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Foundation Year Programme Hailed a Triumph
By Linette Wallace - CELT Coordinator September 2019 saw the inception of the new Foundation Year at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU). Although the benefits of the programme were widely recognised, no-one could have anticipated the demand of this flexible, bridging route. A cohort of approx. 50 students are just successfully finalising this highly accessible Level 4 course. The majority of these have decided to continue on with further study and have now selected their preferred degree programme equipped with a new raft of skills to enable success. Others have used this year to improve on their transferable competences to become more employable in an ever-competitive labour market. The Foundation Year consists of 8 modules which are assessed by a portfolio of work rather than through examinations. The beauty of the course, is that it gradually introduces academic ways of learning and working to those that may be nervous about attending university, or those who may not have achieved the necessary requirements to study at degree level straight away. Students have been carefully guided throughout the course and have received a wealth of support not only through the CELT team who predominantly deliver its teaching, but with other BG tutors who also are involved and committed to its delivery. With the passing of its inception year, the demand for this course has risen by over 100% cementing it as a key component of the curriculum offer. Currently, BG has in excess of 100 people already applying for the Foundation Year, this is testament not only to its success but its necessity to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to access higher education learning and teaching through a variety of means. By having a Foundation Year, it offers the opportunity for students to utilise building blocks to acquire knowledge and skills as an alternative route to progress onto undergraduate study. It prepares learners by getting them accustomed to university life, studying at an undergrad level, honing their referencing, analytical, reflective, digital and academic writing skills, for example. It also provides taster materials and sessions of the subject the individual is interested in proceeding onto at degree level, thereby proffering a varied, interesting and robust preliminary exploration into the world of academia. For further information about Foundation Year, please E: CELT@bishopg.ac.uk -
New Toolkit Aims to Help Students Build Resilience
by Linette Wallace - CELT Coordinator Student mental health and wellbeing have been of national focus for some time especially due to the growing rise in student mental ill-health in Higher Education (HE). With the recognition of this growing area of concern, positive interest in student resilience by the sector is on the rise. As a result, resilience and its associated characteristics are starting to inform several crucial HE interventions alongside the student experience; from peer learning to graduate attributes and curriculum design. At Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), the health, wellbeing and employability of our students are key considerations and our aim is to nurture strong, independent learners that develop into rounded individuals that can contribute positively to society. Whilst we do not dispute the need for additional counselling and specialist support where required, the BGU community have felt a more proactive, preventative approach must be a better way forward for students rather than waiting for any crisis point to be reached. Hence, we are delighted to announce that through the work of the Wellbeing Framework Steering Group and CELT, BGU students will now have access to an online Resilience Toolkit from mid-September 2020. This dovetails with a raft of other wellbeing support mechanisms we have in place for our students across campus, such as Student Advice and the Chaplaincy for example. The toolkit advocates a positive, proactive approach to resilience by providing students with key information, activities, mindfulness techniques, resources, and links to further areas of support. It has been designed so that students can use it as frequently as they wish and access it with ease, as it sits on the Virtual Learning Environment (BlackBoard) and is linked to/from many course and generalist areas. As is widely known, student retention, success and graduate outcomes are intrinsically linked to learners successfully overcoming any barriers that they face to achievement in HE, such as stress and anxiety. By utilising some of the tools on the toolkit, it is hoped, that students can improve upon their growth mindset which is crucial to the development and maintenance of their resilience. This, in turn, can help them optimise any conditions they face and any environment in which they are situated. Central to having this growth mindset, is the student’s ability to embrace and learn from failure and it can be argued that the concept of them acquiring grit, resilience and delayed gratification are all pivotal in them being able to set goals and develop a sense of comfort in waiting for longer-term results to be achieved. The toolkit is being added to on an ongoing basis and houses some free e-books, embedded video content, and will promote events/talks/online courses in the subject area. If you would like further information, or would like to share any resources that you feel will enhance the toolkit, please send information into CELT@bishopg.ac.uk. -
Awarding UK at BGU Achieves Ofqual Recognition
We are proud to announce that Awarding UK, the End-Point Assessment Service based within Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), has successfully gained Ofqual Recognition. This is the culmination of many months of hard work and preparation by the Awarding UK team, which qualifies Awarding UK to effectively deliver end-point assessments for a wide range of apprenticeship standards in the education and childcare sectors, extending the current offer from 2 standards to 6. The aim is to continue to develop a portfolio of end-point assessments which builds on the significant expertise already held by BGU in these areas. Emily Hughes, Partnerships Development Manager and Awarding UK Responsible Officer commented: “We believe BGU is the first University in the country to achieve Ofqual Recognition for end-point assessment, and we are proud to be leading the way in enhancing access to education and skills in this way”. Vice-Chancellor, Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil stated: “Here at BGU, we believe strongly in providing opportunities for people to develop and learn, and end-point assessment is a new and exciting way of allowing us to expand that work. The Awarding UK team have worked tirelessly to ensure that they will deliver the highest quality end-point assessments, and this is a major vote of confidence from Ofqual”. Awarding UK end-point assessment delivery will commence at the start of 2021. For more information, and to get the latest updates on end-point assessments, visit www.awardinguk.com, email enquiries@awardinguk.com or follow Awarding UK on Twitter @Awarding_UK -
Student Surveys Bring Prizes and Smiles During Lockdown
https://www.bgu.ac.uk/news/student-surveys-bring-prizes-and-smiles-during-lockdown -
Student teachers share good practice on reading
Three trainee teachers at Bishop Grosseteste University have had research projects on promoting reading to children shared on a national good practice website for educators. The Reading Rich Pedagogies website is designed to support teachers who are developing Reading for Pleasure in the classroom and now features projects from students Chloe Golland, Isobel Holmes and Amber Whiley who are all currently in their third year of the BA Primary Education with QTS course. All three began their projects as a result of attending the OU/UKLA's Teachers' Reading group run by Emma Rogers (BGU Senior lecturer in Education). Through attending these meetings they were able to audit their own practice, meet with teachers and discuss effective classroom strategies and develop their knowledge of children's books; experience would feed directly into their projects. Isabel’s project explored ‘Sharing Reading’ and speaking after its acceptance to the website she highlighted the impact the Reading Group had had on her: ““It was a really good opportunity to speak to other teachers and learn from their reading for pleasure practice. It was also a great way to develop my own practice and explore reading for pleasure in more depth. “ Chloe’s project, pictured above, provided an interactive display to encourage discussion around a number of subjects related to reading. She shared her thoughts on how the group and the project would benefit her future teaching: “It was an enjoyable and influential experience which encouraged me to develop my own reading for pleasure and develop strategies which I could utilize to promote it within my future placements and when I become a fully qualified NQT” ‘Raising the Profile of Reading for Pleasure’ was the focus of Amber’s project and she shared how the group encouraged her to further her research: “This was an interesting, beneficial and inspiring group which has encouraged me to increase my own subject knowledge on reading and inspired me to research more into this area of education” Having led the group Emma Rogers was delighted to see the students’ efforts gaining national recognition: “This has been a great opportunity to showcase and celebrate the students' hard work and commitment to developing reading for Pleasure and great preparation for their careers in Primary education.” To find out how you can create your own successes in our collaborative learning community, visit our website, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. -
Applying Self Determination Theory to Childhood Feeding Challenges Explored by PhD student
A paper by Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) final year PhD student, Jo Cormack, on an application of Self Determination Theory (SDT) has been recognised as among the most requested and downloaded article in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior for the quarter. Co-authored by Dr Katja Rowell (American medical doctor and child feeding expert) and BGU Lecturer in Psychology, Dr Gianina Postavaru, the paper applies SDT to childhood feeding challenges, in particular exploring how the 'basic needs' proposed by SDT - autonomy, relatedness and competence - can provide a framework for a responsive approach to child feeding. Speaking after receiving the accolade, Jo explained why the paper was gaining such a high level of attention: “The paper has generated a lot of interest among clinicians working with paediatric feeding problems (also known as 'extreme picky eating' or 'selective eating'). This is in part because the concepts of responsive feeding and responsive feeding therapy are currently gaining traction in the field, as practitioners explore alternatives to more pressuring and coercive strategies and therapeutic approaches to managing feeding difficulties.” You can read more about Jo's work with 'picky eating' at www.jocormack.com The full citation for the article is below: Cormack, J., Rowell, K., & Postăvaru, G. I. (2020). Self-Determination Theory as a Theoretical Framework for a Responsive Approach to Child Feeding. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 52(6), 646-651. For more information on the doctoral programmes at BGU, visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team. -
How Research is Driving Innovation in Health Care at BGU
At Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) we’re proud to offer a diverse range of health care related courses designed to train and upskill at all levels, be they budding professionals or seasoned practitioners. Innovation is the driving force of these courses, particularly the MA Health and Social Care Leadership along with the MSc Primary and Community Care, which look to explore opportunities to take the health care profession to a new level. -
Religion’s Impact on Racial Equality Explored as Winner Announced for 2020 Robert Grosseteste Essay Prize
Daniel Hole, of Burgate Sixth Form, has been announced as the winner of Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) Robert Grosseteste Essay Prize 2020. The competition, in honour of Robert Grosseteste (1167-1253), namesake of BGU, bishop, philosopher, scientist and translator and the first chancellor of Oxford University, challenges entrants to apply the study of Theology and Philosophy relevant to the issues of our age. Entrants were invited to submit papers exploring ‘Is Religion a help or a hinderance when it comes to the issue of racial equality?’ with particular reference to the Black Lives Matter movement. Daniel’s paper, titled ‘God is my Judge’, proposed that rather than a hindrance, Religion could serve as a cure for racial inequality and was picked by judging panel out of a wide selection of entries. As winner Daniel will receive a £250 cash prize as well as a hardback signed copy of Robert Grosseteste and Theories of Education; the Ordered Human, eds Jack P. Cunningham & Steven Puttick. Speaking after the announcement, Daniel explained what drew him to the competition and discussed his plans for the future: “Ever since I was young I have had a passion for problem solving and at the age of 15 this flourished for me in my dive into Philosophy and Theology. Since then I have been on a relentless development of my intellect. I am a current student at Burgate Sixth Form and I am studying A Levels in Philosophy, Religious Studies, Sociology and Politics with an EPQ in the subject of 'Sola Scriptura. My aspirations for the future are to write books on the subject from thoughts I have accumulated over the years and to next year begin a Bachelors in Philosophy, with subsequent plans of earning Master's and Doctorates in Theology and Religion.” You can read Daniel’s essay in full by clicking here. The judges also gave special recognition to runner up Alys Evans, of Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg, who argued that, due to existence and impact of religious extremism, religion could not be defined as a help in racial equality. Alys also shared her plans for the future: “I am applying for a degree in Law and hope to attend Bristol University next year. In future, I would love to become a lawyer and possibly spend a year in New Zealand after University.” You can read Alys’ essay in full by clicking here. If you would like to become a part of these exciting and unique explorations, visit our website, speak to a member of Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days to find out how to take your first steps. -
BGU announces new partnership with Teach North
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) has announced a new partnership with leading teacher-training provider, Teach North. The partnership will see the two organisations team up to provide first-class teacher training through the Teach North School Direct Programme. At completion of the programme, those on the course will receive a PGCE with Qualified Teacher Status in addition to 60 Master’s credits. Following its most recent evaluation, Ofsted awarded the PGCE programme at BGU, a Grade 2: Good. Emma Tate, Director of Outwood Institute of Education and Programme Lead for Teach North, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with BGU to provide first-class teacher training to future teachers, through our School Direct Programme. “The new partnership means Teach North is now working with five universities to deliver teacher training, while supporting the communities within which these universities are based. Working with BGU will enable us to focus on supporting not only Lincoln, but surrounding areas like Worksop and Scunthorpe. “We believe that by working together with BGU, we can ensure trainee teachers get the very best support both in and out of the classroom as well as gaining invaluable experience teaching their own class as they study.” Teach North recently announced that its 2020-2021 cohort was the biggest it had ever taken on, with over 100 trainee-teachers training to teach with them. While BGU has been educating students in the historic heart of Lincoln for over 150 years. Stephen Smith, Head of ITE Partnerships at BGU, said: “Bishop Grosseteste University is delighted to be working in partnership with Teach North. We look forward to working together in a joint venture, helping to develop the very best teachers who will serve the children and schools in our region.” -
Remembering 2020 at BGU - March: BGU Student Projects Gain National Recognition
While 2020 has been a far from normal year at BGU, we’ve still been able to celebrate a wide range of successes and achievements from across our learning community. To mark the end of the year we’re picking out our favourite stories from each month to share with you.
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