Category: Uncategorized
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THIS LGBT HISTORY MONTH LET’S REMEMBER THE DIVERSITY OF LGBT PEOPLE
How often have you heard someone talk about ‘the heterosexual community’? Rarely or never, I would guess, but the phrase ‘LGBT community’ is frequently used by policy-makers, service providers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people themselves, particularly during February, which is LGBT history month. So what understandings and experiences does that phrase conjure…
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Epistemic justice: is this what universities are for?
In an era in which the credibility and confidence in knowledge is under attack, the idea that ‘powerful knowledge’ (Young, 2008) might provide reliable explanations, as well as the basis for suggesting realistic alternatives to the status quo operating in society, raises a number of questions for teachers and curriculum developers. Knowledge that is powerful,…
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Time is a great healer: how can academics contribute to students’ mental wellbeing?
Every day at work is a race against the clock and in my case, the clock often wins! There was a time (excuse the pun) when this caused me no end of stress and anxiety, but not anymore…. Why? Because I’ve learnt through experience that nothing horrendous happens as a result. More importantly, I’ve developed…
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Of writing, wardrobes and windows
In the coming months, we (Lisa and Karen) between us will write a research bid, an ethics application form, research articles, responses to reviewer comments, an SFHEA application, emails, module guides, and now, a blog post….a dizzying array of genres, each calling for different language choices and rhetoric if we are to achieve our communicative…
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Marking to fail or facilitating success? Could understanding marking improve how feedback is perceived?
I was recently team-teaching and my colleague was speaking to our students about how they should use the Module Learning Outcomes and Pass Descriptors to inform their work and used the phrase “allowing you to experience success”. There was a slight buzz of conversation in the room and I overheard a few students muttering ‘I…
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PISA: Stories of Science
A couple of weeks ago the results of the latest PISA global education survey were released. The PISA survey happens every three years, and measures the skills and knowledge of 28 million 15-year-olds across the world in science, mathematics, reading, problem solving and financial literacy. PISA is seen as a vital measure of education policy. …
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Let’s make it a happy Christmas for disabled families
It has recently been reported in the media that 28000 low income families who care for a disabled child have been underpaid via tax credits since 2011. For the poorest and most challenged families this means a total loss in income of £20000. The money was not paid to families in part because of a…
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A good day to write ‘that’ blog
Today seems like a good day to write ‘that’ blog. As the Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WiSET) twitter feed pings away after a busy day at the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) conference yesterday, the mixed feelings I have about the direction of travel in the gender equality in STEM (Science, Technology,…
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Warning: May contain nuts. The role of lectures in student learning
It was about fifteen minutes after take-off and I was offered a thimble full of diet Coke and a postage stamp size packet of peanuts. Despite the minuscule size of the packet of peanuts, emblazoned across it was the statement ‘Warning: may contain nuts’. This worried me on two levels: firstly as a packet of…
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Is Friendship Something that can be Taught in Schools?
This is the question that both a New York magazine and a Dublin radio show were eager to ask me after the recent publication of my research article in the International Journal of Early Years Education titled ‘A Pedagogy of Friendship: young children’s friendship and how schools can support them’. This study followed seven children…