An important part of the DCAD remit is to promote the scholarship of teaching and learning across the University, and part of this is the SoTL Forum.
All who teach at Durham University (in a range of teaching contexts) are welcome to attend the Forum. Our programme consists of a mix of plenary sessions and practical ‘how to’ workshops. We aim to present two plenary sessions per term, often with external speakers, and follow-up practical workshops for those who wish to go further. To allow as many people as possible to participate, we try to hold events on different days of the week. The majority of our sessions are scheduled on Tuesday or Thursday lunchtimes, with lunch provided, and last for about an hour, with time before and afterwards for those who wish to network with other colleagues.
The fourteenth of March 2019 saw the launch of the new Forum with a talk from DCAD Director Professor Nicola Whitton, on the subject of ‘What is Scholarship?’, for over 40 attendees from various departments across the University.
During Easter term, SoTL Forum featured presentations given by colleagues on the subject of using surveys in scholarship of teaching and learning (Candace Nolan-Grant and Aziza Zaher), ‘Writing and Publishing an Employability Skills Book for Students’ (Dr Eleanor Loughlin and Laura Dorian) and a two-part workshop on ‘How to Design, Deploy and Analyse Surveys’ (Professor Doug Newton and Lucy Davies).
External speakers Professor Alex Brewis (Slade), from Arizona State University, and Alex Moseley, from the University of Leicester, visited the Forum on the afternoon of Wednesday 5th June. Professor Brewis spoke about ‘Integrating Research into Undergraduate Instruction at Scale: Challenges and successes at the intersection of Anthropology and Global Health’ whilst Alex Moseley spoke about ‘Playfulness in Curriculum Design and Delivery’.
A number of DCAD SoTL Forum events have been recorded so those who are unable to attend can view talks at a later date, and these will shortly be available to Durham University staff members via the DCAD website.
Our programme of events recommences just before the start of the Michaelmas Term, when on September 11th, Professor Rachel Sproken-Smith of the University of Otago will speak on career pathways for PhD graduates, together with colleagues from Durham University. The focus of other sessions in the term will be on the sharing of scholarly activity. You can book a place on SoTL Forum events via the Training Course Booking System, and booking for Michaelmas Term events will open shortly. Please note that to assist with catering arrangements, registration closes 10 days prior to each event.
If you have a scholarship of teaching and learning project that you would be keen to share with others, or suggestions for future DCAD SoTL Forum events or speakers, please contact SoTL Forum Coordination Group members Candace Nolan-Grant [email protected], or Clare Carrr [email protected]