On Friday 9 March myself and my colleague Suzanne Collins made our way to UCLs London Knowledge Lab, round the back of Lambs Conduit Street, to attend a mini-conference on the ABC curriculum design methodology developed by Clive Young and Nataša Perović.
It’s something we’ve been using an adapted version of at Bristol for just over a year, so it was great to see Clive and Nataša in action at the masterclass, and to hear about the great work being done at Glasgow, Canterbury Christ Church and Reading.
Some useful points from the day:
- Glasgow have been using an online tool to make an electronic version (and have templates available)
- Canterbury Christ Church have used PowerPoint to create an electronic copy while the workshop runs
- Other coloured stars have been added to make visible: places where they engage with the education strategy; developing employability skills; other priorities (identified by the course teams)
- Who is in the workshop is critical. Do you have students? Library staff? A critical friend?
- It’s not just us – everybody adapts the cards (sometimes they even change the colours).
During the morning session people talked about using the cards with students, to allow them to design the course. One speaker suggested using them with evidence of BAME / gender engagement (in different types of activity), to address the way the course works for different learners. It was great to see how quickly people picked up the idea and started taking it on as their own.
Lots of potential and positivity. I look forward to seeing how the network grows.
