Three academics have been awarded the APTIS Award for their pedagogical project ‘Study Space’, which enhances support for student learning.
APTIS (Association of Programmes in Translation and Interpreting Studies) is a UK charity that aims to advance translation and interpretation education for the public benefit in the British Isles. Their award is aimed at acknowledging good translation and interpreting pedagogical practices that maximise the students’ learning experience at APTIS member institutes.
‘Study Space’ is an initiative designed by three members of the MA teaching team at the School of Humanities at Westminster, Principal Lecturer Alexa Alfer, Dr Lindsay Bywood, and Senior Lecturer Juliet Vine, to foster students’ collective, self-directed learning and the formation of concrete communities of enquiry. It initially grew out of the practical need to devise online learning support for students, which needed to be centred around explicit reflection on learning and met a need that was not unique or confined to the online environment.
The initiative’s central aim is to enable students to reflect on both the theory of learning and the conditions for success for the individual and the group. Additionally, extensive reflection of pedagogy, prompted by the move to online learning, provided a rich seam of insight into the principles and practices of student-centred and co-creative learning and teaching.
‘Study Space improves students’ learning experience by designating a space for exploring the nature and conditions of learning outside of course and module-level structures. It also provides learners, on the basis of these explorations, with a forum for collaboration and self-directed learning outside of module silos.
Alexa Alfer, Dr Lindsay Bywood and Juliet Vine have also been invited to share their practices at the APTIS Annual Conference, which is being held at Dublin City University this year.
Professor Alexa Alfer commented on the win, saying: “Receiving the APTIS award is a wonderful acknowledgement of the work we put into creating Study Space and it feels like a real validation of the project’s innovative ways of supporting students’ learning, both during the pandemic and into the future. It is exciting to think that our response to our students’ needs resonates with others and we see this award as a great opportunity to share and further develop Study Space.”
Find out more about APTIS, and Translation Studies at Westminster.
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