Programme Leader Symposium success
On Wednesday 17th May, LALT hosted the first Programme Leader Symposium on the Brayford Campus.
We welcomed over 50 Programme Leaders from across the University, who came together to network, share good practice, and gain advice and guidance on their role.
'I thought the whole thing was really good and that it was very well organised. It ran really smoothly. I thought that all the speakers were very well prepared. They were very engaging and the subject matter was all relevant'
We hope to run this event annually, and we thank all those who presented and attended on the day.
Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Conference
On Wednesday 7th June, we hosted the first annual Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Conference.
The conference served as a platform to explore the new Teaching, Learning and Student Experience strategy, and provided an opportunity for colleagues to come together to share expertise and best practice.
In alignment with the successful implementation of the new strategy, the conference was split into four themes: Curriculum for LIFE, Diverse Delivery, Sense of Belonging, and Student Success. There were 29 presentations on these topics lead by staff across the university, as well as a Student Panel Session.
'The organisation, communication, and support were amazing. I really enjoyed that it was a university-wide event, as it helps to see what colleagues in other disciplines teach and research. It is so much more interesting, collaborative, and engaging.'
'Thank you for organising such a positive day. I have been particularly reflecting on how I will use the strategy to support my teaching and student's leaning in the future. The wheel is very accessible (and visually appealing!) and I would like to use it to support my planning for UG modules. Thank you, again, for all the hard work that has clearly been put into the strategy and also the conference.'
Please use the button below to access the Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Strategy.
Sense of Belonging Taskforce
To support the implementation of the Teaching, Learning and Student Experience (TLSE) Strategy, we have established a Sense of Belonging Taskforce, which will draw together various areas of activity relating to student engagement.
The task force will assist the development of the new Student as Producer 2.0 model, which will develop opportunities for engagement and participation within and outside the curriculum, and enable students to hold a valued role in the community at UoL.
The group consists of representatives from across the university including International, Student Services and Wellbeing, Student Experience, the SU, Directors of Education, School Directors of Teaching and Learning, Student Engagement Leads, Programme Leaders, OQSP, and Internal Communications.
Through this working group, current progress is being made on the following projects:
- Student as Producer 2.0
- Student Futures Manifesto in partnership with the SU
- IMPact e-Journal student edition
- Collaborative Coaching Scheme
- New UROS scheme
- Student Teaching and Support Panel
- International - developments for the diversification of cohort
Year 1 and Year 2 Survey outcome
The University launched a programme-level survey for all Year 1 and Year 2 students earlier on this year to help us gather intelligence on students' satisfaction levels during their university experience. The question set was carefully considered through consultation within a working group of representatives from both professional service and academic staff across the university.
LALT has now evaluated the data gathered, and prepared an Excel document for quantitative data and a further document for summative qualitative data. This is available on the LALT Hub page below.
We have thematically grouped results into Teaching on my Course, Assessment and Feedback, Academic Support, Student Voice, Learning Opportunities, Organisation and Management, Access to Learning Resources, Personal Development, Professional Services, Estates, Digital, Placements, Knowledge Exchange, and Overall Satisfaction.
In anticipation of NSS-style terminology, the survey used Positivity Measure instead of Percentage Agree (although this is calculated in the same way). We only included individual Programme Level Results where at least five students have taken part.
Update on Student Futures Manifesto
The manifesto connects Universities and the UPP Student Futures Commission, as joint partners, in developing support offered to students to build their sense of belonging following the pandemic. It is a commitment to enhance and facilitate a series of support mechanisms to make positive contributions to student experiences.
Students taking on the Student Futures Manifesto (SFM) Student Consultant role are paired with staff mentors, and have had regular meetings to discuss specific themes, roles, and suggested recommendations.
Student Consultants developed a SFM survey to ascertain levels of understanding about support offered for students at UoL. In response, they have also produced a summary of key services/resources of the themes that were collated, which identified and signposted key links. They are now looking at key points for development on information gathering, communication methods, and measuring impact.
The final manifesto will take the form of a report provided by each Student Consultant, outlining the changes they have identified, how they should be delivered, and how they will be measured/reviewed. The project team for SFM will work collaboratively to formulate the final manifesto disseminated on the SFM website, presenting a set of institutional commitments to key areas from each theme.
Academic Induction - 14/15 September 2023
From September 2023, LALT will introduce a new teacher-focused induction package for all new academic starters who teach at the University. Designed to complement the Lincoln Welcome, this intensive CPD will support new starters to get going when delivering in teaching spaces.
The plan is for a new mandatory induction programme, which has been developed for all new teaching staff at UoL. The programme has been designed as two days of CPD and networking opportunities for staff. This support is to accompany the current induction delivered through PPC (the Lincoln Welcome). The induction programme/CPD provides an introduction to teaching and learning at Lincoln, explored through core themes to support their localised induction delivered by their School/Department.
Themes include:
- Personal Tutoring
- Quality
- Student Support
- Staff Development
- Technology enhanced learning
- Student as Producer
- Active Learning
- Inclusive practice
- Navigating institutional practice
- Embedding Employability
- Assessment
- Action Planning
- International
- Students' Union
If you have any questions regarding the induction package, please contact lalt@lincoln.ac.uk.
Academic Development
HEA Celebration Event
On Thursday 18th May, LALT invited everyone who gained HEA fellowship in the past year to a HEA Celebration event.
Provided with lunch and treats, this was a networking opportunity for people across the university to come together to celebrate this achievement.
Congratulations again to all successful participants!
HEA Recognition Scheme: change is coming!
The HEAR team is currently preparing for re-accreditation of the scheme. As part of this process, from early 2024, we will adopt the new 'Professional Standards Framework' (PSF), formerly the UKPSF. Colleagues who wish to apply for fellowship under the current UKPSF are advised to submit their application by our 22nd January 2024 deadline. Our upcoming deadlines for application are 11th September 2023, 13th November 2023, and 22nd January 2024. For further guidance, please email HEAR@lincoln.ac.uk.
APA Networking Event
As part of the National Learning at Work week, the APA team held a breakfast event for all past and present APA learners on the 15th May. The event was attended by learners from all cohorts, and launched the APA Network as a response to feedback that participants would like opportunities to continue to "connect, engage and develop" across cohorts and beyond the programme.
Current apprentices were able to seek advice to support their APA journey, and alumni reconnected with each other, developing skills in mentoring and exploring opportunities to further develop their careers. This event was also an opportunity to promote the upcoming consultation events for the new APA programme.
Consultation events for new APA Programme
Kelly Sisson (APA Programme Leader) is hosting upcoming 'Creating the future APA' events for apprentices to consult and help to shape the new APA programme, which will be introduced from February 2024. Apprentices will have the opportunities to reflect on what they would like to keep, and what parts of the programme could be improved.
If you would like to be involved in the consultation, please contact apa@lincoln.ac.uk. A parallel consultation event for those who have been involved in the programme as line managers or mentors will take place on Wednesday 26th July. Anyone involved in supporting the development of academic staff is welcome to attend.
The Library
Would you like your reading list to stand out in a crowd?
Aligning your reading list with your learning outcomes, learning activities and assessments will encourage student participation and improve the student experience. The library can help you achieve this. Below are 5 steps to aligning your reading list with your learning outcomes:
- Update your reading list.
- Organise your list into sections that match your teaching.
- Select the importance of an item - is it essential, recommended, or further reading? The library will always prioritise essential when purchasing.
- Identify a key chapter that can be digitised (print books only). Request the digitisation yourself or add details to the library note field.
- Provide guidance to the student - identify key chapters, sections or pages in the student note field.
The 2023/24 reading lists are now available to edit, so please consider the 5 steps above when reviewing and updating your reading list(s) for the new academic year. They are currently all in draft so you will need to log in to Talis to view the new lists. Online reading lists do not automatically update. 2022-23 reading lists will be archived on 5th September 2023.
If you are moving to Blackboard Ultra, take a look at the short video using the link below on how you can embed your recommended reading within the module content.
If you are interested in finding out more on linking weekly reading in Blackboard Ultra, click here.
For information on using Talis Aspire reading list software, click here or contact your Academic Subject Librarian who can offer support and guidance.
Widening Participation Community of Practice
The Widening Participation Community of Practice group is a supportive space at the University for any colleagues working in anything related to the Access and Participation Plan (widening participation) and supporting undergraduate students who are traditionally under-represented in Higher Education. In UoL's current plan, this includes students from lower IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation) quintiles, BAME students, students with disabilities, and care leavers.
The Community of Practice was set up in 2019 by Rachel Spacey, Rebecca Sanderson and Jacqueline Mayer following an evaluation of APP activity, and comes together around 4/5 times a year to discuss a particular area of interest requested by members. This could be the work of a particular team, a specific project, research findings, or looking at how we can move our work forward. For example, meetings this year have included talks from Jessica Hodgson, University Senior Tutor, and Andrew Morris, the Corporate Parenting Manager and Lead for Learning Care and Lincolnshire County Council. The Teams site is also a space where colleagues can informally ask questions, gain advice, and share anything of interest.
Current members are predominantly from Professional Services, but we would like to make this a valuable space for Academic members of staff as well. If you would like to be added to the community, please contact jhornertimmins@lincoln.ac.uk.
LALT Evaluation Team
Anthea Rose and Lucy Mallinson have been carrying out the independent impact evaluation for the Lincolnshire's Uni Connect partnership, LiNCHigher, for the past four years. LiNCHigher deliver aspiration raising outreach activities to schools in Lincolnshire, and is funded by the Office for Students. The programme is currently due to run until 2025 and targets students in Years 10-13 (age 14-18). Recently they have also been working on projects for LALT, and will now be splitting their LiNCHigher/University of Lincoln work 50:50.
Their work for LiNCHigher involves a mixed methods approach to evaluation. They carry out an annual large scale survey in Lincolnshire schools on behalf of the Office for Students, pre- and post-activity surveys, focus groups with school/college students and university ambassadors involved in the programme, as well as interviews with school and project leads.
Last academic year, they also evaluated three bespoke programmes delivered by LiNCHigher, one of which was a collaborative venture undertaken by the University of Lincoln, the Lincolnshire Traveller Initiative, and LiNCHigher. The project formed part of the Film and Media Studies community engagement module. They also set up and ran student researcher groups in a number of schools and one of the colleges. The aim of this project was to encourage student voice, enhance student engagement, and to improve the quality and impact of LiNCHigher's outreach delivery through peer feedback.
Their initial University of Lincoln work has included completing a short evaluation report for Careers, to help inform the future design of the content of the Career Readiness Programme, the analysis of the recent Year 1 and Year 2 survey, and a short formative evaluation of the Programme Leader Symposium held in May. They are looking forward to working on other university projects in the future, including being involved in the APP.
Our LiNCHigher evaluation reports, including the community project and the Student Researchers pilot, can be found on the LiNCHigher's Future Focus website:
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