Evolutions in Education: The OU Education Conference

If you took part in the conference and/or are using this hub as part of your professional learning or CPD, you can use our FREE online course, Professional Learning into Action on OpenLearn Create to gain recognition and demonstrate the impact of taking part with a digital badge. The course takes around two hours to complete and will guide you through a process of Appreciative Inquiry to take action as a result of your interaction with the conference and/or this hub.

Evolutions in Education consisted of interactive sessions, panels and talks considering how The Open University works across the UK with practitioners in a wide range of educational settings. It offered attendees an opportunity to meet education colleagues from across the UK and to find new resources, build networks and share their experiences.

Recognition of professional learning via a digital badge was available for participating in the conference.

Attendance across the conference was by choice; the aim was for anyone attending to be able to join just the sessions/days that suit them best.

Evolutions in Education was split into two overarching themes to explore a number of different topics:

The keynote addresses at the conference were presented by senior leadership colleagues from across the four nations of The Open University.

Eric Addae-Kyeremeh, the Head of the School of Education, Childhood, Youth, and Sport began by highlighting The Open University’s commitment to social justice. He spoke of the importance of inclusion for all, and the transformative power of education, exemplified by the open distance learning model. Eric also stressed the key role of innovation within The Open University that redefines the boundaries of education.

The theme of innovation was also explored by John D’Arcy, the Director of The Open University in Ireland. John spoke of the role of The Open University as a trusted authentic partner in a wide range of partnership activities. Such activity was possible through strong collaboration with a variety of stakeholders.

Jane Grant, the Deputy Director for External Engagement and Partnerships at The Open University in Scotland, talked of the changing landscape for education and the importance of life-long learning for students. She too highlighted the role of The Open University in reaching students who cannot for various reasons access other forms of Higher Education.

Ben Lewis, the Director of The Open University in Wales also spoke of life-long learning within the evolving educational landscape in Wales. In particular, he identified the recent changes in the school curriculum and the imminent introduction of the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (CTER) – a new body that will have a wide remit to oversee post-16 education and research.

Download transcript (61.7 KB)

The reverse panel gave those attending the chance to be positioned as the ‘experts’ so that we could discuss and learn from the key issues being faced by educational practitioners around the UK and beyond. To facilitate this process, a Padlet was used to collate responses to four questions:

• What opportunities are emerging in your context (nation/sector) which are exciting/intriguing to you?
• What key challenges are you currently facing?
• What developments are happening in your nation/sector which will impact on your practices?
• Where do you see innovate practices happening? What are they?

These questions sparked discussions ranging including pupil-led learning, current experiences of working with government in Northern Ireland, pathways into education professions, supporting career long professional learning, to the real challenges faced by practitioners across the board in terms of managing change, managing workloads and responding to the diverse needs of our learners.

Download transcript (66.2 KB)

If you are interested in finding out more about what the Open University can offer, please explore the following links: