The University of Northampton: Northampton Open Journals
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"We always come here" : investigating the social in social learning
No full textThis paper investigates student choices around the 'Third Space' for learning; that which is not either a teaching space or a private space. In mapping the use of such spaces around the University of Northampton's campuses and through the use of semi-structured interviews with students as they use the spaces it constructs a model to help understand why students choose a particular space to work in and influence decisions in the deliberate creation of such spaces in future.
The research shows four, often overlapping, influences on student choice of space; resources, environment, social and emotional. That resource rich spaces that allow social interaction and learning to take place in attractive environments are popular should not be surprising but it is the emotional response to space that is of particular interest. Space attachment theory has usually centred on home or places with religious or national symbolism. This paper identifies an element of emotional resonance to areas of the university campus, especially the library, that will warrant further research
Transitions in higher education with technology and learning: methods for elicitation
No full textThe e-Learning for Learners (E4L) project, funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which ran from 2007-2009, investigated learners’ perspectives and experiences of e-learning. The learners who participated in the project were sampled as to their proficiency as e-communicators and assessed through their completion of specific tasks in a virtual learning environment. This article discusses the methodology from this project relating to transitions and technology regarding participants from higher education. The interview plus method using personal education flowcharts (PEFs) is discussed as well as the use of product cards which were successful in eliciting data. Identification of different skill and confidence levels of learners using technology for learning through the aid of PEFs helps to recognise challenges and issues in transitions and would allow institutions and educators to tailor skills training
‘Years after the course’: dialogues with mid-career practitioners about the resilience of professional learning from a higher education CPD programme
No full textThis article discusses a small-scale qualitative research study which examined the mid-career reflections of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers about their earlier training on the post-graduate in-service Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA) programme. Participants offered observations on their experience which varied from extremely positive to highly critical, but most were able to testify to at least some continuing value of their earlier professional training. Some continued to make extensive use of techniques originally learned on the DELTA, decades later, whereas others were less convinced about the long-term value of their training experience. In this article four key factors are identified which appear to be associated with greater resilience of learning: the kind of motivation which participants brought to the course; the capacity of students and tutors to generate a “community of learning”; the course as a fully integrated learning experience; and post-course consolidation
Voices from the chat rooms: research into the experiences of Chinese students participating in transnational education programmes as reported on internet social networks
No full textThis paper reports on research using postings on websites and online discussion boards to explore the experiences of Chinese students participating in transnational education programmes. It develops the concept of Virtual Third Spaces and establishes themes for future research which will use primary data collection methods. The themes identified relate to: differences in the theories of education; differences in the study methods; issues relating to choice, change, and personal development; quality of the courses and colleges providing the courses; and recognition of qualifications. Issues relating to the use of English as the medium of instruction permeate all these other themes
Teaching French to a non-sighted undergraduate: enhancing everyone’s learning
No full textIn September 2006, during induction week, the French language tutors at the University of Northampton discovered that, John (not his real name), a registered blind student, had enrolled on their post A-level course. Although they had attended a session on accessible documents, the tutors concerned had no previous experience of teaching a non-sighted student. As expressed by Dickinson in 2005, it is ‘one thing to go on training about disabilities, [it is another] to have a blind student’ (836). This article therefore sets out to illustrate how the French tutors concerned adjusted their (online as well as offline) practices with a view to (1) creating a supportive, enabling, and inclusive teaching/learning (T/L) environment and (2) fostering independent learning (during, and outside of, lessons). Last but not least, this paper also offers suggestions for future, anticipatory adjustments to teaching strategies and (T/L as well as assessment) offline/online materials in line with the lessons learnt from the 2006-2008 academic years
The value of work placements
No full textThis paper reports a study of the impact of work placements on transferable skills. The study was conducted in three engineering departments at Loughborough University. A pre-test intervention post-test model with a control group was used to sample the views of students before and after placements and of students who did not go on placements. These were triangulated with the views of their line managers in industry and their industrial tutors.
The findings indicated that there was strong agreement between students, tutors and line managers on the value of work placements for transferable skills; that students developed their transferable skills on work placements and which transferable skills were developed most effectively on work placements. The consensus of line managers and the DIS (Diploma in Industrial Studies) tutors is that there is no satisfactory alternative to work placements for developing transferable skills. There were mixed views on whether work placements enhanced degree results. In fact, students who did go on placements did obtain better degree grades.
These results demonstrate the value of work placements for the personal and professional development of students. But some caution is necessary in generalising the results to other courses. Work placements differ in structure, content and duration, the evidence on the transferability of transferable skills is not clear cut and impact in this field is more a matter of judgment than measurement
Enhancing professional self-esteem: learners’ journeys on a distance-learning Doctorate in Education (EdD)
No full textThis article explores the motivations, experiences and perceived outcomes for Doctorate in Education (EdD) students in their journey through a relatively new form of doctoral education at a distance. The research draws on a range of individual EdD participant voices, both student and graduate, and is timely in focusing on an example of an under-researched but increasingly common phenomenon of part-time distance learning professional doctorates. The aims of the research were: to understand what motivated students to register for an EdD; to explore the factors which successfully sustained them on their journey; to identify common outcomes on completion. The researchers developed a case study of the student EdD journey in its distinctive professional context(s). Data was collected in a number of linked stages including postal surveys, semi-structured interviews, and students’ reflective evaluations at different points. Key themes related to professional postgraduate learner transitions emerge from the data, which contrast with previous work on the traditional PhD and relate to: the deliberate choice by students of a part-time distance learning route; a broader and better-informed understanding of professional outcomes on a professionally-oriented doctorate; the value of flexible support systems for EdD students working in demanding educational roles
Learning from African students
No full textIn response to the growing numbers of African students on the social work qualifying programme at the University of Northampton, three senior lecturers undertook a small-scale study in 2008 to evaluate African students’ particular learning experiences. This trend of increasing student numbers reflects the national picture as indicated by the General Social Care Council (GSCC, 2009). The African student experience is different and therefore different strategies are needed to ensure that learning and subsequent employability are maximised. The research identified two significant outcomes. The first was the need for a peer support group, which was set up in September 2008. The group named itself PADARE, a Zimbabwean term which means: meeting place. The second was the need for a qualified social worker as a mentor to support the students’ transition from academic learning into work-based learning and practice. This paper will focus mainly on the rationale and potential of these two initiatives from both an educator’s perspective and that of the students themselves drawing on relevant contemporary literature in the areas of Mentoring and Peer support groups
Problem solving and creativity in Engineering: turning novices into professionals
No full textRecent UK and European benchmarks for both undergraduate and professional engineers highlight the importance of problem solving skills. They additionally identify creativity as an important capacity alongside problem solving for both novices and professionals. But, how can we develop and encourage these important skills in undergraduate engineers?
For many years researchers have explored how the differences between novices and experts might show educators techniques for improving the problem solving abilities of their students. Whilst it is often appreciated that knowledge and experience have a large influence on problem solving ability, it is not feasible to develop these fully in a three or four year degree course. There are, however, a number of other capacities relating to problem solving process skills that can be usefully developed, such as strategy, attitude and motivation.
A number of semi-structured interviews have been undertaken with engineering undergraduates at The University of Northampton, Loughborough University and Birmingham University in order to explore these issues. Analysis has been in the form of a phenomenographic study. The interviews extend their questioning and comparison beyond problem solving skills into creative thinking.
This paper provides a brief summary of previous published research alongside interesting findings from the interviews. Early findings have been used to inform an action research project to develop a problem-based learning (PBL) module to improve creative problem solving skills in undergraduate engineers. Emerging themes that have been identified include: identification of problem solving processes in the case of professionals as opposed to simply identifying skills required in the case of students, confusion with the concept of ‘creativity’ in the context of engineering; issues with motivation and ownership with regard to academic problems and significance being placed on real life activities involving groupwork as an effective way of teaching and learning creative problem solving