Heriot-Watt University Learning & Teaching Symposium 2021

Join us for a series of seminars, roundtables and tea-break conversations.

• Connect with colleagues.
• Share practice and experience.
• Be inspired by creative ideas in learning & teaching.
• Pause, take a breath and reflect on the semester.

This semester’s Learning and Teaching Symposium is a space to connect across our global community to share successes, shape practice, and spark conversation about what we truly value in our approaches to curriculum, assessment and teaching.

• What can we learn from our experience for Responsive Blended Learning to shape our practice and approach to learning and teaching in the years to come?
• How do we sustain a focus on care, compassion and wellbeing in our curriculum?
• What is distinctive and valuable about the Heriot-Watt curriculum and the learning experience we offer our students?

Connect across our vibrant learning and teaching community to share ideas and shape practice.

Register on Eventbrite.

BSL interpreting is available upon request.

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Monday, 1 November 2021

06:00 – 07:00 UK | 10:00 Dubai |14:00 – 15:00 Malaysia

Introduction to the Learning & Teaching Academy*

Learning vision of the Learning and Teaching Strategy 2019-2025. Our approach is framed around four key areas: Inspiring Teaching, Inspiring Collaboration, Inspiring Innovation and Scholarship, and Inspiring Leadership in Learning and Teaching. This session will provide you an insight on the types of support we offer in these four areas, sharing the resources in place to support the development of practice and promoting our future events. This session is suitable for new academics, Postgraduate Students and Professional Services staff involved in L&T activities.
*if you would like to attend this event, please email Alia Mohamad Nazor (s.mohamad_nazor@hw.ac.uk)

08:00 – 09:00 UK | 12:00 Dubai | 16:00 Malaysia

“Embedding positive education practices into university teaching“
Professor Deborah A Hall, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University

Contemporary debate proposes that adolescent growth extends to 24 years of age. This in turn extends the window of opportunity for skills development, especially in cooperative activities that require emotional awareness and regulation. Research has shown that enhancing students’ strengths in positive emotion, engagement and meaning in life promotes a growth mindset, facilitates improved learning, increases life satisfaction and counteracts the risk of poor mental health. Therefore, the goal of positive education is to improve students’ well-being and learning. Two-thirds of the world’s population lives in Asia, yet most of the academic literature on positive education is conducted in Western countries. Moreover, while there are numerous examples of positive education in schools, the discipline has had fewer inroads in the higher education setting. This presentation maps out the literature on positive education in university teaching, seen through an Asian lens. Key points will be drawn on illustrative evidence from a compulsory holistic educational course for all year 1 students enrolled at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia. Course design and educator style incorporates the principles of positive psychology by blending development in personal effectiveness skills (such as self-confidence, self-reflection, personal responsibility, leadership, and time management), with an emphasis on developing self-awareness, discovering purpose and creating a plan to mobilise that purpose into positive impact.

09:45 – 10:45 UK | 13:45 Dubai | 17:45 Malaysia

Masterclass: “Understanding academic integrity: nine things to know“
Dr Erica Morris, Higher Education Consultant

This masterclass will provide an opportunity to explore the concept of academic integrity and the other side of the coin, student academic misconduct, particularly plagiarism, collusion and assessment outsourcing. Drawing on research and established perspectives in the field of academic integrity, the session will focus on nine things that are valuable to know in the following areas: the extent or prevalence of academic misconduct, including whether the issue is increasing; explanatory factors, looking at the reasons as to why students may engage in plagiarism or outsourcing behaviours; and interventions related to institutional policy, the use of technology, students’ skills and literacies, and assessment practices. Consideration will given to practical strategies that can make a difference.

11:00 – 11:30 UK | 15:00 Dubai | 19:00 Malaysia

Tea-break 1: Tea-break with Dr Erica Morris
This tea-break session is open to all and will provide space for further discussion with Erica Morris following her keynote presentation.

Tea-break 2: New to Teaching Tea-break
This facilitated tea-break session is specifically for those who are in their first three years of teaching. It will provide some relaxed space for reflection on the messages of the morning’s talks and discussion around how they might impact on our teaching practice.

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Sharing Practice Session on Designing VLE course sites to support student-directed learning*
Alia Nazor (EGIS Malaysia)

Alia will be discussing pros and cons of the different VLE course site designs for student learning. She will also be sharing her own opinions of the VLE design that works so that students have greater control, ownership, and accountability over their own education.
*if you would like to attend this event, please email Alia Mohamad Nazor (s.mohamad_nazor@hw.ac.uk)

07:00 – 08:00 UK | 11:00 – 12:00 Dubai |15:00 – 16:00 Malaysia

Sharing Practice Session on Using Booklet for Student Engagement through Gamification*
Bruce Lee (EGIS Malaysia)

Research indicates that Generation Z has an attention span of about 8 seconds, shorter than the attention span of Millennials, which is about 12 seconds. Other studies differ, arguing that attention spans aren’t shrinking, but getting more selective. Therefore, academics are facing big challenges in keeping students engaged, both face to face and online. This session introduces a new platform, Booklet, for student engagement through gamification. The session will also discuss the Testing Memory approach and real time student engagement monitoring.
*if you would like to attend this event, please email Alia Mohamad Nazor (s.mohamad_nazor@hw.ac.uk)

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Wednesday, 3 November 2021

08:00 – 08:30 UK | 12:00 – 12:30 Dubai |16:00 – 16:30 Malaysia

Sharing Practice on Linear Algebra: Building a sustainable global community of learners*
Kai Lin et al. (MACS)

As part of this interconnected world, our role as educators must support students to be resilient members of a global society via collaboration and communication. This academic year we implement a sustainable and future-proof framework to foster a global community of learners in our subject, Linear Algebra. We recruited a cross-campuses committee consisting of four students who took the subject last year, with guidance from the Teaching Team and the committee leads  to plan and deliver student-centred initiatives (both synchronous and asynchronous) throughout the semester to cultivate a global community of practices in Linear Algebra. Join this session to hear more from the teaching team and student committee! This project is supported by the Enhancement Themes Resilient Learning Communities fund.
*if you would like to attend this event, please email Alia Mohamad Nazor (s.mohamad_nazor@hw.ac.uk)

 

08:30 – 10:30 UK | 12:30 Dubai | 16:30 Malaysia

“Connecting Cross-Campus: Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh Napier Universities Sharing Practice“
Lightning talks.

This session is a showcase of mini-projects carried out by colleagues at Edinburgh Napier and Heriot-Watt Universities, as part of the QAA Enhancement Themes. We will have short presentations of the project ideas and outcomes, followed by time for discussion of how we generate interest for these projects, and take learning from them to implement in different contexts. The session is open to anyone interested in hearing more about this work, and who is thinking about implementing something new into their teaching.

Please find a breakdown of presentations below:

08:30 | 12:30 Dubai | 16:30 Malaysia
Printing Workshop for Schools, Grace Smith (HWU)

08:40 | 12:40 Dubai | 16:40 Malaysia
Student Collaboration in a Virtual World, Ron O’Donnell (ENU)

08:50 | 12:50 Dubai | 16:50 Malaysia
Transformation of Professional Development Through Digital Learning, Ng Ren Bin (HWU)

9:00 | 13:00 Dubai | 17:00 Malaysia
Future of Digital Learning in Building Resilient Learning Communities, Adam Haris Haidi Faiz,  Hawvick Ooi, Gladys Tang (HWU)

9:10 | 13:10 Dubai | 17:10 Malaysia
Discussion

9:30 | 13:30 Dubai | 17:30 Malaysia
Break

9:45 | 13:45 Dubai | 17:45 Malaysia
Step away from your screen: a mini-project to help students reflect on their learning to take time to care for themselves, Louise Drumm and Katrina Swanton (ENU)

9:55 | 13:55 Dubai | 17:55 Malaysia
Do Anything Better (DAB): A Podcast for Students by Students, Stella Marie Colima Galimpin and Arissa Noordina Bahari (HWU)

10:05 | 14:05 Dubai | 18:05 Malaysia
Developing Dialogue to Improve Support for Care Experienced Students, Pamela Calabrese, Peter Tormey, Tom Evans, Ryan Leslie, Thomas Dalli, Sharron Vass (ENU)

10:15 | 14:15 Dubai | 18:15 Malaysia
Discussion and Close