1,720,972 research outputs found
Bringing digital stories into assessment
No full textSince 2007, the Geography and Development Studies department at the University of Chester has incorporated the use of student-generated digital stories into a core 20 credit, first year module ‘Foundations for Successful Studentship’. This innovative approach to the fieldwork element of the module provides students with the opportunity to design and create their own digital story. This paper considers student and staff perceptions of this technology and reflects upon the practice of bringing digital stories into assessment and the techniques used
Transnational Higher Education Networks for Learning and Teaching (TNLTs) in geography
Full text linkTransnational Higher Education Networks for Learning and Teaching (TNLTs) in Geography are networks of academic geographers that facilitate a common interest in exchanging knowledge about higher education learning and teaching. Participation within these learning and teaching networks arguably provides benefits of information sharing but is often compromised by barriers such as finance and time. The aim of this study is to contribute to geographies of higher education by exploring academic networking practices for learning and teaching through geographers motivations, experiences and outcomes of participation alongside the role that technology plays in facilitating these. The subject of learning and teaching is an increasingly important area of study. The complex relationship between the practices of learning and teaching alongside research and administration duties within higher education has been previously explored yet little discussion is offered on academics who focus on learning and teaching practice. However, within the context of human geography research TNLTs as defined within this thesis have only received cursory treatment. This study situates TNLTs under the umbrella of geographies of higher education that are increasingly being studied with focuses on transnational academic mobility, international student mobility and international collaborations in higher education. This study sketches a conceptual framework for engaging in academic networking by bringing research together on TNLTs, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), higher education on a global scale, Communities of Practice (CoP) and the technology driven-network society that comprise five bodies of literature that have not been considered collectively before. Due to a lack of literature and previous work on TNLTs, this thesis applies grounded theorising that generated findings out of the data rather than testing a hypothesis. Such inductive methodology develops and constructs theory and is a useful approach to researching TNLTs because it also allows for a combination of different research methods. In this thesis, various ways to access TNLTs are blended to effectively study them, including both face-to-face and online surveys and interview
Considering climate change through an E-postcard
No full textBetween 2005 and 2009, the Geography and Development Studies department at the University of Chester incorporated the use of an e-postcard assessment into a 20 credit, final year undergraduate (level 6), module ‘Climate change: The recent record and future prospects’. This innovative approach to assessment provided students with the opportunity to work with imagery to design and create their own e-postcard. One slide of a PowerPoint presentation is used to visualise the impact of climate change and is supported by a written executive summary attached to the notes section. This chapter considers the benefits of developing a creative assessment within a traditional non-creative subject such as climate change. Student evaluations used a short questionnaire to assess their perceptions of their learning experience. Overall, the e-postcard assessment is an innovative and valuable opportunity to diversify assessment and encourage students to engage with impacts of climate change. Whilst the students expressed that the use of technology and imagery motivated their interest in the subject, there is a mixed response with regards to enhancing the learning experience. This probably reflects preferred student learning style. However, it is rewarding to see students engage in the issues surrounding a climate change topic and produce an e-postcard, which in some cases has empowered them to send it via email to a world leader
Creating a transitional space for new students through pre-induction social networking
No full textResearch has highlighted the importance of social integration and a sense of belonging for facilitating an effective transition into higher education. This paper reports a case study of entrants to two geography-related undergraduate programmes who were given the opportunity to use bespoke social networking sites in the three weeks before formal university induction. The findings highlight the role of social computing in encouraging familiarity with peers, tutors, place of study and the university academic experience. It is shown that social networks can act as an effective transitional space by bringing together aspects of the familiar and unfamiliar
An exploration of peer-to-peer teaching and learning at postgraduate level: the experience of two student-led NVivo workshops
No full textThis paper explores peer-to-peer teaching and learning at a postgraduate level using the example of two NVivo workshops run by geography postgraduate students. The workshops took place in March and May 2011 and feedback was collected from all attendees in both sessions. This paper aims to provide a practical guide to organizing and facilitating such an informal workshop on the NVivo software for postgraduate students based on the outcomes of the two workshops. Hints and tips for others considering running similar events are provided based on the feedback received following the sessions and reflections on the organizers experiences
The Chester Graduate/Undergraduate Employability Conference and Employability Strategy
No full textEnhancing the employability of students is central to national and institutional learning and teaching strategies. In the Department of Geography and Development Studies at the University of Chester this agenda is addressed through an approach which focuses mainly on curriculum content, student relection and careers awareness. One aspect of the latter is the use of graduate/undergraduate employability conferences, at which alumni recount their ‘stories’ since leaving the Department. Student feedback suggests that these type of events can help to expand fairly restricted ‘careers imaginations’ evident on arrival at University and confirm the longer-term value of the programmes that are being studied
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