[2003]			The Learning, Teaching and Assessment Newsletter of the Faculty of Science, LJMU
Ab			stract #7.3
1849			… to be no more than 906 words.						4^th Apr 2023
Faculty Teaching Observers The Teaching and Learning Academy are looking for observers for the PGCert in Academic Practice, particularly from BES. If you have two years’ teaching experience and would be interested in becoming a Faculty-Trained Observer, can you please email Rach Boulter at the Teaching and Learning Academy. Observation is a great way to get to know new colleagues, pick up new tips, and share good practices.
Students at the Heart (SATH) Conference 2023 A draft conference programme has been shared with SATH presenters. It is pleasing that Faculty of Science staff and students from all three Schools will contribute to ten sessions over the two days. Once the final programme is confirmed, registration will open and our annual pre-conference social will return on Thu 11^th May.
At our social event, staff and student co-presenters can register for sessions over lunch. Prior to this, there will be updates on this year’s Faculty of Science Curriculum Enhancement Projects plus an introduction to McGraw-Hill’s Connect resource. Please accept the Outlook invite if you plan to attend or contact me if you have not received it.
In other SATH news, presentations from last year’s event are now available in a dedicated archive here.
				LearnSci LabSims training The LearnSci laboratory Simulations are available to all academic staff for deployment in Canvas and, incidentally, are attractive resources for use in Outreach work. A hybrid training session took place on Friday 3^rd March and we welcomed Bill Hislop and Suzanne Armstrong from LearnSci. A recording of the event is available here. If you are already a regular user of LearnSci resources, why not consult the usage data for chemistry and biosciences to find those resources that are currently used only infrequently. Later this year, I will be contacting staff regarding the possibility of subscribing to LearnSci Smart Worksheet resource(s).
BioRender We have recently re-newed our 25-seat licence for another year. If you would like to use BioRender then please contact me. Existing users have been invited to an online training session on 23^rd May 1300h-1400h.
					MacMillan Achieve Achieve is publisher MacMillan’s online learning system and contains a variety of resources, some linked to textbooks, as well as lab simulations. MacMillan already work closely with FET and, if you'd like to have access to an ‘inspection copy’ of Achieve, please contact Teresa Keane, Higher Education Partnership Manager.
	Teaching-related snippets
	>	A reminder that My Meet-ups is available from MyLJMU and allows staff to schedule meetings with students that then appear in their online personalised timetables.
	>	The third-floor IT suites within the James Parsons Building will be upgraded during the summer.
	>	A request from Student Advice and Wellbeing (SAW): When contacting SAW regarding particular students, please be mindful to include as much contextual information as possible and, where feasible, acquire student consent before sharing this information.
	>	Student futures have updated our Mock Job Interview and CV tutorial resources. Please discuss within Programme Teams before electing to adopt these resources within personal tutorials.
	>	Developing Inclusive Pedagogies in the Biosciences is a face-to-face (and live-streamed) workshop event from the Heads of University Biosciences and Bioscience Awarding Gaps (BAG) network. It takes place on 21^st April.
	>	The JISC digital capabilities survey for staff and students closed in mid-March and we are expecting outcomes to be shared, benchmarked against other institutions. Preliminary results show that, for example, while 78% of our students agreed that we supported them to access online platforms/services off campus, only 44% agreed that our online learning resources were engaging and motivating.
UK Professional Standards Framework This underpins all of AdvanceHE’s recognition for professional practice (Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow and Principal Fellow). The framework has been revised and the application route will be changing. However, you can apply under the current process until 31 December 2023 if you are already part way through an application. The new application documents are now available and Rach Boulter in the Teaching and Learning Academy can address any queries.
Guidance on Personal Circumstances (PC) Claims Phil Vickerman (PVC Education and Student Experience) acknowledges that there will be occasions when the provision of evidence in support of PC claims is neither practical or appropriate. In these cases, the professional insight of a personal tutor is particularly important. That said, supporting statements from any university staff who have a history of engagement with the student can also be taken into account. These could include other academic staff or colleagues from professional services that the student has turned to for support. Our PC policy is under review and these issues will be more clearly addressed in future iterations of the policy.
IT information for students The following information from IT Services provides a contemporary summary of our facilities for students: • PCs on campus can be booked online: https://mypc.ljmu.ac.uk/cire/login.aspx • Some software is available for students to download onto their own PCs (mainly Windows software but there are a couple of Mac versions) • Students can access a cloud-based Virtual Desktop Service via the link below https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/ithelp/virtual-desktop This service will give access to the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of software but only to students who have been issued with Adobe Home Use license.
Phil Denton, Faculty of Science Associate Dean (Education and Student Experience) Maintained by SCSADE@ljmu.ac.uk. Last Update: 17/04/2023.