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Students combine magic, puzzles and some Ancient Egyptian to bring Maths to life
Third year students on the BA Primary Education with QTS course at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) visited Monks Abbey Primary School where they used a variety of exciting challenges to help two Year 4 classes engage with maths. The BGU students are part of a mathematics subject leadership group and visit Monks Abbey every year to support pupils and increase interest in the subject. As part of their efforts they led the children through 21 'Crystal Maze' style mental challenges focusing on number and shape. These included identifying numbers in Ancient Egyptian script, making tangram pictures, completing a pentomino puzzle of Bengali numbers, putting numbers in a magic square and working out how to move all the discs to create the Tower of Brahma. Each student worked with two or three children, prompting them with questions to support their thinking. Dr Ashley Compton, Senior Lecturer in Primary at BGU, described the benefits these sessions could offer to both the school pupils and BGU’s students: “Students from BAPE have been going to Monks Abbey for the past ten years to lead this activity and the school are always eager to have us back. Every year the children have ended the session excited about problem solving in mathematics and it helps broaden their understanding of what mathematics can include. Our students meanwhile are able to gain experience in how different children respond to a range of problem solving activities as well as being able to refine their questioning skills. As potential mathematics subject leaders it lets them see the potential for organising special events which can help raise the profile of mathematics in school and increase a positive attitude toward the subject.” If you’d like more information on how to begin your adventure in the world of Primary Education, visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team today. -
Visiting professor shares teaching practices from across the continent
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) welcomed Professor Catalina Barragán from the University of Almería in Andalusia who was visiting the UK to find out more about the systems and processes which underpin the English primary school system. Teaching is a highly respected profession in Spain, with most primary teachers staying in the profession until they retire, and the English primary school system is held in an equal high regard. As part of her trip Professor Barragán visited two locals before spending time with BGU’s PGCE students to experience their training. This was a rewarding experience for both groups and Professor Barragán noted the focus given to teaching standards by all of the PGCE trainees whose seminars she had attended being particularly impressed by their professional manner and the genuine commitment to a career in teaching they communicated. Based on her experiences in Spain and her time exploring English primary education and teacher training, Professor Barragán’s was able to identify a number of key areas where English and Spanish practices differ, along with others where both nations followed similar approaches: “I found the emphasis given to the core subjects, reading, writing and maths, in the first years to be very different from schools in Andalusia. For example, in Almería and Andalusia as a whole there is much more focus on integrating the study of a modern foreign language from the earliest years, and this is often integrated in to the whole curriculum so that areas like maths or science can be taught in English. “In addition I was interested in the use of Teaching Assistants in classrooms as this is unknown in both my region and Spain as a whole. Schools employ trained teachers to support groups of children with special needs or linguistic diversity. In England there is also an impressive focus on outdoor learning which does not get such an emphasis in Spain.” “However I have found that in both countries there is a shared focus on the need to teach strategies to recognise and support the emotional well-being of children, including a recognition of the valuable role of parents, and the need to develop effective anti-bullying strategies.” While at BGU Professor Barragán worked closely with Dr Mark Larrad, Senior Lecturer in Primary, whose own research is focused on the different approaches in Andalusia and England to the training of teachers. Both are hopeful that her time at BGU will lead to further collaboration between the two institutions possibly including exchange visits for trainee teachers, joint research and shared practices. If you’d like more information on how to begin your adventure in the world of education, visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team today to find out more about our range of PGCE and Primary Education courses. -
Former BG Futures Tenant Think2Speak goes from strength to strength
A year on from completing her incubation session at the BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre, Lizzie Jordan, Founder and CEO of Think2Speak, has been looking back on her journey as an entrepreneur, and how being a BG Futures tenant helped Think2Speak grow in its formative years. Lizzie’s life completely changed in 2006 when she was widowed and then diagnosed with HIV. From these personal experiences Think2Speak, an award winning social enterprise, was born: “Think2Speak believe that communication skills are integral to young people’s lives, and confident communication empowers, protects & enables decision-making. Our programmes embed these integral skills, which are pivotal to the quality of relationships, and successes whether in education, employment, or life.” Lizzie knows from her own experiences as an entrepreneur that being self-employed isn’t for everyone; it is all consuming and hard work and not everyone is cut out for it. However, Lizzie acknowledges the tireless effort can produce incredible rewards which, for her, included receiving recognition from NatWest on their WISE100 list. When asked about Think2Speak’s time in BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre, Lizzie said: “BG Futures has a special place in my heart; it is where the idea of Think2Speak germinated. I was able to benefit from the team within the building, and also the wider network and resources that being based at BGU tapped us into. The foundations that I built whilst based in BG Futures, paved the way for us to grow substantially and 2019 saw us move into commercial premises in Marshall’s Yard in Gainsborough.” Becky Goodman, Enterprise Development Manager at BGU, commented: “Think2speak’s work as an award winning social enterprise is fundamental to driving change, and to giving people the confidence to have a voice. It is great that BG Futures could provide a platform from which Think2Speak has been able to grow, and to make positive connections across Lincolnshire and beyond. At BG Futures we are particularly proud of the partnership work that Think2speak has been able to develop with the wider university offer, and I am pleased to see the annual conference #T2SLive19 back at BGU in November. We look forward to seeing Think2Speak continue to grow and effect positive change.” In addition to enjoying fantastic successes with Think2Speak Lizzie has gone on to become ‘one of the UK’s highest profile HIV advocates’ working as a consultant and speaker for various pharmaceutical companies and as a Visiting Lecturer at a number of universities. Through these roles she discusses her experiences, her story, HIV and sexual health with audiences varying from Year 7 secondary school classes to conferences and pharmaceutical board strategy meetings. If you have got a vision for your own business but aren’t sure where to begin then the BG Futures team are the perfect place to start. With facilities and expert support available in their incubation centre, they’ll be able to get you on the road to success. Visit our website or contact them today to see how you can start your own adventure. -
42nd Implicit Religion Conference to Explore Human Rights, Punk Rock and UFOs
The 42nd Implicit Religion Conference will be held at BGU from 17th – 19th of May. Scholars will gather from around the world to discuss questions and ideas of what we mean when we talk about terms such as ‘religion’, ‘secular’, ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’. The theme of the conference for this year is “Religion and the Encounter” and through that we will be examining the ways that structural inequality in areas of race, gender, sexuality and non-human lifeforms are encountered, controlled, shaped and marginalised. The Edward Bailey lecture keynote address will take place on Friday 17th from 7:30 -9pm in the Hardy building. It is free to members of the public and will be delivered this year by Professor Tim Jenkins from Cambridge University, who will be speaking on "Encounters with Aliens: research into images of life elsewhere." This will be focused on his research into reports of flying saucers, and will draw some tentative conclusions about the nature of religion and what ‘implicit’ means in the contemporary period. In addition to the Edward Bailey lecture the conference will have papers on Human Rights, Human suffering, pain and death, Education policies, football, punk rock and the implicit religion of The Smurfs. The Edward Bailey Lecture is free to members of public and is held in the Hardy building from 7:30 -9pm on Friday the 17th May. There are also a small number of audience spaces available to interested members of the public in each of the panel sessions – Please feel free to email Dr Francis Stewart at BGU francis.stewart@bishopg.ac.uk If you’re interested in a future exploring and discussing religion then our Theology courses and RE teaching pathways could be for you. Visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team today for more information. -
Lecturer aims to bring lessons from the forest into the classroom
Paul Brenham-Foster, Senior Lecturer in Primary at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), has been presented with a Level 3 Forest School Practitioner Award following a year of training and delivering sessions with local schools. The training, which included an initial week introducing the ethos and theory behind forest school, sits alongside an online portfolio covering health and safety, ecology, delivery of sessions, theories of play, learning and development. Both of these were followed by a practical assessment week, out in the woods, which explored a number of aspects including camp fire cookery, safe use of tools and fire, planning for holistic development and nature study skills. The Forest School Association defines Forest School as: ‘an inspirational process, which offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees. It is a specialised learning approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland education.’ The ethos is shared by thousands of trained practitioners across the UK and beyond. Its roots reach back to early years pioneers in outdoor learning and overseas to Scandinavia. As part of the approach, all participants are viewed as: equal, unique and valuable competent to explore & discover entitled to experience appropriate risk and challenge entitled to choose, and to initiate and drive their own learning and development entitled to experience regular success entitled to develop positive relationships with themselves and other people entitled to develop a strong, positive relationship with their natural world Following his award, Paul discussed why he became involved in the initiative and what he hoped its impact could be on the students at BGU: “Having worked in the Foundation Stage for over 20 years, the importance of outdoor learning and the Forest School approach affirms my own personal philosophy on teaching and learning within Early Years.” “With the increased focus schools have on mental health and well-being, it is important our trainees have an awareness of approaches such as Forest School as they begin their careers.” “The aim is for all trainees across the Primary programmes to experience the sessions as a participant and to begin to understand some of the theory behind the approach and hopefully be inspired to train as a Forest School practitioner at some point in their career.” Paul is currently researching how the Forest School approach can be used within school’s to promote children’s mental health and well-being and the importance of risky play in children’s development. If you’d like to find out more about innovative and diverse primary education course visit our website, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. -
Collaborative learning community drives student satisfaction in latest NSS results
Following the release of this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) results Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is pleased to have again received high satisfaction levels from its graduating students. Seeing the overwhelming majority of our student body engaging with the NSS this year has been immensely satisfying and we’d like to thank our students for providing valuable feedback to us on the issues that are important to them. Creating an environment where students feel that they can not only make their voices heard but be an active part of developing their university experience is a key element of our drive for excellence. Dr Rob Boast, Executive Dean Learning, Teaching & Student Engagement, is leading this collaborative partnership between staff and students and is excited to see where it can take BGU in the future: “At BGU we are dedicated to placing the student voice at the heart of what we do so it is fantastic to see our efforts reflected in the increasing satisfaction scores. For areas such as ‘Student Voice’ and ‘Learning Community’ BGU has outperformed the average for the sector. The NSS provides an excellent opportunity for us to evolve and improve as an institution and we look forward to further engaging with our students on their experiences so that together we can continue creating a positive and rewarding learning environment.” BGU also saw increased scores in a number of other areas including ‘Academic Support’ and ‘Assessment & Feedback’, which was also above the average for the sector. For BGU Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Scott Fleming, these areas of increased satisfaction also demonstrate the value of the challenge laid down by the NSS to universities: “Following previous surveys we introduced a number of new initiatives to increase satisfaction in our academic support and feedback so it is incredibly rewarding to see that work receiving a positive response from our students. However it is important that we, along with all our fellow universities, see the NSS as a challenge to keep striving for consistently high satisfaction across the entire student experience and continuously improve as an institution rather than an opportunity to rest on the success of specific areas. We are committed to ensuring our students enjoy a level of quality throughout their time with us and I look forward to seeing what we, working in partnership with our students, can continue to accomplish over the next five years of our new University Strategy”. To find out how you can become a part of BGU’s collaborative learning community you can visit our website, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. -
BGU PhD student presents at International Conference on Dream Research
Anthony Bloxham, Psychology PhD student at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), presented his research at the 36th International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) Conference held in Kerkrade, The Netherlands. Anthony’s research, part-funded by the IASD's Dream Science Foundation, describes a psychological experiment conducted in collaboration with The University of Lincoln, which aims to understand the nature of dreaming and its links with memory processes. The presentation was delivered as part of a research symposium at the conference, on the subject of memory reactivations in sleep and the developing use of virtual reality (VR) in dreams research. A number of renowned dream researchers from all over the world were in attendance and listened to the presentation. Other speakers at this symposium included Jayne Gackenbach (USA), an expert on how video games influence dreams, and Claudia Picard-Deland (Canada), PhD student at the University of Montreal, who independently conducted a very similar experiment to Anthony's. The talks were well-received and generated insightful discussion among those who were present. Reflecting on his experience after the conference, the opportunity to share and discuss his work with international peers was one of Anthony’s key highlights from the event: "I really enjoyed visiting the conference in The Netherlands and presenting my work, as well as getting to meet many of the researchers whose work has inspired and informed my own. My greatest thanks to them. Kate Adams who used to be at BGU was there, and it was nice to see her again." Our academics and students are regularly invited to present at conferences around the world, you can follow all their travels on our news page and find out how you can start your own adventures on our course pages. -
BG Futures Summer Social Brings Entrepreneurial Talents Together
The BG Futures Summer Social organised by Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) BG Futures Team returned this year to once again provide an informal opportunity for BGU based organisations and entrepreneurs to come together to celebrate the year’s successes. Held in the on-campus BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre the event offered a welcome opportunity for the current physical and virtual tenants to come together. A number of students who have been successfully developing their own business ideas with the support of the BGU Enterprise Club were also in attendance. All the organisations based in BG Futures are between one month, and three years old and are supported by Becky Goodman; Enterprise Development Manager along with the BG Futures Careers, Employability and Enterprise Team. New additions to the BG Futures community since the last Summer Social include Wilesmith, TaylorWalsh and Early Bird Lifestyle Support BG Futures has a broad remit ranging from careers guidance and support to enterprise development and application for further study. The team take great care of BGU alumni looking to start their own ventures and provide a bespoke support offer for up to two years after graduation, enabling them to continue to flourish by delivering employability advice and assistance applying for jobs or further study. With opportunities open to non-alumni as well, the on-campus business and enterprise centre equips new businesses and entrepreneurs with a base for their creativity and includes incubation units, a Hot-Desk room and Virtual Office facilities. If you have got a vision for your own business but aren’t sure where to begin then the BG Futures team are the perfect place to start. With facilities and expert support available in their incubation centre, they’ll be able to get you on the road to success. Visit our website or contact them today to see how you can start your own adventure. -
BGU lecturer joins academic and literary legends in exploring a balanced curriculum for children
Aimee Quickfall, Head of Programmes for Primary and Early Years in the School of Teacher Development at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), has contributed a chapter to a new book on the primary curriculum.'A Broad and Balanced Curriculum in Primary Schools: Educating the whole child' identifies the pressures of standardised testing and the focus on English and maths as impacting factors on teaching time, and asks how teachers can ensure that the curriculum truly is broad and balanced. Contributors provide an exploration of the current challenges in the curriculum as well as guidance on how to tackle them. Aimee's chapter looks at using philosophical inquiry with primary age children and how an hour a week of thinking deeply and discussing interesting questions together can improve teamwork, mutual respect, problem-solving skills, as well as writing, reading and mathematics achievement. Contributors include children's literary legend and former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen; and Professor Teresa Cremin, Professor of Education (Literacy) at The Open University in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies and is available now through a number of outlets. Speaking following the book's publication Aimee expressed her delight at being involved: "I am delighted to have been invited to contribute to this very important book, which reflects how passionately the School of Teacher Development team at BGU feel about a broad and balanced curriculum for our teacher trainees and their pupils" If you’re interested in a future in education, our BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS (3 year undergraduate degree), BA (Hons) Primary Teaching Studies with QTS (15 month top up degree), and PGCE courses are the perfect ways to begin or continue your adventure on the path to becoming a fantastic teacher! If you have any questions, our Enquiries Team are ready to help. Contact them today or visit our website to find out how to take your next steps. 'A Broad and Balanced Curriculum in Primary Schools: Educating the whole child' is edited by Susan Ogier and published by Sage. -
BGU join the Lincoln Book Festival 2019 to Celebrate the life and legacy of Queen Victoria
This September staff and students from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) joined the Lincoln Book Festival to celebrate the bicentenary of the births of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with ‘V for Victoria!’ with a series of events from 23rd to 28th September capturing the ways in which the city connects the life and legacy of Queen Victoria. From the most recent publications on Queen Victoria, the British Empire and Victorian authors such as, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, John Ruskin, and Janet Ross, but also Ada Lovelace, Charlotte Brontë’s publisher, William Smith Williams, there were exciting events for a variety of interests. BGU has been collaborating with the Festival for a number of years and that relationship further increased this year spearheaded by Dr Claudia Capancioni, Programme Leader for English at BGU, whose specialism is Victorian Literature. Staff and students were actively involved in the festival programme’s activities with our trainee PGCE students in English and Drama and staff opening the festival by leading workshops for school pupils who took part in a creative writing competition, Flash Fiction, and the creative writing programmes run by First Story and Writing East Midlands with the Society of Authors for Fiction. Later in the week BGU sponsored ‘If Words Could Kill’, an evening with Claire Harman and Ambrose Parry (aka Chris Brookmyre and Dr Marisa Haetzman). There was murder most foul in this two-part author event with Harman’s Murder by the Book, which focuses on a true crime murder that shocked Victorian London, and the thrilling new novel, The Way of the Flesh, Parry wrote about the hunt for a killer in 1847 Edinburgh. The University's involvement continued on Friday with Dr Capancioni introducing Janet Ross, a Victorian historian and biographer who entertained guests such as William Gladstone, Robert Browning, Mark Twain and Virginia Woolf at Poggio Gherardo, her villa near Florence. In Leaves from Our Tuscan Kitchen: or How to Cook Vegetables, Janet recorded the recipes of Giuseppe Volpi, her cook for over 30 years, which her guests loved and requested - George Frederic Watts in particular. Published in 1899 and still in print, it appeared at a time when vegetables were considered only as an adjunct to the main course, this recipe book has become an established resource for all British chefs interested in Italian food. Together with The Cheese Society and The Straw Collection, ‘In the Tuscan Kitchen of Janet Ross’ offered a taste of Ross’s recipes through sampling the cheese she used, accompanied by Tuscan wines. Since the summer, the city of Lincoln has contributed to an array of national events including the series organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which will be the topic of the forthcoming lecture by the V&A director, Tristram Hunt, at Lincoln Cathedral on 10 October. If you are interested in finding out more about studying English at BGU, visit our website, contact our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days.
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