Teaching Development and Enhancement Project Awards 2021-22
The 2021-22 Divisional TDEP Awards announced
Dr Katrin Wilhelm (School of Geography and the Environment): ‘Lab‐in‐Your‐Pocket: Utilising Smartphones to Innovate Geography Teaching and Improve Overall Digital Literacies’
Katrin Wilhelm
Dr Katrin Wilhelm said: "I was thrilled to get the TDEP funding which allows me to develop the Lab-In-Your-Pocket for Higher Education (LIYPHE) further. The LIYPHE builds on the students' existing familiarity and experience with smartphones and other mobile technologies, which is rarely harnessed, enhanced or encouraged in their formal training as academics or researchers. Yet, smartphones are ubiquitous minicomputers with a plethora of inbuilt sensors capable of generating a range of data which can prove instrumental in the context of fieldwork and methodological research. Thus, LIYPHE creates new opportunities for blended mobile learning and aims at shifting both educators’ and students’ views on commercial mobile technologies from a “device of distraction” to a “scientific tool” for research and novel (democratic) ways of knowledge production."
Dr Ridhi Kashyap and Dr Charles Rahal (Department of Sociology): ‘Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS), Oxford 2022’
The SICSS-Oxford team said: "We are once more extremely grateful for the support received from the Teaching Development and Enhancement Project award which allows us to further develop the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science as a partner site at the University of Oxford (SICSS-Oxford). SICSS-Oxford is a two week long summer programme which not just attempts to develop skills from a pedagogical perspective: it also builds an inclusive and representative community around this new and exciting approach to research more broadly. With a range of taught lectures, expert instructor-led workshops, participant projects, and research talks from academics at the frontier of their respective fields, we eagerly await its commencement at the start of July!"
Professor Ludovic Phalippou (Saïd Business School): ‘Transforming ‘Can Financial Acumen Supercharge Social Impact? The case of the redevelopment of Spofford in the Bronx’ to Audiovisual Content’
Dr Corneliu Bjola
Dr Corneliu Bjola (Department of International Development): ‘Diplomacy and Virtual Reality’
Dr Corneliu Bjola said: "I've received the news of being awarded funding for introducing a new option on "Diplomacy and Virtual Reality" with great excitement as virtual reality (and its related medium, the Metaverse) is about to become the new critical space for social interaction. The new option, the first of this kind to be taught at Oxford of any other university, will be offered to students in the MSc program on "Global Governance and Diplomacy" starting in HT 2023. It aims to provide students with theoretical knowledge and practical competencies necessary to understand the role of VR platforms in five key diplomatic areas: humanitarian affairs, crisis management, public diplomacy, conflict resolution and international negotiations. At the same time, it will seek to improve students’ learning experience by introducing novel and interactive elements of teaching at the intersection of physical and virtual venues."
Dr Christopher Bowdler
Dr Pegram Harrison
Dr Pegram Harrison (Saïd Business School) and Dr Christopher Bowdler (Department of Economics): ‘Diversifying assessment in the BA Economics and Management: an evidence-based approach’
Dr Harrison and Dr Bowdler said: “We’re very grateful for this award, and for the opportunity to explore ways of enhancing assessment in Economics & Management. We’re a top-ranked programme, both nationally and internationally, and if we want to stay that way we need to innovate, stay creative, and draw on Oxford’s strengths. With this support, we can make a difference for the programme and the students.”
The project will develop an evidence base for making informed decisions about diversifying assessment on the BA Economics and Management. The BA programme is currently dominated by traditional 3-hour finals examinations, yet for some time students and faculty have been requesting a wider variety of assessment tasks.
