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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. -
Update on planned return to learning in January and Lateral Flow Testing
The Government’s guidance is that the return to face-to-face sessions should be staggered over a 4-5 week period, with priority given to practical or placement based subjects, to help prevent the possible transmission of COVID-19 following the Christmas vacation period. In addition, Lateral Flow Tests will again be made available to students and staff in this period to help reassure that they are not returning with the virus. For BGU this means that most programmes will continue to be delivered via remote learning for the first two weeks in January (beginning the 4th and 11th) to complete semester 1. This includes the planned assessment week beginning the 18th which does not require in-person classes. A return to blended learning, including face-to-face sessions will for many subjects begin from the 25th of January with the start of semester 2. However, to facilitate the staggered return some subject sessions, as previously timetabled, will not start until the 1st of February. Certain subjects are exceptions and will return to placements and in-person activities earlier. These include: Programmes with ITE placements starting from 4th JanuarySome in-person sessions for Drama level 4 and Level 5 students For specific information relating to individual programmes, Joint honours student should check the information for both their subjects as they may start back at different times. Additional information will also be supplied by tutors through Blackboard for students on exception courses needing to return earlier or later than the 25th January. From the 4th January all of our student support services will remain available. You can find the full list of services and their contact details on our Working Together web page. To help keep the return to learning a smooth process we will again be offering free lateral flow testing to all students and staff. As with the end of term testing this a voluntary process but we would encourage all members of our community to make use of it in the build-up to your programme’s return to blended learning. You can book your appointments by clicking here. -
Remembering 2020 at BGU - October: Building Resilience and Virtual Welcomes
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. -
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 -
Cost of Living
Living with inflation and the rising cost of living -
BGU Carnival 2022
After three years, Carnival returns to campus! -
AI in education addressed at BGU's annual Learning and Teaching Conference
The recently concluded annual Learning & Teaching Conference at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) brought together educators, researchers, and academics to delve into the future of learning, teaching, and assessments. Titled "B3, AI and Educational Gains", the two-day conference held on campus offered a variety of discussion points, including the evolving role of technology in education. During day one of the conference, talks included an exploration into the world of the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, as well as initiatives being undertaken at BGU. Attendees enjoyed a video lecture by Professor David Smith from Sheffield Hallam University titled "How AI has answered the UnGoogleable question and what happens next." Professor Smith discussed the ways in which artificial intelligence has overcome the limitations of traditional search engines, leading to new possibilities for knowledge acquisition and exploration. Another keynote speaker, Dr Phil Anthony from University of Kent, highlighted the importance of adapting to the rapid advancements in technology while maintaining academic integrity, and explored how AI is transforming the educational landscape. The discussions revolved around leveraging AI-powered systems to detect plagiarism and promote originality in student work. Participants also received an update on the progress of Blackboard Ultra's roll-out, BGU'S new advanced learning management system that aims to streamline educational processes, facilitate student engagement, and enhance the teaching and learning experience for BGU staff and students. The event concluded with talks around educational gain and retention strategies. Speakers shared insights on effective teaching methods and innovative approaches to fostering student success. -
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