Education – Page 6 – The School of Education Blog

Chevening Chinwag : Developing educational technology, embracing Bristol’s diversity, and adapting to the ‘new normal’

Posted on 29th September 202016th November 2020 by School of Education University of Bristol

Welcome Week 2020 special blog post by student Nguyen Hong Nhu, Chevening scholar School of Education, University of Bristol

Chevening Chinwag* is a series of informal pleasant conversations with our Vietnamese Chevening scholars, who are currently experiencing their exciting, challenging, and life-changing Chevening journeys.

[*] Chinwag (n.) /ˈtʃɪn.wæɡ/: a long and pleasant conversation between friends.

In this edition, let’s follow Nguyen Hong Nhu, our outstanding Chevening scholar, studying Education, at the University of Bristol to listen to her amazing stories about her contemporary course that enables her to develop ideas for an Augmented Reality app; the diversity and inclusion of her University; how she quickly adapted to the ‘new normal’ with her dissertation; her special “Pub Friends”; and her advice to interested Chevening applicants. (more…)

No, we don’t use only 10% of our brains!

Posted on 17th September 20205th January 2021 by School of Education University of Bristol

Blog post by André Hedlund, Chevening Alumnus, MSc in Psychology of Education from the School of Education at the University of Bristol.

Ever heard anyone say that? The last time I did was from one of the most powerful voices in movie history: Morgan Freeman’s. If he had been born in the UK, I’m sure he would’ve been knighted by now and joined the select group that includes Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench, and Dame Helen Mirren. Mr. Freeman played the role of Professor Samuel Norman, brain expert who has studied, among other things, the evolution of this incredible organ in Lucy, a movie co-starring Scarlet Johansson.

In one of the scenes, Professor Norman is lecturing to a group of interested students and says:

“Imagine for a moment what our life would be like if we could access, let’s say, 20% of our brain capacity?”

He goes on and claims that each human being has 100 billion neurons, from which only 15% are activated and that means that “we possess a gigantic network of information to which we have almost no access”. In his words, if we could access all the potential of our brains, we’d be able to control other people and even matter.

Well, Morgan Freeman, even though I love your voice and your acting, your character couldn’t be further from the truth. In this Luc Besson movie, released in 2014, most of what Professor Samuel Norman says is a false claim about the brain. It’s a neuromyth. (more…)

Graduates, we’re still here for you!

Posted on 9th September 202013th December 2024 by School of Education University of Bristol

This article was originally posted on the University of Bristol Careers Service Blog, find out more about how your Careers Service can help you on their website

Have you finished your degree this summer?

While it might not have been what you expected from your last year at University, everyone at the Careers Service wishes you huge congratulations for reaching the end of your studies. It’s a fantastic achievement and we hope you are proud of that. (more…)

Children’s reflections on home education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for the return to school

Posted on 2nd September 202017th May 2022 by School of Education University of Bristol

Dr Lucy Wenham Blog post by Claire Lee and Lucy Wenham, School of Education, University of Bristol

As school leaders plan the return to school following the global pandemic, it is crucial that their educational decisions are informed by research into the everyday realities of enforced home learning for children. Much research attention until now has focused, importantly, on lost learning and widening inequalities (e.g. Andrew et al., 2020; Green, 2020). (more…)

Juan Manuel Gutiérrez Vázquez: A Mexican teacher in the School of Education

Posted on 28th August 2020 by School of Education University of Bristol

By Mirna Carolina Valladares Celis & Artemio Arturo Cortez Ochoa

Last November, the teacher training college of Colima, Mexico, also known as ISENCO, organised its first International Conference on Educational Research and Evaluation. It was such an achievement considering that these normal schools[i] in Mexico were not involved in these academic environments until very recently. We both graduated from ISENCO and therefore, presenting and leading a workshop about qualitative data analysis meant for us giving back a little to the institution that forged a foundational stage in our lives. (more…)

Iftiin highlights educational issues facing Somali youth in Bristol

Posted on 25th August 2020 by School of Education University of Bristol

Blog post by Ugbaad Aidid and Robin Shields, School of Education, University of Bristol.

The brutal killing of George Floyd drew the world’s attention to the ways in which structural racist violence operates on a daily basis, but the tragic death of Shukri Abdi has gained comparatively little attention.

Twelve-year old Shukri, a Somali refugee who moved to the UK in 2017, drowned after she was forced to enter river waters by other students, who threatened to kill her if she did not. Her case highlights the social exclusion and racism faced by many Somali students across the United Kingdom. (more…)

The Brazilian Education Fracture and COVID-19: A Historical Perspective

Posted on 19th August 202020th August 2020 by School of Education University of Bristol

Blog Post by André Hedlund, Chevening Alumnus, MSc in Psychology of Education from the School of Education at the University of Bristol.

“Challenging. The Brazilian Educational System is Huge”

This is written on the website of Todos Pela Educação (All for Education), an NGO that provides information about the Brazilian educational scenario in order to help boost quality and access to basic education.

Brazil has a history of elitism and oppression. Education was used as an evangelisation tool by the Jesuits to convert Indigenous Brazilians in the early colonial years, between the 16th and the 19th centuries. Till this day, many schools are run by religious institutions. In the 19th century, the elite either had the luxury of private tutors or sent their children abroad, particularly Portugal, for their studies while slaves traded in from Africa were not allowed any type of education at all. Black people are still marginalised as a consequence of structural racism. (more…)

Students’ anxiety about the allocations of grades for cancelled high-stakes public examinations

Posted on 12th August 202012th August 2020 by School of Education University of Bristol

Blog by Dr Lucy Wenham, University of Bristol and Claire Lee, University of Bristol

With the imminent release of A-level grades in England on Thursday, 13 August, followed by GCSEs on 20 August, anticipation is mounting. This year will be unlike any other. For the first time, with mass school closures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, students have not had the opportunity to sit these high-stakes public examinations. They will instead receive allocated grades, arrived at through a combination of predicted grades, teacher judgments and comparative rankings of their perceived performance in relation to their classmates (Ofqual, 2020). Our research (EBI, 2020) clearly shows that students directly affected are experiencing considerable stress, anxiety and a feeling of helplessness concerning the allocation of these grades – which is unsurprising given that their future educational and employment choices and opportunities are at stake. (more…)

Chart toppers from School of Education Summer 2020

Posted on 11th August 202025th August 2020 by School of Education University of Bristol

By Helen Aberdeen, Director of the Document Summary Service

Greetings from my local café in Bristol, which I can now frequent to have a change of scene. The music is a little too loud, and I am slightly distracted by 3 ladies at the next table (over 2 metres away) discussing mortgages, but it is an otherwise pleasant environment in which to write a blog post.

A couple of weeks ago, we finished our rollercoaster year here at the Bristol University School of Education where I work as subject coordinator on the MFL PGCE course. We celebrated with our student teachers via a Zoom meeting with quizzes, films and awards. I the won prize for the worst Spanish accent – always good to be reminded of one’s weaknesses. Like many of you in education, we are now embarking on planning an autumn term programme amidst ongoing uncertainty. (more…)

Category: Education