Developing a Writing Culture Through Academic Leadership

Programmatic Assessment in Practice - Featuring Claire Hughes, Dr Suzanne Albary and Adam Procter from the University of Southampton

This episode is the second in a series of podcasts capturing the key insights and findings from the QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project: Quality Assuring Innovative Assessment Practice [https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.qaa.ac.uk%2Fen%2Fmembership%2Fbenefits-of-qaa-membership%2Fcollaborative-enhancement-projects%2Finnovative-and-evolving-quality-processes%2Fquality-assuring-innovative-assessment-practice&data=05%7C02%7CH.E.Mccafferty%40soton.ac.uk%7C62cac12a94cd405803b508de6711ba5e%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C639061522992320451%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=N1Qq5bwbsp91SVER3M7KhZ44eVElNpg0frshZgfyvH8%3D&reserved=0]. Each episode in the series brings together the researchers and practitioners at the heart of this work to share what they are learning and why it matters for the sector. In this second episode, host Nurun Nahar is joined by Claire Hughes, Suzanne Albary and Adam from the University of Southampton to explore programmatic assessment in practice. Drawing on live pilots in Games Design and Art and Fashion Marketing with Management at Winchester School of Art, they discuss replacing modules with themes and "development points", using on-track/off-track language instead of grades, and the impact on student creativity, wellbeing and staff workload. The conversation also tackles the challenges head-on — from shifting language and mindsets to e-portfolios, scale, and navigating quality assurance frameworks. An inspiring listen for anyone rethinking assessment — from programme leaders and academics to quality assurance professionals and learning designers. 🔗 Access the resources referenced in this episode: Kelli Nicola-Richmond, Phillip Dawson, Justin Lawson, Pearse Fay, Judi Parson, Susie Macfarlane, Sarah Riddell & Rachel Finneran (15 Apr 2026): Implementing a collaborative program-wide approach to redeveloping assessment in response to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2026.2653886 The two pilot programmes:  Games Design and Art | BA | University of Southampton [https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/games-design-art-degree-ba] Fashion Marketing with Management | BA | University of Southampton [https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/fashion-marketing-with-management-degree-ba] Where can listeners find out more? Via our CHEP website about the AA SMP project: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/chep/advancing-assessment.page [https://www.southampton.ac.uk/chep/advancing-assessment.page]  Or contact advancing.assessment@soton.ac.uk  [advancing.assessment@soton.ac.uk] Claire Hughes is Assessment Consultancy Lead and a Principal Teaching Fellow in the Centre for Higher Education Practice, University of Southampton. Claire began her career as a practice led academic, having gained extensive experience in industry working for global organisations including NIKE and Manchester United Football Club and within the public sector including local authority and NHS settings. In 2010, she transitioned into Higher Education and has since built a senior leadership career spanning both academic and professional services, holding roles such as Head of Department for Solent Business and Law School, Head of Undergraduate and Partnerships for Solent Business School, and positions within quality assurance and partnerships areas.  She currently draws on this experience in her current role leading the Assessment Consultancy within the Centre for Higher Education Practice (CHEP) at the University of Southampton, as part of the Advancing Assessment Strategic Major project a university-wide initiative to enhance and transform assessment practices.    Dr Suzanne Albary is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Centre for Higher Education Practice (CHEP) at the University of Southampton, and part of the Assessment Consultancy. Previously, she has led undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in teaching practice, and business studies, and worked with students in co-design in multidisciplinary projects. Suzanne’s work focuses on curriculum re-design to enhance the student and staff experience. She works with creative research methods, publishing on pedagogy and student partnership work, and has a research methods podcast called Do Better Research. Adam Procter is a Principal Teaching Fellow of Games and Interaction Design at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton. He is currently Head of Department of Art and Media Technology prior to this lead the BA (Hons) Games Design & Art programme for 12 years and has been working in Higher Education since 2001 and is seconded to the Department for Education 1 day a week via UKRI impact funding.

Quality Assuring Innovative Assessment Practice - Part 1 - Featuring Prof. Anna Barney and Dr Hazel McCafferty, University of Southampton.

This episode is the first in a series of podcasts capturing the key insights and findings from the QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project: Quality Assuring Innovative Assessment Practice [https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.qaa.ac.uk%2Fen%2Fmembership%2Fbenefits-of-qaa-membership%2Fcollaborative-enhancement-projects%2Finnovative-and-evolving-quality-processes%2Fquality-assuring-innovative-assessment-practice&data=05%7C02%7CH.E.Mccafferty%40soton.ac.uk%7C62cac12a94cd405803b508de6711ba5e%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C639061522992320451%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=N1Qq5bwbsp91SVER3M7KhZ44eVElNpg0frshZgfyvH8%3D&reserved=0]. Each episode in the series brings together the researchers and practitioners at the heart of this work to share what they are learning and why it matters for the sector. Assessment is one of the most talked-about topics in higher education right now — and for good reason. As universities experiment with new and more creative ways to assess students, a critical question is emerging: how do we make sure these innovations are being done well? In this opening episode, host Nurun Nahar is joined by Professor Anna Barney and Hazel McCafferty from the University of Southampton to discuss the origins and ambitions of the project, an exploration of programme-level assessment and how it differs from the more familiar module-by-module approach, and the early insights emerging from a comprehensive literature review. Anna and Hazel also reflect honestly on the challenges institutions face when trying to shift their assessment culture, and share practical examples of what this looks like across different disciplines. A thought-provoking listen for anyone working in or around higher education — from academics and programme leaders to quality assurance professionals and educational researchers. 🔗 Access the literature review referenced in this episode: Quality Assuring Innovative Assessment Practice — QAA [https://www.qaa.ac.uk/membership/benefits-of-qaa-membership/collaborative-enhancement-projects/innovative-and-evolving-quality-processes/quality-assuring-innovative-assessment-practice] Professor Anna Barney is the Associate Vice President for Education at the University of Southampton where she leads the Advancing Assessment project to modernise the University’s approach to assessment and chairs the Academic Quality and Standards Subcommittee. She is the Principal Investigator for the QAA-funder Collaborative Enhancement Project: Quality Assuring Innovative Assessment Practice. [https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.qaa.ac.uk%2Fen%2Fmembership%2Fbenefits-of-qaa-membership%2Fcollaborative-enhancement-projects%2Finnovative-and-evolving-quality-processes%2Fquality-assuring-innovative-assessment-practice&data=05%7C02%7CH.E.Mccafferty%40soton.ac.uk%7C62cac12a94cd405803b508de6711ba5e%7C4a5378f929f44d3ebe89669d03ada9d8%7C0%7C0%7C639061522992320451%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=N1Qq5bwbsp91SVER3M7KhZ44eVElNpg0frshZgfyvH8%3D&reserved=0] Anna’s academic background is in engineering, and she has a strong interest in inclusive and accessible education practice. Hazel McCafferty is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton focussing on inclusive and innovative assessment. She has led the research elements of the QAA-funded Collaborative Enhancement Project: Quality Assuring Innovative Assessment Practice and published a literature review in support of this. Hazel has more than 20 years of experience within higher education. She has taught at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate level and has led multiple projects in relation to inclusion, assessment and employability.  LinkedIn profile: Hazel McCafferty | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelmccafferty/]

Communicating What You are Good For: Building a Practitioner Portfolio That Speaks for Itself - Featuring Bimpe Kuti-Matakenya, Public Health Senior Lecturer , University of Greater Manchester

How do you prove your worth when your impact can't be captured on a CV? In today's episode, we tackle this challenge with Bimpe, who introduces the practitioner portfolio—not a static document, but a living testament to your professional identity and impact. How do academics move beyond listing credentials to articulating their distinctive value? What allows your teaching, leadership, and innovation to speak powerfully for itself? And crucially, how does your professional voice evolve authentically throughout your career? Bimpe shares transformative strategies for building a portfolio that doesn't just describe what you do—it demonstrates who you are and the meaningful difference you make. Bimpe Kuti-Matekenya is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Lead for Public Health Programmes at the University of Greater Manchester. A passionate educator and researcher, she leads on Service User and Carer Involvement and Research Culture initiatives across the School of Health,Science and Society. Her work bridges academia, public health practice, and social care leadership, helping professionals articulate and evidence their impact through reflective practice and authentic professional identity. Through her Blog, Care Pathway [https://www.carepathway.care/] she empowers healthand social care practitioners and organisations to build person-centred approaches, values-driven practice that communicate excellence, in care quality.

Developing a Writing Culture Through Academic Leadership

What makes a writing culture feel alive—or depleted? Dr. Alicja Syska [https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/alicja-syska], Editor in Chief of JLDHE, explores how academic leaders can notice and nurture the different relationships scholars hold with writing: confidence, anxiety, joy, fatigue. Small shifts matter: when someone stops sharing drafts, or suddenly finds their voice again. We discuss how to balance productivity pressures with meaningful practice, create sustainable structures—time, community, mentorship—without adding burden, and navigate the tensions GenAI brings to authorship and identity. Can AI genuinely support scholarly growth, or does it risk diluting the very thinking that makes academic writing matter? How do we craft guidelines that feel like care, not policing? At the heart of it all: How do we help everyone feel writing is "for them" too—especially those outside traditional academic moulds? Join us as Dr. Syska offers a thoughtful conversation about holding space for both empowerment and caution as writing cultures shift, and rediscovering what it means to write with humanity in academic spaces. Dr Alicja Syska is a Lecturer in Humanities and Education at the University of Plymouth, where she previously also held a decade-long post in Learning Development. She has a Ph.D. in American Studies from Saint Louis University, USA, is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA), and an ALDinHE Senior Fellow. Her interests include writing, community building, Third Space identity, and researcher development.  She serves as Editor-in-Chief at the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education [https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe], Lead Editor at the Plymouth Interdisciplinary Education Open Journal, and also co-hosts the Learning Development Project podcast.

Teaching Thinking: AI, Metacognition, and the Future of Learning - Featuring Dr Anjali Singh, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas at Austin.

AI is changing the way students learn—but is it also changing the way they think? In this episode, we take a closer look at whether we are letting machines take over too much of the thinking process and what that means for skills like critical thinking, reflection and self-questioning. We talk about how educators can design learning that keeps students actively engaged, how to spot the difference between surface-level AI use and deeper learning, and simple ways to weave metacognitive prompts into AI tasks so students stay thoughtful, curious, and in control of their own learning. Dr. Anjali Singh is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, conducting research at the intersection of Learning Sciences and Human-AI Interaction. Her research focuses on the design and study of interactive learning technologies that support reflection, critical thinking and metacognition in learners in the age of AI. She holds a PhD in Information from the University of Michigan. Her work has been published at venues such as L@S, LAK, AIED, SIGCSE, and AAAI, and has been recognized with multiple best paper awards. Links to resources mentioned in the episode:  the chapter on metacognitive prompts - the International Handbook of Metacognition and Learning Technologies [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4419-5546-3].  Anjali's research paper presented at a workshop at AIED: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24014 [https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24014]