New lecturers
Professional development area
Introduction | New lecturer resources | Training conference for new lecturers | Professional Standards
Training Conferences for New Lecturers
In addition to the general programme of events, the English Subject Centre also provides opportunities specifically targeted at new and recently-appointed academic colleagues. Most notable among these is the annual ‘Training Conference’ which takes place towards the end of each autumn (An archive of previous conferences is available in the events area and details of our forthcoming conference are also available). Participants have been enthusiastic about the workshops themselves and about the opportunity to network with discipline colleagues from other institutions. The underlying object is to provide participants with the opportunity for the practical, ‘hands on’ exploration of pedagogic ideas.
Participants are encouraged to treat the Conference as itself a learning event which enables them to explore – at intellectual, social, and emotional levels – the experience of teaching and being taught. While the exact mix varies from year to year, we include sessions on seminar and module design, on facilitating groups, on assessment, and on e-learning, as well as informative presentations by leading members of the profession on the national environment and other professional issues. The Conference is supported by a Moodle site through which we invite dialogue between participants. The orientation of the whole event is towards seeing preparation, teaching, and assessment on a spectrum of academic practices all of which collectively add up to being a useful and fulfilled academic citizen. Participants are incited to see their school or department as a community of practice to which they themselves can learn to make an increasingly vigorous contribution.
