Led by guest Dr Helen Tidy @ForensicHelenT and Joanne Irving-Walton @Joirv

If you think about your own experiences of learning there are probably moments that stand out, experiences that stay with you and improbable links that helped concepts fall into place. These memorable moments are often surprising, frequently entertaining but always relevant. Behind the scenes creating these hooks is a skill and an art in itself – the ability of a subject specialist to make their subject come to life.

These ‘quirky’ approaches to learning and teaching don’t always fall into a specific area of pedagogical practice – they can be simple or complex, a bit of a twist on a well-known strategy or a completely new take. They can involve applying common approaches in novel ways or being a magpie and shaping ideas gleaned from elsewhere to your own learning environments. Minecraft, origami, window art, mood boards, meme-making, sketchnoting, the application of creative writing, scavenger hunts and newsrooms are just some of the areas that have cropped up in our own teaching.

It’s often through these moments that the thinking, the personality and enthusiasm of the lecturer shines through. Modelling for students not just how to apply knowledge and skills but also how to take pleasure in the process. Quirky approaches can add a degree of levity to the learning environment whilst encouraging students to view the subject at hand from a range of angles. This helps build breadth and understanding, encourages experimentation and independence and creates an enriched student – and staff- experience.

During this #LTHEchat, we’re encouraging you to discuss and explore the quirky teaching approaches that you use to prompt discussion, build relationships, promote reflection, or engage students with content, feedback, and student voice. No idea is too big or too small and we recognise that everyone will have their own concept of what classifies as quirky – it’s all about context. We’ll consider the advantages and the challenges and how to respond when even the best-laid plans don’t quite work out as anticipated.

Biography:

Dr Helen Tidy

Helen is an Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching within the School of Health and Life Sciences at Teesside University. Helen’s research focuses on inclusivity within Learning and Teaching, both from a digital and non-digital perspective. She particularly enjoys practices which have a quirky edge to them carrying out research into the application of meme-making, Minecraft Education and Sketchnoting into teaching practices.

Joanne Irving-Walton

Joanne is a Principal Lecturer in Learning and Teaching within the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law at Teesside University and a Principal Fellow of Advance HE. Joanne is a lead on the university PGCLTHE and Academic Professional programmes and works with TNE partners around the provision of a range of education courses. She has a background in Initial Teacher Training and a research interest in the relationship between thinking and feeling in HE learning environments.