recent posts
- New paper by Sophie Sowden-Carvalho on neurodiversity and stakeholder co-production in assessment and feedback
- Volume 7 of the Education in Practice journal out now
- New paper on designing inclusive digital learning: from practice to recognition
- New paper on the awarding gap by Dean Kavanagh
- Student confidence through complexity: new research showcases impact of interdisciplinary learning
about
Category: SoTL and HE research
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Dr Sophie Sowden-Carvalho is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham. She is an experimental psychologist and co-director of the U21 Autism Research Network. Her research focuses on understanding social communication and wellbeing across the lifespan, with a focus on autistic and non-autistic adults. She also takes…
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Volume 7 of the Education in Practice journal has just been published (ACCESS HERE). This volume includes papers published during the 2025-26 academic year on a ‘rolling’ basis on our website and reflect a wide range of scholarship carried out at the University of Birmingham, ranging from individual case studies of local practice to investigations…
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Piyali Bhattacharya is a Teaching and Research Fellow at the School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, and has recently completed her PhD. Her research focuses on clinical and developmental psychology with special interest to mental health and neurodiversity. Alongside her research, Piyali has been involved in designing and leading a postgraduate Digital Mental Health module…
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Dr Dean Kavanagh is an Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Science in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, where he teaches across Biomedical Science and Medical Education. Alongside his research in cardiovascular science, he has an interest in assessment, student progression and educational equity in higher education. This article, initially conceived as…
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On 28 January 2026, we had the pleasure of hosting a forum for project leaders. The forum brought together leaders of institutionally-funded enhancement projects through our Education Enhancement Fund, and many practitioners who were keen to engage in dialogue around the themes and topics discussed. The programme for the day included: Dylan Williams (School of Chemistry) Lab…
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Our latest paper is a study of using Generative AI with undergraduate students to support the development of critical thinking, as well as further the knowledge of GAI itself. Our author, Catherine RE Lawler, is a microbiologist who works at the Department of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham. In this…
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At the last international conference of the Society for Research Into Higher Education in December, our colleague Prof. Sarah Montano of the University of Birmingham Business School was awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Society, alongside other important contributors to research in HE over the decades, such as Gerlese Akerlind, Paul Ashwin, Sue Clegg, Heidi…
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Our latest case study is titled ‘Feeling the code’: Emotions in programming and interventions supporting positivity, and focuses on teaching introductory coding to Masters students in different contexts, including bioinformatics and computer science, with students learning on-campus or via distance learning. The case study highlights the importance of emotions in this learning setting, and assesses…
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Lindsey Compton, Associate Professor in Genetics from the School of Biosciences comments on embracing educational research for academics from a STEM background (and beyond!), after an event of our Education Research and Scholarship Network on 30 October 2025. Over the years as University educators, we come to know our own students the best! What works…
