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Local school children help BGU students to widen their professional skills
On Monday 5th and Monday 12th November Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) invited 80 children from local schools to take part in educational research with second year students on the BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS course. The sessions were designed to provide the students, who are studying to become primary teachers, with an opportunity to experience the skills required to become educational researchers. Working in groups, under the supervision of a tutor, the students designed and conducted research on topics focused on the school pupils including: Reading choices Philosophy for children Using apps to support enquiry Mathematics through story Mapping stories Reading for pleasure and digital reading Dr Ashley Compton, Senior Lecturer in the School of Teacher Development at BGU, explained the benefits students could expect from gaining skills in educational research: “In order to understand and evaluate the latest innovations in education it is important that teachers are able to engage with research. In their second year we get the students to work together in groups, under the supervision of a tutor, to design and conduct research with children. "This experience allows students to develop a better understanding of how research does (and doesn't!) work and prepares them for their individual research projects in their final year. "The children, covering Year 1 through Year 6, were fantastic, participating fully in each of the research topics and giving our students valuable insights into the research process.” The Primary Education courses at BGU regularly interacts with schools around the local community to provide our students with a varied and engaging educational experience. If you want to pursue a future in teaching visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team for more information on how to begin your career on our exciting Primary Education with QTS degree course. -
Lecturer’s research published by British Congress of Mathematics Education
Research carried out by Dr Ashley Compton, lecturer on the BA Primary Education with QTS and Primary PGCE courses at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), along with her former colleague Adam Unwin-Berry has been published by the British Congress of Mathematics Education. Dr Compton’s research examined Year 3 children's perceptions of mathematics based on their drawings of themselves in a mathematics lesson. The research was undertaken in 10 Lincolnshire schools in the BGU partnership and demonstrated that the majority of these pupils were confident about mathematics, although there were some gender differences in their perceptions of mathematics itself and teacher-pupil interactions in mathematics. For Dr Compton the gender differences, along with the innovative methods involved, made the project a fascinating research opportunity: “I was eager to take part because I think that children's attitudes towards mathematics and mathematics lessons are important factors in their learning and are not often explored in the classroom. Getting them to draw the pictures was an indirect way of finding out what they thought about mathematics. It was really pleasing that so many of the children drew confident learners. Some of the gender differences surprised me. We often hear about boys outperforming girls in maths but we found differences in the way the girls and boys perceived the teacher and perceived maths itself. An important reason for tutors conducting research is for it to inform our teaching. I've shared my findings with the BA Primary Education (BAPE) students but will explore them in more detail with the Year 3 BAPE maths specialists to help them think about how they teach lessons and how the children perceive this.” Prior to its publication Dr Compton’s research was presented at the British Congress of Mathematics Education conference. A collection of 25 research based papers were presented at the conference and all are available to explore here (www.bsrlm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/BCME9-Research-Proceedings.pdf). Our academics are regularly invited to present their 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 or by booking onto one of our Open Days. -
Lecturer’s Collaborative Research Published in Healthcare Journal
Nicki Walsh, Senior lecturer (and Programme Lead for Health and Social Care) in the School of Social Science at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), has been published alongside Rachael Mason, Practice Placement Development Worker at the University of Lincoln, for their collaborative evaluation of management placements for nursing students in UK general practice. General Practice is facing a shortage of nurses and it can be difficult to recruit and retain staff. Nursing students need exposure to Primary Care nursing roles if they are to consider them in their future career and to develop the skills needed for this environment. To help combat this shortage and boost opportunities a study was designed to explore the experiences and perceptions of students on their final placement in general practice. The collected data was then thematically analysed and three themes were derived from the data: myth busting, the teaching and learning environment, and attaining competency. This work continues with the local Primary Care services with a Health Education England funded project with Lincs West CCG and Lincolnshire STP which is piloting training posts for Nurses new to General Practice. This will be supported by BGU in terms of Educational provision, consultation and advice as well as evaluation. The evaluation can be found in the journal ‘Primary Healthcare’ volume 28, issue 7 (34-41. doi: 10.7748/phc.2018.e1443). For registered healthcare professionals looking to pursue a career in Primary Care, BGU’s new MSc Primary and Community Care (along with the forth coming PGCert in General Practice Nursing) is the ideal way to learn and perfect the Fundamental skills required to start in roles dedicated to Primary Health Care. For more information on our range of Health & Social Care courses – including our BA in Health & Social Care, and MA in Health & Social Care Leadership visit our website, contact our Enquiries Team or sign up for one of our Open Days. -
SENDI and Counselling Students Experience International Perspectives
Third year Special Educational Needs, Disability & Inclusion (SENDI) and Counselling students at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) were joined by Education Erasmus students from Germany and Czech Republic for a special learning session. Led by Dr Maria Efstratopoulou (Senior Lecturer in SENDI) and Jenny Hamilton (Program Leader for Counselling) the students were given school case scenarios on a child or young person experiencing different issues and asked to deliver presentations in small groups to say how they would approach supporting both the student and the family from a Counselling and/or SENI perspective. Students were able to learn from each other and gain insight into how different professionals within a school context might approach supporting the student. Following a positive response from the students involved, who felt they gained different perspectives and enjoyed working together, similar activities will be arranged for other groups of students/professionals within the School of Social Sciences. In addition to encouraging European educational cooperation, Dr Efstratopoulou has been working alongside the Department of Psychology from San Paolo University, Brazil to translate the English version of the Motor Behaviour Checklist for Children (MBC) into Portuguese. The MBC (Efstratopoulou, Janssen, Simons, 2012) is a valid and reliable instrument for teachers to rate challenging behaviour in their primary students using observation protocols in school settings. The MBC checklist has already translated into numerous languages (including Greek, Polish, Chinese, Flemish, and Arabic) and has been used in many research studies. Following this new translation the first article applying the MBC to Brazilian students has been published in TRENS in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Journal. Courses at BGU are packed with unique learning opportunities and led by academics with international expertise. To find out how you can become a part of the BGU community, visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team. -
The Banterbury Community Kick Off New Lecture Series
Dr Chris Bailey, from Sheffield Hallam University and the Department for Education, captivated a packed lecture theatre of staff and students at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), as he described the process of both hand drawing and writing his PhD submission. -
Busting the myths keeping you from your future
Teaching is one of the most rewarding careers available. Not only will you have the opportunity to make a long lasting, positive impact on the lives of your students, you’ll be able to see the results of your hard work first hand as your students learn and develop. -
MA student’s work on Special Educational Needs published in TES
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) MA in Education student Louise Connolly has been published in teachers' newspaper the TES with an article based on her work as a teaching professional. -
Engaging with volunteering boosts employability for BGU Student
Amy Puddephatt, Second Year BA (Hons) Education Studies student at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), has been volunteering at a local primary school in her home town since finishing her GCSE’s. Amy has always wanted to go into teaching at Primary age and volunteering has helped develop this into a real passion. Now, thanks to the BG Futures Volunteering Award, she is able to turn that hard work into accredited professional development. -
Students begin their journey to keep General Practice Nursing ‘Fit for Purpose’
The first cohort of students on the new PG Cert In General Practice Nursing at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) began their academic adventure last week. -
Academic Research Team Travel to Finland to Investigate Inclusive Practice
An academic research team from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) have been working with colleagues and students from the University of Eastern Finland to collect data for a pilot study on inclusive practice. Emma Clarke, Senior Lecturer in Primary, Shaun Thompson, ITT Regional Partnership Leader, and Aimee Quickfall, Head of Programmes for Primary & Early Years, are investigating inclusive practice in UK and Finnish primary schools and the well-being of teacher trainees. Their pilot study has involved holding focus groups and interviews with teacher trainees and lecturers, finding out what their perceptions of inclusion are, and asking them to explore their well-being challenges and resources using a timeline drawing method. As part of the trip Emma, Shaun and Aimee also presented their wider research interests to Finnish colleagues and visited three schools to meet with teachers and experience the best of Finnish education. Aimee explained why Finland provided the perfect place for the pilot study and what the team hoped the study’s impact would be: “We have been interested in Finland because it has a high-performing education system, where teacher training takes five years, includes a Master's qualification and only 10% of applicants are accepted on the programmes. We are looking at how Finland differs from the UK in terms of inclusive practice and well-being of teachers and trainees, with an aim to bring back ideas to share with our team to help improve our provision for initial teacher training. What we have experienced at the University of Eastern Finland and in schools in Joensuu is a real focus on the needs of children and adults in the school environment. Our initial pilot data are highlighting lots of differences in our systems, but also many similarities and shared concerns and joys. We are looking forward to working with the university on more projects and to sharing our findings with colleagues at BGU through the Learning and Teaching Conference.” If you want to pursue a future in teaching visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team for more information on how to begin your career on our exciting Primary Education with QTS degree course or our Primary and Secondary PGCE routes.
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