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News and opportunities
Bumper audience for our first Show, Tell and Talk of the academic year
Last week, we held our first sharing innovations workshop of 2025-26. The room was full (quite literally!) of staff and students from across the University, who listened with interest to the ideas and experiences of colleagues working on Education Development Projects around the theme of Active Learning, as well as our Student Fellow working on this theme, Elliot Green. This was followed by a lively Q&A session with all the presenters.
Topics explored in the workshop included: student absence; teaching climate change; industry-linked Chemistry projects; supporting neurodiverse students through inclusive clinical education and; enhancing student learning through assessment innovation.
Image (left): Dr Ashley Dodsworth, Senior Lecturer, School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, presenting at the workshop.
If you missed the workshop, you can access the slides (without the context of presenters’ comments). If you have any thoughts or follow-up queries regarding any of the content, the presenters would welcome your feedback and questions, via the relevant email addresses mentioned on the slides.
A reminder that the series continues in January, with a session on Generative AI.
Sparking ‘aha’ moments – a resource for teaching research methods
Jo Rose, Professor of Social Psychology of Education at the School of Education, has recently been involved in developing a resource for teaching research methods, which has now been published by the National Centre for Research Methods. The resource, “Sparking ‘aha’ moments: a resource for teaching research methods”, is intended to give inspiration to people who teach methods.
Jo told us more about her involvement in the project:
It’s basically a bunch of social scientists who are super-keen and experienced in teaching methods sharing ideas that have worked well in our teaching – it covers all sorts of approaches and ideas and aspects of methods. I loved writing my chapters (and not often that I say I enjoy writing!), but even more so I’ve loved reading other people’s contributions – I think our enthusiasm for teaching methods comes through.”
Access via the resource on the NCRM website, which includes a downloadable PDF.
Shaping the Future at Temple Quarter supported by BILT
In the last edition of the Briefing, we brought you news of how BILT is offering a range of support events to colleagues who will be teaching at TQEC to help them with the transition to the new teaching spaces. Some of the provisions are targeted towards specific Schools, whereas others are open to all.
More events have been added to the ‘Shaping the Future at Temple Quarter‘ webpage, please take a look if this is of interest to you.
Next Wednesday (3rd Dec), BILT are hosting a hybrid Q&A session with staff from the Universities of Oregon and California Riverside, who have been teaching in round spaces for many years. This will be a chance to hear how practitioners have risen to the challenge of teaching in this innovative space.
And, early in the new year (6th January), we’re facilitating a Voice and Presence workshop, focusing on skills for active and inclusive teaching. This is another interactive session hosted by Bristol Improv Theatre. If you’re unable to make the January date, the workshop will be repeated in April and June 2026. More information and links to register here.
Student Research Conference and Journal
Please circulate this with your students:
A reminder that we are currently accepting applications for subject editorial board members, journal submissions and conference presentations for 2025-26. Please share the link below with any students you know who may be interested.
The deadline to apply for editorial boards is 12 January 2026.
For more detailed information about these opportunities and links to apply, please visit our website.
Blogs and resources
- Loki’s Tail – Crocheting my way to powerful transdisciplinary communication (about GenAI!)
BILT’s Karen Kenny explores the link between well-being through hand-crafts and understanding Generative AI in the academic space. - The BILT Broadcast (podcast)
November’s BILT Broadcast is now available on SoundCloud. Introducing BILT Student Fellow, Elliot. Click the link to hear the podcast, and previous editions. - Behind the scenes of creating a staff development course on AI from scratch
Aisling Tierney, from BILT, lifts the lid on a mammoth collaborative project that is reaching its conclusion and will benefit staff across the University. - Active Learning in Action – Student-Generated Revision Game
On the subject of Active Learning, watch Dr Isabel Murillo Cabeza from the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine discussing how she engages students in co-creating and playing a revision game, Microbial Pursuit, in which the questions are anything but trivial. - AI related Case Studies from Dr Don Parker
Dr Don Parker, Associate Professor in Design Thinking and Innovation at The Centre for Innovation has published a number of case studies on our blog-site relating to AI in digital learning and assessment. You can view them all from this page, which we’ll add to as more are published.
Events
Visit the BILT events calendar for a full list of all our forthcoming events
Becoming Response-able: The Inner approach to ESD
This event has been postponed until the new year. An update will be published soon.
Please note, this is not a BILT hosted event
Through examples and discussion, this workshop will ask what it means to be ‘Response Able’. We will compare and contrast the conventional, colonial, top-down, notion of responsibility with one based on first-hand, inner, lived-experience and explore how developments in Consciousness Education might improve the effectiveness of our ESD.
This 90 minute workshop will be hosted by Dr Keith Beasley, School Safety Officer in Earth Science and Geography and founder of the University of Bristol’s Exploring the Inner Staff Club. It is based on his PhD and ongoing international research into the experience and value of ‘consciousness beyond the rational’ and deep decolonisation.
Shaping the Future at Temple Quarter
Various dates and venues (next event 3 December)
BILT is running a series of events to support colleagues who will be teaching at Temple Quarter. The series began in October and will run until the summer of 2026. You can view the full list of events on our ‘Shaping the Future at Temple Quarter‘ webpage.
15 January, 2.15 – 5.30 pm, Wills Memorial Building, Great Hall
BILT warmly invites all PGR supervisors to our annual PGR Supervisor Symposium, focusing on effective supervision practices, innovation, and collaboration.
Expressions of interest to present a case study or lightning talk close on Thursday 5 December.
For more information and links to apply, please visit the event page.
Show Tell and Talk: ‘Generative AI’
28 January 1.30 – 3 pm, Room 2.26, 35 Berkeley Square
Our next Show Tell and Talk workshop takes place in January and places are filling up fast. This sharing innovations workshop will provide an opportunity to hear from a range of colleagues about how Generative AI is being embedded at UoB, why it is important and what Generative AI projects, supported by BILT, are being undertaken at the University. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion with colleagues.
For more information and links to register, please visit our event page.
The BILT Briefing is published and distributed fortnightly by The Bristol Institute of Learning and Teaching (BILT). If you no longer wish to receive a copy of The Briefing, please send an email to bilt-info@bristol.ac.uk from the address you are registered with, containing the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the title line.
