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The additional labour of a disabled PhD student
For people with little or no experience of disability it may be easy to believe that disabled people get all the support they may need at University. There are systems in place which means their needs will be met and if they do face problems it’s down to the individual to be more flexible or…
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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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Easy targets: learning styles, ‘ability’ grouping and the politics of research use in education
This month saw the publication of a report into evidence-informed teaching written by a team from the SIOE with colleagues from Durham and UCL. The report highlights the difficulties teachers can have in assessing research quality, and this brings to mind recent complaints in the press about a lack of evidence-informed teaching. Schools are using a…
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In Defence of Alchemy – thoughts on the future of student engagement
Over tea the other night my husband, a maths teacher in Sheffield, told the story of his last period of the day with his nightmare Year 10 class. Suffice to say, seating plans had failed, engagement with the magic of number had not occurred and at one point a desk had been thrown. Inevitably, after…
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The Autism Definition Debate – Language Matters
Education is all about teaching and learning. Well, it should be all about teaching and learning, however, for all teachers to teach and all learners to learn, it must also be about equality of access. From my perspective, as a member of The Autism Centre, equality of access, through the genuine inclusion of autistic students…
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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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Guinness, Scandinavian noir and getting out more
Reaching the parts that others don’t reach SIOE has a global presence engaging with governments, universities, schools, students and lecturers across the planet. In the last year the Centre for Development and Research in Education (CDARE) led teacher professional and curriculum development in the EU (Chain Reaction, Engage, TEMI), Thailand, Malaysia, Ecuador, Ghana, the Philippines…
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University can feel like a hostile place to Muslim students
This blog was originally published on The Conversation British Muslims are among some of the most disadvantaged people living in the UK, and yet this is not a story many are familiar with. This is because despite the poverty, disadvantage and social immobility Muslims face, headlines that link the faith to crime or terrorism, or…
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A tale of two teachers: the importance of keeping a supply of great teachers for our region
It’s already March, and headteachers’, and trainee teachers’, thoughts are rapidly turning to next September. Before long, the adverts will be out, the shortlisting will be done and heads and trainees will be looking warily across a desk at each other, both thinking the same thing: do I want to work with you? Lots has…
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