News Archive
A list of all the recent news items can be found below:
Exploring formative assessment in practice
This one day conference aims to provide an opportunity for staff from all departments to share practical ideas to enhance formative assessment in line with the current University enhancement theme.
All sessions are practice focused and include University of Kent case studies on formative assessment practice in the areas of self/peer assessment; group work; assessing practical skills and using journals/reflection. The use of technology to enhance formative assessment will also be discussed.
The keynote speaker is Berry O’Donovan[2], Deputy Director of Assessment Standards Knowledge Exchange CETL (ASKe) and Acting Head of Learning and Teaching at the Business School (Oxford Brookes). She is a University Teaching Fellow and an active researcher in pedagogy.
Who should attend? Teaching staff, programme or module leaders, Directors of Learning and Teaching, Heads of Department and any staff with an interest in formative assessment of HE students and the development of taught courses.
For more information see http://www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/ced/conference/2009/index.html[3]
This is a LearnHigher sponsored event for more information contact: : Judy Cohen[4]
National Teaching Fellowship Scheme Individual Awards 2008-09
£10,000 national teaching awards
Once again the University invites applications from colleagues for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme. Up to three individuals can be nominated for one of the 50 annual awards of £10.000, for work which makes an ‘outstanding impact on the student learning experience’. Michael Kölling of the Computing Laboratory was awarded a fellowship in last year’s competition; his colleague Sally Fincher, who had been successful in a previous NTFS round, was awarded project funding of £200,000. Kent now has five National Teaching Fellows. Applications for nomination must be received by Monday, 19 January 2009. Full details of the application process and the support and guidance available can be found on the Academic Practice Team webpages.
Labyrinth Week: 13th - 19th October, 2008
The new Canterbury Labyrinth, located behind Eliot College, will be launched this week and there are events every day to mark the occasion - for staff, students and the local community. Come and join us to find out more and experience a labyrinth walk for yourself.
The labyrinth will be formally launched on Friday 17 October at 4pm by Professor Julia Goodfellow, Vice Chancellor, when the University Council will visit the Labyrinth. Gather at the Labyrinth at 3.30pm and meet designer Jeff Saward and landscaper Andrew Wiggins.
Moodle Staff Survey
Deadline for completion: Tuesday, 21 October 2008
The first Moodle staff feedback survey has now been launched.
To view a copy of the latest ‘Meet Moodle’ document, access the Demonstration module and take part in the survey, please visit the Moodle pages of the e-learning website.
Your feedback will help inform future development and the planning of migration and training processes.
Work Begins on Labyrinth
15 July 2008
Work has now begun on the first labyrinth to be built on an English university campus. The University of Kent has commissioned researcher and designer Jeff Saward to construct the labyrinth, which will also be the first to be used as a teaching and learning resource. [More]
New National Teaching Fellow 2008
13 June 2008
The university is delighted to announce that Dr Michael Kölling of the Computing Laboratory has been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy. The award of £10,000 is in recognition of his innovative work on the BlueJ and Greenfoot systems, which are used both in the UK and abroad to enable students to learn programming using Java. [More]
NTFS Project Success for Senior Lecturer in Computing
3 June 2008
Congratulations to Sally Fincher, Senior Lecturer in Computing, who has been awarded £200,000 by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) for a 3-year National Teaching Fellowship project ‘To see ourselves as others see us: sharing and representing disciplinary classroom practice’. [More]
Writing Competition - win £100! What is Higher Education For?
Deadline: Tuesday, 30 September 2008
There is little consensus about the purpose of universities in 2008. Some argue universities should be training people for employment whilst others think they are for making model citizens. Where does this leave the pursuit of knowledge? What do you think Higher Education is for? A new writing competition open to all staff and students has been launched. [More]
Debating Higher Education: What is Higher Education For?
21 May 2008 at 12:30 - 2:00 pm in Keynes Lecture Theatre 2
Come and have your say at the first of a series of debates organised as a joint initiative between Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Kent. [More]
Assessment Symposium Thursday 22 May 2008 09:00 - 13:30
Keynote: Prof Sue Bloxham Head of Centre for Development of Learning and Teaching, University of Cumbria and co-author of Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education: a practical guide (Open University Press).
An opportunity for staff from all departments to share assessment ideas and practices initiated in response to the Assessment Enhancement Theme. [more]
Monday 10th March 10am-3pm (last entry 2pm) Upper Senate Chamber
An opportunity to walk the University's labyrinth. Come for a short introductory talk (every hour, on the hour, 10am–2pm), then walk the labyrinth and stay for as long as you wish.
All welcome. There are some restrictions to wheelchair access due to the nature of the labyrinth, but alternatives are available: Come and see what’s on offer.
Further enquiries to telephone ext. 4016.
Gender in academic departments: the Gender Audit model
On Thursday 6th March, colleagues from the Department of Politics and International Relations will report on the process of designing and conducting a gender audit within their own department – an initiative which was partially supported by the University’s Challenge Fund. [More]
Celebrating academics' achievement
Congratulations to a record number of lecturing staff who completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education in 2007. 96 full-time and part-time teaching staff were awarded the PGCHE. This is a tribute to their hard work and to the support of academic departments. It shows everyone's commitment to professional development and teaching generally. [More]
Reading Group
Thursday 21st February 12:15 – 2:00pm UELT seminar room.
The UELT Reading Group returns with a discussion on:
Overcoming the Barriers to Higher Education by Stephen Gorard et al. (Trentham Books: 2007). [More]
University Teaching Prize Winners 2007-2008
A record number of University staff have been awarded prizes for their work in teaching and and supporting learning. This year the value of the prizes was increased to £5000, and the quality of many of the submissions was outstanding. [More]
Audit and Enhancement
Thursday 7th February 12:15 - 2:00pm UELT seminar room
Julie Hall, Head of the LTEU at Roehampton University, will share her institution’s recent experience of the audit process and how ‘enhancement’ can be addressed in practical ways. [More]
Developmental and funding support for learning and teaching 2007/2008
Information for staff on opportunities for the current academic year.[More]
National Teaching Fellowship Scheme Individual Awards
2007-08
The NTFS awards 50 prizes of £10,000 each in recognition of individual achievement in teaching and learning. For more information.
Protecting and Managing your Voice
29 November 2007
Work schedules and deadlines high? New Students in, New Germs? Weather dull?
Is Your Voice Suffering- How do you know?
Peter Litman will lead a practical workshop on protecting and managing your voice through this busy term. The workshop is largely practical, so please wear comfortable clothes.
Peter Litman MPhil, MA, AHEA specialised in Voice in Education and is a PhD student in the Voice Science and Choral department of the Institute of Education, University of London.
This session is part of the Academic Practice Forum which runs regularly on Thursday lunchtimes, 12.15 and 2.00pm. A sandwich lunch will be provided to participants who book at least 2 days in advance. Other participants are welcome to bring their own lunch.
For further information, booking guidance and other events organised by UELT, please see November's Schedule.
How to get your programme approved
6 December 2007
The aim of this session is to inform participants of the programme approval process (in accordance with Annex C, Code of Practice) and to provide support for those writing module and programme specifications as well. Malcolm Dixon and Sarah Megson from the Quality Assurance and Validation office will lead the session. There will be an opportunity to draft and critique examples of module/programme specifications and to identify how the process can be expedited.
This session is aimed at members of staff involved in developing new programmes of study, as well as Directors of Learning and Teaching. For more information contact Malcolm Dixon.
This session is part of the Academic Practice Forum which runs regularly on Thursday lunchtimes, 12.15 and 2.00pm. A sandwich lunch will be provided to participants who book at least 2 days in advance. Other participants are welcome to bring their own lunch.
For further information, booking guidance and other events organised by UELT, please see December's Schedule.
UELT Programme of Events - Week commencing 29 October
25 October 2007
Preparing for Periodic Programme Review - 1 November. The aim of this session is to guide participants through the stages of PPR from departmental preparations, to conducting the vist and then writing and approving the report. This week also sees the continuation of sessions on various aspects of the use of WebCT and the weekly Turnitin & WebCT drop-in sessions. October Events
Contact: B.A.Criddle@kent.ac.uk
UELT Programme of Events – Week commencing 22 October
19 October 2007
Wednesday 24 October – Drop-in: Turnitin & WebCT - Drop in session to ask specific or general questions about using Turnitin or WebCT. Booking not essential.
Thursday 25 October – Briefing for PGCHE mentors - This session will briefly review the roles and responsibilities of academic colleagues acting as mentors for PGCHE participants. It will also provide an opportunity for mentors to raise questions about the role. Booking required. October Events
Contact: S.B.Gatward@kent.ac.uk