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7 December 2023
3 minutes to read Top Banana Transformed by Mindfulness & Resilience?: Tackling...
by Dr Julie Pepper and Dr Katherine Ashbullby The Top Banana network, which started thanks to an Exeter Education Incubator Discovery Grant, aims to share best practice at Exeter University to promote positive maths self-concept and prevent maths anxiety. It has a Microsoft Teams channel and 20 members (new members still welcome,…
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20 September 2023
3 minutes to read ‘Melanin Matters’: A Student-Led Anti Racism Project
by Pavel Loginovic and Shihan Salihu We are Pavel and Shihan, two members of the Melanin Matters Team. Melanin Matters is a group composed of 4 Medical Students at the University of Exeter that aims to bridge the diversity knowledge gap existing in our medical curriculum. Everything started when we went to…
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6 September 2023
5 minutes to read Hoping to Grow a Top Banana: Reducing Maths...
By Dr Julie Pepper Thank you for reading my first ever go at a blog post! While my dad was an accountant and liked maths, I grew up knowing my mum found maths “scary.” I think her experiences at school gave her a low maths self-concept as well as maths anxiety. Even…
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16 August 2023
3 minutes to read Delivering Complex Simulated Exercises to Large Student Groups
by Dr Martin Robson, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Studies Simulated exercises are a proven pedagogical tool to provide students with a ‘sandpit’ to test concepts and theories in a simulated real-world context for the purpose of pedagogical progression, personal training and the reinforcement of skills and behaviours. Simulations involve participants to collaborate…
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3 August 2023
3 minutes to read Exeter Education Incubator ChatGPT and Higher Education Project
By Kerry Deacon, Project Manager of the Exeter Education Incubator at the University of Exeter Generative AI in Higher Education Generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 are changing the landscape in higher education. As with any new emerging technologies, there are opportunities to explore and challenges to overcome. Generative AI tools…
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19 July 2023
3 minutes to read Graduate Skills to Thrive
Find out how the Education Incubator grant has enabled the Business School to run a series of workshops to discover how students think they can harness the power of the new GRADUATE SKILLS TO THRIVE framework for their own professional skills development.
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5 July 2023
4 minutes to read Neurodiversity and Universal Design for Learning: Engaging Students...
By Dr Tamsin Kilner Planning My Education Incubator Project So, I began thinking about my Incubator Discovery project in the following terms: ‘The literature indicates that neurodiverse students face greater challenges in HE, both in terms of engagement in learning and retention (see for example Clouder et al. 2020). They are also at greater…
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21 June 2023
< 1 minute to read How Can Wonder be Brought into Education?
by Brian Rappert How can wonder be brought into education? This question was central to my Education Incubator Discovery grant. As background, as part of a study into acquiring embodied skills, over the last five years I have learnt to perform as an entertainment magician. Within this work I have sought to…
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7 June 2023
2 minutes to read Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Medical Curriculum
By Dr Jo Seale, Professor Vrinda Nayak and Dr Eleanor Townsend Hello, we are three members of staff working at the University of Exeter medical school and have joined together to explore the representation of equality and diversity in the medical curriculum with the support of an Exeter Education Incubator grant. We…
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24 May 2023
3 minutes to read Building Integrity and Good Academic Practice in the...
by Leila Dawney, Sharon Strawbridge, Annabel Watson, Senior Academic Conduct Officers. It has been an unhappy revelation to many of us working in student cases and academic conduct that a disproportionate number of the students that we see come from overseas. Sometimes the meetings that we have with students are emotionally challenging….
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10 May 2023
3 minutes to read Introducing the University of Exeter’s Digital Maker Space
by Sophie Houghton, Digital Learning Developer As part of a new Education Incubator project, I’d like to introduce the University of Exeter’s Digital Maker Space (DMS). I’m Sophie, and I’m the Digital Learning Developer for Renewable Energy. I’m working in a team alongside Barrie Cooper, Pierre de Brosses, Valentin Kozsla, Henry Ukomah…
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23 June 2022
2 minutes to read Writing Retreats: What are they and how do...
By Education Incubator Communications Intern Priyankha Khindri This week here at the Education Incubator we are hosting a Writing Retreat, facilitated by Lewis Winks. This is the second writing retreat of the year and whilst we are all excited for the two-day event for those of us who have never attended one…
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17 June 2022
2 minutes to read The Playful Academic – innovation through play
By Maarten Koeners How might we use play to support an improved educator and student experience? To find answers to this question we have been using play to create spaces and experiences that allow us to think, learn and create. By using play, we can push an idea, combine it, contradict it,…
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15 June 2022
2 minutes to read Exeter Digest: There’s room for everyone around our...
Education Incubator Communications Intern Priyankha Khindri finds out more about Exeter Digest. This year the Education Incubator has collaborated with the Provost Office to fund a student-led anti-racism and inclusivity project. After a rigorous process a group of MA Creativity students were awarded funding for their idea to host a food and…
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13 June 2022
3 minutes to read Intercultural Café: open your heart, increase your confidence
Sue O’Hara, International Student Support Officer, speaks of her experience managing the weekly Intercultural Café at the University of Exeter. I’ve been working with international students for well over 15 years now. And even though some challenges are new (pandemic anyone?), some challenges for our international student community haven’t changed: loneliness, isolation,…
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20 May 2022
3 minutes to read My learnings so far as an Education Incubator...
In this blog Lisa Greghi outlines what she has learnt so far as a communications intern. She hopes her learnings will give some insight for other students considering undertaking an internship. The role of University of Exeter Education Incubator Communications Intern has exceeded my expectations, providing me with an incredible amount of…
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17 May 2022
3 minutes to read Priyankha Khindri reflects on her time as an...
Written by Priyankha Khindri Back in January of this year I started my role as a Communications Intern for the Education Incubator alongside Lisa. Since then I have been fortunate enough to learn so much; developing skills and working towards some of the goals that I set myself when I first began….
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4 May 2022
5 minutes to read How my Education Incubator project developed into something...
Written by Dr Alison Hill I was an inaugural Exeter Education Incubator fellow in 2017/18 looking at ways to address the mathematics gap in my classes. I developed bespoke resources for my medicinal chemistry module, and a Smart Worksheet (in conjunction with LearnSci) for one of the second year biochemistry classes. In…
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16 March 2022
3 minutes to read Education Incubator student-led anti-racism and inclusivity, and gender...
This blog is written by Education Incubator Communications Intern Priyankha Khindri. At the Education Incubator we currently have an exciting opportunity for University of Exeter students who want to develop innovative student-led projects on anti-racism and inclusivity, and gender safety to apply for funding. Run in conjunction with the Provost’s Office, we…
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22 February 2022
3 minutes to read The Education Incubator Expands: Meet Our Communication Interns.
The Education Incubator at the University of Exeter is dedicated to providing academics with a space for developing pedagogical innovations. It is designed for academics to explore their teaching and learning practice, and enable project collaborations with students. Innovation is fundamental to making education accessible, enjoyable, and flexible in the face of…
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7 December 2021
5 minutes to read A face in the crowd: how can better...
In a recent Incubator workshop, project leaders were asked to bring an object that represented their project. Why did we do this? Hazel Beevers, who led the workshops for us, sets out our thinking. Well, try it yourself. Think about the object that would represent your project; whether it’s a book, a vase…
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24 November 2021
5 minutes to read Exploring Student Experiences in Classics and Mathematics through...
Houry Melkonian (Mathematics, CEMPS) and Irene Salvo (Classics & Ancient History, HUMS) As Education Incubator Fellows in 2020/21, we met at the Education Incubator Online Cafè in July 2020. Irene was presenting her project Mindful Classics. Embedding Contemplative Pedagogy into the Study of Antiquity, and Houry her Learning How to Teach Mathematics…
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6 October 2021
2 minutes to read Incubator Projects: A Work In Progress
Our Work In Progress (WIP) meetings are an opportunity to hear about projects run by our fellows this year. They represent a chance to meet like-minded colleagues and engage with them on exciting and innovative projects. The meetings are crucial to the ongoing development and refinement of ideas, so do come along…
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4 October 2021
8 minutes to read Get started using design thinking in Higher Education...
In the Incubator’s recent Innovation Lab, academics and students used the principles of design thinking to innovate and improve aspects of education and student experience at Exeter. Each project team worked with a Design Coach to support them with this new way of working. One of our Design Coaches, Dr Bo Kelestyn…
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30 September 2021
3 minutes to read Encompass: Decolonising STEM – what is this all about?
Our STEM topics are built in a culture of collecting and representing scientific knowledge based on clear facts that have emerged from (often) centuries of scientific endeavour. For those designing and delivering University content to students it has become clear that some more focussed discussion around what decolonising is, is required. A question often asked is: How is decolonising relevant to STEM? To help address this question, a team at the…
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27 September 2021
4 minutes to read #5 Lab blog – How do we know...
Our fellows whose Incubator year came to an end in the summer, are currently reviewing the achievements and learning from their projects. I am looking forward to sharing their findings with you really soon. In the meantime, I am thinking through evaluation myself as we review the Incubator’s ten-week Innovation Lab, asking…
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15 September 2021
2 minutes to read Call for contributions to JISC collection – examples...
What has changed in your institution that has made digital working easier? What changes have been made to digital working to increase inclusivity? What gems do you want others to know about? ?????????????? The Jisc Digital Culture Forum is curating a collection of case studies of shifts in cultural norms/expectations and organisational practices which…
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24 August 2021
3 minutes to read Reflections on the Education Incubator Summer Writing Retreats...
This blog is written by Tom Ritchie, who collaborated with Lewis Winks to facilitate the eDartington Writing Retreats in summer 2021. In this blog, Tom reflects on his attempts to make the Writing Retreats a nurturing and caring space, personalised to the individual attendees. The Education Incubator is a University of Exeter…
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13 August 2021
3 minutes to read Reflections on the Education Incubator Summer Writing Retreats...
This blog is written by Lewis Winks, who collaborated with the Education Incubator to facilitate our eDartington Writing Retreats in summer 2021. In this blog, Lewis reflects on his experiences of moving an ‘in person’ event online, and the lessons learned. I have been lucky enough to facilitate three online writing retreats…
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3 August 2021
< 1 minute to read Exploring Global Nursing Educational Collaboration in a Virtual...
Introducing the idea A University of Exeter Educator Incubator project in partnership with Lund University and our Nursing students. We are looking for nursing students to volunteers, as researchers, facilitators, and co-authors! Globally Engaged Learning: What are the benefits both educational and professionally of embedding globally engaged learning communities in nursing…
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28 July 2021
2 minutes to read Students as Teachers of Multilingualism #3: Working as...
This blog has been written by Ailish Farrell, a research intern working as part of a bi-directional project between the University of Exeter Modern Languages and Cultures Department (Francesco Goglia) and Rokeby School (Sarah Lawson and Thomas Porter). This project is part of the Community-Engaged Learning projects run by the Education Incubator,…
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27 July 2021
2 minutes to read Students as Teachers of Multilingualism #2: Delivering an...
This blog has been written by Lucy Richards, a research assistant working as part of a bi-directional project between the University of Exeter Modern Languages and Cultures Department (Francesco Goglia) and Rokeby School (Sarah Lawson and Thomas Porter). This project is part of the Community-Engaged Learning projects run by the Education Incubator,…
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20 July 2021
2 minutes to read Students as Teachers of Multilingualism #1: A collaborative...
This blog has been written by Lucy Richards, a research assistant working as part of a bi-directional project between the University of Exeter Modern Languages and Cultures Department (Francesco Goglia) and Rokeby School (Sarah Lawson and Thomas Porter). This project is part of the Community-Engaged Learning projects run by the Education Incubator,…
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6 July 2021
3 minutes to read Pre-Reg Module #2: Supporting International Students
This is the second blog from the ‘development of a pre-registration online module to facilitate the transition of Chinese Masters students to the English educational system‘ project supported by the Education Incubator. The Project Lead is Dr Kirsty Brock, and the student researchers are Laura Macro, Laura Sutton, and Harvey Penfold. This…
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27 May 2021
4 minutes to read MathsArt #3 – Education of Maths with Art:...
This is a blog by Amber Ellis (M.Sci student in Mathematical Sciences – Penryn Campus). It focuses on Amber’s experience in studying the education of maths through art at primary schools, aiming to highlight how the study of maths can lead to many avenues. Amber originally studied this topic for her third-year…
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20 May 2021
3 minutes to read Playful University Club #5 – May Monthly Meeting...
For our May Monthly Meeting, we were joined by Ted DesMaisons, the author of Playful Mindfulness. He hosted a session based on his book, titled “Playful Mindfulness for Confidence, Calm, and Connection”, where we played loads of fun games which explored the intersection between play and mindfulness. Ted began the session with…
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20 May 2021
4 minutes to read Playful University Club #4 – April Monthly Meeting...
The Playful University Club’s April Monthly Meeting, titled “Are we entering the age of play?”, was hosted by Professor Alison James. As a National Teaching Fellow, Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, and a LEGO Serious Play facilitator, Alison is known for her creative and playful approach to teaching. She…
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20 May 2021
2 minutes to read Playful University Club #3 – March Monthly Meeting...
The Playful University Club’s March Monthly Meeting was hosted by life coach Anouska Cekalovic! She works with clients to help them celebrate life and have a joyful attitude, and has been a key member of the Playful University Club since its beginning. Anouska took us on a “Journey to Joy”, a session…
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17 May 2021
3 minutes to read #4 Lab blog- Where to start?
This week marks the beginning of the Education Innovation Lab – the Exeter Education Incubator’s experiment in how we support innovation. Whether or not to run the Lab was always in question. It has been a challenging and exhausting year. Academics, professional service colleagues, and students have already had to contend with…
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11 May 2021
5 minutes to read #SLAR – Active Together Blog #2 – Training...
This blog is written by Rhianna Garrett and Nina Cunningham, reflecting on their experiences as students at the University. They are also the lead fellows on a student-led anti-racism (SLAR) project, ‘Active Together‘, funded by the University Provost’s Office and supported by the Education Incubator. Their project seeks to create long-lasting positive…
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26 April 2021
3 minutes to read Connected Classrooms #2: April 2021 Workshop
On 9 April 2021, the Connected Classrooms Project held an online workshop to simulate a taught seminar, as a test-run for the style of teaching to be carried out in the module next year. The workshop ran for 1.5 hours, and included participants from Exeter as well as LUMS, in addition to…
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12 April 2021
2 minutes to read #3 Lab blog – Research-Based Community-Engaged Projects
In 2021, the Education Incubator has worked on developing a new approach to projects as part of our Education Innovation Lab. The Innovation Lab is a ten-week programme in which project teams will use human-centred, design-thinking techniques and principles to test their assumptions, create new networks, and prototype solutions to the problem…
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26 March 2021
2 minutes to read #2 Lab blog – Invitations and applications
As invitations go an application form might not be the most anticipated one we ever receive. Application forms are invitations though; an invitation to dream a new project, to create new working relationships, to learn new things. The Education Innovation Lab application form is also an invitation to think about change in…
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25 March 2021
5 minutes to read Connected Classrooms #1: A Project Across Borders
This blog was co-written by Professor Nandini Chatterjee, Dr. Gajendra Singh, and Fatima Naveed to introduce their project ‘Connected Classrooms’ In March 2021, after a year in lockdown, it is no surprise that we find ourselves in a state of dystopia, laced with traces of optimistic futurism. Within higher education, long-standing complaints…
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23 March 2021
3 minutes to read Playful University Club #2 – December Monthly Meeting...
The Playful University Club’s December Monthly Meeting was hosted by Professor Ian Turner of the University of Derby. Ian works across the University, supporting the diverse community with learning, teaching and assessments activities. He does this with the goal of ensuring students have a truly engaging and excellent experience, which makes him…
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19 March 2021
3 minutes to read #1 Lab blog – How might we…?
This blog was written by Sarah Dyer as part of our Education Innovation Lab Project calls. It has been written to give you a clearer idea about the Innovation Lab and what you can expect if you apply. The deadline to apply is 31st March. To help you better understand the Innovation…
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17 March 2021
4 minutes to read MathsArt #2 – A Formula for Success: Teaching...
This is the second in a series of project update blogs written by Dr Caitlin Kight. Caitlin is involved with the Incubator through a number of avenues, most prominently, her work on the LEGO Serious Play project. Caitlin has volunteered to write these blogs, to help the Incubator better communicate how our…
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15 March 2021
2 minutes to read Pre-registration online module #1 Revaluating support for international...
This blog has been written by Kirsty Brock (@Doc_KBrock), the project lead for the project ‘The development of a pre-registration online module to facilitate the transition of Chinese Masters students to the English educational system.’ In this short blog, Kirsty reflects on some of the challenges international student communities have faced due…
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12 March 2021
3 minutes to read Project Update Blog #1 – Mindful Classics: Using...
This is the first in a series of project update blogs written by Dr Caitlin Kight. Caitlin is involved with the Incubator through a number of avenues, most prominently, her work on the LEGO Serious Play project. Caitlin has volunteered to write these blogs, to help the Incubator better communicate how our…
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1 March 2021
3 minutes to read Parallel Texts #3 – Findings from Network Interviews
This blog has been co-written by Jess Shaw (@JessShawExpArc) and Charlie Berry @charliefoy, the two student Project Coordinators working on the Parallel Texts project (@parallel_texts). In this short blog, Jess and Charlie give an update on the project and their experiences and findings from doing interviews with their network members. As part…
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24 February 2021
5 minutes to read Student-Led Anti-Racism Projects and Network
Since December 2020, the Education Incubator has been working to support Student-Led Anti-Racism (#SLAR) projects, developed in partnership with the Provost’s Office, the Unlearn Collective, and different departments across the University. The SLAR projects have been designed to empower students to solve problems relating to racial equality, diversity, and inclusion at the…
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22 February 2021
3 minutes to read Erasmus+ Community-Engaged Learning Projects and Network
Over the past year, the Education Incubator has worked on the Erasmus+ Community and Students Together (CaST) project as one of six university partners. The CaST project focuses on how universities can work more effectively and more inclusively within their city communities by providing students with opportunities to work on local societal…
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18 February 2021
2 minutes to read Competition for Contributions into an International Poster about...
This is episode 1 of the Diversity & Inclusivity project led by Dr Houry Melkonian. In this episode she is co-leading with Dr Tom Ritchie a pilot competition for students of the University of Exeter about ‘Notable Women in Mathematics’ which will feed into the project joint between UK and The Netherlands…
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11 February 2021
4 minutes to read #SLAR – Active Together Blog #1 – “You’re...
This blog is a provocation written by Rhianna Garrett on her experiences as a student at the University. She is the lead fellow on a student-led anti-racism (SLAR) project, ‘Active Together‘, funded by the University Provost’s Office and supported by the Education Incubator. Their project seeks to create long-lasting positive effects on…
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3 February 2021
< 1 minute to read Mathematics Without Tears and Fears #2 – Student...
The Incubator was pleased to host a student showcase on February 11th from 12-1.30pm as part of the Mathematics without Tears and Fears project. The project supports undergraduate students in a student as a co-researcher model to produce a set of pedagogical games of mathematical proof. During the session, the students presented…
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1 February 2021
4 minutes to read Playful University #1 – Playful Praxis – A...
Tom Nancarrow is a fifth-year medical student, working as an intern on the Playful University Club project, run and supported by the Education Incubator. The Playful University Club aims to promote a culture that can foster play within the University by creating capacity for awareness, uptake, and exposure of play and playful…
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27 January 2021
3 minutes to read Mathematics Without Tears and Fears #1 – Ready...
This is the first blog from the Mathematics Without Tears and Fears Project supported by the Education Incubator. It introduces the project and describes the Mathematical games that the students on the project have worked to develop in the first half of the project. The Project Leads are: Dr Layal Hakim, Dr…
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25 January 2021
2 minutes to read Education Incubator Project Call, 2021/22
We are excited to launch our new project call for year-long Incubator projects for the 2021/22 academic year. Further details on the amount of funding available will be released soon on our website here. For this call, we are asking applicants to focus their project applications around the following three themes: 1….
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21 January 2021
7 minutes to read #SLAR – Roots Resistance Project Blog #1 –...
This is the first blog in a new series related to the Student-Led Anti-Racism (SLAR) projects funded by the Provost’s Office, and supported by the Education Incubator. The authors – Asha Ali and Clara Akiki, (along with their team members: Mishaal Javed, Roman Ibrahim, and Arthur Dart) – use this blog to…
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19 January 2021
3 minutes to read Education Incubator 2020 – Our Year in Numbers
This year, the need for innovation in how we educate is more self-evident than it has ever been. Since March 2020, many past Incubator Fellows have told us that their fellowships — undertaken pre-COVID — have equipped them with the skills and mindsets that have allowed them to respond effectively to the…
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4 December 2020
3 minutes to read Decolonial Knowledge #1 – The importance of ethics...
This blog is a provocation written by Riadh Ghemmour on what ethics of care mean to me [us] in the current Incubator project, ‘Decolonial Knowledge Production and Anti-Racist Pedagogy.’ The project seeks to discuss and introduce the idea of ‘pluriversality,’ while also contributing to the wider emancipatory movement fighting against racism and…
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30 November 2020
2 minutes to read Parallel Texts #2 – What We’ve Learned So...
This blog has been co-written by Jess Shaw (@JessShawExpArc) and Charlie Berry @charliefoy, the two student Project Coordinators working on the Parallel Texts project (@parallel_texts). In this short blog, Jess and Charlie give an update on the project, their first network meeting in November, and how you can get involved in the…
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16 November 2020
6 minutes to read Top Tips for successful applications: The Student-Led Anti-Racism...
The Education Incubator Team are working with the Unlearn Collective to support students’ anti-racist project ideas. We look forward to empowering the students to disseminate work on these necessary projects across the University of Exeter and beyond. In this blog, the Incubator Project Manager, Dr Tom Ritchie reflects on Radical Pedagogies, a…
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12 November 2020
2 minutes to read MathsArt #1 – Creatively Reimagine the Education of...
The project is part of the Education Incubator. It is currently looking for primary schools (Year 5 groups (November 2020-January 2021) & Year 6 groups (January2021-March 2021)), to see how art can be adapted to fit various methods of learning and teaching Mathematics skills at Schools. Dr Houry Melkonian (Project Lead) and…
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2 November 2020
2 minutes to read Parallel Texts #1 – Rethinking education through the...
This blog has been co-written by Jess Shaw (@JessShawExpArc) and Charlie Berry @charliefoy, the two student Project Coordinators working on the Parallel Texts project (@parallel_texts). In this short blog, Jess and Charlie explain what inspired the project and how the project team seek to use parallel text software to innovate the educational…
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23 September 2020
6 minutes to read Taking the remote out of online learning –...
By Lisa Harris and Sarah Dyer In this post we challenge the “deficit model” of online teaching and learning that continues to circulate in the media. This model assumes that learners are “remote”, or “at a distance” when they study online, and are therefore at a disadvantage. In contrast, we’ve come to…
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18 September 2020
3 minutes to read Lego Serious Play: Training blog!
The Education Incubator Serious Fun, Serious Play, Serious Skills project awarded six bursaries to support Lego Serious Play Facilitation Training across the University of Exeter. In this blog, one of the bursary recipients, Dr Rebekah Welton shares her journey. I am a Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religion. As a…
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14 September 2020
3 minutes to read Dartington online writing retreat blog #5 – Video...
By Lisa Harris, Sarah Dyer, and Helen Walkington What have introductory videos on Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) got to do with social justice? Our aim in this blog post is to persuade you of the value of short introductory video as a one mechanism of inclusion. You may worry that an introductory…
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8 September 2020
< 1 minute to read Online resources and narrowcasting the curriculum
Matt Finn’s 2019/20 project explored the value of different online resources for students. You can read his findings comparing professional videos, podcasts, curated reading lists, and ‘low tech’ in his report. Please see Matt’s original report below, or click here. If you are interested in this type of content, we have a…
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28 July 2020
3 minutes to read Snakes and Ladders – A Classroom Activity for...
We are excited to host this blog on developing innovative pedagogical games, written by Dr Sarah Dyer, the Director of the Education Incubator I want to share an activity I have been developing to support discussions between academics about what builds – and what gets in the way of – developing as…
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20 July 2020
6 minutes to read Dartington Online Writing Retreat Blogs #4 – Lockdown...
The Education Incubator is enthusiastic in hosting this unique blogpost, written by five attendees at our Online Writing Retreat in May. The thoughts expressed below on distanced learning – by Matthew Collison (Computer Science), Katharine Earnshaw (Classics and Ancient History), Matt Finn (Geography), Mollie Gascoigne (Law), and Houry Melkonian (Mathematics) – are…
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16 July 2020
7 minutes to read RIIL Small Projects 2019/20 – Mobile Learning Summer...
Project Lead: Dr Layal Hakim Project Team: Sarah Henderson Our Aims: (Taken from application for funding) The project aims to create a mobile application to initially use to build a platform for student to learn and revise “on the go”. Mobile learning (M-learning) is not a virtual library, nor is it a…
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16 July 2020
4 minutes to read Dartington Online Writing Retreat Blogs #3 – Planning...
The Education Incubator is excited to host this blog, written by two attendees at our Online Writing Retreat in May. The perspectives on online learning offered below – by Irene Salvo (Classics and Ancient History) and Helen Knowler (Education) – are critical for all educators in the post-COVID HE landscape. We are…
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7 July 2020
5 minutes to read A Personal Story of becoming a Playful Academic
Dr Maarten Koeners wrote this blog as part of the first online Education Incubator Writing Retreat. It is the first in a blog series written by Maarten Koeners on Playful Academia, which can be found here. Maarten is a Senior Lecturer in Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health Professions at the University of…
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6 July 2020
8 minutes to read The Exeter Spectrum Programme #1 – A Project...
Dr Layal Hakim wrote this blog to reflect on and review her Incubator project: the Exeter Spectrum Programme, which she ran with Dr. Barrie Cooper. Layal is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Exeter. She has run a series projects as Incubator Fellow over previous years, and is supporting…
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6 July 2020
7 minutes to read The Education Incubator Café Online 2020!
The Education Incubator Café is an annual event that provides a space for Incubator fellows to showcase their projects, discuss wider applicability, and network with colleagues. Each year, the event provides the opportunity for incoming fellows to kick-off their projects, and for outgoing fellows to highlight their outputs, outcomes, and project findings….
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25 June 2020
3 minutes to read Dartington Online Writing Retreat Blogs #2 – Fix...
The Education Incubator is pleased to host this timely double blog, written by two attendees at our Writing Retreat in May. The perspectives below – written by Malcolm Richards and Lisa Alberici – are excellent examples of how we can bring our authentic selves to online teaching. We are looking forward to…
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18 June 2020
6 minutes to read Dartington Online Writing Retreat Blogs #1 – Developing...
By Sarah Dyer and Lisa Harris in synchronous co-authorship 🙂 This blog post supports a session in the 18th Academic Practice and Technology Conference (#APTconf) on 6th July 2020 which will be led by Sarah Dyer and Lisa Harris. In a session titled ‘A collaborative, real time approach to developing inclusive learning…
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16 June 2020
3 minutes to read Starting a new job during a pandemic –...
Dr Tom Ritchie shares his experiences of joining the Education Incubator in March 2020 and gives an update on the work and developments undertaken in response to the COVID-19 crisis. As part of his role at the Incubator, Tom will write monthly blogs on the Incubator, project impact, and wider themes in…
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17 January 2020
2 minutes to read The Exeter Spectrum Project
A fascinating project is underway in the Education Incubator this year, Layal Hakim and Barrie Cooper are working to improve the experience of students with autistic spectrum conditions. You can follow their progress on their web-page, and here, to get you started, is a re-blog of Layal’s recent post. The autism champions…
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15 November 2019
4 minutes to read #EduPLAYtion Incubator Project – Reflections on pushing the...
Last year, Joe Francis and colleagues designed and implemented a multi-faceted educational intervention exploring playful, games-based learning and its impact on student engagement and satisfaction. Here’s what they found …! When I was studying towards my PGCE in Higher Education, one particular online resource really stuck out for me. It was a…
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8 October 2019
2 minutes to read #DigiLearningPlayground – quick wins for the coming term
From September 10-12th the Digital Learning Playground (DLP) toured Exeter’s campuses for the very first time. Coordinated by the Education Incubator with support from EdTech Exeter, the event reached over 200 colleagues and created a real buzz! The DLP was a bit of an experiment… we weren’t sure if it would work……
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4 October 2019
< 1 minute to read #BEM2034 the story so far…
Read about how this Education Incubator project is rolling out with students this year. It was fabulous to see the project leads working with students last year to craft this exciting new module.
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23 September 2019
3 minutes to read Diffractive analysis for creative pedagogy – a blog...
Heather Wren, research assistant for Digital Innovation in Project-based Learning, explores the concept and practice of diffractive analysis for creative pedagogies. Our presentation was the final one of three in a symposium at the British Educational Research Association Conference in Manchester 2019 discussing how we can approach research on creative pedagogies. One…
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29 July 2019
5 minutes to read A CALL TO ARMS FOR MAKING HIGHER EDUCATION...
Following the success of his first post on Mapping the Physiology of Play to Education Strategy, Dr Maarten Koeners – our favourite playful learning blogger – invites you to join him on another discussion to explore its potential for radically transforming education (and life) as we know it! Mapping the physiology of play…
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25 July 2019
2 minutes to read Exeter HealthTech Hackathon 2019
Dr Gen Williams shares what went down at Exeter’s first ever HealthTech hackathon! Hackathon: A Hackathon (Hacking Marathon) is an event where a multidisciplinary team collaborate for an intense period of time on a specific project; the goal is to create something useable and tangible. RATIONALE Applied research and a multidisciplinary approaches…
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13 May 2019
3 minutes to read Chinese Culture MOOC – a hotbed of peer-to-peer...
Dr Ting Guo, project convener for the Many Faces: Understanding the Complexities of Chinese culture MOOC, gives an update on the course’s continuing success. The University of Exeter MOOC course “Many Faces: Understanding the Complexities of Chinese Culture” on the FurtureLearn platform has successfully completed its second run, which started on 8th April, 2019….
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9 May 2019
4 minutes to read Tensions and textures – exploring embodiment in a...
This post contains an excerpt from a recorded conversation between Dr Katie Natanel (IAIS) and Dr Kerry Chappell (GSE), co-leads on the Incubator-funded project Digital Innovation in Project-Based Learning. ORIENTATION This project explores how ‘project-based learning’ (PBL) can be enhanced through digital technologies and creative pedagogies in HE classrooms, which work through face-to-face…
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28 March 2019
4 minutes to read The Peer Impact Project: Mid-Project Perspective from the...
Bella Magner, student researcher on the Peer Impact project, updates us on project protocols and initial findings. The Peer Impact project is a cross-disciplinary study of how peer mentoring programmes impact educational attainment for mentees. This is one of the first quantitative studies in this area, with Biological Psychology being one of…
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22 March 2019
3 minutes to read Mapping the physiology of play to education strategy
‘It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye!’ Dr Maarten Koeners on mapping the physiology of play to education strategy Could our understanding of the physiology of play advance education in to the future? Play in a broad sense can relate to games and sport but may also extend to activities that…
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22 March 2019
2 minutes to read ‘The Hidden Curriculum – a student’s perspective’ by...
In this blog student Clare Smyth shares her experience of working as a participatory researcher on the Incubator’s Hidden Curriculum project. I am a final year BA Anthropology student and one of seven student research assistants on The Hidden Curriculum Education Incubator project. This is a joint project run by academic staff, undergraduate…
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26 February 2019
< 1 minute to read Incubator Podcast: InVEnTA, gamefication and active learning
This blog entry is brought to you by The InVEnTA team (Interactive Virtual Environments for Teaching & Assessment) in the way of a podcast. Download or play the podcast here or alternatively ‘watch/listen’ on YouTube below. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGr2QAaiz_g] On the podcast we refer to our feature video which is shown below. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbRP1E9CKJo] We…
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12 February 2019
2 minutes to read The Research-Education Ecosystem
In this exciting debut blog post, Professor Neil Gow, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Impact, explains how he sees the University’s Research and Education strategies interlinking. ‘A considerable part of the appeal of my joining Exeter last year, was its complementary strengths as both a research intensive university and an institution with a strong…
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9 January 2019
5 minutes to read Mathematics Group Projects on the New A-level Mathematics...
What impact, if any, does the new reformed A-level have on the mathematical mindset of students? Dr Layal Hakim explains how her students were inspired by a related Incubator project to investigate this important issue. As part of the module ECM3735, lead by Dr Barrie Cooper and Dr Layal Hakim, two groups…
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9 January 2019
3 minutes to read Humanities in a Digital World: Progress Update
The ‘Humanities in a Digital World’ project began in September with the aim of finding out what digital skills Humanities students need to enter the current job market – and to think about how we can provide them here at Exeter. The first stage of the project was data-gathering, which was done…
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17 December 2018
3 minutes to read Reimagine Education Awards – San Francisco, November 2018.
In this post Dr Sarah Dyer, Director the Education Incubator, reflects on her visit to California to explore innovation in higher education. The Education Incubator has been challenging academics at Exeter to reimagine learning in higher education since its launch in 2017. Our Incubator Fellows have responded by running innovative projects that…
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13 December 2018
2 minutes to read Playful Learning – a project update from Joe...
Incubator fellow Joe Francis, Clinical Skills Tutor for the BMBS Medicine programme, reveals his plans to deploy gamification to revolutionise clinical skills pedagogy #EduPLAYtion It’s been an exciting start to this incubator project! We are aiming to investigate playful learning strategies and gamification, using our findings to implement these innovative learning strategies within the…
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12 December 2018
3 minutes to read Peer impact – the story so far! by...
Incubator Fellow Dr David MacDonald, Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School, speaks candidly about securing ethics approval and his project’s next steps. The unwitting ‘pilot study’ It’s been an eventful start to the peer impact project. First of all, trying to convince a cohort of Year 1 BSc. Medical Sciences students…
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30 November 2018
2 minutes to read Hidden Curriculum? New student-staff collaboration is set to...
In this post Associate Professor Anna Mountford-Zimdars reports on how she is working collaboratively with students as partners to explore the cultural power embedded in the University of Exeter’s very own curriculum. Building the team Our Incubator project on the hidden curriculum has been off to a fantastic start. We received a lot of interest…
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