AQD Learning and Teaching Newsletter (Dec 2014)

AQD Learning & Teaching Newsletter December 2014

First Edition: Student Engagement at the University of Cumbria

El Coleccionista de Instantes’s (flickr) [Creative Commons License 2.0].

Contents: • page 2, Editorial Preface • page 3, Jess Robinson (welcome) & Dr Esther Jubb, LTA update • page 4, Dr Susan Dewhurst, Building a research culture • page 6, Dr Elizabeth Bates, The case for ResearchInformed Teaching • page 7, Ann Thanaraj, Enhancing the student experience: A case study from Law • page 8, Mark Christie, Enhancing the Employability • page 10, Naomi Oosman-Watts, Career Ahead • page 11, Nicky Meer, student experience includes tutors too • page 12, Jan Ashcroft in conversation & Will Nelson, reflections on drama • page 13, Melanie Harrington, Student Engagement / Student Voice • page 14, 15, Dr Jennifer Hutton, Capturing the student voice at UoC • page 16, Dr Julie Taylor & Jane Tattersall, Student Centred Planning & Engagement • page 18, 19, Nadine Sunderland, LiSS news & Phil Smith, Rebus: Electronic Reading List Development • page 20, Emma Eggleston, UCSU - Student Experience • page 22, Fiona Cole, Dr Helen Wilby, Susie Wilson, Use of Digital Media to Enhance Student Experience • page 24, Dates for your diary.

Preface (editorial)

planning and development of their courses and change initiatives.

AQD editorial team

Brunel University (Fllickr) [Creative Commons License 2.0].

Hello to you all from the editorial team and thank you for reading our first AQD newsletter which has as its primary focus Student Engagement.

This topic has been chosen to start off our newsletters as it incorporates all areas of our University, and here at UoC we should be very proud of our student focus and our excellent and innovative practices that are designed to increase engagement in all areas of the student journey.

Student Engagement is an important aspect of teaching & learning and has long been found to have a significant impact in learning gains. It is a term that is used in many ways and we have chosen to highlight some of the excellent practices that we currently have. We hope that you may want to work with us in AQD, or wider services and/ or departments to develop some of these within your own areas.

We start on Page 4 with case studies around student engagement with research. First off an article from Sports and Exercise Science (Page 4 & 5) where Dr Susan Dewhurst explains how they have created a research culture throughout their BSc which has led to increased student engagement with research throughout their degrees and ultimately to published journal articles. This is then reinforced by an article from Dr Liz Bates.

Liz talks about her work within Applied Psychology and how they are embedding research into the curriculum and creating opportunities for students to become involved in research themselves.

How we can support students in their studies through linking to future career goals and skills development is explored by Ann Thanaraj and Mark Christie on page 7 and 8. Ann

highlights the benefits from both a student and tutor perspective within Law, and Mark talks about sport and (the wider) community employability. This is then followedup by Naomi Oosman-Watts (page 10) who spotlights the excellent Career Ahead module and work that the Careers team do in engaging students in their employability.

Students as partners within their learning is then explored on page 11 Initially through a short case study

by Nicky Meer on how tutors can work with students to create shared learning experiences. This helps when considering difficult concepts or emotional/reflective areas.

Then we move on to page 12 to see how this has been achieved in Drama were from a student perspective we see how their peer and mentoring activities help create partnerships with tutors and across cohort boundaries. We then move onto to the Drama department itself to show how their teaching and learning strategy has aided student engagement and experience.

Check out their excellent video.

Gaining feedback from our students in order to learn and involve them throughout the whole institution is next on our agenda; and on Page 13 Melanie Harrington gives an overview of how the organisation gains meaningful feedback from the student voice. This is then followed up by Dr Jenn Hutton who spotlights the use of student surveys to demonstrate how this data is used to inform decision-making and improve the student experience. We end this section with an article by Dr Julie Taylor and Jane Tattersall (page 16) talking about how they have used NSS and other student engagement data to inform their

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The whole institutional focus on student engagement is then looked at through highlighting the work that LiSS and the Students’ Union do in order to challenge and involve students outside of the curriculum (this can be found on pages 18 to 21). Both the SU and LiSS are happy to work with colleagues to embed support or further engagement activities into your programmes.

Finally on page 22 we have an article from Occupational Therapy (OT) telling us how the OT course team have used technology with regards to student engagement in therapeutic intervention.

We hope that you find this newsletter informative and would love to hear from you and discover what you are doing that should be highlighted and celebrated. The next newsletter will focus on Assessment, please talk to us or send in your cases or articles so that we can include them in our next issue.

The AQD team consists of: Learning Technologists Contact - Andy White andy.white@cumbria.ac.uk ex: 5765 Academic Quality Contact - Alice Helm-Alabaster alice.helm-alabaster@cumbria. ac.uk ex: 4326 Academic Developers Contact - Dr Esther Jubb esther.jubb@cumbria.ac.uk ex: 2729 If you need support please do not hesitate to contact AQD. We are always happy to support you implement new innovations - along with any traditional aspects of your general academic practice.

Thank you.

AQD

Welcome to the first edition of the University’s new Learning & Teaching Newsletter Jess Robinson, Head of Academic Quality and Development (AQD).

of materials and resources which may inform learning and teaching practice. The newsletter’s success is dependent on contributions from you, our colleagues in the academic community, providing a great showcase for you to share practice with colleagues from other academic and academic-related areas. We plan to publish the newsletter quarterly and would welcome suggestions and contributions for future editions.

Jess Robinson

Welcome to the first edition of the new L&T Newsletter. The aim of the newsletter is to raise staff awareness of innovative learning and teaching practice and current projects across the University; and to signpost staff to a range

We hope that the newsletter stimulates thinking and debate.

Please get in touch to give us your feedback on the newsletter to ensure that it is a publication relevant and of interest to you. Feedback can be provided here.

Learning, Teaching & Assessment Strategy Update Dr Esther C. Jubb, Principal Lecturer in Academic Development.

Dr Esther C. Jubb.

During the summer we started to review the University’s current Learning & Teaching Plan (2012-17).

Feedback on the implementation of the plan was that it was challenging for some parts of the University to work with the pre-defined metrics, which did not reflect their approach to learning and teaching or the activities that they traditionally undertake. With this in mind the review of the Learning and Teaching Plan aimed to provide high level strategy statements which reflect our University’s mission, vision

and values; Corporate Strategy and Academic Strategy. These initial strategy statements have been shared across the University community at Departmental, Faculty and Service events. More specifically AQD organised two workshops, through our involvement with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education’s “Changing the Learning Landscape” programme, where representatives from Departments, Services, Students’ Union and Students were able to discuss, provide feedback and begin to work with these statements to reflect on the work that they undertake within their areas and how measures and targets could be established.

The strategy statements are designed to be inclusive, reflecting the range of activities colleagues across the University undertake to support the holistic learning experience of our students. The final strategy statements were approved

by Academic Board in December 2014 and will be launched in early 2015.

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As part of our Blackboard licence, we now have access to their Open Education platform (https://openeducation. blackboard.com).

This uses the familiar Blackboard interface, but allows us to develop courses that can be accessed by anyone with an Open Education, rather than UoC, account.

Although this area opens the possibility to deliver MOOCs , of more interest could be its use to deliver pre-entry content to students ahead of their final registration and creation of their university accounts. LiSS are currently exploring this platform as a potential route to deliver Head Start and similar content.

The Blackboard Mobile Learn app is still proving a popular way to access certain course content from smartphone and tablet devices. During a 12 month period to the middle of November nearly 10,800 unique usernames accessed Blackboard through via the app. The app can be used by students to pickup announcements, take part in discussion boards, post to a blog, take a test, etc. … all from their mobile device.

Building a research culture into the BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science degree Dr Susan Dewhurst, programme Leader BSc Sport and Exercise Science.

standard of the work presented by our students when compared to their peers from other Universities, but on how well the students were able to critique the other presenters work, as well as their confidence in discussing research in areas outwith their own projects.

To hear what the students have to say about their involvement in the research processes, please see the video on Sport and Exercise Research at the University of Cumbria [ Current Research ]

Students Leighan Meddick and Neil Thomas working as research volunteers with Theodoros Bampouras at Kendal Renal Unit [Above].

As part of the drive to increase the research culture across the University, within the BSc Sport and Exercise Science team we have been working hard to embed this research philosophy into the undergraduate degree with all modules from level 4 through to 6 being research informed both in the theoretical content and in the delivery methods. The high level of engagement with research and scholarly activity within the programme team, with an emphasis on engaging students within this, was highlighted as a point of best practice at the recent revalidation event.

This philosophy has brought benefits to both the student experience and the research culture within the department. At student level, NSS

overall satisfaction was 95% and 90% for 2013 and 2014, respectively, with the positive student comments focusing around the module content and delivery methods, with the amount of laboratory practical work also being commended.

The exposure to research from level four means the students are well prepared for the final year dissertation. The quality of the work produced for the dissertation is demonstrated by the students’ presence at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science Student Conference. In 2013 and 2014, we had seven level 6 students being accepted to present their research, either orally or by poster. Feedback from the attending academic staff members was not only on the high

Examples of how we have embedded research into course: •

Research Methods module at level 4 and 5: by teaching research philosophy and processes from level 4, this lays the foundations for the other modules to ultilise and further develop these skills.

•

Level 6 Research Dissertation module (40 credits): In addition to an 8000 word thesis, all students must present a poster at an internal departmental conference, replicating the experience of larger scale conferences. The students are assessed on the presentation of the poster and the defence of their work.

•

All module content is evidence based, with the citations to the relevant evidence provided, and where appropriate, a brief overview is given as to the research journey to reach the knowledge base.

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The quality is demonstrated further by four student projects since 2009 either being accepted or currently under review in peer reviewed international academic journals. As the project supervisor is involved in producing the paper, all have potentially to contribute to University’s Research Excellence Framework submission, feeding back into the University’s corporate strategy aims and objectives.

Current student Thomas Rothwell researching the hydration needs of the fire and rescue service personnel as part of his dissertation projectwith Theodoros Bampouras at Kendal Renal Unit [Above].

In addition to enhancing the student experience, student engagement in research has further benefits. In addition to adding to the quantity of research outputs, students are keen to be involved in staff led research, both as participants and in assisting with projects. This assistance may include collecting data, inputting data or communicating and instructing the participants. While giving the student the experience of working with a wide range of individuals, such as elite athletes or frail older individuals, the use of student volunteers in staff research,

Examples of how we have embedded research skills into specific modules: Level 4 • Introduction to Sport and Exercise Psychology: Incorporating regular practicals whereby students complete experiments, being taught the basics of scientific research e.g. formulating a hypothesis, experimental design, data collection and analysis, basic statistics.

• Health, Exercise and Fitness Assessments: Using the data collected from the various exercise tests, measurement accuracy is emphasised with students building an understanding of issues such as validity, reliability and typical errors.

Level 5 • •

Biomechanics II: In an attempt to develop their critical analysis skills, using published research articles students have to critique the claims made by brand products. The students then progress onto comparing and critiquing the various research articles.

Sport and Exercise Psychology: The students are to choose a journal article in a relevant topic and are asked to present to the group the synopsis of the article including a discussion of the statistical techniques used. This develops the student’s ability to identify the key messages from the journals while understanding the methods and results which are typically overlooked.

Level 6

•

•

Advanced Exercise Physiology: Overseen by the module leader, the students collect and analyse data using advanced methodologies. If the data collect is of sufficient standard, the aim is for the module leader to write up for submission to a peer reviewed academic journal. The students are aware that this is the case and there is an emphasis on precision of data collection and the use of correct analysis techniques.

Advanced Biomechanics: The students embark on a large scale group research project utilising and advancing the knowledge and techniques gained in level 4 and level 5. The onus is on the students to design the project, perform the measurements, analyse the data which will be presented and defended in an oral presentation. The students are encouraged to be self-critical, identifying strengths of the work presented, as well weaknesses, both in the project execution and inherent in the design.

both as participants and assistants, is an efficient process in term of cost and time.

By embedding staff research profiles and interests into module content, the students are aware of the research expertise of the course team and frequently students request to do their dissertations in that research area which can serve as pilot data for larger scale projects.

The attendance and presentation of high quality work in external arenas such as national student conferences raises the awareness and reputation of the Sport and Exercise Science degree and research quality at the University of Cumbria, both to potential post graduate students and to attending academics from other HE institutions. [by Susan Dewhurst, programme Leader BSc Sport and Exercise Science.]

AQD Validation Surgeries 2015 Do you have questions or queries about your validation or curriculum design? Would you find it helpful to talk to someone about your ideas or plans?

Then the AQD Validation Surgeries are for you!

8th January 2015 Lancaster Hornby F10 • 12th February 2015 Lancaster Hornby F10 & Carlisle Fusehill SKG10 • 12th March 2015 Lancaster Hornby F10.

Please book a time or just turn up and wait for the next free slot.

Apointments are bewteen 10am - 2pm (or anywhere via OCS).

Carlisle - Dawn Johnson Ext. 6013 [dawn.johnson@cumbria.ac.uk] Lancaster - Nicky Meer Ext. 2581 [n.meer@cumbria.ac.uk].

All OCS meetings will have to be pre-booked. We will also need a brief summary of areas to discuss to ensure we have the right people there for you. Please contact AQD@cumbria.ac.uk to book your slot (Lead: Lancaster - Nicky Meer Ext. 2581).

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The case for Research-Informed Teaching Dr Liz Bates, Lecturer in Applied Psychology.

As a PhD student all my career goals drove me towards research and a research position. It was an opportunity to do some part-time lecturing that made me realise teaching and engaging with students was also something I loved.

Lecturing became the perfect career path because it allows me to pursue both. At times, they are not easy roles to balance. I’ve found integrating research within my teaching has enabled me to stay current with my research and also encourage the students.

The importance of research informed teaching is widely acknowledged as a way to engage students actively with their learning, rather than just passively acquiring knowledge.

Research informed teaching is the practice of linking teaching and research within Higher Education.

This is particularly important in psychology; a great number of the careers within the field involve research in one way or another.

Embedding research skills strongly within the curriculum ensures our students leave as employable graduates who are ready for postgraduate study and further training.

There are four ways to use research informed teaching and within our

department we ensure we are utilising them all at levels 4, 5, 6 and 7. The “research-led” approach involves students learning about research findings through lectures, workshops and seminars. Here staff are teaching curriculum content that often (but not always) overlaps with their own research interests. In a small team (relative to other more research focused institutions) we are not able to cover all aspects of the curriculum with our own research interests but having specialists in forensic, clinical, health, occupational and military psychology means the students have access to a wide range of expertise alongside the other core aspects of the course.

It is other aspects of research informed teaching where we as a team have excelled in giving students opportunities to engage with research and learn-by-doing.

The Student Research Volunteer scheme was set up in the academic year 2013-4 to give students the opportunity to get involved with research projects that the staff are currently engaged in. Theories of transformative learning suggest numerous benefits of learning by gaining real world experience and putting into practice all the skills they are learning in class. Students have the opportunity to practice skills and be involved with real research by performing literature reviews, collecting data, analysing data and sometimes being involved in writing or proof reading final versions of papers. Students here engage in research-based learning where the division of roles between the teacher and student is minimised, they become partners on shared projects. The research discussions that emerge as part of the research team further enable research–tutored

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learning. Here the teacher leads students through research learning but further enables students to model good practice.

Research-oriented learning is where students learn about the research process. How knowledge is produced and disseminated as much as learning the content. A second initiative that we employed here was by introducing an annual student conference. This is set up and run in the same format as any formal conference but the students are able to present their research findings (e.g. dissertation results) in a friendly and kind atmosphere – it is also free!

We received very positive feedback from the students particularly about it improving confidence with presenting. They also valued learning about the research of other staff and students.

First in Applied Psychology conference

From an employability perspective, several of our students have gone on to do MSc by research and also PhDs. We feel pride as a team when our students succeed in any profession but as the University strives to achieve research degree awarding power and make REF submissions, we feel particularly proud that we are helping make future researchers.

Enhancing the student experience: A case study from Law Ann Thanaraj, Barrister, Principal Lecturer in Law.

“The LLB Law programme at the University of Cumbria has been ranked top 15th in the United Kingdom in the Guardian League Table. Feedback. The programme also received 92%, 98% and 100% in the NSS scores over the past three years. Annually, the programme is improved through a number of enhancements explicitly placing an excellent and holistic student learning, successful support schemes for retention and establishing initiatives that feed into the development of 21st century graduations and employability skills. These are the programme’s core business initiatives. This case study provides one example of an initiative undertaken by the Law team to meet the above aims:”

Employability skills through a three year skills programme Ann Thanaraj, Barrister, Principal Lecturer in Law.

The three-year skills programme is designed to prepare students for workbased learning starting in the second month of their first year through our work-experience scheme with law advice centres in Carlisle and West Cumbria and our street law project. Our employability scheme encompasses activities and work-based learning opportunities that offer the development of the following skills: • • •

General legal knowledge, analytical skills, knowledge about the work environment, communication skills and e-research skills.

Personal attitudes and self-belief lifelong learning, team working and reflective thinking

Students’ reflection on the activities undertaken during the scheme showed gradual increase in awareness of the need to reflect, learn and develop new skills necessary for graduates such as self-confidence and independence.

Learner perspective: ‘The teaching on the skills modules have helped me recognise and understand employers expectations …

I also found that the work placements as part of our modules were really useful in developing my understanding of legal practice and how to become more employable’.

Students also noted that skills developed through presentations, essays and seminar discussions where students have to analyse and evaluate situations relating to their legal practice, then come to conclusions and recommendations for action, were seen as extremely useful.

Tutor perspective: References •

Dearing, R. (1997). The Dearing Report – National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education. National Report – Future Demands for higher education.

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‘Recognising the challenges facing students, particularly their lack of awareness of the importance of personal, transferable and job seeking skills, helps me to adjust my teaching methods to demonstrate the theoretical underpinning of practical skills development’

Enhancing the Employability of Sports Students Mark Christie, Senior Lecturer - Sport and Physical Activity Development

Mark and Students (StreetGames Youth Inclusion Project) [Above].

The sport academic team have an enduring and passionate commitment to embedding community engagement opportunities within programmes and modules to enrich the learning experience for students, bringing the theory ‘alive’, and giving students access to important employer networks (leading to many accessing successful transitions into employment). Degree programmes are deliberately tailored to include more vocational content, supported by employer input into the validation process.

Designing modules with significant levels of relevant vocational activity has entailed extensive negotiation with local agencies to develop sustainable local projects that successive cohorts of students are linked to, with appropriate risk assessment and community engagement forms to promote a safe and effective experience.

These agencies include: Lancaster City Council, Morecambe Football Club’s Community Sport Programme, Carlisle City Council Leisure Development Team, Cumbria Sport and Physical Activity Alliance (CSPAAF), Active Cumbria, Lancashire Sport, Lancashire FA, Cumberland FA, StreetGames UK and the Lancaster & Heysham School Sports Partnership.

Numerous modules have facilitated a variety of projects, which have also been used as vehicles for

staff and student research output (for example, the Greenfingers conservation-themed health project in Williamson Park, which is now in

its fifth year), and promoted varied assessment practice.

Students have benefitted from appreciating the role of sport, physical activity and community development practice in a variety of relevant practical contexts, including workplace, schools and community settings and with specific target groups (for example, influencing participation in physical activity with mental health patients; girls football; Healthwalks for local people including some presenting with medical conditions; corporate health initiatives; disabled children).

The success of the community engagement work has been noted by colleagues at all levels and reflected in student feedback at module and programme level, as well as in NSS surveys. These experiences clearly lend themselves to the development of numerous skills

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of value to employers, including communication, team working, interpersonal, problem solving, leadership and time management skills - some of the most highly ranked skills desired by employers - in addition to evidence of applying intellectual skills to specific contexts.

This ‘readiness for work’ is an important subsequent factor in offering employment. Students also derive psycho-social benefits from community engagement work, including increased selfconfidence, networking, increased satisfaction and connection with the notion of ‘active citizenship’.

These benefits have been noted by external examiners and through the revalidation of existing programmes.

Students have also had the chance to apply to be part of on-campus Student Workforce Teams. These are volunteer posts with specific free training packages attached to the roles. Since 2012, a Streetgames Youth Project has operated on the Lancaster campus involving 30-50 youths in sports activities; the students receive training from the national youth charity Streetgames UK, which also funds the project. The student team runs the project with support of an academic mentor for a year before handing over to a new team of second year students.

There is also a Corporate Health Workforce Team that is mentored by staff in Human Resources with the aim of promoting physical activity opportunities to staff on campuses.

Beyond module-linked and formal placement opportunities provided by the degree programmes, students have also benefitted from the networks that these opportunities have opened up, and pursued volunteering in their own time to further enhance their employability.

Such networking has led to many students in recent years gaining employment in well paid positions within sport national governing bodies, top flight sports clubs, education, local authorities and health.

Bryan Alexander (Fllickr) [Creative Commons License 2.0].

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Career Ahead - What is it and why should you be thinking about it?

Naomi Oosman-Watts, Employability Manager,, Library and Student Services.

Career Ahead is the University of Cumbria’s Employability Award.

Why should Career Ahead be on your mind?

Launched in 2011, the Award was first piloted as part of a European funded Graduate Employability project. It has since evolved and grown into a flexible, e-based tool which allows students to reflect on their future career, define and develop their skill and gain recognition for their extracurricular work and volunteering activities.

as one of our strategic drivers, Employability should be embedded throughout the curriculum – Career Ahead can help to pull together your employability content and provide a supportive structure through which students can reflect on and recognise their key skills. This means that they are well prepared for their future career and have a much better chance of being successful at application and interview.

The award is split into three sections: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Students have to complete all three to gain a full Career Ahead Award but each element is also recognised individually. Currently there are almost 800 students registered on Career Ahead, and so far this academic year we have awarded over 130 certificates – over twice as many as for the whole of the last academic year!

The sense of confidence and success students gain from Career Ahead can help to improve your course’s NSS scores and DLHE outcome which can mean better rankings in the league tables for both your course and the University as a whole.

The Careers and Employability Team can work with you to support the embedding of Employability and Career Ahead into your curriculum in a meaningful way; through employer led events, development and delivery of workshops and module content as well as support with the programme development process.

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You can find out more about Career Ahead by visiting www.cumbra.ac.uk/ careerahead and if you want to discuss working with the Careers and Employability Team to enhance your course offer just email Naomi Oosman-Watts, Employability Manager on Naomi.oosmanwatts@cumbria.ac.uk

AQD recently held a series of lunchtime webinars covering everything you need to know about PebblePad. The six sessions took place over a period of three weeks and lasted approximately 40 mins each.

Topics covered were: 1. Basic Introduction 2. Adding Files and Sharing 3. Webfolio creation and sharing 4. ATLAS Introduction 5. Assessment and Feedback in PebblePad and 6. Workbook Builder/Template Builder.

The workshops were designed to give progressive knowledge over the six sessions, or could be attended singly or on a need-to-know basis. We recorded each session – if you’d like to view any of the recordings, please click the following link:

PebblePad Workshops

The student experience includes tutors too!

Nicky Meer, Academic Development Officer (AQD)

My personal pedagogic approach to teaching and learning is socioconstructive and therefore based upon the belief that students learn effectively when they are engaged, active participants and where their class activities have real links to their life, work and wider world and are not just given abstract knowledge. This is mainly done through utilising a ‘flipped classroom’ (Yeung & O’Malley 2014) approach wherever possible which ensures that the class contact time itself is used for meaningful engagement in activities that demonstrate the use of concepts or ideas into real situations.

All of my sessions have a workbook that students will access prior to the class itself giving the basic concepts, introduction to relevant theory and links to other areas that we have already studied throughout their degree, not just module specific. This gains time for us to ‘play’ with these theories and concepts within the class contact time - testing, critiquing, applying, synthesising, learning and developing together.

Co-Learning – I believe that tutors and students can and should share the same learning experiences wherever possible. This is best evidenced for me through a level 6 module called Managing Diversity where a flipped classroom pedagogy is used but the learning outcomes and assessment are done together i.e. students and the tutor both undertake the class exercises, psychometric tests and personality tests together, analyse them together and share insights freely and equally. One session involves socialisation as the main concept and so we all cross-dress for the whole day and come back together to discuss how society has tried to normalise or socialise us through ridicule and anger etc.

Nicky Meer and Students [Above].

These classroom sessions create a positive student and tutor experience that develops our knowledge and understanding in meaningful ways and the amazing feedback received from students (below) attest to this as being a valuable and memorable learning experience, for all of us: • • • • • • • •

Delivery was brilliant, all the information we needed was readily available.

Enthusiastic teaching makes students feel more enthusiastic about the module.

Quality of learning was brilliant.

Assessment was hard but good practice for research and looking at self.

Content was very good and I learned a great deal from this module.

Teaching style excellent, very engaging.

Good class discussions.

Friendly environment and treated like adults.

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A reflection on student experience in Drama Will Nelson, Drama Lecturer.

Around my mid-twenties I fell in with a group in Manchester who produced ‘zero-budget’ short films.

They had the technical experience but knew that I had acted in my teens so drew upon my meagre experience to advise on acting technique. This period reignited my interest in theatre and performance and I resolved to go to university and seek further study. I applied in 2006 and despite receiving several offers (including one from a Top Ten institution) I found that the Lancaster campus of what was then St Martin’s ‘felt’ right. It felt like a supportive environment, one where I would be able to flourish. I commenced study on the BA (Hons) in Drama course at the Lancaster Campus in 2007. Initially I found the transition difficult as I was significantly older and with different life experiences to many of the students but with the support and guidance I received from the faculty at the Lancaster Campus, Jan Ashcroft, Jez Colclough, Colin Knapp, and Leonie Pearce, I began to perform well. I learnt that academic work was not something to be feared and indeed the satisfaction to be gained from the process of researching, drafting, re-drafting, submitting and receiving feedback on work was a rewarding experience. I found the standards demanded of me challenging but I feel that I rose to the challenge.

Over the course of my degree I was offered opportunities not available on other courses. I took part in the department’s annual shows at The Dukes in each of my three years, as a stage manager in my first year, an actor in my second and finally

director in my third. Initially, I had some vague notion of being an actor but found as I progressed that perhaps my skills and interests had changed slightly. I became more interested in the academic and theoretical side of the discipline and began to conduct independent research. Also, I developed an interest in the craft of directing, finding the experience of putting together a show as rewarding as performing in one.

Drama at Lancaster builds in support networks as part of the course. This was the case also when I was a student. After being selected as one of the student directors in my third year, I was assigned as mentor to a group of first year undergraduates.

This is a challenging yet rewarding role as the third years act as a conduit between the first years and the course team. In this way, first years feel supported and the course team are able to identify developing pastoral issues. More importantly, as many of the first year students are away from home for the first time they can feel lost and homesick and having a point of contact who is not a member of staff and has gone through similar experiences just a couple of years before is invaluable.

The combination of a love of directing, the satisfaction of helping

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others to achieve and a passion for academics led me to pursue postgraduate study. I commenced a part time MA in Contemporary Arts Research at Lancaster University in 2011, graduating in 2013 and am in the process of building a research profile. I also began teaching at The University of Cumbria in 2011, initially as a teaching assistant but later as a module leader.

The strength of the Drama course and its team is that we allow students to find their own way but offer guidance and the tools required for them to reach their potential. Had I taken one of my other options when coming to university, I feel sure I would not be where I am today.

AQD Learning & Te

Fusehill Street (FHS), Carlisle

Keep that d

Student Engagement / Student Voice Melanie Harrington, Senior Quality & Standards Policy Officer, AQD.

“Higher Education is a partnership between universities and colleges and their students. It is in everyone’s interests to promote high quality education, preparing students as global citizens, ready to make a difference in whatever career or field they choose.”

open video

The Student Voice Strategy document launched in September 2014 and available on StaffNet sets out the principles underpinning student engagement in quality; describes the range of ways in which we seek to engage students in our quality assurance and enhancement framework; identifies a number of areas for further development and sets out a range of performance indicators by which we will in future measure our success in engaging students in quality.

[above] Jan Ashcroft, Drama (teaching and learning award 2013), in conversation with her final year Students. How Drama is taught and experenced.

Jan reflects on teaching methodology in Drama and how that methodology enhances student engagment & experence.

eaching FEST 2015

e, Monday 29th June 2015

date FREE!

The University has a strong history of working in partnership with Students’ Union (UCSU) and we were highly commended in the 2013 HEA/NUS Partnership Awards which celebrated strategic approaches to partnership working to effect change and enhance the student experience.

We engage students in a range of quality assurance and enhancement processes and activities and we are seeking to build on the success of developments in recent years including: • the introduction of the Penultimate Year Survey • the introduction of a standard Module Evaluation Report • the introduction of baseline requirements for Programme level Blackboard sites (which included feedback on student surveys/ evaluations) • audits of Module Guides and

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Programme Handbook (which include a review of information on how the student voice has shaped the module or programme) The Student Voice Working Group is chaired by Dr Fiona Powley, Associate Dean (EAB). The group aims to support student engagement through: • Ensuring a robust approach to Student Engagement with review and evaluation processes • Overseeing the implementation of the University Student Voice Strategy • Ensuring alignment to UK Quality Code Chapter B5 ‘Student Engagement’.

Blackboard was upgraded over the summer. The upgrade is required to maintain high-level support from the company for the academic year, as well as providing official support for newer operating systems and browsers compared with the previous version. Some new features have also been incorporated, including a

Student Preview mode, which provides the tutor with a much more accurate experience of the Blackboard course from the student perspective.

Capturing the student voice at UoC

students around the NSS has also led to direct enhancements at course level for example; staff on the Lancaster campus were able to reschedule modules for nurses to make academic workload more manageable for students early on in their studies.

Dr Jennifer Hutton, Business Analyst, Finance and Planning.

Vancouver Film School (flickr) [Creative Commons License 2.0].

There are several ways in which the University of Cumbria (UoC) evaluates student experience with learning and teaching. One formal way of doing this is through the National Student Survey which occurs annually across the sector each spring. The NSS asks final year students to indicate their level of agreement with 23 different positive statements about their course and education experience as it relates to six key areas: teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources and personal development as well as overall satisfaction. Higher satisfaction levels indicate a better experience for students. The survey results are discussed across the institution in formal committees and within departments as staff members consider how best to respond to issues that arise from analysis of the results.

Figure 1: UoC satisfaction scores, NSS key themes & overall satisfaction 2007-2014

Enhancing the Student Experience Since the inception of the University of Cumbria in 2007 staff have facilitated major improvements in all areas of the survey (see Figure 1). Statistical analyses of survey results supported by interpretive analysis of student comments and regular discussion of outcomes have enabled staff to make concrete enhancements to the student experience. Improvements have been undertaken at several levels. Across all campuses direct responses to student feedback

obtained through the NSS have led to enhancements such as, making it easier to find library resources on the internet by including spelling suggestions in catalogue searches, introducing Pebblepad skills modules on Blackboard and providing more academic support at Skills@Cumbria. Specific campus improvements arising from the feedback have included improving lighting at Fusehill Street, purchasing additional copies of texts for London based students and introducing a Human Performance Laboratory in Carlisle. The interchange stimulated between staff and

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Although UoC has made improvements across all thematic areas of the NSS one of the key themes for our students has been assessment and feedback. The sector in general struggles to provide a quality experience in this respect and it frequently appears in student comments in UoC’s results, which showed that detailed and timely feedback is important to student development and achievement.

University staff made a determined effort to improve the quality and the timing of assessment and in some cases introducing workshops to aid students in preparation and interpreting outcomes.

Additionally, in 2012, AQD introduced the Penultimate Year Survey, which asked first year students on two year programmes and second year students on three year programmes to respond to the NSS questions in their penultimate year. This allowed staff the opportunity to both improve the learning experience for students who would remain with UoC for an additional year and helped staff to evaluate whether changes actually improved learning and teaching for students in a more direct way.

The PYS has helped the University make important meaningful improvements in the student experience, most especially in assessment and feedback, academic support and personal development.

Scores in these areas improved 5 to 10 percentage points between 2012 and 2013. UoC’s students are more satisfied than most with these aspects of their experience, and research indicates that personal development and academic support are strongly related to student’s overall satisfaction. Most institutions are able to fulfil student’s expectation for quality teaching but not all are as successful as UoC at developing skills and fostering confidence in students or in providing them with adequate support and advice with

their studies. Learning and teaching encompasses many aspects of a student’s intellectual development and undergraduates place a high value on interaction with and support from tutors that encourages their progress.

As a standard survey the NSS has been an effective tool for amplifying the student voice and making teaching and learning enhancement a sector-wide priority. The results are made public and used in key information sets and in league table rankings of institutions. Comparison of student satisfaction over a number of years across the sector has provided UoC with useful insights on the significance of different aspects of learning and teaching to the satisfaction of students. Introducing the PYS has helped us evaluate the effectiveness of improvements put in place in response to the data.

In our continual quest to improve learning and teaching the University is seeking additional input from first year students on how they engage with learning through a new and different survey facilitated by the Higher Education Academy. The United Kingdom Engagement Survey (UKES) focuses on the kinds of activities that encourage learning and nurture a student’s intellectual development. Data from this survey will hopefully provide additional material to inform enhancements to learning and teaching. It means we’ll be hearing the views of undergraduates at all stages of their academic career and further enhancing the learning and teaching partnership between staff and students.

Find out more by visiting UoC Staffnet home page NSS.

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Student Centred Planning & Engagement Dr Julie Taylor, Principal Lecturer, & Jane Tattersall Senior Lecturer, Applied Psychology

Brunel University (Fllickr) [Creative Commons License 2.0].

Applied Psychology and Working with Children and Families have both improved their overall score for NSS quite dramatically in a relatively short space of time. The reasons underpinning the improvements do vary across the programmes but both reflect a move towards student centred planning and engagement.

Interestingly, both subject teams have seen positive outcomes for students around academic support this year. In previous years these scores had been inconsistent and disappointing. Our new strategy of explicitly linking learning outcomes (LO) to assessment tasks, combined with focused class activities has elaborated and reinforced the relationship between the overarching module aim and the assignment; a shift in emphasis that has been positively received and seems to have impacted on the student experience as gauged by the NSS. The point here is that we thought, as teams, that were already making the links clear between LO’s and assignments. We did all of the standard things, i.e. explained in handbooks, stated on MDF’s and even in some cases on lecture slides, but the student feedback told us something different, what we thought we were doing well because we could evidence it on paper was not useful from a student perspective.

As a result there is now much more attention paid in face to face sessions around the LO’s and how the assignment assesses these.

Equally for both programmes the areas that still need work are the perceived speed and usefulness of the feedback received. Through engagement with students and

colleagues we have realised that we need to both reframe expectations (particularly around the notion of prompt) and work with the students to develop a shared understanding of the purpose and therefore the structure of effective feedback. In terms of restructuring expectations we have listened to the experiences shared by colleagues with respect to using the word ‘prompt’ in module handbooks and when talking to the students about feedback. We are also much more focused on explaining the assessment process and how rigorous the internal and external moderation is. This does help illuminate why 20 days is actually remarkably prompt when managing large groups!

Some of the ongoing strategies centre on the ownership of the student experience and have involved devolving feedback from a static to a dynamic process led by the students and their identified needs. In response to both PYS and NSS scores in previous years, we asked a small group of student volunteers to undertake some research amongst their cohorts on the student experience of feedback. The most enlightening finding was that the respondents did not feel they had a role in feedback, they saw it as something they were given and they could elect whether to read it or act on it, which of course they still can but what this meant was that they missed the real purpose of our efforts. This was a shock to us; all the reams of detailed

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feedback had been intended to serve as the start of a dialogue or a trigger for signposting. Based on discussions and research around the PYS and NSS we now appreciate that whilst internal and external moderators thought that we were doing an excellent job we were actually wasting everyone’s time.

Time that we now spend in different ways, for example, we give in class general feedback on the strengths and areas for development, we aim to hold mini individual or small group face to face oral feedback sessions so that students appreciate that feedback is an interactive an on-going process and not just about written feedback on Turnitin, we ask students to self-assess and compare their assessments with our own, we specify feedback within our module guides as integral elements of taught sessions and we use the word feedback more frequently in sessions as a cue to everyone that feedback is continuous and a two way process. We are also experimenting with different types of feedback, for example, a number of colleagues in both programme teams have been trialling the use of the oral blackboard feedback tool and we will find out how well this has been received in due course.

There are still hurdles to navigate for example, generating short, clear, action focused and positive constructive feedback and no doubt new issues will emerge over time as cohorts, technologies and expectations change. What we have learned from this process overall, is that whilst the NSS is the indicator that receives the most emphasis institutionally, as is appropriate given its prominence in our external presence and its impact on league table positions; it is the PYS that is perhaps most important to programme teams and students. It is at this stage of the student journey that we can effect meaningful change, change that is potentially rewarding for us all.

Randi Hausken (Fllickr) [Creative Commons License 2.0].

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Library and Student Services (LiSS) news Nadine Sunderland, Academic Engagement, Skills and Retention Manager.

Activities and developments planned in 2015: Launch of 2 MOOC courses via the Blackboard Open Education platform – Head Start Plus and Preparing for M level Study Launch of the UOC student support app in January 2015 Bright Futures Event in March 2015 to celebrate students who engage in voluntary activities and enterprise Second round of Help is at Hand events in February 2015

Flazingo (Fllickr) [Creative Commons License 2.0].

Retention & employability activity In brief:

Meeting the university’s WP retention objectives (achievement & employability) Through an integrated model of targeted interventions

Awarded THELMA Outstanding Student Services 2014 for its Head Start project in recognition of its impact on students’ transition and retention 870 applicants registered on Head Start 2014 between April and September - 82% completed or significantly engaged with the course 170 PASS Leaders trained this autumn – PASS scheme now available across 17 subject areas 60 Cumbria Mentors trained this term 601 students attended our Help is at hand events in October Since the start of the academic year, 853 new students registered on the Career Ahead Employability Award programme and 129 have already completed one or more elements gaining recognition for the bronze award Pro-active, front loaded and embedded programme of academic skills support sessions delivered across 2 courses where retention and achievement issues have been identified for action

Want to find out more about what is available to you and your students?

Follow the LiSSen Up link!

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Rebus: list electronic reading list system Since May 2014, LiSS Learning Enhancement Advisers alongside a number of academic tutors have created 710 lists. These are now live and accessible by students on those modules via their module handbook on Blackboard or directly from the Rebus platform.

Across both faculties, Rebus lists account for 57% of current MAB data of modules that are running and have students attached. LiSS is aiming to have 75% of active module reading lists on Rebus by September 2015.

A survey of module leaders who took part in the Rebus pilot shows that: • •

Most tutors found the process of creating a Rebus list generally straightforward 87% reported that they thought that once the initial work is done, it would save them time in future when editing or updating their lists

Tutors’ comments included: “I was really impressed by how easy the process seems and how useful these e-lists are - isn’t it nice to get such a quick result.” Health tutor “That’s great about being able to tinker with it at any time – thanks for that. I’m really impressed with it.”

Health tutor “I’m just preparing module guides, so this is the first time I have used this. It is great thanks.” Forestry tutor Are your modules’ reading lists on Rebus yet? Are you interested in finding out more? Contact james. stephens@cumbria.ac.uk

Rebus: Electronic Reading List Development Phil Smith, Senior Learning Technologist, Academic, Quaility & Development (AQD)

LiSS contacted AQD to discuss the feasibility of integrating their Rebus List system with Blackboard. The brief was to make it as quick and easy as possible for tutors to add a reading list to their Blackboard module site. One option was to adopt and adapt an existing solution from another University. On investigation, their solution worked well but still requires that users go through an instructed step-by-step process. This increases the risk of problems occurring, such as lists not properly linked or inconsistencies across modules and therefore all-inall affecting the student experience.

Another technical complication with this approach was that it relies on using and maintaining another server to do the processing and the retrieving of the reading lists.

To achieve a tight integration I turned to one of the first Blackboard Building Blocks that I developed back in 2008/9 (a Building Block is a software program that plugs into Blackboard similar to an App).

This particular block was designed to allow tutors to create and enrol themselves on Blackboard sites quickly and easily with the minimum of fuss, and at the time replaced a based paper based system. If you use any Blackboard site you will almost definitely have used this tool to create it in the first place. The idea for Rebus List was to include an option on the web form of this Building Block that would enable the creation of a reading list button on the module site that the tutor was about to create. The button would be created automatically with no intervention required by the tutor.

Following various tests to see whether the integration was technically possible (which it was), I reported back to LiSS with my ideas for the building block. LiSS were happy with my proposal and the developmental process began.

No two reading lists are the same,

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so there were quite a few technical challenges along the way making sure that if any field had empty data in the xml (the information sent from Rebus List) then this field was ignored and not included in the final output. Also much of the data needed to be transformed or adapted in some way or another before finally being outputted to the end user. Another challenge due to the upgrading of the Blackboard system meant that things didn’t quite work as they did before the upgrade, with one or two Blackboard issues such as multiplying breadcrumb trails (the links across the top), and multiple scroll bars appearing. Other Building Blocks such as Turnitin and Campus Pack also suffered the same issues so the developers had to change their Building Block code to work with this new Blackboard version. Many of these seemingly minor issues caused problems and required me to develop workarounds.

Whilst all this was going on I was wondering how the Rebus List integration could be created in an existing Blackboard site not just at creation time. A possible solution popped into my head - Conveniently back in 2008 I had decided that it might be a good idea to flag the sites as they were being created as modules sites or non- modules sites, with no real reason at the time other than thinking it might be useful to be able to distinguish the two types of sites in the future. Because of this decision, it has made it possible to have a Rebus List reading list integration link created on any module at any point in time.

The Rebus Reading List building block that integrates Blackboard and Rebus Reading Lists will be available in the New Year, and whilst previous Blackboard Building Blocks that I have created have been designed to help tutors; this is a program designed to help tutors and improve the student experience!

UCSU: Student Experience

with a particular organisation.

Emma Egglestone, Student Opportunities Manager

Another aspect of what we do is to support students who would like to run their own volunteering projects.

Students will take an issue they want to change and create a project that will have a positive effect on the community and will give other volunteers an opportunity to develop their own skills. Examples of some of the past student led projects that have taken place and are currently taking place include a community I.T project, community Arts project, homework club, students eats and other environmental projects.

The University of Cumbria Students’ Union (UCSU) is a student-led charity, representing the views and interests of our 10,000 student members. Our motto is ‘Supporting and representing students to achieve their ambitions’ and this is at the heart of every action we take and decision we make – UCSU is here to help students get the best university experience possible!

We do this through providing a whole variety of opportunities, enabling students to gain experience and develop skills alongside their course that will bring about positive change, enhance their CV and employability, broaden their networks, enable them to try new activities, make new friends, feel part of and contribute to the local community and/or aid their integration into society as responsible citizens.

We provide training for all roles within the Union and direct students to other training opportunities that are available and relevant to them.

UCSU Volunteering Students register online at www.

UCSU.me/volunteering to get

involved in volunteering projects on campus, in the local community and within non-profit-making organisations. These extracurricular volunteering opportunities demonstrate to potential employers that students have gone above and beyond their course requirements to develop skills and gain experience that will give them the edge when applying for jobs.

UCSU has links with lots of local non-profit-making organisations who are looking for volunteers and we encourage registered students to get involved by sending them a monthly volunteering bulletin that includes a snap shot of information about local volunteering opportunities. If students like the sound of anything in the bulletin they get in touch with us for more info and we send them full details so they can consider getting involved.

Alternatively, volunteers can contact us for details of opportunities in a specific field like; working with children, older people, animals, sport, etc. Opportunities may be in local youth clubs, after school clubs, family centres, with environmental or conservation organisations, working with vulnerable adults, homeless, etc.

Students can also sign up to ‘one-day projects’ where we visit an organisation for the day so students can gain an insight into the organisation, meet students from other sites and join in activities to give them a taster into volunteering

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‘It’s been good to be actively involved in the community.

Volunteering makes you feel good about yourself and it’s good for other people’ (Year 2 Student, Child & Young Family Studies, Carlisle) UCSU Greener Minds Greener Minds is a 2 year HEFCE funded sustainability project, essentially aiming to create active sustainability projects for our students & staff to get involved in, learn from and gain essential skills with the aim of making it a studentled project post funding.

Currently we have projects running around growing food produce, supporting fairtrade fortnight, green Impact schemes and have recently just written our first ever online sustainability module challenging students and staff to make small changes in their everyday behaviour and to

encourage sharing this learning with others, towards sustaining a better future for generations to come.

Growing spaces have been established on campus in Carlisle and Ambleside, and both on and off

campus in Lancaster, for students & staff to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs and to promote local food and healthy lifestyles. We have found that volunteers have been involved in this project with varying motivations; to give them a break from their studies,

to make friends, to get some fresh air, to learn about growing food with a view to sharing their learning elsewhere eg. After school clubs, childrens’ nurseries, etc. Additionally, Occupational Therapy students are showing a keen interest in Lancaster as a means to learn and experiment in activities that they could use on placement or as part of their research for study.

Over the course of the Greener Minds project, students from a variety of courses have previously been engaged; Conservation & wildlife, Primary Trainee Teachers, Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Sports Science and Business Studies.

Greener Minds projects have the potential to involve students from different courses too, for example linking into the health benefits of being involved, psychological benefits, social, community, etc. It has relevance for us all.

of student-led groups for students to join and participate in, providing great opportunities for students to meet others with similar interests, make new friends, gain a sense of belonging and help retention. By participating in one of the many sports teams, students can compete nationally in the British Universities & Colleges Sports League (BUCS), continue their passion and represent their University.

UCSU supports students to start their own group, society, club or sports team. We provide students with all the information and support needed to get their new venture off the ground, and help promote the group so that other students can join in too. Many of our groups and sports teams have won national awards, and we hold our own Student Groups Awards every year to recognise, reward and celebrate the achievements of all our members engaged with student groups.

Leading a Group gives students the opportunity to develop transferable skills such as; leadership skills, motivational skills, time management and problem solving, providing firsthand experience to articulate in job applications and at interviews.

“I’m teaching cheer as part of the school curriculum in my new job! I seriously am lost without ‘Saints,’ I get withdrawal symptoms of the big blue mat and all the smiles, tears and tantrums! I hope they continue our champion status!” Jade Brandrick, Cumbria Alumna & Head Cheerleader, UCSU Saint, (Northern Regional Champions & 4th in BCA Nationals 2014) UCSU Student Voice UCSU creates opportunities for students to improve their course, express their concerns and bring about positive change. UCSU takes the lead from students, to guide improvements and change that help shape their University of Cumbria experience.

UCSU Groups UCSU Groups are run for students by students. We have a wide variety

Student Academic Representatives are students who volunteer to speak out on the quality of their course or Department. They are chosen by

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their class mates.

‘The role of Student Academic Rep has enabled my confidence to grow and further supported the development of my communication skills’ (Student Academic Rep, 2013) Ideas - Any student can directly feed their ideas/thoughts/needs to us, either online, via one of our suggestion boxes in UCSU offices, through one of the Sabbatical Officers or when our team visits each campus.

The Panel is a group of 21 student representatives, chosen through elections, who gather to discuss, debate and make decisions on how to take forward students’ suggestions and ideas. Each panel member is representative of a group of students, eg. Womens Rep, London Rep, International Students’

Rep, Part-time Students’ Rep, etc.

The Panel meets four times a year to discuss the Ideas submitted and decides how it wishes UCSU to proceed with them; directing the elected Sabbatical Officers to pursue and make the change happen, whether that involves lobbying the University, working in partnership with others, gaining support, etc.

Panel members can learn and develop skills which can be used effectively to promote a sense of ownership, belonging and community - as well as creating an interesting and active professional portfolio.

Use of Digital Media to Enhance the Experience of Students on the BSc Occupational Therapy Programme Fiona Cole, Susie Wilson, Dr Helen Wilby, Rehabilitation and Social Work Department.

Here we provide an outline of some of the first steps we have taken to broaden students’ learning exeperiences and better equip students for practice through the use of more up-to date communication media.

Figure 1: www.padlet.com

Moving a well established therapeutic intervention into the digital 21st century: We run a module for level 4 Occupational Therapy (OT) students that explores the theory and practical application of therapeutic and creative media. A morning’s classroom based learning is then followed by an afternoon of practical experiential learning, for example through participating in art, drama, and physical activities that could potentially be used within occupational therapy practice. Story telling and life story work through creative writing and gathering photographs for ‘hard copy’ picture books are well-established interventions used by occupational therapists. For example, for people with dementia, the experiences of reminiscing can be therapeutic and help maintain a person’s sense

of identity. Photographs can be a permanent reminder for the person of their past and something to share with other people such as friends, family and carers.

However, with increasing development of digital technologies and use of computers across all generations, these more traditional print-based media may be less appropriate as a tool for some people. We wanted to provide students with an opportunity to experience using an established reminiscence approach of using photographs but with a contemporary application of technology. Our brief to them was to work together in small groups of five to share images of themselves and the things that they like to do, and to collect these on a ‘Padlet wall’ (www. padlet.com ). This also allowed us to align the content related to these

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activities with concepts of what occupation means to individuals, a core concept for level 4 students to grasp. This activity was completed in module study time and then shared with the whole group within the following week’s next session.

Student groups all produced full and imaginative ‘walls’. Importantly for year one students, they also observed that an added benefit was that they got to know each other within their small groups and across the whole larger class. Keelie confirmed this saying that ‘from just four or five photographs, in a short amount of time we learned all about each other’s families, achievements, hobbies ambitions and lifestyles’. She also commented that ‘as an OT I would use this sort of system to engage learners in a specialist school or residents of nursing and care homes to make easily accessible profiles for staff and carers to break down barriers and let people show us what is most important to them.’ Hence, an enjoyable and contemporary activity enabled students to learn and reflect upon the experience and its potential application within practice.

Since then, we have also used Padlet ‘walls’ for other student activities such as an alternative means of gathering feedback about module sessions, and for gathering ideas / suggestions for activities.

There were some ‘teething troubles’ to overcome concerning accessibility and sharing ‘walls’ via Blackboard but these have subsequently been overcome and we will continue to pursue such digital techniques as a creative and up to date means of facilitating students’ learning.

Engaging with the Wider Professional Community Beyond the Classroom At level 5, we run a module to build knowledge and skills in the

development and application of evidence-based occupational therapy interventions to meet client’s individual needs. The module team wanted to explore strategies that would help to develop students’ skills in keeping abreast of the current evidence for practice and also provide opportunities to join in debates and network with health care professionals beyond classroom and practice placement settings.

We therefore introduced the professional use of Twitter as part of the module. We advised that the use of Twitter was voluntary and we set up a Tagboard on our module Blackboard site from where nonTwitter users could access modulerelated Tweets. We encouraged tutors, students and guest speakers to Tweet to our newly developed module hashtag. The introduction of Twitter required careful preparation including a briefing session to discuss professional use of social media, adherance to the Social Media policy for Students (University of Cumbria, 2012) and time provided for informally enrolled ‘Twitter champions’, students already using Twitter, to support peers new to the technology.

Module tutors retweeted items relevant to module teaching and promoted forthcoming events.

Anecdotally we are aware that some students opened a Twitter account for the first time and followed individuals and organisations. One student tweeted and received a reply from a celebrated member of the occupational therapy profession.

We have not yet formally collected data on the uptake and impact of the use of Twitter by students and would like to do this in the future.

There was variation in students’ enthusiasm to explore the use of Twitter within the module, which it might be claimed is a reflection of the enthuthiasm shown by the general population. Existing Twitter users were obviously well positioned to further explore the use of Twitter as a professional tool.

The issues related to maintaining professionalism online is a matter to which we will continue to return.

We are keen to continue to develop and progress our use of digital media within the occupational therapy programme. These first experiences have been small scale but have provided opportunities for new learning and for student participation in module-focused activity beyond the environment of the classroom.

We are very grateful for the support and encouragement of the AQD team, especially Phil Devine and Sarah Ruston with these ventures.

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