L&T Conference 2025: Day 2 | Sessions

In this workshop, staff from across the university will highlight ongoing developments and innovations in teaching and learning in some of the diverse outdoor spaces on campus in the university. With over 360 acres, comprising diverse built, green and blue spaces, there are many opportunities for Learning On Campus Outdoors (‘LOCO’) The arguments for ‘Going LOCO’ are aired in the initial part of the workshop. There is the need to enhance student experience and to draw attention to ‘place-responsiveness’ as a source of meaning in curriculum making in higher education. The need for new approaches to the support of student wellbeing, eco-social sustainability, community linking, and creative expression also provide an impetus for a distinctively outdoor teaching and learning in HE. A review of some current issues, barriers, and practices outdoors across faculty is provided. Attendees will be invited to scope out what might be needed for the enhancement of provision in University of Stirling. In contemporary times, on a campus already seen as unmatched elsewhere and offering a ‘unique selling point’, where and when might we Go LOCO?

Damian Etone (Law) and Rowan Cruft (Philosophy) will explain the evolution and design of the interdisciplinary Master’s programme in Human Rights & Diplomacy. This combines research expertise in Law, Philosophy and Politics in conjunction with the practical, applied expertise of our partners from the UN Institute of Training & Research and selected NGOs. Our aim is to develop and deliver a programme that produces graduates who work as reflective practitioners and practice-aware doctoral students. In our presentation we will reflect on the best ways to bring together research-led teaching with professional practice. Our thesis is that for Master’s level students, academic and professional standards enhance and complement each other, and we will illustrate this thesis with case studies from our Master’s programme, and its work with a range of human rights organisations including UPR Info, UN Women, International Organisation for Migration, and Scottish PEN.

In this speculative talk, I will draw on my recent work with learners in professional environments, focusing in particular on a project that applied concepts from D. Royce Sadler and others. Sadler challenges us to rethink assessment and grading—not merely as evaluative tools but as mechanisms for fostering deeper learning and more sophisticated judgment. He advocates for dialogue with and among students to enhance their ability to refine task fidelity and engage meaningfully in complex self — and peer — appraisal.

These ambitions are consistent with the goals of programmes designed for developing practitioners. Building on this foundation, I propose to implement a similar approach in an upcoming Professional Doctorate programme.

During the Q&A, I look forward to discussing with colleagues’ experiences with similar strategies, and the steps needed to scaffold this approach effectively for both students and staff.

In this short talk, I will discuss two creative assignments developed for my FSS module Cultural and Creative Criminology, which was launched in the Spring 2025 semester. The assignments consisted of 1) a group podcast and 2) an individual creative mini-project plus written reflection. I will discuss the rationale for and development of these assignments, and share the assessment criteria and bespoke rubrics. I will also share some of the students’ work and reflect on how they engaged with these tasks, drawing out lessons learned for the module’s next iteration. I hope this talk will be of interest to those already undertaking or considering developing creative forms of assessment (particularly within primarily ‘non-creative’ disciplines), and would love to hear from colleagues about how I could improve these assignments.

This session will overview how, with an enhanced understanding of the skills necessary to succeed in a particular sector, a curriculum can be refined to provide students with the experiences necessary to excel upon graduation. Using experiences gained during a curriculum design activity in BES, this presentation will: overview best practices in the design and application of surveys for industry partners; outline how results can be refined to inform change; and discuss methods for implementing change at both a module and programmatic level.

Higher Education and the student experience is rapidly changing. Through embedding a formal mentoring programme into the curriculum, we can successfully enhance both this student experience and their graduate destinations.

The ELEVATE mentoring model is unique in that it comprises of external industry experts recruited to work individually with students. This presentation argues that this bespoke applied engagement experienced by students presents a fantastic opportunity for programme directors to respond to contemporary needs of students.

The supporting agencies and their perceptions of their mentoring process will also be profiled alongside future directions for this model

Developing students’ skills in a structured and intentional way is crucial for their academic success and employability. This interactive workshop will showcase the skills-based curriculum we have embedded in Psychology. This framework ensures students recognise and develop key competencies throughout their four years of study. This framework is embedded into each year of our programme including our Psychology Communities sessions (where 1st year students meet with their personal tutors).

Participants in this workshop will interactively explore how to apply similar approaches in their own disciplines, discussing programme-specific skills and best practices for embedding skills development. By the end of the session, attendees will have a clearer understanding of how to implement a structured, skills-based framework to enhance student learning, engagement, and employability within their own programmes.

This session focuses on the integration of academic and professional skills in the learning and design process, specifically how the surfacing of skills can inform this activity. During the workshop, participants will engage in discussion activities designed to enable the surfacing of key skills in a sample module. The facilitators will provide ‘pedagogical provocation’ to help participants formulate a list of key skills, which will then be used to guide learning activity design. The workshop will conclude with reflections of how this process was utilised in the Master of Public Health programme development and recommendations of how participants can utilise this approach in their own practice.

Climate anxiety (CA) is increasingly common due to global warming, particularly among young people, women, and left-leaning individuals – key demographics in the Natural Sciences. CA can disrupt students’ sleep, concentration, and motivation, requiring support for wellbeing. This presentation explores CA prevalence at the University of Stirling, a new skills-based pedagogical framework for alleviating it, and it’s effectiveness.

Our survey of 375 undergraduate students at Stirling found 11% of Stirling students experience moderate to high CA, rising to 17% in Natural Sciences. Inspired by cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), we developed a five-week online training program with exercises, videos, activities, and readings. A student workshop in week-two further enhances community building and positivity.

An ongoing pilot study of 11 students suggests the program reduces CA, increasing wellbeing, motivation, and commitment to environmental action. We will reassess CA levels post-program to measure success. This framework, freely-available via ArcGIS StoryMaps, may enhance student wellbeing across higher education.

Pre 2020 five modules applied inauthentic traditional paper based handwritten exams based on formulaic numerical problems and essays. During COVID an authentic 24 hour timed case study assignment was used but post COVID professional accrediting bodies mandated a return to three hour closed book exams. This was achieved by adapting the 24 hour timed case study to a closed book exam format delivered in a computer lab within a three hour period. The presentation, explores the motivating opportunities presented by authentic assessment, how to overcome challenges presented by externally imposed constraints, and how how to support students and colleagues as they adapt to a different approach.