Enhancing the First Year Experience through structured social integration and personal and professional development: Reflections on a year of innovation.

Enhancing the First Year Experience through structured social integration and personal and

professional development: Reflections on a year of innovation.

Ian Smith

Senior Lecturer & Teaching Fellow

SoC PDP Champion, Napier University

Anne MacNab,

Personal Development Facilitator,

Confident Futures, Student Affairs, Napier University

Further Information

• Smith, I (2006, April) Empowering the learner through enhanced engagement informed by reflective practice. Paper presented to The First Year Experience In Continuing Education ESCalate, University of Stirling ISBN 978-1-905788-41-5

• Smith, I (2007, August) Engaging the First Year: Laying the Foundations of Personal & Professional Development. Short paper presented to 8th Annual Conference of the Higher Education Academy for Information and Computer Sciences, University of Southampton

• http://www.ed.napier.ac.uk/staffconference/june2006/posters/smith.pdf• http://www.ed.napier.ac.uk/staffconference/june2007/posters/smith.pdf

• http://www.napier.ac.uk/confidentfutures/whatis.aspx

Using the Clicker

James Bond is best personified by ……

25%

10%

0%

15%

0%

45%

5%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. David Niven

2. Sean Connery

3. George Lazenby

4. Roger Moore

5. Timothy Dalton

6. Pierce Brosnan

7. Daniel Craig

My primary role is ……

0%

8%

15%15%

8%

46%

8%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Chalk-face Teaching

2. Student Support

3. Academic Development

4. Research

5. Administration

6. Quality Enhancement

7. Other

Year 1 Engagement Model

engage

empower educate

enculturate

(Smith, 2007)

Enculturating the First Year student

My most memorable moment as a student was ….

6%

63%

31%

1 2 3

1. Academic in context

2. Social in context

3. Other

Most useful part of my degree was ……

81%

19%

1 2

1. Content related

2. Process related

PhysicalSpace

Academic

SocialVirtualSpace

The Graduate’s Journey

Induction is a week long activity

50%

31%

6%13%

0%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Induction

• Need to address– Social Integration – Academic Support– Academic and Regulatory Structures– Data Quality Management– Leadership and Management

• Action Plan– Programme Suite Specific

• Computing, Information Systems, Interactive Media Design

• Schedule– the first five minutes– day minus 7 till ……….

• reiterate

Day 1 Morning - Icebreaking - 30 minute group activities

• Low-cost prizes given for a range of categories (e.g. best, fastest, smallest, noisiest etc)

• Big Bubble Contest (Noisy and competitive)– Bubble blowing– Photograph taken on own mobile telephone– Bluetooth photograph to tutor’s laptop– Displayed on data projector

• 30 Grams of Rice (Quiet but messy)– Given 100 grams rice plus containers,squared paper etc– Devise a method to estimate 30 grams– Area, volume, counting etc

• Things Beginning with… (Quiet)– Given a picture with many different objects– Asked to find as many objects as possible beginning with the letter …

• Egg Catcher (Noisy, chaotic and messy)– Given access to scrap materials (think Scrapheap Challenge)– Make egg catcher– Egg dropped from 12 feet above

Day 1 - Lunchtime - Forming Personal Tutorial Groups

• The students were given 15 minutes to form themselves into groups of 5 or 6 using a set of rules to minimise risks of social isolation (e.g. a group could not include a sole member of either gender, a group could not have only one under 18 year old etc).

• Each group was instructed to complete an urban orienteering task, have lunch and be back by a specified time.

• At the end of this session the students had bonded into self-selected groups and discovered their way around the campus.

The optimum First Year class size is

0%0%

11%

61%

22%

6%

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. 5 students

2. 10 students

3. 25 students

4. 50 students

5. 100+ students

6. Other

Timetabled Groups

• Plenary (All Students)• Personal Tutorial (6 students)• Practical/Tutorial (24 students, 4 Personal Tutorial Groups

Attendance is a good measure of engagement

11%11%11%

44%

22%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Tracker

• Attendance monitoring• Students have key fobs with ids• Self contained baton maintains a record• Data downloaded to SQL Server based application• Instant data for Students, Tutors, Year Leader

• The technology-assisted tracking system in conjunction with the on-line tracking tool within WebCT, and the introduction of early assessment proved very effective in enabling early intervention during the formative weeks but had limited impact on attendance during the later weeks of the semester.

Engagement is a one-way process

67%

33%

0%0%0%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

All students can be engaged by the end of week 1

13%

67%

7%7%7%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Measuring Engagement

Measuring Engagement ?

• Students registered attendance on Tracker– Lecture– Tutorial– All– At least one

• Students submitted Task 1 by end of week 1• Students received feedback on Task 1 by end of week 2

• Students submitted four Tasks and an Assignment by end of week 5

Measuring Engagement ?

• Class of 135 students

– logged 10543 virtual environment sessions during the semester

– 18 general discussion topics & 25 group discussion topics

• generated 694 messages (only 15 by the module leader)

• combined reading total of 174120 times

Measuring Engagement ?

• Progression target= 70%

• Analysis of the overall student performance (first diet) of the First Year 2006/07– 76% of students successfully completing all modules – further 5% carrying a single non-completion

Measuring Engagement ?

• By the end of Week 2– Social Committee formed

• By the end of week 3– Five programme representatives elected

• By the end of Week 5– New Napier Anime Society – LAN Party– LumpSucker Gig Advertised– New semester 2 elective (C++)

• Semester 2– Feedback from lecturers perceived the students to be more

outgoing and confident in comparison to previous years.

Empowering the First Year student

Empowerment is about Personal Development (PD)

14%7%

21%

43%

14%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Academic staff perceive PD to be a distraction

13%13%31%44%0%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Students perceive PD to be a distraction

20%33%13%27%7%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

PDP is about integrating Employability

17%8%25%42%8%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

PDP focus @ Napier

• Core aims

– The enhancement of student academic learning and achievement, career planning & personal development abilities and understanding

– To support Napier students “to be highly valued by employers, the sector & the community”* both now & in the future

*As articulated in Napier's LTA Strategy, Promoting Learning for Achieving Potential

Achieved through:

• Supporting students to:– personalise their HE experience – make best use of personal and professional development

opportunities their modular programme provides

• Providing opportunities, activities & mechanisms to support students in developing well-founded confidence through– increased self-knowledge – informed decision-making

• Supporting staff and providing a range of staff development opportunities & support mechanisms

Key PDP components

• Developing the confident learner is being helped by:– Stimulating & useful inductions/orientation– Appropriate personal development tutor contact, support &

activities– Options/choices designed into programme– Enhanced learning opportunities in programme– Inbuilt high quality personal development– E-portfolio that encourages self-evaluation and planning

activities of recognition, reflection, modification, collection, selection & recording

– Empowered, enthusiastic and confident staff

Personal & Professional Development Planning in School of Computing, Napier University

Determining a solution

Bolt-On (additional to curriculum)

• Skills Awards

• Skills Checklist

• Open online learning

• Optional portfolio

• Confident Futures ?

Level 10

Level 9

Level 8

Level 7

www.napier.ac.uk/confidentfuturesThursday 8 May - Parallel Session 4

THEME YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4Strand 1 Knowing Yourself Communication Styles Dealing with Conflict

Self Awareness Purpose: to identify strengths, build confidence and encourage self-analysis

Purpose: to build awareness of personal style and other people’s styles of communication

Purpose: to develop skills and strategies for resolving conflict

Strand 2 Learned Optimism Taking on Challenges Problem Solving Embracing Change

Empowering Attitudes

Purpose: to build resilience and develop skills to cope with difficulties

Purpose: to identify where risks can be taken and encourage movement out with comfort zone

Purpose: to develop a problem solving attitude and to focus on the future, including overcoming barriers

Purpose: develop personal skills for dealing with change and change management

Strand 3 Interacting with Others Assertiveness Developing Professional Relationships

Building Relationships

Purpose: to develop interaction skills including listening, negotiation, compromising and building relationships

Purpose: to build on communication skills and identify situations where could be more assertive

Purpose: build an awareness of how impact on others and how to communicate strengths to others

Parallel but not integrated

• Personal Development Tutoring

• Optional zero weighted PDP activities

– Confident Futures ?

• Skills Weeks

– Holistic Week 1

– Weeks 14 & 15

Level 10

Level 9

Level 8

Level 7

PDP Rich Modules

• Point of Entry - Personal & Professional Development

• Co-curricular

– Volunteering

– Mentoring

– Student representative

– Career Development

– Entrepreneurship

• Work based learning

• Capstone modules

– Honours Projects

– Portfolio module (Burgess ?)

Level 10

Level 9

Level 8

Level 7

Embedded in the curriculum

• Embedded in all or most modules

• Synthesizes across modules

• Ways of working students (and staff)

• Use theme (streams) structures within programmes to develop skillsets and portfolios

Level 10

Level 9

Level 8

Level 7

Encouraging Student Reflection

Students are naturally reflective

0%41%24%35%0%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Reflection is a key factor in the development of portfolios

0%0%17%42%42%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Portfolios are better suited to certain subject areas

12%24%18%41%6%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Portfolios need to be integrated into the curriculum

0%13%47%27%13%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Portfolios should be assessed

14%14%57%14%0%

1 2 3 4 5

1. Strongly Agree

2. Agree

3. Neutral

4. Disagree

5. Strongly Disagree

Professional Development Module: Formative Tasks

1. 250 word pen picture & digital photograph (week 1)

2. 150 word reflective report on Confident Futures Workshop -

Knowing Yourself (week 2)

3. 300 word self-reflection "What type of learner am I and what

implications does this have for my university studies?” (week 3)

4. 300 word self-reflection "How am I hoping my course will help me

achieve my current aspirations ?” (week 4)

5. With reference to the recommended template, develop a current

curriculum vitae (CV) as word document. (week 5)

6. 150 word reflective report on Confident Futures Workshop -

Learned Optimism (week 5)

7. 150 word reflective report on Confident Futures Workshop -

Interacting with Others (week 8)

Professional Development Module: Summative Tasks

• A 1000 word essay on the theme "Bill Gates - A Biography.

• Personal Action Plan, Reflective Report & Portfolio– With reference to your reflective report and your PDP

plan, compile a portfolio of artefacts that illustrate your personal development over this semester. Individual artefacts may take the form of text, images, audio or video.

– You may also submit links to blogs or appropriate personal websites.

– All relevant documents should be appropriately named in a section of your ePortfolio with relevant access rights provided to your tutors.

• A ten-minute presentation on the theme “Video Games in Contemporary Society”– Group project– Negotiated grading criteria

Today and Tomorrow

• “Introduction to PDP and the ePortfolio” for all students at point of entry

• Forward thinking at start of each trimester• Better use of one2one interview mid-trimester• Reflective review at end of each trimester.• “Graduate Portfolio” module in final year.

A Final Thought

It must be tremendously interesting to be a schoolmaster, to watch boys grow up and help them along; to see their characters develop and what they become when they leave school and the world gets hold of them.

I don't see how you could ever get old in a world that's always young.

Katherine (Greer Garson), Goodbye Mr Chips (1939)