In October we were thrilled to welcome all back to our Learning Forum at UNIS, the 9th in (almost) a row since 2013. A total of 74 participants had signed up for the Learning Forum this year, including a group of bioCEED people from Bergen also contributing this year with keynotes, talks, workshops, poster presentations (see below for a complete list) and adding on with some good bioCEED vibes.
Sehoya Cotner from bioCEED set the stage with a short and very engaging introduction to the language of education, leading us through some of the usual suspects and challenging words often used when talking about teaching and learning and providing a meaningful content to them.
Sehoya Cotner walking us through the language of education. Photo: Tina Dahl.
This year the main focuses for the Learning Forum 2022 were on Education for Sustainability and Digital Tools, both themes having a high actuality at UNIS due to ongoing work with our sustainable strategy as well as with the CANVAS platform. Yael Harlap – Vice dean of Education from UiB and the leader of the bioCEED board, Atle Rotevatn - Head of Department of Earth Science from UiB and a former UNIS student back in 1998 and Pernille Eyde Nerlie – master student and bioCEED student representative gave a dynamic presentation and useful perspectives on their experience with sustainability education from UiB but also how this could be applicable to UNIS.
Two very interesting keynotes and workshops were given focusing on online teaching and CANVAS by Patric Wallin from NTNU, Dag Husebø and Abdelnour Alhourani from UiS focusing on how the use of digital teaching and online platforms can strengthen the students learning.
The ongoing bioCEED course “the Collegial Teachers Course” which took place at UNIS the same Learning Forum week also offered a slot during the Learning Forum for staff members not taking part in the course to join the workshop “An evidence-based approach to STEM education”. It was run by Sehoya Cotner, Oddfrid Førland and Roy Andersson and was a well appreciated and a well attended workshop.
The FieldPass project, which have been running at UNIS for some years provided a workshop “How to assess practical skills in lab and field settings”. Simone Lang, Pernille Bronken Eidesen and Anne Bjune gave participants hands-on knowledge and tips on how certification as a mode of assessment can be helpful when wanting to assess the “hidden practical learning” related to practical skills. During the workshop the participants went through a certification process themselves where they were certified in cover estimate method of vegetation recording. A fun and well recived workshop!
As a part of the Learning Forum the poster session also took place this year, which is a good setting for displaying the variety of microteaching and educational projects happening at UNIS. It was ending with pizza and drinks afterwards which made an unformal setting for staff to finish of the day together.
Photo: Tina Dahl. Pernille Bronken Eidesen giving an interesting pitch about how to use certification as an assessment method to create learning.
Thanks again to all contributors (31 in total) and all staff members who participated within the Learning Forum this year!
bioCEED contribution within the Learning Forum this year:
Keynotes:
- “Education for Sustainability: What does it mean and what does it look like?” with Yael Harlap, Atle Rotevatn & Pernille Eyde Nerlie
Talks:
- “A Primer on EDU-SPEAK” with Sehoya Cotner
Workshops:
- “An evidence-based approach to STEM education” with Sehoya Cotner, Roy Andersson & Oddfrid Førland
- “How to assess practical skills in lab and field settings” with Simone Lang. Pernille Bronken Eidesen & Anne Bjune
Posters:
- "bioRAKEL - a safe haven for new students leading to better learning" with Pernille Eyde Nerlie & Sine-Sara Astad
- “Germinating popcorn and making spores dance-how to make undergraduates’ first meeting with plants a success” with Anne Bjune
- “Fieldwork, Reflection, Visualization” with Kseniia Kalian
- “Learning through assessment – exchange the lab report with certification of microscopy skills” with Pernille Bronken Eidesen, Anne Bjune & Simone Lang
- “ArtsApp. Digital Key for Svalbard’s vascular plants” with Simen Hjelle & Sil Schuuring
- “Student-led Conference on Polar Environment (SCOPE)” with Anne Mol
For the full program click here.