Post on 26-May-2015
description
Multidisciplinary pairing: a win-win employability enhancing teaching
experience.
Claire Howell 2nd April 2014
Employability: definition one.
A set of:
• achievements • skills • understandings and • personal attributes
that makes graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations,
which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.
• (ESECT based on Yorke 2006)
Employability: definition two
Employability is more than about developing attributes, techniques or experience just to enable a student to get a job, or to progress within a current career.
It is about learning and the emphasis is less on ‘employ’ and more on ‘ability’.
In essence, the emphasis is on developing critical, reflective abilities, with a view to empowering and enhancing the learner.
• (Harvey 2003)
How can we do this?
How can we best integrate and
balance different ways of teaching and learning that
promote both effective learning
and employability for students?
How can we encourage students to become confident
learners and individuals capable
of making a full contribution to
society?
Pedagogy for employability 2012
Real world activities
I am educating my students for jobs that do not yet exist
What is the approach?
Each law student is paired with an engineering student.
LLB students tasked with identifying any IPR that the engineering students had in their live Mscprojects.
LLB Coursework
50% of the marks for the module
a) submit an individual advice
letter [800 words ] addressed to their
engineering student based on interviews
conducted concerning their
project work .
b) a legally argued analysis of the IP
issues of the project. 1,700 words.
Who is involved?
Second year LLB undergraduate Law and Management
students.
Msc Engineering and Design
students
The learning aims and objectives.
Law students
A deep learning experience. They gain practice in • Fact finding• Advice writing• Interpersonal skills used in the
interview procedure.• They have complete ownership of
their work and undertake research in a live context.
Aim for the engineers
It shows the students how in Industry they will be expected to understand the
• Importance of early IP protection.
• Have an awareness of the strategic value in:• income generation • market advantage.
Objectives
For the academic• Both sides win.• It cost little in the
academics time. • No preparation of an
innovative case study. • Little need to motivate
the students as they motivate themselves.
How we do it at Aston
First term • Law students learn about the different IP rights.
Second term
• Masterclass• Meet with a Patent Attorney and member of the BPU
• the function of the BPU• what they should do if a registrable idea was discovered. • the procedures the office would undertake with any innovation.
This was serious
Confidentiality agreement.
There might be a REAL invention!
The pairing
The students swap e-mail addresses
At that point I loose control
My role
Tutorial slot every week
I was available via
Virtual leaning
resource [Blackboard,]
Outcome for engineers
In some cases IP knowledge has changed the direction of the project of the engineer.
With IP knowledge they recognised a slightly different approach could result in something new.
Outcome for engineers-employability
They are ready and able to contribute to future economic growth with knowledge, skills
and creativity in new business environments.
They have acquired knowledge, skills and attributes to support
continued learning and career development.
Pedagogy for employability 2012
Outcome for law students-employability
Self -managementCommunication and literacy
application of literacy, ability to produce clear, structured written work and oral literacy – including listening and questioning.
Business and customer awareness the need to provide customer satisfaction and build customer loyalty.
Problem solving analysing facts and situations and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.
Preparation-the right academic
Enthusiastic engineering
lecturer
Understands the importance of• obtaining IP• retaining IP• exploiting IP
Preparation- the right students
Phd students ??• Time -not committed
to a timetable• Reluctant to pause
before publishing
Preparation-timing
Timing-the most difficult thing to dovetail.
Msc project was in the third semester
Msc project may still be a vague idea
What went wrong?
Can’t guarantee the quality of either advisor or client
Some clients or advisors let partner down by not making contact or even
appearing
What went right?
They love it
• Practical and relevant knowledge.
• Deep and practical learning of professional skills through a real project.
• High and enthusiastic participation leading to better marks.
Learning by doing
Most studies suggest that ‘active learning by doing’ is what works in relation to many employability skills, particularly for communication, working with others, time and personal management and problem solving.
This method allows students to work in interdisciplinary teams and to integrate their learning experiences across levels and subjects of study.
Pedagogy for employability 2012
The outcome
Deeper and practical learning of professional
skills through a real project
Increased level of enquiry-based learning
Higher, more enthusiastic participation leading to
better marks.
Benefit to industry as engineering graduates will have practical and relevant
knowledge about how to integrate their work within
the business enterprise
Reduced cost of training. Increased levels of employability.
Conclusion
Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams on realistic projects. The lawyers are learning to talk to engineers and the engineers are learning to talk to lawyers.
Any course must stimulate and motivate the students and I think this method of live teaching does.