Journals (University of Staffordshire)
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Modelling a constructivist approach to continuing professional development through e-Buddies
Get PDFWhen changing roles, responsibilities and even careers, the need to get oneself ‘up to speed’, particularly in the context of a constantly evolving technological environment, is paramount. Accessing information and new knowledge however, is only part of the process – it is the making sense of that knowledge and being able to develop the skills to practise what has been learned that makes continuing professional development (CPD) effective and worthwhile.
The need to provide support for professional learning within an online environment is as important as face to face ‘training’, and the role of mentor and/or coach is important in helping to ‘scaffold’ learning until the learner develops sufficient self-confidence and self-efficacy to become a self-organised learner.
This case study provides an opportunity to reflect upon a constructivist approach to professional learning in an online environment through the support of an e-buddy. Taking the step of joining the initial e-Treat, engaging in the event and finding a first e-buddy was the initial ‘hook’. Being drawn in to explore the use of Concept Maps with my own students and to then take part in an in an ‘Ask the experts’ event – a title that still makes me smile as it sat so incongruously with me at the time – was what helped the e-buddy relationship to grow. With that support and a scaffolded approach to professional learning (Walmsley, 2011), I was drawn in
The Learning Environment…
Get PDFNurse and midwifery education has experienced dramatic transition during the last decade. The objective of professional educational is the student’s fitness to practice competently upon completion of programme, at the point of registration with Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008 NMC 2009)
It has shifted from apprentice type training where students, clinical nurse/midwife mentors and teachers are employed within the same hospital trust (Leap and Barclay 2002 Beasley 2011), to a Higher Educational Institutional based education programme, where a significant proportion of learning occurs within Hospital Trust’s clinical practice environment supported and assessed by clinical nurse/midwife mentors NMC 2008 NMC 2009)
Grave concerns have been raised regarding some clinical environments within a NHS Hospital Trust where students are placed to experience learning (Francis 2010)
The aim of this project is to identify midwifery student views on the primary influences affecting learning within the clinical learning environment and make recommendations to enhance that learning experience
Student reflections: the transition to conferencing through the British Conference for Undergraduate Research (BCUR)
Get PDFStudent reflection on innovative practice
The impact of the learning environment on student learning in higher education: a realist review
Get PDFBackground:
The learning environment has the potential to enhance or impede understanding and engagement with a given topic
Teacher-centred / instructional approaches to delivery have traditionally dominated teaching practice in higher educationHowever, concerns about the disengagement of students, who are continually exposed to instructional approaches has resulted in a shift towards blended approaches to learning in higher education
Review Aims:
To examine how the learning environment can be used to yield the most positive learning experience for a student in higher education.
To explore the implications of the findings of this review for the personal teaching practice of the researche
Boy’s Dance Lab
Get PDFThis article discusses the media through which I submitted work for a ‘Praxis’ project as part of my Masters degree in Contemporary Arts.
This MA course engages students within a framework of ‘practice as research’ whereby more significance is placed upon the process of art creation as opposed to product. Although ‘products’ such as performances, films or writing for example will inevitably form due to the nature of a creative process, as students and artists, we are encouraged to document our journey with the aim of offering insight and illumination for the viewer into our artistic process.
The term ‘praxis’ refers to a mode of research where the student engages with their work from two perspectives; from the inside, or subjective position of being the artist creating, and additionally from the outside, or objective position. When submitting work for assessment, we devise our own criteria outlining the way in which we would like tutors to assess our work, thus providing flexibility across the range of arts disciplines explored on the MA
Online Peer Assessment: A Student Reflection
Get PDFThis short essay is based on a task given to us in our induction week to university, and what was built upon throughout our first semester in the Research and Professional Development module. Finding out in the first few weeks of starting university that twenty of your peers who you barely know are going to be reading and analysing your work is quite a terrifying thought. However, as this essay will discuss, online peer assessment is a useful tool to help people learn and develop if it is utilised and structured in the correct way. The peer assessment that we undertook was split into three stages, the first being the actual writing of the essay, second was assessing each others work and third was our own reflection of the workshops, deciphering what we had learnt and how we can apply it to our own work
Is it fair to assess group work for students on undergraduate programmes of study? Narrative reflections on a collaborative project at Level 5.
Get PDFUndergraduate students on the Foundation Degree in Learning and Teaching study a compulsory module exploring issues relating to \u27Inclusion\u27. Assessment is through a group small-scale research project undertaken in their own workplaces and a personal diary with reflective statement. Concern arose relating to students not working equitably during the group project. This prompted a review of the module assessment strategy and its ability to support a grade which fairly represented the achievement of individuals. Tutor guidance was recognised as a major contributor to high student achievement but with concern whether this high input further exacerbated some student non-engagement – were students being led rather than empowered?. To explore equitability summative research was undertaken to discover if the consequences of assessment weightings had any positive effect on the inter-personal dynamics and motivation within the groups. The research established that the new assessment weightings and the level of Tutor input made a positive impact on fair task sharing, within the group(s), ownership of the project and understanding of the assessment process. However, their existing professional experience as Teaching Assistants in schools engaging in group working, proved to have a far more significant impact on the successful outcomes of their assessed group work project. The exploration of this factor led the researchers generating some key questions on the validity of assessed group working with students who do not have this level of professional experience
Using audio feedback for summative purposes
Get PDFRecent research suggests that assessment feedback in higher education is a problematic area, while audio technology may offer the potential to enhance student learning. This paper reports on a project which was developed to explore the implications of using audio feedback for summative purposes with participants on a work-based learning course at Staffordshire University during 2009. A combination of formative and summative evaluation was conducted; generally the response was positive and aligned to the findings of other researchers, with some significant issues arising in relation to the practicalities involved in producing and accessing the feedback, and the emotional response provoked. Recommendations include further evaluation, with some modifications to meet the needs identified
Welcome to the first edition of this new approach to reporting innovative higher education practice
No full textEditorial Vol 1, No 1
Workshop Reflection Sheet: Peer Assessment of Essay
Get PDFhilst in the first semester of my undergraduate degree at StaffordshireUniversity, students were required to engage in a writing assignment titled‘Discuss the Benefits of Sport’. After submission of an initial draft of 500 wordsduring our induction week, the question then formed the basis of one of fourmodules (Research and Professional Development I) which I studied during thefirst semester. In week 5, we were then required to submit an 800 word answerto the same question as before and, at the same time, begin engaging in peerassessment reviews over a three-week period on each others’ work. Peerassessment involves students partaking in an assessment, where their work isviewed and feedback is provided by other students (Miller, Imrie & Cox, 1998).It is used to help students recognise levels needed to achieve results (Brown,Race & Smith, 2002). Moreover, Cottrell (2008) suggests that one of the bestways to learn is through new experiences, as it triggers a need forunderstanding. As peer assessment was a new experience, I took theopportunity to use it to my advantage. Throughout this essay, I shall take intoconsideration how I felt during my first official experience of this innovativepractice, and ass