Parallel Sessions 7: 13.00 – 14.00

WORKSHOPS (60 minutes)

Increasing neurodiversity awareness through a Community of Practice

Jennie Dettmer and Karen Welton

University of Hertfordshire and Arts University Plymouth

Wild card session

Abstract:

During this wildcard session, we will present the journey of the ALDinHE Neurodiversity/Inclusivity Community of Practice (CoP) up to the present time and invite new members to join. This will include why the CoP was set up, what we have achieved during our two years of meetings and the exciting future work of the group in relation to increasing awareness of neurodiversity through a resource bank to be hosted on the ALDinHE website. Participants will also have the opportunity to reflect on their knowledge of neurodiversity, their institution’s training on neurodiversity and how they might benefit from access to additional training and/or resources.

An awareness of neurodiversity is important for all educators as there has been an increase in the number of neurodivergent students accessing Higher Education (HE) in recent years (HESA, 2022). One of the main reasons behind this increase is the Widening Participation (WP) initiatives of institutions (Office for Students, 2022). Additionally, under the Equality Act 2010, institutions are legally obligated to create inclusive learning environments for their students from the outset (Equality Challenge Unit, 2010), and this emphasis has increased since Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for certain individual reasonable adjustments was removed (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2014).

Communities of Practice are ‘socially configured spaces that necessarily involve learning as an aspect of membership’ (Tummons, 2018, p.4). Through provocation, discussions and the analysis of lived experience, the Neurodiversity/Inclusivity CoP members have gained valuable insights and enhanced their knowledge leading to a more developed practice; we invite you to do the same during this session.

References

BIS (2014) Higher education: student support: changes to Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA).Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/higher-education-student-support-changes-to-disabled-students-allowances-dsa (Accessed: 2 March 2023).

Equality Challenge Unit (2010) Managing reasonable adjustments in higher education. Available at: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/ecu/managing-reasonable-adjustments-in-higher-education_1578587125.pdf (Accessed: 2 March 2023).

HESA (2022) Table 15 – UK domiciled student enrolments by disability and sex 2014/15 to 2020/21. Available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-15 (Accessed: 2 March 2023)

OfS (2022a) Our approach to access and participation. Available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/promoting-equal-opportunities/our-approach-to-access-and-participation/ (Accessed: 20 December 2022).

Tummons, J. (2018). Learning architectures in higher education: Beyond communities of 

practice. UK: Bloomsbury.

Location: Portland Building 1.44

Making an impact through sketchnoting – bringing the visuals to the table

Anne-Kathrin Reck

University of Portsmouth

Abstract:

WE ARE VISUAL creatures and today flooded by a never-ending stream of information. What to do about improving our visual literacy? Sketchnoting is one answer to this dilemma. It is an innovative form of notetaking with visuals that support critical thinking and document learning. It is based on dual coding of visual and verbal information that reinforces comprehension, retrieval and fully engages the brain (Paivio, 1971, Sadoski and Paivio, 2012). Sketchnotes (SN) are characterised by the combined use of handwriting, icons, containers, colour and layout, all enhanced through visual storytelling.

THIS WORKSHOP will encourage participants to take (for some) their first steps into the world of sketchnoting in a non-threatening environment. The technique can best be taught by making clear the skills involved, highlighting processes applied, what materials to use and, last but not least, dedicated playful practice. Sketchnoting will offer new ways of engaging staff as well as students in critically revisiting skills topics with notemaking at its core. We assure that gaining valuable practice in using a basic visual vocabulary and applying concepts will alleviate any fear of not being able to draw.

THE TERM SKETCHNOTING was first coined by designer Mike Rohde in 2006, who got bored, in his own words, of tedious verbatim notetaking during conferences (Rohde, 2012). The technique was further developed by David Sibbet (2010) in business contexts and Sunni Brown (2011), as evident in her trailblazing TED talk ‘Doodlers Unite!’. It has subsequently taken the world by storm. This engaging type of notetaking and -making is an extension or addition to already existing practices like the Cornell method, mindmapping or concept mapping.

DRAWING BEFORE final-draft writing clearly improves outcomes (Adoniou, 2013). Thus, sketchnoting is a powerful communication tool for generating ideas, goal setting, problem solving in a group setting and mapping out thoughts to name a few.  SN will benefit students by strengthening their sense of belonging through increased meaning making and active participation. Not only can sketchnoting be used in face to face sessions, an initiative like a ‘sketchnote club’ could encourage students to come together and show&tell their notes with others. This increases feelings of socio-cultural as well as place belonging (Antonsich, 2010) to their faculty cohort and place of learning.

PARTICIPANTS WILL be encouraged to fight their imagined fear of drawing by learning basic SN techniques on the day. Hopefully, they will take away fresh ideas for their own practice as well as a take-home example drawn in the workshop. Bartram (2022) reflected that even LDers need to be more encouraged to be open and aware of their own visual literacy!

References

Adoniou, M. (2013) Drawing to Support Writing in English Language Learners, Language and Education, 27 (3), pp. 261-277.  DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2012.704047

Antonsich, M. (2010) Searching for Belonging. An Analytical Framework. Geography Compass 4(6), pp. 644-659.

Bartram, J. (2022) Bridges and Barriers to Developing Visual Literacy, in Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25, ALDinHE Conference Proceedings and Reflections.

Brown, S. (2011) Doodlers Unite!, TED talk,           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fx0QcHyrFk.

Brown, S. (2014) The Doodle Revolution. Unlocking the Power to Think Differently, Portfolio/ Penguin.

Caviglioli, O. (2019) Dual Coding with Teachers, John Catt.

Drawing to learn (2022), https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/visuallearning/drawing/.

Mills, E. (2019) The art of visual notetaking, Quarto Publishing Group, Inc.

Molodecky, I. (2022) Chapter2 How Drawing Enhances Learning for Business Students, in Kędra, J. (Ed.) Visual Pedagogies in Higher Education, Between Theory and Practice, pp.47- 66, Brill.

Nørgaard, M. (2017). Can you picture this? Instructions for using Sketchnotes to help novices improve their design sketching skills. In 10th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, Spain.

Paivio, A. (1971) Imagery and Verbal Processes, Holt, Rhinehart and Winston.

Rohde, M. (2012) The Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note taking, Peachpit Press.

Sadoski, M. and Paivio, A. (2012) Imagery and Text: A Dual Coding Theory of Reading and Writing, Taylor & Francis.

Scriberia (2017) How to Draw Anything, Quercus.

Sibbet, D. (2010) Visual Meetings: How Graphics, sticky notes and idea mapping can transform group productivity, John Wiley & Sons.

Wammes, J.D, Meade, M.E. and Fernandes, M.A. (2016) The Drawing Effect: Evidence for reliable and robust memory benefits in free recall, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69 (9), pp.1 – 62.

Session outline

Intro – 5 min

  • Background, purpose, possibilities; the verbal and the visual

Warm-up – 10 min

  • Activity 1

Expand – 20 min

  • Telling a visual story

Activity 2

  • Representations (using story-cubes)

Main Activity 2 – 15 min

  • Creating a take-home template. Participants will be given a choice to produce a take home sketchnote for their own practice from a body of templates.

Discussion & Outro – 10 min

  • The potential impact of SN on our practice

Location: Portland Building 1.66

Academic Integrity and the role of Learning Development

Ed Bickle, Stephanie Allen, Marian Mayer

Bournemouth University

Abstract:

Learning Development (LD) is a supportive function within an educational environment. Learning Developers walk alongside students to develop academic skills and practice, and guide individuals throughout their academic journey through a variety of empowering approaches. One such function is raising awareness of academic integrity within academia and the role individuals can play to uphold it. Academic integrity is concerned with six key principles: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage (ICAI 2021).

Across the UK, many institutions and Learning Development practitioners have designed and delivered courses, quizzes, tutorials, and events to promote academic integrity. These range from whole institution activities through piecemeal touchpoints. Academic integrity sessions are designed to encourage individual and original work, building on the shoulder of others, giving credit where due and avoiding plagiarism and unfair practice.

Emerging from a global pandemic and experiencing a technological revolution, such as ChatGPT3, in this brave new rapidly expanding digital world, several questions arise:

What is the role of learning developers in assessment design? 

What is the role of learning developers in academic offences panels?

What training do learning developers need?

How can Learning Development take leadership in promoting academic integrity?

What forms of collaborative cross institutional research on academic integrity would be advantageous?

This workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to discuss the role of LD within the ever-developing world of academic integrity. Following a quick-fire quiz, participants will have the opportunity to work in small groups. Each group will be assigned one of the above questions in order to contribute to a 5-point action plan for how LD can be at the forefront of the academic integrity agenda. Participants will take away ideas with them that they could apply within their own role and teams.

References

ICAI, 2021. The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity. Third edition. NY: International Center for Academic Integrity.

Session outline

10 minutes: Introduction to the growing complexity of academic integrity

10 minutes: Quick-fire quiz

25 mins: Interactive session in small groups to create a 5-point action plan for how LD can be at the forefront of the academic integrity agenda.

15 mins: Group discussion

Location: Portland Building 2.33a

Apps in LD: gifts or gimmicks?

Amy West

University of Northampton

Wild card session

Abstract:

In ‘one-shot’ Learning Development (LD) teaching, how much space is there for using apps (and similar technologies) creatively? Can they further students’ understanding and enable active learning within workshops; is there even potential for using them in tutorials? What barriers are there to their use, how could we remove these, and indeed should we – is there enough to be gained or are they just a gimmick?

This Wild Card session is an opportunity to collaboratively explore the potential of a selection of apps and technologies which are used in other areas of education, and consider whether they can augment provision in LD. The apps and programmes chosen for this session were used in an international Erasmus+ research project, which worked with lecturers, teachers, students, and school children (Digital Learning Across Boundaries: Developing Changemakers (DLAB), 2017-2022). Their strengths and limitations were observed in use by these groups; this session looks to evaluate how they might be applied in the LD world. We will review benefits and barriers to their use in an LD context, considering how we might maximise any usefulness, and contend with limitations or concerns. We will explore how they might support transition through familiarity and links with previous education experiences, and whether the activities which use them might impact on belonging. Participants will be encouraged to evaluate and share their thoughts on the apps, and collectively we will generate a resource of ideas as to their use in LD. This resource can then be shared and drawn on by others.

References

Digital Learning Across Boundaries: Developing Changemakers (DLAB) (2017-2022) DLAB. DLAB [online]. Available from: https://mypad.northampton.ac.uk/dlaberasmus/ [Accessed 03/01/23].

Location: Portland Building 2.33b

A manifesto for the metaverse: opportunities and challenges for learning development

Carina Buckley, Debbie Holley and Lee Fallin

Solent University, Bournemouth University, and University of Hull

Abstract:

Drawing upon a section of the co-created Learning Development (LD) Manifesto (ALDinHE, 2018), in this workshop we invite participants to come and be creative – and imagine beyond what Learning Developers do now into what they may do in the future, inspired by the metaverse. The metaverse is a science fiction hypothetical iteration from the book ‘Snow Crash’ (Stephenson, 1992) set in a near future where the global political structure has collapsed (!), a tiny number of super-corporations control most aspects of life, and the rich spend their time in the metaverse (Ball, 2022).

Today the metaverse is the Facebook-owned platform Meta, which Mark Zuckerberg (2021) explains as “an embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it”. Rather than our current 2D, screen-based internet, the metaverse will be a 3D virtual space, accessed by either a VR headset or AR (augmented reality) glasses, which superimpose a layer of digital information on top of the visible world. What impact might this have on LD practices, knowledge and beliefs? The metaverse is highly contentious, and we invite Learning Developers to take the challenge and look to possible futures and their potential value to the sector. The educational possibilities of the metaverse will build from the UNESCO (2022) ‘Reimagining education’ discussion paper.

There is also a need to focus the conversation on the ethics of the metaverse (Fielding, 2021), to consider how we can embed safety, privacy and inclusion at the core. It is fair to argue that these values closely align with LD, yet in the metaverse there is the potential for violence, harassment, isolation and bullying. How can we promote and enhance equality, diversity and inclusion in this space?

We will invite participants (who will work in teams) to co-create a #Take5 blogpost with us from our mapping and debates.

No technology is needed for the session, and no previous knowledge of the metaverse 

Our manifesto

What does Learning Development do? 

  • It contextualises, embeds and maps knowledge, and contributes to learning gain 
  • It teaches how to learn and scaffolds learning 
  • It widens opportunity, not participation; it can trouble what we mean by participation 
  • It infiltrates throughout the university and operates in a 3rd space, connecting and 
  • collaborating with the wider community 
  • It works with the hidden curriculum 
  • It legitimises the different forms of knowledge our students have 
  • It levels the playing field and widens the academy 

References: 

ALDinHE (2018) Manifesto for Learning Development. Education, Association for Learning

Development in Higher Education. Available online:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KJnC7e2l5xnA44FWsOxaKkKNx4SQKlX2/view [Accessed

19/04/2022].

Ball, M. (2022) The metaverse: and how it will revolutionize everything. Liveright Publishing. 

Fielding, M. (2021) The Ethics of the Metaverse [Medium]. Available online:

https://medium.com/enjinstarter/the-ethics-of-the-metaverse-b532143cd4ef [Accessed

02/03/2023].

Stephenson, N. (2003) Snow crash: A novel. Spectra. 

UNESCO MGIEP (2022) Reimaging education: The International Science and Evidence based Educational Assessment. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP). Available online: https://mgiep.unesco.org/iseeareport [Accessed

02/03/2023].

Zuckerberg, M. (2021) Founder’s Letter, 2021. Available online:

https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/founders-letter/ [Accessed 02/03/2023].

Session outline

Introduction, terms and short video (10 mins) 

Stage 1: Ranking exercise of which aspects of EDI best map to the metaverse (10 minutes) 

Stage 2: Teams work on individual aspects and map onto a poster template, which will be pre-printed with guidance (30 minutes) 

Stage 3: Share and discuss (15 minutes) 

Takeaways

Delegates will:

  • Gain a better understanding of the metaverse and the opportunities it may present for Learning Development.
  • They will contribute to the workshop outputs via discussion and carefully scaffolded activities concluding with a poster.
  • These will be shared with the wider community via #Take5 and participants will be listed as contributors and invited to contribute a poster narrative (unless they opt out).

Location: Portland Building 1.51

Assignments are getting more visual – introducing strategies for developing visual literacy in our students

Jacqui Bartram

University of Hull

Abstract:

For decades (even centuries), university has been dominated by text-based assessments. However, things are changing. With the massive increase in visual communication in society, and with an acknowledgement that diverse assessments allow a more diverse student body to thrive, there is a gradual, but noticeable, increase in visually-rich assessment types being set. Whilst traditional academic presentations and posters have the potential to develop some basic visual communication skills, assessments such as infographics, blogs, magazine articles, and posters aimed at the general public, require higher levels of visual literacy. This means learning developers may need to improve their own strategies for supporting students with such assignments and ensure that our practices allow all students, especially those who struggle with text-based assessments, to shine (see Bartram, 2021).

Following on from calls at the last conference for practical ways to develop visual literacy, this workshop has been designed to introduce some tried and tested learning development activities that can support the development of the practices and approaches needed when undertaking visually-rich assignments. The activities consider the Framework for visual literacy (ACRL, 2022), specifically helping students:

be aware that they are participating in a changing visual environment,

understand how images can communicate information both effectively and affectively,

approach images with criticality,

work with images sensitively and ethically.

The workshop will also provide opportunities for more experienced participants to share ideas and activities that they have already used that develop any of the knowledge practices and dispositions from the Framework. In addition, we will brainstorm new ways that these can be incorporated into our general learning development practices. Both participants who are new to developing visual literacy, and those who are already involved in this area should therefore takeaway new ideas to try in their own context.

References

ACRL (2022) The framework for visual literacy in higher education. Available online: https://acrl.libguides.com/IRIG/frameworkforvisualliteracy [Accessed 11/01/2023].

Bartram, J. A. (2021) Bridges and barriers to developing visual literacy in UK undergraduate students. EdD Thesis. University of Hull, March 2021. Available online: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223611/ [Accessed 02/03/2022].

Session outline

10- minute activity

  • Introductions via an image-based icebreaker.
  • Explanation of how this has been used with different groups of students.

Outcomes

  • Learn a bit about each other and understand how photographs can be used to elicit conversation

30-minute activity (2×15 mins)

A look at two different activities that can be used in teaching sessions. Participants will swap halfway.

  1. Designing a poster for public rather than academic dissemination
  2. Finding, citing and/or acknowledging images for different purposes

Outcomes

  • Participants can experience (and critique) some ways of developing visual literacy that should be relevant in a wide number of contexts.

20-minute activity

Sharing existing and new ideas:

Looking at ‘traditional’ learning development topics and exploring ways that these can be approached more visually in order to incorporate visual literacy development – enabling both the sharing of existing strategies (including things learned in the earlier activities) and the brainstorming of some new ones.

Outcomes

  • We can all go away with several ideas to take back and try in our own contexts.

Location: Portland Building 1.67

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