Empowering tomorrow’s marketers: A journey through real-world skills and engaging learning in consumer behaviour group projects

13 October 2023 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

By: Dr Bahram Mahmoodi Kahriz, Henley Business School, bahram.mahmoodikahriz@henley.ac.uk

woman and man sitting in front of a computer — Photo by Desola Lanre-Ologun on Unsplash

Overview

At Henley Business School, our Consumer Behaviour compulsory module for Part 3 undergraduate students involves a group assignment on creating a consumer insight report. Students are urged to investigate emerging aspects of consumer behaviour, apply relevant theories, conduct research, and offer insights to marketers. This fosters teamwork and enhances research skills, enabling students to apply theory to real-world marketing challenges.

Objectives

The primary aims of the consumer behaviour group project were:

Enhance collaborative skills and research competency: This module strengthens teamwork and critical group project abilities, facilitating research competence through the guidance of students in collecting, evaluating, and integrating information sources.
Apply theoretical knowledge: Students employ theoretical expertise in Consumer Behaviour and marketing to enhance critical analysis.
Develop of report writing skills: The module sharpens writing and presentation proficiencies essential for professional communication in a business context.
Encourage peer evaluation: The module encourages peer review, promoting individual contribution assessment within a team framework and fostering a sense of teamwork responsibility.

Context

The consumer behaviour group project aims to help students understand consumer behaviour’s various facets and impact. Given the dynamic changes in consumer behaviour due to global events like COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions, grasping these shifts becomes crucial for marketers. The group project within this module equips students with teamwork, critical thinking, and real-world application skills. It prepares Part 3 BSc Business and Management (Marketing) undergraduates for future career challenges by setting realistic expectations and improving necessary skills.

Implementation

Step-by-Step Guide: Implementing the Group Project

Step 1: Team Formation

In the first step, we form diverse groups of 4-5 members to simulate real work situations.
This diversity fosters familiarity among students with future workplace dynamics and encourages effective brainstorming.

Step 2: Brainstorming and Topic Selection

In this step, we emphasise brainstorming and topic selection.
We provide topic examples related to recent changes in consumer behaviour.
Active participation in topic selection within random groups encourages critical analysis.

Step 3: Refining Topic Choices

After selecting topics, students share them with their assignment groups.
Collaboratively, they refine their final topic choices.

Step 4: Research

In this step, students initiate the research phase, focusing on their selected topics.
We instruct them to review various sources, including contemporary examples, industry reports, academic studies, and relevant theoretical frameworks.

Step 5: Report Structuring

Here, we guide students in structuring their reports, which should include:

- Executive summaries
- Introductions
- Discussions of chosen issues
- Theoretical frameworks
- Marketing advice
- Reference lists

Stressing the importance of formatting and style consistency.
Encouraging the integration of theories from consumer behaviour lectures and other relevant sources.
Promoting the use of relevant statistics to support their chosen topics.

Step 6: Peer Collaboration and Review

In this step, ongoing peer collaboration and review are emphasised.
Students are encouraged to share ideas, review each other’s work, and seek advice from other groups.
The project concludes with peer reviews assessing individual contributions, promoting teamwork.

Step 7: Revision and Submission

In the final step, teams make revisions based on peer feedback.
We ensure that teams complete their reports.
Students are instructed to submit their reports via the university’s Blackboard platform by the specified deadline.

This comprehensive process equips students with valuable skills for real-world scenarios, nurturing critical thinking, teamwork, and research capabilities.

Impact

Aim: Enhancing collaborative skills and research competency:

The assignment encourages effective team collaboration, enhancing teamwork, communication, and task delegation based on individual strengths. Students gain a deeper grasp of consumer behaviour, market trends, and the practical application of marketing theories in real-world scenarios. They improve research skills, sourcing relevant materials and statistics, as well as identifying supportive theories from lecture materials to share within their groups.

Aim: Application of theoretical knowledge:

Brainstorming, research, and theory application develop critical thinking, empowering students to analyse emerging consumer trends. They translate theoretical knowledge into actionable insights and advice for potential clients, applying marketing expertise to real-world situations.

Aim: Development of report writing skills:

Students master group report writing, understanding report structures and effectively conveying the topic’s significance. They contextualise arguments with relevant statistics related to changing consumer behaviour and culture, supported by theories and research findings that inform marketing recommendations.

Aim: Encouraging peer evaluation:

Peer reviews promote self-reflection and continuous improvement, allowing students to assess their contributions and those of their peers.

In the year 2022-2023, in their feedback, students appreciated the relevance of topics to real-life examples, which enhanced their understanding of techniques and theories. They also welcomed the integration of current events and social media into the lessons. They found the Group Assignment allowed them to delve into interesting topics of their choice. Seminars were particularly beneficial for fostering in-depth discussions, which contributed to their improved comprehension of the subjects.

Reflections

The group project achieved its objectives with remarkable success. The assignment’s deliberate focus on contemporary consumer behaviour and evolving market trends delivered it both engaging and profoundly relevant to our students. Consequently, their motivation to actively participate can be increased. Relatedly, previous research has also indicated that students engage in group projects, resulting in higher levels of understanding of the material. In addition, they learn how to study more independently, improve their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and ultimately, exhibit high levels of motivation (Hidi & Renninger, 2012; Johnson & Johnson, 1989; Prince, 2004).

Moreover, the project excelled in encouraging diverse team compositions, which, in turn, facilitated remarkably rich brainstorming sessions. This diversity led to a broader range of insights, precisely aligning with the assignment’s goals. Research suggests that diverse teams tend to be more creative, come up with innovative solutions, perform better, and make improved decisions (Kristinsson et al., 2016; Lattimer, 1998, Wang et al., 2019).

From a practical standpoint, the project provided a unique opportunity for students to produce a report similar to industry-standard thought leadership pieces. This experience afforded them a taste of the demanding, real-world work involved in marketing consultancy, an invaluable experience for their future careers.

In addition to the practical aspect, the project allowed for a peer review process, a crucial element. This process introduced a sense of accountability among students, prompting them to engage in self-assessment and provide constructive feedback. Consequently, this enriched the overall learning experience, nurturing valuable skills.

However, there is room for improvement in the form of enhancing theoretical integration. While the assignment successfully included theory, emphasising theory application more explicitly throughout the report could strengthen its theoretical foundation.

Follow up

Since the consumer behaviour assignment, our approach to teaching and learning about consumer insights has significantly improved. We have embraced a more interactive approach, fostering greater student engagement in exploring emerging consumer trends. Moreover, we have integrated ongoing peer review practices into various modules, aiming to promote collaborative learning and effective teamwork skills across disciplines.

For future activities and slides, we plan to maintain the same structured format. However, we intend to create more opportunities on Blackboard, where students can actively participate in a group community. This platform will serve as a space for students to engage in discussions, ask questions, and share ideas with one another and with me. This shift to a broader online setting on Blackboard aims to enhance student collaboration, transitioning from in-person seminars to a more inclusive digital environment.

References

Hidi, S., & Renninger, K. A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational Psychologist, 41, 111-127.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (1989). Cooperation and Competition: Theory and Research. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Kristinsson, K., Candi, M., & Sæmundsson, R. J. (2016). The relationship between founder team diversity and innovation performance: The moderating role of causation logic. Long Range Planning, 49, 464-476.

Lattimer, R. L. (1998). The case for diversity in global business, and the impact of diversity on team performance. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 8(2), 3-17.

Prince, M. (2004). Does Active Learning Work A Review of the Research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93, 223-231.

Wang, J., Cheng, G. H. L., Chen, T., & Leung, K. (2019). Team creativity/innovation in culturally diverse teams: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40, 693-708.

“Making it OUR Year Abroad”: A student-staff collaboration to support the Year Abroad experience for Languages students

7 September 202311 September 2023 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

By: Dr Chiara Ciarlo, School of Literature and Languages, c.ciarlo@reading.ac.uk

Screenshot of UoR Italian Year Aboard Facebook group — Screenshot of the private Facebook group created by students for their Year Abroad

Overview

In this blogpost, Lecturer in Italian Language Chiara Ciarlo illustrates how four Department of Languages and Cultures (DLC) students with experience of the Year Abroad (YA), collaborated with staff on a PLanT-funded project to help fellow Part 2 students deal with the difficulties and anxiety of preparing to study abroad in the post-Brexit era, by creating a successful network of support including a student-led Facebook group and a useful video-guide with tips on life abroad. This project demonstrates the power of student partnership for building belonging and engagement in ways that are meaningful and authentic to learners.

Objectives

The primary aims of this activity were:

– to enhance communication among students across year-groups in DLC;
– to encourage current and returning students to share their YA experience in an inclusive way, and Part 2 students to proactively seek help while preparing to go abroad;
– to identify key aspects which required more support for Part 2 students;
– to create online YA resources on these aspects that could easily be accessed by current and future students.

Context

Due to recent economic and political changes, students preparing to study/work abroad as part of their Languages degree, have had to deal with complex bureaucratic processes (e.g., visa application) and unforeseen problems (e.g., increasing difficulties in finding accommodation), which have caused them undue stress and anxiety. During her time abroad, Jess Mant, one of the student partners in the project, had the original idea of setting up a network for fellow students to offer support on the issues she had experienced when preparing to leave and while in the foreign country. This subsequently became a PLanT-supported project.

Implementation

The project was based on the students’ YA experience in Italy. After an initial planning meeting with staff, two of the student partners, Jess and Francesca Greatorex (Finalists), set up a student-led private Facebook group as a space for the Italian students to find out more about the YA. It was agreed that this group should have only students as members (i.e., no staff were allowed on it) to allow freedom of discussion. Past and present students of Italian were invited to join the group, and this was a great opportunity for alumni to contribute to the discussion and offer advice on different destinations. All student partners initially introduced themselves via videos, shared their experience and pictures, and used polls to encourage members to vote on topics to discuss. This worked particularly well and stimulated participation when Part 2 students had to choose their destinations, as questions on specific cities could be addressed.

Once the Facebook group was up and running, the other two student partners, Anna McTiernan and Rosa Lockwood-Davies (Year Abroad students), created videos on topics that had become popular in the Facebook discussions and in YA preparation meetings with staff and Part 2 students e.g., tips on the visa application based on own experience, finding accommodation, and how to make friends in a foreign country. These videos were later uploaded on the Facebook group and were liked by members. Despite having individual roles, student partners collaborated in both areas of the project, sharing ideas and reviewing each other’s work.

Impact

Aim: To enhance communication among students across year groups in DLC.
The Facebook group created by the student partners is a permanent space that Italian students of all year-groups can join. This year, the group will welcome the new Part 2 cohort and the administration will be taken over by the remaining student partners of the project.

Aim: To encourage students returning from the YA to share their experience in an inclusive way, and Part 2 students to proactively seek help in preparing to go abroad.
This aim was achieved through posts and videos (and the use of captions in the videos, which helped students focus on the content). Videos on some more sensitive topics (e.g., making friends) were carefully planned to include all types of personalities. Polls were particularly effective in stimulating members to ask questions and contribute.

Aim: To identify key aspects which required more support for Part 2 students.
The use of polls and discussions in the Facebook group, and the participation of student partners at YA preparation meetings, helped create a pool of topics to cover in the video-guide.

Aim: To create online YA resources on these aspects that could easily be accessed by current and future students.
The Facebook group became “the space” were all material could be found in one place by members: this included the videos and several useful links which were recommended by student partners during preparation meeting and immediately posted in the group. This will remain a great source of information for future cohorts.

In a survey carried out during the summer, Part 2 students commented particularly on the usefulness of this material and its ease of accessibility.

Reflections

The success of the activity lies in the determination and creativity of the student partners. From the very beginning, they all took on their role with great enthusiasm and were driven by the will to pass on their knowledge to make the YA an enjoyable experience for current and future cohorts of Languages Students. Additionally, other students who were on the YA found the initiative very stimulating and began to give their contribution, both in group discussions and by posting extra material that they had created to document their experience abroad e.g., a written guide on the student experience in Padua.

Student partners encountered some difficulties while creating and running resources, namely in making students interact in online exchanges and in producing videos whose format would appeal to peers. To overcome these issues, they came up with creative ideas, like the use of polls and the creation of shorter videos, to encourage viewings. For staff, having the input of the student partners was invaluable, as every activity was designed with the students and their needs in mind.

Follow up

Two of the student partners, Finalists in 2023/24, will continue with the administration of the Facebook group (possibly creating also an Instagram account to complement it), and will encourage this year’s Part 2 students to join. With the contribution of other members, who have also returned from the YA, information will be regularly updated, discussions will be stimulated, and new material for the video-guide will be produced, making this a permanent and dynamic space for Languages students to meet and share their YA experience.

A special grazie/thank you goes (in no particular order) to Jess, Francesca, Anna and Rosa for the time, dedication and enthusiasm they all put in creating these resources, and for demonstrating that the Year Abroad is an invaluable experience that needs to be preserved and shared with others.

Overview

Our vocational postgraduate courses in Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Children and Young People include a mix of face to face, and remote teaching on Blackboard, at an almost 50/50 split since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important that trainees engage well with digital methods of learning, and a carousel technique was adapted for Blackboard Collaborate, with hugely positive feedback from the trainees.

Objectives

My objectives for this project were as follows:

adapt the carousel activity from face to face teaching to remote teaching,
gain feedback from trainees about the effectiveness of this strategy and,
make changes as necessary for future implement with other cohorts.

Context

The Educational Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) programme is a one-year vocational postgraduate course. The trainees are employed by an NHS trust, local authority or charity, and study in the Charlie Waller Institute (within SPCLS) to become qualified mental health practitioners working in primary and secondary schools.

Since the pandemic, trainees have half of their teaching face to face on campus, and half of it via Blackboard Collaborate. Teaching days are 9:30-4:30pm. It has been important, and a learning curve, to ensure online teaching remains as engaging as face to face teaching. It is suggested that a lack of engagement with digitally enhanced learning leads to students being academically disadvantaged (Francis & Shannon, 2013). It is also important that group work is still utilised despite a larger amount of remote teaching than before, as it is an effective method for fostering wider knowledge, clarification on a topic and evaluation of peers’ ideas (Hassanien, 2006).

Carousel activities are an engaging teaching method, and are commonly used in face to face teaching. With this technique, trainees work in small groups to complete an assigned task. Half of the trainees then stay with their projects to explain them, whilst the other half circulate around the room to hear about the other projects. The trainees then switch around, enabling everyone to have a chance to present to their peers, and hear about all the other projects and outcomes too. It was therefore important to try to emulate this for online teaching, as it was a well-received method in face to face teaching.

Implementation

I designed the teaching activity to be 30 minutes of small group work in breakout rooms, and then wanted some trainees to be able to move themselves to three different breakout groups (one every 5 minutes), before moving back to their own original group. Meanwhile the other half would stay in their own group for the first 15 minutes, explaining to their peers about their project ideas, before then moving around 3 groups for the last 15 minutes.

I was able to research how to adapt settings on Blackboard Collaborate to allow this to happen. By clicking ‘allow attendees to switch groups’ when setting up breakout rooms, trainees can move themselves.

Trainees were given strict instructions about the task, including what their project was about based on what group number they were, how to make notes of their project for presenting to their peers after, and how/when to switch groups to hear about other’s ideas. See slides below, which are also available for download as a PowerPoint file:

I was then able to use the chat function to let everyone know to move to the next group (every 5 minutes).

I then closed all breakout rooms after all switches had been made, and we discussed the projects as a whole class.

Impact

Shortly after the carousel task was completed, trainees completed their usual feedback for the teaching day using Menti.

Below is the quantitative feedback about how satisfying, informative and engaging, the day was: (Note: this included other teaching techniques for three quarters of the day, and not just the carousel task in the final quarter.)

I was also able to see qualitative comments about the carousel task in particular, and noted how so many of the comments were specifically about this task. See below:

It seems that trainees appreciated the real-life aspect of the group task, which is in line with research by O’Neill and Short (2023) who found that ”real-world relevant” group tasks in higher education tend to engage students more.

There were only three pieces of feedback about the carousel activity when trainees were asked what could be improved in the day:

“Carousel was a bit chaotic but enjoyed it more than I expected”
“The carousel was not so much fun”
“Felt rushed creating poster and then needing to share”

Whilst the first two are hard to make adjustments for as it is unclear what was not fun and what was chaotic, the third point can be solved by allowing more time for the task itself. However, I am also mindful that the majority of trainees completing the feedback did not state that this felt rushed. To balance this, I can check with trainees on the day if 30 minutes feels like enough time, and go with a majority vote for timing.

Overall, this activity was therefore able to meet its first two objectives:

adapt the carousel activity from face to face teaching to remote teaching, and
gain feedback from trainees about the effectiveness of this strategy.

The third objective was “to make changes as necessary for future implementation with other cohorts.” This has yet to be carried out due to the fact this teaching day resumed to face to face teaching the following year, but a similar technique can be utilised for other teaching days and content.

Reflections

Overall, I feel that the carousel technique was well implemented and only minor changes need to be taken forward. Specifically, this is about ensuring all trainees feel they have enough time for the initial project creation element.

From the feedback, I think trainees enjoyed the task. Clear instructions made this task work well, and trainees enjoyed being able to move themselves around breakout groups. This was perhaps more novel than usual, which may have sparked interest. Similarly, Meng et al. (2019) found that novel techniques in the pharmacy field led to improved learning and communication abilities, and improved academic performance.

Furthermore, the creativity was acknowledged in another section of the Menti feedback –“this was night and day compared to some of the other less creatively organised sessions” – which is in line with research about the importance of creativity in successful and effective teaching in higher education (Bidabadi et al., 2016).

Follow up

Since this teaching, I have noticed how it has not been implemented with other teaching days. For my upcoming allocated teaching, I have mapped out remote teaching days where I can implement this strategy again.

I plan to use the same format for structuring the activities and slides, with the added element of elicited feedback from trainees before the task about whether they feel they have enough time to complete it. I could also enter the different breakout groups and check that they feel they have finished.

I also hope that by disseminating this technique more widely and in more detail than previously – I shared it in the Charlie Waller Institute Teaching and Learning Significant Interest Group – more lecturers will feel able to implement this strategy and gain feedback on future changes to make.

References

Bidabadi, N. S., Isfahani, A. N., Rouhollahi, A., & Khalili, R. (2016). Effective teaching methods in higher education: requirements and barriers. Journal of Advances in Medical Education & Professionalism, 4(4), 170-178.

Francis, R., & Shannon, S. J. (2013). Engaging with blended learning to improve students’ learning outcomes. European Journal of Engineering Education, 38(4), 359-369.

Hassanien, A. (2006). Student experience of group work and group assessment in higher education. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 6(1), 17-39.

Meng, X., Yang, L., Sun, H., Du, X., Yang, B., & Guo, H. (2019). Using a novel student-centered teaching method to improve pharmacy student learning. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 83(2), 171-179.

O’Neill, G., & Short, A. (2023). Relevant, practical and connected to the real world: what higher education students say engages them in the curriculum. Irish Educational Studies, 1-18.

Whose getting the development here? Utlising SoTL frameworks to reflect on personal development modules for senior level apprentices

31 August 20238 September 2023 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

By: Dr Elizabeth Houldsworth, Associate Professor of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour at Henley Business School, liz.houldsworth@henley.ac.uk

Group of people sitting around a table looking at paper and a laptop — Photograph from a staff development workshop at Whiteknights Campus, July 2023 © Liz Houldsworth

Overview

This entry offers an overview of a collaborative study by Dr Elizabeth Houldsworth (Henley Business School) and Emma Watton (Lancaster University Management School)

The researchers met at both their institutions to review personal development (PD) materials and to hear reports from learners on the impact of PD modules on their development as reflective practitioners. An exploratory empirical study was designed using Henley Business School students to consider the relative degree of reflective thinking displayed by learners in their PD assignments.

The approach was informed by scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) frameworks designed by Boyer (1990) and Kern et al. (2015) and, in particular, the need to ‘go public’ about the study. The collaborators reflected that the study had an unexpected positive impact on their own personal development as reflective practitioners.

Selfie photograph of Liz Houldsworth and Emma Watton. — Liz Houldsworth (left) and Emma Watton (right) © Liz Houldsworth

The project has had the following outputs, which are available for download by selecting the links:

1. A peer reviewed presentation to the Research in Management Learning and Education Conference in Banff June 2022 (abstract)
2. A peer reviewed conference presentation to Advance HE on the SoTL aspects of the collaboration (abstract)
3. Staff development workshops at Henley Business School and Lancaster University Management School. Materials from the final one, held at Whiteknights Campus in July 2023, is available for download here (PDF of PowerPoint slides)

References

Boyer, E.L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. Princeton University Press.
Kern, B. Mettetal G, Dixson M, et al. (2015). The role of SoTL in the academy: Upon the 25th anniversary of Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 15(3): 1-14.

This entry is a first for the T&L Exchange. Liberated from the constraints of the usual case study, contributors are encouraged to present their writing in a style and format of their choosing. This format offers colleagues an opportunity to quickly share their research, practice and ideas in a way that is authentic to their research or project. These entries might be intended to inspire interest, stimulate debate, foster collaboration, propose new ideas or even entertain. If you would like to submit an entry like this, please email CQSDTandL@reading.ac.uk.

Working in partnership with students to signpost support structures to first years

30 August 202331 August 2023 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

By: Vicki Matthews, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations (SPEIR), v.matthews@reading.ac.uk

Title screen from a video titled 'Embedding yourself in the academic community'. The text is in white and the background is deep green. — Title screen from “Embedding yourself in the academic community”, which you can watch below. © University of Reading

Overview

Transition to university is supported in varying ways not only across our university network, but also across the wider higher education sector. In the School of Politics, Economics and International Relations (SPEIR), explicit messaging relating to undergraduate transition has been a feature for several years, but a desire to incorporate student voice within that messaging at Part 1 led to a successful application for Teaching and Learning Enhancement Project (TLEP) funding.

The project, entitled “Using Student Voice to enhance communication of support structures to new Part 1 students“, involved a partnership between Vicki Matthews, Executive Support Officer, and students from the School, culminating in videos being produced with the themes of embedding yourself within the academic community, working with the academic community, and shaping the academic community. You can watch the videos, hosted on YouTube, below:

Implementation

The students collaborated to identify key points under each theme and then developed videos offering specific advice and top tips for a positive transition experience from a student perspective. Students in SPEIR benefit from core competencies sessions which outline guidance on how to be a successful student, and the videos were shared during these classes.

Impact

The videos were well received, especially in terms of peer to peer messaging, but following first viewing we felt some advice would be better received during Welcome rather than once term had commenced. As a result, the “Embedding yourself within the academic community” video will now be shared during our Head of School Welcome Talk during Welcome Week.

In sharing the videos with the Student Engagement Community of Practice earlier this academic year, suggestion was made to update the video annotation slightly to make them suitable for use across the wider university network. Additional funding from the Teaching and Learning Initiatives Fund was received to edit them and they are now hosted on the Student Life YouTube channel for wider dissemination to students by all schools should they so wish.

Reflections

Feedback following the classes when the videos were first aired, without exception, evidenced that students’ confidence in seeking support should the need arise had arisen as a result of the session. Each class also captured at least one student who had not yet registered a learning difference, emphasising the importance of this explicit key messaging in ensuring students are aware of the support structures in place to enhance their overall university experience. Colleagues across the university are welcome to utilise these resources during their transition activities with new students. For further details on the project, or to discuss how these key messages support our transition strategy, please contact Vicki Matthews, SPEIR Executive Support Officer (v.matthews@reading.ac.uk).

As a School we will shortly be expanding the suite of videos thanks to PLanT funding. This will draw on the conclusions from recent focus groups and feature tops tips on how to overcome loneliness at university.

Designing an authentic assessment tailored specifically for Part 4 students

14 August 202314 August 2023 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

By: Dr Julia Abery, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, j.abery@reading.ac.uk

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Overview

I designed a tailored applied statistics assignment for a UoR Part 4 Department of Mathematics and Statistics module (module code ST4MVA) which successfully met two distinct objectives. Firstly, the assignment tested advanced, specific masters-level skills, as outlined in the QAA framework. Secondly, the assignment incorporated the critical elements of authentic assessment as recommended by Ashford-Rowe et al. (2014).

Objectives

In designing the assessment, the objectives were as follows:

To test masters-level skills described in the QAA L7 descriptor and to conform to departmental guidelines for L7 assessment.
To align with the ALOs (assessable learning outcomes) of the Part 4 applied statistics module ST4MVA.
To incorporate the critical elements of an authentic assessment, aiming to improve student engagement and develop employability skills.

Context

I produced a Part 4 assessment in multivariate methods which tests specific, advanced level 7 skills including systematic subject knowledge, evaluation, analysis, creation and independent research, to align with our department’s aims for assessment at this level.

Following discussion with colleagues and students, I became persuaded that an authentic assessment could increase value and meaning to the student. This meant basing the assessment on engaging ‘real-world’ scenarios, and aiming to incorporate employability skills and to promote deeper learning approaches.

Implementation

I consulted ST4MVA ALOs and departmental guidelines for Part 4 assessment, and decided on a data analysis assignment requiring selection and implementation of a range of multivariate methods in the statistical computing package R, some of which are researched independently. I took direction from the QAA level 7 descriptor; ‘to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively … communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences; demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level.’ I designed an open ended task, so students could be creative and direct their own work. I requested two written reports, for specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Having reviewed various articles, I elected to use a simplified version of Ashford-Rowe et al.’s (2014) list of critical elements of authentic assessment. The table below shows how the assignment addresses these elements.

Select here to download an accessible version of this table.

Impact

Feedback from internal and external examiners and other colleagues suggests the assignment successfully captures features of an authentic assessment and allows students to demonstrate higher level abilities and employability skills. Some colleagues thought a similar approach might be used elsewhere in our programmes. Writing an assignment with close alignment to the principles of authentic assessment was instructive and will undoubtedly influence the way I approach assessment in other modules and at other levels.

Students reported that the tasks were genuinely useful ones to practise and master, and tested higher level skills such as evaluation, creativity and analysis. The assignment was felt to be challenging and at least moderately engaging and interesting. One student commented ‘being able to apply the techniques we had learnt in lectures onto “real world data” made it very applicable to a real-world scenario[s].’

Reflections

At least three features helped to ensure success: Firstly, obtaining data from an industry partner, and working on the project with them, helped to maintain a real-world focus and ensured employability skills were assessed. Secondly, detailed scrutiny of the assignment by experienced internal and external examiners resulted in making some changes and improvements which led to a better and more challenging assignment. This highlights the benefits of collaborating with colleagues and other academics when developing authentic assessment, and being open to constructive criticism. Thirdly, consulting the literature and identifying a checklist ensured that I had clear objectives and maintained a wide perspective on different aspects of authentic assessment.

On reflection, a fuller understanding of authentic assessment may be achieved by consulting local employers, identifying skills they look for when they recruit and checking whether assessments align well with these. More feedback from students would be beneficial, clarifying the extent to which claims in the literature of enhanced learning, increased engagement and motivation play out in students’ experience.

The assessment has now been released, completed and marked but only for a small number of students to date, meaning that a full evaluation is yet to happen. A possible extension of the practice would be to implement authentic assessment at programme level – so each student can benefit.

References

Ashford-Rowe, K., Herrington, J., and Brown, C. (2014). Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(2), pp. 205–222. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02602938.2013.819566
QAA. (2014). UK Quality Code for Higher Education Part A: Setting and Maintaining Academic Standards. The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/qualifications-frameworks.pdf

Reframing success in a partnership project

17 July 20237 June 2024 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

Associate Professor Amanda Millmore, School of Law, a.millmore@reading.ac.uk

Update June 2024

This submission is now a published journal article co-authored with student partners. The link is here and the complete reference can be found below: ‘Reframing Success in A Pivoting Partnership – Student Mentors Trying to Engage: A Tale of Trial and Error’.

Objectives

Curriculum development – reviewing & designing materials and the Blackboard framework for a new elective first year module.
Peer mentoring – student partners in Part 2 offering support to students on the module, embedded within the module by linking student partners directly with each seminar group and including them in online drop-ins and in-person teaching.

Context

During the Covid-19 pandemic, our students had struggled with their sense of belonging, not feeling part of the School of Law community due to lockdowns, online teaching and restrictions on gathering socially. We were creating a new elective, Part 1 law module called “Law and Society”, and we wanted to work with students to develop the module. We were also conscious that we needed to improve support for our new first-year students to ease their transition into university and their studies by enhancing their sense of belonging. We came up with the idea of supporting the new students by building bridges with the cohort in the year above.

Implementation

Curriculum Design – the student partners worked together with staff to review the materials we had prepared and giving their thoughts on what would be helpful and work for the new Part 1 students.

Peer Mentoring – we embedded student partners as mentors with individual seminar groups. We introduced them online with a dedicated “Mentor” section on Blackboard, hosted a “Q&A” Padlet board for students to interact anonymously if they wished. The module was designed with the mentors embedded into it. Student partners were each paired with one of the teaching academics on the module to provide support. Mentors were timetabled to join online optional drop-in sessions (and the session was headed “Meet the Mentors”) and compulsory seminars to offer support with groupwork and formative activities. Academic staff highlighted the benefits of peer support and promoted the mentors and how they could help, while mentors encouraged formal and informal contact with the students in their designated classes.

When student mentees did not attend the optional drop-in (we had more student partners attending than we did students enrolled on the module) we pivoted to the student partners sharing their advice for new students, which we recorded in a document that we shared on Blackboard.

Impact

Curriculum Design – this aspect of the project was very successful, with student partners feeding into the design of the Blackboard module, reviewing the module materials to ensure that they were engaging and pitched at the appropriate level and on student recommendation we ensured the provision of clickable Talis reading lists.

Peer Mentoring – this aspect fell flat, as the Part 1 students did not want to be mentored. They did not attend sessions where the mentors were offering support, declined offers of help (even when they volunteered to join a WhatsApp group) and the student partners felt that we were flogging a dead horse trying to mentor first-year students who did not want to be mentored. Student partners then pivoted to carry out some research to find out what the barriers to engagement with the project were; beset with difficulties in seeking feedback from the Part 1 students who did not respond to questionnaires, offers of coffee and cake or focus groups, the few who did participate explained that they just did not feel the need for that kind of peer support.

Reflection

Whilst the mentoring aspect of the project did not land successfully with the Part 1 students, it was not due to problems with the partnership or even the design of the project, it was just that the Part 1 cohort did not want the support that we were offering. This may be peculiar to this particular cohort, who had been significantly affected by Covid at school, but it was not for want of trying.

Whilst not one of our explicit aims, the notable success of our partnership is the value to the student partners who worked as module designers, mentors and researchers, these students have had the opportunity to disseminate their experiences at conferences and in writing and can see real benefits to their partnership experiences, and they have developed tangible employability attributes, not least a high degree of resilience.

Amanda Millmore and student partners before presenting at the Change Agents’ Network conference 2022

Follow-up

Student partners co-presented this project at the CAN (Change Agents’ Network) conference at UCL in summer 2022 and we have now co-authored a journal article sharing our experiences.

We have continued with the good curriculum developments in the module, which continues to grow from strength to strength. The mentoring aspect of the project has not continued, but instead we ensure to signpost our students to their STaR mentors and PAL leaders for peer support.

Partnership working in the School of Law continues to be business as usual, and the hiccups on this project have not deterred us from trying new things with our student partners, ensuring that we see the benefits of partnership as part of the process and the positives for the partners.

References and links

We contributed to a blog after the CAN conference: CAN Case Study: A Pivoting Partnership – Student Mentors Trying to Engage: a Tale of Trial & Error | CAN 2022 (ucl.ac.uk)

Millmore, A., Collyer, B., Delbridge, E., Khan, A., Patil, I. and Williams, M. (2024) Reframing success in a pivoting partnership – student mentors trying to engage: a tale of trial and error. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 9(1). https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/1208

If you’d like to know more about staff-student partnership in the School of Law, you can reach me at a.millmore@reading.ac.uk

Decentring Ableism: Creative Applications of Film Accessibility in Film/TV Practical Teaching

12 June 202320 July 2023 By michaelkilmister Comment Closed

Shweta Gosh, Department of Film, Theatre & Television, shweta.ghosh@reading.ac.uk

Overview

In this blogpost, Lecturer in Screen Practices and Industries Shweta Ghosh discusses her recent exploration of a new approach to teach film sound design using captions. Based on Shweta’s research on filmmaking and accessibility, this exploration serves as the foundation for a toolkit of film practice teaching methods that she intends to develop through 2023/24, which draw on principles of universal design and decentring ableism in the creative industries.

Objectives

The primary aim of the activity was to explore possible pedagogical applications of research on film accessibility in practical Film/TV teaching at the Department of Film, Theatre & Television. Key objectives were:

To develop student awareness of disability and Deaf culture, and the need for accessibility
To develop student capacities for confident exploration of diversities in audio-visual experience and development of creative ideas based on accessible filmmaking principles
To build accessibility into creative work with a foundational approach rather than incorporating it as an afterthought

Context

My doctoral research on filmmaking and accessibility revealed that filmmaking continues to centre nondisabled perspectives and practices, both on and off screen. Accessibility measures such as captions and audio description are often inserted in film/TV/video content as afterthoughts and accessible filmmaking research as well as practice demonstrates that the same measures considered at early stages (ideation, pre-production and planning) can make film and TV outcomes more accessible by default.

Additionally, accessibility measures can offer exciting possibilities to develop creative aspects of one’s work. The University of Reading Curriculum Framework outlines the need for teaching and learning practices to be accessible to all, and a key programme learning outcome of the new BA in Film & Television at the Department of Film, Theatre & Television programme is to “Create creative practice that is informed by an understanding of accessibility, sustainability and/or social engagement”. In alignment with these visions and outcomes, my exploratory activity was aimed at understanding student and staff response to the use of accessible filmmaking methods in film/TV practice teaching and learning.

Implementation

The activity involved working with two tutorial groups in the Part 1 Film/TV practice in Autumn term 2022 called ‘Introduction to Filmmaking’ (FT1ITF).

The idea was to explore the creative potential and inclusive outcomes of using creative captioning in Film/TV outputs. Group A and B tutors (Dr. James Kenward and I respectively) used a video by Artist Christine Sun Kim on rewriting closed captions from a Deaf perspective as a prompt for seminar discussion (released in advance on Blackboard), and facilitated student reflection on how captions can communicate diverse sound perspectives and the filmmaker’s creative intentions.

Initial discussion explored how the use of captions is widespread and how it makes audio-visual content accessible for Deaf viewers. This helped gauge student awareness and understanding of disability rights and accessibility more generally. Further discussion explored creative dimensions of captions in relation to ‘aural worlds’ (i.e., how each ‘world’ within an audio-visual work is built with different sound components and perspectives).

Students were then encouraged to identify the different components of the aural world in the video as well as the classroom, and map these on to a sound design template. This template, used by Part 1 students as a formative development blog submission, facilitates thinking and planning for practical project sound design, where each column represents a component of the aural world (ambient sound, voice/dialogue, etc.) and which can subsequently be mapped on to sound design and mixing software.

A discussion connecting these various elements enabled students to apply insights to develop creative ideas for the sound design of their own practical projects. Questions used by tutors to facilitate discussion were based on the following themes:

How do the captions in this video describe the creator’s intention? For example, what is the intended mood and tone with respect to the violin music in the captions before and after Christine Sun Kim changes them?
How do the detailed captions help us imagine / create an aural world that is more complex + inclusive?
If you had to caption your 10-shot sequence, how would you caption it with your sound design intentions? Have a go based on your current rough cut (in class / before your next edit session with the rough cut copy / during the edit with the captioning tool).
How can your ‘captioned’ intentions be mapped on to a sound design plan (esp. Mood section)?

The activity was successful in achieving its intended objectives. Practical subgroups in A tutorial group used captions during the workshop to develop creative intentions for sound design. One of the practical subgroups in tutorial group B explored the use of creative captions in their final practical output. While their use of captions was not assessed summatively, formative feedback was provided at an editing supervision meeting, and their attempt to understand and engage with captioning was positively recognised.

Reflection

Positive feedback from the group A tutor summarises the strengths of this activity and reaffirms that this can be an effective and interesting way to teach students film practice and accessibility.

“This was a very useful exercise and encouraged students to think about their creative practice in new and inventive ways. Students were not ‘taught’ accessibility, but utilised standard accessible filmmaking practice as a foundation to explore sound design choices in their films. Accessible practice was thus a given, ingrained into the work itself, rather than something to be viewed as separate or additional.

As the exercise confronts practitioners’ inherent biases as well as their expectations for the viewer, it works effectively to encourage students to critically analyse and evaluate their sound design choices in a targeted fashion. Given improving the quality of students’ sound design is a specific area of focus for the department, this exercise would be beneficial for students across practical modules.”

This exploratory project has also confirmed that there is an appetite amongst students to understand and engage with audio-visual perspectives that are different to their own, whether on and off screen. This is crucial to develop future film/TV makers whose practices are built on the principles of empathy and inclusion.

Follow up

The verbal feedback from students and interesting themes emerging from the trail this year (such as creative intentions, creative control, accessibility tools as enhancers or limiters of creativity), will be used to develop a detailed yet flexible version of this exercise, which can be used in next year’s Introduction to Filmmaking module as well as adapted for relevant Part 2, 3 and MA Film/TV practice modules. A seminar + workshop format (or critical discussion + sound design template application activity) will support students to connect critical themes to creative applications fruitfully. Student and staff feedback at the end of these sessions will be invited to further my understanding of engagement with accessibility methods and how these might enhance creativity and empathy, as well as key pedagogical challenges.

If you’d like to know more or would like to talk about this project, you can reach me at shweta.ghosh@reading.ac.uk or my personal website.

By: Dr Bahram Mahmoodi Kahriz, Henley Business School, bahram.mahmoodikahriz@henley.ac.uk

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By: Dr Chiara Ciarlo, School of Literature and Languages, c.ciarlo@reading.ac.uk

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By: Anjali Mehta Chandar, Charlie Waller Institute, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences (SPCLS), a.m.chandar@reading.ac.uk

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By: Dr Elizabeth Houldsworth, Associate Professor of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour at Henley Business School, liz.houldsworth@henley.ac.uk

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By: Vicki Matthews, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations (SPEIR), v.matthews@reading.ac.uk

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By: Dr Julia Abery, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, j.abery@reading.ac.uk

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Associate Professor Amanda Millmore, School of Law, a.millmore@reading.ac.uk

Update June 2024

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Shweta Gosh, Department of Film, Theatre & Television, shweta.ghosh@reading.ac.uk

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