Category: Academic Development
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Be Bothered!
We spend last weekend in the Cairngorms National Park, undertaking winter training for being out on the hills in snowy conditions–ice axe, crampons, avalanche training etc. The one phrase that stuck with us both is: Be Bothered! – Mark, Trainer from Cairngorm Lodge You have to be bothered to stay safe in these weather conditions:…
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Looking for your viewpoints: Abandoning slides and taking risks
Today I have more questions than answers after some intensive discussions in class today. How do you think about risk taking and authenticity in teaching?
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Mid-semester Slump
(First draft or so) Existential threat is brewing in my cup.The fumes of despair gently wafting up. Don’t judge! Naught by a mild case of impending doom,a pile of marking and various deadlines loom. I am fine, just fine. Fine.Nothing to worry. No one showed up to the webinar room.Apparently, I didn’t send the link…
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Faculty Development–A Poem
All the Selves brought to the Role ”What is your biggest hurdle right now?” Coach.”Here are some ways to approach this.” Mentor. “These are models for overcoming hurdles.” Teacher.”Let’s identify the most effective one for you.” Facilitator. “You jumped that hurdle, well. Next time consider…” Marker.136.000 emails. 25 Moodle updates. 7 spreadsheets. Administrator. The plight…
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A healthy work identity
In coaching today* I had a profound insight! Until today I did not have a mental image of a healthy work identity. Literally drew blank when asked. Nothing. So far I have more or less successfully lived off the typical ADHD bursts of focus and the subsequent cognitive hangovers. I don’t think I want, or…
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My Leadership Approach
My sister who is a systemic coach, and experienced third sector leader, coached me through a very rough spot on Saturday. At the end of which she jokingly suggested to just make a poster about my leadership approach, to sort my head. If you followed for a while, you know by now that I can…
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The Sound of Learning
This week my teaching picks up again, making me reflect about a course I had begun taking on Coursera “Diversity and Inclusion in Education” just to see where I stand with the topic, and what I still ought to learn. Now there was an interesting prompt for reflection, about how we think about our learners,…
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Overwhelm is Real
I don’t really have good strategies, besides currently radically sorting and tidying the physical and virtual office spaces in preparation for the new academic year. What does help you to tackle overwhelm? One insight thought from today’s daily walk: in my profession academic development (faculty development, Lehrausbildung) I always feel I ought to know everything,…
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My Seven Steps of Semester Prep
So I was thinking about how to make the preparation for teaching easier and Goblin Tools is definitely a useful AI tool that helps breaking complex tasks into smaller achievable steps, besides having a whole host of other useful functions! And there is also something to be said about experiencing our very own structures How…
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Of Being a Young Artist Again
A Denkanstoß Today I was reflecting on being young in age versus being young in experience with a certain skill or subject. This came about when I followed drawing instructions. And only halfway through the Pinterest tutorial did I notice that the resource stated it was from Drawing Lessons for the Young Artist. I have…
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SoTL Tips
The other quick learning guides I have been working with are SoTL Tips and Debunking SoTL Myths. I am going to share more of these on Instagram. The first SoTL Tip Tiles Text from image above: SoTL Tip 01 Always search for critique about educational models! Have you fallen for VARK (learning styles), or you…
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Bite Sized Pedagogy
While I have been rather quiet on here, I have been playing with various ideas, which I am sharing on Instagram (sorry not more Twitter for me, also at Mastodon) The first idea is to share bite-sized pedagogy. I am often told how difficult it is to get a handle on all the terminology and…