Participatory Action Research: Effect of Emphasising Graduate Attributes on Work-Placement Reflection

This project aimed to investigate what the effect of activities to promote awareness of graduate attributes development introduced during 2014/15 would be on the quality of reflection displayed in student pharmacy technicians’ workplacement blogs. The project was undertaken in response to a deficit in critical reflection shown in earlier years. The work-placement blogs from 2013/14 were used as a comparison for this study. The theoretical perspective included a constructivist ontological position and an interpretivist epistemological position. The methodology was participatory action research involving the Pharmacy Technician students as co-researchers. The cycles of action and research aligned to three research objectives, namely student knowledge development about graduate attributes, prioritisation of graduate attributes for the pharmacy technician programme based on stakeholder input, and analysis of reflective writing through coding of work-placement blog assessments using NVivo. The findings revealed that the students’ baseline knowledge and confidence in general about graduate attributes was initially quite low, however the activities to develop their knowledge were successful. Following an online survey of pharmacy stakeholders a set of graduate attributes was prioritised. Based on these a range of activities was identified for the students to complete, and included a bespoke ethical debate and online self-evaluations. The influence of the participatory action research activities on the quality of student reflective writing in their work-placement blogs was determined through analysis of the coded data. This found clear evidence that the incidences of reflection on graduate attributes had increased compared to the previous year. Furthermore, data queries also showed that the explicit articulation of graduate attributes was directly linked to higher order critical reflection. The study has been successful in demonstrating that work-placement reflection can be expanded and improved through highlighting graduate attributes, and this approach would be readily transferable to other programmes involving work-placement. However, research indicates that a more holistic programme wide approach to graduate attributes development and assessment is required. This will further allow students to better articulate and evidence their skills and consequently improve their employability. Introduction of an ePortfolio to document student development should be considered in future curriculum review. Likewise, the integration and quality assurance of career management and civic engagement in the curriculum would be valuable. The role of support services within such a curriculum, along with resource implications, could be considered at Institute level

Food Analysis Module Descriptor with SDGs Embedded

This OER is a Food Analysis module descriptor that has been reviewed to embed sustainability learning outcomes, activities, and reading material. This is an output from the IMPACT project Sustainable-Food-Curriculum CoCreate. It includes learning outcomes related to green chemical analysis, and impact of climate change on food analysis

Putting the Student in Charge: Adding Value to the Food Chemistry Laboratory Through Student Generated Experiments, Integration of Transferable Skills and Peer and Audio Feedback

This paper describes the implementation of an alternative laboratory practical for a group of third year BSc Nutraceuticals students. The main objectives were to prepare students for the more independent final year research project; to incorporate innovative approaches to feedback; and to integrate key employability skills into the curriculum. These were achieved through building the skills required to ultimately allow students working in groups to research, design and run a laboratory for their class. The project involved innovative approaches to feedback, including weekly feedback sessions, report checklists and audio feedback podcasts. The feedback has been particularly well received, and there is evidence that it will be reusable and will ‘feed-forward’ to other modules. The author, and the students in general, believe the group are more prepared for final year research projects and work placement owing to the redesign of the laboratory assessment

Technology Enhancement for Quality Assurance and Management of Tailored Industry Work Placements

This practice-sharing paper describes the development of an effective process to address various challenges to implementing quality driven, administratively sustainable and pedagogically appropriate work-placement, particularly where career options are broad and appropriate industry opportunities diverse, such that success involves tailoring to be mutually beneficial to all stakeholders. Effectiveness leveraged technology, firstly to manage the complex process of placing individuals in an appropriate role within a suitable organisation; secondly to quality assure the learning outcomes in diverse industry-based learning environments; and thirdly to enhance assessment and feedback of core competencies and graduate attributes. Whilst transferable across various sectors and technology solutions, the context involved food industry placements, and use of Google Apps and blog tool in the Blackboard VLE. Technology has improve the management of the work-placement process, from generating ample high-quality and relevant opportunities, increasing productivity through better communication whilst simultaneously guaranteeing quality by collaboration for defining suitable learning activities, and the creation of individualised placement Learning Agreements. Meanwhile, online blog assessments support students\u27 reflection on learning and foster a community of learning amongst peers. This paper aims to provide guidance to those involved in engagement at the interface between industry and the university for similar work-based learning

DIT-Larkin Community College Tutoring Project

Over a 10 week period DIT 1st. year Pharmacy Technician students tutor Larkin Community College Students in Leaving Certificate Biology.https://arrow.tudublin.ie/civpostbk/1024/thumbnail.jp

Improved Levels of Critical Reflection in Pharmacy Technician Student Work-Placement Assessments Through Emphasising Graduate Attributes

This study investigated the effect of activities to promote awareness of specific prioritised graduate attributes on the quality of reflection displayed in work-placement reflective blog assessments for Pharmacy-technician students. Previous related research showed an increased tendency to frame placement experiences in terms of graduate attributes when they are made more explicit in the curriculum. Now, a thematic analysis of reflective writing from control and research groups, using a priori codes of ‘reflection’ and ‘graduate attributes’ explored the impact on the depth of critical reflection, and its relationship to explicit discussion of graduate attributes. The findings show an improvement in the quality of reflection, with significantly higher levels of critical reflection in the research group (37%), compared to the control group (20%), and lower levels of the non-reflective categories of thinking such as thoughtful action. Furthermore, in 62% of research group cases, there is overlap between critical reflection references and explicit graduate attributes references. Overall, the quality of reflective writing has improved through framing experiences in terms both of graduate attributes, as well as core theoretical knowledge, leading to increased focus on personal development and consequences for future action

Improved levels of critical reflection in Pharmacy Technician student work-placement assessments through emphasising graduate attributes

This study investigated the effect of activities to promote awareness of specific prioritised graduate attributes on the quality of reflection displayed in work-placement reflective blog assessments for Pharmacy-technician students. Previous related research showed an increased tendency to frame placement experiences in terms of graduate attributes when they are made more explicit in the curriculum. Now, a thematic analysis of reflective writing from control and research groups, using a priori codes of ‘reflection’ and ‘graduate attributes’ explored the impact on the depth of critical reflection, and its relationship to explicit discussion of graduate attributes. The findings show an improvement in the quality of reflection, with significantly higher levels of critical reflection in the research group (37%), compared to the control group (20%), and lower levels of the non-reflective categories of thinking such as thoughtful action. Furthermore, in 62% of research group cases, there is overlap between critical reflection references and explicit graduate attributes references. Overall, the quality of reflective writing has improved through framing experiences in terms both of graduate attributes, as well as core theoretical knowledge, leading to increased focus on personal development and consequences for future action

Peer Teaching: Taking the Recipe out of Food Analytical Chemistry

This presentation describes the implementation over several years of an alternative to ‘recipe-style’ laboratory practicals for a group of penultimate third year students studying applied chemistry as part of a four year BSc Nutraceuticals degree. The main objectives of the laboratory re-design are to better prepare students for the more independent final year research project which takes place in fourth year, and to integrate key employability skills into the curriculum. The approach retains many of the ‘tried and tested’ food chemistry experiments, but involves using a group peer-teaching methodology which aims to add value to the experience for the students. The anticipated added value includes: improving research skills through trouble-shooting and optimising experiments; academic writing skills through preparing teaching resources; oral communication and presentation skills through peer-teaching; and employability skills through group organising and planning. Student evaluation, focussing on a cohort of students’ perceptions of preparedness for final year projects and placements after the chemistry practicals in third year, and re-visiting the cohort following their final year projects and work placement, will be presented. Finally, the approach has seen several iterations, some of which were due to personal reflection and student feedback, and some enforced through increased class sizes and reduced class contact hours for practicals. The presentation will highlight how various technologies were successfully utilised to overcome some of the barriers to retaining the pedagogy, and consider how resource issues impact on student learning. For the benefit of practitioners, assessment and feedback mechanisms will be discussed. Furthermore, insights into food analysis will be apparent, which may be of interest to those teaching general chemistry courses as a means to add context to chemistry practical work