LSE’s Academic Development Programme is a year round series of events designed for academic and research staff who are keen to pursue professional development and enhance the impact of their teaching and research.
This page also contains summaries and event booking links for the Michaelmas Term programme. To book a place on these sessions, click the title link of the session. If you have any technical difficulties, please let us know. We'll be uploading events for Lent Term soon!
Download a copy of our flyer/wallchart by clicking the cover image to the right. For materials related to these sessions, contact the tutor named below as the session convener.
If you require any information, or wish to discuss any aspect of the Programme (or provide feedback on a past event) please email the Teaching and Learning Centre at tlc.academicdevelopment@lse.ac.uk. Similarly, if you have booked a place on one of our sessions, and have relevant disability/access issues of which to inform us, please contact us at the same email address.
For events hosted in collaboration with LSE Research Division, please click the link provided.
Michaelmas Term events
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Designing effective assessment strategies for your courses and programmes
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Thursday 8 December
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12:30
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14:00
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Dr Esther Saxey
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Exams and essays provide the backbone of student assessment across the School. But could a greater range of assessment methods allow students to develop their disciplinary knowledge, and prepare for further study and employment? This workshop will consider a range of innovative assessment approaches, their benefits and pitfalls, and allow attendees to share their current practice. It will also address how technology can enable assessment, and how assessments can be designed to deter academic misconduct. All academics are welcome, but the workshop is particularly useful for anyone considering changing their assessment methods in the coming academic year.
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Past events
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Introduction to LSE: International perspective
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Wednesday 28 September
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16:00
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17:30
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Dr Claire Gordon and Dr Esther Saxey
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This informal session aims to support any academics whose previous higher education experience has been outside the UK. Existing LSE staff who have experienced this transition will share their expertise, and answer your questions on UK Higher Education - from practical and administrative issues, to cultures and traditions.
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Writing in the classroom: ways of promoting active learning through short written tasks
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Wednesday 5 October
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12:30
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14:00
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Dr Colleen McKenna
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Academic writing is often viewed as a product, particularly in relation to assessment. For example, essays, reports and exams are generally thought of as fixed texts that represent a culmination of learning. This workshop will consider ways in which writing can be viewed as part of the learning process. In particular, we will look at a range of short writing tasks and techniques that can be used in classroom teaching, and we will consider how formative writing can contribute to learning in the disciplines.
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The review and promotion process: teaching and research
presented by LSE Academic and Professional Development Division and LSE Human Resources
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Wednesday 5 October
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13:00
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14:00
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Prof Eric Neumayer and Dr Neil Mclean
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As part of the New Academic Career, candidates for promotion at Major Review and promotion to professor are required to demonstrate to Promotions Committee their contribution across three areas: research, education and citizenship. This session outlines how this process is conducted and how to make a strong case for your contribution to the taught provision, research profile and life of your department. The session is for those who are preparing their applications this coming year, for those who wish to build towards making strong applications over the coming two or three years, and for those who will mentor or advise their colleagues as they go through the promotion process.
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Supervising MSc dissertations
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Wednesday 12 October
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12:30
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14:00
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Dr Claire Gordon and Dr Jenni Carr
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This workshop is designed for academics across the School who are involved in MSc supervision. The session opens with a brief discussion of the current UK Masters and considers how the level/standard differs from both the undergraduate and the doctoral level qualifications. By the end of the sessions participants will be able to distinguish the roles and responsibilities of a Masters supervisor at different stages of work on the dissertation as well as identify key milestones in a successful project.
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Lecturing at the LSE: ideas and approaches
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Thursday 13 October
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12:30
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14:00
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Dr Neil Mclean
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Lecturing can inspire, intrigue and celebrate disciplinary knowledge. Yet while some lecturers thrive on the buzz it can give, for many it can instil anxiety. This workshop applies the theory of communicative pragmatics to show how lecturers can work successfully with an audience, generate listening and rapport, and build credibility and community with students.
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Supervising PhD students: the LSE context
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Wednesday 19 October
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12:00
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14:00
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Prof Linda Mulcahy, Dr Claire Gordon and Dr Jenni Carr
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For those new, or relatively new, to LSE or to the role of PhD supervisor, this session will cover the key ‘need to know’ information. A panel of three current PhD supervisors, as well as staff in LSE’s Teaching and Learning Centre and PhD Academy, will address institutional culture, practices and policies and there will be plenty of time for questions, discussion and networking. Free lunch and a tour of the PhD Academy space are included!
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Research methods: teaching practice and exchange
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Thursday 20 October
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12:30
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14:00
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Dr Jenni Carr
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Anyone who has taught or experienced a research methods course recognises the particular challenges posed by teaching research methods. This is a forum for the sharing of knowledge and exchange of practice among colleagues across the School who teach research methods courses.
For an overview of a recent forum meeting, please see this blog post.
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Building student learning through effective feedback
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Monday 24 October
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12:30
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14:00
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Dr Jenni Carr
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Providing students with effective feedback is one of the key ways academics can contribute to their learning. This session will discuss best practice in this area, including the role learning technologies can play; include opportunities for attendees to share their own practice; and allow participants to reflect on their feedback skills through a practical exercise.
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Promoting active learning in quantitative disciplines
Wednesday 2 November 13:00 14:30 Mark Baltovic
This workshop will present innovative approaches to teaching in quantitative disciplines that can help to develop and sustain active learning in students both inside and outside the lecture. It is primarily intended for lecturers and course convenors, and would also be of interest to members of staff thinking of designing new courses.
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The core elements of good course design
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Friday 4 November
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12:00
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14:00
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Dr Claire Gordon
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Participants should come to the session with plans for a new course they are intending to design. This practical session will give participants the opportunity to explore the building blocks of course design (learning outcomes, assessment and teaching and learning activities) in the context of the pedagogy of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996 and 2002).
By the end of the session participants will have an outline of their new course and the tools to develop it further as well as an appreciation of how to support student learning through effectively aligning the different components of the curriculum at the course and programme level.
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Encouraging student contributions in small group teaching
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Tuesday 8 November
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13:00
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14:30
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Dr Esther Saxey
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When students speak in seminars and classes, academics can assess their progress, and students develop their understanding and their retention of concepts. But this invaluable activity is one of the hardest to control or predict. Can particular teaching practices promote useful student contributions? What expectations and understandings do students have? Participants will be able to evaluate some practical approaches, includes scholarly research in the area, and is an opportunity for participants to share their own practice. Any academics involved in small group teaching are welcome to attend.
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The inclusive curriculum in practice: learning from the LSE100 laboratory
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Thursday 10 November
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13:00
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14:00
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Dr Claire Gordon and Dr Jessica Templeton
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Higher education institutions across the UK have been reviewing their approaches to inclusivity and diversity in curriculum design and delivery. The LSE’s Education Strategy commits itself to integrating inclusivity and diversity initiatives into the design and delivery of LSE taught provision by 2020. During this 60 minute workshop the LSE100 team will discuss how they have interrogated and integrated different approaches, notions and practices of inclusivity and diversity into the LSE100 course. The session would be of interest to all academic teachers across the School as well as other colleagues involved in diversity and inclusivity initiatives.
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