Blog Archives

Developing a feedback policy for Life Science

Dr Joanna Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, explains how the School of Life Sciences developed and implemented its feedback policy.   What we did:  Over the summer of 2021 I led a working group in the Life Sciences tasked with developing

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Closing the ‘feedback gap’ for international postgraduate students: An embedded writing approach

Dr. Brown embarked on his teaching journey in the realm of outdoor education during the 1980s before transitioning to teach Geography at the secondary school level. In 2004, he transitioned from the classroom to become an Educational Advisor for Learning

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Mapping the circular economy: A flexible mapping project for Product Design students

Claire Potter is a Senior Lecturer and the course convenor of the BSc / BA Product Design degrees, teaching on and leading on a variety of modules. In this case study, Claire describes how module and course design help develop

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Building learning communities through formative group work

Dr Zahid Pranjol, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences and Deputy Head of School for Life Sciences, explains how a formative project-based learning (PBL) group work assessment helps develop his Foundation, first and second year students’ belonging and team work skills.  

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Scaffolding summative assessments

Dr Lorraine Smith In this case study, Dr Lorraine Smith, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, discusses how she scaffolds summative assessments for Foundation level students.    What I did  I implemented both an essay plan and draft formative assessment so that students

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Embedding writing into seminars as a deliberate and supportive practice

Dr Verona Ni Drisceoil explains how and why you should build in opportunities for deliberate writing practice in seminars, or even in the lecture theatre.

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Developing academic literacies – part one

Embedding study skills, it is argued, helps students make the important link between the conventions of academic writing, the contested nature of knowledge, and the way writers use theory and evidence to argue. What to do about study skills? What

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The need to rethink our approach to formative assessment in Higher Education

Dr Verona Ní Drisceoil is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Her current research focuses on transition pedagogy, inequality in education and assessment for learning. 

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“The wheels firmly on the bus” Reflections on teaching a new module in the ‘new normal’

by Jeanette Ashton & Paolo Oprandi About the authors Jeanette Ashton is a Lecturer in Law and a non-practising solicitor, having joined the University of Sussex after 8 years at Brighton University.  She teaches Contract law, Equity and Trusts and

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Three tips for enhancing students’ engagement with feedback

In my many years of experience as an educator I have spent innumerable hours in writing feedback for students’ work. I always thought this was one of the most important elements of my role as a teacher, where I had

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About this blog

Learning Matters provides a space for multiple and diverse forms of writing about teaching and learning at Sussex. We welcome contributions from staff as well as external collaborators. All submissions are assigned to a reviewer who will get in touch to discuss next steps. Find out more on our About page.