Going to uni is no longer a pipedream: How an interprofessional project transformed learners and prepared them for their next destination in higher education Dr Jane McKay, Academic Development Tutor Dr Lina Petrakieva, Academic Development Tutor Lynn Sheridan, Lecturer in Social Work School of Health & Life Sciences Glasgow Caledonian University
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Going to uni is no longer a pipedream: How an interprofessional project transformed learners and prepared them for their next destination in higher education.
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Going to uni is no longer a pipedream:
How an interprofessional project transformed learners and prepared them
for their next destination in higher education
Dr Jane McKay, Academic Development Tutor
Dr Lina Petrakieva, Academic Development Tutor
Lynn Sheridan, Lecturer in Social Work
School of Health & Life SciencesGlasgow Caledonian University
CUSP •College University Subject Partnerships•Working groups of staff from FE and HE
Research •Funding to explore pathways•Led to identification of support needs
Needs identified •Academic•Psychological
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Scottish system
National Certificate• SCQF level 4
Higher National Certificate• SCQF level 7
Higher Education
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Literature
Students may feel sense of ‘dislocation and loss’ as find themselves less prepared than traditional entry counterparts (Cree et al., 2009) FE-HE Differences may include:
Very different approaches to L&T
Emphasis on critical appraisal and independent learning
Staff may be perceived to be unapproachable (Barron & D’Annunzio-Green, 2009)
Social work students tend to be first generation, mature and often have care commitments so have additional challenges (Cree et al., 2009)
Without early targeted support, these students are at increased risk of drop-out and failure (Gale & Parker, 2014)
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What we did
Academic skills enhancement:Development of a package of web-based
academic skills tutorials to support the college to university transition. Key features:Auditory and visual components – video format
Sequential
Contextualised
Integrated learning activities to consolidate learning
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What we did
To address confidence and anxiety issues:Student videos
Staff welcome videos
All materials hosted on website: www.destinationsocialwork.com
Increased psychological preparedness for higher education
Made university seem achievable It makes it seem easier to achieve….I think it is just
such a helpful tool
Increased confidence in writing abilityIt’s not just like you’re going to this big place and you’re
all alone, like people have done it before
Normalised feelings of anxietyI felt like well there must be other people that feel the way I’m
feeling and needing this sort of help
General dimension
2nd order theme
1st order theme
Raw data
(Berg & Lune, 2012)
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Student focus groups – commonly reported
issues
Use of examples “cemented understanding” and discipline specific – “easy to relate to”
User-friendly and simple language
“…it’s like an easy guide to writing”
“…no kind of unnecessary complications or jargon”
Format
Real-life staff and student videos
“I think as well there’s so many horror stories about going to uni…but the bit I liked was that every lecturer said that they were looking forward to meeting us and that if we ever needed support just to ask…”
“Nobody in my family has ever been to uni; it’s still a wee bit of a taboo so I expected it to be really posh with people using big words, maybe a bit snooty, but nobody seemed like that, they were just like your average people.”
Enhanced understanding of academic skills“…it’s actually taught me how to write. I now know why a paragraph is there and how you use a paragraph properly. I’ve been ranting about it – ‘you need to go and see this website!’”
Increased psychological preparedness for HE“I think it was good because I sometimes I think about going to uni as a pipedream but I think with that it showed you what’s expected and it didn’t really seem as scary if I’m to progress on to uni, I found that quite useful.”
o Supported teaching“You’re always struggling with how to pitch it but when I watched the video I realised I was making it too complex”
o Useful in other learning contexts (e.g. academic levels/subjects)
o Engaging features – echoed student feedback
o Positive outcomes, e.g. freeing up staff time, building confidence“I think it took away some of the fear by showing that there are support mechanisms and I thought that confidence building was a big thing for them.”
Barron, P. & D’Annunzio-Green, N. (2009). A smooth transition?: Education and social expectations of direct entry students. Activity Learning in Higher Education, 10, 7-25.
Berg, B.L., & Lune, H. (2012). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, 8th edn. New York: Pearson.
Cree, V. E., Hounsell, J., Christie, H., McCune, V. &Tett, L. (2009). From further education to higher education: Social work students' experiences of transition to an ancient research-led university. Social Work Education, 28(8), 877-901.
Gayle, T. & Parker, S. (2014). Navigating change: a typology of student transition in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 39(5), 734-753.