Student Experience Proceedings (LJMU)
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Session 4: The design and implementation of a Canvas course template across an entire school
No full textSession overview:
Based on repeated student and external examiner feedback there was a need to review the approach to design of Canvas courses across the School. Variability between modules was brought into greater focus due to a new UG portfolio with shared modules across multiple programmes. A group of academics from the School worked with a Learning Technology Developer to create a template for consistent course structure and design, with clear routes for support. The template drew on research literature, existing good practice and student consultation. Such an approach facilitated staff ‘buy-in’ to the process and adoption of the template. Following a test-event with staff and students the template was launched for the 2024-25 academic year. On-going audits and evaluation have been extremely positive, and this provides a potential model that can be more widely adopted, either in terms of the specific template itself or the process for the development of a school-wide approach.
Key learning points from this session:
This session will provide attendees with knowledge of a collaborative approach to creating a school-wide Canvas course template. It will demonstrate the template design and allow them to consider implementing a consistent approach for their own school’s Canvas courses, while understanding the potential challenges involved.
The design and implementation of a Canvas course template across an entire school PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Session 16: Developing commercial enterprise projects to enhance knowledge and skills to external stakeholders
No full textSession overview:
Schools within the faculty have delivered bespoke education to a number of organisations external to the university. These were commercial enterprise activities, the aim being to enhance income generation for the university, as well as equipping the workforce with essential skills and knowledge. NHS, charity, and regional council staff have benefited from this tailored education, and this partnership working is essential for enhancing planning and provision of care for people in our community.
Education was delivered in a series of study days at LJMU. They included a focus on evidenced based theory and case study learning as well as role play and scenario-based activities, delivered by healthcare experts within the faculty. This dynamic and interactive learning model significantly enhances delegate engagement by providing concrete examples of abstract concepts, facilitating the development of analytical, procedural and decision-making skills through real life applications. The delegates where thus moved from a passive listening learning environment to active participation. Delegates where required to critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise information to solve problems. The role play drew upon empathetic and perspective taking skills, whilst also collaborating and communicating as a group to articulate ideas and listen to others. These pedagogic teaching approaches also aimed to enhance the delegate motivation and interest in the subject matter.
The delivery teams captured pre and post training day knowledge and confidence levels, and a further survey will be distributed to measure the impact the training has had on their roles, contributing to University REF.
Key learning points from this session:
This session will demonstrate the use of educational commercial enterprise activities, to enhance skills and knowledge to external organisations.
How this fits with the LJMU Mission and strategy and supporting plans will be examined.
Developing commercial enterprise projects to enhance knowledge and skills to external stakeholders PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Session 23: LJMU mentorship programme: making a lasting impact
No full textSession overview:
Liverpool John Moores University’s Mentorship Programme, delivered through LJMU Connect, is a transformative initiative designed to support students and recent graduates as they navigate their career journeys. By connecting them with experienced alumni mentors, the programme fosters professional growth, confidence, and invaluable networking opportunities.
Mentorship provides mentees with guidance on career decisions, industry insights, and skill development, helping them transition successfully from university to the workplace. At the same time, mentors gain personal satisfaction from giving back, strengthening their leadership skills, and expanding their own professional networks.
Through LJMU Connect, participants can easily find and engage with mentors, setting goals and tracking progress in a structured yet flexible way. The programme supports a wide range of career paths, ensuring tailored advice for each mentee’s aspirations.
The impact of mentoring extends beyond individuals—creating a stronger, more engaged alumni network that benefits both current students and graduates. Many mentees go on to become mentors themselves, reinforcing a culture of support within the LJMU community.
Join us in making a difference. Whether as a mentor or mentee, your participation can shape futures, build confidence, and open doors to new opportunities. Together, we create lasting connections.
Key learning points from this session:
The audience will discover how the LJMU Mentorship Programme empowers students and alumni through professional guidance, networking, and career development. Learn how to get involved, hear success stories, and see the real impact of mentorship. Whether mentor or mentee, find out how you can benefit and make a difference.
LJMU mentorship programme: making a lasting impact PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Session 47: Menstruation matters: exploring how menstruation influences the student experience at LJMU
No full textSession overview:
This session will present the findings and recommendations from an ongoing piece of research called Menstruation Matters. This project has been funded by the LMU EDI fund and is set to explore the experience of students who menstruate, and how this impacts upon their studies and university experience.
Previous research has identified that menstruation can cause lower academic performance due to absenteeism, impaired concentration and lessened class participation. The project aims to understand the menstrual experiences of students related to stigma and dignity challenges, examine the barriers to use of sustainable menstruation products amongst LJMU students, address existing/arising stigmas and taboos that affect the dignity of menstruators on campus and understand barriers to learning, attendance and student experience.
The study commences in January 2025 and will include surveys, interviews and focus groups. Students are working with us as co-researchers and the student union is a partner in the project.
Key learning points from this session:
Delegates will learn how menstruation impacts upon student\u27s academic success and their participation in university life. It will share the outcomes from our research along with our recommendations for change, as well as a summary of the part colleagues can play in this process.
Menstruation matters: exploring how menstruation influences the student experience at LJMU PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Session 66: Preparing students for a world with AI: scaffolding AI literacy into our teaching
No full textSession overview:
The world of AI is advancing rapidly. It has been said that \u27AI won\u27t necessarily take our jobs, but an AI literate person just might!\u27. Our students need to embrace these new technologies to further improve their employability. AI literacy is now an extremely important topic that we should integrate into all disciplines of undergraduate education. However, the levels of AI literacy amongst academic staff members in UK Universities is worryingly low and numerous initiatives are afoot to try to address this going forward through staff development and training. Students will require scaffolded learning to guide them through the range of AI technologies currently in use, how these are constructed and trained, the weaknesses they exhibit via bias and how to use them effectively through prompt engineering approaches.
In this session, we will discuss how this is being addressed for the re-validation of the Computing suite of programmes at LJMU (encompassing seven undergraduate degree routes). We will walk through how we integrated AI literacy into a core Level 4 module that then encourages students to build on these skills in later modules at Level 5 and Level 6.
Key learning points from this session:
An outline syllabus for scaffolding AI literacy within a core programme module is provided. This is based on a current module being devised for re-validation of all computing programmes at LJMU in Semester 1 of 2025. This should hopefully help academic colleagues identify gaps in their own AI literacy and help plan future staff development opportunities in this area.
Preparing students for a world with AI: scaffolding AI literacy into our teaching PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Case Study: Audio Feedback
No full textJames describes his practice below:
“There are three key areas where I use verbal feedback.
Students on module 5001 are required to submit a formative piece of work, which is a scenario relating to a fictitious persons experience and symptoms that could be classified as a mental health problem. I received between 30 and 40 submissions of three scenarios. Each scenario is 300 to 500 words long. Using recorded verbal feedback gives me the ability to provide gentle critique, as this is the first piece of work students are submitting at level 5. By gentle I mean using tone of voice and other verbal techniques to convey encouragement and interest. Whilst I do ensure that there are key learning outcomes addressed in feedback, there may be other secondary or peripheral aspects of the scenario work which are worthy of consideration and discussion.
I also use verbal feedback in the assessment of summative work. Here I will provide cut-and-paste written comments e.g. based on grade descriptors. Then provide supplementary commentary to discuss or identify why those grade descriptors are appropriate. E.g. “in paragraph 2 you do a really good job of synthesising guidance from other types of long-term health conditions’’. So feedback in an assessment like this would consist of a grade, grade descriptors, and using audio identifying specific examples of where the grade descriptors can clearly be shown to apply.
The third area is in personal development plans. If the student requires an explanation of further information, I will often do this using audio. I make the assumption that this is a more personal and intimate form of communication and email or text.
Using verbal feedback allows me the flexibility and the time to discuss these aspects of the students work. I find that verbal feedback is an easier and much more natural way of ‘’talking to students’’. The feedback from students is that they do listen to the formative commentary and prefer it to written comments. Overall, I would suggest that audio provide you with more bang for your buck. It\u27s relatively easy to provide feedback in a short space of time and that allows you to add depth and personalise feedback. In addition, it enables you to convey emotion which is critical if feedback is going to be positive. If you listened to my audio feedback, empathy, encouragement, interest are all evident. These are sentiments that I find difficult to convey in written text.”
Further reading/more information
To make audio feedback in Canvas please read How do I leave feedback comments for student submissions in SpeedGrader
Extensive research project reviewing audio and video feedback (JISC
Case Study: Encouraging belonging and togetherness in an early intervention activity
No full textSarah shares her ideas for encouraging a sense of belonging and togetherness as part of an early interaction activity, such as an online induction process with new and returning students.
The idea stems from ‘Learning Together’, an initiative which addresses the widening participation agenda for people with criminal convictions and challenges the perception of the exclusivity within Higher Education often experienced by students.
The unique LJMU version of Learning Together works with approximately 10 postgraduate students and 10 students from local criminal justice services, and consists of 15, 2-hour sessions from October to April. The programme also included optional weekly Creative Response sessions.
The aim of the Creative Response sessions was to use a personal narrative to create a sense of belonging, both between students themselves, and with an education system which judicial system-experienced students may not otherwise feel. It is this element of the project that Sarah feels could be used to foster belonging and togetherness as part of early intervention activities in the wider university setting.
The weekly creative response sessions explored a range of topics including:
Observation and discovery
A day in the life/a day in the past
Stereotypes and archetypes
Points of view
Storytelling and alternative narratives
Sessions aimed to engage students collaboratively with issues, events and stories that had personal meaning through poetry, short stories, flash-fiction and creative non-fiction, drawing upon the lived experience of the student. During the session students shared their writing with the group and engaged in a meaningful discussion about their own experiences. In sharing creative pieces that carried personal meaning and stemmed from their own lives, students developed a sense of ‘mattering’ and self confidence in the worth of their own experience. Discussion around each other’s lived experiences created moments of epiphanic learning and mutual understanding between students.
Adopting a creative pedagogy approach to these activities also enabled students to shed the fear of ‘getting it wrong’. A common barrier to one’s ability to be creative is the fear of failure. Creative Response sessions allowed students to reconnect with their creativity and fostered an environment where the notion of ’getting it wrong’ was banished. Telling your own story is something you cannot be wrong about and so can create confidence and a sense of place in the world.
The Creative Response sessions have been very successful in fostering a sense of belonging in marginalised, disadvantaged or unconfident students. They may help to increase belonging in other underrepresented groups of students in Higher Education by adding value to the experience of students who may otherwise have felt excluded or harbor a sense of un-belonging in an education setting.
Care needs to be taken when selecting topics, for example avoiding assumptions about shared experiences in childhood; subjects should be explored in ways that allow the participants to feel comfortable in sharing their experiences. It is important to create an accepting and supportive space where students feel that they can communicate and not be judged.
Top tips: Help the group to create their own code of conduct/workshop etiquette. Model vulnerability; share your own stories. Dismantle the tutor/student hierarchy - learn together!
Further reading/more information: We are more than one story: Embracing creativity and compassion through Learning Together - Sarah Maclennan & Dr Helena Goslin
Case Study: Moving your Course Online
No full textApproaching the Transition
On hearing the news [about the lockdown], I had mixed feelings. We had suspected this move might be coming, yet without any official confirmation I had not made any concrete plans for teaching online. Thus there was some sense of relief to know what was happening so I could start my preparations, but this was coupled with a sense of panic about how much work I had to do to make things happen. There was however part of me that felt quite excited by the new “project” this presented. I believe whole-heartedly in assuring a high quality student experience and I knew I was going to need to be creative (and to learn new technologies!) to make this happen.
Throughout the process I was mindful of my “accountability” to the students. My primary goal was to deliver an engaging, informative and high quality learning experience and ensure – as far as possible – that students were not disadvantaged by the move to online teaching. I was grateful to the support of fellow module tutors (Dr Tori Sprung, Prof Helen Jones) in this endeavour and to Dr Dave Oxborough as programme leader who supported me throughout.
At the end of the module 14/23 students completed a Survey Monkey evaluation, in which I asked them how the online learning format affected their learning experience. 50% (7/14) students said the online learning format made no difference (they felt they had learned as much as they would have done face-to-face), 42.9% (6/14) felt it had a negative effect (they struggled to engage due to the less structured environment) and 1 student actually said they felt the online format helped their learning. Feedback from students was mainly positive, acknowledging that even though some of them had personally struggled to engage, the module tutors had done their best to deliver the module as well as possible.
What I will take forward
Overall, I can say this was definitely a useful learning experience for me. And whether it becomes a requirement for more online teaching as we move forward, or whether we return to face-to-face teaching in the autumn, there are several considerations I plan to take forward to improve my own delivery.
I will endeavour to do less “talking at” students and retain the idea of breaking material into “bite-sized chunks”. For example, I was mindful when recording the flip lectures to ensure these were not “time-stamped” so I can use them again next year and free up session time for more interactive discussion, reading tasks etc. This process also made me take my content down to the key learning points only, and through doing so I can see the value in teaching less but going into more depth.
This time has brought home to me that we have students with many different learning styles, and it is important we offer a variety of “ways” of learning. For example, I will continue to explore the use of Canvas discussion boards for students who are less comfortable in class discussions, and I will recognize that it is possible for some students to engage in the full module without ever attending any “live” sessions.
Finally, with the introduction of Zoom and Microsoft Teams to our daily lives, these present new opportunities for student engagement (alongside face-to-face teaching). For instance, we are often held back from delivering optimal student learning experiences by practical issues such as “room availability”. Online video conferencing presents possibilities to offer small-group seminars, assessment Q&As, or personal tutorials, without the previous practical constraints.
What Worked Well
Regular “live” Zoom meetings at the pre-scheduled slots. One of the strangest things for me was the idea that I was going to teach a whole module without ever meeting my students face-to-face. Live Zooms were important for building rapport, but also to allow the students to connect with each other. Scheduling Zoom meetings at the pre-determined lecture times helped give some structure to the module, and we always audio-recorded the conversation and uploaded this to Canvas for students who were unable to attend.
Bite-size chunks. I found I was able to meet the learning outcomes by breaking what was planned as a 2-hour lecture into several “bite-size” components. I did this through a combination of pre-session activities (usually a 10-15 minute Panopto video, plus reading or reflective worksheet) and live Zoom discussions, some of which would be broken into two live sessions with an off-line task in the middle (e.g. watching videos, reading, worksheets).
Clear Canvas site and instructions. I realized for this online module to work, it was imperative my Canvas site was intuitive and user-friendly. I ensured it was clear to students where to find materials, and ensured I provided clear instructions to accompany independent learning tasks (these often included a 4-5 min Panopto instructional video).
Make it real. I was conscious these were challenging times for students, and many of the interactive activities we would normally do in the classroom were not possible. So I tried to bring the topics to life by encouraging students to take part in their own challenges, some of which brought a little light-hearted humour along the way (e.g. toilet roll keep ups challenge!).
Guest lectures. A key part of this module is the interaction students have with practitioners and patients, several of whom were booked in to come and talk about their experiences. I was determined to maintain this contact so where possible we ran these sessions as interactive live Zoom discussions. For clinical practitioners who were unable to dedicate the time within the working day to a live session, we pre-recorded a discussion for students to listen to.
Canvas discussion boards. I used these as an option to try and encourage students who were less vocal within the Zoom discussions to share their opinions about key reading and current issues in the field. This was an eye-opener for me, as students offered some insightful knowledge and opinions that rarely come through in a tutor-dominated face-to-face sessions. The boards did not however encourage the peer-to-peer interaction I had hoped, and student feedback suggested it would be helpful to have some “live” discussion of these topics in the session that followed to make the activity seem worthwhile.
Individual contact through student tutorials. Given the reduced face-to-face contact, individual student tutorials became more important in getting to know students. Not all students took up the offer, but those that did engaged with us via phone or via Zoom and seemed to benefit through these discussions. It was notable also that many of those who did not attend the live Zoom discussions with the group, did keep regular e-mail contact with tutors and/or engage with us for individual tutorials.
Challenges of online teaching
One of the main challenges for me was that I felt less “connected” to students and therefore had less sense of how much students were learning / engaging during the module. I used different forums for feedback as I went through (e.g. Vevox, Survey Monkey) and this was helpful in ensuring students had an opportunity to raise any issues anonymously if they wished.
Some students opted out of the Zoom discussions and noted they found them challenging for personal reasons, such as seeing others in their home environments (if they were stuck in student accommodation) or feeling uncomfortable/anxious within the online group environment. Other students struggled to take part due to poor computer connections or other Covid-19-related responsibilities such as home-schooling or paid work. These students acknowledged how helpful it was that the audio-recorded Zoom discussions were made available.  
Session 35 Lightning talk: Tackling AI head-on: teaching how to use it while discouraging academic misconduct
No full textSession overview:
We would like to share at the conference details of a session we ran to introduce L4 news and sports journalism students to using generative Artificial Intelligence, while also discouraging them from using it inappropriately. We were aware that attitudes towards AI in higher education are changing and wanted to create a session that started students on a journey to becoming AI literate while also understanding the potential pitfalls.
A particular worry for colleagues who teach news writing is that students could use tools such as ChatGPT to generate work and submit it as their own. To try to tackle this head-on, we came up with the idea for this session.
They would be taught what AI is, how it works, and about public opinion surrounding its use in journalism. They would also cover some of the issues with using AI such as hallucinations, ethical issues, and bias.
Students were then given the task of using ChatGPT to write a news story. They were given a press release to use and could adapt their prompt as necessary to make changes to the response.
The thought behind the session was to show students that ChatGPT is not great at writing news stories, and they, therefore, still need to learn and demonstrate their learning of this skill. Even if they could choose to use AI to write their news stories, they would need to edit the story to make it publishable, and of course, check for any inaccuracies introduced by the technology.
Key learning points from this session:
We are aware that there may be other colleagues grappling with similar issues of how to teach AI while not encouraging academic misconduct. We initially apprehensive about running this session as it could have not achieved our desired outcome, but we were quite surprised at the students\u27 responses.
Tackling AI head-on: teaching how to use it while discouraging academic misconduct PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Session 36: Student perspectives on gender diversity in the classroom and implications for student recruitment
No full textSession overview:
Nationally, UK Higher Education (HE) appears relatively balanced in terms of gender, with 56.7% of undergraduates registering as female (HESA 2022-23 data). However, this balance is not reflected uniformly across subject areas. In Biological and Environmental Sciences (BES), 7 out of 9 programmes are significantly and persistently female dominated with some having as few as 8% males, despite being science-based programmes that are traditionally male-dominated. To better understand the issues related to recruitment of male students, focus groups were conducted with 121 students from across 8 programmes in BES. As part of this, students responded to short-answer questions concerning their choice of subject, motivations, and opinions on the importance of, reasons for, and ways to address, the student gender imbalance. The responses were then coded using a post-hoc code frame. Although 90% of students agreed that having balanced classes was beneficial, less than half were concerned about the imbalance and only a quarter said it should be addressed, as long as balance existed in HE generally. Predominantly, students chose their programmes due to love of the subject or related careers, and the imbalance was attributed to access and free choice being available to all and thus choices reflected inherent gender differences in interests or societal career pressures. As a result, many thought that strategies to recruit more males would have limited effect, but more minority representation on open days was suggested as the single biggest influence, followed by targeted advertising – including outreach talks at single-sex schools – and highlighting aspects of the programme that would appeal to the minority gender, as areas to prioritise. This study sheds light on student perceptions of gender balance and reinforces the recruitment strategies already in use. However, the student data raise the question of whether gender imbalanced student cohorts can, or even should, be addressed.
Key learning points from this session:
A better understanding of student choices and motivations when selecting a programme of study, and which recruitment methods students think are effective for improving diversity (specific interest for those who teach classes that are dominated by one gender, particularly if trying to improve the gender balance through recruitment - Athena Swan).
Student perspectives on gender diversity in the classroom and implications for student recruitment PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.
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LJMU Research Online (Liverpool John Moo...PATT40 (LJMU)Biomolecular Research Reports (BRR) (LJM...Design and Technology Education (LJMU)BLResearchDay (LJMU)Journal of Living Labs (LJMU)Journal of Natural Products Discovery (L...Journal of Social Media for Learning (LJ...Student Law Journal (LJMU)PRISM (LJMU)Public Health Institute Journal (LJMU)SPARK (LJMU)
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