2013 Conference

6th Annual PSA/BISA Learning and Teaching Conference

Teaching and Learning Politics and International Relations in the UK and Beyond: Challenges, Opportunities, Innovation.

9 September 2013 - 10 September 2013

University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London

Academic Director: Dr Frands Pedersen, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster,

Monday 9 September

11:00 Registration, tea/coffee

11:10 Welcome by Head of Department of Politics and IR, Dibyesh Anand.

11:15 Session 1: Politics and International Relations as taught and practically relevant disciplines

  • John Craig (HEA): Who do you we think we are? The development of politics as a taught discipline in Britain
  • Steven Curtis (HEA, London Met): Studying International Relations as if it was a practically-relevant subject

12:00 Session 2: Enhancing student classroom engagement

  • Bridget Cotter (Westminster): Teaching political theory through role plays
  • John Hogan (Dublin Institute of Technology): What stick figures tell me about Irish politics
  • Gemma Jamieson (Westminster): Learning from TEFL - techniques for politics seminar teaching

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Keynote 1: Professor Emerita Denise Scheberle (University of Colorado-Denver)

15:00 Tea/coffee

15:30 Session 3: Managing expectations, organisation and regulations

  • Patrick Bijsmans & Pia Harbers (Maastricht): Advising Prospective Students: Matching at Maastricht University’s Bachelor in European Studies
  • Sharon Feeney (Dublin Institute of Technology), Initiating more flexibility into the academic semester: a six week semester approach
  • Barbara Morazzani: When is Plagiarism not Plagiarism?

16:15 Keynote 2: Professor Mike Sharples, (Open University)

17:30 Reception in The Heights, hosted by Politics, the PSA journal

19:00 Conference dinner

Tuesday 10 September

09:00 Welcome, day 2 registration, and tea/coffee

09:15 Session 3: Enactive and experiential learning

  • Farhang Morady, Kateryna Onyuoglwu & Christopher Kelly, Student-led Initiative - International Community Project
  • Andrew Connell, Using scenario-based role play to teach politics to non-politics students
  • Daphne Economou, Frands Pedersen, Andrej Kurobov, Interdisciplinary learning through games and simulations

10:00 Session 4: Employability

  • Donna Lee (Kent), Emma Foster (Birmingham) & Holly Snaith (Aston): Employability Learning in the Politics/IR Curriculum
  • Emma Thompson (Southampton): Working with Town from within the Gown: Integrating Experiential Learning with Employers within the University Research Methods Teaching Paradigm
  • Holly Snaith (Sheffield): ‘Integrating quantitative methods with the employability agenda: an empowerment approach’

10:45 Tea/coffee

11:15 Keynote 3: Dr Heidi Maurer (University of Maastricht)

12:15 Lunch

13:00 Session 5: Blended, technology enhanced learning

  • Emma Heron : Identit politics: the role of placements in the undergraduate curriculum
  • Jack Holland (Surrey), Video Use in International Relations: Teaching Critical Evaluative Skills
  • Alistair McMillan (Sheffield): Everyone loves to clicky!’: interactive lectures for Political Science using Electronic Voting handsets
  • Stephen Thornton (Cardiff, Wales): ‘Information Literacy is Dead': Do we care?

14:15 Session 6: Parliamentary studies module and resources

  • Dr Cristina Leston-Bandeira and Louise Thompson (Hull): Making more effective uses of primary parliamentary sources in politics teaching
  • Naomi Kent (Parliament Outreach Service): The Houses of Parliament Outreach Service and the Parliamentary Studies module.

15:00 Tea/coffee and conference conclusion

15:15 Annual General Meeting