Session 6.1: Paper presentation
High impact pedagogies and student engagement in learning
Education
Carol Evans, Daniel Muijs and Michael Tomlinson, University of Southampton
This presentation provides an overview of the outcomes of a systematic review of the academic literature on high-impact pedagogical strategies and student engagement in learning within higher education (HE) with a specific emphasis on patterns within Social Sciences. This project was funded by the Higher Education Academy in 2015. The aims of the project included: (i) identifying dominant pedagogies used to generate engaged student learning; (ii) evaluating the robustness of the evidence base; (iii) identifying key elements of effective practice; (iv) exploring gaps within the literature. An integral part of this analysis involved critically exploring different conceptions of student engagement and notions of what constitutes high impact pedagogies within 21st century HE learning environments.
Session 6.2: How to presentation
How to create a community of practice: from VLE to boundary-less campus
Interdisciplinary
Carrie Foster and Sue Horder, Glyndwr University
Aim: To equip delegates with tools to deliver effective learning and teaching strategies and enhance the experience of students who are learning at a distance.
By the end of this session delegates will have:
- examined how to welcome Students to their Boundary-less Campus
- explored how to enhance online resources to develop opportunities for interactivity
- determined how to developing Tutor Presence at a distance
- developed an action plan to create a community of inquiry by facilitating quality communication
Session 6.3: Paper presentation
There’s nothing as practical as a good theory: using the Kolb cycle in developing a first year course
Business & Management
John Pal and Sarah Featherstone, University of Manchester
This session will describe the processes used in designing a new second semester course for over 300 first year undergraduates and explain how the Kolb cycle underpins the design. It will also outline the importance of collaboration between various support staff in order to deliver the course. The course design is underpinned by an assumption that the predominant learning style of students of business is that of an accommodator. Key features of the course are two full day workshops requiring students to draw on semester 1 courses and requires them to use silo-delivered knowledge. The two workshop approach allows feedback from the formative first workshop to be acted on in the summative second workshop – thereby addressing some criticisms students have about the feedback process. The presentation will also outline the how the assessment criteria were designed and the method used to ensure almost 100% attendance.
Session 6.4: Paper presentation
Startup Law – 3 years of getting law students to help a fictious startup
Law
Pedro Telles and Ana Sergio Da Silva, Swansea University
Startup Law is a scenario-based module where students are required to think like trainees of a law firm attached to a single client with expert guest speakers drawn from practice (lawyers entrepreneurs investors patent attorneys and negotiation experts). A case-based continuous summative assessments strategy with regular individualised feedback was used to help drive student engagement with the weekly activities. The purpose of this module is to make legal education more practical exposing students to different areas of the law as in “real life” particularly to commercial awareness.
In this presentation will explore the concept and methods behind Startup Law as well as the research undertaken to assess the module such as satisfaction attendance and exercise completion rates and the focus group undertaken with the 2013/14 cohort and forum discussions.
Session 6.5: Paper presentation
Don’t panic: The Psych/Soc student’s guide to fourth year
Sociology
Hope Christie and Karl Johnson, University of Bath and Queen Margaret University
During student's undergraduate social science degree the transition from third to fourth year is often a daunting process. Fourth year at university is a stressful time for both students and lecturers. Despite students being told by lecturers that they can do it and not to get so stressed about it all too often this advice is falling on deaf ears. ‘Don’t Panic: the Psych/Soc Student’s Guide to Fourth Year’ is a student centred student lead guide in order to ease the transition from third to fourth year for social science students. At present the guide is being used within Queen Margret University where it was written. It is the aim of the session to introduce fellow colleagues to this informal student centred student lead type of guide and to demonstrate how this guide may be of useful addition to teaching practices in their own university.
Session 6.6: How to presentation
How to develop student’s employability skills through research methods and social policy
Social Sciences
Teresa Crew, Bangor University
Graduate employability has been defined in numerous ways but ultimately it is about graduates possessing an appropriate level of skills and attributes and being able to use them to gain and remain in appropriate employment (Nabi 2003). Whilst supporting students to gain a degree qualification is important Higher Education (HE) lecturers are also now encouraged to produce employable graduates regardless of subject of study or academic discipline (Redmond 2011). According to the Campaign for Social Science graduates in social science subjects offer a wide range of skills that are enormously valuable to employers across the public private and third sectors. This How to? Session will discuss the employability skills that are currently being developed in two modules in a traditional university located in North Wales.
