Application for funding from the Humanities
Teaching Enhancement and Student Success Fund 2011/12
Summary sheet
Title of project
Scheduled Independent Group Learning in Criminology
Outline of project
Support the set up of scheduled guided independent learning activities
with the use eLearning tools.
Engage students in collaborative learning in groups while providing
online support using Wimba Pronto, Blackboard MI or Skype.
Name(s) of applicant(s)
Dr Graham Smith
Email(s)
Graham.R.Smith@manchester.ac.uk
Tel:
53592
School
Law
Name of programme(s) or unit(s)
LAWS 30711 Counter terrorism
Is it credit-bearing?
Yes
Year of study
Third year
Number of students to benefit?
100
Please attach a page of A4 answering the following questions and providing any other information you think will be
helpful. Faculty eLearning teams can be contacted at: elearning@manchester.ac.uk or x65544 to provide assistance
with proposals.

Background

What will the development achieve?

How do the outputs align with the Faculty or School’s teaching and learning priorities?

How will the outputs enhance learning?

How many students will the outputs benefit, actually and potentially, and how are you going to ensure they
complete the activities?

How will the outputs be sustained after project funding ceases?

How will the outputs be evaluated, by students and by others?

A brief outline (no specifications needed) of the type of equipment needed and how it will support the
project

Background
The rationale for the project is to engage students in independent learning while increasing meaningful student
contact with the course unit director.
The 2011/12 semester 1 course will consist of the following timetabled sessions:
 1 hour lecture a week
 1 hour of scheduled face-to-face contact with course director (office hour)
 1 hour a week seminar with seminar taker
 1 hour of independent learning for groups to prepare presentation at seminar. Course director has
scheduled an hour of online support when the group can contact course director online (online office hours)
Weekly seminars are the T&L focus of this 3rd year course unit that is popular option for criminology, law
and social science students. Seminars are organized in a way that promotes student debate on different
aspects of counterterrorism. After the first introductory seminar, each one is divided into two sub-groups of
seven in order to facilitate smaller group discussion for the first half of the seminar, when students
collaboratively develop an argument based on set reading, and a debate between sub-groups follows in the
second half. Each student leads the discussion within their sub-group for at least one seminar (seminars 3-9).
In previous years some seminar groups have arranged meetings outside of seminars to discuss their reading
and devote more time than is available in seminars to discuss their reading and develop their argument. The
independent learning sessions are based on student organized reading groups
Support is requested to carry out the communication aspect of the independent learning sessions.

What will the development achieve?
The project aims to develop student learning and improve student satisfaction by providing increased opportunities
for contact time with course tutor both face to face and online, as well as providing opportunities for developing
collaborative skills in a supported manner to 3rd year students.

How do the outputs align with the Faculty or School’s teaching and learning priorities?
The Faculty requires Schools to increase student contact time and develop scheduled teaching and learning
activities. The project seeks to implement these goals by providing meaningful and personalised contact time.
Increasing contact time by simply increasing the number of lecture hours will not provide for authentic,
contextualised, collaborative or personalised learning. Direct contact with the tutor both face to face and online will
allow for quality contact time and better/active learning in addition to traditional (lecture/seminar) methods.

How will the outputs enhance learning?
In addition to better learning and retention, collaborative learning is expected to foster collaborative skills which are
transferable to work place and to real life.

How many students will the outputs benefit, actually and potentially, and how are you going to ensure they
complete the activities?
About 100 students are registered on the course. Independent group sessions are a requirement for seminar
preparation.

How will the outputs be sustained after project funding ceases?
Evidence from last year shows that students arranged group work themselves on an informal basis and unguided
manner. The structure that it is proposed will be sustainable because it relies on eLearning support in the form of
training for staff and students on the course unit in the use Blackboard IM. It is hoped that colleagues in the School
of Law will introduce similar office hour and independent learning sessions to their course units and that additional
scheduled learning and teaching activities will be widely provided to students.

How will the outputs be evaluated, by students and by others?
Project will be evaluated from student feedback carried out in focus group and by questionnaire.

A brief outline (no specifications needed) of the type of equipment needed and how it will support the
project
Headsets for students, web cams and a lap top.