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BGU Academics Awarded €178,000 Erasmus Funding for Well-being Research
Academics from Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) Well-being and Workload in Education RKEU group have been awarded 178,000 euro of Erasmus+ funding to research and develop the well-being of initial teacher education students. The group from BGU, who will be leading this international project, consists of Dr. Emma Clarke, Dr. Phil Wood, Shaun Thompson and Aimee Quickfall. They will be working with colleagues at the University of Eastern Finland and Kobenhavns Professionshojskole, University of Copenhagen. Aimee, who is Head of Programmes for Primary and Early Years at BGU, commented that: “It is great to be working with our Finnish and Danish colleagues again on a topic that is dear to all of us – the continued success and happiness of our teacher trainees.” The aim of the project is to produce a package of resources for ITE students, school mentors and university staff, including ‘well-being toolkits’ that will be tailored to Finnish, Danish and UK contexts. Shaun, who is Regional Partnership Lead at BGU explained this: “It is really important to consider different education systems and also the different people that need support with well-being. If a student struggles with their well-being during their training, mentors and university tutors also need resources to support their trainee in their context; on placement, in tutorials, at a distance and in person.” The project will run for three years and include events in all three countries to share findings with students, school mentors and initial teacher educators. Emma pointed out: “The project has a real activist aim – we want to improve the experiences of teacher trainees as widely as we can.” To that end, the project outcomes will include a website with free to access online resources, blogs and advice, as well as the toolkits for supporting trainee well-being. Phil explained that: “Although the toolkits and resources will be based on research carried out at BGU, UEF and Copenhagen, there will be useful materials and findings for teacher trainees, mentors and tutors in other contexts and countries.” 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. -
BGU Business Students Embrace Learning on a Global Scale
BGU Business Students Embrace Learning on a Global Scale BGU students are being given the opportunity to engage in a live international business project that will allow them to gain direct hands-on experience in working with students from around the globe. Coordinated by Chris Jackson, BGU’s Programme Lead for Team Entrepreneurship, the project will engage up to 100 students from universities in the UK, USA, Finland, Ecuador, China and Nigeria. Participants will be split into groups of ten and then issued with a business challenge by a company with a global presence. Says Chris: “This is a great opportunity for any young person to develop and test the skills and attributes they will need as they move forward into the world of work. The project will need them to come together as a team, decide for themselves how they want to address the task, establish objectives and delight the client. It’s about as real as it gets.” “Lockdown restrictions have seen us all have to adapt to new ways of working that can present challenges that haven’t been experienced before. While some people wait for a new ‘normal’ to return, the wheels of enterprise have to keep turning. We have a responsibility to make sure our learners don’t get left behind or miss out on any opportunity to explore new ways of working”. Participating students will experience many challenges, including language and cultural differences, coping with time zone disparities and having to find effective ways of communicating, not to mention any basic issues such as shyness. Each team will have access to an experienced international Team Coach. “The role of the Team Coach is neither to lead or instruct”, explained Chris. “Our role is more as a ‘guide on the side’ than ‘sage on the stage’. When learners say, ‘we don’t know what to do’, then we might simply ask them what they might do and encourage them to find alternative solutions to the problem. Of course, they might not make the ‘right’ decision first time, but we want them to become curios about the world they live in and more so discover what is ‘right’ for them”. The challenge begins in October and will run through to December, although interest is such that there are already plans to extend the initiative through 2021. The initiative is open to any student who wants to learn about teamworking and active enterprise on a global scale. For further information please contact Chris Jackson at chris.jackson@bishopg.ac.uk 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. -
Lincolnshire Emergency Assistance Scheme: Grants for Food and Essential Services
The aim of this Grant Programme is to ensure that vulnerable people within Lincolnshire have improved access to food and are not adversely affected by any form of isolation from the broader community due to health-related vulnerabilities during the 2020 Covid-19 global pandemic. -
Links between monster imagery and post-traumatic stress explored in new paper
A new paper by Jenny Hamilton, Programme Leader for Counselling and the MSc Mental Health, Wellbeing & Resilience at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), is exploring the relationship between monster imagery and post-traumatic stress. Monsters are considered as symbol and metaphor for unspoken or unprocessed personal and cultural trauma, that may represent underlying, unacknowledged fears. The paper develops Jenny’s academic and counselling work in the area of film therapy and discusses how encounters with the monster onscreen, in mental imagery, dreams or metaphor, may be allegorical to the individual’s internal struggle with post-traumatic stress. The paper particularly explores how monsters represent fears surrounding cancer and terminal illness in movies such as A Monster Calls and The Shallows. It is proposed that trauma experience confronts us with our mortality and fragility, bringing us into contact with the sense of ‘abject’ horror represented by monster imagery, when faced with existential threats that may render the everyday meaningless. Speaking after publication Jenny discussed some of the papers themes: “Our fascination with monsters may be linked to an adaptive evolutionary drive to symbolise experience into awareness for processing and meaning making. These initial imaged representations of fear states may begin a process of psychological integration of difficult experiences. In this way monsters may actually play a complex role in a human struggle to come to terms with overwhelming events. Onscreen monsters may allow us to face our fears and survive.” The themes discussed in the paper are relevant to academics and students in different disciplines, from literature, film and media studies to counselling and psychology. It has been published online in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications is available through open access as part of a wider journal collection of articles ‘Monsters: interdisciplinary explorations of monstrosity’. You can find it by clicking here. 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. -
Student turns troubles into truffles during lockdown
During the Spring Lockdown Becca Taylor, a first year BA (Hons) Sociology student at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), thought that baking cakes for her family and friends might give them something to smile about. Little did she know that this would sow the seed for a lucrative business venture. As Becca explains, her plans looked like they might fall at the first hurdle: "I went to buy ingredients and found the shelves empty of flour and eggs but I still wanted to send a gift to our families as we couldn’t see them much" Undeterred Becca realised she could buy what was needed to make truffle treats instead. After positive feedback and a request to make more Becca experimented, tasted and tested and before she knew it 'Taylor’d Truffles' was born. As we enter Global Entrepreneurship week, the world’s biggest celebration of entrepreneurship, Sarah Moseley, Enterprise Development Manager within BG Futures caught up with Becca. When asked what key piece of advice she had for BGU students with fledgling enterprises, Becca said: "Do your research first. It pays off to get everything you need together such as registrations, paperwork etc. all the boring stuff done and ready for opening. It makes the process much more organised and professional. Ideally, post-graduation, I would like the business to have grown and be successful enough for it to be run on a full-time basis." Last month Taylor’d truffles received the highest-level Food Hygiene Rating meaning customers can order with confidence that all food safety and hygiene guidelines are followed. Taylor’d Truffles have seen an increase in orders since Lockdown 2.0 and are now taking preorders for Christmas which will be dispatched using Royal Mails first class service. To find out more about Taylor’d Truffles: Facebook Instagram www.taylordtruffles.com taylordtruffles@outlook.com If you are a BGU student running your own enterprise, or have an idea that you need support with developing, our Enterprise Team within BG Futures would love to hear from you. Contact sarah.moseley@bishopg.ac.uk Tel 01522 563817 -
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. -
Academic Guest Lectures
Bishop Grosseteste University is home to experts in a wide range of academic fields and to enhance your students learning and share expertise, they have put together a series of guest lectures on a range of subjects that can be delivered in your school or college at a time that suits you. Alternatively, at the bottom of this page, we have a wide variety of downloadable recorded lectures that can be watched at any time. -
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. -
The Four Corners
The Four Corners is published twice throughout the year. Editor: Amy Webster. -
RKEU Psychology, Health and Wellbeing
The Psychology, Health and Wellbeing RKEU encompasses much of the research activity within the discipline of Psychology and contributes to the Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience REF Unit of Assessment. This is a large and active RKEU. It encompasses a number of groups (including the activity of BGU’s DrEAMSLab), collaborations and projects. There are a number of internal collaborative efforts, as well as external ones too.
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