Session 3.1: Paper presentation
Criminology picks up the gauntlet: Responses to the Whole Earth? exhibition
Criminology
Katja Hallenberg and Maryse Tennant, Canterbury Christ Church University
The paper reports on an innovative extra-curricular work-in-progress project centred on the Whole Earth? exhibition (http://www.hardrainproject.com/) of the major problems facing humankind and the planet we inhabit. The exhibition issues several ‘university challenges’ relating to various disciplines found in most higher education institutions. Criminology/criminal justice is a discipline with clear links to the four areas of environmental social economic and cultural sustainability. The project is student-centred facilitating cognitive and affective responses as well as actions by a number of directed reflective activities and focus groups using the exhibition as a key stimulus to thinking about criminology/criminal justice links to sustainability and the responsibility of the discipline and its students. The students also engage with ‘photo blogging’ by photographing posting and reflecting on pictures of anything relevant to the exhibition themes and sustainability/justice in general allowing them to draw the connections to their local context and their own communities.
Session 3.2: Paper presentation
An innovative approach to summative assessment in higher education: employability skills development through commercial involvement in assessment
Business & Management
Ufi Cullen and Zach Thompson, Greenwich School of Management
This session aims to introduce an innovative assessment model which was created in cooperation with a number of organisational units in order to increase employability skills development of the widening participation student body in GSM London through commercial involvement in the assessment process. The fundamentals of the Model were that it needed to be credit bearing to encourage students to complete; be embedded into the current curriculum so that it did not require students to further work outside the curriculum; based on a genuine need of an employer to assist in achieving employer buy-in; and selective to help motivate students to do their best. The outcomes of the pilot application of the model clearly showed the positive impact of practical industrial experience on active learning and on employability skills development at the pre-employment stage of widening participation student body. In addition to the introduction of the outcomes of the pilot application the weaknesses and the potential areas to improve of the model will be discussed with the audience in order to improve the positive impact of it.
Session 3.3: Paper presentation
Breaking down barriers to learning: Project to develop a first year undergraduate module which supports student transitions to university
Business & Management
Teresa Oultram, Keele University
This paper explores strategies developed by teaching staff within a first year undergraduate management module to create a supportive learning environment which embeds the transition skills students require on starting university in order to develop into independent learners and professional individuals. This project involved taking an existing traditionally taught module and developing it to become more learner-focused. Initiatives incorporated into this module have included the development of Studywrite an interactive resource to improve understanding of academic scholarship; video animations to explain core concepts; more personalised learning content to accommodate student diversity; and adoption of assignments which allow formative feedback and scaffolding of learning.
This presentation will offer a case study of the process of adaptation and transformation of this module sharing my experiences of designing and teaching these activities highlighting which aspects were successful and which were more problematic. Concluding with a consideration of ‘what next’?
Session 3.4: Paper presentation
Utilising the theory and practice of youth transition to foster employability: a case study: Nottingham Trent University BA Youth Studies
Sociology
Angela Vesey and Anne Owen, Nottingham Trent University
Transition and Practice a core final year module on BA Youth Studies in the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University utilises the theory and practice of Transition to enable students to understand and facilitate their own and young people’s transitions. Building upon core principles and practice of reflective practice and a knowledge and understanding of youth transition undergraduates explore strategies to manage the transition and career development of themselves and young people whilst developing skills required for professional practice. This presentation aims to share experiences of designing delivering and assessing such learning for final year undergraduates. Specifically you will:
- Foster an understanding of the rationale for integrating transition as a theoretical and practical concept of learning in an undergraduates’ final year
- Develop insights into design content delivery and assessment of employability career and transition learning
- Engage in discussions on assessment design and pedagogy for employability.
Session 3.5: Paper presentation
Evaluating blended learning: the missing dimension
Business & Management
Sandy Ryder. Anthony Greenwood and Peter Mazohl, Cumbria University
In a previous paper the authors found that a group of non-traditional undergraduate students taking a multi-experience blended learning course used the facilitated VLE as a static library but decided amongst themselves to use Facebook for the dynamic interactive work that caused their learning to take place. This raised quality assurance concerns. As the unfacilitated use of social media extends across students’ academic as well as social lives the academic community needs a response that encompasses students’ lives without undermining institutions’ abilities to demonstrate that quality assurance standards have been met. Adapting VLEs to strengthen their social media credentials may be one way forward but this would require an evidence base before significant resources were committed to a particular approach. This paper aims to make a contribution to the evidence base.
Session 3.6 How to presentation
‘Which direction is forward?’ - Learning design approach to developing PGCert in learning and teaching in higher education online course
Education
Dejan Ljubojevic, Kingston University
This session focuses on the application of Learning Design (LD) approach to redesign of a face-to-face PGCert course for online delivery. The new Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PGCLTHE) online at Kingston University was designed with a 'blended-teaching' practitioner in mind which using even the most conservative definition of ‘blended’ is the largest teachingpractitioner demographic in UK HE at present. 'Blended' teaching and learning comprises a mix of face-to-face and online teaching and learning. The team adopted a Learning Design (LD) approach centred on the systematic pedagogicalpurpose driven and collaborative process of distillation of the course design in the form of a series of well-articulated teaching and learning plans (learning designs). Another import of the LD approach is the establishment of a formal design-discourse context that is conducive to seamless integration of individual team-members’ voices into a common refined whole.
Session 3.7. Paper presentation
Business Engagement: Lessons learnt from MBA experiential learning
Business & Management
Justin O’Brien, Royal Holloway
Business engagement is presented as a nuanced form of experiential learning and the aim of the session is to share grounded research insights drawing on the authors significant experience in partnering designing and delivering a variety of business engagement activities undertaken with postgraduate management students over five years involving 20 iterations across a diverse range of 10 partner organisations. The rationale for using such approaches will be shared identifying a variety of benefits and potential hurdles hoping to inspire wider use of business engagement.
