Graduate Teacher Education Programme

Educational Development and Enhancement Unit

Developing Effective Learning Environments

• Area of Activity 4 of the UL/UK Professional Standards Framework

• About the ways in which the tutor aims to provide support for learning

• In this session, we need to consider:– Where this can take place (contexts)– How this takes place in the different contexts for

learning and what the tutor can do to promote learning here

– The importance of the digital environment for learning

Where does support for learning take place?

Activity:• In pairs or threes, consider the question above.

– You might want to start from a consideration of the contexts for learning (the multiple situations/places where students learn)

– You might want to think about the some of those and places and the times (in those places) where you felt that your learning could have been supported

(5 minutes please and be prepared to share some of your ideas in a moment)

Some of the situations/places....

• In the lecture• In the seminar or workshop• In the lab• In the one to one tutorial (pastoral or academic) • On a field trip or visit• When studying on own• When working with others in group work• When writing or preparing for assessment tasks

independently

How can support for learning take place?

• Join with another pair or three (no more than five in the group please) and taking one of those ‘situations’ that surfaced above, discuss what support for learning could have looked like or if you considered your own situations, what might have been done to make that learning better supported

• Write up your ideas on flipchart paper with your ‘situation’ at the top (eg, lecture, lab, etc.,) and share with the rest of the group

(10 minutes to discuss and 5 minutes for each group to feedback to whole group please)

Drawing together the ideas – what emerges:

• The need for acknowledging and respecting students’ diverse learning needs – individually - and across the course of their study;

• Importance of planning and thinking ahead for learning and teaching events and opportunities;

• The value of ‘emotional intelligence’ in a tutor’s interactions with students (Mortiboys, 2005)

• The establishment of effective learning environments (cf, ‘classroom-climate’, Biggs, 2003 and Jacques, 2000, on group work)

• Understanding what students often value in a tutor (Brookfield, 2006)

References

1. Biggs, J. (2003) Teaching for Quality Learning at University (2nd edn) Maidenhead: SRHE/OU

(Chapter 4, Setting the stage for effective teaching)

2. Brookfield, S, The Skilful Teacher: On Trust, Technique and Responsiveness in the Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

(Chapter 4, What students value in teachers) Available at:

http://www.stephenbrookfield.com/Dr._Stephen_D._Brookfield/Articles_and_Interviews_files/Ch_4_What_Lnrs_Value.pdf

3. Jacques, D. (2000) Learning in Groups: A Handbook for Improving Group Work. London: Routledge. For a summary of his ideas see here:

https://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsld/resources/small-group/

4. Mortiboys, A. (2005) Teaching with Emotional Intelligence London: Routledge. For a summary of his ideas and materials from his workshop, see here:

http://www.sddu.leeds.ac.uk/uploaded/learning-teaching-docs/teachtalk/26-2-2010/alan_mortiboys.pdf

Why IT Matters Sue Watling

Senior Lecturer Educational Development, EDEU, FHEAEducational Development and Enhancement Unit

Reasons why IT matters…

• UoL Digital Education Plan • Student as Producer ‘Digital Scholarship’ • UoL PSF Core Knowledge 4: the use and

value of appropriate learning technologies• Legal requirement: pro-active approach to

making reasonable adjustments• DSA changes

Ensuring effective digital learning environments… Inclusive practice with:• Text• Images• Audio• Video

Consider difficulties with• Vision• Hearing• Poor Broadband• English as a

second language

Inclusive Design• Inclusive design maximises effective

learning environments • Changes for some are improvements for all• ‘Adopting best practice for dyslexic readers

has the advantage of making documents easier on the eye for everyone.’ Dyslexia Style Guide http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/further-information/dyslexia-style-guide.html

Further information • Jane Seale (2014) E-Learning and Disability in

Higher Education: Accessibility Research and Practice (2nd Edition)

• JISC TechDis http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk

• Kelly, B., Phipps, L. and Howell, C., 2005. Implementing a Holistic Approach to E-Learning Accessibility. In: ALT-C 2005, Manchester. http://opus.bath.ac.uk/441/

• Burgstahler, S. (2001) Universal Design of Instruction http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/PDF/equal_access_udi.pdf