About us
The Teaching & Learning Community of Practice (T&L CoP) provides a space to continue and expand many of the discussions you are already having at teaching & learning events and amongst your own teams within the wider collegiate University. We hope that the community will provide a space for sharing ideas and experiences, and that it will serve as a network for colleagues to tackle shared challenges in a collegial and informal way across Cambridge.
We organise a range of opt-in opportunities to meet and engage in discussions relating to teaching and learning across the year. There will be a theme for each term, an associated webinar, a 'podcast club' (similar to a book club), and a mixture of other in-person and online activities and discussions to join, both synchronous and asynchronous. The extent to which you engage with the T&L CoP is determined by you and your interests and availability.
The T&L CoP is guided by its members and respond to colleagues' interests and needs.
Join us
Sign up to join the Cambridge Teaching & Learning Community of Practice here.
Upon registration for the T&L CoP, you will receive a welcome email. Registering means that you will automatically receive the termly newsletter containing all the information and joining links for the community's activities. Should you wish to participate in asynchronous discussions and have access to shared files within the community, you will also have the option to join our MS Teams site through a link in the welcome email.
What's on this term
Podcast Club: inclusive cultures and hidden curricula
- Thursday 3 October
- 13.00-14.00
- Online
Just like a book club - listen to the podcast and join us for a facilitated discussion.
This term we have two shorter podcasts that complement each other from the University of Edinburgh's Teaching Matters podcast. One features students' qualitative comments on experiences of inclusion and exclusion at university and the other theoretically explores the effects of the 'hidden curriculum'. Listen to one, the other, or - even better - both!
Webinar: Supporting learning environments for international students
- Wednesday 23 October
- 13.00-14.00
- Online
The University of Cambridge welcomes many international students each year, and for many this may be their first time visiting the UK and staying away from their home country for a long time. Building a positive environment and developing a sense of belonging throughout their time with us can be vital in ensuring a positive experience at Cambridge.
Professor Karen Ottewell - Director of Academic Development & Training for International Students, Language Centre - will provide an overview of their work and provide some insight into how to support your students.
World Café: Cultivating the learning environment
- Tuesday 12 November
- 13.00-14.00
- In-person
This session is designed to bring together many of our community members to meet each other and share experiences. A world café is an approach to facilitation which makes use of an informal setting for participants to explore an issue by discussing it in small table groups.
In this session we will explore many of the themes explored this term, such as trust in education, transitions to new environments, support for students, and student belonging. We welcome attendees to collaborate with one another and work towards common goals.
Spotlight on Practice: Experiences from the Foundation Year Programme
- Wednesday 27 November
- 13.00-14.00
- Online
It is our pleasure to host Dr Corinne Roughley and Dr Stuart Palmer from the Cambridge Foundation Year for this 'spotlight' session.
Students on the Cambridge Foundation Year Programme come from a very wide range of educational backgrounds and demographics. This means that we have to be sensitive to their differing perspectives on the material we include, try to avoid making assumptions about prior knowledge, and seek to use insights from best practice for teaching students with disabilities.
In this seminar we will be discussing our experiences trying to embed inclusive practices into three papers which present different opportunities and challenges.