Treasure Island Pedagogies: Episode 39, the one with the Twix

Posted on: 24 April 2025 by Dr Tunde Varga-Atkins in General

Host and Guests In Online Meeting — (Host and Guests in Online Meeting)

In Episode 39, Paul Astles, Sam Saunders, and Yigit Oezcelik shared their teaching treasures—from climate action pedagogy, Twix-inspired teaching of theory to reflective digital exit tickets. Their ideas sparked a shared vision of imaginative, student-led learning, all anchored by creativity, curiosity, and a love for lifelong learning. This episode hides four Jurassic Park quotes hidden in plain sight by Paul – tune in to discover them!

Speakers: Paul Astles, Samuel Saunders, Yigit Oezcelik

Date: 7 Apr 2025

Treasure Island Pedagogies: Episode 39 podcast

(Treasure Island Pedagogies Episode 39 - Podcast Transcript)

Read or listen to find out our guests’ lightbulb moments, teaching props, pedagogies and luxury items that they would take to their Treasure Islands for precious contact time with students.

Paul Astles

Original discipline: Qualified teacher with a focus on students with additional needs at FE level.
Current Role: Learning Designer, The Open University, UK
Lightbulb moment: Our work that led to being highly commended at the Green Gown Awards showed me the power of non-tokenistic sustainability integration. We emphasized embedding sustainability meaningfully into existing practices, not as an added burden. Inviting student input and recognizing different journeys toward action were key. It reminded me that authentic, embedded sustainability creates stronger educational outcomes and community engagement.
Teaching Prop or Pedagogy: Climate Action Pedagogy—bringing together equity, systems thinking, and collaborative problem-solving to tackle complex challenges through collective action.
Luxury item:A pencil (and notepad). Simple tools for reflection, creativity, and planning.

Samuel Saunders

LinkedIn, Bsky

Original discipline: Nineteenth-century Literature and Culture
Current Role: Educational Developer, Centre for Innovation in Education (CIE), University of Liverpool
Lightbulb moment: Literary and cultural theory can be difficult for students to grasp, especially when taught in abstract or untranslated forms. My lightbulb moment came while teaching The Turn of the Screw as a central text for engaging with multiple theoretical lenses—Freudian, Marxist, and others. Watching students realize how theory not only shifts but reshapes meaning depending on the lens applied—and seeing them understand their own ideological influence on interpretation—was transformational.
Teaching Prop or Pedagogy: A picture of a Twix. I have stolen this idea from my old PhD supervisor, who used to use it to teach Freud’s concepts of the Id, Ego and Superego. The Twix would move around the screen, multiply or reduce in number, disappear, reappear, or grow larger or smaller, depending on the aspect of the subconscious the lecture was discussing. For the Id, for example, the idea is that your subconscious wants to eat the Twix. Right now. No, it wants two Twixes. In fact, it wants all the Twixes in the shop. Buy and eat them all.
Luxury item: A Steinway grand piano. I’m learning to play and believe that it’s never too late or too busy a time to take up something new.

Yigit Oezcelik

Original discipline: Economics
Current Role: Programme Director, BSc Economics, and Lecturer, University of Liverpool Management School
Lightbulb moment: My own experience as a student in Germany—where traditional chalk-and-talk dominated—shaped how I teach. One key moment came when I was asked to reflect on a decision-making scenario before learning the theory. This reflection-first approach stuck with me. Now, I present students with decision scenarios before introducing theories, letting them compare their choices to theoretical predictions. This fosters deep learning and reflective thinking.
Teaching Prop or Pedagogy: I would take my digital exit tickets to the Island. Digital Exit tickets – a form of formative assessment – are short response tasks administered at the end of lectures that can enhance learning. I administered exit tickets at the end of lectures on several modules, anonymously via PollEverywhere, providing students with 2-3 voluntary prompts, e.g. “What was your biggest struggle today?” or “Give a real-world application of today’s topic.”.
Luxury item: My tablet—for both relaxation and staying connected.

Any Sparks? How Might Our Joined-Up Treasure Islands Look Like?

As we shared our pedagogical tools and passions, we began to see surprising connections between our islands. Our climate action pedagogy paired beautifully with Yigit’s digital exit tickets to create a reflective, future-facing learning environment grounded in student voice. Sam’s Twix example—a delicious symbol of simple, engaging pedagogy—reminded us how powerful a single artefact can be for exploring complexity. Whether we’re drawing, playing music, building solar panels, or unpacking Freud, our Treasure Islands would thrive on curiosity, creativity, and the belief that learning is lifelong and joyfully messy.