A photograph of Vicky Fawcett and a colleague, standing in front of a Space Investigators Poster

Space Investigators: a cross-university astronomy exhibition co-developed by students and staff

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.

A photograph of Chris Graham

Using Vevox as a back-channel for student Q&As

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.

Using AI in a Problem-Based Learning session: “Hunger hotspots”

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.

Screenshot of Nafferton Virtual Farms

Virtual Tours of the NU Farms

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.

Data Ethics: Are there globally accepted ethical principles around data?

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.

Students as Creative Designers and Developers of Relevant Learning Analytics: A First-Hand Experience Approach

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.

A photo of students sitting around a table playing the Team Work Training Board Game

Team Work Training – Alien Alliance Groupwork Board Game

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.

The Yamuna and Tyne rivers
Photos of members involved

Bringing the rocks into your house, virtual fieldtrips (VFT)

With Dr Cees van der Land, Dr Sanem Acikalin & Dr Mark Ireland Newcastle University School of Natural and Earth Sciences Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering What did you do? For our Earth Science students we developed a range of VFTs during which they learn to analyse and map the rock strata. We used Read more about Bringing the rocks into your house, virtual fieldtrips (VFT)[…]

Dr Cristina Navarro Reguero

Implementing a novel approach to the delivery of Chemistry labs in response to the COVID pandemic

Rapid changes to the practical delivery of Chemistry courses as a consequence of the unexpected Covid-19 restrictions whilst trying to maximise students’ experience by using a great variety of learning tools.