Written by Dr Dani Shalet
As we are relaunching our blog posts as well as our work on several other interesting social media platforms, I thought that a good way to start this off would be with some thoughts. Despite the current circumstances our team is engaged in several very interesting project strands including those focused on primary and secondary school as well as HE, so please keep an eye out for future blog posts, from our wonderful team on these topics.
I too am involved in a number of these project strands, but I have also been lucky enough to be given the opportunity to co-teach with Prof Billingsley on an REE (Research and Enquiry in Education) PGCE module. This has kept me extremely busy. I have been developing lecture content on EI concepts and helping students on their research journey by introducing them to different research approaches and analyses; focussing on those that are practical, given our current circumstances.
Being involved with this has been rewarding, especially as it has been a while since I have had the opportunity to teach at university; but I am loving every minute of it, even the more challenging bits—primarily coping with new methods of teaching during COVID–something that many teachers are facing. That said, what these circumstances enable educators to do (there is always a silver lining) is try new and innovative approaches to online teaching and student engagement; many of these approaches the EI team are hoping to share with you, the reader.
I look forward to sharing my own experiences as a lecturer and EI researcher with you as well, so please stay tuned.