Building Capacity - UWIC’s ENHANCE project

Loretta Newman-Ford

The ENHANCE Project

Intended to meet objectives of:-UWIC’s Technology Enhanced Learning Plan

- Welsh Assembly Government’s For our Futures document, which strongly advocated that HEIs increase WBL provision to improve the skills and knowledge of the Welsh workforce, improve graduate employability (future workforces) and enhance part-time provision

ENHANCE also compliments UWIC’s JISC-funded TEL WFD project as it enabled UWIC to further improve the delivery of WBL by implementing tools and technologies that can be used to support the wider objectives of WBL.

The Building Capacity process

Identify a need:-NSS

-Withdrawal Surveys- Focus groups- Student Voice

projects-Student/tutor

feedback

Search for JISC-funded projects

with the potential to address the need

Contact relevant projects and work with teams to find

ways of adapting/adopting project outputs at

UWIC

Implement the new project at UWIC

e-portfolio based pedagogy for SMEs

The need:• 500 work–placement students supported each year in the Cardiff School of Management. • Most placed within local SMEs.

• Experience Through Work – credit bearing module requiring students to maintain a reflective log to evidence workplace learning (10%), which is used to inform a reflective report (90%)

• Some s tudents struggle with the assessment requirements of the module, specifically: Informal learning Experiential learning, theory to practice Reflective thinkingLack of scaffolded tasks/learning content Difficulties mastering the Expo blog tool

The solution:ePPSME: a JISC-funded project at the University of Wolverhampton

The ePPSME model was designed to take into account the particular conditions of SME employers and learners.

Principles: context-sensitive learning content PebblePad webfolio (website), all-in-one service Easy to use and intuitive Supports formal and informal learning Transferable and portable 3 types of blog: Activity blog = scaffolds learning Personal blog = critical reflection Collaborative blog = learning community

http://pebblepad.co.uk/uwic/viewasset.aspx?oid=672&type=webfolio

Online Community for mature studentsThe need• Withdrawal rate of mature students, particularly part-time, commonly due to: a) difficulties balancing work/home life with studies b) isolation and loneliness due to the lack of a social network• In 2010, a Mature Students Society was set up using LTDU funding.• Time pressures prevent group from meeting regularly/accessing peer support

The solution:An online community for mature students, based the Higher Education and Lifelong Learning Opportunities (HELLO) model – Leicester College:

- Student led- Collaborate, forge , maintain friendships - Replace lost physical social space- Access to peer support- Personal as well as academic- Show and tell- Discussion forums- Learning resources

http://mssuwic.wetpaint.com/

Food Industry Centre: online student networkThe need• Work placement students experiencing feelings of isolation and disengagement from the university whilst learning in the workplace.• Expectations about work placements divergent from reality.• Preparedness for the world of work in terms of perceptions and skills.• New Foundation Degree in Food Sciences.

The solution• An online student network where learners on placement can keep in touch, share experiences and offer peer advice/support.• Open to prospective, current and graduate students.• Employers invited to participate in discussions, offer advice, industry updates, advertise work placements/graduate vacancies and maintain ‘expert blog’.• Employability/WBL resources from the JISC-funded TELSTAR project at UCLAN.• Based on HELLO model

Mentoring Work-Based LearnersThe need:• Policy: all work-based learners must be supported by a system of personal/academic mentoring. School of Management Handbook states that each student should have a workplace mentor.• Some programmes (e.g. Initial Teacher Training) have professional standards, but for others, there is no mentoring guidebook/policy for mentors in the workplace.• Difficult to ensure fairness and consistency in the quantity and quality of the mentoring students receive. The solution

• Mentor Mansion - online training for new workplace mentors developed by the Supporting Mentors and Resource Transformation (SMART) project at Buckinghamshire New University.• Includes advice, guidance, principles of good practice• Mini lectures and learning tasks• Space for reflective blog• Community of practice in mentoring

A member of staff at UWIC undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate in Mentoring and Coaching used the tool to support their mentoring practice, collaborate with other mentors and to develop a WBL mentoring handbook

Implications

Student Retention

The student experience

Employability

Student support (peer/mentoring)

Staff awareness of student voice/needs

Generated conversations about how students learn, how they study online and in the workplace

Increased interest in tools to support and engage students

Tangible and transferable skills in the use of learning/open technologies

Recognition of the benefits of OER and willingness to use and repurpose