multidisciplinary Sustainability Forum, which has gained sector-wider recognition, participants will gain insights into some of the practical issues, the challenges and the excitement of creative autonomy.’

Exploring this theme in practice, I will give a 10-minute ‘lightning talk’ where I will outline some of the assessment challenges that have been facing the MBA Luton cohort that I manage. I will also highlight planned actions that I’m hoping will positively impact how we as teaching staff can better consider unique cohort demographics in the design of assessment briefs and related support. We can then finish off with a high-level interactive discussion about the potential implications and opportunities for your student cohorts.

Attend a session from the following options.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 1.4A - Moving the pedagogy from the classroom to alternative environments

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by:

• Sarah Page (Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, University of Bedfordshire School of Health and Social Sciences) 
  HSS
• Karen Benthall (Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, University of Bedfordshire School of Health and Social Sciences)
• Cara Burgess (Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, University of Bedfordshire School of Health and Social Sciences)

Time: 11:00 - 11:20

Room: P106

The new occupational therapy degree at the university offers a contemporary lens of teaching and learning.

Embracing this we have taken this a step forward with exploring how the different teaching environments can be successfully utilised.

We will walk with you as we share examples of best practices and our successful teaching day outdoors at Stockwood Park.

Parallel Session 1.4B - Belong@Beds

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: 

• Fiona Factor, Principal Lecturer in Applied Social Studies, University of Bedfordshire School of Health and Social Sciences)
  

Time: 11:25 - 11:45

Room: P107

This presentation will identify the history and background thinking to the development of Belong@Beds, the challenges, potential impact and outcomes. It will also reference the recent research on belonging in the sector and at UoB. Colleagues will be asked to consider the relevance of the theory of change model and the application of such a strategy in their particular faculty through inclusivity strategies and subject-specific pedagogical approaches, designed to enhance student belonging. The links between this UoB curriculum change project and the Student Manifesto will also become evident through the conversation.

Attend a session from the following options.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 1.4A - Academic Concern or Academic Offence?

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Philippa Armitage (Academic Practice Officer (AIR), Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 11:00 - 11:20

Room: G225

An often-asked question about plagiarism and similarity identified by Turnitin is whether it is an academic concern or an academic offense. This session will cover the Academic Integrity Policy information on using academic judgment to differentiate between a concern and an offense. It will then look at examples of Turnitin reports and whether the work would be treated as a concern or an offense depending upon differing criteria. There will also be opportunities for questions and discussion based on these cases and the policy requirements.

Parallel Session 1.4B - How do we avoid high risk assessments, improve feedback and engage our students in the process?

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: 

• Louise Ferrandino (Senior Lecturer in Sport Science and Physical Education, University of Bedfordshire School of Sport Science and Physical Activity)
  

Time: 11:25 - 11:45

Room: G225

Assessment and Feedback is an essential parts of a student’s journey in the achievement of learning outcomes and therefore successful completion of their degree. Services that allow students to pay money for a personalised written piece of work to submit as part of their degree are an important consideration for staff to be aware of and to help combat. A solution to this problem could be to encourage low-risk assessments within units. However, high-risk assessments such as essays, case studies, reports and dissertations are a vital part of many degree structures to assess the achievement of learning outcomes. I would like to spend 5 minutes introducing an idea for making essays and dissertations potentially lower risk assessments by including written notes and using journal articles as part of their submission and seminars/workshops. As the NSS results 2022 suggest feedback is still viewed as an area that needs improving at the UoB, I will also briefly discuss how staff can encourage student involvement in rubric design and peer assessment as a formative process that leads to clearer, more useful assessments the students understand. The session will finish in a soapbox-style format to discuss the best way to provide feedback on written assessments. This session is intended to provide a platform for dialogue to help discuss these issues and for this to be the catalyst for pilot work in assessments in the 2022-2023 academic year.

Attend this session.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 2.1 - Moving towards a framework for educational evaluation at UoB

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by:

• Tim Hinchcliffe (Head of Teaching and Learning, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire) 
• Sibel Kaya (Learning and Teaching Research Fellow, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 12:00 - 12:45

Room: P103

What Works in Education? This is now the mantra of universities. This workshop will explore the work of sector organisations in developing evidence-informed approaches to eliminating equality gaps in Higher Education, and discuss how we can create our framework at the University of Bedfordshire to measure the impact of our activities. We will also explore access to toolkits, research and guidance from the likes of TASO and King’s College that colleagues can use to inform their own individual and collective practices. The workshop will make use of personal introspection where attendees privately reflect on their answers to three questions. All attendees write their answers down. They then have an opportunity, but not an obligation, to share their answers with the group.

Attend a session from the following options.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 2.2A - Transitions to Belonging: Supporting Occupational Therapy students into University

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by:

• Averil Robertson  (Teaching Excellence Lead, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)
• Sarah Page (Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, School of health and Social Sciences, University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 12:00 - 12:20

Room: PM03

What Works in Education? This is now the mantra of universities. This workshop will explore the work of sector organisations in developing evidence-informed approaches to eliminating equality gaps in Higher Education, and discuss how we can create our framework at the University of Bedfordshire to measure the impact of our activities. We will also explore access to toolkits, research and guidance from the likes of TASO and King’s College that colleagues can use to inform their own individual and collective practices. The workshop will make use of personal introspection where attendees privately reflect on their answers to three questions. All attendees write their answers down. They then have an opportunity, but not an obligation, to share their answers with the group.

Parallel Session 2.2B - Who wants to be a Fellow?

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by:

• Averil Robertson  (Teaching Excellence Lead, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 12:25 - 12:45

Room: PM03

Advance HE (formerly known as the Higher Education Academy) awards recognition for learning and teaching practice through its Fellowship scheme, which is based on the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). The University of Bedfordshire is accredited to award Associate Fellow, Fellow and Senior Fellow through its Experiential Portfolio Route (EPR) and is sector-leading in the percentage of its staff who hold this recognition, with all academic staff expected to work towards it. The Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence leads the EPR programme, with four submission points each year. In this session, I will provide an overview of how the EPR works, demonstrate some of the supporting resources available, and allow attendees to explore the UKPSF and begin to consider how they might gather evidence to support their application, through an interactive Mentimeter session.

Interactive element to the session: Please bring along a device of some kind e.g. a smartphone.

Attend a session from the following options.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 2.3A - The impact of the student engagement in developing an "Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment"

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Priyangani Kethe (Tutor, Applied Business, University of Bedfordshire Business School)

Time: 12:00 - 12:20

Room: P107

EDI has become a priority in the classroom environments that support student performance. The University of Bedfordshire has recently embedded EDI into curriculum design and assessment to support student performance and considered the importance of student engagement in developing inclusive curriculum and assessment. This research presentation will focus on how student engagement can help to develop an inclusive curriculum and assessment and how that can be used for the benefit of policy development. Also, this presentation will focus on the challenges that can be faced through the development process and the action that can be taken to minimise the challenges.’

Parallel Session 2.3B - Student narratives of race equality: developing inclusive practice

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Joanne Hill (Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Sociology, University of Bedfordshire, School of Sport Science and Physical Activity) 

Time: 12:25 - 12:45

Room: PM03 

Current initiatives in UK higher education to improve equality and inclusion or address racism, such as Access and Participation Plans (APPs) which seek to address retention and awarding gaps, highlight policy and organisational moves to support students from underserved groups. Under the APP banner, the University of Bedfordshire’s Peer Assisted Student Success (PASS) scheme aims to engage students in co-design and -delivery of initiatives to support them and their peers. To best design and implement successful initiatives, Bedfordshire’s Faculty of Education, English and Sport built their PASS scheme around an action research cycle to Observe – gather student and staff experiences; Reflect – listen to and discuss those experiences; Plan – design initiatives for student success and addressing inequalities; Act – implement initiatives based on the knowledge already developed. This session forms part of the Reflect stage and will present vignettes from students who have shared their stories of race (in)equality and inclusion in their educational and extra-curricular experiences at Bedfordshire. Participants will be invited to read/listen to and consider responses to vignettes in small groups to build ideas for interventions and the capacity to embed inclusive practice. We seek to offer further evidence of the value of reflecting on student voice in anti-racist or diversity, equity and inclusion work.

Attend a session from the following options.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 2.4A - Is 'best practice' a myth?

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Gareth Bates (Senior Lecturer in Learning, Teaching and Digital Education, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 12:00 - 12:20

Room: G225

The session is designed to provoke thinking about the value of 'best practice' and invites participants to discuss their thoughts.

I will present some concepts that call into question the need for and value of 'best practice'. In recent years, there has been a drive towards a 'what works' approach to teaching and learning in education in England. This raises some serious questions that need to be thought through and discussed.

The session will be a semi-structured facilitated discussion, where prompts and provocations will be used to initiate discourse.

Parallel Session 2.4B - Benefits and feasibility of student co-production to embed EDI

This parallel session includes two presentations which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with presenters.

Session chaired by: Diana Pritchard (Principal Curriculum Developer, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire) + Zoe Mills (UBBS, Student)

Time: 12:25 - 12:45

Room: G225

The Education and Student Experience strategy is committed to expanding student co-production practices as an approach to empower the student's voice, render the curriculum more inclusive and contribute to reducing the White-BAME awarding gap. 

This interactive workshop is co-facilitated by an academic from The Academy of Learning and Teaching Excellence and a student, who formerly supported its work on a Peer Assisted Student Success bursary. Participants will explore the benefits, opportunities and challenges of student co-production.  The session will open, using Mentimeter, to note and explore why student co-production is so significant to embed EDI.  Participants will then be organised into groups at tables where they will identify, using post-its on A1, examples of practices or opportunities for co-production.  Moving to new tables, the groups will order the practices according to the respective levels of learner autonomy and confidence they would be required to represent a spectrum of intensity of potential practices appropriate through Years 1-3.  A final discussion, facilitated by ideas generated through Mentimeter, will identify the student, staff and other institutional barriers.  By surfacing these aspects, the session will demystify co-production and highlight tangible practices to be incorporated into curriculum, assessment and learning and teaching practices.

Attend this session.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 2.1 - Proactive Approaches for Inclusive Teaching

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Kathie Pugh (Senior Lecturer (Cultural Industries), School of Arts and Creative Industries University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 12:00 - 12:45

Room: P106

Each person has a unique set of needs and learning preferences, and our collective neurodiversity means that access to learning needs to be considered on a broader scale. This brief session will introduce some basic ways that the teaching space, delivery and communications can be made more inclusive. This session focuses on practical steps towards inclusivity, and it is also recommended that participants bring a laptop with Outlook to complete an ‘inclusive email format’ task.

Take the opportunity to re-energise during the lunch hour - food and refreshments can be found on the ground floor (Postgraduate Centre).

Stop by the marketplace and find out how these internal and external services can benefit you and your students:

• Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence
• Students' Union
• Academic Skills Unit – Centre for English as a Foreign Language 
• People Development 
• Registry Services  
• JISC 
• Clarivate
• Talis 
• Studiosity
• Blackboard
• Panopto 

The Marketplace guide and e-Posters will be on display during the lunch hour.

Confirmed E-posters: 

Attend this session.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 3.1 - The Student Journey Success Framework: 'Begin, Thrive, Succeed' 

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by:

• Ruki Heritage (Director of Student Experience, Student Experience, University of Bedfordshire) 
• Michelle Everitt (Assistant Director Student Experience & Head of Career & Employability, Careers & Recruitment Service - Student Experience, University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 14:00 - 14:45

Room: P103

The University super KPIs focus on recruitment, continuation, student satisfaction, graduate outcomes and the attainment gap. The Student Success Journey Framework has been developed to support the super KPIs by mapping the student journey from application to alumni, throughout all key transition points. The framework is divided into three key themes, Begin@Beds, Thrive@Beds and Succeed@Beds and is designed to enable us to understand student's motivations, needs, well-being and aspirations to succeed in their journey. This workshop will enable you to explore the themes and how to translate the framework into your teaching and learning practices.

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 3.2A - Teaching self-regulated learning strategies to Second Language students in ESL classrooms in Higher Education 

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Stella Giorgou Tzampazi (Tutor - English Language, CEFL, EES, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 14:00 - 14:20

Room: PM03

The quality of education today depends on the learners' ability to be self-directed and self-reliant, and this can only be achieved by helping them acquire the capacity to take charge of their learning. There is a tendency to focus more on providing students with facts than teaching them how to become competent. Consequently, less motivated learners might have difficulty completing concrete metacognitive activities such as goal setting, monitoring, and evaluating, hence, often do not perform well. This paper aims to provide an overview of how second-language university learners can oversee their learning and how the learning strategies used in English Foundation programs at the University of Bedfordshire contribute toward becoming independent learners as well as developing a growth mindset. To begin with, I will outline the theoretical framework of the Self-regulated Learning Cycle and then demonstrate how the Independent Learning Plan (ILP) and the Personal Learning and Thinking Skills form (PLTS) are used in the CEFL department at the University of Bedfordshire.  Then, following this theme, a further explanation will be provided on how this teaching practice has been turned into a research project. I will then lead a pedagogically focused campfire session, inviting audience members to share their experiences using, or wanting to use, this practice within their classroom. 

Parallel Session 3.2B - Using Individual Learning Plans to support student success 

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Linda Hopkins-West (Teaching and Practice Coordinator, University of Bedfordshire Business School)

Time: 14:25 - 14:45

Room: PM03

As part of our Thematic Review of the Foundation Year programme, we decided to include an Individual Learning Plan to underpin the four taught units.  The concept was to provide an individualised learning journey for our diverse range of students, including those at Study Centres.  In this session, we will outline the initial ILP design, how we are using it as an assessment and how we have developed it to support students to develop and monitor their individual learning.

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 3.3A - Tip of the week' - creating short and sharp academic skills tips for L4 nursing students

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by:

• Kelly Clifford (Academic Portfolio Lead - Nursing, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Education, University of Bedfordshire)
• Clio Spanou (Head of Professional and Academic Development, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 14:00 - 14:20

Room: P107

Tip of the Week aimed to support the first-year nursing students' transition to HE and engage them in the development of good academic practices by improving their academic and ICT skills, competencies and knowledge using an enquiring independent approach (HEFCE, 2015).

The Tip of the Week aims to share with students, some common academic skills errors made in past student assignments with examples of how these common errors can be corrected. Interactive elements have been embedded within the resource on BREO for students to self-assess their knowledge, skills and competencies.

This presentation will start with the rationale for piloting this project, showcase some of the different approaches used and how this was scaffolded into the 11 weeks academic skills for nurses unit. It will show how we plan to disseminate this across L4 academic skills units within the faculty of HSS and look at future plans for the project given the refocused PAD’s relevant remit, i.e. to facilitate and support practices aiming at embedding academic skills in the curriculum.

Parallel Session 3.3B - The role of vocabulary learning strategies in lexical progression in HE academic contexts

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Nuzhat Jafari (Tutor - English Language, Centre for English as a Foreign Language University of Bedfordshire Business School)

Time: 14:25 - 14:45

Room: P107

This presentation reports on a study that explores vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) behind the lexical progression in adult learners assessed by productive vocabulary tests in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) context. Previous research has provided some insights into this issue (e.g., Schmitt, 1997; Gu and Johnson, 1996), but these studies focused on a limited number of strategies. This large-scale, longitudinal study was therefore designed to fill this gap, by examining the impact of several VLSs on vocabulary gain assessed by a series of productive vocabulary tests.

Two types of tests were administered twice to 600 university students who were learning English for academic purposes. The pre-and post-tests were 1) The Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (Laufer & Nation, 1999) to examine the learners’ general vocabulary gain and, 2) a self-devised productive academic vocabulary Test modified from Read (2000) and Nation (2001) to assess the learners’ vocabulary progress specific to the courses they have taken.

Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests were conducted to examine the learners’ vocabulary progress, and the results showed the learners’ significant vocabulary gain between the pre and post-tests. A series of multiple regression analyses were performed to assess the impact of strategy use on vocabulary gain. Extra-curricular, self-initiatives and selective attention significantly predicted general vocabulary proficiency whereas activation strategies, self-initiatives and selective attention turned out to best predict overall proficiency in course vocabulary.

The findings of this study will be discussed in relation to the construct(s) measured by the two types of productive vocabulary tests.

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 3.4A - The Power of Partnership for a Successful Targeted Online Drop-In Time

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by:

• Azrah Khan (PAD Tutor, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)
• Anthea Cowen(PAD Tutor, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)
• Cheryl Swallow (PAD Tutor, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)
• David Abdy (Academic Liaison Librarian, Learning Resource, University of Bedfordshire)
  
  

Time: 14:00 - 14:20

Room: P106

Supporting University of Bedfordshire students throughout their studies, helping them to achieve their best as they pursue their goals and ambitions, is the common goal towards which all University staff work. Since late 2020, a cross-team collaboration between the Professional and Academic Development (PAD) team, Academic Liaison Librarians (ALLs) and the Computer Skills Team, supported at times by Library Services, has provided a regular targeted online drop-in for 5 months of the year to help support L4 Healthcare students. These targeted drop-ins have been a great success, appreciated by both students and staff alike. Representatives of the teams will discuss and demonstrate, in-person and using AV resources, how a targeted online drop-in works, the value of the multi-service online approach to students and to staff, the benefits and challenges of cross-team collaboration, and will consider the potential for applying the targeted online drop-in approach across other course-groups and faculties.

Parallel Session 3.3B - Working backwards for progression

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Cheryl Swallow (PAD Tutor, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 14:25 - 14:45

Room: P107

This session will showcase a prototype of the Planning for Skills Development (working title) document to open up cross-departmental communication about how to better support students with academic skills development. Designing and delivering this support is rewarding, yet challenging, especially when students’ educational backgrounds are as diverse as the University of Bedfordshire’s. To date, the Professional and Academic Development (PAD) team has developed face-to-face workshops as one method of support and these are supplied per the requests of course teams and/or students. A review of this ‘on-demand provision’ has led to the creation of a tool that facilitates consideration of what academic skills are essential for progression. Though primarily aimed at assessing Foundation Year provision, the document can usefully be adapted to suit all levels of study, as skills are broken down into smaller elements which then transfer into learning outcomes that can be embedded into the curriculum. We invite discussion and feedback in this collaborative session to build student success through the innovation of enhanced practice.

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 3.5A - Analogies in Teaching: What have Liverpool FC and Manchester City to Do with Strategy?

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Markus Haag (Senior Lecturer in International Business, University of Bedfordshire Business School) 

Time: 14:00 - 14:20

Room: G225

This session aims to highlight the power of using analogies in the classroom to introduce students to a new academic concept. Some of the analogies used by Dr Markus Haag in the teaching of concepts such as strategy, market segmentation, critical thinking, and approaches to analysis will be introduced and explained. The analogies are all focusing on very common, everyday ideas and phenomena – this is precisely what makes them so powerful. Examples covered in the session are: Football to introduce strategy, Four Seasons Pizza to introduce market segmentation, and cricket to introduce critical thinking and analysis.

Parallel Session 3.5B - What is the point of assessments?

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Nenadi Adamu (Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Studies, School of Health and Social Sciences, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 14:25 - 14:45

Room: G225

Assessments in higher education remain a crucial method in which the student’s understanding and engagement with the course content continue to be measured. Evidence suggests that effective assessments must not only enhance the students’ learning, but it must also encourage the students to be able to recognize quality as well as improve their performance for future tasks (Bryan and Clegg, 2019). Some argue that because of the emphasis given to employability in the delivery of higher education, assessments are becoming increasingly simplistic and less innovative, leading to a fast-paced approach to studying, thus limiting student imagination and engagement. Drawing on the University of Bedfordshire’s curriculum framework Cre8, this presentation explores the rationale and strategy of assessing first-year students on the BA Health and Social Care degree, with a specific focus on one of the core 30 credit units. Using a Pecha Kucha presentation, I will look at the changes made to the unit and the written assessment and reflect on the outcome of the changes using student performance, asking the question: what is the point of assessments?

Room: outside G101, First Floor, Campus Centre

Coffee and refreshments are served 

No need to register for morning refreshments, just come along for tea, coffee, or a light snack. Please bring your own reusable cup or mug if possible.

Following this refreshment break, the help desk will relocate to the ground floor of the Postgraduate Centre.

Attend this session.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 4.1A - Technology Enhanced Learning: Reviewing Pedagogical and Functional VLE Requirements

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: David Pike (Head of Learning Technology, Digital Learning Systems University of Bedfordshire Business School) 

Time: 15:00 - 15:45

Room: P103

Digital tools are essential in the management of learning. Enhancing communication and collaboration between learners. This session provides an opportunity to review our current tools and practices, in addition to envisioning future digital technology needs in the context of our strategic priorities and ambitions for the future of teaching and learning.

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 4.2A - What is the point of assessments?

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Terry Lee (Senior Tutor in Radio and Audio, School of Arts and Creative Industries, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 15:00 - 15:20

Room: PM03

Podcasting is an increasingly fashionable tool in Higher Education. In this session, I will explain how I produce a podcast series about audio production. ‘Fantastic Noise’ mixes conversations with industry experts, discussions with students, and jargon-busting. It is now used as a learning resource, not just at the University of Bedfordshire, but at other Higher Education institutions too. The podcast series packages and distributes that content in themed episodes meaning the material is easily accessible to students with smartphones, smart-speakers and laptops whilst also showcasing the work of the University of Bedfordshire’s radio team to a wider, public audience. This presentation will target academics who may be interested in creating their own podcast for their own area of study but don’t know the best place to start.

Parallel Session 4.1B - Lecture capture at the University of Bedfordshire: Policy to practice

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Robert Payne (Digital Learning Development Officer, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 15:25 - 15:45

Room: G225

The audio-visual recording of taught sessions, or lecture capture, has become a common practice across the UK higher education sector. The University of Bedfordshire has recently expanded its provision of this facility, increasing the number of suitably equipped classrooms from 13 to 63. This paper, which marries traditional delivery and audience participation, presents the findings of an ongoing research project that aims to finalise the university’s draft lecture capture policy through an institution-wide staff survey and focus groups. I will begin by outlining how the policy has been revised based on feedback from staff, demonstrating the collaborative and collegiate approach to policy creation, evaluation and implementation that is at the heart of this project. In keeping with this theme, I will then lead a pedagogically oriented campfire session, seeking contributions from the audience about how they use, or would like to use, lecture capture in their teaching practice. Depending on the size of the audience, a Mentimeter/Padlet may be required to display contributions. This session will inform the design of a follow-up study of lecture capture practices, rather than policy, which will explore how UoB staff use capture, the thinking behind their choices, and the degree to which they generate student engagement and make learning happen.

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 4.3A - Interactive digital learning - best practises learned in lockdown on how to encourage active and cooperative engagement in lessons.

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Rebecca Harrop (Senior Lecturer in Cybersecurity, School of Computer Science and Technology, University of Bedfordshire)

Time: 15:00 - 15:20

Room: P106

The time for listening to an academic ‘drone-on’ from the front of a lecture hall have thankfully long-gone and most educators appreciate that to make a lecture interesting and engaging it is necessary to provide interaction. Such activities do not always translate well to large or online classrooms, yet the need for universities to be able to provide hybrid approaches has never been higher. This session aims to provide a demonstration of activities, for both online and in-person classrooms, to increase engagement using digital tools. There is also a review of higher-order thinking (evaluation, critical analysis, invention etc.) and how to encourage it in the classroom.

By the end of the session, attendees should have a better understanding of:

• How to avoid ‘death by PowerPoint’ and the ‘tumbleweed of silence’
• How to encourage engagement using digital resources
• Using Blackboard Collaborate and other digital tools to increase higher-order thinking
• How to get a class working together during presentations

Parallel Session 4.3B - Classroom Partnership: Student Voice and Representation

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Nat Falacinska (Student Engagement Coordinator, Beds SU)

Time: 15:25 - 15:45 

Room: P106 

This session will emphasise the role of student representation in furthering staff-student partnership and academic experience. It will explain the value of staff and course-level relationships in fostering the Student Voice and the role of the students’ union, and outline the ways and means of engaging with the Student Voice and representation. 

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 4.4A - Apprenticeships: Design, Delivery & Management from experience

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by:

• David Williams (Senior Tutor in Business, University of Bedfordshire Business School)
• Diane Richardson (Principal Lecturer Business Systems, University of Bedfordshire Business School)

Time: 15:00 - 15:20

Room: P107

The aim is to share the University of Bedfordshire Business School’s developed good practice in Business and Management apprenticeship design, promotion, delivery and management. In the 4 years since the University’s delivery of its first apprenticeship, experience has grown in what is needed for a successful apprenticeship.  

Conference delegates will learn of key design criteria in developing an apprenticeship, the promotion necessary, optimal delivery modes, proven apprentice support structures and recommended management practices. Delegates will be given a link to our interactive Digital Poster to explore all areas more fully.  

Parallel Session 4.4B - Positive Presentations: strategies to help students with presentations

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Kathie Pugh (Senior Lecturer (Cultural Industries), School of Arts and Creative Industries, University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 15:25 - 15:45 

Room: P107

Across a range of subject areas, students (and staff) can develop confident and engaging presentation skills arising from awareness of body language and vocal characteristics and nuances and the embodied knowledge of physical and verbal strategies. This will enhance presentation skills and increase employability. In this workshop, Kathie and her colleague demonstrator, Richard Mann will engage participants in games/tasks to increase self-awareness, and will demonstrate strategies for participants to try out and to use with students.

Attend one of these sessions.
Parallel sessions are offered on a first-come basis - no booking is necessary.

Parallel Session 4.5A -Practice-based learning: Marketing competitions created through Innovation and Enterprise projects

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by:

• Ioana Stoica (Lecturer in Marketing, University of Bedfordshire Business School) + Valeria Scutaru (Student)

Time: 15:00 - 15:20

Room: G225 

The pandemic and the digital nomad trends facilitated the development of new ways of learning through free courses and online content. Moreover, due to a highly competitive market, and a high number of people with one or multiple degrees, now more than ever, students are looking for more than just acquiring theoretical knowledge through their university degrees. This paper presents the new initiatives started in the Business School through which students were involved in practice-based learning through five marketing competitions (four extra-curricular and one embedded in the curriculum as part of an assessment). In these competitions, both UG and PG students replied to real-life briefs given by local businesses; helping the businesses with marketing consultancy, re-branding and social media content while having the chance to reflect on their learning journey in one of their assessments. The outcomes of the initiatives are narrated by Valeria Scutaru, a second-year student involved in some of the competitions. Her story is followed by a campfire exercise to open a debate on student skill development and how we can work with local businesses to enhance the curriculum, create relevant learning journeys for our students and improve research portfolios.

Parallel Session 4.5B - Higher Education practices to develop C21st competencies

This parallel session includes one presentation which will be followed by a Q&A and discussion.

Session chaired by: Diana Pritchard (Principal Curriculum Developer, Academy for Learning and Teaching Excellence, University of Bedfordshire) 

Time: 15:25 - 15:45 

Room: G225 

While the University’s Transforming Bedfordshire strategy commits to embed concerns for sustainability and the UN Sustainability Development Goals in our activities and provision, the Education and Student Experience Strategy seeks to embed these in learning and teaching. By so doing it aims to enhance the prospects and opportunities of students in their future professional, entrepreneurship and community work in the context of the dramatic changes and disruptions underway in our societies, climate and habitats. This participatory workshop, combining interactive group exercises with the presentation of findings from a global systematic review of higher education practices, will enable colleagues to explore the competencies required and the corresponding practices that serve to develop them. Initially, participants will brainstorm and rank key cognitive, behavioral and socio-communitive competencies. Informed by the pedagogic principle of constructive alignment - which calls for the adoption of education practices that are known to deliver specific learning and competencies - they will draw on their own understandings to then ‘match’ the competencies to the corresponding practices. Supplementary ‘props’, comprising lists of formal, informal and hidden practices being used elsewhere, will widen the scope of potential practices that can be incorporated into University provision. The session will close with the presentation of a summary table that represents practices being implemented globally, and evaluated for their impacts on the development of relevant 21st-century learning.

LOCATION: G101, First Floor, Campus Centre

ADSE Debate - It's Debatable!

Time: 16:00 - 16:45

Panel debate with: 

• Charles Birtwisle, Associate Dean Student Experience, Deans Office - EES
• John Reynolds, Associate Dean Student Experience, Deans Office - CATS
• Kellie Vincent, Associate Dean Student Experience, Deans Office - UBBS
• Caroline Reid, Associate Dean Student Experience, Deans Office - HSS

Conference Close

16:45 - 17:00

Dr Steve Briggs, Director of Learning and Teaching Excellence

We will draw the conference to a close with some final thoughts and reflections on the day.