Student Experience Proceedings (LJMU)
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382 research outputs found
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Case Study Implementing Continuous Assessment in a First-Year History Skills Module
No full textThis case study examines a skills-based transition module designed to support first-year university students in developing essential academic competencies while fostering reflective practice. The "Making History" module serves 80-100 Level 4 students through a carefully structured portfolio assessment comprising three equally weighted components: an initial skills reflection report, a referencing knowledge quiz, and a final reflective synthesis piece. The assessment design prioritises student voice and authentic experience over deficit-based skill remediation, creating low-stakes opportunities for early success while building academic confidence. By integrating personal tutor support with reflective assessment, the module enables early identification of student needs and targeted intervention strategies. The approach demonstrates how continuous assessment can break down learning into manageable components while encouraging students to become reflective practitioners who actively engage with their academic development. While challenges include staff development needs for marking reflective work and increased assessment loads, the module succeeds in creating student-focused, authentic assessments that celebrate growth and build essential academic skills. The case study offers valuable insights for institutions seeking to design effective transition modules that balance skill development, student support, and academic rigour for first-year students
Case Study: Global Classroom, Local Impact:: Leveraging International Partnerships for Transformative Student Experiences
No full textThis case study examines an innovative international collaboration that transcends traditional educational boundaries through authentic industry engagement and meaningful cultural exchange. Dr Onur Dursun, Dr Emma Mulliner, and Dr Neema Opiyo created a transformative learning experience for 48 Level 6 and 7 Civil Engineering students by leveraging established relationships with Denver University and major international construction companies. The project demonstrates how authentic professional experiences, combined with genuine cultural exchange and systematic boundary-breaking, can create educational innovations that fundamentally challenge how higher education is organised. While financial constraints limit immediate scalability, the approach offers a compelling model for assessment design that prioritises real-world relevance, global perspective, and systemic change over traditional academic structures.
Session 19 Lightning talk: Advancing practice showcase event: cultivating peer support as an educational strategy for postgraduate and Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) learners
No full textSession overview:
The prevalence of mental health issues in university students is increasing rapidly (450% increase, in recent years). One aspect of education that students find particularly stressful is public speaking assessments such as oral presentations. These assessments are a crucial component of a higher education syllabus for evaluating students’ ability to communicate ideas effectively whilst also providing transferrable skills for the workplace. However, 80% of students from two UK Universities reported that oral presentations were a source of social anxiety impacting on learning and well-being. Therefore, it is important to explore potential stress buffers to help students cope with these assessments. A potential tool for alleviating stress is exercise. The health benefits of regular exercise have been studied extensively with evidence supporting mood-boosting and stress-reducing properties. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of regular exercise in stress reactivity during oral presentation assessments. Salivary cortisol was measured immediately before, immediately after, 20 minutes after, and at 5:00 pm on the evening of the oral presentation. Baseline cortisol samples were also taken a week prior to the assessments, 30 minutes after waking and at 5:00 pm for comparison. Our data suggest a significant attenuation of cortisol responses immediately before an oral presentation assessment in students with high pre-existing physical activity levels compared to those with low/moderate physical activity levels. With this study, we aim to highlight evidence that campaigning for regular exercise amongst university students is essential for improving student well-being and student outcomes.
Key learning points from this session:
This study clearly shows that regular exercise has stress buffering effects during assessments involving oral presentation. This information can be interesting to all colleagues across the university as oral presentations are a common type of assessment in most educational settings.
Advancing practice showcase event: cultivating peer support as an educational strategy for postgraduate and Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) learners PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Session 46: Transformative global immersion: advancing international collaboration, industry partnerships, and student success in higher education
No full textSession overview:
In today’s interconnected world, higher education institutions are tasked with equipping graduates to excel in diverse, rapidly evolving industries. This session presents a transformative model of global immersion that brings together cross-institutional collaboration, field-based learning, and robust industry engagement to enhance student readiness and professional identity. By exploring the experiences of students from LJMU School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment and Denver University, the session highlights how carefully structured international partnerships—both in local and foreign settings—can generate immediate academic gains and long-term career aspirations.
The session will contextualise an immersive programme that combined industry-sponsored case studies, multi-disciplinary group work, and field visits to major construction projects in the UK and the Middle East. By examining the programme’s design, methodology, and post-survey evaluation, attendees will gain insights into the logistical and pedagogical imperatives of implementing high-impact, short-duration overseas experiences. Special attention will be given to leveraging alumni networks, ensuring discipline-specific relevance, and balancing structured activities with reflective downtime.
This model reveals how authentic industry tasks and global exposure can deepen problem-solving skills, foster cultural agility, and spark innovative thinking among participants. Crucially, the work underscores the value of supportive staff mentorship and carefully orchestrated logistical arrangements that consider students’ varying academic needs. Overall, the session showcases a replicable framework for integrating real-world collaboration and international experiences, thus laying the groundwork for future graduates to thrive in a borderless, fast-paced professional landscape.
Key learning points from this session:
Attendees will discover how structured, multi-institutional collaborations and immersive industry engagements foster high-impact student learning. Key takeaways include strategies for designing integrative field visits, leveraging alumni networks, and nurturing multi-disciplinary collaboration—insights that can inform and transform global education initiatives across diverse higher education contexts.
Transformative global immersion: advancing international collaboration, industry partnerships, and student success in higher education PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Session 56: Increasing inclusivity in the student community through an initiative to increase awareness of microaggressions and harassment
No full textSession overview:
The importance of anti-harassment policies, their visibility and clarity, are well known for effective management of bullying and harassment within education, although most research has focused within school education. We evaluate an initiative to increase a culture of inclusivity within a department at a UK university that spanned three years and is still ongoing. In 2021 we began with a departmental consultation about responding to inappropriate behaviour and developed an infographic to increase awareness of microaggression and harassment reporting and support. This was followed by the development of an annual departmental student harassment survey in 2022, now in its fourth year and establishing a network of 12 staff within the department who were trained to listen and provide support for student inappropriate behaviour and harassment complaints. Following this, a set of procedures was developed, through collaboration with LJMU Student Governance to effectively manage reports of harassment. Using our student inclusivity and harassment survey, we reported a significant decrease in reported harassment over three years. Our approach highlights the effectiveness of increasing awareness and support at a local levels, to compliment university policies and procedures.
Key learning points from this session:
Learn about a successful initiative designed to increase inclusivity in the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences by promoting awareness of zero tolerance and harassment-reporting within the university and the establishment of supporting mechanisms within the School. Activities were co-created by staff and students and included an infographic poster, monitoring survey and network of trained staff.
Increasing inclusivity in the student community through an initiative to increase awareness of microaggressions and harassment PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.
Co-authors, Inclusion Ambassador Network:
Sarah Dalrymple, Simone Durr, Chrysanthi Fergani, Claudia Mettke-Hofmann, Tim Lane, Rodrigo de Marco, Julia Nowack, Penny Oakland, Fatima Perez de Heredia & Neil Simcoc
Session 64: Turning strategy into reality: a collaborative approach to embedding work-based learning in the curriculum
No full textSession overview:
As programmes undergo periodic review, we see firsthand how a community spirit can transform strategy into reality, the strategy being that all LJMU undergraduate students engage in a work-based learning (WBL) experience by 2030. Our goal is to enhance graduate employment prospects by embedding diverse WBL experiences into the curriculum. Research by Jackson (2024) highlights that in-curricular work experiences lead to clear labour market gains, reinforcing the importance of this initiative.
This case study explores the integration of WBL in a Level 5 module within an IBMS-accredited Biomedical Science program. The module, focused on scientific study skills and employability, features a grant application assessment co-developed with industry partners. In 2023/24, students collaborated with Cyprotex on a fictional drug evaluation project. Feedback suggested a preference for projects aligned with concurrent module topics, leading to a 2024/25 collaboration with Mast, a microbiology diagnostics company. Early evaluation metrics indicate improved student perceptions of vocational relevance.
Our reflective journey, in collaboration with Student Futures, covers key aspects of this initiative. We aim to provide an honest account of the successes and challenges faced, demonstrating how a collaborative approach can bridge academic and professional expectations. Our key takeaway is that WBL can be interpreted in multiple ways, but with a strong community-driven approach, these challenges can be overcome, ensuring meaningful employability outcomes for students.
Key learning points from this session:
Student Futures role in periodic review process and resulting recommendations.
Implementing recommendations through WBL and broader curriculum integration.
Contributions from Employer Engagement and Careers & Employability Consultants.
The process of unpacking learning from WBL projects to enhance student development and understanding of transferable skills (Zahidul, Paolo Oprandi & Watson, 2024).
Turning strategy into reality: a collaborative approach to embedding work-based learning in the curriculum PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Case Study: From Groups to Teams:: Creating Authentic Collaborative Learning Through Structured Peer Assessment
No full textThis case study demonstrates how the complexities of group assessment can be approached differently using a ‘teamwork’ philosophy and the incorporation of other tools such as the BuddyCheck peer assessment. By integrating collaborative learning across multiple contexts, in class, outside class, and across the programme in various team configurations, and using structured monitoring tools, students develop genuine teamwork skills rather than simply completing assignments with others. The approach emphasises social learning as an integral part of the educational experience, with BuddyCheck serving as both a monitoring mechanism and a tool for pushing students toward meaningful collaboration.
Case Study: The Power of Purpose and Practice:: Designing Formative Assessment That Students Actually Want to Do
No full textThis case study examines an innovative approach to formative assessment in academic skills development that achieves remarkable student engagement through purposeful design and practical application. Dr. Laura Thomas has created a Level 4 academic skills module that transforms traditionally "dry" content into dynamic learning experiences through carefully structured weekly formative tasks that build sequentially toward summative assessments. The module demonstrates how formative assessment can move beyond token exercises to become meaningful learning tools that students actively value and engage with. Through strategic use of practical activities, clear purpose communication, and systematic habit formation, the approach achieves high engagement rates and student satisfaction in what students initially expect to be their "most boring module." The case study offers valuable insights into designing formative assessment that genuinely motivates student participation while developing essential academic competencies.
A visual planning tool for enterprise education
No full textSession overview:
Student Futures plan for graduate outcomes and employability includes the goal of every programme having at least once module that includes work based learning (WBL). WBL can be broken down into 3 categories, as placement ( learning in situ with a third party), project (working on a real life project from a third party) or portfolio (accreditation of, for example, an internship). This tool supports the project route.
The tool is based on the open source Business Model Canvas (BMC). The premise of the BMC is that components can be quickly sketched out. The EntEd Model Canvas uses the same technique to show the linked decisions required.
I would like to share this colleagues in a formal setting for feedback. I would also like to invite volunteers to take part in testing the tool, as part of the support Students Futures can offer.
The tool can be seen here in draft form at Canva, The LJMU Ent/ED canvas.
Key learning points from this session:
Enterprise Education is a way to engage in work based learning.
Bringing problem based learning into the curriculum can be supported by Student Futures via the Employer.Engagement Team, Enterprise Education practitioners in the Start-up Hub and Careers Consultants.
A visual planning tool can speed up the process.
A visual planning tool for enterprise education poster, only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource
Data sources:
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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