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Dear colleagues
It is with great pleasure that I can announce the fourth in
the 2009/10 Educational Research Seminar Series, hosted by Educational and
Staff Development.
This seminar is presented by Dr Margo Blythman, Visiting
Research Fellow in the Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design at
the University of the Arts, London and is entitled Living with change in higher education, and takes place on
Monday 29th March at 3pm.
Policy developments in higher education play out through the
lives of university staff, both academic and administrative. This session
examines the impact and influence on staff of contemporary policies and
institutional implementation, and explores how university staff respond to
current pressures. The session analyses, through a range of perspectives,
factors which encourage and inhibit change in attitudes, working practices and
culture.
Sources of pressure are explored as
is the impact on staff both directly and mediated through pressures on
universities, as institutions, as power relations play out. In particular we
will look at the issues from a micropolitical perspective.
The session aims to enable
participants to recognise the diverse perspectives operating within the
contemporary university, to gain insight into the operation of power relations
and the complexity of achieving change in participants’ own institution.
The session finishes by considering alternatives and their
viability in the current climate.
Margo Blythman
Dr Margo Blythman is a visiting
research fellow at the Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design at
University of the Arts London. She was till 2009 Director of Teaching and
Learning at the London College of Communication, in the same university.. Her
responsibilities in that role included faculty development, the quality of
teaching and learning, tutorial systems and study support. She has published
with Susan Orr on such topics as retention, development strategies within
higher education contexts and the development of student academic writing,
particularly in the context of art and design. Recent projects include
formative assessment in art and design and plagiarism in non-text based disciplines.
She is currently working on the evaluation of teaching and learning projects
that make significant use of social networking tools. Her academic interests
also include the impact of quality assurance systems on the working lives of
academic staff and micropolitics in UK higher education. Her email address is
m.blythman@ arts.ac.uk
The seminar takes place on Monday 29th March and,
as with all the seminars, takes place at 3pm in Room 602 on the sixth floor of
the G. O. Jones Building (formerly known as the Physics Building) on the Mile
End campus of the College.
As spaces are limited, I would be grateful if you could
email me to let me know if you wish to come along to this seminar.
The remaining seminars for this year are:
26th April
Dr Chris Trevitt, Director
of Studies,
24th May
Professor Stephanie Marshall, Director
of Programmes, The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education Leadership in Learning and Teaching
28th June
Dr Matthew Williamson, Education
Adviser, QMUL, and Dr Giles Martin,
Learning and Teaching Development Adviser, QMUL Transitions to Higher Education: reflections on a three-year study
All the best
Matthew
Dr Matthew J. Williamson
Education Adviser
Educational and Staff Development
Queen Mary, University of London
E1 4NS
Tel: 020 7882 2813