Keynote presentation, London Met Learning and Teaching Conference, 20 June 2020

1. New ways of being and
belonging:
Developing approaches to the new student/staff experience in Higher Education
London Met Teaching and Learning Conference, June 2020
Sheila MacNeill (@sheilmcn)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

2. Challenges and BIG questions
• What are we doing to help new students transition to online learning for
September, and to support new and continuing students beyond initial induction?
• How are we repositioning pedagogic practices and the curriculum beyond mode of
delivery?
• Are we doing enough to re-think time and space(s) for learning with respect to
learners’ individual capacity to engage in formal learning activities, timetabling of
courses, the technologies learners have at their disposal, and ensuring an equitable
learning experience for all?
• How are we considering the relationship between the home, digital and campus
environments in relation to online learning and the hybrid models of learning and
teaching we will more towards?
• How can we support our learning communities (within programmes of study and
the university) to ensure a ‘sense of belonging’ within the context of online and
socially distanced learning and teaching?

3. Image:https://flic.kr/p/2iXvEow

5. The myths around university learning and
teaching and the need for counter narratives
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BYThis Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

7. The great
online pivot:
what, and
who, is being
pivoted?
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8. • “Many students from low-
income families like Charles-
Cregan’s lack the basic
technology they need to study
online, including access to a
laptop and a reliable broadband
connection, along with a quiet
place in which to work and
complete assessments”.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/04/i-cant-get-motivated-
the-students-struggling-with-online-learning

9. Physical v social,
space and place
How to “be” at university?
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10. Presence
and
ParticipationCurriculum
& Context
Care
Accessibility
Inclusion
Equity
Social
justice
Public
pedagogy
Engagement
Feedback
and
assessment
Design

11. Revisiting
the student
experience
Focus on 1st year – cancelled
exams, no end of school
rites of passage, where are
the socialization
opportunities?
Rethinking induction
Flipping the curriculum,
rethinking our spaces
(digital & physical)
Redefining engagement for
students (and staff!)
Focus on digital capabilities
(personal and institutional)
Co production opportunity
Giving ourselves time to
work with students, action
research on what
engagement means now

12. Challenges and BIG questions
• What are we doing to help new students transition to online learning for
September, and to support new and continuing students beyond initial induction?
• How are we repositioning pedagogic practices and the curriculum beyond mode of
delivery?
• Are we doing enough to re-think time and space(s) for learning with respect to
learners’ individual capacity to engage in formal learning activities, timetabling of
courses, the technologies learners have at their disposal, and ensuring an equitable
learning experience for all?
• How are we considering the relationship between the home, digital and campus
environments in relation to online learning and the hybrid models of learning and
teaching we will more towards?
• How can we support our learning communities (within programmes of study and
the university) to ensure a ‘sense of belonging’ within the context of online and
socially distanced learning and teaching?

13. Thank you for listening
• Q&A
• Sheila MacNeill
• sheilamacneill@me.com , @sheilmcn
• https://howsheilaseesit.net/

14. Related links
• https://www.alt.ac.uk/communityResources
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/21/if-we-can-do-without-gcses-and-university-exams-now-why-go-back
• https://inews.co.uk/news/education/coronavirus-top-uk-universities-hybrid-online-face-to-face-teaching-2861327
• https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/20/uk-universities-facing-760m-hit-one-in-five-students-plan-defer
• https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/how-open-campuses-or-not-test-university-leadership
• https://blog.mahabali.me/educational-technology-2/pedagogy-of-care-covid-19-edition/
• https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/you-re-being-watched-and-recorded-every-breath-students-unsettled-by-exam-software-
20200519-p54ucb.html
• https://www.academia.edu/36834708/A_typology_for_a_social_justice_approach_to_assessment_Learning_from_universal_desi
gn_and_culturally_sustaining_pedagogy
• https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/induction-creating-socially-distanced-campuses-and-education-project
• https://wonkhe.com/blogs/what-do-we-mean-when-we-say-were-offering-a-full-student-experience/
• https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/17/students-want-to-confront-it-academics-on-how-to-decolonise-the-
university