ulster.ac.uk

Active, Creative and Critical Thinking: Engaging Year 1 Students Groups with Final Year Mentors Offers Enhanced Employability for ALL

Staff Partners: (Col) Michaela Black, Martin McKinney, Janet Allison, Adrian Moore (Magee) Heather Sayers, Aiden McCaugheyStudent Partners: (Final Year) Gerry Burke, Alison Campbell, Alison Gillespie, Tom Neil, Shannon White, (Placement) Chloe Kernohan, (Class Reps) Rebecca Brennan (Y1), Euan Cantley (Y2), Magee Mentors

The 2015 Mentoring Team!

Set the Scene • Learner centred teaching: Gamification• Problem Based Learning• Strong Group Focus• Employability Focused with PDP embedded• Feed Forward Assessment• Community of Practice

– Initially staff and PhD students with shared passion– New format of staff and final year students/PhD

students with shared passion

Gamification SIX factors contributing to effective engagement in games

FUN: engagement is easier if the experience is enjoyable

SOCIAL: engagement is reinforced by the social support of others going through the same experience

IDENTITY: engagement can be encouraged if everyone has a visible role in the learning environment

CHALLENGE: engagement can build on human competitive drive, enhanced by social pressure

STRUCTURE: engagement is more likely if objectives and constraints are clear and acceptable

FEEDBACK: engagement is reinforced by making achievement explicit and timely

Our Aim: Highlight Benefits of Student Partners in Curriculum Enhancement (SPICE)

Objectives:

1. SPICE Project: Aim & Model

2. Curriculum Delivery & Development Model

3. Three Keys Areas of Student Engagement & Belonging

4. Benefits to Staff

5. Benefits to Students

Aim: Engage Student Partners in creating dynamic opportunities both inside and outside of the class for a student learner centered approach

The Project Aim & Model

CoP

Coaches: PhD

Students

Coaches: Final year Students

Teaching Staff

Support Staff

Class Reps (Y1/Y2)

HEA What Works Project

Weekly Delivery Model

Lectures

• Academic

Group Lab Classes

• Academic• Support team• Coaches

Group Tutorial Classes

• Academic• Coaches• Support Staff

Curriculum Development ModelCoach InductionCurriculum Review Meetings – every 2 weeks

• Academic• Coaches

Student Feedback Meetings – 3 per semester

• Academic• Coaches• Year 1 Reps

School Review - SSCC & CC & HEA – 1 per semester

• Academic Staff • HEA What Works• Support Staff

Student Engagement & Belonging

Active Learning with PBL

Collaborative Learning with Peer Support

Scaffolding Delivery

Sequence

Active Learning with Problem Based Learning (PBL)

Scaffolded Delivery Sequence

• Concept Thresholds – (Meyer, Land (2003 – 10)• Year 1 building blocks – the foundations• Series of convexities – S. Rabin (2005)

• Points of limited choice (A) alternate with points of many choices (B)

A A A A ABB B B

Student Engagement & Belonging

Active Learning with PBL

Collaborative Learning with Peer Support

Scaffolding Delivery

Sequence

Curriculum Developments From This Model

• Whiteboards in ALL tutorial sessions• Whiteboard data captured• Smaller mini group assignments• University example of good practice in student feedback

from year 1 reps• Android App development for charities• Agile Methodology with group projects• Very DYNAMIC and REACTIVE as each students needs

change

Variety of Learning Styles

• No problem!• Varied learning space and resources

• Reduced tiered lecture time• Flat room tutorial – needed an extension – Thanks Gerry!• Whiteboards• Computing Labs – dedicated room and mentor

• Blackboard• Game Enhanced Learning - GEL

Barriers to Student Engagement & Belonging

Student Feedback  Did you find the Group Structure a helpful support resource for

starting University?

65.82%

30.38%

2.53%1.27%Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Unanswered

Which aspects of the Group Support Model did you find the most useful?

73.08%

61.54%71.80%

6.41%

80.77%

Peer support

Making new friends

Developing team skills

Travelling together

Having a Mentor for support

  Did you find the student Lab Mentors a helpful support resource in labs and tutorials?

75.95%

18.99%

1.27% 3.80%

Strongly AgreeAgreeDisagreeStrongly Disagree Not applicableUnanswered

What aspects did you find the Mentors most useful with?

33.33%

92.31%

25.64%

44.87%

34.62%Studying at University in generalStudying concepts in JavaGeneral problems with year 1 transition to UniversitySkills for team workTeam work issuesNone

Have you any suggestions for improving the Group Support Model?

Nope, the group system was top notch

The only possible suggestion would be to let the students choose their own groups.

No I think the model is good as it is and has helped me greatly.

It is helpful for other people to explain different aspects of the course to you.It is also helpful for mentors to be there to support you and be there to explain different ways to do the coursework.

No it's very good

No allison was very helpful.

Have outside class meetings with group leader

It's really great for helping with your overall understanding and enjoyment of Uni..

No, wish other modules would somehow implement group work.

Found our mentor to be very helpful, always there if we needed help. Couldn't ask for anyone better. 

The group mentor model is really good to have as it enables students to have some gudiance in what their do from someone whose done similar things recebntly themselves.

Our group's structure worked fine and the support from professors was greatly appreciated and always beneficial, so I believe the Group Support Model is good as it is right now.

it is useful for confidence building. I don't like to talk out in lectures but i feel i can in tutorial.

Maybe give the Mentors a little training in advance; it felt as if at points, the mentors were a little tentative to get involved and just sort of laid back and waited for a problem to happen that they could solve. It might just come down to persoanlity of the individual but they at times seemed a little tentative.

Tutorials very helpful in mentors explaining tasks in more detail

Student Feedback Continued

Have you ever considered leaving the course?

12.66%

86.08%

1.27%

YesNoUnanswered

Being unsure over whether this was the course that I wished to study

Course wasn't what I expected at the start, didn't think I liked it

The amount of stress and work at times felt too much. 

At times I believed I was not going to be able to follow through on wat was expected, but the group support proved to be really helpful for me.

too much stress

Staff Benefits

• Improved student retention!• Improved student performance – across all modules• Enhanced student engagement• Dynamic curriculum design and adaptation• Enthusiastic student partners passionate about their

contribution• Encourages other staff• Team effort!

Employers Feedback

• A confident developer – they have put themselves out there as being someone who is confident enough in their abilities to be able to help others and explain technical issues;

• A confident Interviewer – Being questioned by a first year who is trying to understand programming fundamentals is often what technical interviews are like! If I see an applicant has put themselves in this position with 1st or 2nd year students I know they are much more likely to perform well at technical interview!

• Doing something extra – having this type of experience makes a CV stand out. The vast majority of graduate CV’s are the same: everyone has either done a placement year and are doing a degree, very few CV’s show that the candidate has had the motivation to do something that they wanted to do rather than something they were told to do.”

[Recruitment Agency Belfast]

Benefits of Student Partners in Curriculum Enhancement (SPICE)

Why not try it – what is there to loose!