Learning & Teaching Conference 2012
E-learning for interdisciplinary
enterprise education:
Making Ideas Happen
Monday 9 January 2012
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Welcome
Elena Rodriguez-Falcon
Director of Enterprise Education, University of Sheffield
Board Member, EEUK
Current ‘Making Ideas Happen’ module leader
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Today’s session
Making Ideas Happen: an overview
• An introduction to the ‘Making Ideas
Happen’ Module
•An alternative model of delivery
Could aspects of this model work for you?
•Social projects
•Online Learning
•Multi disciplinary
•Peer assessment
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Making Ideas Happen: an
overview
Sara Pates
Enterprise Business Manager,
University of Sheffield
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Making Ideas Happen (MIH)
• New 20-credit interdisciplinary,
multi-level module in enterprise
and innovation
• Available at Levels 2 and 3 in
either Autumn or Spring
• Delivered predominantly online
• Interdisciplinary group projects
• Group work is peer assessed
• External/community
engagement
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
MIH pilot: Spring 2011
•
•
•
•
37 students
10 academic departments
6 different faculties
4 students based in Thessaloniki, Greece
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Social Projects
• Opportunity to develop
social enterprise solutions
to ‘real’ problems in
Sheffield.
• Solutions must be
constrained by real
limitations.
• Engagement with the local
community engenders a
sense of civic responsibility.
• Feedback on business ideas
from external organisations
and businesspeople
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Social Projects
• Shiregreen Neighbourhood
Challenge
— Community café, Community shop,
Community newspaper
• Energy 2 B
— Energy efficiency
— New and renewable energy resources
— Energy efficiency in transport
• Sheffield CC Good Neighbours
— Bins & household waste, To Let signage,
Urban gardens, Security
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Why e-learning?
• Timetabling
• Opens up learning to potentially more diverse cohort
of students
• Multiple geographical locations
• Online communication: a vital enterprise skill. Many
organisations work with clients, colleagues and
contacts all around the world - students will too!
• Learning materials – build up extensive body of
teaching content that can be adapted and re-used
MOLE (My Online Learning
Environment)
• Weekly learning module topics
– an ‘alternative ‘to face-to-face lectures
– selective release: each topic only made available to students
following completion of previous learning module and a
formative weekly quiz
• Weekly online journal
– blog format (must be included in final portfolio)
– time management: completed each week
– feeds into final reflective report
• Discussion and chat areas
• Resources and external links
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Face-to-face sessions
• Week 1: individual
lecture
• Week 3: business idea
development session
• Week 11: summary
lecture and poster
event
• On-going: supported
group work
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Why interdisciplinarity?
• Outside comfort zone
• Working in a mixed group
requires strength and
confidence in one’s own
discipline – what can you
bring to the table?
• Brings new perspectives to
work done in student’s core
subject discipline
• Meet new people and make
new friends
• Transferrable skills
• In the ‘real world’, you
never work only with those
of the same background as
you – good preparation for
working life, whether
employed or self-employed
• Different fields have
different working cultures –
a chance to learn from
others
Assessment
• Individual portfolio (50%
weighting):
– Compilation of weekly
blog journal
– Reflective report
– Summary skills
statement
• Group business plan (30%
weighting)
• Group poster presentation
(20% weighting)
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Peer assessment
• Group work is anonymously
peer assessed based solely
on an individual’s
contribution relative to their
group.
• Each group member scores
each other group member
between -3 and 3 with a net
total score of 0 across the
group
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Peer assessment
For example:
Joe Bloggs scores his group as
follows
•
•
•
•
Jane Doe 2
John Smith 0
Sarah Brown 1
Robert Jones -3
So in a group where all members
contribute equally, all members
would score 0.
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
Peer assessment
+3 = mark substantially higher (a
whole degree class
+2 = mark significantly higher
(around a half a degree class)
+1 = mark a few points higher
0 = mark equal to the overall group
mark
-1 = mark a few percentage points
lower
-2 = a mark significantly lower
(around a half a degree class)
-3 = a mark substantially lower (at
least a whole degree class)
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise
In groups:
1. What are the considerations
you would need to make to
run a social project and
engage external people?
2. Would this be a right choice
for you?
1. What are the barriers or
enablers for you to deliver
(support delivery of)
‘learning’ content online?
2. What is the value of online
delivery?
1. How could you implement
peer assessment in your
practice or the practice you
support?
1. What are the barriers and
enablers to develop
interdisciplinary work in your
practice?
2. Would this bring added value
to you and your students
2. Would this assessment be
right for your discipline?
What now?
University of Sheffield Enterprise are here to help all
staff to embed enterprise learning in the curriculum
though support with:
• Curriculum development and design
• Extensive network of external contacts
• Small pots of funding for new innovations in
enterprise
• Invaluable case studies
• Linking you with relevant academics, modules and
projects
Any questions?
www.sheffield.ac.uk/enterprise