About this Event
Schedule
9:00-9:30- Registration
Location: Outside Adam Smith Business School: 381
9:30-10:15- Opening Keynote:
Adam Smith Business School: 381, Cathy Elliott (University College London)
10:15-11:30- Session 1: Analog learning games and simulations
Adam Smith Business School: 381, Ksenia Wesolowska (University of Strathclyde): “Negotiating Conflict: using simulations to teach Diplomacy, Negotiation and crisis decision-making”
Adam Smith Business School: 487, Janica Ezzeldien (University of Glasgow): “Who’s the Realist? Game-based Simulation in IR Teaching”
Adam Smith Business School: 582, Daisy Abbott (The Glasgow School of Art): “Understanding differences of opinion in complex and contested histories: the "Polyvocality Card Deck"”
11:30-11:45- Tea break
11:45-13:00- Session 2: Exercises in collaborative and active learning
Adam Smith Business School: 381, Catriona Forrest (University of Glasgow): “Calling the shots: Students as directors in a live-action collaborative learning activity”
Adam Smith Business School: 487, Angela Curley (University of Glasgow): “Teacher Prep: Strategies to promote social studies related active learning in the wider classroom context”
Adam Smith Business School: 582, Zubeida Lowton (University of Glasgow): “Teaching Decision Making and Negotiation Through Role Play: A Mini Planning Simulation for Social Science Educators”
13:00-15:00 Lunch with option to attend ecopedagogy demonstration or view posters from 13:30.
14:10-15:00- Ecopedagogy demonstration: Meet Vanessa at 381 Adam Smith Business School at 14:10 for 5 minute walk to the scavenger location.
Vanessa Cook (University of Glasgow): “We're going on a scavenger hunt! Building student confidence and developing group work skills outside the traditional classroom”
OR
13:30-15:00- Sandbox/poster demonstrations
Adam Smith Business School: 381, These are poster presentations of teaching activities which have not yet been delivered to a class of students, and which presenters are looking for feedback on. Feedback forms will be provided to all attendees.
-Kesenia Wesolowska (University of Strathclyde): “Joining late, belonging early: an Online Induction model for late-joining postgraduate students”
-Teymur Khalafov and Ielizaveta Rekhtman (University of Glasgow): “Personal Stories of War: Ukraine & Nagorno-Karabakh"
-Amara Doshi (University of St. Andrews): “Anthropology at Work: A Framework Design Workshop for Creative Industries”
-Yifan Zhou (University of Glasgow): “Studying Ethical Theories Through Role Play Using the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Scandal”
-Andy Judge and Allan Gillies (University of Glasgow): “Smashing the Anthropocene! Designing interdisciplinary learning for climate literacy”
-Kenneth Wraight (University of Glasgow): “Manglish Amusements: Introducing Pickering's analysis with Games”
15:00-16:15- Session 3: Using AI to support teaching and learning
Adam Smith Business School: 381, Alan Huang, University of Strathclyde: “A Card Game for Critical GenAI and Feedback Literacy”
Adam Smith Business School: 487, Katy O’Connor (UHI-Moray): “Future-Proofing Social Sciences Through Experiential Learning in the Age of AI”
Adam Smith Business School: 582, Stephen Leckey (University of Glasgow): “Using an AI Agent to Facilitate Critical Reflective Practice in Sport Science Students”
END OF DAY
Session outlines and descriptions:
Kesenia Wesolowska (University of Strathclyde): “Negotiating Conflict: using simulations to teach Diplomacy, Negotiation and crisis decision-making”
“This demonstration session presents a role-based simulation on the July Crisis of 1914, in which participants attempt to prevent the outbreak of the First World War by negotiating from the positions of key diplomatic actors. I have used this activity, in evolving forms, for the past ten years, and it has consistently been one of the most popular and memorable parts of my teaching. The exercise is grounded in my doctoral research in negotiation and in my wider work on conflict resolution, using that research to shape an active and reflective pedagogic approach. Students work with primary sources, role briefs, strategic aims, and political constraints, and are asked to negotiate under time pressure in a context marked by uncertainty and competing interests. The activity encourages students to move beyond descriptive historical knowledge and engage directly with the dynamics of diplomacy, misperception, escalation, and failed compromise. In this session, participants will experience a condensed version of the simulation and consider its pedagogic value, practical design, and, most importantly, transferable skills. The session will also briefly explore how AI prompting can support preparation for teaching by helping generate BATNAs, stakeholder constraints, and scenario refinements that add further strategic depth to the exercise.”
Janica Ezzeldien (University of Glasgow): “Who’s the Realist? Game-based Simulation in IR Teaching”
“This case study reimagines improvisational role-play as a tool for teaching International Relations (IR) theory. While simulations are widely used in higher education, the combined logic of improvisational theatre and popular social deduction games remains an underexplored resource for the design of classroom activities. Addressing this gap through the adaptation of the structure of the game Werewolf/Mafia, it shows that playfulness and critical engagement are not only compatible but pedagogically complementary. The simulation places undergraduate students in small groups representing states of their choice within a specific historical or contemporary context, individually assigning each student a competing IR theory through deliberately ambiguous prompts unknown to their peers. Responding across multiple rounds to constructed news scenarios related to a chosen context (e.g. the Cold War), students negotiate, evaluate and act from within their assigned theoretical frameworks before engaging in structured collective reflection. The exercise uses a playful format to introduce layered analytical complexity whilst deepening engagement with abstract concepts and historicising IR theory within specific geopolitical contexts. However, reflection extends beyond the simulation itself, prompting critical engagement with the limitations of the game’s units of action as a window into the structural limitations of the theories themselves. The format of the activity remains transferable across theories, historical periods, and course levels, offering a replicable model for IR pedagogy more broadly. In this way, the improvisational game renders the classroom a site where students collectively experience the explanatory power and analytical limits of competing frameworks.”
Daisy Abbott (The Glasgow School of Art): “Understanding differences of opinion in complex and contested histories: the "Polyvocality Card Deck"”
“A recent research project, "Decolonising the British Empire Exhibition of 1938 through Augmented Reality Narratives", engaged with a range of people in Glasgow with markedly different understandings of British Imperialism, Glasgow’s urban geography, and racial identities. The project took a 'polyvocal' approach which emphasises the value of multiple, sometimes contradictory, perspectives in re-narrating history. Project outputs acknowledge a kaleidoscope of nuanced and potentially contradictory ideas, aiming to create understanding difference and deep reflection.
This presentation focusses on the "Polyvocality Card Deck". The deck includes a variety of characters based on real historical figures, first-hand witnesses of the exhibition, anonymised workshop participants, Glasgow residents, and public figures. The characters are positioned alongside quotes from a wide range of sources. All cards are presented with equal weighting.
We will play a very simple, dialogic game using the cards in groups of 3-5. This activity is suitable for anyone from secondary school to academic research staff. Then we will reflect on their impact with a whole group discussion. Key learning outcome: players will have a greater understanding of the multi-layered complexity of history (in particular imperial legacies), of anti-racist and polyvocal approaches, and more empathy towards differences of opinion.”
Catriona Forrest (University of Glasgow): “Calling the shots: Students as directors in a live-action collaborative learning activity”
-“Experiential learning is key in the practical journalism methods elements of the MSc Media, Communications and International Journalism. With 100+ PGT students from a range of backgrounds and levels of news storytelling experience, this activity aims to build confidence and support learning by providing an opportunity for students to lead their educators.
For this activity, students direct teaching staff to use cameras to film a 5-shot sequence, live. Students are provided with a glossary of camera shots, and are given instruction in the value of a shared language when working in a 'news crew'. Precise naming and conventions make directing visual communication possible.
The video is streamed from a mobile phone camera to a teaching screen live, and students literally 'call the shots', directing a series of shots, correcting the framing and giving direction on new angles and novel shots. Educators make mistakes and can break conventions, such as breaking the 180-degree rule by 'crossing the line'.
This is fun activity which rapidly builds confidence. The visual nature of the activity reinforces learning and overcomes barriers.”
Angela Curley (University of Glasgow): “Teacher Prep: Strategies to promote social studies related active learning in the wider classroom context”
“Goals of this session are:
• To highlight the value of succinct learning intentions for learners
• To encourage students to engage pedagogical content knowledge to wider aspects citizenship.
Activity 1: Learning Intentions and Success Criteria: ‘Draw a house’
Participants will be asked to draw a house – 3mins. They will then be asked score their drawing based on my unseen criteria. Participants will discuss the process and what problems existed because of lack of direction.
Activity 2: ‘Concept Bingo’
Participants will be asked to complete a concept bingo card. The card will intentionally relate academic practices to the wider world. The demonstration bingo card provides nine areas for wider social subjects related engagement for primary school student teachers, which will expand their knowledge of people, society and place. One of the areas of focus from the nine areas is Ian Gilbert’s 8 Way Thinking Model (2006). Participants will be asked to complete the model with a specific subject topic from their area in mind. A worked example will be used from primary education."
Zubeida Lowton (University of Glasgow): “Teaching Decision Making and Negotiation Through Role Play: A Mini Planning Simulation for Social Science Educators”
“This session introduces participants to the use of role play for teaching complexity, conflict, and negotiation in decision making.
Learning goals:
• Understand how role play introduces complexity, conflict, and negotiation in decision making.
• Experience a condensed planning style role play.
• Reflect on how to adapt role play to their own disciplines
Participants receive role cards representing key stakeholders in a planning decision about converting a listed educational building into an ex-offender rehabilitation hostel. Roles include Politician, Housing Association Developer, Residents’ Association, Business Forum, Building Owner, and Council Representatives. Participants then participate in a 20-minute Mini Role Play. The session concludes with a short debrief which highlights the benefits of role play and how it can be adapted for different cohorts, followed by open discussion."
Vanessa Cook (University of Glasgow): “We're going on a scavenger hunt! Building student confidence and developing group work skills outside the traditional classroom”
“This session explores teaching beyond the classroom where students are taken to complete a ‘scavenger hunt’ activity in the Hunterian museum, working in groups to complete the task. Encouraging student confidence in group work has been integrated as a key component of team teaching within the Economic and Social History Widening Participation summer school programme at the University of Glasgow. Scholarship on transitions into university within the first-year report student feelings of stress and isolation as they navigate unfamiliar settings within a new institution (Conley et al. 2014). This experience can be further intensified for students from Widening Participation backgrounds who navigate additional economic and psychosocial barriers (Kahu & Nelson, 2017). This session brings active learning into a new space, outwith the traditional structure of the classroom and into the museum as historians!"
Alan Huang, University of Strathclyde: “A Card Game for Critical GenAI and Feedback Literacy”
- "Definitely Human is a playful card game that uses fill-in-the-blank prompts and discussion cards to spark open, critical conversation about GenAI use and feedback literacy in higher education.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Explore GenAI and feedback literacy through playful learning.
• Engage in open conversations about GenAI use for learning and assessment.
• To share best practice of ethical and responsible AI use in higher education.
This game is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate level students and academic staff. It combines the humorous answer cards (e.g. ""Starting an essay at 11:58pm"") and the more serious reflective questions about learning and teaching issues such as human-in-the-loop, ethical dilemmas, and learning in the age of AI. The game works without any prior AI knowledge, so it is suitable for mixed-discipline or non-specialise audiences."
Katy O’Connor (UHI-Moray): “Future-Proofing Social Sciences Through Experiential Learning in the Age of AI”
“This 20-minute interactive session (pitched primarily at undergraduate level, with adaptation guidance for postgraduate teaching) demonstrates how experiential learning can future-proof social sciences in an AI-driven world. Drawing on field experiences from recent travels in Asia and the Middle East, I will model how lecturers can translate lived observation into rigorous, theory-linked classroom practice.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Integrate lecturer field experience into theory-based teaching.
• Design short experiential activities that promote critical thinking.
• Apply motivational icebreakers that enhance engagement across diverse classrooms.
First, I will open with a 5-minute “Global Snap Judgement” icebreaker, where attendees respond to a contemporary social or policy dilemma drawn from my field experiences. Participants briefly discuss how they would interpret the issue without contextual knowledge. Next, I will model an experiential activity used in my undergraduate classes. Participants will examine a short narrative and image from my travels and connect it to a core theoretical framework (e.g., globalization or development theory), demonstrating how lived experience deepens conceptual understanding.
The final segment will involve reflection and structured discussion on adapting the activity for different levels. For postgraduate teaching, complexity can be increased by incorporating comparative analysis, research design tasks, or critical methodological reflection.”
Stephen Leckey (University of Glasgow): “Using an AI Agent to Facilitate Critical Reflective Practice in Sport Science Students”
“Intended Learning Outcomes:
• Understand how an AI agent (KAi) can support student reflective practice.
• Experience how guided scaffolding can help students engage with AI tools for learning.
This session will demonstrate how KAi, an AI learning agent, can be used to scaffold student reflection. The activity will begin with a brief overview of the role of AI in supporting reflective learning. Participants will then be walked through how students are introduced to KAi in class, including how they are guided to interact with the agent to deepen their reflections.
Attendees will take part in a short, simulated reflection task where they use example prompts that mirror the questions students receive when working with KAi. The session will highlight how structured prompts and guided interaction with the agent help students move beyond descriptive responses towards more critical reflection. The session will conclude with a short discussion on how educators can incorporate AI-agents into their teaching.”
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Adam Smith Business School, 2 Discovery Place, Glasgow, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
