Assessment, Learning & Teaching Reflections |
Friday 25th November
It’s most encouraging to read ALT reflections now being submitted from colleagues across the university. It is a channel by which we can converse daily to enrich mutually our assessment, learning and teaching practices and this is something that involves all categories of staff across the university. Brent Reuben in ‘Pursuing excellence in higher education: eight fundamental challenges’ (2004) argues that this not just a matter for academic staff (‘Faculty’) alone: “In practice we are all teachers….Faculty members carry out their instructional; responsibilities in the classroom, the laboratory and during office hours. Support and service staff members teach in libraries, residence halls, buses, health centres, the cashier’s office, the bookstore…. all members of the administrative, professional and support staff teach through every one of the tens of thousands of personal encounters with students…every contact with a student is an encounter that either contributes to or detracts from the educational excellence” (p261-2).
Hence we encourage all interested staff to consider signing-up for assessment, learning and teaching-related activities in our ‘What follows’ programme. For example, in December there are sessions on cross-cultural capability (7 th and 14 th December), becoming an external examiner (7 th December) and Assessment: lightening the load (19th December). All welcome!
Sally Brown
Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Professor of Higher Education Diversity in Learning and Teaching
