E-Learning Videos for Academic Writing Skills

Lee McHugh & Mohammad Manesh

Lincoln International Business School (LIBS) has developed 10 interactive e-learning videos to support our students in building and developing their essential academic writing skills. These bite sized resources are designed to be accessible, engaging, and inclusive particularly for both first year and international students. The videos design have been based on feedback from previous students around the kind of videos they would like to see made into easy to understand resources to use to aide their academic writing development. 

Each video breaks down complex topics like paraphrasing, referencing, and avoiding plagiarism into manageable steps, using infographics, friendly narration, and reflective “pause now” activities. 

Academic Writing Development Videos
Below are links to the writing development videos please do share with peers and friends who might want to watch them:  
– Using quotations
– Creating in text citations 
– Paraphrasing 
– Avoiding plagiarism  
– Making reference lists  
– Paragraph structure  
– Critical analysis  
– Hedging and Cautions language
– Reflective writing Creating in text citations
– Understanding feedback

The video project supports social mobility by helping students from diverse backgrounds gain confidence and competence in academic writing. It also fosters digital learning innovation and student collaboration, with both a third-year design student and PhD student contributing to the project’s development and creative design.

Team involved: Dr Lee McHugh, Dr Joel Warburton, Dr Mohammad Fakhar Manesh, Liean Ahmed and Yakhoub Sy. Also, a special thank you to University of Lincoln Library team for their academic writing skills guidance in the early stages of the project. 

Developing Subject Revision Cards to Enhance Learning and Engagement in Business Subjects in Higher Education

David Anderson & Davina Bird

We created Subject Revision Cards for several modules at the University of Lincoln. These had a simple concept of 50 words and phrases which represented the core content of a module. This style of games–based learning focused on using cards are more than recalling information, they act as catalysts for self-evaluation, reflection and knowledge building throughout a course. Educators can use these cards with students to identify knowledge gaps in their learning and target learning development.

Subject Revision Cards are a flexible tool which can be used to support learning any subject at any level, whether niche or general. They can be particularly powerful when paired with other tactile resources – such as wipeable cards, and simple games such as Just One or Don’t Say Umm. We find together these tools make the classroom more playful and reduce conversation barriers between students and tutors.

We’ve used the cards in various ways this year and have found the following to be particularly effective.

  1. Course Launch: Introduce core themes and terminology in the first weeks.
  2. Post-Lecture Review: Reinforce learning by recapping key concepts.
  3. Glossary Companion: Progressively build knowledge each week by pairing cards with definitions.
  4. End of Term Summary: Run as a concept sort, providing an overview of 12 weeks of learning in one place.
  5. Print at Home Option: Use an A4 template for students to print off their own revision pack

If you are interested in learning more about this project, we have published a case study in the Journal of Play in Adulthood with more details:

Anderson, D. R. & Bird, D., (2025) “Developing Subject Revision Cards to Enhance Learning and Engagement in Business Subjects in Higher Education: A Games-based Learning Case Study”, The Journal of Play in Adulthood 7(1), 58-78. doi: https://doi.org/10.5920/jpa.1658

We are providing an example of a Glossary Companion that you can adapt for your own use:

Glossary of Terms Innovation, Creativity and Change (Blank)Download

Below are also two simple MS Word templates for you to download to create your own subject revision vocabulary “deck” for students:

50 Cards Template Across Two PagesDownload
ICC Revision Cards – SINGLE PAGE – 50 wordsDownload

Please feel free to contact us at danderson@lincoln.ac.uk or dbird@lincoln.ac.uk if you would like further information or have any questions.

Strategy Hackathon: A Virtual Exchange in Innovation and Collaboration

Wajdi Ben Rejeb & David Anderson

In November 2024, we launched a cross-continental virtual hackathon that brought together undergraduate Business Strategy students from Lincoln International Business School (LIBS) and Communication Management students from North-West University (NWU), South Africa. This teaching innovation reimagined how we deliver strategic thinking skills by swapping traditional case studies for real-time collaborative problem-solving.

Working in diverse teams, students tackled a real-world strategic challenge presented by Mosaic SA, a non-profit serving marginalised communities in South Africa. Using a Nonprofit Strategy Canvas, co-developed for this project, students ideated practical solutions and pitched them in front of the NGO’s representative. This fusion of experiential learning, intercultural exchange, and social impact cultivated creativity, empathy, and transferable skills that employers demand.

The hackathon’s structure, short, intensive, and team-based, encouraged students to collaborate across disciplines, navigate cultural differences, and co-create under pressure. It’s a model that scales and adapts well to various educational contexts. Participants gained certificates but most importantly confidence and global competence.

This initiative aligns with LIBS’s strategic vision for challenge-led education and internationalised learning. If you’re interested in running your own hackathon, we are developing a resource pack with templates, session formats, and student-ready materials. We’d love to help you bring virtual hackathon experiences into your classroom, if you need any support please contact us at:

Wajdi Ben Rejeb: wbenrejeb@lincoln.ac.uk

David Anderson: danderson@lincoln.ac.uk

Learning through bite-sized videos: Academic writing skills

Lee McHugh, Mohammad Manesh & David Anderson

We’ve developed a series of 10 short, interactive videos to support academic writing. Each video is designed to provide step by step guidance to introduce students to new skills. Videos are full of infographics, friendly narrative and embedded with “pause now” activities encouraging learners to reflect, practice, and engage more deeply with the material and develop their academic learning.

Designed specifically for new and international students in mind, the videos cover core skills such as paraphrasing, referencing, & plagiarism, in an accessible and engaging format which is easy to embed into digital spaces like Blackboard or Learning@Lincoln. The interactive style and relatable design of the videos break down complex writing concepts into manageable, bite-sized learning moments, which can help support students learning and success rates.

This project was funded by the CoASSH Teaching and Learning Innovation fund, creating a collaboration with a third year design student which provided a valuable experience to enhance their CV and expand their creative portfolio.

This project also supports our broader goal of promoting social mobility across student groups in Lincoln International Business School. By offering accessible, engaging and student-led resources, we’re helping to level the playing field for learners from diverse backgrounds.

Overall, the video project has been a success in combining student employment, skill-building, and inclusive education. It aims to have a positive impact on learners, helping them build confidence and competence in their academic writing.

The videos will be released very soon.

If you’d like to learn more about these resources please contact:

Lee McHugh: lmchugh@lincoln.ac.uk

Mohammad Manesh: mmanesh@lincoln.ac.uk

David Anderson: danderson@lincoln.ac.uk

Educational Escape Rooms: A Playful Route into Deeper Learning

Davina Bird, David Anderson

Educational escape rooms are a great way to get students excited about your subject & engaged in classroom discussions. Through this funded teaching and learning project we have developed an adaptable template to customise your own educational escape room. The template offers a structure for five interlinked puzzles, into which subject content is embedded.

The project is designed for educators who want to use escape rooms for learning, but don’t know where to start. By customising your own escape room you’ll understand how puzzles hang together & can be used as part of your educational toolkit.

Budget was a priority in the design, as a result, all resources – including the locks – are printable, you just need to provide a large and small envelope. However, with a small budget (approx. £25 per box) you can make greater use of materials, giving your escape room a polished finish.

If you’re interested in customising your own educational escape room you can download the step by step Resource Pack, or you can work with us to co-create something more bespoke. We’d love to help you bring escape room experiences into your classroom, if you need any support please contact us at:

Davina Bird: dbird@lincoln.ac.uk

David Anderson: danderson@lincoln.ac.uk

Resource Pack (Download)

Resource Pack – Puzzle Templates, Examples and Locks (002)Download

Playing for Change: Using Card Games to Teach Sustainability and Responsible Management

David Anderson & Davina Bird

At Lincoln International Business School, we’ve been exploring new ways to bring the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) to life. With support from the PRME UK & Ireland Seed Funding competition, we co-developed a suite of four interactive card games designed to make sustainability education both meaningful and memorable.

The goal? To turn complex global challenges into accessible, engaging conversations – where students are not just learning about sustainability but actively playing with it.

We’ve embedded the impactful five (i5) principles—Iterative, Joyful, Meaningful, Active, Social – into the design, making the games adaptable for diverse teaching contexts.

The full Educational Packs are now ready to support colleagues across disciplines. If you’re looking for practical, playful ways to bring PRME values into your teaching, drop us a message—we’d love to share ideas. Games developed include:

  • 17 SDG Memory Game (Pair matching game)
  • Sustainable Development Trumps (Trick taking game, based on Top Trumps)
  • Cards for Sustainability (Party game, based on Cards Against Humanity)
  • Concord (Cooperative deck builder, based on Dominion)
17 SDG Memory Game
Cards for Sustainability

The PRME Educational Packs includes cards, game instructions, and ready-to-use classroom activities. Whether it’s helping students develop awareness of the 17 SDGs through a memory game, debating which PRME-inspired action has the strongest impact, or engaging in strategic cooperation through the deck-building game Concord, each game offers a fresh angle on embedding responsible leadership into the curriculum.

Play them in your own classes, download the Educational Packs below which include free print & play versions of each game and teaching support resources, available below.

We want to help you bring these into your classroom, if you need any support in printing or playing please contact us at:

  • David Anderson: danderson@lincoln.ac.uk
  • Davina Bird: dbird@danderson

Educational Packs (Free Downloadable Resources)

Teaching Support Resources Pack

The teaching support pack provides an overview of each game, instructions for setup and game play, as well as suggested classroom activities. We encourage you to adapt these as required to best suit your student needs.

Teaching Support Resources PackDownload

  1. 17 SDG Memory Game
  • Contents: 17 x SDG Cards, 1 x Setup instructions.
  • Print instructions: print on card for best results, in colour, single sided.
  • Note: you will need to print two copies to play the memory game.
  • See teaching support resources to help integrate classroom discussions.
1_Print2Play_SDGsDownload

2. Sustainable Development Trumps

  • Contents: 34 x Trump Cards, 1 x Setup Instructions.
  • Print instructions: print on card for best results, in colour, single sided.
  • See teaching support resources to help integrate classroom discussions.
2_Print2Play_TopTrumpsDownload

3. Cards for Sustainability

  • Content: 204 x Playing cards, 1 x Setup instructions.
  • Print instructions: print on card for best results, single sided.
  • Note: To play this game you will also need one copy of the 17 SDG Memory game.
  • See teaching support resources for various ways to play and to help integrate classroom discussions.
3_Print2Play_Cards4Sustainability (w Cut Guides)Download

4. Concord

  • Content: 204 x Playing cards, 1 x Rule Booklet.
  • Print instructions: print on card for best results, in colour single sided.
  • See teaching support resources to play and to help integrate classroom discussions.
4_Print2Play_ConcordDownload

Exhibition Odyssey: A Framework for Exhibition Assessments in Business Subjects

Mohammad Manesh, Lee McHugh & David Anderson

The Exhibition Odyssey project made its debut between April 28th and May 2nd, 2025, within the DCB building at Lincoln International Business School (LIBS). Spearheaded by Mohammad Fakhar Manesh (PI), alongside Lee McHugh and David Anderson (Co-PIs), this pioneering initiative introduced live exhibitions as a dynamic alternative to traditional assessment formats in business education.

Drawing inspiration from practices in the arts, the project aimed to transform how assessments are perceived and conducted in business subjects. By reimagining assessments as immersive, collaborative, and multi-sensory experiences, Exhibition Odyssey encouraged students to engage deeply with course content while fostering creativity, collaboration, and communication. The approach sought to reduce the anxiety typically associated with traditional assessments, creating an environment where students could showcase their work confidently and enjoyably.

Key highlights of the project included exhibition-based formats such as interactive poster displays, ambient music, and collaborative group setups. Students were actively involved in shaping the project, particularly in the Innovation Management module, where second-year students provided valuable feedback through surveys. One student shared: “I really enjoyed this type of presentation. It allowed me to confidently present our group findings without stressing or jumbling my words.” Over 54% of students who participated reported positive feedback, with many praising the format for its ability to promote learning and reduce stress.

This project directly addressed concerns raised by NSS scores, making assessments more participatory and meaningful. Notable outcomes included the creation of teaching resources, such as poster templates and assessment design guidelines, along with the establishment of a peer support network to help staff adopt the model. Furthermore, the project supported those managing exhibition-based assessments, ensuring its sustainable implementation across the curriculum.

The Exhibition Odyssey project has already shown a positive impact, with improved module evaluations, enhanced student satisfaction, and growing interest among academic staff in innovative assessment methods. It also promotes essential industry skills such as teamwork, communication, and adaptability, aligning academic practices with real-world expectations.

Students’ reflections underscore the success of the initiative:

  • “I found it so much more relaxing and easier than giving a presentation! Normally I feel too stressed about presenting to really listen to the other presentations but using this way I was able to listen to everyone else’s ideas and share my own stress free and I learnt much more than I normally would.”
  • “It was so much more relaxing and easier than giving a presentation.”
  • “I was able to listen to everyone else’s ideas and share my own stress-free.”
  • “It helped us to collaborate with the other groups.”

In sum, the Exhibition Odyssey sets a new standard for experiential learning and student-centred pedagogy in business education, with clear potential for broader institutional impact. If you would like to have a conversation with the team, please feel free to get in touch, mfakharmanesh@lincoln.ac.uk.

Subject Revision Card Games

Davina Bird & David Anderson

In January we received funding to produce resuable teaching resources to support subject revision. Throughout the term we’ve worked with academics across Business School subjects to design packs of 50 cards for use in the classroom.

The aim of this project was to develop a form of revision which was engaging and intellectually stimulating which could be easily adapted for any subject. We were inspired by euro games where playing the game is just as much fun as winning & wanted to build this into our approach.

We have produced 9 subject packs for use on modules next academic year:

  • Economics
  • Acocuntancy
  • Competition and Regulation
  • Research Methods
  • Innovation
  • Philosophy of Management
  • Employability
  • Human Resource Management
  • Principles of Responsible Management (PRME)

The packs can be used independently, as flash cards, a concept sort, memory game, mix and match concept with definition, or used along side an existing game such as Just One. Student can also print & play packs so they can revise independently away from the classroom.

If you’re interested in using these packs or would like to design one of your own we’re happy to support you, contact us at dbird@lincoln.ac.uk or danderson@lincoln.ac.uk.

DICE Cafe Social Event

The DICE Cafe hosted a social event for the Department of Management. Students from different year groups across the Department came together to chillout for a couple of hours. This was a great opportunity for academics to mingle with students without the pressure of delivering a module.

We brought along a some games, Rhino Hero, Pandemic: Hot Zone and Cobra Paw, broke out the VR headsets for a bout of Zombie killing.

Dissertation Project: Body Swaps

David Anderson & Tom Baldry

In February we supported Tom Baldry to collaborate with BodySwaps, a VR company specialising in soft skill training, as part of his undergraduate dissertation exploring the use of Virtual Reality experiences to develop management and leadership skills.

For his data collection Tom ran a BodySwaps session for our second year Business and Management students studying the Innovation, Creativity and Change module. Students completed the 20-minute soft skills BodySwaps module ‘Mananging Conflict’ & had the opportunity to try out the experience in virtual reality.

This was a great experience for all involved. The session helped to add an Industry 4.0 element to the module, offered students training in digital soft skills training, enabled Tom to collect data about student experiences of VR software, and provided BodySwaps with user feedback.

Tom’s involvement in the module also showed the second year students what can be done through a dissertation project and hopefully will have inspired next years students to develop similar projects.