New City College Compendium - Volume 1, Issue 1

NEW CITY COLLEGE COMPENDIUM

Volume 1, Issue 1

RESEARCH AND SCHOLARS’ SUMMIT 2024 THE BOOK OF ABSTRACTS Editors: Tahir, R., Hans, J., and Kendrick, R.

Correspondence address and email: New City College, Ardleigh Green Road, Hornchurch RM11 2LL Higher.Education@NCCLondon.ac.uk

Research and Scholars’ Summit 2024 Wednesday 7th February 2024, 15.00-17.00 W10-11 (Boardroom), Ardleigh Green Campus

Conference Chair Janet Smith Organising Committee Higher Education Department Teaching and Learning Lab Technical Support Ashley Garner Steve Hedges Dawn Mcilroy Julie Goodger (Jules) Adam Trinder Scott Pamenter

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Dr Alison Arnaud Foreword “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”

So said Mark Van Doren, poet, critic and ‘legendary’ teacher.

At New City College it is that art of discovery and the associated culture of curiosity that drives our desire to be better: to teach better and crucially to help our learners learn better.

It’s not common for FE Colleges to formally engage in research projects- we associate these more with Universities - and yet without research and time to discover, we are less able to inspire, motivate and develop the learners who come to us each year. I hope you will agree that the projects captured here demonstrate not only the theoretical value of research but also the practical impact it can have.

This collection of abstracts is the culmination of a year of personal and institutional discoveries. It represents ambition for our learners and for the communities we serve. It also represents hours of hard work and serious collaboration. Some of the research projects are personal; some address more College-wide issues – all are pedagogical.

I would like to thank those who have contributed, those that supported them, Dawn, Jules, Jitinder, Ruth, the mentors and those staff and managers who attended presentations along the way.

As you read these, I hope you feel inspired – despite all the other pressures on our time, it is evident that there is still room at NCC for genuine discovery.

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Summit Aims One of aims of this summit is to re-address the issues raised by Solvason and Elliott (2013) and Elliot (1996) on “Why is Research Invisible in Further Education”. Since their work on why research has been margalised in FE, the sector has matured in terms of its social responsibility and social impact. Hence, research in FE should not solely focus on educators seeking research-based solutions to their pedagogical problems but to explore wider issues that impact the local community and promote social mobility. This is why the summit brings a collage of scholarly presentations that includes boundless topics such as environmental sustainability and fighting antibacterial resistance in order to promote cross-disciplinary discourse.

References: Elliott, G. (1996) Why is Research Invisible in Further Education? British Educational Research Journal, 22, 101-111.

Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1501580 Solvason, C. and Elliott, G. (2013) Why is Research still invisible in Further Education? Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 6, 1-17.

DOI: 10.47408/jldhe.v0i6.206.

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Contents An investigation into the effectiveness of creative teaching strategies on adult learners on a Level 2 CACHE course Mulhare, D Towards greener lessons: modelling sustainable behaviour in teaching and learning Giudice, M

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Role of natural products to tackle antimicrobial resistance Khondkar, P

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Exploring the role of coaching in the professional development of college lecturers William, L

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An investigation into the use of check–in and checkout as a means of supporting PGCE trainee teachers’ well-being Demetriou, P

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Best Behaviour: Managing Behaviour for Learning Stafford, K

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Conclusions and Editors’ Remarks

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Organiser Closing Statements

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Key Speakers Mafalda Giudice

Della Mulhare

Paul Demetriou

Group Coordinator Teaching and Learning (e-Learning and Education for Sustainable Development) “I am a trailblazer in sustainable pedagogy and have over 17 years’ experience of working as an educator in FE. In recent years I have been championing the introduction of greater sustainability practices into ESOL teaching, learning and administrative practices and I am now taking a step further by promoting and embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across learning and working practices at New City College.”

Lecturer in Education “I have been in the education field for more than 25 years with my career spanning over preschool ownership/leadership, primary schools, secondary schools with a manager role, six forms colleges and FE colleges. I have always had a passion to work and help educate children, young people and adults. As education is something that I am passionate about I am indeed following through with education myself as I am a currently studying for a Doctorate in Education”.

Lecturer in Post Compulsory Education “I have been a teacher educator in HE forthe past 24 years. My main research interests are in pedagogy and supporting learners in post compulsory education and training. I have delivered many research papers on these areas at various conferences both in the UK and Europe and written articles for various journals. In 2023 I wrote a book about supporting learners who have EAL and Dyslexia. I have recently completed another about supporting the mental health and wellbeing needs of learners which is due to be published in August in 2024 and recently signed a contract for a new book about tutoring and coaching due in June 2025”.

Proma Khondkar

Senior Curriculum Manager – Health Sciences and Social Care “I have published 46 articles in peer-reviewed journals and have been successful in obtaining grants from UK funding bodies. My research interests are in microbial efflux pump inhibitors, bioassay-guided isolation and purification of compounds from microorganisms effective against MDR and methicillin-resistant S. aureus, synthesis of antibacterial natural product analogues, structure elucidation of natural products by extensive use of 1D and 2D NMR, and use of prebiotics and probiotics to enhance mucosal immunity. At UCL, I supervised MSc and co-supervised PhD students. I also supervised HND, BPharm, MPharm (research) and PhD students at different HEIs. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)”.

Louisa William

Lecturer Teacher Education “I have been a researcher for more than a decade and have recently completed my thesis for a professional doctorate (EdD) from IOE, UCL. My doctoral research is in Coaching and Mentoring and my research interests include staff appraisal, teacher feedback practices and questioning techniques.”

Katie Stafford

Deputy Principal Hackney “I have worked in Further Education for 19 years and I have a passion for creating environments in which students and teachers can thrive. In my own time I invest in my own learning. I am especially interested in leadership, education policy and the practice which emanates from it. My MA in Education focused on the impact of government policy on the quality evaluation cycles in college and so I understand more the connections between policy and implementation. It was the successful completion of a schools-based qualification, an NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture, that was the motivation for completing my research study in managing behaviour at the Hackney Campus. I am currently working towards a PhD in Education.

Through this I aim to better understand the links between educational policy, leadership and the creation of capacity to support high quality teaching and learning.”

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An investigation into the effectiveness of creative teaching strategies on adult learners on a Level 2 course Della Mulhare BA (Hons), MA (Ed), Cert.Ed This paper illustrates the successful implementation of creative strategies as andrological teaching tools. This study adopted a binary lens approach to incorporate both learners’ and educators' perspectives. An array of creative strategies was employed, including role plays, artwork displays, and quizzes in this study. Qualitative data was collected from teaching staff and adult learners in the form of open and closed questionnaires and observations. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed the role play activity that incorporated De Bano’s (1956) lateral thinking hats as the most effective creative strategy. Quizzes and artwork lagged behind, and the outcomes of these learning tools were dependent on the learner's personal characteristics. It is believed that the incorporation of De Bano’s hats into the role play activity disintegrated pre-existing barriers to creative strategy.

Overall, for the creative strategies, 95% of the learners provided positive feedback, and this included recognition of the learner’s relation to their learning objectives. Coupled with this, classroom observations also revealed increased learner motivation and engagement. Teachers reported the same but also expressed apprehensions regarding the increased workload associated with preparing innovative creative teaching resources. In conclusion, role play is an effective pedagogical tool that warrants further research in andragogy. Future recommendations include investigating the efficacy of role play in supporting learning in EAL and ALS adult learners.

References and further reading De Bono, E. (1956) Six Thinking Hats. Cambridge: Little, Brown and Company De Bono, E. (1995) Serious Creativity. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 18, 12-18 Johnson, A., Ashby, S., and Lawry, M. (2022) A Scoping Review Exploring the Use of Art-Making-as-Therapy in Adult Mental Health Occupational Therapy Practice. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 10(4), 1-18.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1947

Q&A Q1: How did you measure an increase in learner motivation?

A1: Learner and teacher feedback indicated that the learners found the lessons enjoyable and ‘fun’.

An increased enthusiasm ‘buzz’ was witnessed in classroom observations.

Q2: Did you find in your research that some topics were more suitable for creative interventions than others?

A2: Yes, this is why it is important to review the curriculum, schemes of work and lesson plan to see where they can fit in. The roleplay activity gave the adult CACHE learners a good understanding of various kinds of roles and their responsibilities in school.

Q3: How did the DeBano hats fit in with this activity?

A3: The adult learners were concerned about taking part in the role play, but this broke down the barriers. As soon as they had their hats on with their role title; they stepped into requirements of their characters.

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Towards greener lessons: modelling sustainable behaviour in teaching and learning Mafalda Giudice BA(Hons), CELTA, DELTA, ILM Sustainable educational practices and digitalisation are interrelated and are important in decelerating the anthropogenic climate change crisis especially as the global paper and pulp industry accounted for 6% of industrial energy use and 2% CO2 emissions (Furszyfer Del Rio et al., 2022). Climate epidemiological studies show that human health will be impacted directly and indirectly by changing climate patterns, resulting in food and water insecurity and environmental damage.

Sustainable behaviour was modelled and piloted in ESOL classes at a NCC campus. This involved digitisation of the curriculum by transitioning from paperbased learning to e-learning platforms such as Lumio, Wordwall, Liveworksheets, MS Teams and was strategically planned using an initial teacher survey. The survey outcomes provided insight into the pre-existing digital and green skills of the ESOL teaching staff and this information was used to design five continuous professional training sessions to prep the teaching staff recruits involved in this study. These sessions were delivered on a fortnightly basis. Teacher and learner feedback was collected using an end-of-project questionnaire.

Data from Term 2, showed a 30% reduction in paper consumption. A further reduction of 34% was witnessed in Term 3. The transition did not impact learners’ ability to achieve their learning outcomes and barriers were overcome because of the initial learner consultation work at the start of the project that recorded learner needs and preferences. The findings showed that teachers reported an increase in their digital competency. Learners also benefited from increased digital literacy skills as well as saving the equivalent of 11.5 trees, which equates to 8,411 kg Carbon (virgin paper). Other educational gains were witnessed as increased learner autonomy due to a shift in the pedagogical paradigm from teacher-centred to learner-centred with the transition.

Implementation of pro-environmental behaviours sustainable development and integration of digitalisation learning has been challenging for ESOL learners, as they often lack the literacy and digital skills to access the e-learning platform.

However, this project demonstrated that embedding green skills into the curriculum is feasible through strategic planning. The successful application of this culturally responsive pedagogical tool exemplifies the potential for educational institutions to play a pivotal role in shaping a more sustainable future as well as supporting the instillation of social belonging in ESOL learners.

References and further reading Furszyfer Del Rio, D.D., Sovacool, B.K., Griffiths, S., Bazilian, M., Kim, J., Foley, A.M. and Rooney, D. (2022) Decarbonizing the pulp and paper industry: A critical and systematic review of sociotechnical developments and policy options. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 167. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112706.

Department of Education (2022) Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems [online]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-changestrategy/sustainability-and-climate-change-a-strategy-for-the-education-and-childrensservices-systems.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (2020). Education for Sustainable Development: A roadmap [eBook] Paris: UNESCO. Available from: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802.locale=en.

Q&A Q1: Did you restrict the printing budget?

A1: No, teachers were encouraged to be more mindful regarding the environment. It was a project that aimed to empower educators and learners with new digital skills.

Q2: Did you acquire computers in the classroom, or were your sessions all done through an interactive whiteboard?

A2: Yes, in some cases, but in others, learners were allowed to use their phones.

In other cases, teachers showed the worksheet to a group of learners, and they were still able to use their writing books as a record of their learning.

Q3: What were the learners’ responses to the reduction?

A3: The younger teenager learners greeted the notion.

Whereas adult learners preferred a more hybrid model.

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Role of natural products to tackle antimicrobial resistance Dr Proma Khondkar BPharm (Hons), MPharm, PhD, FHEA, MRSB The aim of this research study was twofold; first, to expose FEbased undergraduate students to clinical research, and second, to unearth new antibiotics derived from natural sources that can kill drug-resistant bacteria. Disulphides derived from Allium stipitatum, have been shown to possess antibacterial properties. Analogues of these compounds were produced by S-methylthiolation of appropriate thiols using S-methyl methanethiosulfonate and these were tested using antibacterial assays. One synthetic compound inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis at 17 µM and other compounds inhibited Escherichia coli and multi-drugresistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus at concentrations ranging between 32–138 µM. Similarly, benzocyclohexane oxide derivatives and neolignans isolated from the Asian medicinal plant, Piper betle, demonstrated synergistic activity against methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) when combined with other antibiotics. These findings underscore the mindfulness behaviour that needs to be observed by both healthcare professionals and the public regarding antibiotic usage, whilst the pharmaceutical industry continues its battle for new anti-microbial agents.

The FE-based undergraduates who engaged with similar type of study commented that this opportunity had a profound impact on their personal and academic development whilst being in an inclusive learning environment of FE.

References and further reading Danquah, C.A., Kakagianni, E., Khondkar, P., Maitra, A., Rahman, M., Evangelopoulos, D., McHugh, T.D., Stapleton, P., Malkinson, J., Bhakta, S. and Gibbons, S. (2018) Analogues of Disulfides from Allium stipitatum Demonstrate Potent Anti-tubercular Activities through Drug Efflux Pump and Biofilm Inhibition. Scientific Reports, 8(1).

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-18948-w.

Terminology: Learners are called ‘students’ when studying for courses at or above Level 4.

Q&A Q1: Will AI benefit new drug discovery?

A1: It will help in the design of new drugs (for example, some analogues are predesigned, and they can be screened for their possible modes of action).

Q2: How did NCC students find the experience of engaging with such high levels of research, and how was it integrated into the curriculum.

A2: Students on the HND programme were recruited for this opportunity.

Students are expected to complete a research project as part of their course, and so students were able to engage in similar type of research exposure.

Q3: There are many natural remedies that are known for their therapeutic properties. Why are they not fast tracked?

A3: The herbal medicines contain many different compounds, some of which have great complexity. Plant substances such as polysaccharides, tannins etc, may interfere with the isolation of bioactive metabolites. Moreover, drug development from plant derived route requires longer time. That’s why they are not first tracked.

Q4: Are there medicinal plant researchers and research groups that are working on this topics.

A4: Yes, there are numerous research groups around the globe who have been working on bioactive natural products.

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Exploring the role of coaching in the professional development of college lecturers Louisa William BA (Hons), MA (Eng Lit.), MA (Eng ELT.), MA (Ed), EdD This case study investigated coaching practice and how it influenced the professional development of teaching staff at the College. The study aimed to discover how coaching was envisioned, implemented and monitored, evaluating the role of coaching practice in the professional development of lecturers. The research sample consisted of coaches, mentors, managers, coachees and mentees. Two focus groups and 20 semi-structured interviews were utilised to enable thick description of data. Reflexive thematic analysis, as a recursive process, was employed to analyse all the data sets.

The main findings of the study revealed the existing context of the coaching practice, with regular one-to-one meetings and a referral system for support. The coaching strategies deployed were building a rapport, use of questioning, tailored support and friendly lesson observations. Findings revealed that the main barriers that impeded coaching practice were workload issues, time constraints, lack of engagement with support and lack of trust. The impact of coaching practice was found to be both positive and negative, closely linked to the willingness to receive support. Positive impact was experienced in opportunities for professional discussions and reflections, increased confidence, trust and collaboration whilst the negative aspects of practice included being judgmental and the absence of a coaching architecture. The main themes delved into the emotions around the referral system, the performative aspects of teaching practice, the dialogic and collaborative nature of the coaching process, key elements in the success of coaching and shifts in coaching practice. The recommendations focused on strategic planning for coach and teacher professional development and on future practice and policy implementation of coaching.

References and further reading Grant, A. M. and Gerrard, B. (2020) Comparing problem-focused, solution-focused and combined problem-focused/solution-focused coaching approach: solutionfocused coaching questions mitigate the negative impact of dysfunctional attitudes. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 13, 61-77.

Hobson, A. J. and Maxwell, B. (2020) Mentoring substructures and superstructures: an extension and reconceptualisation of the architecture for teacher mentoring.

Journal of Education for Teaching, 46, 184-206.

Lofthouse, R. (2019) Coaching In Education: A Professional Development Process In Formation. Professional Development In Education, 45, 33-45.

Loo, S. (2020) Professional Development of Teacher Educators in Further Education: Pathways, Knowledge, Identities, and Vocationalism, Milton: Routledge.

O'Leary, M. (2013) Expansive and restrictive approaches to professionalism in FE colleges: The observation of teaching and learning as a case in point. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 18, 348-364.

O’Leary, M., Smith, R., Cui, V. and Dakka, F. (2019) The role of leadership in prioritising and improving the quality of teaching and learning in further education: project report for FETL. Further Education Trust for Leadership.

Q&A Q1: What were the resistances to the coaching scheme?

A1: Some of the findings showed that NQT or staff that were referred by their managers who needed to work on their professional targets displayed resistance to the practice.

Peer coaching may be more appropriate in such cases.

Q2: What about selfassessment and using this method to set your personal targets for professional development?

A2: This can work very well in tandem with coaching/peer coaching.

However, new entrants to the teaching profession may still require coaching.

Q3: How can we sustain improvement in practice once coaching sessions cease?

A3: This is why coaching and mentoring (CAM) may be a better approach for the FE sector.

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An investigation into the use of check–in and check-out as a means of supporting PGCE trainee teachers’ well-being Dr Paul Demetriou BA(Hons), MA, PhD, PGCE The Association of Colleges conducted an independent research study in 2023, which revealed a significant increase in reported cases of mental health issues among further education learners especially in those who were outside formal disclosure. The common markers for this increase included ‘home circumstances. and ‘Covid-19’.Therefore, a counselling technique, check-in, and check-out were piloted as an affective intervention for trainee teachers, and the impact was observed on their well-being. Check-in and check-out were administered as a tenminute starter and plenary activities over 12 weeks to 13 PGCE trainee teachers (eight of the trainees had EAL). The participants sat in a circle, and each individual was allowed to express their feelings using Haydon et al., (2023) guidelines. The decision to partake was autonomous. Students were also given the opportunity to expand upon the issues they presented at a later stage as part of tutorials. Data collection followed Boden et al., (2018) guidelines and involved a semi-structured, five-question survey completed at the end of the study.The recipients of the intervention reported positive feedback that ranged from reduced anxiety to improved emotional literacy. Both check-in and check-out activities aided the trainees in raising their self-esteem and made them feel more confident about expressing themselves in class. However, the check-out activity also supported affirmation of learning, as it gave the trainee teachers a safe space to reflect on their practice. This was especially important for the students who had EAL, as they tend to struggle to express their feelings in class.

Future recommendations include piloting check-in and check-in as traumainformed practices which can be piloted in other diverse types of classrooms, especially with EAL and/or SEND learner.

References and further reading Association of Colleges (2023) AoC Mental Health Survey Report. Available from: https://d4hfzltwt4wv7.cloudfront.net/uploads/files/AoC-Mental-Health-SurveyReport-2023.pdf.

Boden, L. J., Jolivette, K., and Alberto, P. A. (2018) The Effects of check-in, check-up, check-out for students with moderate intellectual disabilities during on- and off-site vocational training. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 53(1), 4–21.

Drevon, D. D., Hixson, M. D., Wyse, R. D., and Rigney, A. M. (2019). A meta-analytic review of the evidence for check-in check-out. Psychology in the Schools, 56(3), 393– 412. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22195.

Hackney, A. J., Jolivette, K., and Sanders, S. (2023) Integrating trauma-informed practices into Check-In/Check-Out for use in alternative education settings.

Intervention in School and Clinic. DOI: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10534512231183968.

Haydon, Todd and Kennedy-Donica, Alana. (2023) Implementing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Check-In/Check-Out With a Struggling Learner: A Case Report. 20. 81-99.

Kern, Harrison, J. R., Custer, B. E., and Mehta, P. D. (2019) Factors that enhance the quality of relationships between mentors and mentees during check & connect.

Behavioral Disorders, 44(3), 148–161. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/019874291877979.

Q&A Q1: How would you handle something if a learner disclosed something concerning?

A1: One will have to follow the College’s safeguarding procedures.

But Hayden et al.'s (2023) guidelines are useful, as they advise the practitioner to give the students the autonomy to disclose what they want to say. Students were presented with the option of tutorials.

Q2: Do you think check-in and check-out can be tailored towards learning?

A2: Yes, especially checkout can become more affirmation of learning.

Q3: How did you contain check-in and check-out as a ten-minute activity?

A3: The activity was ringfenced by a minute of silence, which also allowed time to think and gather their feelings.

Thereby creating distance between the activities helped the spill over.

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Best Behaviour: Managing Behaviour for Learning Katie Stafford BA (Hons), MA (Ed), Cert.Ed., CMI

This was a pilot study to explore behaviour for learning amongst students and the range strategies that further education teachers had adopted to support behaviour for learning at the Hackney campus, New City College.

The study involved teacher participants completing an eightquestion survey. The respondents reported that approximately 50% of the students in the classroom have poor engagement with learning which was linked mainly to mobile phones use, along with poor attendance and punctuality.

Respondent teachers stated that they adopted a range of classroom interventions, including signalling techniques to allow a smoother and efficient transition between activities, and positive reinforcement of good classroom etiquettes via praise and verbal feedback. To gain a deeper understanding, focus group interviews will now be conducted to probe into some of the external factors that may influence the student’s readiness for learning. Further research will also empower teachers to formulate a behaviour management toolbox and evaluate new strategies such as trauma-informed practice.

Q&A Q1: Can this study be linked to counselling? Check-in and check-out A1: Yes, and this could be a future project.

Q2: What are other external factors?

A2: There can be social factors, including transitions between schools and FE.

References and further reading English, A. (2022) Engagement and compliance in education today.

Learning: Research and Practice, Vol 8(2) pp.1–9. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2022.2085771

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Conclusion and Editors’ Remarks This stimulus paper exhibits the unlocked potential of further education (FE) colleges as hubs for inter and multi-disciplinary (curriculum) research, a much-needed investment to build the professional capital of teachers and learning support assistants, who are the nation builders. The Covid-19 pandemic introduced complex local, national, and global social challenges, that can only be better addressed through researched-informed decisions. This is why the value and scope of interdisciplinary in FE-based provisions cannot be underestimated, as colleges often work with hard-to-reach communities and therefore can be testbeds for social cohesion and inclusion projects. Reconciling with the fact that FE colleges are often community partners, they can be future catalysts for the democratic (meaningful) participation of stakeholders to co-create thriving communities. In summary, FE-powered interdisciplinary research findings can be used in the effective mobilisation of local funds to reduce social inequalities and support student access and outcomes.

The NCC Teaching & Learning Lab research projects and the Scholars’ Summit 2024 serves as model examples of how dual professionalism can be harvested into prosocial interdisciplinary research, with a beneficial output towards wide range of communities and governmental policymakers. For example, Mafalda Giudice’s project (Towards greener lessons: modelling sustainable behaviour in teaching and learning) showcased how to translate corporate social responsibility into social responsibility in education with a measurable social impact.

Academic dialogue at the Summit was chaired by Janet Smith (Principal for Havering, New City College), who championed the inter-curriculum research projects and summarised the summit findings with the warrant for more collaborative research projects between various academic disciplines. Work on Smith’s recommendations has already commenced, includes projects that will be gauging the effect of check-in and check-out as a trauma-informed practice in ESOL (educational researcher, Michaela Hendriks leading this project at NCC). It is anticipated the triumph of such projects, and the summit recommendations will propel FE-based researchers to propose novel research ideas by synthesising cross-over projects. For example, investigating trauma-informed ecotherapy by embedding green skills as part of a culturally responsive pedagogical curriculum for ESOL students. The social impact can be measured by determining if there is an increased sense of social belonging, awareness and a change of behaviour amongst students. Or by adding a biologists’ lens to pro-environmental practices, one can observe the effect of the elevated oxygen concentration in the classroom from the green plants on cognitive learning (after all, learning is a series of biochemical reactions). We are not proposing that we substitute traditional pedagogic discourse with interdisciplinary research, as these will feed into the Social Mobility Commission’s What Work Centres. Above all, these research projects are required to complete the understanding of the FE learning milieu. The NCC internal, What Work Centre, the Teaching and Learning Lab pipeline projects include titles such as investigating the efficacy of SMART targets at the FE level. However, if social mobility is at the centre of FE research, then all research needs to be undertaken using intersectional and multi-disciplinary lenses.

Apart from engaging in scholarly research, it is important to celebrate that FE practitioners are exposing their undergraduate students to high-level research, much earlier than their university peers.

This supplements the aforementioned comments that FE-based HE provisions are committed to reducing social barriers to learning. This also explains why FE teaching staff still call themselves teachers and not lecturers!

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Organiser Closing Statements “This book represents the remarkable achievements of individual staff who have engaged with scholarly activity to further the development of outstanding practice in their teaching and support activities. The Teaching and Learning Lab has at its heart the remit to use research to enhance the experience of students who study in FE. I am extremely proud of the work the Lab and HE teams have done to foster the culture of curiosity which makes staff want to try to engage with research, either through higher level study or through a Lab sponsored project.

This Book of Abstracts provides a summary of that activity which is transforming the lives of our students.”

Janet Smith, Principal for Havering, New City College

"The Teaching & Learning Lab was launched to develop a culture of curiosity in FE, help teachers in their professional development journey and provide opportunities for sharing practice that works. The Lab makes use of established research as well commissioning its own with a variety of partners. We represent the growing tranche of exciting FE research and are incredibly proud of the work of our committed and talented practitioners represented in this abstract."

Ruth Kendrick, Group Director of Teaching, Learning and Development, New City College

“Research is at the heart of all HE activity. As the Deputy Director of a forward-thinking Higher Education team at NCC, we wanted this summit to be a celebration of some of the research being performed around the college as well be an opportunity for a scholarly exchange between various curriculum staff.”

Jitinder Hans, Deputy Group Director, New City College

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© New City College.

All rights reserved. No part of this book of abstracts may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic methods, without the prior written permission of New City College, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to New City College.

Correspondence address and email: New City College, Ardleigh Green Road, Hornchurch RM11 2LL Higher.Education@NCCLondon.ac.uk