Two of our PGT students, Emma Whitely from MPH and Krishna Priya from Global Health, attended the African Healthcare Hackathon in London in February this year.
This is a wonderful opportunity for our own students, not only to get to know students from other programmes but also to meet other students across the UK.
Here is what they said
“It was an amazing opportunity to network with global health professionals and enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and students from all across the country. We were exposed to real global health issues and learnt how to work in a team in order to tackle them practically. It was a great learning experience which really pushed us out of our comfort zone.”
10th Annual Academic Development Symposium - Kirsty Kiezebrink
26th April 2018
Evidence for Enhancement: Improving the Student Experience
Workshop – The use of digital technology to support flexible learning.
15th QAA Enhancement Conference, Glasgow - Kirsty Kiezebrink
7th June 2018
The use of digital technology to support flexible learning.
Abstract: The majority of universities are investing a great deal of resources into creation of digital enhanced learning (DEL) environments. This study looks at what additional “resources” are required to maximise the potential of these facilities both in terms of support for staff to facilitate improvements in teaching delivery and for students in terms of ensuring that the focus remains on the student learning experience as opposed to the use of the technology. We carried out a cohort study looking at 3 groups of students who were taught in parallel using a new DEL space. Group 1 were face to face students who attended the space in person and group 2 were distance learning students who attended the space via digital link ups, group 3 were given the freedom to self-select between attending in person or online each week. The teaching was delivered as flipped classroom style for all students and where possible no distinction was made between face to face or online students. We have evaluated the experiences of students and staff through both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods to identify which aspects of the DEL truly enhanced the learning and which in their current form detracted. This study aims to generate discussion about what further investment is required to support students learning experience whilst maximising the facilities available.
Two line summary: How do staff and students engage with the virtual learning environment and digital technology to enable them to maximise their learning opportunities.
Keyword: VLEs, Online learning, distributive learning, digital technology, independent students.
Key messages: Digital technology can allow students and staff a more flexible approach to the learning experience. To maximise the potential of these facilities requires a shift in mind set of both parties. Start with small steps and gradually grow your confidence with the technology…you don’t need to be a computer whiz kid to use technology to enhance teaching.
Annual Teaching and Learning Network – Kirsty Kiezebrink
28th November 2018
Student Experiences: Using Technology to Support Learning and Engagement
There is a view that the modern student is totally comfortable with the use of digital media. For many students (and educators) this proves not to be the case, which can result in the technology being an additional hurdle to enabling learning. This session will explore some of the technology which is being successfully used within Higher education and share experiences of how we can support students to engage with technology to enhance their learning experience and their transferrable skills.
Learning and Teaching Network – Lynsey Christie
6th February 2019
Student and staff expectations for effective feedback – do they match?
We are frequently advised that students do not receive enough feedback and respond by spending increased time completing rubrics and detailing as much justification as possible for the grades we give, only for many students to make the same mistakes next time. So why don’t they read it and apply it if they want it? Do students really want more, or do they want something different then what they get? What is effective feedback and do students and staff have the same answers to this question? This session will explore some of these ideas based on sessions run with both PGT students and staff.
Workshop, Annual Academic Development Symposium University of Aberdeen - Amudha Poobalan, Lynsey Christie, Leone Craig & Heather Morgan
April 2019
Enhanced student support through sociocultural coaching for transitioning postgraduate students. 11th Annual Academic Development Symposium.
Poster Presentation, Annual Academic Development Symposium University of Aberdeen - A Poobalan, J Barrow, I Doig, K Foster & J Cleland
April 2019
Transitioning to postgraduate education – Do they really need support? 10th Annual Academic Development Symposium, University of Aberdeen
Online Education Forum – Kirsty Kiezebrink
November 2019
Early identification and appropriate interventions for disengagement for online learners.
For face to face delivery of teaching we have a good systems in place for early identification and interventions systems to combat student disengagement. However this is an example where something which is tried and tested for face to face, does not immediately seem to translate to an equivalent for online or blended. In this workshop we will explore what behaviours are observable and provide robust indicators of disengagement as well as what mechanisms we can put in place to support students. Please come willing to share your experiences as this presentation will not come with the answers to this complex problem but hopefully through our discussion we can begin to identify possible solutions together.