In this post, we asked two students, Kaden and Sofia, to share their experience of attending the 2023 Learning and Teaching Conference, which was held both in-person in the Nucleus Building and online in June 2023. Its theme was ‘Investigate, inquire, innovate: exploring research-informed teaching practice’ and it was open to all University of Edinburgh students and staff.
What is the conference about?
The Learning and Teaching conference 2023 brought academics from throughout the university together to present and talk about intriguing topics with the aim to challenge ideas within this changing sector. Focusing on research-informed teaching, innovation and creativity in teaching, partnership and case studies. The conference consisted of keynote presentations, poster pitches, workshops, panel discussions, papers, stories, short talks and student panels covering a range of topics.
– Kaden
This year’s Learning and teaching conference explored the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). SoTL refers to the way in which we think, talk, read, and write about learning and teaching, something especially relevant for research-intensive universities like Edinburgh. Attending the conference allowed me to question my beliefs and understandings about educational research, as well as question the role that educational research, innovation and creativity play when informing or improving teaching practices.
– Sofia
What was your role in the conference?
I was “Conference Support”, helping throughout the day (registration, in room support, helping with microphones, cleanup etc…); during this I had the opportunity to sit in on multiple sessions.
– Kaden
As part of the conference support team, I provided logistical and technical support on the days of the conference. I ensured participants were aware of all the events being held, from the keynotes to the drink reception. I also moderated an online session, consisting of a short talk and a paper, which shared the learning and teaching experience of both educators and students during the Covid-19 pandemic.
– Sofia
What were the most valuable and insightful sessions or presentations during the conference?
During the first day I attended a “Paper” presentation on whether student’s work should be given a grade (as it currently is), or whether the focus should be more on feedback. This was very fascinating to see the two sides of the argument and seeing the looks of horror on the faces of some academics at the idea of not giving a piece of work a grade.
During the second day there were a couple of presentations on the use of AI in students work, including one very engaging one which built on a series of posts from the Teaching Matters blog, talking about how the use of AI such as ChatGPT could be used in the classroom (and whether it should).
– Kaden
Dave Laurenson, James Hopgood and Itamar Kastner presentation on their paper titled ‘To Grade or to Ungrade, that is the question!’ was truly thought-provoking. The session was presented in a debate format, presenting arguments in favor and against marking. It was very interesting to learn about the purpose of marks; beyond merely evaluating capabilities they carry cultural expectations, and impact student motivation. Attending this session led me to question the weaknesses of the grading approach and helped me realize that I frequently fall victim to extrinsic motivation. It is not uncommon (especially during finals season) for marks, rather than learning, to become a student’s main objective.
– Sofia
What were the main takeaways or lessons learned from the conference?
Since there were so many presentations happening at the same time, I was unable to attend all of them; those that I was able to attend however were incredibly interesting and opened my mind to aspects of teaching, learning and the university itself which, being a student, I was previously unaware of. It was an invaluable experience being able to see the sorts of arguments and projects being undertaken which will inevitably shape the future of teaching at the university.
– Kaden
By attending this conference, I was able to further familiarize myself with the work that academics and educator’s conduct. I had the opportunity to connect with teachers outside a classroom setting and was able to gain insight into the difficulties involved with teaching. Learning, researching, and evaluating knowledge are all fundamental roles conducted by academics to facilitates student’s learning process and I have come to understand that learning truly is an ongoing process.
– Sofia
