Hearing the student voice : promoting and encouraging the effective use of the student voice to enhance professional development in learning, teaching and assessment within higher education

This is an ESCalate development project led by Fiona Campbell of Napier University that was completed in 2007. The Hearing the Student Voice project aimed to promote and encourage the use of the student voice to enhance the effectiveness of academic professional development and ultimately the learning experience of students. Students can have a powerful impact on academic professional development aimed at enhancing learning, teaching and assessment practice. By providing qualitative insights about the nature of their learning experience, students can bring both valid and valuable viewpoints and motivate staff who are engaged by the students' perspective and often admire their perspicacity. This report records the progress and achievements of the Hearing the Student Voice project, funded by ESCalate to promote and encourage the use of the student voice to enhance the effectiveness of academic professional development in learning, teaching and assessment practice and ultimately the learning experience of students. The report has been written by the team representing the four universities who collaborated on the projec

Student experiences of two small group learning-teaching formats: Seminar and fishbowl

Abstract Introduction As teaching strategies, the seminar and fishbowl approaches promote active learning and shift the focus from the teacher to the learner. The aim of this study was to compare the self-reported perceptions of each student-centred teaching technique amongst a group of dental students as well as resultant quiz scores after each teaching technique. Material and Methods During the first semester of 2017, all year-3 (N = 88) Semiology and year-5 (N = 71) Oral Surgery students participated in weekly seminars in which teams of students from both cohorts were given an actual clinical case to study; a diagnosis and treatment plan would be rendered, and an oral case presentation would be presented to the rest of the class. In the second semester, the same students tried to solve similar clinical cases using the fishbowl training format. A course coordinator provided final feedback, and the session culminated with a quiz. Students were invited to provide quantitative and qualitative perceptions whilst quiz scores obtained during seminar and fishbowl teaching formats were compared. Results and Discussion A total of 97 (61%) seminar and 92 (58%) fishbowl students provided insights regarding these teaching techniques. Both cohorts believed the fishbowl format allowed them to be actively involved. However, only year-3 students gave the fishbowl format a significantly higher score than the seminar format, considering it an attractive format that allowed them to learn. In contrast, year-5 students believed the seminars met their expectations better than the fishbowl format. Interesting clinical cases as well as the final round of feedback were qualitative themes reported by both cohorts. The mean seminar and fishbowl quiz scores were statistically significant different for year-3 students (

Service-Learning Practice in Upper Division Geoscience Courses: Bridging Undergraduate Learning, Teaching, and Research

This article describes the use of service-learning practice in geoscience courses taught at the University of Connecticut. The stated objectives for instituting this practice are: to foster student interest in earth sciences through community service; to enhance university outreach through interactions with communities; to enhance students' learning ability by applying course knowledge to real-world problems; and to encourage the student-centered learning process and team-work as cooperative learning. Favorable responses from both students and local community leaders show that service-learning is an effective way to improve geological undergraduate learning. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Student Retention and Learning, Current Research and Practice: Fourth Annual Graduate Student Conference, 4 June, 2013

Proceedings and abstracts of the 4th. annual graduate student conference, 4 June, 2013 held in DIT, Aungier Street, Dublin

Getting Your Research Published, from Student to School: Third Annual Graduate Student Conference, 12 June, 2012

Proceedings and abstracts of the 3rd. annual graduate student conference held in DIT, Aungier Street, 12 June, 2012

Doing More with Less, Making Research Informed Decisions about your Teaching:Fifth Annual Graduate Student Conference

Proceedings and abstracts of the 5th. annual graduate student conference, 17 June, 2014, in DIT, Aungier Street, Dublin

Measuring the impact of higher education libraries: the LIRG/SCONUL Impact Implementation Initiative

The Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) and the Society of College, National, and University Libraries (SCONUL) are working together on a joint initiative looking at the impact of higher education libraries on learning, teaching, and research. Twenty-two libraries have been involved in assessing the impact of particular services or new innovations in their institutions. This article considers why measuring impact is important, describes the background to the Impact Initiative and what led to it being set up, identifies the institutions that are involved and their chosen topics, outlines what is involved for the participating institutions, and reviews progress to date