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The holidays are coming!! …Well, after essays, exams and marking, that is.

The HEA Inspire Social Science conference may come at the busy end of the term, but this is actually great timing when it comes to tweaking your teaching practice for the next round! The delegates presenting at this year’s conference come armed with knowledge, experience, and that oh-so-crucial infectious enthusiasm for educating (that may just be the tonic you need at this point in the term)! Like most of us do with each new year, we look back on the one that has passed – What we have done well, what we can do better, and how we plan on making the change. Memories are fresh about what worked in your lectures and seminars, and what felt stale or didn’t connect for your students. You’ll remember the days that you went home tired and the ones that left you energised and remembering why you love what you do.

The HEA Inspire Social Sciences conference is beautifully positioned to transition you further toward the lecturer that you want to be, and that your students will get the most out of. We’re having speakers talk about innovative methods to connect with students, like Flipped Classroom teaching, Open Badges, MOOCs… assessment, feedback and rubrics… engaging students with humour, Facebook, and their skillsets and career prospects – see the programme for details of the talks. With these as just a taste of what is going on, there are lots of new ideas and perspectives that are being bounced around over the next two days, and lots to tips and tricks to integrate into your classrooms. No doubt you’ll be inspired by some of the ideas and stories you’ll hear. So here is my challenge:

• Make a top three list of what you’d like to implement in your classroom for next term – what has inspired you to rethink your practice?

This blog was previously published here: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/blog/new-year%E2%80%99s-teaching-resolutions

Daphne Page, City University