Transition management in a large law school: a module-based solution
Download as PPT, PDF1 like868 views
The document discusses challenges students face when transitioning to university study and proposes a module-based solution. Many students come unprepared for aspects like using feedback to improve future work, managing deadlines independently, and developing academic skills. The proposed solution involves revising an existing first-year module to focus on these skills through interactive large-group sessions, student progress files, and content addressing both academic and professional development. This aims to better prepare students for university expectations and address preconceptions around the necessary effort.
Transition management in a large law school: a module-based solution
- 1. TRANSITION MANAGEMENT IN A LARGE LAW SCHOOL – A MODULE BASED SOLUTION JO BOYLAN-KEMP and JOHN HODGSON
- 2. THE BACKGROUND TRANSITION AS A ‘SOCIAL’ RITE OF PASSAGE CHANGES TO ‘A’ AND ‘AS’ LEVELS DIVERSE INTAKE ‘NON-TRADITIONAL’ INTERNATIONAL MATURE DIFFERENT STROKES
- 3. WHAT THEY COME WITH FEEDBACK IS ON THE WORK IN HAND
- 4. Submitting drafts 90% of students were able to submit drafts
- 5. Use of feedback Feedback is predominantly instructional, not developmental Feedback is used primarily to improve the piece of writing in hand No conception of taking it forward to the next piece of work At odds with the HE system “ You used feedback if it was on a draft but otherwise you didn’t because it was about one piece of work” ‘ They would write down what needed changing and then they would talk it through with you too.’ “ In all honesty, they virtually wrote it for you”
- 6. WHAT THEY COME WITH FEEDBACK IS ON THE WORK IN HAND MANY OTHER ‘FALSE FRIENDS’ CONTACT WITH TUTORS GUIDED NOTE-TAKING OWNERSHIP OF DEADLINES CONCEPTS AND USE OF FEEDBACK THESE DIFFERENCES NEED ACKNOWLEDGING AND ADDRESSING BY STAFF TEACHING FIRST YEAR STUDENTS Material from ‘What’s a Journal?’ Foster, Bell, Salzano http://www.ntu.ac.uk/CASQ/about/current_work/index.html
- 7. Learning environment Small groups Average class size 20 (range 6 - 58) Staff easy to contact 89% of students found it easy to talk to tutors outside class time Mobile numbers and email addresses widely available ‘ There was a good relationship between students and tutors; they were more like friends’ ‘ Really easy. We could even contact them late at night’
- 8. Deadlines Coping with time management 38% of respondents stated that they had struggled with their academic workload in FE Tutors helped by creating ‘false’ deadlines Broke up tasks for the students so that longer assignments had lots of stages Responsibility owned by teachers not students Reminded students of deadlines ‘ It was due to my own time management skills’’ ‘ They would break up deadlines for you, e.g. introduction by this date etc.’ ‘ Teachers helped you keep track of everything’
- 9. HOW TO RESPOND NTU IS PART OF THE LEARNHIGHER CETL: http://learnhigher.hope.ac.uk/ NTU HAS VERY WELL DEVELOPED INSTITUTIONAL INDUCTION PRACTICES INDUCTION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH ‘GETTING THEM FROM THERE TO HERE’
- 10. THE WHOLE OF THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE PRE-ENROLMENT ACTIVITIES – SERIOUSLY UNDERDEVELOPED WELCOME WEEK
- 11. BUT SERIOUSLY INDUCTION IS OVERLOADED LOTS OF ‘WORTHY BUT BORING’ BOILERPLATE GETTING TO GRIPS WITH UNI LIFE
- 12. THE FIRST YEAR A LEARNING OUTCOME SOLUTION STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: DEPLOY AN APPROPRIATE RANGE OF SKILLS, TECHNIQUES AND SCHOLARLY PRACTICE TO EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS THEIR ASSESSMENT TASKS; AND OPERATE EFFECTIVELY AS INDIVIDUAL INDEPENDENT LEARNERS AND IN GROUP LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES.
- 13. PRE-CONCEPTIONS & MISCONCEPTIONS STAFF EXTRA WORK, EXTRA TIME, EXTRA EFFORT….. NO POINT. STUDENTS EXTRA WORK, EXTRA TIME, EXTRA EFFORT….. NO POINT.
- 14. SO HOW..? JUST FOR STARTERS: PRE-INDUCTION – ONLINE FORUM (THINK FACEBOOK, THINK BEBO, THINK AS THE STUDENTS DO) INDUCTION – FOCUS ON THE INTERESTING BITS WHILST NOT FORGETTING THE IMPORTANT POINTS
- 15. SO HOW..? THE DELIVERY: REVISION OF AN EXISTING MODULE LARGE GROUP SESSIONS INTERACTIVE, INFORMATIVE AND INTERESTING STUDENT PROGRESS FILES
- 16. SO HOW..? THE CONTENT: ACADEMIC SKILLS – LECTURES, NOTE-TAKING, REFERENCING, CITATIONS, WRITING, RESEARCH, CONNECTIONS, FEEDBACK, INDEPENDENCE…. PROFESSIONAL (AND PERSONAL) SKILLS – CV’S, CAREERS, PLACEMENTS, FINANCE, ORGANISATION, INDEPENDENCE….
- 17. THE ‘PROBLEMS’ (AND SOLUTIONS) STUDENT ENGAGMENT STAFF ENGAGEMENT ACCOMMODATION TIME