Learnsci Teaching Innocvation Awards 2023

How it works

Applicants are asked to demonstrate how they have led innovation using a digital tool or technology, to support science teaching and learning in their institution or beyond. Winners will be chosen by an expert scientific educational panel.

Possible ways you may have innovated teaching and learning

• Solving a problem by improving tools and methods
• Improving teaching materials and practices
• Developing new digital learning resources

We are looking for an emphasis in one or more of the areas below

These areas are not categories as such, we are not looking to choose a winner from each. Rather they are areas where we are interested to see how you are teaching innovatively - and your practice may even bridge two of these areas.

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  Engagement

  Using digital tools to foster deeper interaction, collaboration and motivation in students, making learning more dynamic and empowering students to move beyond passive consumption of content.

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  Skills acquisition

  Leveraging digital tools to provide students with learning experiences that enable them to master skills, whether that’s across cognitive, affective or psychomotor domains.

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  AI and digital ethical literacy

  The use of digital tools to equip students with the critical skills needed to navigate AI and the digital world; teaching them to be responsible, ethical and discerning users of AI and digital technologies.

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  Efficiency

  Enhancing the teaching and learning process with digital innovations that can personalise learning, automate administrative tasks, or provide new ways to manage, deliver and learn content more effectively.

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  Accessibility

  Using digital technology to enhance accessibility and generate inclusive and equitable learning environments; identifying gaps in provision, support and opportunity, reducing barriers to learning, and narrowing awarding gaps.

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  Engagement

  Using digital tools to foster deeper interaction, collaboration and motivation in students, making learning more dynamic and empowering students to move beyond passive consumption of content.

  The Chemistry department at Maynooth University established a badging initiative that increased student awareness of their skills and competency for employment through skills passports. Skill development opportunities identified for badging were explicitly sign-posted in lab manuals, and LabSims and Smart Worksheets were included as pre and post-lab assignments. Skills and award criteria were considered at module and not individual experiment level so activities which increased in complexity across the module were badged upon completion of more than one experiment. This project was announced as a 2022 winner.

  

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  Skills acquisition

  Leveraging digital tools to provide students with learning experiences that enable them to master skills, whether that’s across cognitive, affective or psychomotor domains.

  In their winning 2022 entry, Becky Flanagan from the University of Wolverhampton showcased the collaborative Smart Worksheet development to support Crime Scene Investigation practical learning. This novel Smart Worksheet was the first to incorporate a 360 degree interactive element of a realistic crime scene students can use remotely. Becky's expertise and extensive experience in crime scene managment was crucially important when developing this transformative tool.

  

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  AI and digital ethical literacy

  The use of digital tools to equip students with the critical skills needed to navigate AI and the digital world; teaching them to be responsible, ethical and discerning users of AI and digital technologies.

  The Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, at Glasgow Caledonian University, rolled out LabSims and Smart Worksheet resources to the whole department across undergraduate and masters level teaching. Dr. Catherine Wright and her colleagues' 2021 entry demonstrated how this was achieved, and the positive impact it had on student confidence.

  

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  Efficiency

  Enhancing the teaching and learning process with digital innovations that can personalise learning, automate administrative tasks, or provide new ways to manage, deliver and learn content more effectively.

  The results of a 2 year study into the impact of use of LabSims at the University of Sydney and University of Leicester was shared in a 2021 entry. Thematic analysis of student responses within questionnaires and interviews was carried out. Results showed the ease of utilising the resources, students' correct visualisation of real-world equipment and techniques, and the lowering of in-class anxiety. This outstanding research by Dr. Stephen George-Williams, Dr. Richard Blackburn and colleagues resulted in publication in the Journal of Chemical Education.

  

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  Accessibility

  Using digital technology to enhance accessibility and generate inclusive and equitable learning environments; identifying gaps in provision, support and opportunity, reducing barriers to learning, and narrowing awarding gaps.

  At the Royal Holloway University of London, the progression from initial implementation to deep integration of digital tools into courses was demonstrated in Teaching Innovation Award applications in 2020 and 2021. Dr. Jenny Murdoch showcased how their partnership with LearnSci and the usage of LabSims and Smart Worksheets, within the Department of Biological Sciences, has developed since 2018, resulting in improvements in student satisfaction, staff marking loads, and NSS scores.

  

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All other applicants

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  Wider innovation in science education

  Innovative use of digital tools to aid science teaching at university or post-16 level. Not including LearnSci resources.

  In their winning 2021 entry, the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory at the University of Birmingham showcased their lab-casting model. Whilst originally developed to provide a lab experience during a time of online learning, it has since enhanced student experience of in-person labs. Edd Kyi and colleagues demonstrated its multi-departmental applications, including accessible demonstrations and live technician to student feedback between fume cupboards.

  

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