Celebrating Learning Community: the transformative potential of partnership working in higher education
Learning and Teaching Conference - Wednesday July 1 2020
We are pleased to welcome two key notes, one from Brendan Stone, Professor of Social Engagement and the Humanities, University of Sheffield and another from students and staff working on the University of Hull Student Staff Partnership Scheme
In 2020, the Teaching Excellence Academy's Annual Learning and Teaching Conference invites a celebration of the power of partnership working.
In a time of political and financial uncertainty for higher education one constant continues to thrive - the integrity of the learning community. Learning communities are made up of those invested in our success, and include: students and academic, related and professional service staff; regional, national and international schools, colleges, charities, businesses and employers; and of course, the cities in which our institutions reside.
Working with our community, in partnership, calls for radical openness to different ways of knowing and doing, and may mean rethinking our practice to achieve our common goal – student and community success.
'Celebrating Learning Community' gives a platform to the 'pedagogic practices engaged in creating a new language, rupturing disciplinary boundaries, de-centring authority, and rewriting the institutional and discursive borderlands' (Giroux and McLaren, quoted in hooks, 1994)
Partnership working can be rewarding, challenging and transformative. It strengthens the learning community and offers comfort in adversity as 'hope… becomes intensified when one realises it is not a solitary struggle' (Freire, 1997, p106). Partnership working includes (but is not limited to):
- Integrated working across an institution, collaborating with fellow research, teaching and scholarship staff; support and professional services; students unions and student representatives;
- Engaging students and/or alumni in educational development, pedagogic research or consultation in curriculum design;
- Working with external stakeholders such as validating partners; professional, scholarly, and research bodies; employers and/or placement providers; government bodies; schools and colleges; non-government or third sector organisations and community groups;
- Collaborating with other HE institutions and providers across the regional, national or international sector; and/or partner providers whose programmes your department/institution validates.
The call for papers is now open. Please submit here.
Deadline for submission: Monday 23rd March 2020
Proposals are expected to present practical wisdom others can learn from and/or adopt, be scholarship of teaching and learning-led, and will be selected based on evident success or lessons learned from the initiative described.
We welcome collaborative work, and encourage submissions from students, staff in all roles supporting teaching and learning, employers and university partners.
- Discussion papers (20 minutes) Discussion papers will be organised into panels of 2 papers, with plenty of time to explore the ideas outlined.
- Panels (1 Hour). Please submit a group proposal outlining your theme with brief detail of your paper/s (a collection of shorter papers are welcome, please ensure there is plenty of time for discussion)
- Workshops (1 hour), exploring a practice or approach and giving delegates time to consider your work and how it could be applied to their own practice/context.
- Pecha Kucha. 5 minute show-case presentations, delivered in quick succession. A great opportunity to present work in progress, for example, using the University of Hull's Competency Framework in curricula design. (See footnote 1)
- Poster Displays. There will be a Poster Prize. (See footnote 2)
Novel and engaging approaches to presenting are welcome, inspire us with new ways of exploring your partnership working! We welcome collaborative work, and encourage submissions from students, staff in all roles supporting teaching and learning, employers and university partners.
First-time teaching and learning conference and presenters welcome!
There will be a modest bursary to support University of Hull WP student presenter attendance.
We look forward to hearing about how your partnership approach has transformed the student experience.
Footnote 1: Following on from the success of last year’s Pecha Kucha style presentations, the Teaching Excellence Academy would like to invite you to take part in this year’s presentations. Pecha Kucha originated in Japan in 2003 and translates to “Chit Chat” in English. Each presentation lasts for 5 minutes and is made up of 15 slides. The slides contain little or no text and will be on the screen for 20 seconds each, after which the slide will automatically change to the next. After 5 minutes, a bell will ring and the next presenter will start their presentation (even if you have not finished). Pecha Kuchas are known for their fast paced nature and are a fun, informal way to share ideas.
Footnote 2: All posters which are accepted into the conference exhibition will also be entered into the Conference Poster Competition. There will be two prizes for the best conference posters:
- The people's choice: voted for by conference delegates
- The judge's choice: voted for by the keynote speakers from the Student Staff Partnership Scheme and the PVC Education.
As with session proposals, posters are expected to present practical wisdom others can learn from and/or adopt and be scholarship of teaching and learning-led. The judges will base their decision on the clarity of message and the positive impact of the work on the student experience.
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