Closing the ‘feedback loop’ using Unitu: Student uptake, usage and impact of a new online student feedback platform

Dr Emma Mayhew, Politics, Economics and International Relations
e.a.mayhew@reading.ac.uk
Year of activity: 2015/16

Overview

PLanT funding was used to research the impact of a new student feedback platform in Politics. Unitu creates an online student forum from which representatives pull issues onto a separate departmental board. Academics can then add responses and show if an issue has been actioned or closed by dragging between columns.

Objectives

  • To monitor student uptake and usage figures across the year.
  • To increase our understanding of the impact of the platform on the student experience.
  • To look more deeply at the effect of continuous feedback, via Unitu, on teaching and learning provision within the Department.

Context

Increasingly, providers are looking for alternative ways to encourage more continuous student engagement by opening channels of communication between staff and students to target further improvements to the student experience. This is particularly timely given the Teaching Excellence Framework and changes to National Student Survey questions which stress the importance of the student voice.

Implementation

In order to investigate student uptake, usage and impact of Unitu, the project team adopted a three stage approach:

  1. To survey students to assess their knowledge and experiences of Unitu. 120 questionnaires were received from students across all parts of the Department.
  2. To conduct a focus group of between 8 and 10 students to help draw out themes surrounding the student experience of using Unitu and impact of the platform on provision and satisfaction.
  3. To research the experiences of the University of Roehampton to look at how this provider raised awareness of the platform, how they encouraged student engagement and what kind of impact they had seen.

Impact

We now have easily accessible sign up and usage figures across the year. We can see how sign up figures respond to our promotional activity. We have a much better understanding of why some students were not aware of the platform, how some students encountered initial technical difficulties with sign up, why some purposefully prefer not to engage with Unitu and, for those that have, which features are of particular use and which are not. This data has led to changes in our approach to student communications and liaison with the software provider to amend some of the features offered.

Reflections

Although some features were problematic, such as numerous ‘new post’ email notifications, the overall response was positive. 58% of students enrolled onto the platform. 55 issues, questions or praise were posted, prompting 5,500 student views of follow on discussion. 52% found Unitu increased student representative profiles. 61% felt it improved the student voice. 75% felt it showed exactly how the Department responded to student feedback. Some changes were made to teaching provision in response to student feedback including addressing deadline clusters and balancing assessed and non-assessed presentations. Notably the platform offers academic colleagues the opportunity to explore the pedagogical rationale behind curriculum design and assessment decisions. But we do remain mindful of the way in which Unitu might lead to difficulties managing student expectations in terms of the timing and nature of responses as well as the impact of adopting a very open discussion forum which does require clear rules of engagement.

Follow up

We have started work on broader dissemination of our experiences. In September 2016 a Part Two student, Jack Gillum, presented as part of a broader University of Reading symposium at the Researching, Advancing & Inspiring Student Engagement (RAISE) conference in Loughborough. Unitu is now being considered by Computer Science and the School of Construction Management and Engineering. We would like to continue to share our experiences with new adopters.sp

Politics Show on Junction11 Radio

Dr Alan Renwick, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations
Year of activity: 2014/15

Overview

DSC_0289 - CopyOur Teaching and Learning Development Fund (TLDF) award was used to fund the purchase of a laptop and recording equipment to help students in preparing materials for broadcast in the Politics Show on Junction11 Radio, the Reading University Students’ Union radio station. This facilitated learning activities that greatly boosted students’ self-confidence, engagement with politics, and transferable skills.

Objectives

  • Deepen students’ engagement with politics by creating a forum for them to discuss it on live radio.
  • Deepen students’ understanding of the role of media in politics through practice as well as academic learning.
  • Foster students’ self-confidence and their skills of research, communication, presentation, and audio editing.

Context

The hardest part in studying politics is often connecting what we learn through academic study with what is happening around the world today. The Politics Show and allied Media and Politics module are designed to facilitate that, as well as to foster a range of crucial transferable skills. The ability to record and edit material ahead of broadcast is essential, and our TLDF funding allows that.

Implementation

The Politics Show was broadcast every Tuesday evening during term throughout the year, between 7 and 8pm. Much of the show involves live studio conversation, but pre-recording some content allows us greatly to open up the range of material that we can include, and most shows have therefore involved at least some such content. We have, for example, included vox pops hearing the views of students around campus, recorded interviews with notable visitors to campus, recorded interviews away from campus with a range of political figures, and recorded material on location, including reviews of exhibitions at the British Museum and British Library. While most such material can now be recorded with a good quality smart phone, the equipment we were able to purchase through the TLDF gives the highest quality of recorded sound and ensures that all students have access to the means of recording and editing, even if they do not own the requisite equipment themselves.

Impact

The Politics Show has been a tremendous success: students who take part visibly grow in confidence and ability to communicate and in engagement with politics. In addition, anyone with access to a computer can listen to the show live or through our podcast edition, and many people do so, ensuring that the show helps advertise the University of Reading and the Department of Politics and International Relations – and the achievements and professionalism of our students – to the wider world. The show is a core element in the package that we promote to applicants during open days and visit days. Again, these opportunities require that the show’s quality be high, and our TLDF funding has helped ensure that.

Reflections

We regard the Politics Show and the associated Media and Politics module as a very clear success, which is due in large part to the energy that this activity has unleashed among our students. We plan some tweaks to aspects of the module that are not related to our TLDF funding in response to lessons learnt over the past year. But we see no reason for substantial changes to the Politics Show itself or the role of pre-recorded material in it. Our one frustration this year was that, for administrative reasons, we could not purchase our new equipment until late in the year, but we will be able to integrate it more fully into the show more continuously in 2015/16.

The show’s original host, Dr Alan Renwick, has now moved on from the University of Reading, and two new hosts – Dr Dawn Clarke and Dr Mark Shanahan – will therefore be taking over. Given that they will be new to this kind of activity, we do not plan to experiment much with innovations over the coming year, but further refinement and evolution of the format may take place thereafter.

Links

The archive of podcasts from the show is available here: http://www.reading.ac.uk/spirs/about/spirs-PoliticsShowPodcasts.aspx