AMR SES Workshop 2
Student Engagement Strategy Workshop 2 Notes
College of Humanities
16:00-17:00, 28th February 2013
Facilitators: Alex Ratcliffe, Charlie Leyland and Charlotte Knipe
A.
Attendance
Workshop 2
Pascale Aebischer (ENG)
Nick Groom (ENG CORN)
Alex Louch (VP ACADEMIC AFFAIRS ELECT)
Debbie Freeman (HUMS ACME)
Paul Young (ENG)
Danielle Hipkins (ITAL)
Esther Reed (THEO)
Charlotte Knipe (ADMIN)
Alex Ratcliffe (ADMIN)
Charlie Leyland (ACDSER/GUILD)
Rachel Wheeler (EMPLOY)
The attendees were welcomed, thanked and given an introduction to the project’s
background and scope.
B.
Interactive Exercise Notes
Q. What are the hallmarks of an ‘engaged’ student?
The participants were asked to write on post it notes what an engaged student looked like to
them.
Following this, they were asked to place them under the following four headings (they did not
see the headings until after writing their ideas down).
N.b. (brackets) indicate whether the ‘hallmark’ was repeated by more than one participant.
STRAND 1: student engagement in own learning
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Commits to personal reading and summative work
Motivated
Innovative seminar presentations
Attendance
Responsible (x4)
Flexibility
Drive
Sees opportunities not obstacles
Willing to help others
AMR SES Workshop 2
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Open to new challenges
Replies to emails
Asks questions
Respecting other students' experience
Engaging with other students in learning
STRAND 2: student engagement in representation, QA processes and educational
enhancement
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They have some idea of what a good, rewarding time at Uni feels like
Thinking about future careers
Wants to improve the student experience for others
Understand key Uni values and ambitions
STRAND 3: student engagement in the academic and wider community
Staff felt that students should be made to feel like they have earnt, and must keep earning
their membership in, and identify with the academic community. The academic community
must be first led, and felt by staff, who must should responsible for opening up and providing
opportunities for students to feel a part of it. Students should be supported to become live
ambassadors for Humanities and their discipline.
Hallmarks:
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Ambassador
SSLC
Wants to know how the course runs
Looks for opportunities and helps themselves
They may engage in many different ways so may not be that obvious
Sees responsibility not just rights
Learning for the sake of learning, not just to pass exams
Willing to preamble subject
Contributes to intellectual debate
Open to feedback
Subject based societies
Participates in dept. Activity eg. Visiting speaker programme
Staff responding to SE allows space for change, dialogue, flexibility, provides
guidance
They answer e-mails!
Forming reading groups
Want to engage with academic members of staff
STRAND 4: student engagement in extra-curricular activity
Staff felt that they should be responsible for encouraging students to broaden their University
Experience and personal development through extra-curricular activities. They felt that this
works exceptionally well when led in partnership with the Students’ Guild through ‘disciplinebased volunteering’, and through communications with the Guild, which could be
strengthened.
AMR SES Workshop 2
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Participating in online activities eg. Twitter tags or ELE forums
An engaged student develops teamwork skills, time management, helps others,
citizenship, compromise, awareness
Participates in activities beyond the curriculum (although could be focused on study)
Organises extra-curricular activities eg. Field trips
Socialises with a variety of groups/people
Gets involved inside/outside of classroom
Says yes to any opportunity
Has work-life balance that neglects neither side
Has an interest in volunteering
Enthusiastic about subject and wider world
They do more than just the basic timetable
The following two ‘hallmarks’ were placed in the middle of all four strands:
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C.
Interested in university community
Thinking about what will happen post-graduation
Reflections
- Spent more time on how we’d support those students and what responsibilities were.
- Strong agreement with 4 areas. Perhaps more ambitious and centered towards 1st and 3rd
areas.
- Strong emphasis on helping students ‘balance’ these areas, and encouraging rather than
forcing students to engage.
- Felt that a clearer college structure with discipline leads for SE would be really beneficial
for resource allocation, communication and support for staff and students.
- They engaged deeply and extensively with the strand SE in own learning. Participants
discussed: team work and the importance of formative assignments to allow creative thinking
and output; the importance of self-reflection for students.
- The interesting question was raised whether academics have the time, ability and support
to quickly adapt and innovate modules and teaching to immediate student demand and
needs.
- One participant raised concerns over the organisation and comms behind Guild initiatives
such as FRUNI and the Teaching Awards. The participant explained how these concerns
had been forwarded to the Guild via VP Academic Affairs.
- For strand 1 participants identified the importance of setting student expectations: right
from the beginning; providing frameworks for team work and group presentations;
attendance.
- Attendance and MACE were discussed at length too. Participants expressed their support
for mid-term feedback on modules. One participant suggested verbal feedback could be
gathered in week 4 and then an end of term MACE question could address: was your
feedback in week 4 acted upon?
Charlie Leyland and Alex Ratcliffe