Parallel Sessions

Chair: Professor Ruth Taylor, Vice-Principal (Education)

Panellists: 

• Kristina Benedikova (eLearning Support Assistant, Centre for Academic Development)
• Mailie Besson (TESTA Student Intern, School of Social Science)
• Emily Cleland (Teaching Assistant, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition)
• Laura Forero (eLearning Support Assistant, Centre for Academic Development)
• Jack Murray-Bird (eLearning Support Assistant, Centre for Academic Development)
• Brenna Quinton (PGR Student, School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture)

Collaboration and partnership between educators and students are at the heart of the current QAA Scotland Enhancement Theme, and co-creation of the curriculum is a powerful way to foster engagement and enhance the student experience. A panel of student interns, chaired by Professor Ruth Taylor, Vice-Principal (Education), shared their experiences and insights of working in different projects at the University. Their presentations were followed by an open discussion of the different approaches that can be taken to involve students in the development and delivery of their education. This was a valuable opportunity to hear from the student perspective and gain new ideas for incorporating co-creation in your own teaching practice.

Chair: Professor Kirsty Kiezebrink

Panellists:

• Dr Scott Allan (Lecturer, Business School)
• Felicia Ileladewa (Student Intern, Centre for Academic Development)
• Dr Shona Potts (Senior Lecturer, School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture)
• Dr Arabella Sinclair (Lecturer, School of Natural and Computing Sciences)

Academic integrity and assessment rigour remain a focal point in Higher Education, faced with recent threats from contract cheating websites and the growth of AI technologies. This interactive session offered a platform to explore ways to preserve a culture of honesty and integrity, ensuring the protection of our academic standards. Discussions covered effective assessment design to reduce academic misconduct, appropriate deterrents and approaches to preventing misconduct, and the responsible use of technology to foster a resilient learning community at the University of Aberdeen.

Chair: Professor Steve Tucker (Dean for Quality Assurance & Enhancement)

This interactive session explored some exciting and innovative Enhancement Theme Projects with short presentations from three project teams followed by a Q&A session:

1. a) Evaluating and Developing the Explicit Teaching of Assessment Skills for First Year Education Students - Faye Hendry, Dr John Mynott, School of Education with Student Interns Iona Berube and Georgie Smith
2.  
3. b) Standardised Assessment Rubrics – Help or Hindrance to Feed-Forward? - Dr Amudha Poobalan and Dr Leone Craig, School Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
4.  
5. c) Developing Resilience of Advanced Entry Students through Peer and Academic Support - Dr Heather Branigan, Dr Jacqui Hutchison, School of Psychology and Dr Sally Middleton, Access and Articulation Team

Chair: Dr Mary Pryor (Senior Academic Skills Advisor, Centre for Academic Development)

Panellists:

• Ewan Bottomley (Teaching Fellow, School of Psychology)
• Liam Brady (PGR Student, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition)
• Dr Rebecca Walker (Lecturer, School of Natural and Computing Sciences)
• Dr Jennifer Walklate (Lecturer, School of Social Science)

This interactive session focused on innovative feedback practices to enhance student engagement and learning. Panellists shared their experiences and insights on engaging students in the feedback process, as well as any innovative approaches to feedback that can improve student learning outcomes. The sharing of examples was followed by an open discussion.

Chair: Dr Will Barras (Lecturer, School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture)

Panellists:

• Elana Alatalo (Student Intern, Business School)
• Dr Monika Gostic (Teaching Fellow, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition)
• Dr Zeshu Shao (Teaching Fellow, School of Psychology)
• Dr Aaron Thom (Educational Development Adviser, Centre for Academic Development)

This session provided examples and best practices of inclusive assessment design and a discussion of ways to make assessments more accessible and flexible for students with diverse needs. This was a valuable opportunity to gain new ideas and insights on compassionate assessment practices that can benefit all students.

Chair: Dr Martin Barker (Senior Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences)

Panellists:

• Christopher Gray (Senior Lecturer, School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture)
• Dr Jacqui Hutchison (Lecturer, School of Psychology)
• Samu Turi (TESTA Student Intern, School of Natural and Computing Sciences)
• Dr Flurina Wartmann (Lecturer, School of Geosciences)

How can we design and implement assessment for learning as well as of learning? And how can we help students understand the assessment process so that they can engage in and benefit from it? This session explored the development of assessment literacies in both staff and students at the University of Aberdeen.