BSC Learning and Teaching Network
- About the group
- National LTN Award
- National LTN Award Winners
- Forthcoming Events
- Past Events
- Joining and staying in touch
- Contact the Network
- Websites
About
Chair: Kate Strudwick (University of Lincoln), Email: KStrudwick@lincoln.ac.uk
Deputy Chair: Suzanne Young, (University of Leeds), Email: s.young@leeds.ac.uk
Emeritus Co-Chair: Liz Frondigoun (University of the West of Scotland, Email: liz.frondigoun@uws.ac.uk)
The BSC Learning and Teaching Network (BSC LTN) is a collection of people within the criminology community who have an interest in the learning, teaching and assessment of criminology and criminal justice. This LTN is supported by a steering group to provide an opportunity to communicate, share, spread and develop new and exciting learning, teaching and assessment approaches within criminology. BSC LTN has its own website: https://bscltn.wordpress.com/
The BSC LTN aims to:
- be a vehicle for initiating contact or keeping in touch with colleagues across the discipline with a specific learning and teaching interest
- provide an opportunity for staff to connect their ideas and aspirations and develop their learning and teaching practice collaboratively with colleagues
- develop the BSC website to include sections of interest to those members teaching within the discipline
- look for opportunities to embed good practice at module, course and programme levels
- share resources, literature, example of practice from elsewhere
- work together to take forward particular areas of interest or projects
- look for opportunities to secure research or consultancy income
The National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology and Criminal Justice
The call for 2020 applications will be announced on the LTN website
This award is intended to highlight and celebrate outstanding practice/innovative teaching in Criminology across HEIs in the UK and it is supported by the British Society of Criminology, the HEA, and SAGE who sponsor the annual prize. Applications are welcomed from individuals or small clusters of teaching staff who can be early career or well as established academics and/or Criminology/Criminal Justice Teaching Teams. Applicants can be self-nominated but nominations will also be accepted by academic colleagues for learning and teaching practice they feel should be recognised. The criteria for nominations have been informed by the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning.
The winner/s of the award will be announced and the prize presented at the annual BSC Conference. However the BSC reserves the right not to award the prize in any given year if the submissions received do not clearly identify what it is that is particularly outstanding or innovative in the delivery of teaching and learning in the applicant’s Criminology and/or Criminal Justice Module/Programme. It should also be understood that this award is not to ratify or support the rigour of a Criminology/Criminal Justice Programme: that is already covered in-house by University Quality Assurance requirements and External Examination process. Programme applications are therefore discouraged and particular aspects of innovation within programmes encouraged. It is about identifying, acknowledging and disseminating ‘excellence’ in relation to learning and teaching; something that we can all learn from. Therefore the focus of your applications should be clearly evidenced on specific practice!
Submissions
Each nomination must be accompanied by a covering letter, countersigned by the Head of Department/Head of Learning and Teaching (or equivalent), together with a short overview of no more than 2000 words explaining the learning experience and how this not only meets the UK Professional Standards Framework but why it is significant and how it represents excellence. Supporting evidence is also required and this can be in the form of statements from a colleague, peer review report, and if applicable student feedback/comments.
In order to make the award available to those teaching criminology across the academy, eligibility for the award is not restricted to BSC members but nominations from non-members will have to be accompanied by a letter of support from a BSC member and the award winner will be encouraged to become a member prior to the presentation of the prize.
Entries should be submitted by Friday March 2, 2020 to Suzanne Young, s.young@leeds.ac.uk and Tanya Miles-Berry T.Miles-Berry@shu.ac.uk
Nomination Form –
The nomination form can be downloaded here
Guideline criteria
The Awards Panel will require evidence that the applicant’s submission meets the QAA Criminology Benchmarks for Learning and Teaching and should therefore include at least one of the following areas:
- The use of innovative teaching strategies to make a positive contribution to learning and teaching of criminology that is flexible and inclusive in mode of delivery
- The clear demonstration of an approach that enhances the teaching and learning experience to that which would normally be expected
- The incorporation of criminological research, scholarship and/or professional practice into teaching that is centred around skill building and self-development
- The development of a teaching strategy to meet the needs of a diverse student population including diverse political, cultural and social contexts
- Inclusive teaching practices which encourage collegiality and provide varied contexts for learning
- Commitment to the development of autonomy and critical thinking skills in students within criminology
- Teaching practice that is clearly grounded in the academic literature on pedagogy in HEIs.
The L&T Committee will determine the eligibility of submitted proposals, select a shortlist, which will then be passed to the judges who will decide the winning entry.
Winners will be awarded with a prize sponsored by SAGE, consisting of £100, plus £100 worth of SAGE books.
The Awards Panel reserves the right not to make the award, in the event that the standard of submissions is not deemed sufficient.
Awards Panel
| Stuart Agnew
Dr Linda Asquith Liz Austen Dr Martyn Chamberlain Dr Michael Fiddler Dr Liz Frondigoun Dr Nic Groombridge Natacha Harding Dr Mathew Jones Dr Phil Johnson Debbie Jones
|
David Manlow
Ian Marder Tanya Miles-Berry Dr Andrew Newton Dr Helen Nichols David Patten Katie Strudwick Pamela Ugwudike Angus MacCulloch Henry Yeomans Dr Suzanne Young
|
The National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology and Criminal Justice 2019
The BSC National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology and Criminal Justice 2019, was awarded to Dr Gina Fox, Department of Criminology, University of Leicester.
Gina believes that the student learning experience is enhanced by providing opportunities for students to partake in active and problem-based learning. She ensures students have opportunities to ‘think outside of the box’ and really engage with the module content in ways they may not have expected. Developing transferable skills and gaining an insight into the field (i.e. the criminal justice system) are also high on her agenda. Designing sessions that centre on activities/gamification (i.e. terrorism bingo, prison population crosswords, word searches, mock trial role-playing, crime scene room activities and vlogging) makes learning fun, innovative and the information comprehensive and retainable.
The National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology and Criminal Justice 2018
We are thrilled to have been awarded the BSC National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology. Our vision was to deliver an innovative and inspiring module to better equip our students with employability skills as they enter the competitive job market. We prioritised empowering our students to help increase their self-confidence and as a result they produced some incredibly creative and thought-provoking work, that we know will help them to succeed in the future. It would not have been possible without the hard work and vision of the team and our partnership organisations. We are all very proud of team Hallam and our students”- Sarah, Alex and Catrin.
Previous winners
The 2017 award was presented to academics from the University of Derby. Charlotte Hargreaves, Head of Criminology, and Dr Michael Teague, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, were presented with the award by the BSC’s Nic Groombridge at the annual BSC conference hosted at Cutler’s Hall in Sheffield.
The BSC National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology and Criminal Justice 2016, was awarded to a criminologist located at the University of Westminster.
David Manlow, Course Leader for Criminology, led the design and implementation of a challenging but creative curriculum which supports and embeds the wider University’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity amongst its student body, which includes higher than average numbers of students with learning needs or who are from non-traditional academic backgrounds.
Forthcoming Events
Postponed, date to be advised
‘Public Criminology Through Public Education’
April 23, 2020
This interdisciplinary event brings together academics from Criminology, Arts & Humanities, Education, and practitioners from the Criminal Justice System to share innovation in learning and teaching. The event is joint-funded by the British Society of Criminology Learning and Teaching Network and the Welsh Branch of the British Society of Criminology, and hosted by Swansea University’s School of Law.
The day focuses on the role of Public Criminology from a Public Education viewpoint, more specifically:
- Higher Education’s role in facilitating desistance from offending.
- The potential of co-production between academics and young people engaged in education to reduce future offending
- The impact of public education programmes in bringing about change to policy and practice
The presentations will provide practical examples of teaching practice in Public Education, with speakers sharing how they have reconceptualised Public Criminology. As such, the day will appeal to those interested in the role of Criminology and its ability, through learning and teaching, to make a different to individuals and society. The event will also be of interest to those new to teaching, postgraduate research students wishing to develop their skills in this area, and those looking to develop Impact Case Studies.
Please email any queries to:
- Associate Professor Debbie Jones, Department of Criminology, Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University
- Associate Professor Mark Jones, College of Arts & Humanities, Swansea University.
- Dr Anthony Charles, Department of Criminology, Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University
Future events will be announced in the BSC Bulletin.
Past Events
2019
Showcasing Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Criminology and Criminal Justice
16 January 2019
This one day event brought together leading innovators in criminology and criminal justice education to showcase best practice in higher education.
An overview is provided here:
2018
One Day Symposium – Criminology in a Chaotic World
Venue: University of Winchester, Thursday 3rd May 2018
Issues around crime and justice have a particular role to play in political dialogue in an era when the established global structure appears to be in turmoil and constant flux. This symposium aimed to explore these challenges and the associated opportunities of teaching criminology in this climate.
2017
Criminology at the Cutting Edge of the Curriculum
14 September, 2017 – University of Derby
Criminology, due to unprecedented changes in the social, economic and political landscapes, is experiencing new avenues of exploration in a range of new frontiers from: border control, positive criminology, new forms of cyber crime, green criminology, state crimes, celebrity and crime, public criminology etc… This event examined how such areas and many others are affecting the pedagogical practices, the learning and teaching methods, strategies, structures and assessments, in order to deliver a curriculum that is relevant and impactful to students.
Symposium on the impact of the TEF on Criminology
17 May 2017 at Leeds Beckett University
The symposium explored what the TEF involves and offered considerations for improving teaching quality and increasing student satisfaction.
Speakers included Professor John Craig (Dean of Social Sciences at Leeds Beckett University) and Dr Ben Brabon, Academic Lead (Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences), from the Higher Education Academy.
2016
On the 8th September 2016 the BSC LTN hosted a one-day symposium called “Public Criminologies and Higher Education Pedagogies”.
2014
The BSC Networks for Learning & Teaching and Victims joined forces to host a one day event at Sheffield Hallam University in November 2014 to explore and share good practice in the teaching of victimology. A ‘Storify’ of tweets from that event can be seen here: https://storify.com/Helen_Jones/teaching-victimology
Joining and staying in touch
See the BSC LTN website for regular updates and blog posts from group members. https://bscltn.wordpress.com/
Contact the Network
Nic Groombridge nic.groombridge@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bsc_ltn
Websites of interest
CrimHappens – blog collates journal abstracts and presents a selection once per week: http://crimhappens.blogspot.co.uk/
Criminological Highlights provides summaries of findings that should be part of the “general education” of those interested in criminal justice policy. The project began in September 1997 by the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at the University of Toronto. There is also a free subscription to their email distribution list. http://criminology.utoronto.ca/lib/criminological_highlights.html
Guide to Undergraduate Dissertations -help for you and your students: http://www.socscidiss.bham.ac.uk/
QAA Criminology Benchmark Statement – http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/SBS-criminology-14.pdf