Student Experience Proceedings (LJMU)
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LJMU in the community: an outreach project by students, for students
No full textLJMU’s outreach work is predominantly delivered through programmes coordinated alongside teachers, with delivery in schools and on campus. In the last three years however LJMU has looked to expand its community relationships, delivering outreach with local groups such as Unity, Firefit and Kuumba Imani. Building on this, in October 2021 the outreach team began a student-led programme in the community aimed at strengthening LJMU’s links in the most ethnically diverse areas of Liverpool, to support access for those students from minority backgrounds who are under-represented at LJMU.
Based on the outreach support LJMU delivers through its school relationships, the University has had a regular presence in the Al Rahma Mosque and Al Ghazali Centre in L8 for the past 6 months, providing information, advice, and guidance about university to help prospective students navigate HE.
Linked to LJMU’s Access and Participation Plan, this project is led by current postgraduate student Lila Tamea, supported by other students from the community and outreach staff, to help young people in the community understand their potential and the opportunities available to them.
In this session Lila will outline the activity that has taken place, how the community has responded, lessons learnt and forthcoming plans. The content will include information on how these engagements can be transformational for the prospective students as well as current students who are supporting the delivery. Lila will explore how direct action such as this is critical to the University demonstrating its commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusivity. Context will also be provided in respect to wider University EDI challenges, and through experience encountered during the project, discussion will take place about what the university can do more of to provide a welcoming inclusive environment for students from diverse backgrounds
Adopting a video orientated flexible blended approach to reduce resentment and encourage deeper learning of technical IT skills
No full textIt is notoriously difficult to nurture an effective learning environment when teaching IT skills due to their technical nature. The frequent requirement to handle and understand large datasets and necessity to repeat analyses with multiple steps mean that academic staff often struggle with student perceptions of the subject and student satisfaction (Elwood and Wilson, 2017). In the Environmental Science subject area, research highlighted that in skills-based practical teaching >50% of the students either focused on getting tasks completed (rather than learning the skills), or questioned whether they had learned anything at all (Rump, 2011). These issues are partially related to the methods employed in teaching IT and technical skills which traditionally rely on either the provision of step-by-step instructions or demonstration of the methods, which do not encourage deeper learning, or in the latter case do not consider differences in student learning speeds.
An attempt to address these issues, and the requirement for teaching and learning resources to be more suitable for online learning during 2020 saw the adoption of a video orientated flexible blended learning approach in the teaching of generic (MS Office) and subject specific IT skills (e.g., Coding, Geographical Information Systems). This session will provide a case study documenting the successes (and failures) from the adoption of a flexible blended learning approach in a synchronous teaching environment, with a focus on student learning and experience as well as our experiences of creating the materials. Our approach saw the use of instructional videos in Panopto and supplementary material in the Canvas Virtual Learning Environment to create teaching materials covering the skill sets required to meet learning objectives. Our framework (repeated each practical session) saw the creation and presentation of: 1) instructional videos around a data case study not directly related to the student tasks, 2) a set of tasks with requested outcomes, 3) a quiz which queried elements of their analysis and findings. We found that this encouraged deeper learning as the materials had to be translated to the student’s own tasks, allowed students to learn at their own pace, and increased student perceptions and satisfaction in the subject area. We also found that the approach was successful online and face-to-face, and readily useable in an asynchronous style when required
A digital library service at your fingertips
No full textOn 20th March 2020, most of the universities across the country followed the Government’s guidelines and started working from home. On the day the PM announced the first lockdown in the UK (23rd March 2020) and ordering people to “stay at home”, the Library Engagement Team at Library Services were at their keyboards – some from the kitchen, some from a shared space at their homes – working their hardest to provide our livechat service to LJMU students and helping them through one of the most challenging times the world has faced for a generation.
The livechat service was introduced in September 2018 as one of several other methods of communication to library users, which included a telephone service, Twitter and Facebook and of course in person at our library buildings. It has evolved to be a key feature of Library Services since the pandemic.
The lightning talk will focus on how Library Services demonstrated a “Student at Heart” culture during the pandemic, and to further improve the service after moving on to the ‘new normal’
Health and Wellbeing: lessons learned from the pandemic and wellbeing challenges faced as a university going forward
No full textWellbeing essentially covers all the University values through impact on the student experience, creating an engaged and inclusive community of peer support both within staff and student grouping and being courageous in our initiatives and offering (not just traditional off the shelf approach).
The session will give a top-level overview of progress that has been made since the launch of the strategy in March 2021. It will cover the key lessons learned for the organisation and highlight the opportunities presented during the pandemic (for example, communication and cross University collaboration). Participants will gain an understanding of the current wellbeing offering and will have the opportunity to input into future wellbeing initiatives for the University. We will highlight the importance of synergies with other University initiatives such as Respect Always, Active Travel Plan and Sports Strategy.
The final aspect of the session will cover the challenges we face creating a holistic approach to wellbeing for both staff and students in ‘the new world’. Reinvigorating the LJMU community feel across the campuses, moving from a state of mental health awareness to being alert and confident in support and assistance
Poverty aware practice: challenging stigma in our communities
No full textThis presentation will discuss the potential of and need for cross-curricular integration of poverty aware practice.
Recent research at LJMU reveals that around 62,000 children in the Liverpool City Region are living in poverty with, in early 2021, more of the population in receipt of benefits than the national average. These young people are our potential students of the future and there is a need to challenge stigma those students face before, during and even after university.
Poverty can be a taboo subject but research by ATD Fourth World and Oxford University revealed that stigma, blame, and judgement was a painful part of the experience of poverty.
The media plays a fundamental role in shaping these perceptions. LJMU’s Media, Culture, Communication programme is researching and campaigning to challenge negative media representations. It hosted the national launch of the Reporting Poverty Guide for Media Professionals, produced in collaboration with National Union of Journalists and policy-change charity Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
This paper argues that open discussions about the problems faced by our students from under-privileged or deprived backgrounds can be motivating, confronting the taboo, and challenging the shame associated with poverty. Informing both staff and students of the background of these representations can bring a potential long-term positive effect on life chances and University experience.
As such, building on previous research, and recent provision of guest sessions in the School of Nursing and Allied Health and the School of Education, this paper posits that we can bring awareness of pervasive negative media representations of poverty to develop conversations and help build a safe community, where concerns can be raised. This, in turn, can inspire strength and courage in enabling our communities to speak out boldly and act for change.
As key role models, we can influence attitudes, values and behaviours, and can inspire the recognition that the experience of poverty is not a barrier to success at LJMU
The Littlewoods Heritage Project: working with students and the community to preserve John Moores’s legacy
No full textThe iconic Littlewoods building on Edge Lane, Liverpool, is often referred to as the ‘Gateway to the City’. However, in spite of its prominence as a striking landmark, many are unaware of its amazing history. Beneath the bricks and mortar, the building reveals a fascinating tale about working life in the 20th Century. Completed in 1938, the site was originally used to house the Littlewoods Pools.
John Moores and his brother Cecil were ahead of their time employing a workforce of mainly women. Over 30,000 employees worked for the company at its peak. The building was commandeered during WWII to make barrage balloons and Halifax bombers and they were one of the first companies in the UK to introduce IBM computers.
This panel comprising of staff and student interns, will discuss how the team is collectively working with the community of former Littlewoods employees to create a digital archive and website in time for the centenary celebrations of 2023. We will discuss how student interns have been key in digitising and cataloguing the Littlewoods Archive held at National Football Museum (photographs, Pools coupons, letters and documents), along with vintage Mail Order catalogues donated to the project. We will also play clips from interviews with former employees that Film Studies students have recorded as part of the taught curriculum. Finally, we will discuss plans for forthcoming events involving the MA Immersive Media students creating content for the 100 year celebrations in the Anglican Cathedral and legacy artefact for the new Littlewoods Film Studios.  
Why students don\u27t read emails: student voice research project
No full textIn 2020 the Faculty of Business and Law used staff peer review as a vehicle to better understand the use and challenges of Canvas in programme teams during the pandemic. We recognised the absence of the student voice in this piece and in 2021, with students returning to the Faculty, funded 6 student interns to investigate student views of Canvas. Our aim was to create student research data provided by student investigators. In discussion with JMSU, it was suggested that we broaden the scope to include student views on communication. In Semester One 2021, three different research methods provided data for this project. A series of student facilitated focus groups investigated student views of both Canvas and communication channels. The students were trained in research data collection and facilitation of focus groups and so the value to the students and students at the heart of the project was embedded from the beginning. Vevox polling provided quantitative data on specific questions informed by the focus groups. Additionally, a series of randomly sampled discussion-based questions were used to enrich the qualitative data and elicit spontaneous responses from students.
Further funding was provided to enable 4 student interns to complete the analysis and evaluation of the data collected culminating in a presentation and discussion with JMSU in March 2022. This meeting influenced the development of a deeper relationship with JMSU leading to the further exploration of links to their research on student burnout. In moving from discussion to action it was agreed that a summer intern project to create a toolkit for easily implemented actions on Canvas and Communication would be jointly developed between the Faculty interns and JMSU. The project developed a joint research community between Faculty and JMSU and an ongoing dialogue involving students, academic staff and JMSU
Developing a creative pedagogy to understand the \u27university experience\u27 of students with a criminal record
No full textDespite the presence of a widening participation agenda, people with criminal convictions face a number of barriers accessing and participating in higher education (Office for Students, 2019). This may be due to unspent criminal convictions (Unlock, 2018), limited confidence and self-esteem (Champion and Noble, 2016), a lack of previous educational attainment (Prison Reform Trust, 2017) and/or presence of risk-adverse, bureaucratic, university admission processes (Bhattacharya et al., 2013). As a result, people with criminal convictions are not only under-represented throughout the sector (Unlock, 2018) but completely overlooked when it comes to understanding their university experience. To address this longstanding issue, Dr Helena Gosling, Professor Lol Burke and Sarah MacLennan have developed an educational opportunity for criminal justice academics, students, practitioners and service users to come together and learn from one another through lived experience, professional practice and Creative Pedagogy. Drawing upon our leadership of Learning Together: an introduction to Criminal Justice, the presentation will explore a series of questions that challenge the extent to which equality of opportunity extends to all members of society, and reflect on how research and creative practice captured an authentic student experience
Students’ work in creating and curating a de-colonised curriculum
No full textAn LJMU curriculum enhancement internship project, ‘Decolonising the Curriculum in English Literature’, ran in the summer of 2021 with the aim of creating a range of materials to support an international field trip on a level 5 option module, ‘Postcolonial Writing: Power and Protest’ and to generate principles and materials to support our work developing a more diverse curriculum, which would inform the Periodic Programme review of the UG English Literature Programme in Autumn 2021.
In addition to identifying the curriculum outcomes of the internship project, this paper will focus on the contribution and motivations of students who participated in the project and will outline how the student internship project promoted multi-layered learning and research. The paper will be delivered by the staff-lead for the project, Dr Kate Walchester, and two students who took a central role in the project
Training tomorrow\u27s lawyers to tackle today\u27s social justice and social mobility challenges
No full textThis presentation is co-created and co-presented with students who are helping the most vulnerable people in our city. The Legal Advice Centre (LAC), based in the School of Law, empowers supervised LLB Law students to:
Provide free advice and representation worth hundreds of thousands of pounds every year to the growing number of people who do not qualify for Legal Aid but cannot afford to pay for a lawyer. Millions of people already fall into this “justice gap”.
Develop the key legal and employability skills they need, particularly for those wishing to qualify as solicitors. The legal professions have always been competitive; now we are in the midst of a decline in social mobility along with the biggest change to legal education for decades. Steps to scrap paid training contracts and the introduction of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exams are intended to improve diversity in, and access to, the profession. However, practitioners and academics alike are concerned that these measures will in fact have the opposite effect.
We will explain how the School of Law uses a transformative, interdisciplinary curriculum to democratise legal knowledge, unpack and challenge the privilege and power dynamics inherent in the legal system, and educate students to become ethical, responsible professionals. We are helping colleagues across our faculty develop their clinical practice. The LAC is one of the only law clinics in the UK where every LLB Law student can gain valuable work experience across every year of their degree whilst helping the most disadvantaged in our community. By placing students at the heart of delivering the LAC’s services, we aim to level the playing field for people struggling to understand and enforce their rights, and for our students themselves as they embark on careers in an increasingly unequal and challenging environment
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