Transcript Slide 1

Leeds University Business School
A Springboard into an Ocean of
Potential – Redesigning the First Year
Julia Braham: Senior Academic Skills Adviser
Ying Ye: Head of First Year - Accounting and Finance
Cathy Dolan: Head of First Year - Economics
The Eighth University of Leeds Learning
and Teaching Conference 2011
Outline of Workshop
• Introduction
• Issues from transition to HE
• Model developed in LUBS
• How to adapt LUBS’s model to other disciplines
• Evaluation of the model
• Future challenges
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Activity One
Group one:
Julia, Gareth, Elizabeth, Tess, Alistair
Martin, Anthea
Group two:
John, Lisa, Dan, Martin, Anne, Lorraine
Discussion
What do you see as being the main issues and
challenges in the first year transition within your
discipline or from your perspective?
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Activity One
Results from LUBS’ Survey
LUBS first year students : what areas caused most
difficulties coping with the transition to university study ?
• Adjusting to style of teaching
• Trouble understanding course material
• Confidence in my own abilities
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Transition to Higher Education
How LUBS Responded to the Issues
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Head of First Year
• Three Heads of First Year:
– Accounting
– Economics
– Management & HRM
• Personal tutor
– Tailored one-to-one support and guidance
– Minimum of 3 individual meetings
• Lecturer for at least two compulsory modules in the first year
• Work together to oversee and develop the first year experience
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Year 1 Personal Tutorial Module
Induction &
Transition
• Pre-entry VLE and academic skills audit
Academic
Development
• Managing the transition to independent learning
• Using the University resources, academic reading/writing,
referencing & plagiarism, ethical awareness, team working,
presentations, and making the most of feedback.
Employability
• Developing employability: knowledge and skills
• Identifying graduate skills, writing a CV and a mock
internship application, attending careers fairs.
Personal
Development
• Developing personal and life skills
• Using Leeds for Life to search for opportunities to help with
skills development, gaining most from University of Leeds
experience
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A co-ordinated approach
Library
“Leeds for Life”
• Skills development
• Information literacy
Careers Centre
Business
School
• Personal tutoring
• Discipline specific
development
• Employability
skills
• Employer links
Ethics CETL
• CSR
• Plagiarism
• Team Work
Academic skills in the discipline
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Working together to develop academic
skills within the curriculum
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Academic practice and assessment
• Induction assignment feedback
week 6
• Academic Practice Workshops
weeks 7- 9
• Self generated feedback
week 10
• Collaborative activity
• Dialogic tutor feedback
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posting in vle
semester two
Week 7
• the question
Week • the content
7
• the plan
- what is it asking?
- what do you want to say?
- visualising ideas
• the literature
Week • the notes
8
• the structure
- where do you find it?
- how do you record it?
- how to organise it
• the argument
Week • the convention
9
• the final product
- building and supporting it
- following procedures
- drafting, editing and proofing
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Our practice essay title is...
Using theories of motivation, evaluate
whether lecturers’ pay should be
contingent on their performance.
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Unpicking an essay title
Steps
Example
Essay title
Using theories of motivation, evaluate whether lecturers’ pay should
be contingent on their performance.
Turn it into a debate
Lecturers’ pay should be contingent on their performance
statement
Opposing
Lecturers’ pay should not be contingent on their performance.
Add expressions of degree
and qualification
Under what circumstances may it be appropriate to pay lecturers
based on their performance?
Students: Parent : Academics: School or Faculty Management
Different
perspectives
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: Employers : Higher Education Funding Council
Activity
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Week 8
• the question
Week • the content
7
• the plan
- what is it asking?
- what do you want to say?
- visualising ideas
• the literature
Week • the notes
8
• the structure
- where do you find it?
- how do you record it?
- how to organise it
• the argument
Week • the convention
9
• the final product
- building and supporting it
- following procedures
- drafting, editing and proofing
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Cornell Note-taking
5 Rs – Record, Reduce, Recite, Reflect, Review
• Use the right hand side for notes - Record
• Use the left hand column ‘cues’ - Reduce
- Recite (what can
you remember?)
• Use the lower part to summarise - Reflect
• Only use one sided paper. Why? - Review
• Vroom’s Expectancy Theory v highlighter pen
• http://eleven21.com/notetaker/
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Week 9
• the question
Week • the content
7
• the plan
- what is it asking?
- what do you want to say?
- visualising ideas
• the literature
Week • the notes
8
• the structure
- where do you find it?
- how do you record it?
- how to organise it
• the argument
Week • the convention
9
• the final product
- building and supporting it
- following procedures
- drafting, editing and proofing
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Writing in paragraphs
Paragraphs are styled around a controlling idea, which is
expressed in the first sentence. Support sentences then
explain, illustrate, explore or restate this. The last
sentence should either pave the way for the next
paragraph or reinforce the controlling idea.
Assertion – Evidence – Reasoning
Example
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Activity: Proof Reading
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Summary of weeks 7-9
Planning
Reading
Understanding an essay title
Identifying arguments and assumptions
Mapping techniques
Importance of wider reading
Making wider reading effective
Relevance and credibility of sources
Using notes
Structure
Making effective notes
Cornell method
Introduction-main body-conclusion
Paragraph structure
Reasoning & critical analysis
Collaborative group work
Assertion-evidence-reasoning
Identifying flaws and omissions
In-class activities (e.g. debates)
Wiki
Proof reading & Referencing
Importance of setting aside time to check your work
Practising Harvard style in the wiki
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Week 10: Self Reflection: AER
1. Select one paragraph that shows good assertionevidence-reasoning. In the RIGHT HAND SIDE margin,
make some notes to say why.
2. Select one paragraph which you think needs better
assertion-evidence-reasoning Say how you would
improve it by adding notes to the RIGHT HAND SIDE
margin.
3. Use a large asterisk (*) to identify any critical points that
you have made. In the RIGHT HAND SIDE margin, note
why they are critical.
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Assessment, feedback
and evidencing learning
• Practice essay submitted at end of week 9.
Personal tutor reviews a selection for feedback and
monitoring
• Practice essay returned in week 10 for student self
marking and reflection
– Reasoning and critical analysis
– Evaluation of sources
– Action planning and priorities
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Activity Two
Discussion (5 minutes):
What subject specific skills do you feel that your
students need to develop? How have you approached
skills development in your school/faculty?
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Outcome and Evaluation
• Undergraduate Programme Survey 2010 v 2009
(Change in % agree between 2009 and 2010 expressed
as percentile points)
Programme
Academic
Support
Personal
Development
Accounting & Management
+6
+11
Accounting & Finance
+3
+10
Economics
+10
+25
Economics & Management
+21
+21
Human Resource management
+11
+10
Management
+20
+36
Management w Marketing
+8
+26
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Outcome and Evaluation Con’t
• Undergraduate Programme Survey 2010 (Year 1)
Programme
Academic
Support
Personal
Development
University of Leeds
70%
64%
LUBS
77%
83%
LUBS ranking 2010
6
1
LUBS ranking for positive
change
3
2
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Outcome and Evaluation Con’t
Module Reviews 2009/10(Year 1)
• Top 5 modules (out of 40) ranked by responses to the
question ‘I have been able to develop skills useful to my
career’ were all personal tutorial modules
• Largest improvement (+22) by question was students
feeling part of the School community
• 49% increase, on one programme, of students obtaining
a 1 or 2.1 average
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Outcome and Evaluation Con’t
EQUIS focus group
• Majority of students felt that their experience exceeded
their expectations
• students reported that their programme allows them to
improve their capability for independent learning
• the personal tutorial module was cited as a good
opportunity for personal development
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Reflecting back on the module
• “I enjoy working in a team – I recognise myself as a ‘shaper’
• “I have identified a number of companies that offer summer work
experience to Level 1 students and already contacted them”.
• “there has been a significant shift to independent learning – the
transition took some getting used to, but the help provided,
especially from seminar teachers and tutors has made it
manageable”
• “I am still struggling with the research and finding information. I
need to attend some of the workshops next semester”
• “I didn’t take ‘A’ level Maths and am finding some of the
statistics difficult. I will attend the Skills@Library drop in
sessions before my exams”
• “I lack confidence when presenting to large groups. I need to
work on projecting my voice and controlling nerves”
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Moving Forward
• PASS
• Appointment of International Tutor
• Appointment of Heads of second and third years
• Continue developing the modules and embedding
within discipline
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Any questions?
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