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Dr Christopher Wiley convenes student panel discussion at University of Surrey Teaching Symposium

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Dr Christopher Wiley facilitated a student discussion panel at the University of Surrey’s sixth annual Surrey ExciTeS (Excellence in Teaching Symposium) on Wednesday 3 April 2019, on the subject of student-staff partnerships.

The forum, entitled ‘Giving music students ownership of their learning’, discussed the Music Project module that had taken place during the previous semester on the theme of musical theatre, and the wide range of activities that students undertook in their assessments, from performances to compositions to organizational roles.

The panel of undergraduate Music students – Diana Nemyrovska, Katy Jackson, Heather Neele, and Edward Bellett-Travers (pictured, l-r) – answered questions from academics and learning support staff from across the University.

Dr Wiley has delivered sessions at Surrey ExciTeS events in 2018201720162015, and 2014, including a previous student discussion panel in 2017.

Dr Christopher Wiley leads session at University of Surrey Teaching Symposium

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Dr Christopher Wiley at Surrey ExciTeS 2018Dr Christopher Wiley delivered a presentation and facilitated the ensuing discussion at the University of Surreys fifth annual Surrey ExciTeS (Excellence in Teaching Symposium) on Wednesday 3 January 2018.

His session, ‘From Research-led Teaching to Teaching-led Research: Keeping curricula contemporary’, explored the relationship between teaching and research and its implications for maintaining up-to-the-minute taught university curricula, for which substantial original research may necessarily be undertaken by the lecturer for the express purposes of teaching (as distinct from research previously conducted with a view to publication and used within the classroom only as a secondary endeavour).

To illustrate his arguments, Dr Wiley outlined aspects of the design of his first-year undergraduate module on Adele’s 25 album, previously discussed in a roundtable panel he convened for the Study Day on ‘Teaching and Creativity in Popular Music’ held at the University of Surrey on 10 June 2017.

Dr Wiley concluded his session by contending that the dichotomy often posited in the academic profession between teaching and research, typically viewed as two distinct (if not mutually exclusive) activities, is unhelpful for its omitting to take account of the extent of the middleground between them. He further suggested that just as teaching may be research-led, (pedagogic) research may itself correspondingly be led by teaching.

Dr Wiley has participated in all four previous Surrey ExciTeS events, delivering sessions in 201720162015, and 2014.

Dr Christopher Wiley convenes student panel discussion at University of Surrey Teaching Symposium

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student-discussion-panel-at-surrey-excites-2017Dr Christopher Wiley organized a student discussion panel at the University of Surrey’s fourth annual Surrey ExciTeS (Excellence in Teaching Symposium) on Wednesday 4 January 2017.

Entitled ‘Exploring the potential benefits of online discussion forums in enabling students to become agents of research-led teaching’, the session focused on Dr Wiley’s use of a student-led online discussion forum in his final-year undergraduate module on musical theatre.

The panel of Music students and recent graduates, comprising Karen Taylor, Octavius Longcroft-Wheaton, and Jadene Doak (pictured, l-r), addressed questions from academics drawn from across the University.

Dr Wiley has led sessions at all three of the previous Surrey ExciTeS events in 2014, 2015, and 2016.

The full programme for 2017 symposium (including abstracts) is available here: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/dhe/surrey_excites/Surrey%20ExciTes%202017%20Programme.pdf

Dr Christopher Wiley organizes Learning and Teaching development event at the University of Surrey

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School of Arts Learning & Teaching event, University of SurreyDr Christopher Wiley organized a half-day Learning and Teaching development event for the School of Arts at the University of Surrey on 12 January 2016. This was the fifth forum of this nature in two years (see information about previous events here), and involved some 40 staff from across the institution.

This event incorporated a training session led by the University’s Student Services on the pastoral side of Personal Tutoring, as well as a discussion forum on student evaluation of teaching facilitated by Dr Wiley, which considered how academic staff might seek to maximize the effectiveness of feedback received from students for purposes of ongoing teaching enhancement.

A blog post written by Dr Wiley, in which the School of Arts Learning and Teaching symposia are discussed, has recently appeared on the Association of National Teaching Fellows blog. The post, entitled ‘How do National Teaching Fellows make a contribution in their institution?’, may be read at the following link:

http://ntf-association.com/national-teaching-fellows/how-do-national-teaching-fellows-make-a-contribution-in-their-institution/

Update: With over 400 reads in the week in which it appeared, Dr Wiley’s post set a new record for the Association of National Teaching Fellows blog.

Dr Christopher Wiley leads Learning and Teaching development event at the University of Surrey

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School of Arts Learning & Teaching development event, University of SurreyDr Christopher Wiley convened and facilitated a Learning and Teaching development event for the School of Arts at the University of Surrey on Friday 18 September 2015.

40 academics from across the subject areas of Music and Sound Recording, Dance, Theatre, Digital Media Arts, and the Guildford School of Acting participated in two lively and productive discussions led by Dr Wiley during the half-day event.

Both designed to enable the sharing of best practices across the School, the first discussion workshop considered current School policy in relation to teaching, while the second explored strategies for teaching enhancement with a particular focus on student engagement and interactivity.

This was the fourth of the biennial School of Arts Learning and Teaching events instigated by Dr Wiley in his role as Director of Learning and Teaching, following the success of similar forums in January 2015September 2014, and January 2014.

Dr Christopher Wiley convenes Learning and Teaching enhancement event at the University of Surrey

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School of Arts Learning and Teaching event - January 2015Dr Christopher Wiley organized a Learning and Teaching enhancement event for academic staff across the School of Arts at the University of Surrey on 14 January 2015, following the Symposia that had taken place in September 2014 and January 2014.

In a change from previous events, this one adopted a seminar-style format. It combined a discussion forum on the School’s Personal Tutoring system, facilitated by Dr Wiley, with a training session on module descriptors and programme validation co-facilitated by two members of the University’s Directorate of Quality Enhancement and Standards.

Over 30 academic staff were in attendance representing the range of disciplines encompassed by the School, including Music and Sound Recording, Theatre and Dance, Film and Digital Media Arts, and the Guildford School of Acting.