Inter-disciplinary learning for the work-based student

Leicester Instituteof Legal Practice

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Inter-disciplinary learningfor the work-based student

Caroline [email protected]

Current trends• Post graduate , part time emphasis• Growth in number of part time and work based students• Increasing diverse student community, including international• Widening participation obligations• Growing concern from students about economic benefits of

HE ( HEA 2009)• Financial climate• 75% of 2020 workforce is over 16 years of age now• Post graduate review (expected Spring 2010) A. Smith• FE experiences (Changing Learner Experience (2009))

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Intellectual Property

• The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property 2006

• Intellectual Property for engineers project (Roach and and Soetendorp (2008))

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Higher Ambitions?• Business to be more active

partners• HEFCE’s priority to strategic

skills i.e. STEM subjects• New Research Excellence

Framework (REF) to explicitly assess the impact of research on the economy and society

Leicester Institute of Legal Practice

Learner Trends

• Flexibility/Feels like a work environment*• Significant social use of Web 2.0 tools**• Digital divides**:

– haves/have nots;– Acceptors/detractors

• Deficit in information literacy***DMU Student research 2009**Changing Learner Experience (2009)

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Learner Expectations?

• General satisfaction with ICT provision and considerable support for use due to time and space flexibility

• Technology useful for administration and as a repository but Web 2.0 usage remains mainly social

• Analytical use limited

Great Expectations of ICT (2008) Ipsos Mori/JISC

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• Research findings:– Online lectures– Wiki

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Inter-disciplinary teaching strategy

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•Case study

•Kolb’s Experiential Learning (1984)

Inter-disciplinary teaching tools• Building blocks:

– Practical– Minimal statute– Creation– Exploitation– Valuation

• Tasks: advice to colleague, design brief to consultant, stages in a project plan

• Toolkit in preparation by European Patent Office

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Discussion:possible topics

• In your institution or subject area, is inter-disciplinary learning and teaching:– Pedagogically valid– Achievable in a faculty structure?

• If it is achievable, what issues do you foresee in designing materials?

• How does this strategy synchronize with the Higher Ambitions strategy?

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References• Changing Learner Experience (2009) Report of the Committee of

Inquiry http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/documents/heweb2.aspx• Great Expectations (2008) Ipsos/Mori/Jisc

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/documents/greatexpectations.aspx

• Higher Ambitions (2009) http://www.bis.gov.uk• Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning .Prentice-Hall.London.• Postgraduate review (expected 2010)

http://www.bis.gov.uk/postgraduate-review• Roach,J. and Soetendorp, R. (2008) IP in the engineering

syllabus.HEA

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