Dr Lee Fallin

From kinetosis & risk to Liberating Learning in Higher Education

March 27, 2025March 27, 2025 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

Last night, I managed to carve out some time to attend Christopher Macallister’s Welcome Lecture. Christopher is our Dean of the University of Hull London Study Centre, and he used his talk to consider some of the formidable challenges that all higher education institutions face today. Titled Higher Education in ‘Interesting Times’: Drawing Inspiration from the Social Sciences, Ulrich Beck, Paul Virilio, and Carl von Clausewitz, Chris took us on a journey through the social sciences and humanities to explore some theoretical perspectives on these challenges.

Higher Education in ‘Interesting Times’: drawing inspiration from the social sciences, Ulrich Beck, Paul Virilio and Carl von Clausewitz

This fantastic Welcome Lecture’s topic was a stark contrast to this morning’s JLDHE Special Edition: Liberating Learning publication. I couldn’t help but take some time to reflect on this juxtaposition.

Over the last year, I’ve been working with the genuinely fantastic Dr Martin Compton and Dr Rebecca Lindner on a special issue for the Journal for Learning Development in Higher Education (JLDHE). Wanting to capture learning and scholarship for the Freedom to learn conference (2024) hosted at King’s College London, Martin approached me to posit a special issue to sit alongside this. While I hope we’ll get time to write about this journey separately, the critical bit is that we achieved our goal – and today, the Liberating Learning issue was published.

Ulrich Beck, Paul Virilio, and Carl von Clausewitz

In short, Christopher’s Welcome Lecture took the audience on a journey through a range of theorists. At the top of the list were the works of Ulrich Beck, Paul Virilio, and Carl von Clausewitz. Clausewitz’s theorisation of war laid the foundation. War is a mixture of hazard, risk, and chance—a field in which a whole mix of human affairs and demands create conflict and friktion. Christopher was careful not to frame higher education as being at war but eloquently argued we are in a phase of uncertainty, hazard, risk and fear.

Then came along Virilio and the politics of speed. Speed can lead to unprecedented speed. It can lead to structural violence. It can lead to desire – a desire for things. Change is necessary, but the key warning here is to avoid kinetosis. The problem of speed and motion is that motion sickness can easily follow. I think this works well as an analogy for the pace of change within the higher education sector. That change might be needed, but it is hard to carefully manage to bring people with it.

Finally, we ended with Beck, who theorised about the risk society. Beck argued we had moved from the ‘welfare state’ to the ‘safety state’. In his framing of modernity, Beck discussed the abundance of risk. We have more knowledge of risk and how it is distributed. Modernity itself has even created new risks – from nuclear radiation and climate crises to financial crashes and vaping. Humans have found many new ways to cause harm – and the management of all this risk is so often within the scope of the nation-state.

So what for higher education?

The journey through Beck, Virilio, and Clausewitz finally turned to the Higher Education sector. The success of Universities has created new frames of risk. Universities are often significant employers and major economic contributors within their respective communities – and far beyond. In a national context, ‘internationalisation’ can be seen as a risk – especially as economies and trade become so intertwined and interdependent. Flows of trade and capital are risky. Modern politics often frame human migration as risky too. What about international students? Are they a risk too?

Christopher argued that Higher Education needs to master the risks of hazard and chance. In doing so, we need to recognise that stress and exhaustion will be present. We need to manage that because wellbeing matters. People matter. The speed of change is very real right now, and that speed offers an advantage. But—just as Virilio warned—we need to be aware of kinetosis.

So – here we have it. A risk-hazard-speed nexus. Does the state recognise the risk universities are experiencing? Or is it small compared to other sectors? Does the state perceive the universities as risky?

Perhaps there are more questions than answers at this point. So what about liberating learning?

Kinetosis and risk ➡️ Liberating Learning

War. Risk. Hazard. Conflict. Kinetosis. Last night’s Welcome Talk really framed the current challenges Higher Education is facing. In all honesty, it can really feel a little bit glum at the moment. I’m not sure I’ve seen a positive national headline for higher education in recent months. Even articles from the likes of Wonke and HEPI are capturing this mood. Funding cuts, university financial deficits, redundancies, challenges – the list goes on. Where do we go from here?

Well, in this context, it feels like we need a little hope—a vision for a future and a pathway to get there. The timing could not be better for the release of JLDHE’s issue 35:

Liberating Learning in the Empathetic University

In Liberating Learning: Educational Change as Social Movement, Rincón-Gallardo presents learning as a practice of freedom and argues that liberating learning requires widespread cultural change in our educational systems. What would this look like in higher education?

The Special Issue led by Martin Compton and Rebecca Lindner aims to pick up the conversation about liberating learning in the context of Higher Education. Built on 39 papers from 99 different authors this special issue brings unique insight into the modern academy and the need for compassion, care and joy in teaching and learning. In the context of last night’s risk-hazard-speed nexus, I certainly feel the need for a little joy.

The sad truth is that higher education institutions and government policy often fixate on student success as a quantifiable outcome of an undergraduate degree, measured via the grading system (usually further extended into graduate employability metrics). But all this does is reduce students to numbers. The obsession over grading undermines curiosity and risk-taking, which remain skills valued in the graduate market (Miller et al., 2025).

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

“I would say the mark itself it doesn’t say the whole story”
Jack (Mynott, 2025)

As Compton and Lindner (2025) state in the editorial, “Liberating Learning is both an aspiration and a practice. It is a response to current challenges, a vision for the future, and an acknowledgement that shaping the educational environment is a constant project”. Their special issue brings together more voices than we can represent in summary, and all I can do is urge you to read it yourself. All articles are available open source via the JLDHE website: No. 35 (2025): Special Edition, Liberating Learning.

Short on time? The Editorials will give you an excellent overview of this special issue:

Liberating learning in the empathetic university

Section editorials:

The publication of this issue concludes an immersive piece of work built upon the contributions of 12 Guest Editors, 99 authors, 58 peer-reviewers, 6 copyeditors, 2 JLDHE Editors, and 1 cracking technical editor. It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of the journey, and I urge anyone reading this to join in as one of our readers. Knowing Martin and Rebecca, I also know this won’t be the end of this journey.

Let’s liberate some learning!

426 ideas to address systemic injustices in an hour

March 19, 2025March 19, 2025 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

Anyone who has spoken with me about my work these last few months, there is a strong chance I’ve talked about Design Thinking. I think Design Thinking has immense potential to drive forward participatory action for real challenges, both inside and outside of education. My first introduction to Design Thinking came via Nous, who coached me through a project I was undertaking at my institution. Through this, I learned about The Design Council’s Double Diamond. I used this model to frame student- and staff-led journeys and to show how we could improve their everyday experiences. This was only the start for my journey into Design Thinking.

I’ve implemented Design Thinking in curriculum design, partnering with Dr Ann Kaegi to engage our students in programme transformation. In a teaching studies module, I’ve worked with Dr Kelly Dockerty to integrate Design Thinking as a frame for real-world problem-solving. Finally, I’ve just seen The Transformative Potential of Design Thinking in Learning Development published in the last few weeks. I worked on this article with Catherine Turton (Southampton Solent) to frame the possibilities we see for Design Thinking. It feels like there is no end to the potential of Design Thinking!

Academically, I’ve been very inspired by the work of IDEO and Stanford’s d.school. One of my favourite books is Design for Social Change, which has inspired me to further reflect on how we can empower our students to take action via Design Thinking to challenge the status quo. It’s exciting stuff. There is also a raft of additional works from d.school, supporting design for belonging, crafting convictions with a ‘you need a manifesto‘ and the magic of telling visual stories with data. It should be no surprise that I’m keen to unleash this potential across teaching as well.

Design Thinking as a toolkit for students in education

Each trimester, we host an enhancement week, which provides us with an opportunity to do something a little different with our students. This can break the normal moulds of teaching, and this year we tried something quite different. On the Monday of enhancement week, we enjoyed a trip to Densholme Farm, where we showcased alternative educational approaches to our students. For Thursday, a large team of us envisioned an event to bring the whole school together. We decided to focus on a core disadvantaged group: care experienced, adopted, child-looked-after and unaccompanied children. From this start, we designed an event to promote working relationally with children, young people, and adults who have such experiences.

As you can tell, I made the case for design thinking.

The thing is, there are just so many systemic problems related to supporting these vulnerable groups. But there is also a lot of potential to do things better. My main contribution sat in the middle of the day. We kicked off with some expert talks from some of our recent graduates now working with such children and young adults. I then took over to look at how we could meet some of these challenges with real solutions. This gave me just over an hour for a crash course in Design Thinking.

Design Thinking in an hour (and a bit)

I started with a simple message. Too often, solutions are designed without truly understanding the problem (or even identifying the right problem), leading to ineffective outcomes. It is those who are in power that define the problem and define the solution.

Those in power working in isolation rarely get the right problem or solution.

No wonder they often get it wrong. With the input of those it impacts, solutions usually fail to be iterative, collaborative and creative. Above all, they fundamentally start on the wrong track, as user needs are not understood. However, with design thinking, it can be different.

Starting with empathy to understand individuals’ needs and experiences helps frame the whole question/project the right way. Then, using all those people to work on the solutions employs more brains for the task at hand. More people involved generally leads to much better solutions, especially when it includes those directly involved.

Using Design Thinking to engage a community in problem solving makes a significant difference.

Getting practical with Design Thinking

So! I got them to start mapping the challenges. The issues came from many sources: their placements, personal experience, news and television, relational experience and, of course, our guest speakers. We started out by just mapping this all down. ALL the issues we had seen so far:

I asked one person per table to stand up and hold their sheets up.

With 10 groups, a LOT of issues were identified. Too many. Too overwhelming.

So we picked one per table. Just one for each group to focus on, developing this into a problem statement. For example:

How might we support adopted and care-experienced children to reach their academic potential?

(Despite disrupted schooling, inconsistent support and the challenge of navigating multiple care placements)

From problem statement to ideas

From this position, it is then possible to ideate. I asked all students to fold an A3 sheet in half three times. This gave them a sheet with eight boxes to work with. In box one, they had to write their problem statement and their name. I then gave them a short pitch on blue skies thinking, prompting them to DREAM BIG. A common issue is that we are often limited by the very systems and structures that bind us (or are the problem in the first place). We can truly develop innovative solutions by breaking free from ‘what is’ by pushing towards ‘what can be’. That foundation laid, I then asked them to use box 2 to develop one solution to their problem statement.

The true joy of Design Thinking is about using all of the brains available. There is no point in keeping those sheets in front of the person who framed the problem. I wanted to make the most of the people in the room. So, as soon as everyone finished penning their first idea into box 2, I asked them all to trade their sheet with someone from another table. Now, everyone had someone else’s problem statement in front of them. So, in box 3, they developed an idea to solve that problem. This pattern was repeated, passing the sheets on and on to different tables until boxes 2 through 7 were filled with various potential solutions or ideas for the presented problem.

The results: Wrapping the activity up

With 10 tables, we had 10 problems in the room (with everyone on that table taking a shared problem forward). Passing those individual sheets around meant that 71 sheets were launched into the room, and by the end of the session, each one of those sheets was filled with six ideas. This gave us a total of 426 ideas to address some of these problems in the room. All this was achieved by utilising everyone present, giving everyone a voice, and getting everyone involved. Most importantly, the whole session started with empathy by listening to those expert voices, reflecting on lived experience, and drawing upon what was seen on placements.

The final task for the session was to return those sheets to their owners. This was a little chaotic as 71 people (who didn’t necessarily know each other) worked to find the owner of the problem statement. Once all sheets returned, I then invited students to reflect on the ideas presented, and consider how they might take one of these ideas forward into a prototype. While developing and prototyping is a significant aspect of Design Thinking, only so much can be done in an hour! Closing the session this way at least encouraged them to think through the next stages to take it to action.

Design really is a team sport, and Design Thinking gets everyone involved. While this was an artificial scenario, I hope the students learned much from this session. We centre participatory research at the heart of what we do, and Design Thinking provides a framework through which this can be operationalised. Taking it outside the context of research and into practice is also very useful for their future careers – where they are likely to be doing stuff, as opposed to taking a more academic research approach.

An AI deep-dive on my thesis: A foray into Google NotebookLM +

March 14, 2025March 14, 2025 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

Google NotebookLM has been open in a tab on my computer for about a month. I’ve been meaning to play with it further, but I just haven’t had the time (and still don’t really have the time!). Then again, what is a Friday afternoon for? I can see a lot of potential (potential!) for academic work, especially given Nokebook LM’s potential to draw upon a more extensive range of sources than I’ve previously been able to with ChatGPT. This short blog captures my reflections in action.

As I head to Google NotebookLM, I am looking forward to giving this a whirl and I start by spooling up a new notebook. While there appears to be a 300-source limit, I purposefully started with just one: my thesis! I have several reasons for this, but it is primarily (1) something I own, and so there are no copyright issues and (2) it is something I really know. I’ll be able to judge accuracy without reading and re-reading this thing quickly. My thesis was a five-year (part-time) journey, and so I recall it very well.

The NotebookLM audio ‘deep dive’

I’m immediately drawn to the ‘Audio overview’ as soon as it’s uploaded. I can’t help mashing the button over here, and patiently waiting three or so minutes for this to generate. I have to admit – it wasn’t at all what I expected. As I hit play, I heard what I could only describe as a podcast episode about my thesis. As I’m writing, I’m about two-thirds of the way through this,s and so far, it is pretty good:

The ‘deep dive’ audio from NotebookLM (listen above!) shows a very conversational and dialogic approach to the overview. It makes it much more engaging than a monotone overview, and the fact that the two voices are in dialogue does make it a lot easier to listen to. I’m particularly impressed with the tone of these voices, and it’s almost impossible to distinguish this as an AI product. That’s kind of scary, especially for something I’ve only used for about 20 minutes!

As I finished listening to the audio, my first reflection was that it was highly correct. Nothing in the recording is incorrect or wrong, except for the constant reference to ‘researchers’ and research, as though drawing upon multiple articles and authors. (How annoying! My thesis was a lot of MY work, not that of others!). Being ‘correct’, however, doesn’t mean this deep dive is an accurate summary. While there was nothing incorrect here, I fear the ‘deep dive’ wasn’t always that deep. Some areas of the work were delved into in great detail—others, not so much. The overall structure was a bit odd, and there was an overwhelming focus on the role of Library staff. While this was an element of my thesis, I don’t think the ‘deep dive’ emphasis really reflects the full text that well. It also bypasses great swathes of research and methodology, focusing instead on the contribution and findings of the work. While okay for an overview, this lacked the situated context found in the document itself. This would certainly make me worry about ‘trusting’ it to overview something else I was less familiar with.

NotebookLM Notes

Underneath the ‘audio overview,’ I next see a range of buttons that can generate study guides, briefing documents, FAQs, and a timeline. I couldn’t really help mashing them all. Here are my reflections:

The briefing document:
The briefing document provides a brief overview of the whole thesis section by section. I suspect this was mainly driven by headings and provided an alright overview. I don’t think this is a ‘briefing document’ by any means, and it wouldn’t make much sense without having known the original document. That said, it formed an alright set of notes, and even now, this works well as a reminder!
The study guide
This wasn’t quite what I expected. The document generated provided a series of short-form questions and answers, followed by some essay-format questions. This might be useful if I were to deepen my learning or prepare for an exam. That said, some of the things it focused on were a little bizarre! I’m not sure this works for the higher education context. That said, if I had uploaded all of my GCSE notes, I could imagine it useful for that learning and examination style!
The timeline
In fairness, this didn’t make much sense in the context of my document. I can’t be surprised that the output was a little zany – though it did exactly what it had set out to do. It seemed to look for chronological aspects of each chapter and draw them out. The funny bit was the ‘cast of characters and brief bios’. It drew out names from my acknowledgements and a random list of reference authors (mostly the theorists and geographers who had substantial careers and publications).
The FAQ
Like much of the other documents, this was all fairly accurate but just a little odd. Functional, yes, but I’m not sure any single one of the questions would really be ‘frequent’.

Final reflections

As my emails are calling, I’ll leave my experiment for the day. From what I have done so far, I can see a lot of potential for this as a ‘notebook’ – and who would have thought based on the name 😅. For a document that I know, this tool was able to rapidly help me explore it further, but also ‘jog my memory’ on bits of it. The reason I could trust this was because it was something I knew. It is clear NotebookLM couldn’t be trusted to really summarise work or build notes from it where you haven’t read the source itself. That said – where you know the source, it is a brilliant way to organise your thinking and engagement further.

I can’t wait to play with this some more, especially with further sources in play. Watch this space.

A blue butterfly in flight across a blue sky

Hosting #LTHEchat 318: Designing for Diverse Learners

February 20, 2025February 20, 2025 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

Last week, I had the joy of hosting #LTHEchat alongside the wonderful Tom Tomlinson from Hull and Gemma Spencer from UCLAN to focus on our Designing for Diverse Learners project. As we surge into 2025, it’s still crazy to think this project is still going strong after starting in 2018. Over the last 7+ years, we’ve enhanced and developed this guidance and seen it adopted and used across the sector. It was nice to finally take this #LTHEchat for discussion with the broader community.

The LTHEchat Designing for Diverse Learners Blog

You can check out the full blog post here:

#LTHEchat 318: Designing for diverse learners

Questions on the night

What does “designing for diversity” mean to you, and why is it more important than ever in education?
Share a moment when you realised the impact of inclusive design—how did it shape your practice?
What are the challenges you face when designing inclusive learning materials?
How can we make professional development on inclusive design more engaging and accessible for educators?
Recognising the importance of designing for diversity, how can we instil these practices within our students?
In a perfect world, what would the future of inclusive learning design look like, and what steps can we take to get there?

You can still catch up on the conversation in BlueSky:

Q1: What does “designing for diversity” mean to you, and why is it more important than ever in education? #LTHEchat
— LTHEchat (@lthechat.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T20:00:22.456Z

Q2: Share a moment when you realised the impact of inclusive design—how did it shape your practice? #LTHEchat
— LTHEchat (@lthechat.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T20:10:21.519Z

Onwards to the third question ▶️ Q3: What are the challenges you face when designing inclusive learning materials? #LTHEchat
— LTHEchat (@lthechat.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T20:20:10.212Z

Q4: How can we make professional development on inclusive design more engaging and accessible for educators? #LTHEchat
— LTHEchat (@lthechat.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T20:30:07.835Z

Q5: Recognising the importance of designing for diversity, how can we instill these practices within our students? #LTHEchat
— LTHEchat (@lthechat.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T20:40:07.675Z

Last one ▶️ Q6: In a perfect world, what would the future of inclusive learning design look like, and what steps can we take to get there? #LTHEchat
— LTHEchat (@lthechat.bsky.social) 2025-02-12T20:50:08.208Z

Designing an Educational Superhero at the ANTF Symposium

April 24, 2024April 24, 2024 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

Today I’m attending the 2024 Association of National Teaching Fellows Symposium and I am looking forward to a day of inspirational speakers. I’m primarily here to present the work I’m doing on an ANTF-funded project as part of a plenary panel later today. Although – as an aspiring National Teaching Fellow (NTF), the day is an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded colleagues.

While I missed day one due to other commitments, I was fortunate enough to make last night’s Gala Dinner. Other than reconnecting with friends and meeting new people, the dinner was an excellent opportunity to get crafty! The Gala Dinner was joined by Prof. Liz Mossop NTF, Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, who set us off on an activity: Create your own Educational Superhero. Here is mine –

An educational superhero made from lollypop sticks for a body, sticky gems for decoration, googly eyes and pipe cleaners for arms.

For anyone who knows my work, it won’t be a surprise to see this superhero is focused on Equity. It has a BIG heart for empathy, reflecting my work around design thinking. There are big eyes so they can see what is going on, spotting opportunities to move education from ‘equality’ to equity. My favourite piece is the giant mallet – a tool to knock through the barriers that face students and the ???????? excuses that prevent them from being addressed. Oh – and the pink sparkly shoes are to bring a bit of fabulousness.

Perhaps I should call my superhero “The Educational Equaliser”.

Basking in the Long Room: The Old Library at Trinity College Dublin

March 26, 2024March 26, 2024 Lee Fallin 1 Comment

As someone who studies and researches library space, I could not pass the opportunity to visit Trinity College Dublin. Ireland’s oldest university is home to the famous Old Library ‘Long Room’, a space that is the epitome of a traditional library. What better space could I find to absorb and reflect upon the sheer wonder of the library. Certainly a great fit considering my doctoral thesis:

Reading the academic library : an exploration of the conceived, perceived and lived spaces of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull

I’m not quite sure there are words to fully capture the majesty of the Long Room. Those infamous all-wooden bookshelves that frame beautiful windows at a 90 degree angle. Shelves that run from floor to (mezzanine) ceiling, crammed fully with books. In the same way that I discussed the Library as synonymous with books, knowledge and learning in my thesis, the Long Room is perhaps the ultimate symbol of it. It is the epitome of knowledge and learning. In this space, there is little sign of the comforts and technologies we associate with a modern library space. It is a space where the book is king.

“And it’s Ireland’s front room because every visiting head of state comes here.”
Helen Shenton, Trinity’s Library Director

My visit in pictures

A spiral staircase leads to the mezzanine level

Beautiful bookshelves, top top bottom filled with books. Ladders allow access to the highest levels.

The Long Room Restoration

Of course, for anyone who has recently visited the Long Room, you will note that most of the books have been decanted (see above). I’d missed this news – and the absence of the books did remove some of the impact of this room. But it is all with good reason. The books within this room are of immense value – some of them priceless. The 2019 fire at Notre Dame Cathedral served as a warning for the need to preserve such assets as the Long Room. As framed in the New York Times, the Long Room, as an Irish national treasure, was overdue restoration. All is not lost for tourists like me – they did leave a few bays of books which still give an excellent impression of what the room looked like.

So what does restoration mean? To safeguard the books for future generations, all books have been removed from the Long Room, cleaned, digitised and safely stowed in a climate-controlled facility off campus. As the space also has no modern fire suppression and is largely made of wood, it was at high risk of fire. While this is unthinkable, Notre Dame demonstrated a stark reality. The risks also went beyond fire, with the room not possessing the appropriate environmental controls to preserve the delicate books. The lack of environmental controls also brings risks from damp, pollution and mould.

The Long Room experience

A photo of Lee Fallin in the Long Room. He smiles as rows of books are behind him and the bust of Milton.

Visiting the Long Room feels a bit like being in a movie set. Serving as the backdrop and inspiration for movies and books alike, it was surreal being there in person. I’d forgotten about the busts that adorned the ends of each bookshelf row. It sounds silly, but is was still really odd being in such a famous space – and to see the reality of it. It isn’t just something from movies and films – it is a real space you can visit and immerse yourself in.

The big surprise for me (again – I hadn’t well researched my visit!) was to see our planet just hanging at the end of the room. I’d seen similar displays in my home city of Hull, hanging in Hull Minister. But I’d expected that when I went into the space. In the Long Room, it was sublime. The juxtaposition of dark wooden shelves to bring planet was striking. A beautiful contrast, and what better way to present such a display. Take it in for yourself:

The beautiful wooden roof and shelves of the Long Room are the host cite for an inflatable replica of the earth.

Taking to the woods for Forest School Level 1

March 13, 2024March 13, 2024 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

I had the great pleasure of undertaking my level 1 Forest School training last week. It’s something I’ve had on my wish list for some time, and I finally carved out a day to commit to this. Forest School aims to deliver a long-term, learner-centred experience that supports exploration and scaffolded risk taking in a natural outdoor wooded area. In undertaking the training, I aim to be able to deliver such sessions in the future – but that is something a few levels away yet!

The training was delivered by Dr Jo Traunter and Kerrie Lee, both colleagues in the School of Education at the University of Hull. The training itself was also hosted in the beautiful grounds of Thwaite Hall Botanic Gardens in Cottingham. Forest School training at the University is currently only available to staff/students – so a good reason to study at Hull ????

So what did we get up to at Forest School?

I had no idea the Thwaite Hall Botanic Gardens has a fully-equipped classroom. It was a brilliant setting, and we were introduced to the concept of Forest School and where it originated. The ethos of ‘everyone helps’ hit straight at the start, as everyone helped to set up desks, boil kettles and sort out the chairs. The session was brief – giving us chance to get outside and cover the essentials of level 1. Forest School is based on six principles: long term, nature, community, risk, hollistic learning and leadership. More can be found out on the Forest School Association website.

Site safety walk

We started by walking the site, highlighting any potential dangers and identifying the boundaries. As Forest School aims to give learners freedom (and bounded risks), the ability for them to navigate freely is important – within the identified boundaries.

We also played some games to help ensure no-one gets lost. Everyone was given a number, and as a register, we’d each shout our numbers in turn. The Leaders were 1 and 15, ensuring they started and ended the roll call. This was a much quicker way of ensuring everyone stayed together. We also played the 1-2-3 where are you hide and seek safety game.

A grass field with some trees - identifying the boundaries of the Forest School.

With all the safety covered, we were able to work together to carry all the tools and other required items into the outdoor area for the Forest School session.

Den building

Yes! We got to build outdoor shelters. We were given access to some tarpaulin, pegs, strings and scissors. Other than that, we had our creativity and whatever materials we could find. One of the rules of Forest School is to leave no mark, so we were not to pull down any branches or damage the natural environment. An important part of the end of the day was also to disband the shelters! Building the shelter was a brilliant team-based activity, and we really got into it! I mean… I would have happily done this all day.

A shelter based between three tree trunks

Me - holding a stick we used to pass the string/rope around the tree

Lighting a fire

Before starting with the fire, there was lots of focus on how to keep safe. A rope was used to set boundaries, ensuring no one gets near to the fire – a useful reminder for when working with children (and also in the ethos of safe and managed risks!).

I’ve never used flint and steel before, so was absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to give this a go! We all were given a bull dog clip to bury in the ground, and a cotton wool ball to hold with it. We were able to practice setting the cotton wool ball on fire, before throwing the whole thing into the fire pit. As the fire began to take, we all gathered dry wood to build it up. Once fully blazing, we then had marshmallows and crumpets to toast. DELICIOUS! (Also a big thanks to Kerrie and Jo for bringing along gluten-free snacks too, which helped me feel super included!).

A toasted marshmallow. Very much in the spirit of Forest School.

Tool talks

As part of Forest School level 1, we had to learn the use of at least three tools. The key message on the use of tools was focused around safe usage! We learned to use knives to whittle and shears and saws to cut. When utilising any tool, we stool in a plastic hoop to indicate the safety zone. This is a useful way to help children keep a safe distance from each other. Part of the fun here was to state we are ‘Activating the Blood Zone’ – a useful phrase to help kids remember. For each tool, we had to wear a safety glove, wear a high-vis vest and stand in the hoop. This all helped to focus on safety first.

Doing all this felt a little silly for an all-adult group. But it wasn’t. It was a good reminder of how to keep safety to the fore, allowing young people to experiment as part of their Forest School experience, but to do so safely.

Identifying foliage

An ongoing part of our day was to identify different plants and trees. While this session was run in Spring, there was more leaf litter than leaves of the trees so we used Autumnal identification sheets. It was actually harder than I expected, but at this point in the season the leaves were pretty degraded. I also had some fun experiment with AI identification – but that felt a little out of the spirit of Forest School.

Heading back to the city

As a group, we had an absolutely amazing day in the Forest School. However, sadly, the day had to come an end. In the spirit of Forest School, we worked to clear up all our mess, take down our shelters and ensure we left no trace – just footprints. I really can’t wait to start level 2 – though have to wait for a new season (as it has to be in a different season to level 1).

Inclusive Learning Materials [Podcast]

April 19, 2023April 19, 2023 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

I had great fun joining Roger Saunders for his L&T Chatshow. In the episode, we discuss how to plan for inclusive learning materials and, unsurprisingly, stray into the topic of ChatGTP.

S2E27 – Lee Fallin on inclusive learning materials

Key resources:

Articles on AI:

How has Higher Ed slumbered into an Artificial Intelligence Crisis?

Can a blog post written by an AI trick an AI?

My First 6 Months as a Lecturer: A Journey of Growth and Connection

March 20, 2023March 20, 2023 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

As I look back on my first trimester as a Lecturer in Education Studies, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude. After working for a decade in Higher Education in various capacities, transitioning to an academic role has been a refreshing and rewarding experience. In this blog post, I would like to share my reflections on the first six months of my journey as a lecturer. I’ll delve into my interactions with students, my growth as an educator, and my anticipation for the future. This long overdue post continues the blog series I’ve written reflecting on my new career.

While I am not new to the University or education, in moving from Learning Development to Education Studies, I am joining a new community of practice (Wenger, 1998). I still feel I have a lot to learn in this broader field, and I have supplemented my academic memberships to include the British Educational Research Association. I’m also renewing my efforts to get involved with the Society for Research into Higher Education, as well as retaining my scholarship of learning development via ALDinHE.

The student community

One of the most significant highlights of my teaching experience has been the connection with my students. I’ve commented on this multiple times before, but their enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication have been genuinely inspiring, and it represents something I didn’t get as a Learning Developer – at least not in a sustained way. As a lecturer, I have thoroughly enjoyed witnessing my students’ creativity, especially during workshops and from marking written assessments. Reading their reflections has not only allowed me to observe their growth but, thanks to the international nature of my students, it has also provided me with valuable insights into other places on the planet. As I further integrate into the School of Education, my interactions with students have fostered my understanding of their needs, which I can now better address in the planning and delivery of my teaching. This is refreshing also – as I speak to a consistent audience, education. No need to wear multiple hats as a Learning Developer.

Supervision

Personal and research supervision have been very new aspects of my role. While I encountered pastoral issues in Learning Development, it was not part of the remit and so I would always refer the student to student support services and personal supervisors. As a Learning Developer, I actively supported research but never had the deciding role. As a Learning Developer, I would muse on ethical issues with students; I am now signing off applications as an academic. This was the kind of challenge I needed. Teaching has been a staple of my career as a Learning Developer, but there are new things to learn and do as a supervisor.

I have found personal supervision to be a surprisingly fulfilling aspect of my new role. Engaging in one-on-one discussions with my students has allowed me to establish a deeper connection with them and provide targeted guidance tailored to their individual needs (Knowles et al., 2014). Personal supervision sessions have led to many meaningful conversations, enabling me to better understand the challenges and aspirations of each student.

Research supervision has been really rewarding with my undergraduates. Although I am only supervising three students, it’s been a great way to start before heading towards PGT supervision later this month. I am genuinely looking forward to supervising master’s research projects. Though I know it will be hard work, I am excited to see the innovative and ground-breaking research our students will produce. These projects allow students to delve deep into a topic of their choice, and I am honoured to guide them through this process. I plan to attend a training session with the Teaching Excellence Academy to help develop my supervision practice. I’m also looking forward to further experimenting with OneNote as a means to manage supervision.

Internationalisation of my practice

Working with international students has been an enriching and eye-opening aspect of my new position. I have gained a wealth of knowledge from their diverse perspectives and experiences, particularly concerning the different educational systems they have been exposed to. This has broadened my understanding of global educational practices and has given me the tools to incorporate these insights into my own teaching approach. As a result, I am now better equipped to support and guide students from various cultural backgrounds, enhancing the inclusivity of my teaching methods. This is, however, a long journey – and something I expect to vary as international students vary and we attract from different regions over time.

Curriculum

The opportunity to develop and shape the content of brand-new modules has been invigorating. Working on the third-year dissertation and research module has been great as nothing is written, giving freedom to develop something brand new. I’ve really been able to contribute to the support of literature-based dissertations and can’t wait to develop this further. Being able to draw upon my expertise and experience, I have been able to design courses that are relevant, engaging, and catered to the needs of my students. This process has been challenging and gratifying, pushing me to continuously expand my knowledge and skills. As I look forward to the year ahead, I am particularly excited to support the curriculum design process for the new master’s program. I am eager to contribute my insights and ideas to this innovative program, which promises to provide students with a comprehensive and cutting-edge education.

I have enjoyed researching contemporary topics and incorporating them into the curriculum, ensuring that our students receive an education that prepares them for the ever-evolving world of education studies. My numerous posts on Artificial Intelligence and education are good examples of such learning and experimentation. This emerging technology presents countless possibilities for enhancing teaching and learning, from adaptive learning systems to AI-driven assessment tools. I am eager to integrate it into my practice further and observe how it transforms the educational landscape.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, my first trimester as a lecturer in Education Studies has been an incredible journey marked by growth, connection, and discovery. I am thankful for the relationships I have formed with my students and new colleagues, the personal growth I have experienced, and the opportunities that lie ahead. My increased understanding of global educational practices, the incorporation of my AI into my understanding of future learning environments, and the development of new curricula have all contributed to my growth as an educator.

As I move forward in my career, I am eager to continue expanding my horizons and making a lasting impact on the field of education. By staying current with the latest research and trends, engaging in meaningful collaborations, and fostering a genuine connection with my students, I hope to create a learning environment that empowers and inspires future educators and scholars.

Through my experiences thus far, I have developed a newfound appreciation for the immense responsibility and privilege of being a lecturer. As I continue to grow and evolve in this role, I am committed to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, fostering a spirit of curiosity and passion in my students, and contributing to advancing the field of education studies. With anticipation and determination, I look forward to the many opportunities and challenges in my journey as an educator.

Reference List:

Knowles, M. S., Holton III, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2014) The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Routledge.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.

Using prompt engineering to find out what GTP-4 knows about you

March 16, 2023March 20, 2023 Lee Fallin Leave a comment

Last night, @S_J_Lancaster suggested we ask GTP4 to:

Say something profound and insightful about the impact of AI large language models in higher education in the style of a @RacePhil collaboration with @ProfSallyBrown #lthechat

Well… I couldn’t help but give it a go! I copied Simon’s tweet and used it as the prompt for GTP-4. Here is the response:

In the harmonious melding of @RacePhil’s emphasis on assessment and feedback, and @ProfSallyBrown’s dedication to transformative learning experiences, the advent of AI large language models in higher education serves as a catalyst for innovation and equity.

As digital companions, these AI models foster an environment where learning transcends traditional boundaries, enriching the educational tapestry with the threads of diverse perspectives and personalized support. Empowering students and educators alike, these models facilitate the co-creation of knowledge, nurturing critical thinking and adaptability, essential skills for the ever-evolving landscape of the 21st century.

However, we must remain vigilant in the face of potential ethical pitfalls, ensuring that the AI-driven future of higher education is built on a foundation of transparency, fairness, and inclusivity. By mindfully integrating AI into pedagogical practices, we can harness its transformative potential to augment human intellect, democratize access to quality education, and inspire a generation of lifelong learners. #lthechat
GTP-4

I was honestly surprised it managed to do it!

#LTHEchat @ProfSallyBrown @RacePhil @S_J_Lancaster pic.twitter.com/zd3ChSZR2s
— Dr Lee Fallin (@LeeFallin) March 15, 2023

This raises a serious question: