{"id":7355,"date":"2023-08-30T11:18:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T11:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/?p=7355"},"modified":"2023-08-31T08:25:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T08:25:00","slug":"working-in-partnership-with-students-to-signpost-support-structures-to-first-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/2023\/08\/30\/working-in-partnership-with-students-to-signpost-support-structures-to-first-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Working in partnership with students to signpost support structures to first years"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/tldf\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-6130 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2019\/08\/Back-Arrow-e1565604225291.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"45\" height=\"45\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6>By: Vicki Matthews, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations (SPEIR), <a href=\"mailto:v.matthews@reading.ac.uk\">v.matthews@reading.ac.uk<\/a><\/h6>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7356\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7356\" style=\"width: 1908px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7356\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/embbeding-yourself-in-the-academic-community-title-image.png\" alt=\"Title screen from a video titled 'Embedding yourself in the academic community'. The text is in white and the background is deep green.\" width=\"1908\" height=\"954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/embbeding-yourself-in-the-academic-community-title-image.png 1908w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/embbeding-yourself-in-the-academic-community-title-image-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/embbeding-yourself-in-the-academic-community-title-image-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/embbeding-yourself-in-the-academic-community-title-image-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/embbeding-yourself-in-the-academic-community-title-image-1536x768.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1908px) 100vw, 1908px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7356\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Title screen from &#8220;Embedding yourself in the academic community&#8221;, which you can watch below. <b>\u00a9 <\/b>University of Reading<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h1>Overview<\/h1>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reading.ac.uk\/cqsd\/funding-for-your-teaching-and-learning-project\/teaching-and-learning-enhancement-projects-tlep-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">Teaching and Learning Enhancement Project (TLEP) funding<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The project, entitled \u201cUsing Student Voice to enhance communication of support structures to new Part 1 students\u201c, involved a partnership between Vicki Matthews, Executive Support Officer, and students from the School, culminating in videos being produced with the themes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DReVaauNK8A&amp;list=PLQ7QRYUQyu-t0AdfOhwSO4SpX0-gqHSDt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">embedding yourself within the academic community<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pv_UQ0wu0s0&amp;list=PLQ7QRYUQyu-t0AdfOhwSO4SpX0-gqHSDt&amp;index=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">working with the academic community<\/span><\/span><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pB8VQsz1ljQ&amp;list=PLQ7QRYUQyu-t0AdfOhwSO4SpX0-gqHSDt&amp;index=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">shaping the academic community<\/span><\/span><\/a>. You can watch the videos, hosted on YouTube, below:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Embedding yourself within the academic community\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DReVaauNK8A?list=PLQ7QRYUQyu-t0AdfOhwSO4SpX0-gqHSDt\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Working with the academic community\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pv_UQ0wu0s0?list=PLQ7QRYUQyu-t0AdfOhwSO4SpX0-gqHSDt\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shaping the academic community\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pB8VQsz1ljQ?list=PLQ7QRYUQyu-t0AdfOhwSO4SpX0-gqHSDt\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1>Implementation<\/h1>\n<p>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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<h1>Impact<\/h1>\n<p>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 \u201cEmbedding yourself within the academic community&#8221; video will now be shared during our Head of School Welcome Talk during Welcome Week.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reading.ac.uk\/cqsd\/funding-for-your-teaching-and-learning-project\/teaching-and-learning-initiatives-funding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">Teaching and Learning Initiatives Fund<\/span><\/span><\/a> was received to edit them and they are now hosted on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@uorstudentlife5672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">Student Life YouTube channel<\/span><\/span><\/a> for wider dissemination to students by all schools should they so wish. <\/p>\n<h1>Reflections<\/h1>\n<p>Feedback following the classes when the videos were first aired, without exception, evidenced that students\u2019 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 (<a href=\"mailto:v.matthews@reading.ac.uk\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">v.matthews@reading.ac.uk<\/span><\/span><\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>As a School we will shortly be expanding the suite of videos thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reading.ac.uk\/cqsd\/funding-for-your-teaching-and-learning-project\/plant-projects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;text-decoration: underline\">PLanT<\/span><\/span><\/a> funding. This will draw on the conclusions from recent focus groups and feature tops tips on how to overcome loneliness at university.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Focusing on the use of student voice to support transition into university, this article discusses a successful Teaching and Learning Enhancement Project (TLEP) where videos were produced to help share key messages with new undergraduates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":7356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[9,182,89],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2023\/08\/embbeding-yourself-in-the-academic-community-title-image.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/235"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7355"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7365,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7355\/revisions\/7365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/t-and-l-exchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}