John Hedley, Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering, explains how his module’s NUMBAS exam assesses students’ effort during the module, by giving them the opportunity to see, practise and ask for advice on all exam questions prior to taking the exam, and in the process developing a deep understanding of the module’s learning outcomes.
Dr John Hedley, Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering, designed a marking criteria for a team of markers on a large population engineering module, enabling fast and consistent marking, alongside effective descriptive student feedback that is automatically generated.
In this case study Dr Vicky Fawcett, Research Associate in Astrophysics, describes how Newcastle, Durham and Northumbria Universities collaborated to design a hugely successful astronomy exhibition at the Great North Museum, with the aim of getting more children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as their families and the wider local community, interested in STEM subjects.
Dr Chris Graham, Director of Digital Learning in Maths, Stats and Physics, explains how he uses the Q&A functionality in Vevox as a channel for student questions during lectures, how he has refined his approach to responding to questions during the lecture, and how students have reacted positively to the option to ask questions anonymously.
Dr Amy Proctor and Dr Beth Clark designed a problem-based learning session for students of Sustainability in Practice – a new shared module for Agriculture, Earth and Environment, and Applied Social Sciences Cluster (AESSC) students. In this session, students will use AI tools to generate solutions to food insecurity, and evaluate them critically.
As part of the Agriculture, Earth and Environment, and Applied Social Sciences Cluster (AESSC) Curriculum Redesign Project within SNES, we have developed virtual tours of NU Farms using H5P. These virtual tours provide an immersive experience during Open Days, familiarise students and colleagues with the farms prior to field trips, and enrich fieldwork activities.
Lee Fawcett, Senior Lecturer in Maths, Stats and Physics, discusses how he collaborated with the University of Florida to develop a short virtual exchange course around the use/misuse of data – enabling students to collaborate with overseas students, while also addressing inequalities relating to physical mobility opportunities and embedding intercultural awareness into the undergraduate curriculum.
Dr Raghda Zahran, Programme and Project Manager from the Project Management Office worked with colleagues from the School of Computing to engage postgraduate students taking an Innovation Project, offering students a unique opportunity to apply their Data Science skills meaningfully, alongside developing an understanding of Learning Analytics from Newcastle University students’ perspectives, to inform the development of practical tools and strategies.
Dr Catherine Douglas (staff: she/her) and Manjot Brar (student intern: she/her) from the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, discuss the development of an innovative ice-breaking board game to enable students to discuss effective strategies for addressing common group working issues, and learn about the value of feedback. Students were integral to the design of the game which was funded to address requests for support in preparing for groupwork. This extremely successful pilot initiative will continue to be used and can be loaned out to anyone interested in reviewing the game and trialing with their students.
Students from our University took part in a successful online event with students at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi (IITD) to share ideas around environmental sustainability.