Tag: students

Welcome to the School of Education: From an international student at the University of Bristol

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By Chidinma Ibemere, MSc Education (Leadership and Policy), School of Education

Dear SOE Student,
My name is Chidinma Ibemere. I had the privilege of studying Education Leadership and Policy (MSc.) as a 2022/2023 Think Big Scholar. It is my pleasure to write you this informal piece to welcome you to the prestigious School of Education, at the University of Bristol.

Firstly, I would love to humbly congratulate you on achieving this milestone. You have done well for yourself, and you should be proud of being a part of an exceptional community with a proven track record of academic and social achievements.

As you begin this new phase, it is not unusual to have mixed emotions. This may be the first time leaving your family or your comfort zone and it is absolutely normal to be anxious or uncertain. Well, I am here to assure you that you will be fine.

I have decided to share some tips that may be useful as you navigate this new experience. I hope it meets you well! (more…)

Keeping a diary can improve teachers’ wellbeing – here are some ways it can work for all of us

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mimagephotography/Shutterstock

Lucy Kelly, University of Bristol

Teachers in England are struggling. A recently released government report on the working lives of teachers found that teachers’ wellbeing levels are lower than the general population. More than half of the 11,177 teachers and school leaders surveyed said that their job was negatively affecting their mental health.

Teacher wellbeing should be addressed at a structural level. If the government wants teachers to enter the profession, and continue in it, then changes around pay, working conditions and support for teachers’ mental and physical health need to happen.

In the present moment, though, there are also steps teachers can take for themselves to prioritise their wellbeing. My research focuses on how keeping a diary can be useful to teachers. It can give them a safe place to define what wellbeing means for themselves and to explore what it means in practice. What’s more, there’s no reason why this practice couldn’t be helpful for others, too. (more…)

Teacher motivation and student learning in India – which is the chicken, and which is the egg?

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Blog post by Rhiannon Moore (PhD student, School of Education, University of Bristol) and Anustup Nayak, (Project Director for Classroom Instruction and Practice, Central Square Foundation)

What do we know? Teacher motivation and student learning

Teacher motivation is a commonly discussed topic within policy and research in LMICs. Such discussions tend to have two main points of focus: firstly, that teacher motivation is worryingly low; and secondly, that this is having an impact on student learning. In this blog, we are particularly interested in exploring the latter of these two points. We largely focus our discussion on teachers in India, where our experience and research suggests that it may be helpful to consider this relationship as a two-way cycle instead of an input-output process. Thinking about teacher motivation in this way can change the way we think about both teachers and students, asking that we challenge the often over-simplified picture of a poorly motivated teacher whose behaviour inhibits their students’ learning, and instead start to consider teachers as dynamic agents whose own needs may not be being met. (more…)

A Day In The Life: School of Education international student Paweena

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Day in the life of student PaweenaHi! My name is Paweena Sribuachum. I am an MSc Education student at the School of Education, University of Bristol.

My pathway is MSc Education Leadership and Policy. I was awarded the Chevening Scholarship and I came to the University of Bristol to experience a valuable opportunity in my life.

A Day in my Life

My ‘Day in the life’ in Bristol starts with waking up in the morning (some days late!) after trying to do a ton of pre-reading activities last night. The tutors recommend that it should be selective. I follow their advice, and found I like it. Then having a cup of coffee, dress, and go to school by climbing up the hill for my morning exercise. In case of oversleeping, I catch a bus instead! (more…)

Undergraduate Open Week: Why study Psychology in Education at Bristol University?

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Undergraduate Open Week 2021 special Q & A | Liv Fowler, Psychology in Education undergraduate student, School of Education, University of Bristol

Hello! Would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?

Hi, my name is Liv and I study Psychology in Education at the School of Education, Bristol University,  and when I am not at university I live in Devon with my family.

While being home more this year I decided to train as an immuniser in the NHS to help vaccinate the country against Covid-19 which has been an amazing experience. I love spending time with my nephews Bertie and Hugo and I do have a slight obsession with Bubble Tea! (more…)

How does anxiety impact exam performance in adolescence?

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Blog post by Lydia Titcombe, School of Education UG, Psychology in Education (BSc)

Many of us have experienced situations where we feel highly anxious. This can include physiological effects of sweaty palms and a racing heartbeat, which are adaptive responses to danger, and cognitive processes such as feeling worried and struggling to think clearly (Lowe and Lee, 2007; Stirling & Hellewell, 1999, p.80).

However, although useful when fighting an evolutionary threat, this is potentially problematic in the modern world where high-stress situations require quick thinking and concentration. (more…)

SoE undergraduate students Q&A: Molly and Simona

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In this week’s blog, the School of Education spotlights two of our current undergraduate students, Simona Chen (BSc Education Studies) and Molly Fowler (BSc Psychology in Education).  Simona and Molly tell us why they chose the School of Education, their future plans, and offer tips for those thinking about studying education in Bristol. (more…)

National Careers Week 2021: Opportunities for students in the School of Education

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National Careers Week 2021Blog from the School of Education

It’s National Careers Week 2021, and the School of Education blog is highlighting opportunities for our students to get involved and enhance their career prospects in a variety of different ways.

For many sectors, showcasing your voluntary work makes you stand out from others in a number of different ways. It shows you are:

 

  • Passionate about your field
  • You have a growth mindset
  • That you use your spare time proactively
  • You have developed networks and connections outside of your place of study
  • You have cultivated more than just role-related skills

(more…)

Reflections on Blended Learning

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Mark Neild  blog by Mark Neild, EdD student, SOE, University of Bristol

This article is a personal reflection on the best and worst of blended learning from the perspective of a senior lecturer in innovation and entrepreneurship teaching a unit with 35 and another with 160 students, who is also a student at the School of Education.

The positives of online learning

In some ways the forced move to “blended learning” has enabled us to accelerate a move towards the “flipped classroom” in which students consume prepared material individually and come together for “meaning making” through shared dialogue. One advantage of individual consumption is that students can learn at their own pace, stop and rewind in a way impossible with a real time “lecture”. This has benefits for interactivity, particularly for students whose first language is not English.  Such “asynchronous” interaction allows those who (for whatever reason) process new information more slowly to still engage in online discussions rather than missing out because by the time they are ready to contribute, the discussion has moved on. We have also been able to invite visiting experts for 20-minute guest Q&A sessions without the need for hours of travelling and recorded some great guest interviews.  The weekly outline for our unit of 160 students looked like this. (more…)

Painful Endings, New Beginnings

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Dr Zibah Nwako

Blog post by Dr Zibah Nwako School of Education, University of Bristol

Having recently completed my studies during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been thinking a lot about managing life within these confines and how it affects my career aspirations. It’s one thing to shut one door and try to open another one in normal circumstances, but given the pressures of today’s uncertain world, these endings and beginnings are an entirely different challenge.

Whether it’s to do with our work, relationships, health, finances – some of us may have been standing at a crossroads for a while, seeking answers, wondering which direction to turn or even grasping at what we believe to be opportunities but are not quite in tune with what we desired or envisaged. This can be quite an uncomfortable, even painful, in-between place to be. If you are in this space, please know that you are not alone. (more…)