Sign in

Sandra Flynn, PhD

@sandraflynn.bsky.social
102 followers 69 following 99 posts

Teaching Fellow at KBS, University of Limerick | Lifelong Learner | Blogs about learning and teaching at sandraflynn.com | Founder of Learning Digital Together learningdigitaltogether.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Adding to my ‘to read’ list 📚#LTHEchat
020
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A6 #LTHEchat I am currently trying to redesign assessment that balances UDL principles with GenAI use by students. An ideal resource would point me in the direction of others interested in trying to keep up with this area of #SOTL
060
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A5 #LTHEchat For me, @suebecks.bsky.social of course, and anyone using #SOTL hashtag
050
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
If it’s not too cheeky: Flynn, S., & Gatrell, D. (2026). Supporting postgraduate students’ engagement: an Activity Theory analysis of the impact of a co-designed assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 1–25. doi.org/10.1080/0260...
doi.org
Supporting postgraduate students’ engagement: an Activity Theory analysis of the impact of a co-designed assessment
Collaborative design (co-design) of assessments between teachers and students has been shown to enhance student engagement. This study investigates how students in a postgraduate project management...
011
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A4 #LTHEchat From ‘feeling gutted’ at some student behaviour to assessment co-design with my students to publishing the experience with a colleague.
140
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A3 #LTHEchat Time and conflicting priorities. When I can, I try to ring fence a few hours to go through my ‘to reflect on’ and ‘to read’ lists and tick some items off, often resulting in new items! Easier outside of term time so lots to catch up on this summer 🌞
041
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A2 #LTHEchat and sharing the experience with anyone interested, most important.
030
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A2 #LTHEchat Lots of reflecting, bouncing around scenarios, what might work, what might not, then ‘piloting’ the idea in a format to see what actually works, what might need tweaking etc.
130
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Great to be here Sue, it’s been a while unfortunately 😬
000
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
A1 #LTHEchat Time to take a step back, think and reflect, then plan future classes, assessment etc.
170
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
A 5-minute reflection on the excellent national Higher Education Authority Open Education conference at MTU, Cork yesterday. Thank you to everyone involved, I really enjoyed the event.
sandraflynn.com
Opening up assessment: reflections of a SoTL practitioner, part 1
This week I had the privilege of attending the national Higher Education Authority Open Education conference, hosted down the road from me at the MTU Bishopstown campus, Cork. When registering a few weeks ago I knew this would be a busy week trying to wrap up grading but it was too good an opportunity to miss out on and so I rescheduled my week to fit the event in.
120
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
🙄
000
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Thanks #LTHEChat team, and @kenmccarthy.ie and @hazelfarrell.bsky.social Now to catch up on happenings in #TraitorsUK
150
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Yes. The (new, shiny!) tool should support the process; process first; pedagogy first. A6 #LTHEChat
020
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Now there's an idea 🙌 A6 #LTHEChat
000
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
A6 #LTHEChat Engage students as partners in the co-design of their authentic assessments, critiquing GenAI if used in the process e.g. to create a rubric etc.
060
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
A4 #LTHEChat Like many others I have been learning how to use GenAI in my teaching and I tell my students that I use it to generate multiple choice questions for our classes. I also tell them that I know the source materials I use in my prompts, whereas they don't! Being open and transparent is key.
050
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
A3 #LTHEChat On our programmes we take the approach that students will use GenAI in their future workplaces, so understanding how we can design authentic assessments with their futures in mind.
160
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Agree with what others have said regarding A2 #LTHEChat With so much out there, how can we support students select the best information available to them?
110
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
A2 #LTHEChat Hmmm perhaps I should consult Copilot for ideas on how to answer this one 🤣
100
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
A1 #LTHEChat For me the 'disruption' is the lack of transparency by some students in their use of GenAI even though I encourage them to use it for brainstorming and idea generation, along with a 500-word critique of the generated output, that's probably the piece they don't like 😇😉
250
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Thanks Sue, the tool sounds familiar 🤣 #lthechat
011
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
A5 #lthechat Institutional membership would be good along with a support structure for those interested in pursuing fellowship. Going it alone is likely tougher 😥
111
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
A3 #lthechat I look at the categories from time to time but that’s as far as I get! I might have to ask @suebecks.bsky.social for advice 😇
131
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
A4 #lthechat I am in a working group to support career progression for those in teacher roles at my uni. I think it would be very helpful to collaborate and work towards the different levels of fellowship in parallel. Although I don’t think we have institutional membership (yet 😉)
131
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Q3 #lthechat I don’t have any level of fellowship (yet) so getting to the application starting line is a challenge. I do consider myself a reflective practitioner however 😇
151
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Adding to my summer reading list ☀️😎 @paulashwin.bsky.social @edreslancaster.bsky.social
051
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
There remains a lot to reflect on following #aheconference25 as a first-time attendee. Many thanks to everyone involved in making it such an enjoyable event. I hope to be back next year.
sandraflynn.com
Reflections from a curious educator at AHE 2025 (part 1)
As an alumna of the Educational Research Department at Lancaster University I regularly attend the Saturday PhD Study Days, hosted by Dr Ann-Marie Houghton. With my PhD now in the rear view mirror, these days are dedicated to writing and research projects. Late in 2024 I was thinking about what conference I might attend in 2025 for personal and professional purposes and at one of these days, my Lancaster colleague Sue Beckingham, suggested the Assessment in Higher Education Conference held annually in Manchester, might be of interest:
110
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
See you soon Sally 👋
010
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I’m here Jan, and looking forward to learning loads. Expecting to meet up with fellow @edreslancaster.bsky.social colleagues, @suebecks.bsky.social and @jenhayes84.bsky.social, did not spot any other names yet🤞
340
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
A6 #LTHEChat As class sizes increase I find that instead of having one group per assessment theme, I might have two or three, then pick one group to present to the class. Peer feedback also works well between the two/three groups since they have researched a common theme.
022
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
A5 #LTHEChat I give my students a selection of themes/problems to choose from for group assessment with a selection of readings. They join a group to work on the theme they have self-assigned to, do their research and later present to the class (sometimes live, sometimes recorded) with good results.
031
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
A4 #LTHEChat With different tasks where groups are required to share their learnings with the class, there is greater opportunity to learn more (from each other).
230
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
A3 #LTHEChat I think it depends on the makeup of the group. Sometimes a strong individual can dominate, other times less strong students come to the fore with support from their peers. On balance I believe group learning to be more effective.
131
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
A2 #LTHEChat Group discussion interspersed with facilitator feedback / contribution. Students actively participate rather than passively listen as in a lecture.
130
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
A1 #LTHEchat Flexibility and adaptability to student needs, being an active listener, willingness to engage in learning ie. Learning with and from one another.
050
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
A5. #LTHEchat Continuous investment in teachers, teaching, tools that support the pedagogical process, not the other way around that can sometimes be the case. As an industry colleague used to say, 'technology makes a bad process go faster' - he wasn't wrong.
191
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
A4. #LTHEchat I love the diversity of my on campus classroom with international students from a variety of countries. This year @vevox.bsky.social has been a wonderful tool for students to enter the phonetic pronunciation of their names - and a useful guide for me 😉
170
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
A3. #LTHEchat For my part-time teaching role over 20 years, the shift from distance to online Masters programme in 2012 has been overwhelmingly positive, and good practices continue to improve - appreciate this isn't exactly responding to the question 😇
040
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
A2. #LTHEchat A library at all our fingertips, although I admit to enjoying a trip across campus with/for an armful of books.
081
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Very true in my experience. Even when I suggest book chapters.... or papers, and why they are useful (Leganto reading list is handy for this)... still they complain, 'there is too much to read' even though they are not asked to read everything.
000
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
A1. #LTHEchat Reading.
140
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A6. #LTHEchat We have been doing it since about 2012 so I have completely forgotten!
020
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A5. #LTHEchat I think having the right ratio of support ( x moderators to y students) for online programmes.
020
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A3 #LTHEchat Also a clear timeframe for delivery of feedback, within x weeks, so that students will not have forgotten about the module they are getting feedback on.
030
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A3. #LTHEchat Consistency across modules e.g. a reflective journal X words, Y%, so that there is continuity and students do not have to deal with considerable change in a short timeframe.
140
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A2. #LTHEchat Our modules run in 5-week blocks with Week 5 being assessment week, although there are weekly activities across the previous 4 weeks.
020
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A2. #LTHEchat Mid-module assessments perhaps?
120
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A1. #LTHEchat As a part-time distance masters student in the early noughties we had two weeks of one module and two weeks of another and so on. Our feedback lead to a full block of one module that made it much easier to focus, not having to 'switch gears' every two weeks.
161
Sandra Flynn, PhD @sandraflynn.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
A6. #LTHEchat I think by its very nature, co-creation involves a level of authenticity. It gives students some control of over what and how they learn, with potential for both formative and summative assessment design.
0112