BU Research Blog

Developed by Bournemouth University’s Dr. Anna Feigenbaum alongside Dr. Mehita Iqani, the Teaching Exchange Workshop was designed to foster a space for collegiate interaction and sharing experiences of the challenges and opportunities involved in teaching. Piloted at five Universities across the country in 2010-2011 through support from the Higher Education Academy, the Teaching Exchange Workshop offers colleagues a chance to work through departmental issues including curriculum development, diverse student expectations, and teaching time management.

Participating institution, the London School of Economics and Politics, said the workshop activities “got colleagues thinking creatively and learning from each other. These could be applied by any department wanting to improve teaching practice and make best use of their staff’s experience and knowledge.”

On November 8, 2013 Dr. Feigenbaum was invited to South Africa to facilitate the first international Teaching Exchange Workshop at Wits University in Johannesburg. Drawing on successes of the pilot workshops in the UK, the Wits workshop featured new participatory exercises for generating innovative assignments that bridge practice and theory, and for problem-solving challenges associated with teaching in a time of 24/7 email and social media access.

As a low-cost and high productivity model for teaching quality enhancement, Dr. Feigenbaum and Dr. Iqani are keen to see the TE Workshop continue to grow both nationally and internationally. To learn more about the Teaching Exchange Workshop, you can download a free TE Workshop handbook. You can also read a sample of pilot study results published in the Journal of Further and Higher Education.