Geoffrey Makstutis is Head of the School of Design at West Dean College, one of the University of Sussex’s partner institutions. He holds degrees in architecture from the University of Michigan and the Architectural Association and a postgraduate qualification in teaching and learning for higher education. He was formerly the Course Leader for BA Architecture at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London; where he also led several research projects and acted as a PhD Supervisor. He has taught and lectured at institutions around the world and as Subject Lead for Construction, Art, and Design Media; with Pearson Education, he led the development of higher education qualifications across these different subject areas.
Geoffrey is a published author of two books. “Architecture: An Introduction” (2010) and “Design Process in Architecture” (2018). He has also authored numerous articles on architecture, construction, media and education. He is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architects Registration Board, a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
A key experience in the studying of design subjects is the critique or ‘Crit’. Primarily used in formative assessment, this engagement between student and teacher involves the student presenting, typically, work-in-progress and then tutor and student discuss how the work is progressing. This may involve the tutor challenging the student on aspects of the work; with the student seeking to support their position. The tutor may discuss ways in which the student might consider further development. In short, the aim of the Crit is to provide the student with an opportunity to engage in an analytical discourse on their design work and an opportunity to ‘test’ their conceptual and critical approach to their work.
The most important aspect of the Crit is that it is interactive. Where written feedback is often valuable, it is received after the event and is purely one-directional (from tutor to student). While a student may have a follow-up meeting with a tutor to discuss the written feedback, which can be valuable in understanding the feedback, it is further ‘distanced’ from the work and limits how the student can apply the feedback; as they must wait until clarification can be sought. The Crit is live and feedback is continuous throughout the activity. Further, this can also be an activity that engages peers in providing commentary and critique to each other.
However, this does not suggest that a Crit can result in just a discussion. For the student, who may often be nervous about presenting their work, it is easy for key points to be forgotten in the back and forth of discussion. So, there is a need for some record of the discussion. This could be a video or audio recording, but the introduction of such media can often result in people feeling they must ‘perform’ or they become less open in their discussion; stilted in their delivery as they worry that they might say ‘the wrong thing’. Ideally, a written record of the key points of the discussion will be the most effective. Herein lies another challenge. If the tutor is making notes, the flow of their discussion can be disjointed as they seek to write what they are saying. Similarly, if the student is taking notes, they may miss important points raised by the tutor or fail to engage, fully, in the discussion; as they become focused on recording.
We have sought to address these challenges by instigating a collaborative note-taking format during Crits. This sees students working pairs to take notes for each other during their counterpart’s discussion with the tutor.
In practice, this allows the student and the tutor to be actively engaged in a discussion about the work being presented, without needing to stop and take notes. The discussion can flow more freely, without interruption or worry that something may be missed while trying to record points in the discussion. However, there are additional benefits; beyond the initial discussion.
The student pairs are encouraged to meet, after the end of the session, to review notes with each other and discuss. This encourages further peer-to-peer discussion about the work, as each can seek clarification from the other – “what do you think the tutor meant when they said…?” or “You know, the same point was made in your discussion as in mine, let’s look at our work together…” The model also provides multiple points at which students are encouraged to reflect on the feedback they have received, as they receive it, in discussion with their pair, and independently after the discussion. In this way, the collaborative note-taking approach has greater potential for students to engage in a more meaningful and evaluative consideration of the feedback.
In some cases, there may be a need for the tutor to have a record of the feedback, but this can also be based on the collaborative note-taking from the students. Tutors may instruct students to email a copy of the notes, following the peer-to-peer discussion. When these are received, the tutor has the opportunity to either file these as a record of the feedback or, if necessary, send a short email back to the student to further clarify a point in the feedback (that may not have been fully articulated in the notes) – “…don’t forget that we also discussed the possibility that you might look at…” or “…when I mentioned X, this was intended to give you another area for investigation.”
Theory into Practice
This collaborative note-taking practice fits well within pedagogic models, such as Laurillard’s Conversational Framework. In Laurillard’s framework we see how the teacher’s and student’s concepts interact and feed to peer concepts through ‘discussing’. This is what we aim to achieve through the Crit, where a tutor and student explore the student’s work and invite discussion among peers.
Our note-taking model brings the ‘collaborating’ activity, found in Laurillard’s framework, into action and; through the collaborative feedback provides an opportunity for students to explore their own (design) practice with their partner such that they build a sense of peer practice. While this is primarily focused around the sharing of design practice experience, the very nature of the activity also builds a sense of peer practice in feedback and discussion; both of which are key features of professional design studios.
Conclusion
Developing successful teaching and learning strategies is often about finding solutions that are effective for learners and manageable for teachers. While the idea of manageability may seem like a derogation of a teacher’s responsibility to support the learner, there is a difference between things that are ‘easier’ and things that are manageable. When faced with high student numbers and the need to actively engage in the review and discussion of student work, time can be a critical factor. The teaching of design requires careful consideration of a multitude of factors (conceptual development, theory into practice, technical resolution, communication, practical skill), all of which must be explored when discussing a student’s work. In such a context, the ability to engage in discussion, without distractions for the teacher and the student, is profound.
Collaborative note-taking during verbal feedback, in the Crit, provides a manageable and effective means of recording the content of a discussion between student and teacher. In addition, the collaborative nature of the activity creates a context in which students build greater understanding of their own work while supporting colleagues to develop further. In short, it’s win-win for teachers and students.
References
Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking university teaching: a conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies (2nd ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a design science: building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. London: Routledge.
The Learning Matters Podcast captures insights into, experiences of, and conversations around education at the University of Sussex. The podcast is hotsed by Prof Wendy Garnham and Dr Heather Taylor. It runs monthly, and each month is centred around a particular theme. The theme of our fifth episode is ‘creating an autism-friendly university’, and we will hear from Dr Sophie Anns (Associate Professor in Psychology).
Welcome to the Learning Matters Podcast from the University of Sussex, where we capture insights, experiences and conversations around education at our institution and beyond. Our theme for this episode is neurodiversity and our guest is Doctor Sophie Anns from Psychology. Our names are Heather Taylor and Wendy Garnham and we are your presenters today. Welcome everyone.
All
Hello.
Wendy Garnham
So, Sophie, can you tell us a little about the context of your scholarship in the area of neurodiversity?
Sophie Anns
Sure. OK. Before I came to Sussex, I did my PhD in Learning and Memory in children with complex needs with autism. And that gave me a really sort of good insight into sort of how children learn and some of that research was also applied in another study that I did with the criminal justice system, which was looking at how to interview autistic witnesses. And I thought that some of that we could really apply to how students learn at University, so when I was at Sussex, I thought, oh, you know, let’s look at that, not so much memory, but more about learning and how children learn and obviously there has been a very positive move in the theories behind autism and neurodiversity, lot more of neurofirmative approaches that are around now, which is really nice to be able to tap into, and also look at students at university and how they learn.
Heather Taylor 1:40
What issues do you see as being particularly pressing in this area?
Sophie Anns
There’s quite a few. I would say the main one is probably the rise in numbers of neurodivergent students that we’re seeing, especially in the last few years. And I’m sure you guys also notice it in your classes. It’s across the board and some of this is related to increased number of diagnosis as well. So yeah, there’s overall sort of massive increase. And I think we’re at the point where universities, as an institution, we’re just not set up for it at many levels. Practically speaking, at a sort of spatial and infrastructural level, but also the way we teach, the way we disseminate and share knowledge, the way we assess it. Basically, across the board a switch is just really, really important and if we focus more on autism, which is more my sort of expertise or sort of specialism. And if we look at sort of autistic people generally they have such a need and desire to have fulfilled and focused interests and that on paper, basically an autistic student, on paper, should thrive at university. Because of this, their abilities and strengths, their focused interest, which is what a degree actually is of course. And also, their detailed focused thinking. So, we should be able to maximize and capitalize on those strengths. Specifically, again, you know in sort of all degrees across the board, there’s going to be that element that might not have been present so much at school. So really on paper, they should thrive at university. And the sad thing is that they’re not. There’s a big gap here that we need to address.
Wendy Garnham 3:38
Yeah. I think sometimes it’s having the opportunity to demonstrate those particular skills as missing isn’t it?
Sophie Anns
Yeah. It’s enabling that and recognising it as a strength. And you know in the way we teach in the way we assess as well. I think it’s, you know, more present in some degrees, perhaps in others, just by the very nature of the discipline. But it’s something that we, yeah, could really draw out of students more I think.
Wendy Garnham
I think sometimes it’s about taking the risk in terms of changes to what we’re doing and teaching. Quite off putting I think. But doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it, but I do think that is a barrier. So, can you, on that note, give us an idea of what scholarship projects you are or have been working on?
Sophie Anns
Yeah. So, I’ve been working on a few. Probably the first one that I worked on was
as I said earlier, looking at this sort of learning in autistic students, and I wanted to look of course at well-being because that impacts hugely their studies. It’s just too huge in autism. So, I wanted to focus purely on academic learning experiences. And by that I mean sort of everything that comes into their academic learning basically. So yeah, it’s going to be what’s going on outside of their work as well. So of course, mental health is going to impact that, but it’s more looking at things like all the different learning contexts, so examinations, whether they’re in- person or online, different types of coursework and assessment. How well they do at self-directed study?
So, we basically developed a measure, a questionnaire exploring these academic learning experiences and we looked at these sort of different learning contexts and then we also looked at some other elements that we called dimensions. So, these were more around things like sensory reactivity, which is big in autism. In autism, sensory issues can be sort of hypo or hypersensitive, and that could in the learning context translate to things like what it’s like in a lecture theatre – can they actually focus and concentrate if there’s a bright light, or if someone’s eating a packet of crisps next to you, for example? This questionnaire that we created really was trying to capture these in a real sort of context. These rich contexts of experiences, other things we looked at with things like social anxiety in group learning, and things around peer support, things around mono focus, which was our sort of term for combining monotropism and hyperfocus. So, the ability to have either this tunnel vision or focusing on one thing at a time or that sort of detailed oriented processing as well. And one other thing I can’t remember off the top of my head. So anyway, we developed this measure, had huge feedback from students on that, and we’re just trying to, at the moment, validate it. We’re on our second round of revisions with the journal, so we’re hoping that’s going to be a measure that will be validated and published and that will be able to be used, obviously not just in research, but also with Student Services – they can use it on a one to one basis with students to help them answer questions about how they’re doing and look at where their strengths and weaknesses, in terms of their experiences, actually are.
Wendy Garnham 7:10
Sounds like a fantastic resource.
Sophie Anns
I hope so.
Wendy Garnham
One that will be well used, I think.
Heather Taylor
Yeah. In terms of, you know, you said you got student feedback. So how did you approach that? How did you identify students to give you the feedback? Was the uptake good, how did they feel about the experience of giving you too many questions in a row?
Sophie Anns
No, I mean, I’m really glad you asked that because it’s really important. This took actually years to develop and I started with some of my project students, my undergrad project students, getting them to think about the academic learning experience. This was a co-created participatory research design. And they were mainly non autistic at that point, but we got them to sort of sketch out what academic learning experiences for you? What do they look like? And then we involve some autistic students and we ran then a pilot study. This was just after the pandemic or sort of coming out of the pandemic. We put it online and we got hundreds and hundreds of students to take part. I think in the second round we also put it on SONA for psychology students here, but we’ve had about 1000 responses. And worldwide from other countries as well.
Wendy Garnham 8:29
It’s incredible, that many participants.
Sophie Anns
Yeah, we were lucky. I think if we did it now, we wouldn’t get so many because I think post pandemic everyone’s a bit sort of fatigued by, you know, there’s a bit of participant fatigue out there. But for then it was really, really good. But we kept that co-creation process going, so we did a pilot study first and then we did it again, we revised all the items in the questionnaire again with several autistic students, and one particularly that worked on it in her placement year. And she’s now a first author on the paper, which is great. It’s actually, you know, really beneficial for people involved as well.
Heather Taylor
I actually really like the fact, though, that it started from students. You’ve gone and got the student experience to begin with. And then, because it actually is, well, doing it that way, I know you said the majority of them are undergraduate students who didn’t have autism to begin with. But I think finding out what potentially neurotypical students are experiencing in the classroom and then thinking about, OK, it almost gives you that way to look at, is it an equal experience, you know to start from there? So I think that’s great, and it’s just so nice that the whole way it’s been very much student-informed, sort of student co-lead, its lovely.
Wendy Garnham 9:51
I think that enables you as well to get at the details, isn’t it? Because there’s a lot of very general advice, but actually something that really gets to the nitty gritty of what that experience is like in terms of the detailed experience of what’s going on in a lecture theatre. You know that I think is really useful. My next question is what impact do you hope your scholarship will have? I have one particular interest myself, in that, which is given what you found out, are there plans to develop sort of recommendations or ideas for how to support neurodiversity in the classroom as a result of your scholarship?
Sophie Anns
Yeah, quite a few. So we’ve got, hopefully, this measure is going to get validated in a research context, which would be really good. We have some universities in the States already using it in their disability services. We created an infographic which is full of recommendations and there’s a research base which is on the University Academic Development website I think already, we’re going to update that with news of figures from the actual study, but basically it’s all the same, it’s just different numbers, but you know the same thing occurred, the same findings exist. Also I was very lucky to visit a university in India this year where we’re trying to set up a partnership between our schools and I shared the infographic and the study with them and they’re going to be able to use it with their students. And then we later had this really nice sort of research conclave discussion where a few of us from psychology went over in September, and one of the sessions was about the lived experience of neurodivergent students. And there we were sort of able to sort of compare the cross cultural differences between student experiences. So that was really, really useful. And I hope useful for them and their students over there as well. We all benefited from it and it was really interesting. And then also what this study has sort of led into has being this new collaboration with Anna Franklin and John Moore who look at visual discomfort. And Claire, who’s the first author and worked on this, the other previous study, is now doing her PhD in this, and this project is going to be looking at visual discomfort in autism, but it’s going to have a focus on educational environments and she’s going to use the Sussex campus as her sort of first trial, if you like. She’s going to again involve students, it’s a participatory project, and get them to sort of go around campus and see where they experience visual discomfort and sort of take photographs of that, and create the stimuli from that and then we’re going to get those rated by students and other people later. There’s lots of aspects to this project. But I think the important thing that’s going to come out of this project is it is going to be able to inform designers and architects and get them to revise any guidelines there are around neurodiversity in spaces. So that project particularly is around, yeah, space, you know, visual discomfort and space. And some other work that I’ve been doing as well, sort of trying to get this initiative going at Sussex, looking at trying to make Sussex a more autism friend university, with that more neurodiversity friendly as a whole. So we’ve worked a little bit with the library looking at the spaces there, working with academic development on sort of staff training. Probably some other things that I can’t think of off the top of my head. I guess it sort of spanned out into quite a few different projects in a sense.
Wendy Garnham 13:38
Yeah, it sounds like the impact’s been quite diverse.
Heather Taylor
I think that the thing you said about the lights, so that is so common. I don’t know whether the student’s autistic or, I can’t remember who’s said when. But it’s very common when I go into a teaching space that they won’t like the lights, you know, want the lights off, which is fair enough. But yeah, there is quite a need for this, and it’s actually really important because I think if I just ignored them and kept the lights as they are, they would really struggle to concentrate. And like I said, I don’t think this is always necessarily autistic students, I think it’s quite common that you know, for whatever reasons it might be, these sorts of fluorescent lights can really interrupt with someone’s concentration. But I suppose that’s the way with when you’re trying to make a more neurodiverse friendly environment it does tend to benefit everyone, doesn’t it?
Sophie Anns
Yes, absolutely. And I think that’s a problem, especially with autism specifically and neurodivergence more generally is that people want a sort of one-size-fits-all tick box, this is how we solve it all. And on one side we’re never going to have that. It’s always about just trying to tailor everything to the individual but at the same time you say very rightly Heather, if we sort of tap into principles of universal design, some of the things most of the things that are going to benefit neurodivergent people is going to benefit all. So it’s striking that balance. So yeah, I think that’s really important and lighting is absolutely key. Yeah, it really. I have the same when I go into you know seminars or workshops, the first thing I do is like, right, let’s all sort out the lighting, the seating and the lighting. And you know, it’s a free for all.
Wendy Garnham
Yeah. I wonder just on that note, how neurodiverse students find outdoor learning. Just as a contrast to that indoor lighting, artificial lighting and sort of very constrained environment, whether learning outdoors is beneficial or whether there’s a sort of a similar sort of issue with over stimulation but in a different way, a different context. But that would be interesting to explore.
Sophie Anns 15:54
It’s really interesting and I think generally people would say it’s probably better because it’s natural, it’s the outdoors, there’s sort of less stimulation. But I know some students that really struggle with the wind, for example, and as we know here, it’s really windy. So yeah, there could be other sort of sensory sensitivities around. Rain. Wind. What’s happening? And it’s quite interesting because that taps into the sort of biophilia sort of theory about how we often assume that nature is best and less stressful. And this comes into some of the work that Claire’s going to be looking at around visual discomfort from a sort of more theoretical standpoint. But we assume natural is better and sometimes it. But actually, if we think about nature, it’s actually a very stimulating environment to be in. And I think there’s some research and I say this very broadly and vaguely, that says, and I’m quoting someone else here, that if you’re already stressed then being in nature is not going to calm you down and help. But if you’re not, then it will. And I’m sure it’s not as straightforward as that. I think that’s quite interesting. But I would love to, you know, personally do much more sort of outdoor teaching like you do, Wendy. But just look at the weather half the time!
Wendy Garnham
Yeah, I’ve done a walking seminar in the cold today and it was freezing. But it does just bring a different atmosphere I think to what we’re doing. So I was saying to Heather earlier, we were sitting in the seminar room – nobody wanted to talk to anybody else. Was very quiet. Very short answers to questions where you know I got an answer at all. The minute we stepped outside, they all started talking to each other, to me, I think there’s something about that idea that if you’re walking and talking the conversation flows naturally, it doesn’t feel like there’s a spotlight on you. It just creates this nice sort of atmosphere of, you know, it’s easy to talk and it’s easy to share ideas and thoughts. But interestingly, we were looking at different blue spaces on campus today and looking at how restorative they found the different blue spaces and what factors might be sort of implicated in their decisions. And so yeah, really interesting, it’ll be interesting to see what their results are
Sophie Anns
Can I ask you a question? What’s your maximum number for a walking seminar?
Wendy Garnham
Normally our seminars are about 20 students max. Today it was my smaller group, so I had seven students, but I mean, you can do it in different ways. Today we did just pairing up or a small group of three, and I gave them like a list of where we were going. They had that in advance so that they knew what the plan was, what the route was. I gave them their questions to consider at each location, so yeah, basically it worked really well because we were all moving together as one. But they were chatting within their pairs or their small groups of three, and it really did facilitate conversation. Yeah, it works. And I think you can as long as you sort of have those smaller groups within a bigger group, it works. It’s just I think trying to do with everybody talking to everyone else or just one person talking amongst the whole crowd I’m not sure that would be as effective. It’s that idea that when you’re walking, whoever you’re next to, it’s just easy to generate conversation. And even at this stage in term, there were students there that hadn’t met, or at least hadn’t worked together before that were introducing themselves to each other. And without any intervention from me, it was just naturally happening. So yeah, I think it’s something that’s quite interesting in terms of neurodiversity and how it can break down barriers. But it’d be interesting to see for, you know, autism, how the symptoms there and the experiences actually feed into that.
Sophie Anns 20:09
Definitely. I mean, I think it generally it would be really, really helpful and especially alleviating that social anxiety and sort of it takes a focus off you, doesn’t it as well. Just sort of more about chatting with the other person. And you’re out in the fresh air, which is always good, even if it’s freezing. They can also, you know, complain about how cold it is as well. Part of a bonding experience as well.
Wendy Garnham
Exactly. But I think it also takes the onus off of us as the instructor because it does sort of strip away that hierarchy. It does sort of facilitate that sort of cooperative collaborative talk. So yeah, it’s it’ll be an interesting one to explore, I think.
Heather Taylor
What advice would you give to anyone regarding scholarship in the area of neurodiversity?
Sophie Anns
I think probably one of the first things I was saying, and it’s leads back to your point, Heather, that you mentioned earlier is about including the neurodivergent students in your research, if possible or projects or work whatever it is that you’re doing. Because that’s just key in getting that, you know, co-creating whatever you’re doing with them. And if it’s research trying to do participatory research with them and, you know, putting them at the sort of centre of the activity or the task or the research, I think it’s really important. So that would be one bit of advice and I think another thing, maybe something that I found useful has been collaborating with other people, not just at Sussex, but elsewhere. If I think about that PhD, how that’s come about, that’s the sort of collaboration, which has just been wonderful. And also I think sometimes, you know, some pedagogical research I come across, sometimes can suffer a little bit, methods wise I would say, and I can say that with you two, because you’re both psychologists, know what I mean? So I think sometimes collaborating with other researchers where there might be, you know, another skill or area that’s missing can be really good. And I think probably the main thing is finding a community or other people to work with, even if again, it that’s not at your own university. And I think if anyone’s interested in doing scholarship work in neurodiversity I can recommend that they join an international community of practice – it’s called Canvas, not to be confused with our learning platform at Sussex, but it stands for let me think, the community of autism. Yeah, Community Autism Network, Virtual Association of Scholars. And I think if you Google that, you’d probably get it. It’s an international network that are all looking at, basically autistic students at university and I think that would be a really good starting point and a great thing to join. And I think it’s just finding your people and working with others and also in an interdisciplinary way, especially with scholarship and pedagogical work. I think we have so much freedom to do that and that’s one of the main areas where I actually do love this role is that, you know, I just get to work with so many different people in different sort of subject areas. Also with professional services with EE here as well as Academic Development, it’s sort of across the board really, Student Services.
Wendy Garnham 23:36
I would like to thank our guests Sophie Anns.
Sophie Anns
Well, thank you very much for having me also.
Wendy Garnham
And thank you for listening. Goodbye.
Wendy Garnham
This has been the Learning Matters Podcast from the University of Sussex, created by Sarah Watson, Wendy Garnham and Heather Taylor, and produced by Simon Overton. For more episodes as well as articles, blogs, case studies and infographics please visit blogs.sussex.ac.uk/learningmatters.
Simon Overton 24:25
This is Simon, the producer. I’m just going to jump in, I hope you don’t mind Heather and Wendy if I do. So I was very interested to understand a little bit more. You’ve mentioned visual discomfort a few times, and I’m getting a sort of a picture in my mind of what that is. We have talked, Wendy and Heather have, a little bit about sort of what I guess is audio discomfort, buzzy things and things like that. But, could you expand a little bit on what visual discomfort is and how that might impact on students at university?
Sophie Anns
Sure. That’s a really good question. And I don’t know if I can that well because I don’t really get it, lots of us don’t. I think most of us can relate to audio discomfort a lot more easily, but say with visual discomfort, it could be like now I’m looking at these bricks in front of me. So I’m looking at sort of a brick, literally a brick wall. So for some people, all those lines could be quite sort of uniform and comforting. For others, maybe the contrast between the dark colour brick and the cement in the middle would be too much, so it could be one or the other of course, but that sort of maybe the sort of things we’re going to be thinking about. I mean, I’m only going on what other people have said, so things that it’s often to do with lines. Might be staircases, corridors and obviously lighting, lighting always comes into it. And then I guess images of nature, so the trees you know, generally most likely going to be positive. But I think it’s more the architecture and the harsh lines and the contrast of the colours. With these incidents of visual discomfort, it’s not just that ‘Oh, I’m not really sure I like the look of that’, for some autistic people that can cause actual physical pain, and they might feel it as a sort of burning sensation through their spinal cord, for example. Or it means they just can’t focus in any way. You know it’s quite extreme because I think even, you know, for myself as neurotypical person, I can relate to the idea of it. I don’t really experience it, but I can imagine. But actually, you know, for autistic people and probably some other people that are neurodivergent it can translate as physical pain through the body. So it’s really important to investigate it for sure.
Simon Overton 26:35
A funny and very simple fix for one of these. So with the flickering, our electrical system in the UK is 50 hertz . So the light is switching on and switching off 50 times every second, which is faster than we should be able to see it. But a lot of equipment, camera equipment and projectors and so on, their default is America, which operates at 60 hertz. So when you have that difference, and if your camera is not set up, you will get flashing or a flickering on your phone. If you’ve ever tried to, I don’t know if anybody else tries to do this, but if you ever try to film like a train or a bus and they have the sign on the front, if your phone is not set up right, if it’s set to an American or NTSC instead of PAL, the sign on the front of the bus will flicker because it’s operating at a different refresh rate to your camera. So that’s a really easy thing to fix, you go into the settings and you just set it to the PAL setting – whether it’s the camera or projector or whatever it is, but a lot of people wouldn’t know to do that, and if someone, if a lecturer for example, has recorded a video or something or an online seminar or something like that – the entire thing – and it’s and it’s set to NTSC the entire video is going to be flickering and it’s going to be driving people like me nuts. And again I’m probably neurotypical, I’ve not really being checked one way or the other, but if it irritates me, I can imagine that it’ll be extremely frustrating for someone who is not neurotypical.
Sophie Anns
Yeah, absolutely. I just wonder if you can fix this problem in my kitchen, Simon.
This has been the Learning Matters Podcast from the University of Sussex, created by Sarah Watson, Wendy Garnham, and Heather Taylor, and produced by Simon Overton. For more episodes as well as articles, blogs, case studies, and infographics, please visit The Learning Matters Forum.
This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit.
This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project.
This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to building community, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.
‘Pedagogy is about human relationships.’
Workshop participant
Challenges
Throughout the workshops, participants shared that the humanness of learning is often lost within digital environments. Lower passion and attendance was recognised in Zoom lectures, with an example from Covid that online learning took away all the good aspects of School. ‘I hadn’t heard a teenager laugh in 8 weeks! Covid and online schooling took all the joy away and given them only Shakespeare.’
In this section, we will explore how digital pedagogies can change when we set the personal, the human, and the emotional as fundamental aspects of digital teaching.
Digital Logics
Breakout rooms were criticised as a failure in copying the aspects of seminars onto a digital platform. People tend to engage variably in breakout spaces.
Furthermore, Bates (2015) calls for the renovation of teaching models and a change in mindset regarding how tools are used within learning. The core component of teaching, whether online in synchronous sessions or in person, should be about facilitating discussions, and teaching materials should be used to supplement this. However, currently the value is on the materials, and discussions, especially online, are seen as ‘extra work’.
There is a need to move towards a pedagogy based on digital logics. One step towards achieving this is to have open conversations on the platforms currently used in lectures. An example was raised about online classes, with an indication that students’ turning off their cameras has become a norm. Why use an audio visual setting when many students don’t want to be seen online?
Group Work
Student feedback suggests that students are rarely enthusiastic about group work. There have been issues reported by students about the struggles of finding a time to meet and a member not showing up, resulting in uneven workloads and stress.
Whilst assessed group work might be common across the university, there is a need to think about how we can create a setting for people to want to work with each other. A topic that should be discussed is the obligatory nature or willingness to do group work.
Cohort based learning was raised as a successful example of working in small groups. It is a new trend in online learning, where cohorts are built within communities which enables people to learn together and build a community of trust. Cohorts not only help individuals within their community, but have access to wider areas of interaction with other cohorts. It has proven valuable with consumers of online learning and is expanding its influence.
Existing Tools
The creation of new tools is costly and time consuming. Therefore, there is a need to utilise existing tools, as well as train and share information around digital literacy. A range of digital tools were suggested to build community and interactivity in digital learning environments.
Gather Town
A creative virtual space where you navigate different areas as an avatar. This gives more options for liminal spaces and asynchronous interactivity than Zoom, which has become the norm since the Pandemic.
Talis Elevate
A collaborative reading tool embeddable into Canvas, which allows annotations on articles uploaded onto the interface. This enables students to add and respond to questions posted on the article, and helps them to understand difficult texts together online.
Loom
An asynchronous alternative to Zoom. Loom enables screen/camera capture with a chat room underneath. Presentations can be recorded, and it enables room for specific discussions associated with the topic.
Panopto
A tool which many teachers are familiar with, mainly used for recording lectures. In addition to screen and presentation capture, Panopto also has a space for collaborative discussion.
Padlet
A tool that offers opportunities for sharing ideas in a group and comparing work across groups. It works well in both synchronous and asynchronous environments, and across them e.g., students who are absent from a synchronous session can still contribute later.
There is a need to find a midway point between having too many and too few platforms used for online learning, which relates to setting clear boundaries between digital platforms used for personal use and for educational/work purposes. A solution suggested was creating a “My Sussex” platform used for all University related work.
Questions and Resources
How could you avoid simply replicating in-person logics in online platforms?
How could group work be embedded more consistently?
How are relationships and communities built during teaching?
What do students want from their online teaching? What tools and practices might help to build more community and liminal spaces in online environments?
Deema Sonbol is a Lecturer in Strategy and Marketing at the University of Sussex Business School. In June 2021, Deema obtained her PhD in Media and Communication from the University of Warwick, where she also worked as an Associate Tutor to support MA students. In 2015, she worked at the University of Business and Technology where she developed and led courses such as Conceptual Communication, Research and Evaluation, Brand Strategy and Marketing Management. Prior to an academic career, she worked as a Marketing Research Strategist within the communications sector.
Her research interests focus on women’s entrepreneurship, social constructionism, discourse and power, Critical Discourse Analysis, essentialism, social mobility, precarious work, and draws upon several disciplines such as media and communication, gender, cultural, business and feminist studies. Deema was nominated for three categories in the 2023 and 2024 Education Awards: Teaching to Disrupt, Inclusive Sussex, and World Readiness.
What I Did
Supporting students’ wellbeing goes beyond academic guidance, it’s about creating a safe space where students feel genuinely heard and supported. I embarked on a journey to support student wellbeing more actively by becoming an ASPIRE mentor and obtaining a certificate from the Mental Health First Aid UK programme. My primary objective was to offer guidance and approachable support for students facing personal and academic challenges that could impact their progress. My role involves facilitating conversations with students, often starting with a simple, “How are you feeling?” and allowing the dialogue to develop based on their needs. This mentorship program has allowed me to serve as a source of encouragement and to help students who might otherwise feel isolated.
Why I Did It
I believe that caring for students’ wellbeing goes hand-in-hand with academic support. Academic success is often interwoven with mental and emotional health. My approach is guided by a sense of empathy and the desire to foster a supportive, inclusive environment. I’ve found that sharing my own minor struggles, such as time management or motivation, helps in breaking down the perceived power dynamics between students and faculty, allowing for more open and honest conversations.
There is often a need for students to connect with someone who can offer reassurance without judgment. Some students, especially those with low perceptions of themselves, face significant obstacles to their academic progression. By actively listening to their concerns, I aim to empower them to take ownership of their challenges, knowing they’re supported.
Impact and Student Feedback
The feedback from students has been positive, both verbally and in written forms. Many have expressed relief in having someone to talk to who genuinely listens and who respects their autonomy in decision-making. For some students, having someone listen without immediately offering advice has been transformative, as it allows them to explore their own solutions and feel more in control.
Through both online and in-person sessions, I’ve observed that many students benefit particularly from face-to-face interactions, especially when discussing sensitive issues. These in-person sessions foster a greater sense of connection, which can sometimes be challenging to achieve in online settings.
Future Practice
I am committed to continuing this mentorship approach and intend to engage in more professional development workshops and explore new mental health resources to enhance my mentorship skills.
Top Tips
For anyone looking to provide similar support to their students, here are my top three tips:
Take initiative by breaking down the power dynamics and becoming more approachable.
Really listen to what students are saying and let them figure out what they can do to help themselves rather than being compelled to give advice immediately.
Engage in personal development workshops to listen to other colleagues’ experiences. We can learn a lot from others.
If you’re a staff member at the University of Sussex and are concerned about a student’s mental wellbeing you can consult your School’s Director of Student Experience as well as guide students to the Student Centre for support. Human Resources also offer a range of training opportunities for staff.
Sensitive topics can be full of triggers. A person who is triggered cannot learn effectively. Hence, it’s important to keep a learning environment respectful so that we don’t trespass on anybody’s boundary of safety. However, controversial and sensitive topics may come up during class discussions, and students may have strong opposing views. Because of this, it is important to first set ground rules that can frame discussions and create ‘safe but brave’ learning communities, where students are able to maintain differing opinions.
Zeeshan Tirmizi, Masters student at Sussex 2023-4
Introduction
Respectful and meaningful learning communities encourage open dialogue, critical thinking, and empathy, where all members of the community respect diversified viewpoints and all community members feel like they belong in a conversation. It is important for students to feel that they belong in their course and in their modules. When teachers take time and effort to create a safe space, it makes students feel that they can get the most from their learning environment. Being part of a respectful and meaningful learning community will help prepare students for future challenges in society. In this way, studying at university not only gives students knowledge of their subject matter, but helps them recognise that challenging and uncertain situations can provide positive learning experiences and an opportunity for growth. This blog post provides guidance on creating respectful and meaningful learning communities in your teaching spaces. It was co-created by colleagues from Educational Enhancement and the University of Sussex students who took part in the project: Supporting the International Student Experience at Sussex and Beyond.
Meet the University of Sussex students who created this resource.
Listen to Liwen describe how safe, but brave, learning communities enable students to talk freely.
Transcript
Liwen: For myself, I think brave is a scenario [where] you can talk. That no one will say you cannot talk, even though other people don’t agree with that. But you can still talk. This is other people’s decisions for that. Safe means you feel like you are not threatened. You are not forced to say those words. You just want to explain that for yourself. So, I think those things still need to exist together, I think, even though other people maybe do not agree [they] respect you.
Zeeshan explains how safe, but brave, learning communities allow people to express their opinions without fear of consequences.
Transcript:
Zeeshan: Having a safe, inclusive, and brave space allows people to feel that kind of sense of safety, that my opinion is going to be acknowledged, and I will not face any consequences for that. And it is okay to be different than others, and it is okay to hold a different opinion. So, having a safe and inclusive space would allow us to not be confined by any kind of boundaries and not think about what the consequences would be having a different perspective of things. When we are talking about learning sensitive topics, I think people mostly feel threatened to hear different things than what they have been believing. So I think it is very difficult to get over our own biases, prejudice. So having a safe space where we can express ideas without fear allows us to look at things from different perspectives which we would have otherwise ignored.
Five recommendations that can help facilitate safe, but brave, learning communities
Welcome your students into the class and make space for them to get to know one another’s backgrounds. Making students feel they are welcomed is crucial, especially for international students, who may not have the same background knowledge and networks as home students. Being from a different cultural background can make it harder for students to feel comfortable when they interact with others. You can help students feel more comfortable with one another by undertaking welcome activities that require students to work in groups and start mixing with their peers. Here are some recommendations for how this can be done across a module:
Before teaching familiarize yourself with your incoming students by sending out a short ‘Getting to Know You’ survey, and providing a space (e.g., a discussion board) where learners can introduce themselves to you and to one another.
At the start of the module pace your introductions, allowing time for the cohort to get to know one another through activities that foster understanding and empathy.
At the start of the module learn to pronounce your students’ names via taking the register and requesting that every student repeat their name back to you, so that you (and the class) can hear how to pronounce their name correctly.
Throughout the module invite students to speak with you privately, or in small groups, during your office hours.
Acknowledge your own positionality with your students. Modelling your own vulnerability as an educator is key to creating safe but brave learning communities. By acknowledging your positionaility, you are showing that it’s okay to not have all the answers.
Before teaching reflect on how your identity (e.g., race, educational background, gender, class) has shaped your teaching methods, expectations of your students, and interactions with them.
At the start of the course discuss your positionality with your students and encourage them to privately reflect on their own.
Throughout the course periodically reflect on your teaching experiences and consider whether your approaches to teaching and your interactions with students have changed over the course of the term. What has caused this change? What have you learnt from this experience?
Co-create (with students) clear class rules to maintain a structured and secure environment. You can set class rules by:
Starting a dialogue about students’ positive and negative experiences of classroom discussions (you could ask students to do this in groups and feedback in a class discussion).
Discussing what kind of learning environment students would like to foster in the classroom and what rules would protect such an environment.
Writing the ground rules into a class contract or charter and store them on Canvas for future reference.
Provide context for any challenging material and help students understand its relevance to your teaching. This can be achieved by:
Using real-world examples, objects, narratives, or multimedia to introduce the topic in a relatable way.
Providing guidelines for respectful engagement, such as active listening, acknowledging diverse viewpoints, and avoiding personal attacks.
Presenting a variety of viewpoints to encourage balanced and critical engagement.
Equip students with the resources they need to engage confidently with challenging material. This can be achieved by:
Using guiding questions or sentence starters to facilitate discussion. For example:
What might be the reasons behind this perspective?
How does this idea connect to what we’ve already learned?
Providing access to glossaries, summaries, or introductory readings to help students understand complex terminology or concepts.
Use role play and debate to put students in others’ shoes: Pippa Morgan suggests using role play activities to broaden students’ viewpoints. You can facilitate debates in which students are randomly allocated to one side of an argument. This type of activity can allow students to explore points of view that they don’t hold themselves. For example:
In a mock negotiation or debate, students must listen carefully to their counterparts to craft appropriate responses.
Following on from the debate, discuss the role of listening in the outcome of the activity and provide feedback on how students engaged.
Manage potentially emotive conversations by:
Asking questions to understand the students’ perspectives, which also allows additional time for you to choose how to respond.
Summarising the issues with the statement and state whether you agree or disagree.
Stopping conversations if they are becoming too emotive and refer to the ground rules.
Redirecting the conversation back to the initial focus of the discussion.
Some of this guidance has been adapted from the University of Sussex webpage, Teaching sensitive subjects. Please see this web page for further information.
This resource was generated from an Education and Innovation Funded project aimed at closing the international awarding gap. To help understand why this gap exists, ten international students participated in a focus group to discuss their experiences at the University. A key theme from the focus group was the importance of understanding assessment expectations and knowing what steps to take to succeed. Drawing on the focus group discussions, the students then worked hard to develop resources aimed at helping you welcome your students to Sussex. They hope you find these resources useful.
This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit.
This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project.
This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to critical digital literacy, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.
I don’t use things critically/strategically – I just adopt it.
Workshop participant
Challenges
There was a mix of responses in terms of participant confidence with using technology and critically accessing information online. Some participants acknowledged a sense of being uninformed when they access and collect information online. Participants feared that digital tools were already available that might make their life easier but that they haven’t yet found them or had the time to try them.
Others indicate an awareness that they tend to see information that ‘the internet chooses to show’ them so they try to vary their sources. Some felt more confident about their use of technological tools and shared an ‘obsessive’ tendency to read technology blogs and play with different software and tools.
Use of AI
People were particularly fearful of the ways in which academia was being automated, with the rise of software like ChatGPT and how AI produced content is received as ‘fact’ (Hasanein and Sobaih, 2023). Participants shared a need to try new things, as well as being critical and challenging sources that come from certain places.
They also discussed how students can be encouraged to question sources and build their own sense of digital literacy: Where did a source/data come from? Who wrote it? Is the author/source reliable? What have others said about the topic?
Proposals
Incorporating critical digital literacy was acknowledged as an important part of creating a broader introduction to life at university. Frequently considered difficult to pin down (Pangrazio et al., 2020), digital literacy is defined as ‘socially situated practices’ which are ‘supported by skills, strategies and stances that enable the representation and understanding of ideas using a range of modalities enabled by digital tools’ (O’Brien and Scharber, 2008: 67). An induction module, that students can receive credit for, was discussed, where students could engage in activities across year groups on how to navigate university, on topics like: developing their critical digital literacy; how to engage in university-style learning; how to conduct research; and how to write academically, in a project-based environment.
Questions and Resources
How do you question the platforms you use and the sources you find?
How could you try new things using online and digital tools?
How can you promote critical digital literacy in students?
How could you induct students into university structures and practices?
O’Brien, D. and Scharber, C., (2008) ‘Digital Literacies Go to School: Potholes and Possibilities’. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 52(1): pp. 66–68.Pangrazio, L., Godhe, A-L., Ledesma, A. G. L., (2020) ‘What is digital literacy? A comparative review of publications across three language contexts’ E-Learning and Digital Media, 17:6.
The Learning Matters Podcast captures insights into, experiences of, and conversations around education at the University of Sussex. The podcast is hotsed by Prof Wendy Garnham and Dr Heather Taylor. It runs monthly, and each month is centred around a particular theme. The theme of our forth episode is ‘scholarship for science teaching’, and we will hear from Prof. Zahid Pranjol (Professor of Biomedical Science) and Dr. Luis Ponce Cuspinera (Senior Lecturer in Engineering) as they discuss teaching and scholarship in the sciences.
Welcome to the Learning Matters podcast from the University of Sussex, where we capture insights, experiences, and conversations around education at our institution and beyond. Our theme for this episode is scholarship for science teaching. And our guests today are Professor Zahid Pranjol from Life Sciences and Dr Luis Ponce Cuspinera from Engineering and Informatics. Our names are Wendy Garnham and Heather Taylor, and we are your presenters today. Welcome, everyone.
Heather Taylor 0:42
Right then. So, Zahid, can you tell us a little bit about the context of your scholarship?
Zahid Pranjol
So my teaching is based on student centered learning. And in my teaching, which I do on anatomy and some of the human physiology areas such as the cardiovascular system and others, I really try to bring in an Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) element to my to that and, it’s student centered so it’s all done through co-creation, through a lot of active learning. So in terms of my teaching it’s my scholarship, they’re quite intertwined, and it’s based on the philosophy that I want our students to be involved. Teach them global perspectives and co-creation and all of that.
Heather Taylor 1:40
So then same question to you Luis.
Luis Ponce Cuspinera
So I teach 2nd year students in electrical and electronics engineering. Most of the subjects that I teach have been traditional living, kind of, very theoretical, and I try to do more hands on activities, and I get the students to use simulation and more addressing the problems kind of like the way they will as engineers in the real world. So that is the things that I try to bring into the classroom.
So the students still get theoretical knowledge but they do spend quite a few hours, doing hands on activities and simulating engineering problems.
Wendy Garnham 2:15
So given that context what issues do you see as being particularly pressing in science teaching?
Zahid Pranjol
So a major challenge, if you’re talking about EDI teaching and inclusivity, one of the major challenges we have today is what we teach and how we teach it. So for example, eurocentric curriculum. I think a lot of our materials are based on what’s been done in Europe, and the knowledge that stems from Europe and not the knowledge that we have in other parts of the world.
So the challenge is how do we bring that into our curriculum, and how do we get our staff and students to engage with that new materials. Well it’s not new materials but the materials that have been hidden away for a long time. And then bring that back to life. So that is the that is the major challenge, and the reason why it’s a challenge, is that, we want our students to graduate and be competent in the context of the global market. They need to learn global perspectives, they need to be able to appreciate the different perspectives of science, they’ll be working with people from different backgrounds, they’ll be working on patients who are from different backgrounds and so I really need them to engage with that knowledge and understanding and appreciate that difference.
Wendy Garnham 3:44
Yeah. I think that that resonates I think across a number of areas of teaching as well. I think that’s a really topical issue. I’m going to pose the same question to you, Luis. What issues would you say are particularly pressing in your field of science teaching?
Luis Ponce Cuspinera
I would like to highlight two. I think that one of them is that, obviously, we have learning and understanding as some of the key elements of teaching and learning. And because of the advances in technology, having information such at hand, having so many tools that can do very advanced stuff, particularly in engineering. I think that to some extent that this disengages the students, you know, and, they tried to do very advanced things because that’s the things that are living in the day to day.
And we try to approach things by teaching the fundamentals because we believe that the understanding of the fundamentals will lead them to do these kind of greater things. So I think that is one of the main challenges that we have with so much information, so many tools that we have available to solve complex problems, how do we get them engaged? And how do we get them to understand the subjects so that these tools become really, really powerful? And the second one that I want to highlight is that, normally when we’re thinking about engineering, we are thinking solving problems.
And I think that is embedded from very early days, solving problems. And I think that we don’t always focus or emphasize the problem formulation. And I think that is another element that we’re missing. A lot of our students, and I think that probably all the students, all the engineering students around the world, they get a problem and they want to find the solution rather than trying to formulate the problem, really understand what is the thing that they have at hand and how to tackle it or how to address it. So I think that these are two key things that I tried to solve with my scholarship.
Wendy Garnham 5:33
I’m particularly interested in, that idea of sort of there being so many tools and so many technological advances and that idea of sort of being able to support students in how to use them effectively. I think that is going to be increasing important.
Heather Taylor 5:51
So, Zahid, can you give us an idea of what scholarship projects you are or have been working on?
Zahid Pranjol 5:59
So in Life Sciences, the main project that I’ve been doing since 2020 is integrating decolonised and inclusive content into our curriculars. And we’ve done that through our EDI committee as well as a lot of work with students. So for example, we created this race equity action plan, and part of that action plan we had several themes and one of the theme was teaching and learning. So part of that theme, and also these themes are created through collaborative work with students, so co-creation again. But one of the things we wanted to highlight is to teach a variety of cultural and scientific traditions within our curriculum.
For example we teach about DNA, the history of DNA discovery. And we always talk about Watson and Crick, but nobody mentions Rosalind, so there is this sort of hidden agenda almost that it was a male centric discovery when actually it wasn’t. So we highlight these things and we also highlight discoveries of vaccine, you know it wasn’t done by Jenner, it was actually done by a slave from Africa, who was brought to America and he saved a lot of lives. And so these are all historical scientific discoveries that are not taught to our students and that they need to know the true history of science.
So what we’ve done is in all subjects, in all courses, we have a module dedicated to teach students about the true history of science, different ethical aspects of clinical trials that went wrong and really appreciate that these things were not correct. So the knowledge that we have today, some of it may have stemmed from that part. However we don’t eliminate Eurocentric knowledge. That’s not the point of decolonising the curriculum. What the issue is that you know what we want to do, what we’re going to achieve is integrate and include more of these different works done by ethnic minority scientists, female scientists, and bring them from all around the world and show how it works differently.
So and on a practical point of view what we did, so these are obviously theories we implement them, embed them in our curriculum, But also when it comes to teaching we do two things. One, we have a lot of case studies, case study based group work. And these case studies are not just plain simple patient case study you know, Mister Watson or Mister James had this cardiac arrest. We actually bring in the ethnic side of things.
So we try to introduce somebody who’s from an Indian background or maybe African background. And so we bring in this diversity and that shows genetic diversity but also precision medicine which is where you have the treatment that is not the same for all. There are different treatments for different people for the same disease. So we highlight these things and also we talk about personal experience and experience that exists within communities. So an ethnic minority person who is pregnant might have a different experience than somebody who’s from, lets say, a local Caucasian background. So we tend to highlight these with case studies and stories.
And the second thing we are about to do is called global class rooms. So we are inviting groups of students from India, to join a couple of our courses online at live hybrid seminars, so that students can engage knowledge of the local initiatives and local perspectives and things that happen locally. For example malaria, we teach them about malaria. Yeah great it’s textbook stuff but really we want to hear from students from southern India and Africa. Tell us how they deal with malaria, what are the access to healthcare issues, you know there are barriers to access to healthcare, there are barriers to, there are cultural elements as well. So you bring those into the classroom for our students to actually see the world with a different lens that you know what, the things are very different out there and that’s what you want to achieve in the end and this is a couple of things we’ve been doing in in the School of Life Sciences. We’ve had some successes but we continue to push for more.
Wendy Garnham 10:28
Sounds amazing. Really opens their mind to the global picture rather than just the, as you say, just the textbook knowledge.
Heather Taylor 10:40
I think as well it’s just great that we’re told as teachers to, you know, decolonise the curriculum, sometimes it’s not that straightforward how you do it. I’ve done projects myself with students doing co-creation stuff, and evaluation of modules, related to that.
But, you know, the idea that you’ve got some really, really practical things, practical steps to take. So, Luis, can you give us an idea of what scholarship project you are or have been working on as well, please?
Luis Ponce Cuspinera 11:16
Yeah. So one of the main things I try to do with my students in electrical engineering is that I deliver the theory a little bit, kind of like in the normal context, but then they have a lot of hands on activities that range from doing some experimentation with real electrical machines. So they will do the tests, they will gather data, and they will understand how the theory matches with the experiment. And then I give them multiple scenarios from real engineering problems where they have to do simulations using tools such as MATLAB, and then they will be solving these problems. But rather than just solving the problem, like the way we see it in the classroom where you’re given a set of data and you just know how to solve the problem, I asked them, or I pose the question, like, if there are engineers working already, so they have to validate or they have to test something, and they will gather the data from the real world rather than from the classroom.
They do go through a process of learning and struggling, you know, kind of translating the theory into the real world. And, but I also prompt them into the kind of that engineering practice where I say, this is not far from what you will face when you become an engineer and you start working in industry. There are going to be some things that will come very straightforward to you. I know what to do. There are other things that you’re going to struggle a little bit more.
You also need to learn how to self learn, but also be able to ask for help, whether it’s through colleagues or to line managers. So I encourage that they talk to each other. I encourage that they come and ask me questions as if I was their line manager. So give it a go because you don’t want to be the person that is nagging the line manager all the time, but, at the same time, you don’t want to be stuck forever not giving the results to your line manager. And, it tends to work quite well, most of my students do get engaged, and I think that part of the self learning and self development is quite embedded into the way I teach.
And towards the end of the module, they actually design and make a physical implementation of one of the devices that they have to design. So it’s a full process where I take them from, this is how the real world works, this is how we normally operate in the engineering world with using simulations and so on, and now it’s your turn to take from scratch to design something. And they tend to be quite good at that design element, I guess, because they have gone through the learning process at the beginning and in the middle. I think that’s in a nutshell, that’s how I will describe it.
Heather Taylor 13:50
Yes. Brilliant. And I mean, it must be something like you’re saying is valuable if it’s in the real world, and it must be something that like the working world, and it must just be something that they, employers, must be very pleased, I would imagine, about this. I mean, whether they know or not, I don’t know. But, when they get someone who’s come from university into a job, and they’re like, oh, I’ve worked through problems practically, yeah, it’s great.
Wendy Garnham 14:15
Yeah. I was going to say, employability aspect is pretty strong, which brings us to our next question, in fact. So maybe we’ll start with you this time, Luis, in talking about the impact that you think your scholarship will have or that you hope it will have.
Luis Ponce Cuspinera
I think that one of the main things that I have seen already in my students is that they get more engaged in the module, which was a little bit concerning, especially just kind of pandemic, post pandemic, where the engagement was suffering a little bit. And they do learn a lot about their self development and self learning, which is a life skill. So that will help them whatever routes they end up taking, in their lives. So I think that is really, really good. And the fact that they learn how to formulate their problems.
I think that whenever they go to an interview or they’re discussing a potential job or they’re discussing with their managers, the way they’re thinking is slightly different because they’re not just thinking ‘this is how I solve the problem’, but rather ‘this is how I tackled the situation that I have in front of me’. And whether it’s breaking it down, whether it’s just having different approaches, using simulation, running to the lab and doing some testing or designing something, you know, building a prototype. I think that those skills, employability, of course, are very variable for them. So this is one of the main things that I want them to get out of my scholarship.
Wendy Garnham 15:40
I suppose it’s good as well that they have the oversight of the whole process rather than just one sort of problem solving aspect of it, it’s looking at that whole process from how you work through from the initial identifying what the problem is right the way through to the end.
Heather Taylor 15:57
Do you see more confidence in the students, do you think, as a result of them doing it? Maybe it’s too early to tell, you know, from if you’re doing it all within the same year group. But I just wonder if it would give them better confidence entering the workplace?
Luis Ponce Cuspinera
I hope it does. I definitely see them more confident as they go through the semester. And, they do struggle at the beginning, I have to say, because it’s quite unusual. They’re very used to kind of traditional A levels, you know, especially when you are facing already ‘I’m going to do engineering or mathematical sciences’ kind of thing. They are so used to just solving the problems, you know, numerically, that when they have to face the real data, and I give them data sheets, that come from manufacturers and things like that, they start to see that not everything is exactly the way we teach it, but, they can bridge that. And that’s the aim, you know, that they bridge that and they do quite well towards the end of the semester. I think that they gain more value and they have that confidence, and normally, at least from informal experience, I say students that meet me on the following semester, they say how much, they appreciate now the skills that they acquire through that module and how that has helped them in sort of facing the 2nd semester and even their final year.
Heather Taylor 17:25
Oh, amazing. That’s great.
Wendy Garnham 17:28
It’s like the strongest form of active learning, really, isn’t it? Just dropping them in at the deep end with a proposal, I like the sound of that a lot. So I’m going to pose the same question to you, Zahid. In terms of your scholarship, what impact do you think it has had or will have or what do you hope it will have?
Zahid Pranjol 17:48
So the ultimate goal is to have our students learn about holistic science. Science is not just you get in the lab, it’s also about learning the history of science, and knowing that science is a global thing and we want them to be global citizens and global workers. So you know we have a lot of group projects and group work, group activities, and these are majority of them, at least in my modules, and I know that it’s done across the school now as part of the new curriculum which is great, is to teach students, for them to work together on ideas and cases or patients cases that really highlight the global perspective, so how things work differently in another country and how does it work here in the UK, even in the UK how does it work for different communities, you know what is the acceptance rate, why is there a hesitancy in taking COVID vaccine in certain communities, and why is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and treatment different in different communities and why do you see that difference in morbidity and mortality rate.
So the idea is for them to work in real world context. Now have I seen any impact yet? We have a couple of students that came back to me, they graduated last year. And they said actually when they went to the workplace they’re more able to sort of appreciate the differences. And they could quickly pick on that, ‘oh actually this person is from ethnic minority and they have a different result compared to this group of people, so that means, oh actually, yeah, we did learn that there are differences’, so I think that’s what we want to achieve, we want them to appreciate the differences and we do live in a world where as you can see there’s tensions and political tensions globally right? What else, what more can you want at this point, you want your students to learn? How to respect, how to live in peace, how to understand each other’s views and appreciate those differences. So yeah I think that’s the plan, we want them to be holistic scientists or employees who have all the skills. And I think maybe in 5 to 10 years time we’ll see a much bigger impact going forward.
Decolonisation is not just a Sussex thing, it’s happening all across, and especially in science there’s a big push now because you could decolonise. I can’t say it can decolonise easily but you could decolonise subjects like social sciences, but it’s really tough to challenge some of the views that exists in science. How can you challenge a professor who’s so big in their field and tell them ‘actually you know what you should do things differently’. It’s very challenging but we start small and we expand and you make it big and you get people to accept it and engage with it. So for example – I’ll give you one example in Life Sciences. When we first started talking about this decolonising curriculum, the uptake was very low and I was faced with some challenges. You know I faced some challenges. So for example, somebody came to me and said, ‘do you really want me to erase all the reading materials that are written by white scientists?’ And because I can’t do that. I’m like, well, that’s not the point. Just so you know, it’s about including, more diverse materials. And then when I did that actually and he showed it to me, ‘do you think it’s okay?’ I’m like, yeah, sure. It’s great. So it’s all about engaging with them at a micro level to start with and then expand and work with students because they’re the ones who have the voice to make a difference.
So co creation. So that’s the impact I hope to achieve that they will become very employable in the context of this diversity, the globalisation and the real world contexts.
Wendy Garnham 21:58
I suppose the impact there is also for staff as well. It’s just clarifying what it means to have a decolonised curriculum and how to practically go about ensuring that as well because it sounds as though the staff are benefiting as well as the students from this input that you’ve had with the scholarship. So, yeah, it sounds like it’s a double whammy.
Zahid Pranjol 22:19
That’s the plan.
Heather Taylor
In the future as well, I just think that teaching students this now and you’re providing greater representation, but you’re also just giving them really valuable perspectives like you said that they can use practically, and will be important to people practically, but also the problem you were talking about earlier about how the theory and research is very Eurocentric. Well, hopefully, in the future, as a result of this kind of work, it will move away from that and this will be – it’s not a problem that will never go away. It’s an evolving thing as culture changes and so on. But I mean, yeah, the idea that we can more easily access and know about multiple perspectives in the future, I think starts here so you could have a massive impact in the future, you know? Yeah, it’s great.
Zahid, what advice would you give to anyone regarding scholarship in science teaching?
Zahid Pranjol 23:21
I think it’s very important to be open minded. That’s number one advice because scientists we tend to focus on one thing, you know. I can spend my whole life on one protein. Or one antibody and you know, and so I think we need to be open minded.
We need to be open to ideas that are not very ‘sciency’ in my own specialisations. So it could be, you know, educational matters in science. So I think we also need to listen to students, they have lots of great ideas, and you know if you can involve them as well in our work we can really make something big and something different from it. Which is what we’ve seen in our work, that when you involve students they’re fantastic, they have so many great ideas and so yeah and I think that’s what we need as science educators, we need to be more open minded, open to ideas, and especially you’re open to challenges, you know, challenge yourself a little bit. The things you are teaching is great, but what if we did that differently?
What if we change the way we taught and the things we taught. And I think that’s very important and you know, the curiosity comes from our science, but I think we should pass that curiosity a bit more onto how we disseminate knowledge and we are the ones who are influencing all these people, all these young minds. So they need to be more open minded and have a bit more student-centred approach. And I think then you could do different things differently with big impacts hopefully in the future.
Wendy Garnham 25:04
I think sometimes it’s that element of risk taking that we need to be brave and just be prepared to take a little risk with the knowledge it may not always work out exactly as we want, but if you don’t take that risk, you don’t move things forward.
Heather Taylor
Yeah. Definitely.
So same question to you then, Luis. What advice would you give to anyone regarding scholarship in science teaching?
Luis Ponce Cuspinera
There’s not much to add, to be honest, to what Zahid has said. I think he has covered quite a few points that I was thinking, he was mentioning them already. Maybe we’re connected because we’re just sitting next to each other. But, Wendy also mentioned that the sort of being brave, try to explore, and be open with the students, and if the students are involved in the process as well.
I have to say that I probably had it a little bit wrong the first time I thought this way. My students were very, very stressed and everything. Even though I had used some students to try to kind of gauge whether it was suitable or not. I would say that to some extent, I got it wrong.
But I adapted, and I was trying to adapt as I went through. I fixed some things as kind of on the go almost for that first iteration, and then the subsequent situations worked much, much better, and the students were enjoying the benefits or are enjoying the benefits, without an amount of stress, because this is something that I definitely don’t want. And I wanted also to take away the stress that they have from exams. So I got rid of the exam for a reason. So I didn’t want to bring stress levels elsewhere.
So I think that’s, yeah, be brave and be adaptable, you know, adapt as you go. Keep the communication open with your students, especially the first couple of times that you are implementing something new because, you are also learning. Right? Because you are exploring something new.
Definitely. And I think they’re the sort of skills that employers are looking for anyway. So you’re sort of really feeding into that employability agenda, I guess.
Heather Taylor
Yeah, brilliant.
Wendy Garnham
So, I would like to thank our guests, Zahid and Luis, and thank you, everyone, for listening. Goodbye.
This has been the Learning Matters Podcast from the University of Sussex, created by Sarah Watson, Wendy Garnham, and Heather Taylor, and produced by Simon Overton. For more episodes as well as articles, blogs, case studies, and infographics, please visit The Learning Matters Forum.
This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit.
This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project.
This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to student engagement, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.
‘How could engagement be recorded differently?’
Workshop participant
Challenges
Despite ‘interactivity’ being a buzzword linked to the digital, a lot of loneliness and disconnection was observed by teachers in online contexts, with the teacher feeling like they had to carry the discussions. How do teachers disrupt the likelihood of passivity in online settings?
Participants shared how they learn best, and discussed how various aspects (setting, content, emotions, etc.) affect their engagement levels (Boler, 2015). One opinion was that content and passion affects learning outcomes, alongside if the learning arose internally (from curiosity) or externally (they were told to do so). Space and engagement have a close relation, and people are more likely to be passive in bigger settings such as large meetings, webinars, or lectures.
While these opinions were based on the individual’s ability to learn, clear expectations set by the teacher were a big factor in enabling confidence. For example, clear expectations of interactivity using a chat function or speaking aloud increases engagement in online lectures.
Participants felt that there was a lack of emphasis on the differentiation of each learner. Some learn well reading alone rather than collaborating in classrooms: ‘Sometimes it’s best when I’m left completely alone to investigate and explore.’ This was a heightened difficulty with digital technology, which demands significant adaptation and attention from both teachers and students (Haleem et al., 2022). Therefore, there is a need to recognise these differences and create an environment which is attentive to each students’ needs.
Managing limitations to one’s attention was particularly challenging with online learning, where individuals are overwhelmed with a variety of notifications and content, and their attention tends to be dispersed. Participants agreed that how we learn is dependent on too many cultural/social factors, and although useful for self-reflection, a set learning style cannot be applied all the time. Adapting content and format for a set learning style in a classroom or online setting increased pressure on staff to figure out what works for the majority.
Connection and flexibility
Throughout the workshops, participants came up with two solutions: ways to promote more connection and flexibility; and a call to change the existing mindset about how passivity and engagement is measured and recorded.
One of the participants shared a successful case from their own experience that disrupted the passive student role. ‘I found a huge shift in engagement from students when I shared tasks that I could see happening and students could collaborate on’. Creating online tasks where the teacher can see work happening in real time, or where students can collaborate together, is usually one of the best ways to promote interactivity in online spaces. Traditional learning formats should be challenged; lectures could be more dynamic and interactive, rather than a passive space where students sit and listen.
Instead of creating a set learning style for each individual, it is best to be flexible and create opportunities and choices for students and teachers to figure out what works for them in different contexts and situations.
Measuring Engagement
Participants identified a difference between passive and active engagement, with teachers noting that when students didn’t seem to engage actively, teachers didn’t feel seen. The notion of active engagement should be problematised for ignoring that of more passive learners.
A more welcoming mode of measuring and recording engagement should be created, assessed in a more human way, with one to ones or small group meetings, rather than focusing on current engagement data as the only appropriate mode of engagement. Three approaches to measuring engagement that could work in tandem:
Data collection: statistics such as attendance, library data and grades.
Self reflection: give the space for students to self reflect on their research journey based on the data collected as well as their personal experiences.
Human intervention: create a space of support to keep students on track. Statistics can have a negative impact on students, and they need a place of contact and adaptable support.
Questions and Resources
How is your students’ attention and engagement impacted by their use of digital technologies?
Can you collaborate with students when setting expectations and intentions of certain spaces and invite them to share experiences of their engagement (anonymously, in one to ones, small groups)?
How is engagement measured and recorded in your teaching and learning setting?
How is your teaching and learning setting supportive to those who might be passive rather than active engagers?
Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Qadri, M.A. and Suman, R. (2022). ‘Understanding the role of digital technologies in education: A review.’ Sustainable Operations and Computers, 3(3), pp. 275–285.
Tobey Ahamed-Barke is a student on the Contemporary History MA course. He is entering his second year as a Race Equity Advocate for Media, Arts and Humanities, a role which involves advocating for students of colour at Sussex and working with staff and students to reduce the awarding gap and improve the experience of students of colour.
The Race Equity Advocate (REA) project began in 2020 to help close the significant awarding gap between students of colour and white students at Sussex. As of 2022-23, the awarding gap between black home students and white home students at Sussex is 25.8%, meaning that black home students are 25.8% less likely to receive a good degree (First or 2:1) than their white home student peers, even when entry levels are considered. This gap is higher than the sector, which sits at 22.4% (2022/23).
Students who work as REAs develop projects with the Students’ Union and staff at the University to help improve the experience of students of colour. As an REA for Media, Arts and Humanities (MAH), I have spent the past year working with fellow REA Abby Keyla and SU Equity and Inclusion Coordinator Arham Farid on a range of projects towards this goal. This has included representation and advocacy roles, such as involvement in the MAH Student Forum and meetings with senior leadership. We also focused on improving the understanding of race equity and the awarding gap at Sussex by recording a podcast about liberation with students and SU staff (soon to be published). However, the issues that students of colour face are structural and embedded within University pedagogy, and we believe that non-inclusive teaching practices adversely impact the experience and success of students of colour, so one of our central projects focused on curriculum redesign and ‘decolonising the curriculum’.
We spent the Spring semester running a ‘decolonise the curriculum’ pilot study with the History department. This focused on the first-year History BA Making of the Modern World module, with great help from then-module convenor Professor Jim Endersby. Four students of colour who had completed the module were recruited for five hours of paid work, in which they reflected on the module and provided feedback in two meetings. The participants discussed what decolonisation meant to them, how the module could be decolonised, and how the History course could be decolonised more broadly too. Abby and I wrote these findings up into a report, linked below, which outlines the key findings of the pilot study and their implications for decolonising the curriculum. These findings show best practice that tutors can take up to facilitate inclusive, decolonised teaching.
Recommendations from the Decolonise the Curriculum Study
Content Warnings and Distressing Content
Participants appreciated when tutors used content warnings at the start of lectures and seminars for ‘difficult’ and offensive language, like outdated and derogatory terminology, as well as for distressing imagery, such as photographs of violence. They concurred with their tutors’ decisions not to vocalise offensive language and felt that distressing imagery is better suited to seminars, where it can be discussed and unpacked collectively, rather than being displayed in lectures.
To avoid Eurocentrism and the othering of Global South topics and people of colour, the participants felt that there should be more regionally and culturally diverse content throughout modules, rather than Global South topics being ‘tacked on’ at the end of lectures or in the final weeks of modules. These topics must be examined with equal analytical rigour as white, Western topics and must be approached as self-sufficient, not always discussed in reference to the West. They should also not just focus on Global South elites and elite culture, but more grassroots approaches where possible.
Readings
The participants felt that essential readings are still dominated by white, male authors. Essential readings should have more diverse authorships, not only from academics of colour/from the Global South, but also non-academics with lived experiences of the topics. Participants appreciated when other forms of media were used as ‘essential readings’, such as videos, photos, and blogs, as this can de-privilege elite forms within modules and improve the diversity of cultures and topics being represented.
Staff diversity
There needs to be more efforts to increase the racial diversity of staff in the History department and at Sussex. The participants explained that the lived experiences of tutors of colour facilitate the introduction of decolonial perspectives into the curriculum and affects the diversity of topics taught during the degree, as well as providing representation and avenues of aspiration for students of colour, so improved diversity needs to be prioritised at Sussex.
Next Steps
The REAs highly recommend that tutors integrate these findings into their modules wherever possible. Improving the diversity of module content can improve the inclusivity of modules, while handling distressing content sensitively can avoid the alienation of students of colour. While staff diversity is not an issue tutors can as readily address themselves, it is important that departments, faculty, and the senior management of the University prioritise hiring staff of colour and break down the barriers that prevent students of colour from continuing to further study and careers in academia.
There still needs to be more work done on how specific courses and modules can be decolonised. Different courses have different needs, and some of our findings are far from unanimous – for instance, there are differing opinions on the benefits of content warnings. For this reason, the REAs have proposed a Connector Project that would look at modules across MAH undergraduate courses. Like the pilot study, this would enable students of colour to give feedback on how the curriculum should be decolonised. Any work on decolonising the curriculum should also feed into guidelines on module design and approval, while tutors’ efforts to decolonise their own modules should be built into their Planning of Annual Workload (PAW) hours.
It is the responsibility of all staff to decolonise their teaching and help address the awarding gap. Many staff are already doing their bit to decolonise the curriculum and make Sussex a more inclusive space, but progress is slow and the awarding gap is persistent. Decolonisation therefore needs to be made a crucial part of Sussex’s central strategy through active implementation of decolonial pedagogy and inclusive teaching practices, to address the structural barriers that work against students of colour.
Get in Touch
I will be continuing as an REA for this coming academic year. If you have any questions or would like to contribute to work around decolonising the curriculum, please get in touch at tobey.a@sussexstudent.com.
This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit.
This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project.
This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to accessibility and culture, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.
‘We forget that we are actually dealing with people.’
Workshop participant
Challenges
Participants shared that groups from certain backgrounds, contexts or countries may be more susceptible to surveillance, especially racialised groups, and may be subject to further marginalisation as a result. Considering the context from which students originate is a useful way to safeguard students. One participant shared that, instead of creating safe spaces, they talk to their students about creating ‘accountable’ spaces, in which people are invited to share freely but can be challenged for the things they say that might harm others.
Making online sessions accessible was discussed, both from the perspective of including those with financial issues (who may struggle to access a laptop or have problems with reliable Wi-Fi connection) and those who are neurodivergent, disabled or have a mental health condition. Students should ideally be involved in any modifications to ensure specific adjustments are beneficial for the student, but the time implications of managing multiple, sometimes conflicting, needs and complicated technological interventions can be overwhelming for staff.
The intersection of disability and racial politics coincides in the use of attendance records: the home office usually sets attendance as a condition of international students’ visas and attendance records are typically lower for disabled and neurodivergent students, which typically leads to further intervention from the university. Although this data gathering can be useful for staff to reach out to students to offer further support, these structures of oversight can have the opposite effect for students who can feel policed and ashamed for their low attendance (Macfarlane, 2013).
Proposals
A key component of teaching involves caring for students, which is often an unpaid and underappreciated part of supporting students, made particularly challenging during the Covid-19 pandemic (Gray, 2022). Some participants noted that it is useful to consider small details in a student’s day, such as how they travelled to campus, to discuss how even the journey to the classroom (how far students travel, the disruptions to the flow of their day, how hungry they might be) locates how they are able to learn. It is important to humanise these day-to-day practices in the classroom, to check in and connect with students to build community amongst students and teachers. These tend to be lost in both synchronous and asynchronous digital learning environments, but this does not need to be the case.
Questions and Resources
How might students’ needs be better assessed?
How can content/format/structure be modified to support disabled students?
Gray, B., (2022) ‘The University Cannot Love You: Gendered Labour, Burnout and the Covid-19 Pivot to Digital’ in G. Veletsianos & S. Koseoglu, (Eds.) Feminist Critical Digital Pedagogy: An Open Book, EdTech Books.
Macfarlane, B., (2013) ‘The Surveillance of Learning: A Critical Analysis of University Attendance Policies’, Higher Education Quarterly,Volume 67: Issue4, October, pp. 358-373
