News
Bristol Teaching Awards – nominations open on March 4th!
The University’s annual Teaching Awards are taking place again in June and we will soon be opening nominations for staff and students so you can nominate the person you believe deserves commendation.
The Bristol Teaching Awards (BTAs) recognise and celebrate individual staff and teams (both academic and professional services) who have made an outstanding contribution to teaching, the provision of support for students’ learning and/or enhance the student learning experience. Students and staff are invited to nominate in a range of award categories. Find out more and nominate.
Join the Regular Low Stakes Assessment Inclusivity Network
Colleagues in the School of Psychological Science have set up a network with the aim of running a large-scale project that is cross-faculty and cross-institutional reviewing the use, utility and inclusivity, of regular low-stakes assessment in education (e.g., weekly MCQs etc). There is conflict in the literature around the inclusivity of regular low-stakes assessment (e.g., concerns that a student with disabilities may be disadvantaged in performance).
They are looking to establish pedagogically informed best practice guidance for the development and distribution of regular low-stakes testing for all students and publish these findings for wider use. The starting point for such research is to build a network of colleagues who are interested, or currently implement such assessments, so we can build a clearer picture of current practice and determine how (if at all) we can improve such assessments. The network already have colleagues from different disciplines at Bristol, and those from outside of the institution, but the network is in its infancy, so they are keen to build it!
If you’re interested in joining, or if you know anyone else who would be interested, please get in touch with Jess (jessica.fielding@bristol.ac.uk) or Anca (Anca.Dobrescu@bristol.ac.uk).
BILT Annual Conference 2024: 10 days left to apply to present!
This year’s BILT conference will take place on Wednesday 10 July and is titled Voice and Choice – Student Agency, Empowerment and Co-creation. Applications are now open for individuals or teams who would like to contribute to this all day in-person event, taking place in the Merchant Venturer’s Building.
Visit this page for full details of the conference and types of presentations.
New blogs and resources
- What do Chinese International Students want their university to know?
BILT Student Fellow Ivory Wang interviewed a diverse group of Chinese international students and shares extracts from their conversations on a number of key topics.
- Co-creating a MicrobEscape Room
Dr Isabel Murillo talked to Amy Palmer about the most recent game she has co-created with her students and the benefits it has had on her students.
- Experiences of International Students’ Teaching and Learning: What did we learn at the hackathon? Part 3.
We hosted a hackathon with international students in December, taking a deep dive into their experiences of teaching and learning. Amy Palmer shares the third instalment in this series on blog, looking at methods to support international students’ engagement with learning.
- Launching the Bristol Skills Profile
Naomi Love shares an introduction to the Bristol Skills Profile and the benefits it can bring for our students.
- Summary of Show, Tell & Talk: Inclusive Assessment Last week we held a really engaged and engaging Show, Tell & Talk on Inclusive Assessment and BILT Lecturer in Academic Development Catriona Johnson provides an excellent summary of the event in this blogpost.
Upcoming events
Staff input required: AI- Responsive Assessment Guidance Focus Groups
BILT has funded a project to research and develop AI-responsive assessment guidance, providing information and suggestions for including generative AI in assessments, or pivoting the focus of an assessment to inhibit AI-assisted contract cheating. Last year, BILT and the DEO conducted student-facing focus groups that will inform this project, and now we’d like to have the views, experiences, and expectations of teaching staff, too. We are running four, 1hr focus groups, each with space for twenty participants. Please follow the links provided to sign up.
- 27th February 1pm Teams (ONLINE) Eventbrite link
- 28th February 1pm WMB Room 3.30 Eventbrite link
- 29th February 1pm WMB Room 1.5 Eventbrite link
- 29th February 2pm WMB Room 1.5 Eventbrite link
Feedback Practice Sharing Event
Tuesday February 27th, 9.30am – 3.30pm, Bill Brown Suite.
On Tuesday 27 February, Engineering will be holding a sharing event, open to students and staff, focusing on exploring good feedback practices. This will be an opportunity to share examples of excellent feedback practices from Engineering colleagues, hear what works for students and learn more about what research says about feedback. This event is predominantly aimed at Engineering staff and students, but it is also open to other university staff.
For more information and the booking form, please visit this page.
If you have any questions, please contact ania.udalowska@bristol.ac.uk.
Case studies
Are you doing something innovative or exciting with your large group teaching this year? Or even something relatively ‘normal’ but is receiving a good reception? We are looking to share good practice of large group teaching – get in touch with us if there’s something you can share with us!
We’re also always looking for case studies on:
- Decolonising the curriculum
- Assessment, particularly group assessment, inclusive assessment and engaging with the AI revolution
- International students’ experience
Contact us at bilt-info@bristol.ac.uk.
