Event details

The 2022/23 annual Warwick Education Conference took place in June 2023. It provided an opportunity for Warwick colleagues to come together as a community to connect, share and inspire each other.

Students were at the heart of the Conference this year, co-developing and leading sessions, and sharing their insights on small teaching activities that have been impactful for their learning experience.

We would particularly like to thank our team of Student Event Advisors for their significant contributions to the event this year:

• Mira Markova
• Mohana Rajan
• Pavan Viswanathan

Conference theme

Empowering students and staff through small teaching

It's not too late to learn more about the theme of this year's event

Small teaching examines the modest but powerful changes we can all make that lead to big enhancements for our students’ learning. It is a strategy developed and extended by James Lang and Flower Darby that seeks to “spark positive change in higher education through small but powerful modifications to our course design and teaching practices” (Lang, 2021, p.4). As a strategy, small teaching draws on “research on learning and higher education to create a deliberate, structured and incremental approach” (Lang, 2021, p.5) to changing our practices for the better.

In addition to their books (linked to above), James and Flower discuss the topic and share insights in the following freely available Teaching in Higher Ed podcasts (full transcripts available): Small teaching with James Lang; Small teaching online with Flower Darby. James Lang also discusses the science behind small teaching in this recorded speaker series.

Pre-conference keynote

Exploring new and joyful relationships in assessment for staff and students, Jan McArthur

Jan McArthur is Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Justice in the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, UK.

We were delighted to welcome Jan to deliver this online pre-conference keynote session.

Student panel: bringing student and staff voices together

This year’s opening session was led by students to kick start our day on exploring small teaching. Students shared their perspectives on the small things that impact on learning experiences, engagement and sense of belonging here at Warwick.

Topics explored included assessment and feedback, well-being, academic support and AI.

Nano-presentation recordings

The Warwick Education Conference 2023 blended asynchronous activities with the live day event to offer a range of exciting ways to share small teaching practices and ideas.

Six short (10 mins) nano-presentations were created asynchronously for you to watch and feel inspired at a time and place that suits you.

Why not watch one or two as you take a tea or coffee break.

Recordings of presentations given on the day

In these presentations, colleagues shared examples of their small teaching activities and initiatives. Each presentation focused on one of the following types of small teaching:

• Brief in-session or blended learning activities
• Small interventions in a module, programme or extended learning experience
• Small modifications in module or programme design, assessment or communication with students.