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The Learning Curve Podcast, a feature of the School of Education at University of Aberdeen.
Welcome to The Learning Curve, the official podcast of the University of Aberdeen’s School of Education. Join us as we go beyond the syllabus to explore the bold ideas, high-impact research, and personal ambitions of our staff, students, and leaders.
Every episode features candid conversations with experts in areas ranging from Early Years Education and Outdoor Learning to Inclusive Practice and Leadership Development. Whether you’re a prospective student seeking career paths, a teacher looking for CPD, or an academic tracking the latest insights in STEM and Digital Pedagogy, The Learning Curve is essential listening.
Subscribe now to connect with a world-class educational community and discover what makes the future of learning happen in Aberdeen.
Dr Babbie: Hello and welcome to The Learning Curve, a University of Aberdeen podcast that explores the fascinating world of research and practice within the School of Education. I'm your host, Dr Shannon Babbie.
Over the next few weeks, we're going to dive into our theme for season one, ‘The Future of Education.’
I think a great podcast builds momentum and varies its topics and guests, and we're starting right at the beginning by laying the foundation of our discussions.
We're going to introduce the podcast and the School of Education, giving you a broad overview of what we do and establishing our purpose and our drive. So let's get to it.
Today we have a very special guest to kick things off. Our Head of School of Education, Catriona McDonald. Thank you for joining us.
Catriona: It's a pleasure. Thank you for asking me
Dr Babbie: Listeners, the University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495 and has been educating the world for over 530 years. Catriona, to get started, could you tell us a little bit about the history of the School of Education? We're all curious about where this journey began.
Catriona: Teacher training began in Scotland after the Education Act of 1872, and two training colleges were established in Aberdeen soon after, one by the Church of Scotland and other by the Free Church.
In 1905 a reorganization took place of teacher training provision in Scotland. It took, however, until 1920 for the transition from church colleges to the Aberdeen Training College to be completed and for a new training college to be opened in Saint Andrew's Street, capable of handling 500 student teachers,
In 1926, two student hostels were built in a greenfield site in Hilton, which is where Northern College was, and when it became too small, Hilton became the site of the new Aberdeen College of Education campus and by 1973, it was housing 2000 students.
In 1987, Aberdeen College merged with Dundee College of Education and it became the Northern College, with a presence in Aberdeen and Dundee. Subsequently, Northern College merged with the University of Aberdeen. That was in 2001, and Northern College, Dundee merged with the University of Aberdeen in the same year in Aberdeen.
The merger resulted in the formation of the Faculty of Education, which thereafter became, as we now know, the School of Education. I think what's important to see here now is that the campus in Hilton was sold, and we were then given accommodation within MacRobert Building in the university.
Dr Babbie: That's fantastic. And what about the vision for the future? How is the school adapting to the rapidly changing landscape of education we've adopted due to the changing educational needs within society?
Catriona: So for example, we focus a lot on PG (post-graduate) taught, and in particular subjects such as Autism, Neurodiversity and Leadership have become very clearly important to the people that we work with.
I think beyond that, we also have departments now set up. So we have the four Departments within the school. So as mentioned at PG Taught Department, we've also got the Early Years Department with a focus on children from birth to about the age of six. We also have ITE (Initial Teacher Education) Department, which is where people believe our main work is. And probably most of our students do sit within there.
But we've also now got our Health and Wellbeing Department, and I think that is for us, where we have adapted mostly in recent years. We're looking to not just think about learning, we're thinking about the needs of our students society out there as well. We're thinking about Counselling, which sits very much within the Health and Wellbeing Department.
We're also thinking about Mindfulness, which is one of the central causes of the Health and Wellbeing work that we do.
Dr Babbie: Speaking of innovation, we'll be discussing things like AI (artificial intelligence) and blended learning in future episodes. How do you see the school's research impacting the real world of teaching?
Catriona: Research is central to the work that we do. I think sometimes forget that we're not just about training teachers, we're actually about educating students that we have within our department. So we're expecting our students to carry out practitioner research within their environments, but also looking at the work that we do and researching on it is something that helps us to educate our students, but also make the teaching real.
So we're adapting according to the teaching that we see out there and the needs of the society where we work. But we understand our students, we understand the children that we work with, we understand the adults that we work with, and we have real data that we can use to help us improve.
Dr Babbie: There's a lot of competition out there in higher education. Why should prospective students choose Aberdeen and our School of Education?
Catriona: I'm very proud of the support that we give our students and the care that we have for the university and our students. When you look at the staff student ratios, we work incredibly hard to support our students all the way through, but also we care about them as individuals.
The well-being of our students is central. We understand them as individuals, we understand their individual needs, and we adapt accordingly. I think if a student comes to here, they are recognized for their strengths, and we try to help them and support them to be the best that they possibly can be. Taking account of their individual needs.
Dr Babbie: What about student life beyond academics? What keeps our students engaged and healthy in Aberdeen and the surrounding area?
Catriona: We live in a city, but it's a rural city. I'm looking out the window here and I see the beach. I walk a mile up the road. I'm in the countryside. Our students are very lucky that we think about outdoor learning as part of the curriculum that we have.
We try and get them out and about. We're not just sitting in a classroom studying. We use the world and the surroundings that we've got to make it. A healthy environment and a life beyond academia is very, very important for us.
Dr Babbie: Catriona, what is it about Aberdeen's School of Education that fills you with the most pride.
Catriona: The thing I'm proudest about is the people that I work with, and how they look after each other, and think about the students that are here. I'm proud of the education that we offer, but I am also proud of the support that we offer. I am very, very lucky that I have a staff here who care deeply about each other, about the university and about the students.
Dr Babbie: And that's a perfect note to end on. You heard it here, first. Discover the history of the School of Education and its vision for the future directly from the head of the school. Catriona, thank you so much for joining me to discuss this.
Catriona: It was an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for asking me,
Dr Babbie: And thank you for listening. Next week, we'll be discussing technology in the classroom with Gordon Stewart and Alan Grieve. They'll discuss how AI and blended learning are changing education and the challenges that come with new technology. You won't want to miss it. Until next time. Keep learning.