Centre For Innovation Liv Uni

In this episode of the Centre for Innovation in Education podcast, host Rob Lindsay is joined by Claire Ellison, Ruby Jenkins (Senior Content Designer), and Chris Hine (Digital Analyst) to discuss the creation of generative AI marketing guidelines at the University of Liverpool.

Together, the team reflects on a collaborative and research-led project that explored how marketing and communications staff at the university are currently using generative AI, how they feel about its use, and how best to guide its responsible and effective adoption. From focus groups and surveys to thought-provoking conversations about accountability and transparency, the project has led to the development of a set of practical, people-centred guidelines.

You’ll hear insights into:

• Why the project was anything but boring.

• The importance of human oversight in AI-assisted content creation.

• How students, staff, and stakeholders helped shape the final outputs.

Whether you're curious about how generative AI is reshaping digital content workflows or looking to create your own responsible use frameworks, this conversation offers a compelling behind-the-scenes look at what it means to use AI thoughtfully in a university context.

Please contact CIE@liverpool.ac.uk if you would like more information.

In Episode 32, we shared lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, which included threshold concepts, students-becoming-teachers, professional identity development, team teaching, getting out of comfort zones, collective learning and a sense of movement and using Tarot cards for reflection. 

Speakers: Claire Stocks | Jennie Blake | Rhod Woodhouse |  

8th May 2024 | 55 Minutes 

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

@LivUniCIE   

In Episode 31, we had a very special edition with four student guests who all shared their lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, which included career pathways, learning by way of teaching yourself, using generative AI, treasure hunts to connect theory with practice, physical objects, interactive polling and using discussion to aid learning. Tune in to hear more! 

Speakers: Sherley Admane | Qi Qi Saw | Sophie Gresty | Yousaf Ditta

11th March 2024 | 44 Minutes

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

@LivUniCIE   

In Episode 29, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion covers gamification for learning as well as the use of laser pointers, a self-created AGILE tool for reflection and the technique called Creative Enquiry Methodologies.  

Speakers:  Karen Clinkard | Louise Younie | Russell Crawford 

15th January 2024 | 48 Minutes

(Re-uploaded due to technical issues)

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

@LivUniCIE   

In Episode 30, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion focused on gaining skills during the student journey, from critical data literacies through presentation skills and problem-solving, to interdisciplinary & problem-based learning, and open pedagogies. Speakers: Edmund Horowicz | Javiera Atenas | Nayiri Keshishi |   29th January 2024 | 46 Minutes 

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

@LivUniCIE   

In Episode 27, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion  evoked an environment where students exercise agency and confidence to explore new ideas through experiments, metaphorical imagery, gamification and where students are guided through complex threshold concepts with a range of exciting and fun pedagogies drawing on active learning, collaboration and peer learning.

Speakers: Jen McBride | Tim Hinchcliffe | David Roberts 

6 December 2023

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 26, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion explored how we can get scientists to engage in less linear, creative thinking, getting students to interact directly with artefacts, engage them in peer-to-peer feedback, reflective learning, and the importance of struggle in the process of learning.  

Speakers: Carys Watts | Evan Dickerson | Rebecca Wakelin   

20 November 2023 | 49 Minutes 

In Episode 28, our discussion of lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items delved into the power of narrative and stories in capturing students' attention, the anxiety both educators and learners face, role-play and embodied learning, underscoring the importance of empathy, creating a conducive, safe learning environment with a holistic development of head, heart, and hands in education. 

Speakers: Aga Buckley | Chris Mitchell | Graham Easton  

Date of recording 18/12/2023 | 49 Minutes  

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

@LivUniCIE   

In Episode 25, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion included the value of incorporating creativity and reflection into teaching practices, encouraging a lighter and more lighthearted approach to learning, the value of incorporating arts and crafts to engage students as well as the concept of a time machine to slow down time, enabling teachers to teach effectively while incorporating enjoyable and interactive elements.  Speakers:  Nokuthula Tlalajoe-Mokhatla, Lisa Weaver, Charlotte Stevens Facilitated by Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

19th June 2023

In Episode 24, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion included getting students to examine and debate issues, concepts from different perspectives to develop their criticality and nurture inclusivity in our classrooms, using playful learning or technologies in creative ways to the importance of physical exercise for a healthy body and mind.

Speakers:  Dr. Denise Preece, Roger Saunders, Professor David Webster 

Facilitated by Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

13th March 2023

In Episode 23, our lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, included team roles and skills, allowable weaknesses, facilitating students to ask their own questions, using creativity and playfulness, online collaboration tools as well as using cameras for reflection, and bringing a magic box full of surprises to inspire new connections for learning.

Speakers: Dr Jennifer Johnson, Amy Sampson and Rachelle O’Brien

Facilitated by Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

16th January 2023

In Episode 22, our lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items,  included getting students engaged in cases that use personal connections, storytelling, card games where students can overwrite the rules and taking a course/programme-level approach to formative assessment; coming full circle back to campfires to tell, read and create stories that sustain us.

Speakers:

Sivapriya Ramakrishnan, Dr Laura Mitchell and Lorna Mitchell

21st November 2022

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 21, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our islands included student organised conferences, starting learning NOT at the start, getting students to practise assessment of exemplars, authentic learning, branching scenarios, discussion around in-class polling and the importance of having fun whilst learning.

Speakers:

Rachel Crookes, Dr Stephany Veuger, Dr. Gustavo Espinoza-Ramos, Matthew Tickle

27th June 2022

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 20, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our islands have included micro-learning, trauma-informed pedagogy, authentic learning, simulation, portfolio-based dissertations and the importance of creating social spaces for students to open the door fully to their learning potential.

Speakers: Dr Christopher Edmonds, Dr Elizabeth Hidson, Dr Gary Fisher & Pip McDonald

23rd May 2022

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 19, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our islands have included micro-learning, trauma-informed pedagogy, authentic learning, simulation, portfolio-based dissertations and the importance of creating social spaces for students to open the door fully to their learning potential.

Speakers: Dr Gemma Ahearne (Lecturer in Criminology) | Dr Treasa Kearney (Senior Lecturer in Marketing) | Johnny Lee (Learning Technologist) | Marcus Pedersen

28th March 2022

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 18, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion ranged from the importance of supporting students holistically, the value of blended learning, podcasts as versatile pedagogies, OERs, Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLE) and online engagement frameworks.

Speakers: Dr Alex Owen | Karen Ferreira-Meyers | Mary Jacob |Dr James Stanfield

14th March 2022

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 17, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion covered lots of areas from design thinking, slow thinking, creativity, self-determined learning and sustainability. Listen to find out our guests’ lightbulb moments, teaching props, pedagogies and luxury items that they would take to their Treasure Islands for precious contact time with students.

Speakers: Allie Johns | Dr Emma Gillaspy | Dr Mikkel Godsk | Mossen Randeree

14th February 2022

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 16, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, we talked about being responsive to our students’ needs, and going back to basics if need be, the pedagogy of kindness, the role of lectures and the importance of listening as part of the learning process.

Listen to find out our guests’ lightbulb moments, teaching props, pedagogies and luxury items that they would take to their Treasure Islands for precious contact time with students.

Speakers : Dr Dawne Irving-Bell | Dr Gary Brown | Sue Beckingham | Dr Tania Dias Fonseca

10th January 2022

Facilitated by Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 15, our guests’ lightbulb moments included ways of facilitating learning through questioning, good learning design, our boat of treasure island pedagogies/props carries items including bottles of confidence, constructive alignment, De Bono’s thinking hats and characters from Winnie-the-Pooh.

Speakers: Dr Eli Saetnan | Professor Fiona Smart | Tim Neumann

6th December 2021

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 14, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion featured Māori, Confucian and Arabic traditions and contexts, the focus on the whole person and creating the right environment for learning, including the importance of rituals that facilitate flexible and informal learning, such as through ‘kai’ (food) time.

Speakers: Jaye McIsaac, Dr Shazia Iqbal and Charlie Reis

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 13, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion veered from gradually lit-up to disco lightbulb moments, from simulation-based learning through to the role of debate, photo voice and the skills of using gifs.

Speakers: Ruth Smith, Dr Zoe Hurley and Dr Johannes Wheeldon

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 12, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies, props and luxury items, our discussion rowed forwards, backwards, in full circles and spirals. We touched upon student-centred learning, authentic assessment, the concept of expansive learning, respect, the idea of learning with and from our students. We also observed that sharing knitting patterns as a communal activity is akin to the act of sharing and comparing our individual teaching practice.

Speakers: Dr Celia Popovic, Dr Phillip Moffitt and Dr Richard Osborne

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 11, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion touched on some of the ingredients that can make learning happen, from nurturing deep emotional connections, through facilitating difficult discussions (‘Pedagogies of Discomfort’) to cognitive dissonance.

Speakers: Dr Camille Dickson-Deane, Dr Becca Ferrari and Nokuthula Vilakati

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 10, in addition to lightbulb moments, treasure island pedagogies/props and luxury items, our discussion touched on various creative collaborative solving approaches with students with our luxury items making sure we will have a great time on the Treasure Island.

Speakers: Emily Chapman-Waterhouse, Emma Davenport, Dr Gulnaz Aksenova and Charles Wachira

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In this episode special guest, Stuart Waddington joins host Laura Blundell, CIE. Stuart is the Managing Director and founder of Star Development UK and host of '#leadership: What’s on your mind' podcast where guests discuss their leadership perspectives, and share personal stories of inspiration and motivation.  We use this episode as an opportunity to get Stuarts thoughts on some of the hot topics of the HE sector, including his views on being a good facilitator, building cohort identity and things we can all work on to improve our leadership skills.  Stuart is a captivating guest who talks from previous experience in the military, working in education and most recently forming his own business.  Hope you enjoy!

Speaker: Stuart Waddington

In Episode 9, ungrading, threshold concepts, the Balloon Academy - lots of pedagogies and lightbulb moments resonated in today’s discussion. A common theme was linking learning to anything to do with moving and making.

Speakers: Dr Alice Kim, Dr Ingeborg van Knippenberg, Dr Nathalie Tasler and Dr Virna Rossi

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 8, so much covered by our guests: open education, involving students as partners in our initiatives, the revival of audio to have meaningful and human connections with students and more.

Speakers: Alex Spiers, Dr Erika Smith and Jessica Humphreys

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 7, learning is slow-burning, it takes time to nurture and it is great when it all comes together at the end. Our guests also discuss the potential of multimodal learning, through visual imagery, doodling, sketching or drawing.

Speakers: Dr Louise Drumm, Dr Vicki Dale, Dr Michael Flavin and Dr Michael Kozakowski

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 6, rule breaking, disruption and connectedness were shared themes between our guests and their Treasure Island Pedagogies. Our guests also challenged us to look beyond the bright side of pedagogies into their ‘shadowy siblings’.

Speakers: Prof Nicola Whitton, Rikke Toft Nørgård, Simon Thomson and William Carey

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 5, our guests highlight the need to be experimental and take our learners out of their comfort zone into a creative, safe space where they can learn and discover both the passion for and the science of teaching.

Speakers: Ashwini Datt, Danielle Hinton, Jenni Carr and Natasha Taylor

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Episode 4, we discussed the challenges and opportunities of doing role-play, group discussions in an online Covid setting and bartered teaching ideas and also had a special mention of the original Treasure Island.

Speakers: Dr Marieke Riethof, Chris Barlow, Jennifer Klunder-Rosser and Dr Joel Haddley

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In this episode we are joined by two guests from the University of Liverpool Nursing department; Claire Walker and Helen Marshall.  Claire is module lead on a number of undergraduate and postgraduate modules as well as being the lead for clinical placement.  Helen is a relatively new member of staff and is module leader for two year 1 modules as well as a supporting first year students in her role as year 1 tutor.  We catch up on how they have been coping continuing to run a programme in the midst of a global pandemic. We discuss life working at home, what has changed for staff and students, how placements are continuing and being supported remotely, plus pay tribute to our wonderful nurses in the NHS.

Hosted by Laura Blundell @laurablundell 

You can also follow UoL Nursing @LivUniNursing

In Episode 3, an episode of Ms, Mathew, Matt and Katherine share various student-centred and collaborative learning inspired lightbulb moments and teaching props.

Speakers: Dr Katherine Whitehurst, Dr Matt Murphy and Mathew Flynn

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In response to Covid 19, immediate action had to be taken to move the English Language Centre's courses online. We had less than 1 month to prepare for student induction. This involved redesigning the student experience, implementing widespread pedagogical changes, and, beyond the initial phase, reflecting on and improving our processes and product.

In this case study podcast, Gary, Katie & Seán discuss and reflect on the development and implementation processes. They are joined by Michelle & Aldona who give further insight from the management and teacher perspectives.

• Gary Ellis & Seán Timon are teachers and technology enhanced learning specialists at the ELC.
• Katie Hudson is a Pre-sessional EAP teacher & course developer.
• Aldona Norkus is a Pre-sessional EAP teacher.
• Michelle Dwyer is the ELC Director.

We talk to our four invited guest lecturers from around the University about how they have found the transition from Vital to Canvas.

Discussing what they love about Canvas, could not do without and what hiccups they have encountered on their journey so far, as well as sharing advice, practical tips and resources.

Speakers: Dr Laura Corner, Dr Andy Bates, Dr Freya Jarman and Dr Gary Brown

The Centre for Innovation in Education celebrates BAME people during Black History Month and beyond by creating an interactive podcast that aims to gather the collective voices on the definition of decolonising the curriculum.

Listen to this a real-life story* from a BAME student perspective to find out why she suffers from 'academic inadequacy' and unbelonging as a new student in the United Kingdom.

Send a short message (1 minute max) in the link below to answer:

What does ‘decolonising the curriculum’ mean to you?

In Episode 2, our guests share their lightbulb moments, including getting students to 'take' feedback, the importance of reflection, using play for conceptual understanding with Lego and ways of engaging environmental science students with hydrology. We also hear how the coronavirus pandemic has encouraged creativity when preparing for Hybrid Active Learning and socially distanced teaching.

Speakers: Dr Kathryn Fox, Dr Helen Vaughan, Dr James Cooper and Dr Matthew Fitzjohn

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins

In Part 2 of Treasure Island Discs , Anna, Diana, James and Stuart, lecturers at the University of Liverpool, discuss their thoughts and plans about moving towards hybrid active learning in autumn 2020. How might we preserve and carry on these lightbulb moments for our students in a social distancing campus?

Speakers: Dr Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Dr Anna O’Connor, Dr James Gaynor and Prof Diana Jeater

Facilitated by: Dr Tünde Varga-Atkins