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Bishop Grosseteste University launches autism exhibition
A free exhibition of artefacts that have emerged from the autism community in answer to the question ‘What is autism?’ will go on display at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU). -
Plotting new worlds: English writing competition winners announced
The English Department at Bishop Grosseteste University is pleased to announce the winner of BGU Short Story Competition 2022, entitled Plotting New Worlds. -
Welcome Week 2022 roundup from CELT
As part of the Freshers’ Marketplace, CELT set up a stall introducing students to the support provided by the team. Here, CELT members briefly explained the services of Learning Development, Digital Learning and Student Engagement, as well as promoting organised activities. This year saw the introduction of events not only during enrolment week, but also two weeks post-enrolment. The aim of this was to maintain engagement with students for not only enrolment week, but for the following weeks. Events were advertised via the Welcome Week programme, Blackboard and posters were displayed around campus. CELT decided to lay on a greenscreen and mini carnival for enrolment week. Greenscreen - students visited CELT to have their picture taken, with a background of their choice, either as an individual or with friends. The photo was then put into a keyring as a keepsake which the students collected a little later. One of the challenges of this was the clothing choice of students. Unfortunately, those who turned up in a green top disappeared into the background! However, this added to the humour of the event. Mini carnival – thankfully the weather was on our side so this took place in the courtyard outside CELT. Many traditional games including tin-can-alley and hook-a-duck, were available for students to participate in, with the aim to win a prize. Hook-a-duck was extremely successful and proved to be a hit with students. This was in part, due to the ‘CELT generated’ storm which made the game more difficult but definitely more fun. Those who took part, including the Vice-Chancellor, will know what this means! Follow-on activities On the following two Wednesdays (28 September and 5 October), and at the request of the Students’ Union to continue student engagement post enrolment, further events were laid on by CELT. On each Wednesday, the green screen continued to make an appearance, but this was accompanied by the CELT Escape Room. In teams of a maximum of 6, students had to answer puzzles in 4 rooms, each room giving a number to a padlock. Only on correctly working out the padlock number, were they able to escape (and win some goodies). A varied level of help was provided by CELT staff but thanks to persistence and determination shown by our students, they managed to escape! The carnival will be making a reappearance on 9 November in the Students’ Union building, between 12 noon and 3pm. Come and join us for more fun and goodies. See you soon! CELT -
Autistic Perspectives to be Explored in Third Bishop Grosseteste University Participatory Autism Research Symposium.
Wednesday 16th November 2pm -
BGU tutor goes stateside for convention
A Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) tutor recently delivered a paper at an international conference held in San Francisco. Dr Amy Webster was invited to attend the Modern Language Association's (MLA) convention as a speaker and spent four days meeting with fellow academics and exploring the city. Her paper about British series of children's classics was part of a panel with American Professors on children's literature and culture in the modern city. The paper drew upon Dr Webster's PhD, which was completed at the University of Cambridge. Dr Webster, who teaches on the Education Studies undergraduate programme and the MA in Children’s Literature and Literacies, was able to attend the convention thanks to MLA's travel grant and BGU's research fund. As one of few speakers at the conference from the UK, she was excited to present her research and explore the topic in a different context and culture. She said: "It was my first time attending this annual convention and it was lovely to be involved. I made some good connections with other academics which I hope will lead to collaborations in the future. "It was a great opportunity to identify where my researched overlapped and interconnected with that of other attendees, and we were able to enjoy some lively debate." A copy of Dr Webster's presentation can be found here. -
Lecturer's first book explores the connections between music and language learning
BGU Lecturer Tracy Jeffery has published her first book - Developing Early Verbal Skills Through Music: Using rhythm, movement and song with children and young people with additional or complex needs. Tracy began working on the book three years ago, after she gave a presentation at the Down Syndrome Research forum about music and language. According to Tracy, the talk sparked a lot of interest from parents, and she was keen to share everything she had learned from working in schools and colleges as well as her PhD and later research. 'Developing Early Verbal Skills Through Music' explains the connections between music and language learning, especially in the very early stages (up to about 3-4 years). In the book, Tracy explains the science behind this, the evidence that shows how and why music-making can support speech skills; and why these same skills can develop differently in children and adults with learning or developmental differences and disabilities, including autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, hypermobility disorders. The book offers guidance about how to support learners with different diagnoses of SEND to develop musical skills in listening, rhythm, and singing so that practitioners can make adaptations. Dr Tracy Jeffery teaches on the BA in Special Educational Needs, Disability and Inclusion (SENDI) programme, MA in SEND and leads the Distance Learning Top Up in SEND. She joined Bishop Grosseteste University as a Visiting Tutor in 2010, teaching on Education Studies, SENI and Psychology programmes, and joined as a full time lecturer in 2016. Tracy said: "I am delighted to have published my first book through Jessica Kingsley Publishers, who are well known for providing affordable and accessible books, especially in arts, therapies and SEND. "I wrote it for parents, firstly - I really wanted to share with them the amazing benefits that making music with children and adults can have for listening, attention, wellbeing, and most of all, for speech perception, speech production and voice. "There is so much research that shows how music-making can support skills as diverse as reading, second language learning, and speech fluency; but there are certain conditions that need to be in place when learning. "I have explained why some children and learners can have difficulty with speech and language, as well as music; and explained some of the ways parents, teachers, and practitioners can support children when making music so that they are also using the language-based skills." You can order from most bookstores, including e-books from Amazon; or can buy direct from Jessica Kingsley Publishers and get a 20% discount using the code JEFFERY20. Dr Tracy Jeffery with her new book -
Honorary Award recipients announced
Each year, Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) has the opportunity to award Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellowships at its graduation ceremonies. BGU staff and students, retired staff and alumni and current or former University Council members were invited to nominate candidates for honorary awards. Honorary Fellowship is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the University; whilst Honorary Doctorate is awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions to academic achievement, social, economic or cultural life. We're pleased to announce this year's award recipients, who will be honoured at graduation celebrations in July 2023. Bishop Grosseteste University Vice-Chancellor Rev Canon Professor Peter Neil said: “We are proud to be awarding this year’s honorary recipients for their expertise and service in their respective roles. I am delighted to welcome them to our wider BGU community. “Each one of them is inspirational in their own right and all serve as excellent role models for our students in how to make a positive impact on society.” -
First Aid for Mental Health training offered at BGU
Bishop Grosseteste University has offered First Aid for Mental Health training to its staff for the first time. 21 members of the BGU community signed up to become First Aiders for Mental Health. Every member of staff across the University was offered the opportunity to enrol in either a Level 2 or Level 3 course with Firecracker, an organisation that works with businesses to help them see the impact health can have upon workplace culture. The Level 2 course was delivered over one day and covered a number of health-related subjects including how to provide advice and start a conversation, and the impact of different mental health conditions. The Level 3 course built on this foundation of knowledge, and explored further topics including an in-depth analysis of various conditions. The courses were delivered by Firecracker Founder and Senior Lecturer in Business and Enterprise Rachel Linstead. She has been a trainer for over 22 years and has a Masters in Workplace Health and Wellbeing. Rachel said: "We all have mental health and it’s vitally important for everyone to understand what good and poor mental health looks like. The workplace is an ideal opportunity to give staff the tools to support themselves and their colleagues to ensure that everyone can flourish in and out of the workplace." First Aiders for Mental Health (FA4MH) are trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of common workplace mental health issues and know how to effectively guide a person towards the right mental health support. They are also equipped to promote a workplace culture where staff are free to discuss mental health issues openly and feel supported by their colleagues when they do so. Staff from a variety of areas across the University signed up to gain these new skills, including individuals from support services, business and enterprise, CELT, members of academic staff, and the Students' Union. Bishop Grosseteste Students' Union President Connor Short completed the Level 3 course. He said: "I feel that First Aid for mental health training is important for everyone to know because, much like in instances where physical first aid is needed, it can save a life. "It is impossible to know if or when someone may need support, but having it available can make the world of difference for us all." Following the success of the training, the University hopes to offer further opportunities to its staff to become First Aiders for Mental Health in the future. -
TEDx hosts BGU lecturer
‘Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) Lecturer Steph Blanco will be discussing neuropsychology at an upcoming TEDx Talk. TEDxBrayford Pool’s sixth flagship event is back to explore spectrums of ideas in our communities and runs for the whole weekend of 14 and 15 October. The event will host 20 speakers and offer attendees the opportunity to engage in 18 different workshops across the weekend. Professional thinkers and speakers will be presenting on a range of topics at this flagship event including activism, the arts and social change. Vice-Chair and lead of the medical advisory board for the national charity FND Dimensions and BGU Lecturer in Psychology Steph Blanco will be presenting her talk on Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). This talk explores the role of neuropsychology in an area which is under-researched and has long been misunderstood. As the first TEDx talk on this topic, this event will bring discussions of FND to a global stage. Steph is a neuropsychologist, an established researcher, and an emerging leading expert in FND; translating the lessons she learns though research to practical applications and practice in the third sector. Steph’s talk titled “The Flat Brain: Functional Neurological Disorder” will be hosted at Session Two: Showing Up on Saturday 14 October at 5:45pm in the Engine Shed (Lincoln city centre). She will also be hosting two fireside chats one on Saturday which explores the impacts of hidden conditions and ableism and one on Sunday titled “We need more data” exploring data constraints in health and illness related research. Bishop Grosseteste University's relationship with TEDx is long established, with many academic staff having previously participated in this community focused and innovative event. Two of the TEDx curators have connections to BGU – graduate Owen Tonks-Lewis and former lecturer Andy Farenden. Owen Tonks-Lewis said: “We’re really excited to build on last year’s programme and activities that showcases what a remarkable place we live in with our fantastic speaker programme. If you’re not sure what to expect; think part festival, part conference and part exhibition with hands-on workshops and activities mixed together with live speakers and performers to create a community event like no other!” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Full weekend tickets are on sale at £35, concessions £12, and individual session tickets £15. BGU students can get a discount on the weekend concession tickets using the code BGUS2023 to get in for £5 (valid with student ID when collecting tickets). For more ticketing information and the full programme visit www.tedxbrayfordpool.com/flagship Click here to book tickets directly. -
A year of being a KTP Associate
From the perspective of Iwona Fodrowska
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