Tag: University of Reading

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Virtual placements for students with special educational needs during COVID-19

Dr Yota Dimitriadi , Subject Leader for the PGCE Secondary Computer Science, along with the PGCE Secondary Computer Science students recently created an online escape room comprising of a set of six lessons. These lessons with supporting videos, interactive games and classroom activities were specifically designed to help a wide range of students with special educational needs, particularly students from The Addington School whose work placements were disrupted due to COVID-19.

The project was part of the Google Education Professional Development Award on supporting cyber awareness for students from special schools to support their transition into the workplace.

The lessons are designed for both ‘in classroom’ and distance learning approaches with a range of scaffolding options that teachers can use to tailor the lessons to their specific students. All the games are available online on the cospace.io platform and have been tested on iMac, PC and iPad devices.

Whilst designed as an integrated series of lessons and activities, teachers may also consider using lessons individually to meet a specific learning objective. Further, access to the original project documentation and code is available through Yota Dimitriadi. 

The project has been a collaboration between the University of Reading, Institute of Education Secondary Computer Science students and The Addington School, Wokingham, made possible by funding and support from the Berkshire Branch of the British Computer Society and Google Education.

Project team:

University of Reading:

Yota Dimitriadi

Emma Harwood

John Mercer

Paul Palmer

Luke Ryall

Jenny Ellis

with support from Adrian Earle, Head of Dept, Furze Platt School

Addington School:

Danny Blatchford

Kelly Chapman

Abi Storey

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BA Primary Education with Art Y3 Online Exhibition

By the final summer term, the Y3 art specialists have completed their final placement, assignments and dissertations, and have five full weeks of studio practice leading up to an end of degree exhibition. This exhibition is the culmination of three years of hard work and committed visual research, which is celebrated by friends, families, IoE tutors, the wider university and local community on London Road Campus. With the onset of COVID-19, a term of contemporary, practical and innovative practice had to be re-imagined and transformed into a digital format.

Suzy Tutchell Lecturer in BA Primary Education with Art, said:

“We were determined to create an adapted final ‘practical’ module which would celebrate who the students had become as artist-teachers and ensure the quality of teaching and learning would be intact. It was essential to retain their creative enthusiasm and drive, so that what they would produce online would be testament to their maturing identities and could still be celebrated by viewers, as it would have been in the studio.”

To that end, an alternative term was devised which comprised of online interactive group sessions, small group supervisory tutorials, paired and group critiques and digital sharing via a new website platform. All students and staff set about creating their own online portfolios, which served as a platform to document and exhibit work that was ongoing, as well as the process of making and creating the final virtual exhibition. Some students even tackled the subject of COVID-19 directly in their work, focussing on our environment and natural art forms.

A selection of the portfolios, will also feature on the National Society for Education in Art and Design website, modelling excellent practice for other university art/education departments; this continues to position us as a flagship of excellent art and education practice at national level.

The student’s final sites can be viewed below:

Elisha Harrington: https://www.bulbapp.com/elishajasmine

Esme Weston: https://www.bulbapp.com/thegingerartist

Molly Waring: https://www.bulbapp.com/mollywaring

Freya Lane: https://www.bulbapp.com/freyfrey3

Aaron Duffett: https://www.bulbapp.com/AaronD98

Paige Johnson: https://www.bulbapp.com/Paige-johnson

Imogen Mulvenna: https://www.bulbapp.com/ImogenMulvenna

Bethany Clay: https://www.bulbapp.com/isolationoutdoors

Taya Jarman: https://www.bulbapp.com/tayajarman98

Toby Inchbald: https://www.bulbapp.com/TobyInchbald

Tom Radcliffe: https://www.bulbapp.com/tomradcliffe98

 

 

Professor Brian Richards, Emeritus Professor of Education, said:

“I have spent several happy hours browsing the content. I usually go to the exhibition but the online virtual version has the advantage of being more permanent and you can dip in, take your time, reflect and go back for another look and think. Please congratulate the students on a particularly thought-provoking and inspirational collection. I wish I had been taught by people like them when I was at school in the 1960s—it was a rather uninspiring experience!”

The website production took over 6 weeks and throughout the entire process, students were able to dip in and out of each other’s websites, add in constructive comments to make suggestions, acknowledge some outstanding moments and, importantly, appropriate good DIY art ideas in order to learn from one another.

Imogen, a Y3 student, said:

“I actually really liked doing the website and I didn’t find any difficulty in it. I’d chat with Aaron like we were digital buddies rather than studio bay buddies! We all used messenger to make comments – it was buzzing.”

The developing process included the group as a whole attending live artists’ sessions and exhibition tours of galleries around the world. This added a further international layer to the art curriculum by enjoying global ventures on virtual tours and live artists performances in: Hong Kong, New York, Barcelona, South Africa and Sydney. It also fuelled the students’ ideas for their own websites. These were shared with all staff and students at the IoE and across the wider university, including the IoE Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, helping to raise the profile of the London Road studios as a lively hub of art activity – even remotely!

Emily Yearsley, Lecturer in Primary Art Education, said:

“Initially, both students and tutors were disappointed at the prospect of losing out on the exhilaration of the final exhibition but there is no doubt, the impact of what was produced and the process that was undertaken has enriched practice in a profound, thoughtful and reflective way.”

Molly, Y3 student, said:

“I think in the studio, I work with loads of things and then play around, but actually weirdly, I think the ideas I had for this term’s work were possibly stronger because I had more time to think before I did, so there was a lot of more intention and personal input.”

As a result of building on the successful experience of delivering small practical art activities online, Suzy Tutchell has been delivering weekly online art drop-in sessions for Alana House clients (Reading-based women’s community project); it is hoped this will continue throughout the summer and into the autumn term as she seeks a funding source to create a community project with student support and involvement.

Going forward, the adapted online portfolio model has set a new premise for visual/sound assignment work in the future; Y2 art and music students will collaborate over the next academic year to produce a Y2 creative arts digital platform as part of their specialisms in school.

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2020 University Teaching Fellowship winners

The Fellowship is a prestigious award for staff who demonstrate individual excellence and dedication to the development of teaching and learning within the University and beyond.  The application process was extremely competitive again this year, and many of the applications put forward were of an exceptionally high quality. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to apply.

The winners of the 2019/20 University Teaching Fellowship scheme are:

Will Bailey-Watson (Institute of Education) – The Panel welcomed Will’s creative approach and his willingness to take risks to provide positive learning experiences. It also commended his clear passion for teaching and his commitment to inclusive practice and to providing equality of opportunity. The Panel recognised the broad impact of Will’s work, including the ‘Meanwhile, Elsewhere’ website, at a School level, local level (partnership schools) and national level.

Dr Alana James (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences) – The Panel was impressed by Alana’s clear passion for her subject area and her strong philosophy of empowering and supporting students through a participatory approach. The Panel recognised the positive impact of Alana’s work on student learning/outcomes and the student experience within her School and more widely at institution-level, and her impact in raising the profile of T&L at both a local and a broader level (across the University and on a national platform).

Dr Allán Laville (School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, Dean for Diversity and Inclusion) – The UTFS Selection Panel welcomed Allán’s commitment to providing positive learning experiences for all students with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion, and the engaging personal narrative that underpinned his application around the development of his role, impact and reach. The Panel recognised the wide reach of Allán’s practice and his dissemination work within and beyond the University.

Adrian Aronsson-Storrier (School of Law) – The Panel was impressed by Adrian’s strong, student-centred approach to teaching innovations, including his use of audio/lecture capture to support students; his commitment to equality of opportunity; and his positive contributions to the T&L agenda and community. This includes supporting staff within his School to embed good practice in T&L and contributing to T&L at a broader level in support of institutional agendas.

The winners’ achievements will be recognised formally at a Celebrating Teaching & Learning Success event later this year. 

Please join us in congratulating this year’s winners!    

About the scheme

The University Teaching Fellowship scheme is hosted annually by the Centre for Quality Support and Development. It aims to recognise and reward excellence in teaching and the support of student learning, to raise the status of teaching in the University as a scholarly activity, and to support staff to develop further in the area of teaching and learning.

To find out more, please visit the University Teaching Fellowship scheme information page.

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Carol Fuller appointed Head of IoE

Carol Fuller has been appointed the new Head of the Institute of Education (IoE). She will take up her new role on 1 September 2020, replacing Professor Cathy Tissot who is stepping down from the role after six years.

A Professor of the Sociology of Education, Carol is the Research Division Lead for the IoE. Her research focuses on social justice, specifically concerned with issues of gender and socio-economic status and with a particular emphasis on identity construction, self-efficacy, resilience and aspirations.

Carol grew up in the local area of Whitley and started university education at the age of 32, after taking an Access to Higher Education course at college. She has since obtained a master’s degree and a PhD in Sociology – and is now responsible for providing supervision to doctoral students as well as contributing to research methods teaching across all programmes at the IoE.

In 2019, her ‘Marvellous Mums, Marvellous Me’ programme was shortlisted for the Research Impact and Engagement Awards and subsequently won in 2020. The programme supports local, less socially advantaged women, many of whom have been out of work for some time. It helps these women develop more fulfilling lives for themselves and their families by building their confidence and self-esteem.

Announcing her appointment, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Planning & Resource) Mark Fellowes said, “I am delighted that Carol Fuller is taking on the role of the Head of Institute of Education. Her lived experiences reflect the transformative power of education, and her work with the local community show the difference that a caring and engaged University can make. I look forward to working with Carol and supporting her vision for the Institute of Education.

I would also like to thank Cathy Tissot for everything she has done for the Institute of Education during the last five years. She has calmly and successfully steered the Institute through some challenging times – strengthening its reputation for training caring, reflective and profession educational practitioners.”

Carol Fuller said, “I am thrilled that the University of Reading has entrusted me with this important role and look forward to this next chapter of my career. Working at University of Reading has taught me that anything really is possible; I am proud to work where I do and I am proud to work in the Institute of Education, with such a fabulous team of colleagues.”

The IoE trains over 450 Early Years, Primary, Secondary teachers and practitioners every year, working closely with local schools and early years settings. Many of those who train with the IoE stay on in the area and work in these schools and settings.

Its research addresses the overarching aim of improved education and learning as a route to enhanced self-efficacy, economic well-being and life chances. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework assessment, 80% of IoE’s research was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent with a global impact on educational policy and practice.

Professor Cathy Tissot

Cathy Tissot is a Professor of Education and was appoint the Head of Institute of Education in 2015.

She came to the Institute of Education, in early 2008 as a senior lecturer to teach primarily on courses on special educational needs. In 2009, she worked with the local authorities in Berkshire to create the University’s Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) accreditation programme. She is still active in teaching this course and others on special needs.

She started a lifelong research interest in autism spectrum disorders through studying for her doctorate at Brunel University which explored the factors that determine appropriate educational provision for children with autism spectrum disorders. Her research focuses on adolescence and the challenges that puberty brings to this group of students, as well as the staff that support students with disabilities in schools.

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Encouraging inclusive Computer Science approaches: female participation in STEM

Dr Yota Dimitriadi

We are delighted to announce that Dr Yota Dimitriadi has been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by Advance HE (previously the Higher Education Academy).

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme raises the profile of teaching and learning at a national level, recognising and celebrating individuals who make an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession.

National Teaching Fellows play an ongoing role in enhancing teaching and learning within their institution, the higher education sector and further afield.

As well as working with the next generation of Computer Science teachers, Dr Yota Dimitriadi helps students across Education programmes at the Institute of Education (IoE) to reflect on the uses of digital technologies to enhance classroom learning and self-care practices.

“I am delighted and humbled to have been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship. The NTF nomination provided this amazing platform to celebrate collaborations with internal and external learning communities. My heartfelt thank you to the University for offering me this unique opportunity to share my story and to all, students and colleagues, who have supported me on my journey. As a recipient of this prestigious award and member of this amazing group of educational leaders I am inspired to pursue more opportunities for teaching and learning collaborations and community engagement”.

Dr Dimitriadi champions Technology Enhanced Learning in the Institute of Education, and supported Reading and other universities to respond to a shift in teaching from Information Communication Technology to Computing in 2014. In addition, Yota was involved in setting up the Computing Network of Excellence and helped establish the University of Reading’s Institute of Education as a key player in the policy and practice of teaching Computing at schools.

Dr Dimitriadi also contributes to international efforts to encourage more women to participate in STEM subjects. She worked as the Lead Academic in a pioneering Knowledge Transfer Project between the University of Reading and the World Association for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which provided thousands of young women around the world with opportunities to develop their leadership skills.

You can find further information about all our National Teaching Fellows, here.

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Marvellous Mums and Marvellous Me Celebration

On 28 May 2019, we celebrated the inspiring women finishing the Marvellous Mums and Marvellous Me programmes (https://research.reading.ac.uk/education/marvellous-mums/), as they all received their certificates of completion from the Vice Chancellor, Professor Robert Van de Noort.

The programmes were created by Professor Carol Fuller and Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos, with funding from the University of Reading, and in partnership with Whitley Community Development Association, Sure Start, and the Reading job centre and with support from Alok Sharma.

Providing sessions, including goal setting and practical support, such as interview techniques to women from the local community, the overall goal of the course is to promote greater self-confidence for those on both programmes.

Professor Carol Fuller opened the certificate presentations with a few words:  

“I am delighted we have funding from the University of Reading to run this programme and that we work with some amazing local organisations.”

She continued:

“We are so happy to be empowering women to define their own paths in life. For me the work we do here is one of the biggest joys of my job and I’m lucky to have met you. I’m inspired by your stories and your drive on a daily basis, and feel so invested in your development. We are a community that support each other long beyond the end of the course and I’m always here for you all! We also hope that any children here today will see what you’ve accomplished and be inspired as much as we have been.”

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice Chancellor of the University also said: 

“University is for everyone and should be accessible by everyone. We are determined to make the University of Reading a University for Reading as well.”

Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos proceeded to call each member up to collect their certificates, in some cases the children present took the certificates for themselves which resulted in many giggles.

 

 

The event ended with lunch to further celebrate with Professor Carol Fuller and Dr Maria Kambouri-Danos and talk to the Vice Chancellor.

We’d just like to say congratulations once again to these Marvellous individuals. We can’t wait to see what you do next!

 

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Catherine Foley on Publishing ‘Leading Primary Mathematics.’

Congratulations to our very own Catherine Foley on publishing her new book, Leading Primary Mathematics with SAGE.

Catherine Foley is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the Institute of Education, University of Reading. She currently leads the school-based Primary School Direct programme and the mathematics teaching within primary post-graduate initial teacher training.
Her doctoral research focused upon the study of girls’ perceptions of mathematics, and she continues to work closely with schools.

When asked why she wanted to write this book Catherine said: “Subject leaders of primary mathematics do a difficult job, trying to balance keeping their own knowledge up to date, being accountable for a key subject area and supporting others alongside their own day job as a teacher. We wanted to provide something that helped them to see how they might make decisions that are evidence-based, allow them to draw on the latest curriculum innovation whilst understanding what it might look like in practice in their school and classroom.”

The book offers expert guidance and insight into ‘what mathematics leadership looks like in practice’ and shows readers how they can develop from a confident teacher into a curriculum subject leader. It does this through a careful blend of pedagogy and practical application, supported by a range of real-world case studies and opportunities to reflect critically on classroom practice.

Leading Primary Mathematics is of particular relevance to:
• Undergraduate (BA Ed, BA with QTS)
• Postgraduate (PGCE, PGDE, School Direct and SCITT)
• NQT seeking to develop into a curriculum leadership role
• Those leading mathematics in their school.

Check it out here https://bit.ly/2HXO28s

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School partnership celebration event at the Institution of Education (IoE)

On 26 March 2019 we were delighted to hold a school partnership celebration event at the Institution of Education (IoE), supported by the Vice-Chancellor’s endowment fund.

This event provided the opportunity for us to get together and celebrate our partnership.  Although we could not invite all IoE staff or school partners, we were lucky enough to have a number of our steering committee members, key partners and staff at the event along with alumni and our wonderful Universal Voices community choir. The choir dazzled us with their singing abilities and had us all dancing to the bungalow song.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Fellowes welcomed everyone to the event, highlighting the importance of regional and local partnerships to the university. This was followed by Head of School Professor Cathy Tissot outlining some key points, including: 

  • We work with over 400 schools in our partnership within nine main local authorities (Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Surrey).
  • On average, we train around 400 teachers a year through undergraduate, Early Years, Primary  and Secondary initial teacher training programmes. 
  • Since  the 2012/13 academic year when we moved to the London Road campus, we have successfully trained well over 2,000 Primary and Secondary teachers and approx. 150 Early Years teachers within the partnership.
  • In the latest Ofsted, Initial Teacher Education inspection report, 2016 the inspectors recognised that “The partnership makes a strong contribution to teacher supply in the region.”

As Cathy outlined, none of this would be possible without the strong partnerships we have with schools and we just want to take this opportunity again to thank not only those who were able to attend but our entire partnership for making it possible to help shape teachers that are sought after and inspiring.

A special thank you also to our speakers Mrs Lesley Godwin – Head teacher of Marsh Infant and Nursery School; Katie Ray-  a mentor from Prospect School; Elizabeth Langer a Primary PGCE student; and Sam Boseley, a Primary PGCE, SEN pathway trainee. Their inputs inspired us all and reminded us what our school partnership is all about. 

 

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Primary and Secondary School Workers to Benefit from Free Online Courses!

We are excited to announce two new courses for supporting successful learning in schools, one for primary and one for secondary.  

These have been carefully curated by our Online Courses team and online social learning platform futurelearn.com,with the expert guidance of Professor Helen Bilton.

These courses draw on Professor Helen Bilton’s 35 years of experience in teacher training and education, including early years education, outdoor play and behaviour management.

Helen said “teaching assistants play an increasingly important role in the classroom. The courses are easy to participate in and available online so that there are as few barriers as possible to taking part.”

Helen Bilton’s goal in developing these free online courses is to provide  accessible, interactive and educational resources for primary and secondary workers, where they can discover and discuss ideas and examples of good practice with one another.

Helen has designed a range of activities so that Learners leave the course feeling more knowledgeable and ready to try what they’ve learnt within their work.  

Topics include how to manage a classroom and the psychology behind student behaviour. Learners will also hear first-hand from children and pupils about how they explore a learning environment.

Both courses are now open for enrolment by following the link below and will begin on 22 April 2019.

https://bit.ly/2UT9heJ

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New IoE film released

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new film!

For those who are interested here’s the script:

Education, education education

It’s the most powerful tool we have

It has the ability to change who you are

Enable you to be whoever you want to be

To stretch you and empower you

It transforms how we think how we feel and how we behave

It can create thriving communities

Unlock passions that you might never have discovered

It changes our contribution to society

Alters the course of your life

And no one can take it away from you.

How we educate the next generation is the key to our future

Not only as individuals but also as a society.

That’s why at the University of Reading we are really committed to developing caring and professional practitioners

Carrying out world leading research

Training you to transform lives.

Become part of our global community and share our passion.

At the Institution of Education we practice what we teach.


This script resonates deeply with us here at the Institute of Education as we want to provide this generation and those to come with the skills to truly develop and succeed at whatever they aspire to.

We asked Professor Catherine Tissot, Head of the Institute of Education for her thoughts on the film and this is what she had to say:

“I’m really proud of this film as it captures the Institute of Education and who we are succinctly.  This film shows the passion that staff here have for what we do best. It means a lot to us here at the Institute of Education and to me personally. My father used to say that education is the most powerful tool we have and that no one can take it away from you. This has stuck with me my entire life and it lies at the core of what we do here. I’ve shown the video to several people now and they all smile and sigh when the little girl says the line.  It really is a powerful statement and she delivers it much better than I ever could!”

You may already know all about our filming this summer, with the images of school visits and film crews on our social media channels.   

Our partners and staff went all-out to help us make this film and are due a big thank you, especially the fantastic partnership schools who helped us film: the Bulmershe School, Maiden Erlegh School and Christ the King Catholic Primary in Whitley. 

Thanks also to two of our talented alumni: Laura Prime, now working as a Secondary Art and Design NQT and Tayla Sutton, a Primary School Direct trainee. 

And very special thanks indeed go to the wonderful pupils who took part – we could not have made such a brilliant film without you!

So check out our film here: https://bit.ly/2BpM50l  and tell us what you think.

To find out more about what’s happening at the Institute of Education, have a look on the website and at our Instagram , Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter accounts.