Professor Patrick Carmichael

I spent an interesting week in the United Arab Emirates at the invitation of Zayed University (Dubai) and the United Arab Emirates University at Al-Ain.

At the UAEU I presented the work of the Ensemble Project in a lecture called ‘Semantic Technologies for the Transformation of Higher Education’, and then at Zayed University I was Keynote Speaker at a seminar organised in association with the journal ‘Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives‘. I spoke about “Threshold Concepts, Troublesome Knowledge and Disciplinary Identities’ to an audience drawn from universities across the Gulf Region (UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait). This was then followed by workshops to launch a network of teachers interested in using action research approaches to research and develop practice in HE in the Gulf Region.

This is the first network of its kind in the region, with network groups focusing on conceptual change and troublesome knowledge (my group); generic skill and attributes; and ‘learning styles’ and student self-assessment. These groups will be supported by an online environment and the intention is to provide peer-support for participants as they carry out small-scale research activities in their home institutions.

I attended the ANECA Conference at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid (10th-12th September) as a keynote speaker, talking about student transition and induction processes.  My presentation described the various research and development projects which have taken place at Cambridge - including the Teaching for Learning Network and the new Ensemble Project.

I discussed how school-university transition can be seen as one aspect of a broader process of ‘lifelong learning’ and concluded with some broad discussion starters as to how universities could:

• Develop awareness of multiple aspects of lives of students
• Consider how to use online methods to provide appropriate and targeted support
• Engage students in consultation processes and as co-researchers
• Create a ‘culture of enquiry’ where teaching and learning is discussed and developed in a supportive environment.