Who Do We Want to Be?
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Who Do We Want To Be? Teaching and Learning Conference 9 July 2021 Congress Centre, London Who Do We Want To Be? Teaching and Learning Conference Welcome to If all goes to plan, these words will have In keeping with conferences past, this one been printed onto paper and, should you is certain to be rich both in terms of the find yourself distracted from reading them, diversity of identities in attendance and you will be able to raise your head and the collective identity we will assume. Bloomsbury enjoy the experience of seeing a room busy Whether gathered in-person or virtually, with interaction again, listen to language it is exciting to think once again about vibrating the same air in which it has been the prospect of encountering different spoken – collected once again in time, perspectives within the higher education Institute’s space and place. If this is the case, we may community, and furthermore, the be closer to what Walt Whitman suggests opportunity to learn more about what when he says that ‘every atom belonging identity means to individuals, groups, to me as good belongs to you’. If not, cultures, institutions, disciplines etc Teaching then at least the sentiment of exchanging and the myriad of shapes this can take. atoms seems as good a place as any to One of the most liberating ideas about begin a teaching and learning conference. identity is that of an endless project of Education being, if anything, a sharing refinement, of being open to the possibility and Learning of atoms, after all. of change. So, in the spirit of that idea, let’s have another go at speaking, listening and This is our 10th Teaching and Learning thinking about a tireless question – who do Conference – a cause for celebration in itself! we want to be? This year’s would have been our 11th had last Conference! summer’s gone ahead and, were it not for Thank you to everyone who has prepared the tenacity and resilience of our leadership to share their ideas today, and to all those and colleagues over the past couple of involved in contributing to the organisation years, our ninth might have been the last. of this event. It has been another reminder, I celebrate myself, and sing myself, The identity of Bloomsbury Institute is as if we needed any more this year, of the one that has been shaped by the process things that can be done when people put And what I assume you shall assume, of transformation through necessity, but their minds together. mostly through a commitment to inspiring For every atom belonging to me We hope you enjoy the day! transformation in ourselves and others. as good belongs to you It seems appropriate, therefore, not only Walt Whitman in this context, but in the global context of 2021, that we consider the relevance of identity to higher education in this moment. 2 3 Who Do We Want To Be? Teaching and Learning Conference Programme 9.00 - 9.30 Registration, Coffee and Welcome 9.30 - 10.30 Keynote Speech | Identity and Educational Neuroscience by Dr Iroise Dumontheil 10.30 - 11.00 Coffee and Video Reflection 11.00 - 12.00 Keynote Speech | Interaction and Identity by Kolarele Sonaike 12.00 - 12.30 Prizes and Talks 12.30 - 13.30 Lunch accompanied by Calvin Taffe’s Lunchtime Reggae Show and guests 13.30 – 16.30 Talks, Flash Thoughts and Vlogs 16.30 - 17.00 1st Commonwealth Women Entrepreneurs Summit: certificates and student reflections with external guests 17.00 - 18.00 Drinks Reception 4 5 Who Do We Want To Be? Teaching and Learning Conference Biographies and Abstracts Keynote Speakers Keywords: communication, diversity, leadership Keywords: neuroscience, education, development Interaction and Identity Kolarele Sonaike Individual Differences and Educational Neuroscience [email protected] Dr Iroise Dumontheil [email protected] Kolarele Sonaike is a Communication Skills 20 years, representing clients (from Coach helping executives and entrepreneurs multinationals to small business entrepreneurs) develop communication skills to accelerate in the High Court, Employment Tribunals and Dr Iroise Dumontheil is a Professor in typical development of social cognition their careers or businesses. Through Court of Appeal. He is the host of The Great Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of and cognitive control during adolescence deep coaching sessions and interactive Speech Podcast, a highly rated bi-weekly Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University and their functioning in adulthood. Her studies workshops, Kolarele teaches what he calls show on topics related to public speaking and of London. She obtained a PhD from the combine a variety of methods to explore the “Communication SuperSkills”, guiding communication, and his book ‘How to Give University of Paris VI and then was a postdoc brain and cognitive development including his clients to unlock their mindsets and build a Great Speech’ is available on Amazon and in labs in London, Cambridge and Stockholm. functional and structural neuroimaging, the confidence to communicate with impact. in bookshops around the world. Kolarele is She is a member of the Centre for Educational behavioural assessments, and genetics. For companies and organisations focused on a former President of the 100 Black Men of Neuroscience and the Centre for Brain and She is interested in the impact of cognitive improving the levels of diversity within their London charity, delivering programmes on Cognitive Development. In 2015 she received training, from computerised games to senior ranks, Kolarele also delivers programmes mentoring, education, health and wellness, the Spearman Medal, an early-career British mindfulness meditation practice, on cognition on leadership and communication skills tailored and economic empowerment. He also serves Psychological Society award, and in 2017 the in children and adolescents, as well as the to empower the career advancement of Black on the Board of Directors of the 100 Black British Neuropsychological Society Elizabeth potential implications of neuroscience employees. Kolarele has been a practising Men of America responsible for international Warrington Prize. Her research focuses on the research for education. barrister and accredited mediator for over representation. 6 7 Who Do We Want To Be? Teaching and Learning Conference Entertainment Lunchtime Reggae Show Calvin Taffe [email protected] Host of Bloomsbury Radio’s music show every Sunday at 10am. Sunday Morning Reggae with Calvin is produced and presented by Bloomsbury Institute student Calvin Taffe. Calvin is a natural behind the mike and brings a wealth of knowledge on reggae music to the station. He sets each song in context, highlights influences from other genres, and effortlessly helps us wake up to Sunday mornings. Today’s one-off lunchtime show is brought to you with live music. Reflection Shazia Mirza [email protected] Shazia was born in Birmingham, England. The eldest daughter of Muslim Pakistani parents who moved to Birmingham in the 1960s. Shazia read Biochemistry at the University of Manchester and then achieved a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at Goldsmiths, University of London. Before beginning her career in comedy, Mirza was a science teacher in Langdon Park School, where she taught Dylan Mills, now known as the grime pioneer Dizzee Rascal. She later attended Rose Bruford College, where she studied acting part-time while working as a supply teacher. Contrasting Identities The Student Guild Bloomsbury Institute’s Student Guild present an immersive audio visual and in-person performance incorporating hidden talents and subverting perceptions. Not to be missed! 8 9 Who Do We Want To Be? Teaching and Learning Conference Talks, Flash Thoughts and Vlogs Teaching Public Law as an Act of Dissent Ali Raiss-Tousi This presentation will deal with lesson planning and delivery in a much-changed higher [email protected] education sector. It starts by questioning our institutional identity as academics in a neoliberal, free marketeer state. Are we How Does Student Leadership affiliated to a ‘university’ or a mere ‘trade Keywords: school’? Do we aspire to educating Pericles or Shape Identity? public law, dissent, substantive realism to merely training plumbers? The presentation will proceed by urging academics to break the shackles of formalism imposed by narrow- Sarah Bailey and minded box-ticking bureaucrats and will Keywords: then move to encourage a new, different Cordelia Gartside student leadership, peer learning, and more realistic outlook towards teaching [email protected] | active involvement of substantive public law (or any other [email protected] humanities/social science) issues through a critique of established rules and processes. The presentation will urge disruption of the Various forms of peer learning, mentoring and on the one hand, they also serve a more holistic marketplace of ideas using a novel approach peer representation, involving students working purpose in terms of identity and sense of of ‘substantive realism’ to teaching and with students in structured ways as leaders, self. Active involvement in student leadership learning. Ultimately, with reference to Marx, have been in existence in higher education activities has been proven to amplify self-belief Malcolm X and Solzhenitsyn, as well as institutions for many years. Developing and confidence, alongside conferring a sense of anonymous student voices, the presentation undergraduate students’ leadership skills can individual value and responsibility fundamental will conclude from a pedagogic