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News Archive 2005

Archive of News Items from 2005

Please note that this is an archive of past news items and therefore some entries may no longer be accurate.

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Changing Staff and Student Behaviour Towards Sustainability

16th February 2006 - York St. John College (A joint event with EAUC and GEES)

The support of staff and students is vital to the success of most environmental and social responsibility initiatives. However, this can be very difficult to achieve. The reasons include lack of time, lack of awareness, cynicism and many other factors. However, as the event will demonstrate, there are many examples of projects which have succeeded in changing staff and student attitudes and behaviour. The aims of the workshop are to:

The event is being organised by HEEPI and EAUC, with sponsorship from the GEES Subject Centre.

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GEES Student Essay Competition 2005 Winners Announced!

Thank you to all those students who took the time to write an essay for the competition. All the entrants had something really valuable to say and we will collating their ideas and comments into a ‘student perspective’ article for this web page and the next edition of our magazine, Planet (due out October 2005). In the mean time, here are the two winning and two runner-up entries from Rob Marten, Frances Mansfield, Cathy Gitzer and Christianna Ludlow respectively. Congratulations to all four for rich, interesting, enthusiastic and well thought through essays – they were a pleasure to read. Rob’s essay has also been sent forward to the general Higher Education Academy competition, running across 19 Subject Centres. The final winner will be announced at the Academy’s conference at the end of June 2005.

The winners and runners up essays for 2005

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The motivations and professional development needs of aspiring and serving external examiners in the GEES disciplines

A report that investigates

Report: Aspiring and Current External Examiners in the GEES disciplines

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Supporting Cultural and Religious Diversity Survey - Interim Report

The GEES Subject Centre is working on a project with other subject centres to explore the implications of cultural and religious issues in higher education, in particular for the curriculum (for example, teaching style, content, assessment and student support).

The project was set up in response to interest from the academic community as they find themselves working with an increasingly diverse student population. Also new legislation has recently been introduced which has given rise to concerns, and some uncertainty, about implications for the curriculum. For example, the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, introduced in response to the Employment Directive, outlaws discrimination on grounds of religion or belief in employment and vocational training. This will have implications for students engaged in work-based learning. For further information about this legislation, we suggest that you visit the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)website.

Read the interim report on the Philosophical and Religious Studies Subject Centre website.

The aim of the interim report is to provide an overview of the work already achieved (from 1st June - 30th September 2004), as well as to indicate future directions that will be taken once additional funding is secured. The need for a thorough analysis of the impact of cultural and religious diversity upon learning and teaching is of clear relevance to the widening participation agenda as well as employability. These are issues that are becoming increasingly important to higher education recruitment, retainment and quality of student experience. Not surprisingly, there has been significant interest in this project and a forthcoming THES four page supplement, to mark the launch of the Higher Education Academy, is to include an article about this initiative.

Supporting Cultural and Religious Diversity page on the Philosophical and Religious Studies Subject Centre website.

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Evaluating the GEES Student Learning Experience

Wednesday 7 December - Novotel Manchester

This one-day meeting is designed for everyone interested in researching and evaluating student learning in the GEES disciplines in UK HEIs - a critical issue in the context of demands for evidence of effectiveness and quality assurance.

Sessions will include

Registration for this event is free to everyone involved in higher education.

Researching and evaluating the student learning experience - 7 December 2005

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Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences (GEES) in Scotland Network Proposal

The GEES Subject Centre is inviting proposals to establish a formal Network for colleagues involved in teaching and supporting learning in the GEES disciplines in higher education in Scotland. The purposes of the Network are to:

The GEES Subject Centre will fund the Network as a pilot project in the first instance with pump-priming funding of £5000 for one year.

Proposals: Colleagues are invited to submit proposals for the Network, including suggested aims, activities and an approximate break down of expenditure. Proposals are welcomed from individuals or teams, in the latter case please specify a nominated contact person. This is not intended to be a competitive process, merely a means of identifying willing colleagues. Should we receive more than one proposal we will seek, if possible, to encourage a collaborative approach.

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Religions in Conversation with the Environment workshop - 2nd November 2005

A one-day workshop in conjunction with the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies

This will be a one day workshop event offering participants the opportunity to explore the relationship between the religions and the environment.  The event will be a forum for reflection upon the ways in which teaching in this area could be further developed and supported within UK institutions of Higher Education.

The deadline for registration was 15th October

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GeoForum 2005 Event

The GeoForum 2005 will be held in the Huntingdon Rooms, King's Manor, University of York on Friday 4th November.

The main purposes of the event are:

The GeoForum is open to all staff members of the UK FE and HE community but is primarily aimed at staff who support research and teaching. This year we welcome Prof. David Unwin of Birkbeck and University Colleges, London, who will give the keynote presentation. Topics under discussion also include SPLINT (Spatial Literacy in Learning and Teaching), digital repositories, web services and the future of data availability.

There is no charge for the event but you need to register. Please use the online form on the GeoForum 2005 Event Page . If you have any questions, please contact us on edina@ed.ac.uk or 0131 650 3302

Emma Sutton - EDINA Geoservices Support

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Award for innovation in Teaching at Higher and Secondary Education level

A new grant is available for teachers at higher and secondary education level. The Ray Y. Gildea Jr Award, announced at this years AGM, is a single grant of £2,750 for teachers and lecturers in Britain and the US. The funds are intended to facilitate others, through this award, to research, introduce and disseminate successful innovations for the benefit of students of geography at higher education / college level and /or at secondary school level. Full details are attached.

Application deadline is 31 October 2005. For details contact the Grants Officer Greg Dow:

Greg Dow
Grants Officer (funded by the Ralph Brown Memorial Trust)
Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers)
1 Kensington Gore
London
SW7 2AR

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Why Study Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences? Researching Students’ Perceptions of the Disciplines

Call for Expressions of Interest to be part of the Research Team

Geography, earth and environmental sciences are very much in the media at present. There are a wide variety of natural history television programmes and the news regularly contains references to natural disasters, climate change and so on. However, this coverage does not seem to translate to a high demand for higher education courses in the disciplines, at least not in the same way that dramas such as Silent Witness have created a demand for forensic science courses (for example). Do school students make the connection between ‘natural history’ and our disciplines? What are their perceptions of the disciplines in general? Developing an understanding of school students’ attitudes to and perceptions of the GEES disciplines will help to inform HE departments’ transition and retention strategies as well as providing an opportunity to better promote the disciplines in schools, colleges and to the public.

This year, the GEES Subject Centre will be conducting a small-scale research study in order to develop a better understanding of school students’ perceptions of the three disciplines both within secondary education and as courses to take at University. The study will include a literature review and a survey of selected schools. A survey of undergraduates will also be undertaken in order gather information on their experience of the disciplines in higher education.

At this stage, we are seeking to put together a small research team. If you are interested in this topic and have good links with a school (or schools) that would allow us to run a survey with their students then do get in touch! We welcome expressions of interest from any academic or support staff in the GEES disciplines whether or not you have had previous experience of this type of research.

Please contact Helen King for more information or to register your interest.

Deadline for expressions of interest: Friday 7th October

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Call for papers for the October 2005 issue of CAL-laborate Physical Sciences and Geosciences

Since 1997, UniServe Science, in collaboration with the Swedish Council for the Renewal of Higher Education, and the Higher Education Academy in the UK (formerly the CTIs, then LTSNs) has produced an international newsletter, CAL-laborate. It is distributed internationally through the collaborating bodies in Sweden and UK.

The focus for this publication is innovative or interesting uses of IT to improve the teaching and learning experience in tertiary level science. This newsletter is produced in October each year, for the Physical Sciences and Geosciences, and June, for the Life Sciences. CAL-laborate Physical Sciences was not produced last year as it coincided with a change in date for our annual national conference.

The online version of past issues are available for viewing or printing from the CAL-laborate web pages on the UniServe Science web site.

UniServe Science is now calling for papers for the October 2005 issue of "Physical Sciences and Geosciences" CAL-laborate. The "Physical Sciences and Geosciences" covers: physics; chemistry; mathematics; statistics, computer science, geology and geography.

All articles to be submitted by Friday 16 September. Articles are typically 3 - 6 pages in length and may contain screen dumps or sample screens. I would like to hear from any academic who is interested in writing an article for this issue of this international newsletter, "Physical Sciences and Geosciences" CAL-laborate.

Regards

Kaye Placing
(Editor, CAL-laborate: Physical Sciences and Life Sciences)
Educational Technologist, UniServe Science - Science Clearinghouse
Carslaw Building (F07), The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 |
http://science.uniserve.edu.au/
Tel: +61 2 9351 2960 Fax: +61 2 9351 2175

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Planet - Call for Contributors

The editorial board of Planet welcomes material of interest to academics and support staff in the fields of learning, teaching and assessment across the three disciplines of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, for the Winter 2005 edition. Generic submissions from other disciplines and submissions with an international dimension are also invited.

Type of Contributions

Brief research papers, notes or short communications, case studies of learning and teaching practice, annotated web-links, software and book reviews, forum commentary, and letters to the editor commenting on an article previously published in Planet.

Guidance for Planet Contributors

Deadline for submissions: 15 August 2005

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Teaching Feminist Geography - Friday 20th May 2005

Department of Geography, UCL, London - 10am to 4pm

Women and Geography Study Group of the RGS-IBG

This one-day event provides a forum for discussion, learning and sharing of ideas and experiences about the diverse practices and pedagogies in feminist geography. Papers or workshop contributions are invited on themes such as:

Offers of papers or other contributions should be sent to Fiona Smith by 25th April.

To register - send name and contact details in an e-mail to Fiona Smith. The registration cost is £10 for full-time staff and £5 for post-graduates/ unwaged. Travel subsidies for post-graduates and low-waged staff are also available thanks to the generous support of the Subject Centre for Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences. Details about payment and about travel subsidies will be forwarded to all who register.

Childcare – to arrange this, please contact Claire Dwyer.

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Successful CETL bids announced by HEFCE

The successful CETL bids were announced by HEFCE on 27 January, and include four with direct subject-based relevance to the GEES disciplines, and one with close links in the field of education for sustainable development. The GEES Subject Centre will be working with these on activities such as preparing conferences, workshops, staff guides and other forms of dissemination and embedding. In all, 74 CETLs are to be funded with a total of £315 million over five years; a complete list of CETLs and brief descriptions are on the HEFCE website.

The CETLS that involve GEES subjects are:

Also related, in the field of sustainable development, is:

Further details of the above Centres for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETLs).

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GEES practitioner consultation on e-learning

Recent strategy documents have acknowledged the progress of e-learning in Higher Education but have also raised questions about the sustainability of current e-learning practice.

This consultation hopes to ascertain how GEES practitioners’ currently use, reuse and share e-learning resources and e-learning tools. It is also intended to identify what support you might require from the GEES Subject Centre to assist in these areas. The answers you give will allow the Subject Centre to effectively target e-learning related funding, plan future activities for you and inform future funding strategy at all levels.

To encourage participation, we will enter respondents in a draw for the following prizes:

First prize: A free place at the GEES Subject Centre Annual Conference (including travel costs from within UK) + £15 Amazon Voucher

Second, third, fourth, fifth prize (each): £15 Amazon voucher

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The Place of GIS in the Curriculum - Leicester, 11 May

Register now for The Place of GIS in the Curriculum event.

A collaborative event between the GEES Subject Centre, the Spatial Literacy CETL (Leicester, UCL and Nottingham), the Centre for Built Environment Subject Centre and the Engineering Subject Centre.

An opportunity to share practice in the use of GIS in learning and teaching. Themed discussion groups will be formed in order to develop future strategies and papers for publication. Optional workshop on the following day.

A meeting on spatial literacy, in collaboration with the Engineering and Built Environment Subject Centres and the SPLINT CETL (Universities of Leicester, Nottingham and University Colelge London).

Keynote speaker confirmed: Dr Sarah Witham Bednarz, Professor of Geography at Texas A&M University, Project Coordinator for the US Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP) and member of the steering committee for the Commission on Geographical Education for the International Geographical Union.

More information on the The Place of GIS in the Curriculum event - including registration form and Word document flier to print and post up in your Department.

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Win a FREE place at the annual SEDA Summer School!

SEDA Summer School 2005 for Staff and Educational Developers

Wednesday 15th - Friday 17th June 2005

Ashorne Hill Conference Centre, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

Many staff in geography, earth and environmental sciences work with their colleagues to help enhance learning and teaching in the disciplines. The Staff & Educational Development Association (SEDA) Summer School is designed for those who have a professional role as educational and academic developers in higher education. It is aimed at those with less than three years experience in this role. Participants may include staff in educational development units, those who have a role in the Higher Education Academy Subject Centres or those responsible for co-ordinating teaching and learning developments in their department or faculty.

The GEES Subject Centre has a long history of collaboration with SEDA and we are very pleased to be able to offer a free place to a competition winner for the popular annual Summer School.

To enter all you have to do is describe in 500 words or less your role in working with other staff to enhance learning and teaching in geography, earth or environmental sciences, and to state how you would benefit from attending the Summer School.

The prize is the full conference fee (which includes accommodation and meals) paid by the GEES Subject Centre, plus standard travelling expenses.

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HEFCE strategy supports central role for higher education in ensuring a sustainable future

A consultation document published on 10 January 2005 urges all higher education institutions to increase their contribution to the sustainable development of society. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is consulting the HE sector on a strategy and action plan to support institutions in their central role of promoting sustainability.

Sustainable development - ensuring that what we do today can fulfil our needs without damaging the lives of future generations - relates to economic, social, ethical and environmental activities.

The strategy sets out a wide-ranging role for higher education, encompassing:

Sir Howard Newby, Chief Executive of the HEFCE said:

'Our vision is that, within the next 10 years, the higher education sector in England will be recognised as a major contributor to society's efforts to achieve sustainability - through the skills and knowledge that its graduates learn and put into practice, and through its own strategies and operations. Universities and colleges will be building on the existing good practice that they are already carrying out which we recognise in the consultation.'

The action plan sets out how HEFCE will fulfil its own responsibilities, but above all how it will support higher education institutions in realising that vision, building on existing achievements. Actions by HEFCE will focus on four areas: collaborating with other stakeholders so that they are not working at cross-purposes; helping leaders and managers in HE to develop the skills for managing sustainability; identifying and sharing good practice; and rewarding more sustainable behaviour. Any additional funding will be channelled through existing funding streams - such as for teaching, research and capital projects - to reduce the administrative burden on universities and colleges.

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GEES Employability Project

The GEES Subject Centre is running a small collaborative project with the Subject Centre for Philosophical & Religious Studies to begin to explore new concepts in employability. Both Subject Centres and their subject communities have been extensively involved in developing the skills-based side of graduate employability (e.g. communication, team-work) for several years and are now getting a sense of new agendas and issues that graduates may have to consider in the workplace. These include ethics, sustainable development, the place of business within communities and other issues which might come under the broad umbrella of corporate / social responsibility.

The Subject Centre is seeking examples of practice, comments, ideas, expressions of interest and any other communications about this dimension to employability. In particular, we are keen to ensure that there is ‘joined-up’ thinking with respect to curriculum development in this area and to consider / illustrate how these issues can be linked in with subject content, entrepreneurship, education for sustainable development, globalisation and other key learning experiences for GEES students in the 21st century.

If you are interested in finding out more about the project or can offer examples of practice we’d really like to hear from you. The two Subject Centres are jointly funding a consultant (Julie Gallimore) who is undertaking background research work for us and she would be very interested in talking to 3 or 4 departments about their work in the area of corporate / social responsibility in order to get a picture of what it means to our disciplines, how it relates to subject content and in what ways it is integrated into the curriculum.

The project will be developed over the longer term so there will be opportunities to become involved in the future.

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November 2004 issue of the Physical Sciences and Geosciences CAL-laborate Now Available

The focus for this publication is innovative or interesting uses of IT to improve the teaching and learning experience in tertiary level Physical Sciences and Geosciences.

In this issue:

The November 2004 issue of the Physical Sciences and Geosciences CAL-laborate is now available online.

Since 1997, UniServe Science, in collaboration with the Swedish Council for the Renewal of Higher Education, and the UK Learning and Teaching Support Network has produced an international newsletter, CAL-laborate. It is distributed internationally through the collaborating bodies in Sweden and UK.

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Student Essay Competition

Have you told your students about the Student Essay Competition - their chance to win £150 - What makes a good lecturer in Geography, Earth or Environmental Science?

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A Residential Workshop for Recently Appointed & Aspiring Lecturers in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES)

Date: Monday 23rd - Tuesday 24th May 2005

Venue: Hornton Grange, University of Birmingham

Organisers: Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Workshop Description

This residential workshop aims to help newly appointed, or aspiring, teaching staff in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) learn about and evaluate a range of approaches, methods and resources for learning, teaching and assessment in these disciplines. By being discipline-specific the event will complement any generic-based institutional courses that delegates are attending or have taken. It will also provide an informal opportunity for delegates to meet and share experiences with other new GEES staff from other institutions. To date, more than 150 GEES academics have attended this popular event.

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CALL FOR PAPERS - A special issue of Planet is to be published in Spring 2005 on Learning and Teaching on Masters Programmes in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Many HEIs are developing taught Masters courses in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the number of students undertaking postgraduate-level training is increasing.

This issue of Planet will address some of the issues and challenges involved

Articles of between 1000 and 3000 words on the above and related themes are welcomed. Case studies, commentaries, annotated weblinks, resources or book reviews are also welcomed.

Authors need to provide full contact details including email addresses and an abstract of no more than 200 words for articles. Please use the Harvard Referencing System for any references.

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Enterprise, Skills & Entrepreneurship: Enhancing the GEES Curriculum Event

13th & 14th January 2005

Weetwood Hall Conference Centre & Hotel, Leeds

This two-day residential workshop will provide you with a hands-on opportunity to sample resources and ideas for embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship skills into geography, earth and environmental sciences curricula. The event is open to both staff and students, and the programme will include both joint and separate activities.

There will be 15 free places available for members of staff - these will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis. Additional staff places may be made available at cost depending on space at the venue. There will also be 15 free places at the event for students studying any GEES-related subject at any level (1st year to postgraduate) - participants will be chosen through open competition in which the students will be asked to briefly describe why they should be selected to attend.

Registration (Registration Form) for the event is free to staff, this includes overnight accommodation on the 13th, coffee, lunch and dinner on the 13th, and breakfast, coffee and lunch on the 14th. You must meet your own travel costs. If you require an extra night’s accommodation, please arrange (and pay for) this yourself directly with the venue. As there are only a limited number of places on this fully subsidised residential event, if you cancel after Friday 17th December or fail to turn up you will be charged the full delegate rate (£145).

More information can be found on our Enterprise, Skills & Entrepreneurship in GEES Project webpage

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The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Buckland House, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
Email: info@gees.ac.uk Tel: ++44 1752 584529 Fax: ++44 1752 584880