This year the SEDA Conference will explore and debate the issues around communities of learning. In doing so it will touch upon some key topics in staff and educational development and learning and teaching with regard to the need to nurture communities, reflection on existing communities and how to respond in an ever changing world to the multifarious demands on academics in HE and FE. What is the nature of the communities that we are wishing to create and support? What are the tensions inherent in fostering such communities? What is the nature of existing communities? How can we engage different communities?
Conference Themes The conference will seek to address the following themes:
Keynote AddressesThis year there will be three keynote addresses delivered by Etienne Wenger, Aaron Porter and James Wisdom.Etienne Wenger is a globally recognised thought leader in the field of communities of practice and their application to organisations. His keynote address is entitled: Learning in landscapes of practice: knowlegeability and identity. He will also present a summary at the end of the first day entitled: It’s been a hard day’s night: an interactive reflection.Aaron Porter, Vice President (Higher Education) National Union of Students. His keynote address is entitled: The Importance of the Learner Voice in 21st Century Higher Education – Promoting an Academic Community.Professor James Wisdom, Independent Consultant. His keynote address is entitled: Politicians, civil servants, vice chancellors, lecturers and students: implications of ‘boundary encounters’ for educational developers.
The SEDA Conference Experience
ParticipantsThe conference will be of particular interest to all those involved in promoting communities of learning in HE and FE learning, teaching and development. This includes:
Conference Venue
Call for Contributions
The call for contributions is now closed
You are invited to contribute to the SEDA Spring Teaching, Learning and Assessment Conference 2010 by leading a discussion, running a workshop or presenting a poster on an aspect of your work. This could be developmental activities or research or evaluation that informs practice. This year we are exploring teaching and learning through themes linked to communities of learning.
Session Format
We welcome proposals which address the conference themes through:
The sessions enable reflection, exploration and evaluation of activities rather than merely describing what is happening. It is also a long-standing tradition at SEDA conferences to hold sessions which involve delegates in active participation and discussion, and consequently this is a key requirement of all proposals.
We are designing the programme around interactive sessions (either 45 or 90 minutes) and posters:
Interactive sessions: sessions may include sharing research/evaluation approaches and findings, or policy or practice. The emphasis however is upon the participants being active in the sessions and being able to share and discuss how the information being shared may be appropriate to their own practice and institution. With this is mind the session should be planned so there is approximately 50% of the time spent on participant activity and discussion.
You are welcome to present a paper which describes your research, however in this case we expect you to bring sufficient copies of the completed paper for the expected number of participants in your session (you will be advised a week or so before the conference of the number that have signed up for your session by then) and to make the paper available electronically after the conference. This may be a paper that has already been published, or one that you hope to publish in the future.
Posters: these enable you to share information about your research, evaluation, policy or practice visually. The poster should provide a stand-alone description of a topic, and/or a focus for a short discussion on the topic with a small number of people in the conference’s poster session. It is a good opportunity to share work that it is in progress rather than something where results or developments are finalised so you can gain peer feedback.
The poster should be A1 size. There should be a clear title and background to the work with a description of the approach to the work or development being discussed. Any results /implications or follow up work should also be included. The use of a combination of pictures, graphics and text is encouraged to ensure that the messages are clear and succinct.
We reserve the right to group some 45 minute proposals into themed, chaired, 90 minute sessions.
Submitting your proposal
Proposals should be submitted using the proposal form. . All proposals should be submitted
electronically to SEDA at conferences@seda.ac.uk by
Friday 25th September 2009.
It is normal practice to accept only one contribution per individual so as to provide the opportunity for as many people to contribute as possible. It is a requirement that all presenters register as conference delegates either for the whole event or for the day of their session.
Criteria for acceptance of proposals
Each proposal will be reviewed for acceptance at the conference against the following criteria:
Prices
Bookings received after Monday 5th April 2010 will incur a 15% administration fee
Conference Programme
Day 1: Thursday 6th May
Day 2: Friday 7th May
08.15 – 08.45 Breakfast Session for People New to SEDA
09.00 – 09.45 Keynote address: The Importance of the Learner Voice in 21st Century Higher Education Promoting an Academic Community Aaron Porter
09.50 – 11.20 Parallel Session 5
22. Open sharing for learning communities Lou McGill and Helen Beetham
23. The CAMEL trail (collaborative approaches to managing emerging lessons) Pam Parker, Susannah Quinsee, Amyas Phillips, Harriet Truscott, Andy Lloyd, Claire Eustance, Georgina Slade, Clifton Kandler, Rebecca Freeman,Paul Bartholomew and Stephen Brown
24. Mapping a new way of learning and experiencing research Petia Petrova
25. Exploring the tensions and challenges in creating a community researching our practice Norrie Brown, Sandra Cairncross, Monica Foster, Mark Huxham and Karen Thomson
26. Digital identity in online learning communities Shirley Williams
11.20 – 11.35 Break
11.35 – 12.20 Parallel Session 6
27. Chain reaction: building a community of work based learning through e-portfolio development Elizabeth Symonds and Huw Richards
28. ‘Ask the expert’ webinars as a best practice model for engaging members in an online community of practicefor developing e-learning practitioners Helen Walmsley
29. Out-duction: understanding the final year experience Marion Webb
30. Demystifying assessment criteria to enhance students’ understanding and achievement in higher education Liane Purnell
31. Creating communities of learning through peer mentoring Claire Griffin and Suzanne Flannery Quinn
12.20 – 14.00 Lunch, and opportunities to network informally, view posters and visit displays
13.15 – 14.00 SEDA AGM
14.00 – 14.45 Parallel Session 7
32. Group projects: developing students in learning communities Andrew Johnstone and Charles Neame
33. After the postgraduate certificate (PGC): the legacy of PGC peer learning on lecturers’ conceptions of professional learning communities Martyn Stewart
34. Sitting on the fence might give you splinters in your community of practice Phil Carey
35. How do visiting tutors learn what to do? Elspeth McLean
36. Mind the gap: using technology to promote teacher immediacy and build a learning community Claire Milsom, Jim Turner and Carol Maynard
14.45 – 15.00 Break
15.00 – 16.00 Keynote address : Politicians, civil servants, vice-chancellors, lecturers and students: implications of ‘boundary encounters’ for educational developers Professor James Wisdom View slides
Tea and Depart
A member of the International Consortium for Educational Development