Exploring multimodality in higher education

11/30/23 • 46 min

In this latest episode of the QAA Membership Podcast, Dr Kerr Castle (Quality Enhancement and Standards Specialist) explores multimodality in higher education with the team behind the QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project, Harnessing Multimodality in Higher Education.

The episode features Professor Sam Elkington (Professor of Learning and Teaching at Teesside University); Professor Andrew Middleton (Professor of Active Learning and Deputy Head of Anglia Learning & Teaching at Anglia Ruskin University); Maggie Gibson (Head of Learner Development at Birmingham City University); Jimmy Lo (University Learning Technologist at University of Greenwich).

The podcast discusses what multimodality is in the context of higher education and how best to harness it in teaching, learning and assessment to support the student experience and success.
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, rate and review our podcast!

Previous Episode

Towards neuro-inclusivity

In this instalment, Dr Kerr Castle (Quality Enhancement & Standards Specialist, QAA) sits down with Liss Chard-Hall (Specialist Study Skills Tutor) and Dr Graeme Pedlingham (Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor – Student Experience, University of Sussex) to chat about neuro-inclusivity.

Specifically, they chat about what the hidden curriculum can look like for neurotypical and neurodivergent students, the kinds of support available to neurodivergent students currently, and how artificial intelligence might be used to enhance learning journeys and bridge barriers.

As mentioned in the episode, you might also like to explore our work around supporting successful student transitions, which offers positive approaches and practical solutions to help support transitions to and through higher education.

Next Episode

The rewards of collaborative observation

In this latest episode, teaching staff and students from Loughborough University and Birmingham City University (BCU) come together to discuss the opportunities for enhancing the student learning experiences offered by a new collaborative observation project they’ve been engaged in.

The podcast is chaired by QAA's Dr Kerr Castle, who observes that this Collaborative Enhancement Project has been grounded in a sense of humanity and practicality which seems especially appealing in the current HE environment.

The project lead is Professor Matt O’Leary, Director of the Education Research Centre at BCU. Participants in the project – and in the podcast – also include Holly Pickford and Alistair Bardwell (lecturers in Health Sciences at BCU), Simran Gohil and Nikki Godridge (students in Health Sciences at BCU), and Dr Laura Jenkins and Dr Yanning Yang (university teachers in Psychology and Computer Science at Loughborough).

Professor O'Leary explains that "the essence of this project is that we have a collaboration between staff and students working as equals – as partners – through the vehicle of a cycle of collaborative observation."

The project has promoted opportunities for participants to reflect on their experiences of learning together and how these reflections have affected their overall understanding of their subject areas.
You can find out more about this QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project by visiting our website.