Projects 2025-26
Find out more about the Education Development Projects which are running in 2025-26 below. Available resources from projects will be accessible towards the end of 2026. If you would like any further details about any listed projects please contact bilt-projects@bristol.ac.uk
Active learning
Embedding effective and inclusive active learning into teaching and curriculum design, which engages, motivates and supports all students in their learning is an important University of Bristol strategic aim.
Active learning is fundamentally about student engagement and participation. It involves students going beyond passive listening in lectures or ‘sitting back and being fed information’ to ‘learning by doing’ and being agents of their own learning, for example through discussion, problem solving, role-play, and creating something new (Gibbs, 1988; Kolb, 2015).
Active Learning: Neurodiversity, Academia and Inclusion
Project lead: Hannah Parrot
Project summary: This is part of a broader project aimed at engaging neurominority undergraduate students from the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences (ALSS) in co-designing, implementing, and evaluating pedagogic research that addresses barriers to their learning and university experience. Building on prior work, the project will collaborate with a student partner and the Bristol University Neurodiversity Society (BUNS) to refine its methodology and theory of change, emphasising co-production and iterative design. Rooted in critical, feminist pedagogy, it aligns with the University's commitment to creative, student-led research and aims to explore out-of-classroom challenges, particularly around mental health and wellbeing, using playful, inclusive, and active methods that centre student voices in shaping impactful outcomes.
Climate change and human health: visual mapping game
Project leads: Andy Wakefield, Bronwen Burton, Kiah Tasman
Project summary: Climate change significantly affects human health, contributing to issues such as neurological disorders, chronic kidney disease, heat stress, and increased exposure to infectious diseases. Despite its importance, this topic is largely absent from the biomedical sciences curriculum, with only 2 out of 24 units referencing climate change. To address this gap, a visual mapping game—modelled on the Climate Fresk workshop will be developed to help students understand the scientific links between climate change and health. Using visually engaging cards arranged in cause-effect sequences, the game will explore connections to infectious disease, respiratory health, immunity, and mental health. The long-term goal is to integrate the game into the curriculum and expand its use more broadly.
Co-developing support for neurodiverse medical students
Project lead: David Rogers
Project team: Andrew Blythe, Bethan Hawley, Jo Howarth, Jo Hartland.
Project summary: This project aims to address the gap in support for neurodivergent medical students during clinical placements by developing practical guidance and inclusive strategies tailored to their needs. Recognising that many challenges stem from inflexible clinical environments rather than student deficits, the project will identify small, impactful adaptations to improve accessibility and reduce the risk of burnout or disciplinary referrals. It will also explore how feedback practices can be adjusted to support students with conditions like ADHD and autism, who may experience heightened sensitivity due to Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD). Ultimately, the project seeks to promote a more inclusive clinical learning environment and equip both students and educators with tools to better support neurodivergent learners.
From Feedback Fatigue to Feedback Fluency: Enhancing Student Learning Through Assessment Innovation
Project Lead: Rose Murray
Project team: Rebecca Pike and Reinart Jensema
Project summary: This project will evaluate the effectiveness of the newly enhanced Assessment and Feedback Portfolio (AFP), now aligned with the university’s Bristol Skills Portfolio (BSP), in improving student engagement with feedback and academic skill development. Originally created to address low satisfaction with feedback in student surveys, the AFP includes tools such as assessment maps, academic skills resources, and a Feedback Engagement Tool (FET) to help students reflect on and act upon feedback. As part of the project, students will use these tools during newly introduced Bridging Weeks, which provide targeted preparation and reflective assessment activities. The project will assess how these interventions support student agency, enhance assessment literacy, and promote meaningful, skills-based engagement with feedback and feedforward strategies.
Industry linked group mini-projects in chemistry
Project lead: Karen Parrish
Project team: Anne Westcott and Lizzie Lawrence
Project summary: This project will pilot a new industry-linked activity for third-year MSci Chemistry students on the CHEM30005 unit, aiming to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world application. In partnership with the School of Chemistry, the Science Partnership Office, and selected industry partners, small groups of students will undertake short, non-credit-bearing projects after the academic year ends in May/June 2026. These projects will give students valuable experience in applying their chemistry knowledge in commercial contexts, enhancing their employability and transferable skills. The pilot involving 2–3 student groups will inform a broader rollout in 2026–27, with the goal of embedding the activity into the CHEM30005 assessment for the entire cohort of 70–90 students.
Generative AI
Generative AI is reshaping how knowledge is created, shared, and applied — and with it, how we understand originality, authorship, and critical thinking. It is not just a new tool: it challenges how we teach, learn, and define expertise within disciplines. To prepare students for their futures, we need to design learning experiences that build on strong foundations in critical thinking, ethical reasoning and discipline-specific knowledge, enabling students to engage meaningfully and independently with AI technologies.
AI-generated feedback for first-year programming courses
Project lead: Martin Garrad
Project team: Cameron Hall
Project summary: This project will evaluate and compare AI-generated formative feedback with feedback provided by teaching support staff (TSRs) in a first-year programming course, assessing aspects like consistency, focus, and correctness from both student and TSR perspectives. By surveying students and interviewing TSRs, the project aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses of AI and human feedback, understand TSRs’ attitudes toward AI tools, and explore how AI-generated feedback can complement traditional feedback methods. Ultimately, the project will produce guidance on effectively integrating AI feedback with existing practices to enhance formative feedback provision at scale.
Enhancing Research Literacy Through Critical Engagement with Generative AI in Psychological Research Methods Units
Project lead: Laura Contu
Project team: Michael Smyth
Project summary: This project will explore how generative AI can be meaningfully integrated into teaching Research Methods across two MSc Psychology Conversion units. By incorporating GenAI tools into learning activities, students will engage in academic-style conversations, create summaries of texts, generate revision quizzes, and critically evaluate the AI-generated content. The project aims to enhance students’ critical thinking and independent analysis skills while addressing concerns about AI’s impact on academic integrity and cognitive development. Ultimately, it will provide insights into effective ways to use GenAI to support lifelong learning and improve teaching in subjects requiring deep analytical skills.
Enhancing Teaching and Learning through AI Chatbots at the University of Bristol Business School
Project lead: Marios Kremantzis
Project team: Aniekan Essien, Anthi Chondrogianni, Fatema Zaghloul, Hua Jin, Sophie Lythreatis
Project summary: This project will pilot the integration of AI-driven chatbots into selected Economics and Business units at the University of Bristol Business School to enhance student engagement, academic support, and resource accessibility. Building on positive preliminary pilots, the chatbot will be embedded pedagogically within curricula to serve as a digital teaching partner, providing tailored academic and administrative assistance. Over one year, the project will evaluate how this integration improves teaching effectiveness, student confidence, and learning outcomes, contributing to the School’s broader digital education strategy focused on inclusive and evidence-based innovation.
Research Paper Comprehension and Layperson Summary Writing Using AI
Project lead: Isabel Murillo
Project team: David Morgan
Project summary: This project will develop and evaluate a Microsoft Copilot-powered tool designed to help biomedical undergraduates better comprehend primary research articles by allowing students to interact with a structured knowledge base of cited sources via an AI agent. The tool aims to reduce barriers posed by complex language and dense citations, promoting more active and efficient engagement with scholarly texts. The project will investigate how AI assistance impacts students’ science communication skills, exploring whether it supports learning to write lay summaries or encourages dependency, and how to balance AI use with critical evaluation of sources. Ultimately, the project seeks to enhance students’ ability to communicate research effectively to public audiences.
Using AI to produce example lab reports for students to critically review
Project lead: Richard Pyle
Project team: Aydin Nassehi and Joel Ross
Project summary: This project aims to embed AI literacy into the first-year Engineering unit ECMDA by expanding the use of AI-generated feedback on lab reports and helping students critically evaluate AI outputs. Building on a 2024/5 pilot where students reviewed AI feedback generated by an open-source Large Language Model, the 2025/6 project will improve this session, provide clearer guidance on responsible AI use for writing, and develop AI-generated example lab reports for students to analyze and critique. By integrating AI tools into teaching, the project seeks to enhance students’ scientific writing skills, foster critical thinking about AI-generated content, and prepare them for responsible use of AI in their future engineering careers.
Inclusive assessment
Inclusive or ‘designed for all’ assessment aims to enable all students, whatever their characteristics or background to engage in and demonstrate their learning. The university’s assessment strategy attention to design as a central component of inclusivity. Traditionally, discussions of inclusivity have centred around adjustments, such as extra time, provided for students to level the playing field and ensure equitable access to assessments. Such adjustments are often made at the individual level when students present with evidence for needing them. They typically have no impact on the design of the assessment itself. The university’s strategic approach emphasises that inclusivity should be integral to an assessment and not simply a post hoc adjustment made for access purposes.
Co-created video-based formative assessment for communication skills development in Health Sciences Education
Project lead: Dave Gatrell
Project team: David Morgan, Gayani Herath, Kirsty Brownlie, Simon Thornton, Susan Holt, Trevor Thompson.
Project summary: This project will build on a previous collaboration where veterinary students co-designed and implemented a video-based formative assessment using the Mediasite annotation tool to enhance professional communication skills. Students recorded consultations with simulated clients, added self-reflective comments, and engaged in peer feedback facilitated by senior students. The project demonstrated benefits such as supporting self-directed and peer learning, deep reflection, and more focused feedback, while also highlighting the importance of structured scaffolding and timely access to the tool. This new project will further explore and refine video-based formative assessment through student co-creation, addressing sociocultural factors influencing engagement and task design.
Evaluating student assessment experience, exploring barriers to inclusive assessment, & co-creating ideas for inclusion
Project lead: Satadru Mukherjee
Project summary: This project will take a holistic approach to inclusive assessment, moving beyond traditional disability-focused adjustments to address challenges faced by all students. It aims to explore barriers such as staff workload and academic expectations while incorporating student expertise through collaborative models like CoLab. By fostering empathetic staff-student relationships, improving clarity and consistency in assessment instructions and criteria, and centralizing assessment information, the project seeks to enhance inclusion and strengthen students’ sense of belonging across diverse learner populations.
How can assessments be more inclusive to educate students more effectively?
...A focus on the perspectives of postgraduate students at the University of Bristol and University of Glasgow Business Schools.
Project lead: Oghale Ayetuoma
Project team: Areti Chevale
Project summary: This project will investigate how assessments can be made more inclusive to better support the diverse learning styles of ‘global learners’—primarily international postgraduate students from Chinese, African, and Indian backgrounds—at the University of Bristol Business School and University of Glasgow. Using triangulation methods, it aims to explore these students’ perceptions of current assessment practices and identify necessary adjustments that enhance learning effectiveness, motivation, and deeper engagement. The project seeks to inform more inclusive assessment designs that accommodate varied learning preferences and promote equitable educational outcomes.
Inclusive Assessment Design as a Tool to Break Language Barriers
Project lead: Elena Borodina
Project team: Blagoy Vargolomov, Susanne Andersen
Project summary: This project aims to enhance the inclusivity of formative and summative assessments for international students at the University of Bristol, many of whom begin with intermediate English proficiency (CEFR B2). Recognising language-related challenges as a major barrier to academic success, especially in writing and meeting deadlines, the project seeks to reduce these obstacles by improving assessment design and delivery. Building on previous research and guidance, it will support international students’ performance by making assessments more accessible and better tailored to diverse language needs, ultimately helping students from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds succeed academically.
Your Skills, Your Way: Inclusive Assessment for Future-Ready graduates
Project lead: Fatima Lopez Castellanos
Project summary: This project aims to design and implement inclusive assessments within the Business School that empower students by offering choice and fostering agency, enabling them to showcase their strengths and overcome barriers. It focuses on developing key digital and transferable skills, such as using GenAI, understanding cybersecurity, managing hybrid teams, and leveraging data that align with the evolving job market. By providing multiple assessment options tailored to diverse student backgrounds and goals, the project supports personalised skill development pathways. It builds on prior work around authentic learning for international students and transferable skills development, aligning closely with the University of Bristol’s strategic skills framework.