L&T Symposium 2026 - Abstracts
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Learning & Teaching Symposium 2026
Select an activity for further information:
| Time | Activity |
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Arrivals |
| 10:15 – 11:15 | Keynote |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Parallel sessions 1 |
| 12:00 – 12:30 | Parallel sessions 2 |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:45 – 14:45 | Parallel sessions 3 |
| 14:45 – 15:45 | Posters & Showcase |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Parallel sessions 4 |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Parallel sessions 5 |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Plenary |
Arrivals and refreshments
Fyvie Hall
9:00 – 10:00
Accessibility notes: 4 steps down from Ground floor; Wheelchair lift accessed from the ARTiSIP Gallery
Keynote
The New Science of Compassion in the Fit-for-Purpose HE Curriculum for the Future
Theo Gilbert, Professor of Compassion-focused Pedagogy at University of Hertfordshire
UG05 10:15 – 11:15Accessibility notes: 2 flights of steps up from Ground floor (3 + 11 steps); Accessible lift C
As an environment that favours private enterprise and competitive individualism, the human factory of Higher Education helps feed and normalise that same culture in politics, media and business. And so, how well do we look after ourselves, each other or the planet at this moment? It turns out though that on any curriculum from STEM to Humanities, students can also be educated in cognitive compassion specifically in the group/teamwork context and in ways that motivate them to use their HE experience to serve the public good. Traction on this across the HE sector is emerging from a robust transdisciplinary theoretical underpinning. And it’s easy to apply in the classroom.
Teaching and individually assessing – as credit bearing – not only research skills and criticality but also, thirdly, the live use of smart compassionate communications in filmed, task-focused group/teamwork meetings has had surprising results in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Life and Medical Sciences, and Law, in trials and studies so far. Real reductions in staff marking workloads, in unjustifiable awarding gaps (with statistical significance for individual critical thinking), in student-reported loneliness and disengagement, and in the inappropriate use of AI in assignments have been seen consistently compared to controls. Professor Theo Gilbert will help demonstrate what the assessed (rewarded) micro skills of cognitive – not emotion-based – compassion mean and look like, practically, when a team meets, online or not. You’ll see how surprisingly easy these are to teach and assess and where to get quickly accessible practical support for that.
Professor Theo Gilbert
From the Centre for Education and Student Success, University of Hertfordshire, Theo Gilbert, is a Professor of Compassion-focused Pedagogy. His research on compassion translates rich, current scholarship on the cognitive nature of compassion into the explicit context of teamwork cohesion, interculturalisation, resilience and effectiveness. The website Compassion in Effective HE Teams – Embedding and Assessing Compassion in the University Curriculum supports staff in currently 105 universities.
He received the Times Higher Education’s/Advance HE’s 2018 award: Most Innovative Teacher, and more recently, was keynote speaker to the National Teaching Fellows Annual Symposium. Besides his publications, he has a strong presence on YouTube in support of HE students, staff and their partnerships and solidarity for HE’s core remit. As well as from amongst the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, this work is now also being taken up by the public sector, e.g. across the UK police force.
Parallel sessions 1
“Navigating Westminster”: An Interactive Tool to Support Students and Staff in Academic Orientation
Vassiliki Bouki, Daphne Economou, Frands Pedersen, Thanos Fragkandreas
📍 RS 201
⏰ 11:30 – 12:00
❗Accessibility notes: Lifts A1, A2 or B
💡 Conference paper
This paper presents “Navigating Westminster”, a web-based interactive tool designed to enhance academic orientation for students and staff. As students enter or progress through higher education, they must develop an understanding of academic practices, terminology, institutional structures, and mechanisms that support successful study. Although these elements are not discipline-specific, they are essential for academic success and the development of academic identity (Triantafyllou SA et al. (2025) Gamification in education and training: A literature review, 1–35). However, induction is often delivered through passive, information-heavy presentations, while orientation learning is often not recognised as a form of learning (Morgan A, Beaty L (1997) The world of the learner, 2:217–237).
To address this, the “Serious Games at Westminster” research group developed “Navigating Westminster”, an interactive application that transforms induction content into serious games, quizzes, and scenario-based activities. These activities support students in understanding institutional processes, identifying support, and developing confidence in seeking help. By reducing cognitive overload and promoting active learning, the tool enhances belonging, wellbeing, and academic self-efficacy.
Initially developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tool was refined and tested across four undergraduate business programmes in 2025. Findings from an educator-centred evaluation demonstrate improved student engagement, increased confidence, and more efficient induction delivery (Bouki V., Economou D. et al. (2026) Navigating Westminster: An Educator-Centered Evaluation of an Educational Game for Academic Orientation, in Tec-Edu International Conference, accepted).
Examining the Impact of Octalysis Core Drives in Game-Based Fraction Learning for Primary Education
Pumudu Anupama Fernando, IIT Sri Lanka
📍 RS 215
⏰ 11:30 – 12:00
❗Accessibility notes: Lifts A1, A2 or B
💡 Conference paper
This presentation examines the role of gamification design in creating engaging, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate learning environments for primary education. Focusing on a curriculum-aligned fraction learning game, the study is grounded in the Octalysis Framework, which distinguishes between intrinsic-oriented “White Hat” motivational strategies and urgency-driven “Black Hat” strategies. The research explores how these different categories of gamification influence learner motivation, engagement, and perception.
An exploratory pilot study was conducted with primary school students using a pretest–posttest design to evaluate both learning performance and learner experiences. In addition to measuring learning gains, the study gathered learner-centered feedback on specific game mechanics, enabling a detailed analysis of preferred and least-preferred motivational elements. The findings indicate significant improvements in fraction learning outcomes following gameplay, alongside high levels of perceived motivation and engagement.
Importantly, the results reveal a clear distinction in how learners respond to different motivational strategies. Intrinsic-oriented elements, such as narrative progression and feedback, were strongly preferred, whereas pressure-based mechanics were more frequently associated with discomfort. The presentation highlights the importance of balanced motivational design in developing effective, inclusive, and future-ready game-based learning environments for young learners.
The Impact of Authentic Assessments on Student Outcomes in Accounting and Finance
Aigerim Umbetbayeva, Natalia Krasnikova, Nataliia Miedviedkova, Sonila Malko, Julie Ayton, Obby Phiri, Irene Brew-Riverson, Masar Hadla
📍 RS 350
⏰ 11:30 – 12:00
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
This research project examines how authentic assessments influence student outcomes in Accounting and Finance higher education. Authentic assessments, such as case analyses, client reports, data-driven projects, simulations, portfolios, reflective journals, presentations, replicate real-world professional practices and require students to apply their previously acquired theoretical knowledge to real-life examples. These types of assessments are increasingly adopted in higher education due to their potential to enhance employability, collaboration, and problem-solving skills—key attributes valued in the financial services sector, which employed approximately 2.5 million people in 2023. This highlights the need to study how authentic assessments influence student outcomes in Accounting and Finance. Limited empirical evidence exists on the impact of authentic assessments on engagement, academic achievement, employability and narrowing the attainment gap within Accounting and Finance.
To address this gap, the study adopts a mixed-methods design framework. This research project is conducted by students-as-researchers, consisting of 4 PhD students, 4 PG students, and 5 UG students from the School of Finance and Accounting, which were guided and supported by 8 staff members. The project not only offers new insights into research in this area, but it also promotes inclusivity, helps students gaining research skills and enhances their learning experience.
Educating for a Democratic Future in an Increasingly Artificial and Unjust World
Moonisah Usman, Amy Maclatchy and Shukri Sultan
📍 RS 358
⏰ 11:30 – 12:00
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Provocations for Change talk
The academic discourse on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has largely focused on academic integrity and student conduct, while overlooking its wider environmental and social consequences. AI systems rely on significant material resources and labour, frequently drawn from marginalised and disadvantaged communities. Their application in civic contexts, such as facial recognition technologies in policing, can reproduce and intensify racial inequities through biased surveillance and targeting.
The Westminster Foundation Pathways module ‘Critical Thinking in a Changing World’ engages students with social justice issues, encouraging critical consciousness and transdisciplinary understanding of structural inequality. Within this context, critical thinking is positioned as essential to navigating AI critically rather than adopting it as neutral or authoritative. Over-reliance on AI risks weakening metacognitive skills such as reasoning and decision making, while also reinforcing dominant narratives embedded in AI outputs.
This provocation argues that critical thinking must be foregrounded as a civic, ethical and mandatory practice for engaging with AI. It contends that without this, there are risks of reproducing structural inequities and misinformation, particularly in an era of rising polarisation and disinformation. The aim is to highlight the hazardous implications of AI use and education’s role in cultivating critically informed citizens capable of interrogating their subject knowledge as well as the broader socio-political environment they live and learn in.
Parallel sessions 2
Supporting Students with “MyGrades”: A Tool to Help Students Understand Module Marks and Degree Grade
Vassiliki Bouki, Daphne Economou, Thanos Fragkandreas
📍 RS 201
⏰ 12:00 – 12:30
❗Accessibility notes: Lifts A1, A2 or B
💡 Conference paper
This presentation introduces “MyGrades”, a digital tool designed to help undergraduate students understand how module marks and final degree classifications are calculated according to University regulations. Students often find it difficult to calculate and interpret module results and overall grades, which can generate uncertainty, anxiety, and misconceptions about academic progress. MyGrades addresses this by providing a simple, user-friendly tool. In addition to allowing students to see how individual assessments and modules contribute to final results, it supports planning and informed decision-making by enabling students to explore what marks they need in order to achieve desired outcomes.
Developed by the Serious Games at Westminster Research Group, MyGrades is a tool that was initially presented during Activities Week (February 2026). Early observations suggest that students value visualising how assessment components affect final grades. Further evaluation is planned.
The project is based on the idea that understanding grading builds confidence. Simple digital tools help students understand their progress, and using these tools strengthens a student-focused, well-supported environment.
Future development will consider including more support for students’ feelings towards marking, as well as help in addressing any issues (e.g. advice on what to do next).
Career Capital in the Digital Age: Websites as Professional Assets
Pamela Abrams, Avis Whyte, Cristina Corallini
📍 RS 350
⏰ 12:00 – 12:30
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
The presenters share an innovative approach, used in a law module, aimed at developing students’ understanding of their identity, their digital literacy, graduate attributes and creative skills. Through an assessed website, prompting self-reflection, professional self-development and planning, this approach also prepared students for their future careers. The reflection was based on module activities aimed at developing students’ understanding of their career aspirations and aimed to increase their confidence in seeking graduate opportunities. The module linked to the University’s 35-hour work-based learning initiative which embedded core employability concepts and activities into the module. Learning activities included students engaging with AI tools and online platforms as well as interacting with visiting speakers from legal and non-legal careers. Students were encouraged to use their completed websites as portfolios in their search for graduate roles. This is an additional benefit of the approach which module designers can use to encourage student engagement with this element of their curriculum and assessment. The website design approach can be adapted to suit a variety of modules. It is particularly significant in curriculum design where module designers wish to enhance students’ digital capabilities in a hands-on format which fosters fundamental graduate attributes and promotes learner autonomy.
Architecture Education for Collective Empowerment
Shukri Sultan
📍 RS 358
⏰ 12:00 – 12:30
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
After climate change, housing is the most urgent challenge we face as a society today. For this reason, housing features prominently in my teaching with architecture foundation students, particularly in the module Critical Thinking for Academic and Professional Development, where I present two case studies: the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire and the demolished Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St Louis, Missouri. These case studies are chosen because it reveals to students how architecture intersects with structural inequalities, politics, race, and health, allowing them to understand at this early stage in their education the full implications of their future designs. Incidentally, through discussing these case studies, students revealed their inherent biases towards social housing and its tenants. This paper reflects on the methods I have employed to counteract social housing stigma in the classroom and proposes new ways to instil a sense of pride in working-class students living in social housing. It also questions how I can refine these methods to shift the perception of council estates from spaces of deprivation to spaces of ‘radical openness and possibility’. The paper reflects the need for an architectural education rooted in social justice and oriented towards collective empowerment.
Lunch
📍 Fyvie Hall
⏰ 12:30 – 13:30
❗Accessibility notes: 4 steps down from Ground floor; Wheelchair lift accessed from the ARTiSIP Gallery
Parallel sessions 3
Walking through the four Cs: Coffee, Consumerism, Colonialism and Community
Amy MacLatchy, Shukri Sultan
📍 Marylebone campus to Regent Street campus
⏰ 13:45 – 14:45
❗Accessibility notes: Up to 12 participants will be gathered at 13:25 to travel to Marylebone campus to begin the walking tour (travel method to be decided on the day)
💡 ‘Walkshop’
City campus universities sometimes feel like archipelagos in the sea of the metropolis. This abridged walking tour, ‘Walking through the four Cs: Coffee, Consumerism, Colonialism and Community’ responds to that notion. The walking tour is a culmination of a co-created Sustainability Fund project 2024-5 between students and staff where we reflected on the transactional relationship of universities with its local community. For many, consumerism, namely consumption of coffee, is the only means of engagement. The humble coffee bean becomes a means to connect the past with the present, but also the local with the global community. Learning from the past, we co-interrogate our current consumption practice — the extractive process that results in our cup of coffee — with historical extractive processes that have led to the birth of the modern city we walk through today. We invite you to join us on this walking tour starting at Marylebone campus.
Can AI Teach Us Compassion? Designing Engaging Feedback and Rubrics
Evgeniya Macleod, Anastasia Alexeeva
📍 RS 350
⏰ 13:45 – 14:45
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Workshop
This interactive workshop explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can support educators in designing rubrics, assessment feedback and student-facing communication that are compassionate, clear, and confidence-building for both students and staff. It focuses on the role of AI in reframing feedback language to ensure it is non-judgmental, constructive, and motivating. By using carefully designed prompts, participants will learn how to transform traditional feedback into messages that promote student growth and reduce anxiety. At the same time, the session highlights how AI can help staff streamline marking processes, reduce workload pressures, and maintain a more positive and sustainable approach to assessment. Through guided activities and practical examples, attendees will experiment with AI-assisted techniques for creating compassionate and effective feedback. The workshop encourages reflection on current practices while offering innovative tools to enhance communication and student engagement in assessment contexts.
Session Overview:
- Exploration of compassionate rubric design from a staff perspective
- Examination of rubric language from a student perspective
- Practical use of AI to co-create and refine rubrics
- Hands-on practice and group discussion
A mile in my shoes: Active Learning tasks to foster intercultural competence
Daphne Vallas
📍 Cayley – RS 152-153
⏰ 13:45 – 14:45
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps up from 1st floor; Accessible lift C
💡 Workshop
Workshop overview TBC
A Deeper Dive into Yellow – presence, connection and belonging in learning spaces
Steve Creffield
📍 RS 358
⏰ 13:45 – 15:15 – please note that this workshop is 90-minutes long and overlaps with the Posters & Showcase session
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Workshop
A Deeper Dive into Yellow focuses on the role of dialogue and conversational interaction in learning – exploring how we can design and host small, purposeful conversations – exploring how we can hold, host and weave those moments back into the narrative of a session.
It also speaks directly to this year’s Symposium themes of compassion and inclusion, creating spaces where students feel their voice matters, and to the future of learning in the age of AI, where conversation, reflection and meaning-making become even more central to the learning experience.
This workshop will be interactive and reflective, and is a 90-minute session for around 20–40 participants.
Posters & Showcase
Best Practice Showcase
Daphne Vallas, Matt Galton, Morgan Lirette
📍 Cayley – RS 152-153
⏰ 14:45 – 15:45
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps up from 1st floor; Accessible lift C
💡 Posters
Authentic Assessment
Haris Middleton
📍 Cayley – RS 152-153
⏰ 14:45 – 15:45
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps up from 1st floor; Accessible lift C
💡 Conference poster
This poster explores the implementation of authentic assessment, along with the associated challenges and effectiveness.
The essence of this proposal lies in the need for education to prepare students for a rapidly evolving world characterised by automation, climate change, and other challenges. Therefore, education must help them navigate uncertainty with confidence. Skills like critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and ethical and global awareness matter more than ever. According to Brown, Bull and Pendlebury (1997) ‘if you want to change student learning, then change the methods of assessment’. Consequently, assessments must adapt to effectively prepare learners for the future and the skills required. However, questions remain regarding how this can be achieved.
The purpose of this poster is to address this gap by sharing my insights and experiences in designing assessments that are authentic, fair and engaging, reflective of real-world skills and challenges. I have implemented these ideas in diverse classroom settings, demonstrating their effectiveness. The benefits and challenges of implementing authentic assessment will also be explored.
The initiative aims to explore authentic assessment, identify its challenges and evaluate its effectiveness. The argument of whether authentic assessments can be used to make assessments more meaningful and impactful will be considered. To investigate this, a mixed-method research design will be used.
Student Voice in Feedback and Engagement: Auditing Student and Staff Academic Practices
Jason Chu
📍 Cayley – RS 152-153
⏰ 14:45 – 15:45
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps up from 1st floor; Accessible lift C
💡 Conference poster
This project explored Life Sciences undergraduate students’ experiences and perceptions of assessment feedback and engagement with Blackboard Announcement and Discussion Boards. Using a mixed-methods approach, the project analysed quantitative survey data, qualitative open-text survey responses, semi-structured interview transcripts, and Blackboard learning analytics.
Thematic analysis of staff data highlighted strong commitment to feedforward, actionable feedback and dialogic teaching practices, alongside uncertainty and frustration about whether students meaningfully engage with feedback. Student data revealed contrasting experiences: while clear and detailed feedback was highly valued, many students described it as inconsistent, overly generic, or insufficiently explained, leading to confusion, reduced confidence, and an inability to feedforward in their learning.
Our analysis suggests that there is not a motivational gap, but a translational gap between pedagogic intent and student experience. This is a potential misalignment between student expectations and staff capacity within existing institutional structures for delivering effective, high-quality feedback. However, engagement with the surveys was limited, and ongoing analysis aims to broaden participation and refine conclusions.
The project proposes initial recommendations, including the development of a standardised, staff‑led feedback framework supported by senior leadership, alongside clearer guidance for students on accessing, interpreting, and acting on feedback to support engagement, confidence, and independent learning.
Parallel sessions 4
Engaging Students in Placement Preparation and Soft Skills Development in BSc Finance
Irene Brew-Riverson, Emily Whinnett, David Scott, Tadej Vindis
📍 RS 350
⏰ 16:00 – 16:30
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
This presentation will share the findings of a new module at the University of Westminster to ensure student engagement with placement preparation through embedding employability in a core Level 5 module. The ‘Financial Industries’ second year module has been designed to follow the Careers Theory DOTS (Decision Learning, Opportunity Awareness, Transition Learning, and Self-Awareness), to enhance students ability to secure graduate employment. The module’s lectures covered the landscape of the financial industry, placement application methods, and two authentic assessments. The teaching sessions deliberately complemented the assessment seeing high student attendance due to high perceived relevance. The first assessment was a Live Brief from an employer, where students formed Financial Consultancies, which were presented in a expo format. The second assessment asked student to apply for a live placement opportunity, where the application was also submitted and marked. The practice of this module will be shared with delegates to share practice in student engagement. A priority of this module was to not only innovate in embedding employability but also to encourage student engagement via attendance through innovative methods. Such practices included seminars being reformed as assessment workshops, and linking each session to careers to increase engagement and support the graduate outcomes.
Authorship tools for promoting authentic assessment – a trial in social sciences
Alison Fixsen, Dr. Haiko Ballieux, Dr. Dan Greenwood
📍 RS 357
⏰ 16:00 – 16:30
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
The emergence of generative AI has highlighted the need for creative and innovative approaches to promoting academic integrity within the context of authentic assessment (Maphoto et al., 2024; Sullivan et al., 2023). University of Westminster policy recognises that some uses of GenAI are legitimate and supportive for students. However, the experience of colleagues is that it is sometimes, at best, very difficult to establish whether the policy is being followed during student assessments.
New authorship reporting tools (e.g. Grammarly Authorship, Turnitin Clarity) have been released to provide insights into the student writing process, including students’ use of sources and GenAI. The tools aim to foster a supportive approach, in which there is dialogue between staff and students in the use of generative AI, enabling students to develop their critical and writing skills.
Findings of a trial of two authorship reporting tools between February-April 2026 are presented: Grammarly Authorship and Turnitin Clarity. The trial objectives are to acquire feedback on the reports from students and staff. These include statistics and video playback for analysing the writing process. The two tools are assessed and compared in terms of promoting academic integrity while supporting students.
Preparing Students for an Unequal Labour Market? Rethinking Global Employability in the Classroom
Svetlana Page
📍 RS 358
⏰ 16:00 – 16:30
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Provocations for Change talk
This provocation explores how HEIs prepare students for the global labour market, highlighting the often-overlooked power hegemonies (Bordeau) and inherent colonial structures that shape professional norms. While universities emphasise employability as a key graduate outcome, global labour markets are not neutral, privileging Western epistemologies and culturally specific forms of self-presentation. These dynamics risk reproducing inequities for students from diverse backgrounds, challenging the notion that employability training is value-neutral.
I will be drawing on my teaching experience in the English for Postgraduate Study (0ALDS) course where students applied for the same real-world job using CVs and cover letters with varied prompts and stylistic registers. This exercise not only developed practical skills but also revealed the implicit linguistic and professional expectations embedded in global recruitment processes. Students encountered firsthand how professional communication is shaped by norms rooted in historical and ongoing power hierarchies. This provocation challenges the assumption that employability education is neutral, proposing instead that it should integrate critical reflection on the systems students are entering and prepare them to re-negotiate their market identities. Participants are invited to reflect on how teaching and assessment can both equip students for success and cultivate critical consciousness of global power structures and environments.
Parallel sessions 5
Zone29 session – Title TBC
Leonard Nedelcu, Benjamin Powell, Paul Dwyer
📍 RS 350
⏰ 16:30 – 17:00
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
Session summary TBC
Transition Futures at the University of Westminster – A Student-focused and Integrated Approach
Norah Soufraji, Daniela de Silva, James Fenton
📍 RS 357
⏰ 16:30 – 17:00
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
This presentation examines new approaches to student transitions at the University of Westminster and their impact on successful retention, compassionate support, and belonging (MacFarlane, 2018).
Numerous shortcomings have previously been associated with transitions, including:
- A lack of individuation with a tendency to “tell” students what they “need” to know (Ishii, 2022).
- The insufficient and uncurated information that is often stored on ever-expanding repositories which become more overwhelming than helpful (Boubert & Fenton, 2023).
- Structurally, transition provision is most often devolved to course level with little communication between the disciplines, or even between courses within the same discipline (Chan & Lee, 2001).
A grant was awarded by the Quentin Hogg Trust for a 2-year Transitions Project at the University of Westminster (UoW) to address these known challenges and improve student transitions. Based on the UoW’s Access and Participation Plan (2025) and Education Strategy (2023-29), the project started with a focus on belonging, engagement, and continuation. This presentation examines some of the initial achievements, with highlights including a digital welcome module My Westminster Journey based on student co-creation workshops, alongside future plans for a student App and interdisciplinary best practice resources to provide a legacy of improved transition provision.
New authorship reporting tools (e.g. Grammarly Authorship, Turnitin Clarity) have been released to provide insights into the student writing process, including students’ use of sources and GenAI. The tools aim to foster a supportive approach, in which there is dialogue between staff and students in the use of generative AI, enabling students to develop their critical and writing skills.
Findings of a trial of two authorship reporting tools between February-April 2026 are presented: Grammarly Authorship and Turnitin Clarity. The trial objectives are to acquire feedback on the reports from students and staff. These include statistics and video playback for analysing the writing process. The two tools are assessed and compared in terms of promoting academic integrity while supporting students.
Co-creation in blended learning: building accessible and inclusive learning environments at the Westminster Business School
Gustavo R. Espinoza-Ramos
📍 RS 358
⏰ 16:00 – 16:30
❗Accessibility notes: 9 steps down from 4th floor; Lift B
💡 Conference paper
This presentation examines students’ preferences for blended learning environments at the Westminster Business School. Based on a CETI’s students-as-co-creators project carried out at the Westminster Business School in 2024-25, the study investigated optimal balances between on-campus, off-campus, online (synchronous/asynchronous), and independent learning modalities, as well as preferences regarding digital tools, assessment types, and the use of recorded videos. This project used mixed-methods and drew on survey data from 111 students and 10 semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that while 78.38% of students perceive blended learning as enhancing engagement, they favour a balanced approach that retains strong on-campus provision, complemented by off-campus experiences and flexible online components. Short, targeted video resources (5–10 minutes), online quizzes, and collaborative productivity tools were the most preferred digital tools, and written and presentation assignments were the most favoured ways to enhance student engagement. The presentation presents a case study of the Sustainable City Economies, a second-year undergraduate module at the Westminster Business School, to demonstrate how the recommendations from the students-as-co-creators project were embedded across on-campus, off-campus, online (synchronous/asynchronous), and independent learning modalities. The presentation recommends that the application of blended learning should be contextualised according to pedagogical goals and available institutional resources.
Plenary
Catherine O’Connor, Kathryn Waddington, Bryan Bonaparte
Fyvie Hall 17:00 – 17:30Accessibility notes: 4 steps down from Ground floor; Wheelchair lift accessed from the ARTiSIP Gallery