A Focus on Pedagogy

Abstract

Speaker: Dr. Graham Cairns, Director, AMPS

Today the education sector is going through what most commentators see as an unprecedented period of change. The assumption is that in the wake of COVID-19, many standard modes of teaching and learning have changed forever. However, while the flux of recent times appears to have been enormous, many aspects of what we do remains the same. Set in this context, this conference reminds us that the pandemic is only one aspect of what it is to be an educator and researcher today. Asking us to take a step back from the flux we have been in recently, it invites us to refocus on our teaching and research topics. Importantly, it welcomes presentations that highlight pedagogy and research that has continued unaffected by remote teaching, as well as examples were radical realignments have been necessary. Whether it be in the fields of the arts, design, social or environmental sciences, this conference seeks to better grasp the tenor of teaching and research in today’s changing academy.

This introduction will place this call in the context of the work done by Amps and the universities collaborating on this event: Ball State University, USA; the University of Pretoria, South Africa; the University of Kassel, Germany; and Beaconhouse National University, Pakistan.