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In this section you will find a wide-range of advice and guidance on a variety of learning, teaching and assessment topics. This section will be regularly updated and presently contains resources which address accessibility; assessment; feedback; peer observation; plagiarism and academic honesty; PDP; using and making podcasts; teaching in lecture theatres and writing skills.

Accessibility: Designing an Accessible Curriculum

Accessibility is about ensuring that all students have access to the learning, teaching and assessment practice they are entitled to. With a little adjustment, learning and teaching materials and resources can be created which significantly improve the accessibility of the curriculum. TeachInclusive, our inclusion and diversity website, contains lots of guidance and tips. We have created a short video which describes how to create accessible documents how to create accessible documents, and we can give advice and guidance for creating accessible web environments (.pdf).

Assessment

In order to ensure appropriate assessment, lecturers need to understand what needs to be assessed; how it should be assessed; and the level to which it should be assessed. Assessment is a huge topic, however we are creating a number of short videos addressing key aspects of assessment short videos addressing key aspects of assessment including understanding the Modular Definition Form (MDF) and understanding Levels of Assessment.

Using Audio

Using AV & Media in the Classroom

Feedback: giving effective feedback to students

Good, effective feedback is key to student learning and satisfaction. The most common forms of feedback are 'formative' feedback, by which students are given feedback which helps them to improve; and 'summative' feedback, by which students are given feedback on their performance in an assessment. Students need to receive effective feedback, and need to know that they are receiving feedback. Our reports on assessment feedback practice (.doc) in our University identify the constituents of effective summative feedback. Our assessment feedback video shows a focus group of students discussing aspects of assessment feedback.

Peer observation

In our University, the Peer Observation system for academic staff is designed to enable staff to reflect on their practice in ways that are supportive rather than judgemental, in the belief that this will allow staff to engage wholeheartedly and openly in the process of self-critical reflection. The process of continuous improvement to practice resulting from this and other self-development activity should result in enhanced job satisfaction for staff and high quality learning for students. Further information and forms are available at the HR Staff Area.

Personal Development Planning (PDP): Ideas for Assessment

It is generally accepted that if students are not assessed in some way on their PDP activity they are unlikely to take it seriously. Assessment can be either graded or ungraded and can be either integrated with another piece of assessment or a separate task. It may also be useful to indicate how the assessment relates to the module outcomes. Assessing PDP (.doc) offers some suggestions of ways in which PDP can be assessed.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is one of a number of offences against academic honesty which include cheating and collusion. At our University we take a formative approach to assisting students to work with academic honesty. Further information on our approach is available in our guide to Academic Honesty and resources.

Podcasts

The use of podcasts is becoming increasingly common in higher education. For example, podcasts can be used to bring a human aspect to giving feedback to students when it is not possible to meet in person; they can be uploaded to the VLE to allow students to listen again to key parts of your lecture; and they can be downloaded onto portable devices (mp3players/iPods) for anytime, any place listening. For a brief overview of how to use this technology visit Exploiting the Educational Potential of Podcasting and view our series of short instructive videos on making your own podcast videos on making your own podcast.

Write a lot better

Write a lot better (.pdf) is intended to be useful to academics and to postgraduate students who want to ‘write a lot better’. It looks at ways of improving writing skills, both maintaining writing quality and at the same time increasing the quantity of output.