6 September 2017
Christopher Wiley
Conference, Educational Research, Presentation, Publication, Research, Teaching
arts and humanities, autoethnography, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, conference, education, Franklin, Guildford School of Acting, Higher Education, Jo Franklin, Music, pedagogic frailty, presentation, reciprocal autoethnography, resilience, School of Arts, Surrey, symposium, teaching, technical theatre arts, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley and Jo Franklin (Guildford School of Acting) co-authored an interactive presentation delivered as part of the First International Symposium on Pedagogic Frailty and Resilience held at the University of Surrey on Wednesday 6 September 2017.
The session, entitled ‘Dialogic Approaches to Pedagogic Frailty’, explored how the authors had proactively sought to extend the results of two previous research projects in which they had been separately involved, including Dr Wiley’s co-authored autoethnographic study of pedagogic frailty in arts and humanities education.
They outlined the ‘reciprocal autoethnography’ approach by which they expanded the parameters of their earlier studies, as well as the methods by which they comparatively analysed the concept maps that resulted from previous research, independently of the original interviewer.
Based on their book chapter on autoethnography and pedagogic frailty, the presentation concluded by considering the potential for future expansion of the pedagogic frailty process as well as its benefits in terms of enhancing understanding of the preoccupations, priorities, and motivations of colleagues and teams.
The one-day symposium brought together some 40 academic colleagues from across the UK and internationally.
Further information about the symposium is available at the following link: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/department-higher-education/events/pedagogic-frailty
The full programme, including abstracts, may be downloaded here: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Pedagogic-frailty-symposium-programme.pdf
27 March 2017
Christopher Wiley
Educational Research, Publication, Teaching
arts and humanities, autoethnography, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concept maps, education, Franklin, Guildford School of Acting, Higher Education, Jo Franklin, mediated concept maps, Music, pedagogic frailty, reciprocal autoethnography, resilience, School of Arts, Surrey, teaching, technical theatre arts, University, University of Surrey
Dr Christopher Wiley and Jo Franklin (Guildford School of Acting) have co-authored a chapter published in the book Pedagogic Frailty and Resilience in the University, edited by Ian M. Kinchin and Naomi E. Winstone.
Their essay, ‘Framed Autoethnography and Pedagogic Frailty: A Comparative Analysis of Mediated Concept Maps’, extends two research projects on which the authors have previously worked, including Dr Wiley’s co-authored autoethnographic study of pedagogic frailty in arts and humanities education.
Adopting a ‘reciprocal autoethnography’ approach to operate independently of the original interviewer in order comparatively to analyse the concept maps that resulted from earlier research, they considered the benefits of pedagogic frailty to the development of greater mutual understanding between different staff members by way of nurturing resilience.
Bibliographic citation
Wiley, Christopher and Jo Franklin. ‘Framed Autoethnography and Pedagogic Frailty: A Comparative Analysis of Mediated Concept Maps’, in Ian M. Kinchin and Naomi E. Winstone eds. Pedagogic Frailty and Resilience in the University. Rotterdam: Sense, 2017, pp. 17–32.
Further information
Listing of the volume on the publisher’s website: https://www.sensepublishers.com/catalogs/bookseries/other-books/pedagogic-frailty-and-resilience-in-the-university/
10 March 2017
Christopher Wiley
Educational Research, Publication, Teaching
arts and humanities, autoethnography, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concept maps, Department of Higher Education, education, Higher Education, Ian Kinchin, Ian M. Kinchin, Kinchin, mediated concept maps, Music, pedagogic frailty, resilience, School of Arts, Surrey, teaching, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley and Professor Ian M. Kinchin (Department of Higher Education, University of Surrey) have co-authored an article published in the international peer-reviewed journal Arts and Humanities in Higher Education.
Entitled ‘Tracing pedagogic frailty in arts and humanities education: An autoethnographic perspective’, the article represents an autoethnographic study of Dr Wiley as a leading academic in arts and humanities teaching in higher education, using Professor Kinchin’s model of pedagogic frailty (see diagram below) in order to develop a series of mediated concept maps.
Supplemented by Dr Wiley’s own narratives and with an extended conclusion contemplating the benefits of pedagogic frailty and the autoethnographic process, it constitutes the most extensive single-subject study of pedagogic frailty in higher education to date.
Dr Wiley has previously used autoethnographic approaches in relation to pedagogic research in an article published in Learning at City Journal in 2014.
Further information about Professor Kinchin and Dr Wiley’s journal article, including the abstract, may be found at the following link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1474022217698082
Bibliographic citation
Kinchin, Ian M. and Christopher Wiley. ‘Tracing pedagogic frailty in arts and humanities education: An autoethnographic perspective’, Arts and Humanities in Higher Education: An international journal of theory, research, and practice (2017), pp. 1–24. doi: 10.1177/1474022217698082
Full text
The full text is available for free download under licence from Surrey Research Insight Open Access: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/813547/

23 May 2016
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Media, Teaching
academic management, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, Dance, Drama, Drama & Dance, Guardian, Guardian league tables 2017, Guildford School of Acting, Higher Education, league tables, Music, Music & Sound Recording, School of Arts, student experience, student satisfaction, Surrey, teaching, The Guardian, theatre, undergraduate, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
The School of Arts at the University of Surrey is celebrating excellent rankings in The Guardian’s UK University League Tables 2017, published today as part of the Guardian University Guide.
The Guardian league tables rank the University of Surrey No. 1 nationally for Music, No. 2 nationally for Drama & Dance, and No. 4 nationally in the overall league table.
As Director of Learning & Teaching for the School of Arts, Dr Christopher Wiley has taken a lead in developing the School’s learning & teaching and student experience strategies. This has included the initiatives by which its students have been engaged in completion of the National Student Survey, the latest results for which similarly placed the School’s subject areas at No. 1 and No. 2 nationally.
The Guardian league tables represent one of the most influential rankings of UK universities, and incorporate multiple metrics from the National Student Survey including student satisfaction with teaching, satisfaction with feedback and assessment, and overall satisfaction with the course.
Further information on the successes of the School of Arts in The Guardian league tables 2017 may be found here: http://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/arts/2016/05/23/guardian-league-table-2017-results-music-at-no-1-drama-dance-at-no-2/

12 January 2016
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Presentation, Teaching
arts education, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, discussion forum, education, Higher Education, learning, pastoral support, personal tuition, Personal Tutoring, School of Arts, student evaluation of teaching, Surrey, teaching, teaching enhancement, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr 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.
23 November 2015
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Prizes & Awards, Teaching
academic management, award, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, Director of Learning and Teaching, education, learning, Music, School of Arts, Surrey, teaching, teaching excellence, teaching innovation, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has received awards and nominations for several major teaching prizes at the University of Surrey in 2015, after less than two years in post as Director of Learning and Teaching for the School of Arts.
In April 2015, Dr Wiley was nominated for The Lynne Millward Award for Academic Staff Member of the Year, which is run by the University of Surrey Students’ Union (awards ceremony pictured, right). Nominations for this award are submitted by the students themselves and it is therefore highly competitive.
Then in June, Dr Wiley was announced as the winner of the Faculty Learning and Teaching Award for the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences (prior to its becoming the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), as well as being shortlisted for The Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award.
Finally, at a prestigious awards ceremony on 23 November 2015 (pictured below), Dr Wiley was announced as the runner-up for The Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award. This award recognises sustained excellence in teaching, innovative curriculum development, and enhancement of the student experience – thereby illustrating the impact that Dr Wiley has made within the University of Surrey in a relatively short space of time.

8 October 2015
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Presentation, Teaching
acting, careers in music, careers in the arts, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, collaboration, Dance, digital media arts, extra-curricular activity, Guildford School of Acting, Music, musical theatre, networking, opportunities, professional production skills, School of Arts, Sound Recording, teaching, theatre, theatre and performance, University, University of Surrey, Wiley

The School of Arts at the University of Surrey held its first ‘Opportunities and Networking’ event in the Ivy main auditorium, Ivy Arts Centre on Thursday 8 October 2015, organized by Dr Christopher Wiley.
Over 100 students were in attendance across the subject areas of Music and Sound Recording, Theatre, Dance, Digital Media Arts, and the Guildford School of Acting.
The event introduced students to the many different possibilities for them to collaborate with one another on different School of Arts programmes, provided them with information about extra-curricular University activities related to the arts, facilitated their networking with students elsewhere in the School, and enabled them to register their interest in collaborating with one another via sign-up sheets.
Dr Wiley compèred the event, which featured contributions from range of other School of Arts staff as well as students. The evening ended with a series of networking activities designed to enable students to meet one another and to discuss their interests in collaborating on arts projects, followed by more informal opportunities to chat over pizza and soft drinks.
This ‘Opportunities and Networking’ event follows in the footsteps of an equally successful and well-attended panel discussion on ‘Careers in the Arts’, co-organized by Dr Wiley and hosted by the School of Arts earlier in the year.
18 September 2015
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Presentation, Teaching
arts education, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, discussion forum, education, Higher Education, learning, School of Arts, Surrey, teaching, teaching enhancement, teaching policy, teaching practice, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr 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 2015, September 2014, and January 2014.
12 August 2015
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Media, Teaching
academic management, BMus, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, Creative Music Technology, Dance, Guildford School of Acting, HEFCE, Higher Education, Higher Education Funding Council for England, Music, National Student Survey, National Student Survey 2015, NSS, NSS 2015, School of Arts, student experience, student satisfaction, Surrey, teaching, teaching excellence, undergraduate, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
The School of Arts at the University of Surrey is celebrating excellent results in the 2015 National Student Survey (NSS), including a score of 95% for overall satisfaction, with Dance and Music reaching No. 1 and No. 2 in the national subject rankings, respectively.
The School made gains in every one of the survey’s 22 questions, including a score of 99% satisfaction overall in the ‘Teaching on the course’ category. Three programmes – BMus Music, BMus Creative Music Technology, and BA Dance – all scored the maximum 100% for overall satisfaction.
As Director of Learning and Teaching for the School of Arts, Dr Christopher Wiley has taken a lead in developing the School’s student experience strategy, including the initiatives by which its students were engaged in completion of the NSS.
The National Student Survey is an independently conducted annual survey of final-year undergraduate students across the UK, and has become a high-profile measure of student satisfaction nationally since its introduction ten years ago.
Further information on the achievements of the School of Arts in the 2015 National Student Survey may be found here: http://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/arts/2015/08/12/national-student-survey-2015/
14 January 2015
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Educational Research, Presentation, Teaching
arts education, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, discussion forum, education, educational research, Higher Education, learning, module descriptors, personal tuition, Personal Tutoring, programme validation, School of Arts, Surrey, teaching, University, University of Surrey, validation, Wiley
Dr 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.
15 September 2014
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Conference, Educational Research, Presentation, Teaching
arts education, assessment, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, conference, education, educational research, feedback, Higher Education, inspirational teaching, learning, School of Arts, student roundtable, Surrey, symposium, teaching, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley convened a second one-day Learning and Teaching Symposium for academic staff across the School of Arts at the University of Surrey on 15 September 2014, as a follow-up to a related event that had taken place in January.
Themed around ‘Inspirational Teaching: Sharing Practice’, the event included two sessions by invited speakers and two discussion workshops facilitated by Dr Wiley (one on sharing good practices in teaching, the other continuing previous conversations on assessment and feedback), as well as a roundtable comprising three current students who presented their views on inspirational teaching.
The Symposium was attended by over 30 full-time and Associate staff ranging from long-standing lecturers to those who had only started work at the University that day, and representing a wide variety of different arts disciplines.
16 January 2014
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Conference, Educational Research, Presentation, Teaching
arts education, assessment, assessment practice, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, conference, education, educational research, feedback, Higher Education, learning, School of Arts, Surrey, symposium, teaching, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley convened a one-day Learning and Teaching Symposium, themed around ‘Enhancing Assessment and Feedback’, for academic staff across the School of Arts at the University of Surrey on 16 January 2014.
The event comprised three sessions by invited speakers, poster presentations, and two discussion workshops facilitated by Dr Wiley, one focussing on Grade Descriptors and the other on reviewing current Feedback practices in the School (pictured). Also included as part of the Symposium was a dedicated session for Associate Tutors on Assessment and Feedback, again led by Dr Wiley.
The Symposium was attended by over thirty academics and several teaching-related staff from across the School of Arts (Music, Sound Recording, Dance, Film, Theatre, and the Guildford School of Acting) as well as e-Learning and Library & Learning Support Services.
16 April 2013
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Educational Research, Research, Teaching
academic management, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, Director of Learning and Teaching, learning, Music, new appointment, School of Arts, Senior Lecturer, Surrey, teaching, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has been appointed Senior Lecturer and Director of Learning and Teaching in the School of Arts at the University of Surrey. The University’s School of Arts comprises the subject areas of Music and Sound Recording, Dance, Film, and Theatre, as well as the Digital World Research Centre, the Lewis Elton Gallery, and the acclaimed Guildford School of Acting (GSA).
Dr Wiley commences his new position in September 2013. His academic profile on the University of Surrey website may be viewed here: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/schoolofarts/people/complete_staff_list/christopher_wiley