LITE Podcasts

by Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence

En-LITE-ning Dialogues: Sustainable innovation and design

In the first of our 'En-LITE-ning Dialogues', a new occasional series of in-depth discussions exploring educational topics, Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (LITE) Director Gabriel Cavalli is joined by two guests with a shared interest in sustainable innovation and design. The first guest is Margaret Bearman, Research Professor at the Centre for Research Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE), Deakin University. Margaret was in Leeds to attend the Student Education Conference 2025, and to deliver the keynote presentation titled 'Exploring sustainable innovation in university teaching and learning'. The second guest is Jeff Grabill, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Education at the University of Leeds. Prior to joining Leeds, Jeff was the Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology at Michigan State University. As with each episode in this series, guests are joined by a member of the LITE team (Robert Averies) to provide an additional reflective lens. Join us as we 'let the magic emerge'... Music credits: Taste of saxophone by Fresh_Morning on pixabay

Assessment Flexibility to Embed Real-professional practice (Part 1)

In the latest episode of LITE Bites, Manoj Ravi and Mohsen Besharat bring us up to speed on the first year of their LITE fellowship. Listen in for the preliminary findings of their research into authentic assessment delivery, its application to an upcoming module assessment pilot, and the duo's wider reflections on their fellowship journey to date. Part 2 will be released in autumn 2025. You can see more of our research fellowships here, and read more about Manoj and Mohsen's project here. UPDATE: the manuscript referred to in this episode has now been published by the European Journal of Engineering Education. You can access the article here.

In-module student engagement with business professionals with Emily Crosbie

In the fifth episode of the LITE Bites series, Emma Peasland asks Emily Crosbie about her recently completed fellowship investigating the impact of in-module student engagement with business professionals through the Leeds University Business School Leaders in Residence Programme. Emily shares insights from students and business professionals and shares recommendations for those wanting to offer similar opportunities.

Assessment literacy and student success with Jiani Liu

Episode 4 of LITE Bites features a conversation with Jiani Liu who shares her fellowship on assessment literacy and student success, which was completed in early 2023. Jiani explored how students develop their confidence and readiness for assessments in undergraduate modules. You can see more of our research fellowships here, and read more about Jiani's research and access the outputs here.

The Psychology of Online Learning with Gillian Proctor

Hear from LITE Fellow Gillian Proctor who discusses her fellowship: Authenticity and Connection Online. Gillian has spent two years researching the psychology of online learning using the interesting method of Action Research Groups. Gillian shares the findings from the research as well as discussing outputs that educators can use to structure synchronous online sessions. You can see more of our research fellowships here, and read more about Gillian's research and access the outputs here.

Exploring Community-led Pedagogies with Laura Loyola-Hernandez

In the second LITE Bite of the series, Dave Riley asks Laura Loyola-Hernandez about the innovative methodologies that she has used over the course of her LITE fellowship "Community-led Pedagogies to Diversify the Curriculum".

Exploring perceptions of the Skills@Library service with Michelle Schneider

Hear from LITE Fellow Michelle Schneider who discusses her research into student and staff perceptions of the Learning Development team's provision here at Leeds. You can see more of our research fellowships here and read more about Michelle's research here. The Learning Development Team at Leeds aims to develop the academic literacies of all taught students through a dual model of embedded and co-curricular support. This study focuses on the centralised co-curricular Skills@Library offer, the ethos of which is developmental, supportive and complementary to the curriculum rather than ‘generic’, ‘remedial’ or ‘bolt on’, which are critiques generally associated with non-embedded skills development. This small-scale research project aimed to better understand how the Skills@Library cocurricular service is perceived by academic staff and students, with a particular focus on the latter.

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