­

Episode 4: Scholarship for science teaching

Posted on by Sarah Watson — No Comments ↓
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Learning-Matters-Podcast-1024x1024.png

The Learning Matters Podcast captures insights into, experiences of, and conversations around education at the University of Sussex. The podcast is hotsed by Prof Wendy Garnham and Dr Heather Taylor. It runs monthly, and each month is centred around a particular theme. The theme of our forth episode is ‘scholarship for science teaching’, and we will hear from Prof. Zahid Pranjol (Professor of Biomedical Science) and Dr. Luis Ponce Cuspinera (Senior Lecturer in Engineering) as they discuss teaching and scholarship in the sciences.

Recording

Listen to the recording of Episode 4.

Transcript

Wendy Garnham

Welcome to the Learning Matters podcast from the University of Sussex, where we capture insights, experiences, and conversations around education at our institution and beyond. Our theme for this episode is scholarship for science teaching. And our guests today are Professor Zahid Pranjol from Life Sciences and Dr Luis Ponce Cuspinera from Engineering and Informatics. Our names are Wendy Garnham and Heather Taylor, and we are your presenters today. Welcome, everyone.

Heather Taylor 0:42

Right then. So, Zahid, can you tell us a little bit about the context of your scholarship?

Zahid Pranjol

So my teaching is based on student centered learning. And in my teaching, which I do on anatomy and some of the human physiology areas such as the cardiovascular system and others, I really try to bring in an Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) element to my to that and, it’s student centered so it’s all done through co-creation, through a lot of active learning. So in terms of my teaching it’s my scholarship, they’re quite intertwined, and it’s based on the philosophy that I want our students to be involved. Teach them global perspectives and co-creation and all of that.

Heather Taylor 1:40

So then same question to you Luis.

Luis Ponce Cuspinera

So I teach 2nd year students in electrical and electronics engineering. Most of the subjects that I teach have been traditional living, kind of, very theoretical, and I try to do more hands on activities, and I get the students to use simulation and more addressing the problems kind of like the way they will as engineers in the real world. So that is the things that I try to bring into the classroom.

So the students still get theoretical knowledge but they do spend quite a few hours, doing hands on activities and simulating engineering problems.

Wendy Garnham 2:15

So given that context what issues do you see as being particularly pressing in science teaching?

Zahid Pranjol

So a major challenge, if you’re talking about EDI teaching and inclusivity, one of the major challenges we have today is what we teach and how we teach it. So for example, eurocentric curriculum. I think a lot of our materials are based on what’s been done in Europe, and the knowledge that stems from Europe and not the knowledge that we have in other parts of the world.

So the challenge is how do we bring that into our curriculum, and how do we get our staff and students to engage with that new materials. Well it’s not new materials but the materials that have been hidden away for a long time. And then bring that back to life. So that is the that is the major challenge, and the reason why it’s a challenge, is that, we want our students to graduate and be competent in the context of the global market. They need to learn global perspectives, they need to be able to appreciate the different perspectives of science, they’ll be working with people from different backgrounds, they’ll be working on patients who are from different backgrounds and so I really need them to engage with that knowledge and understanding and appreciate that difference.

Wendy Garnham 3:44

Yeah. I think that that resonates I think across a number of areas of teaching as well. I think that’s a really topical issue. I’m going to pose the same question to you, Luis. What issues would you say are particularly pressing in your field of science teaching?

Luis Ponce Cuspinera

I would like to highlight two. I think that one of them is that, obviously, we have learning and understanding as some of the key elements of teaching and learning. And because of the advances in technology, having information such at hand, having so many tools that can do very advanced stuff, particularly in engineering. I think that to some extent that this disengages the students, you know, and, they tried to do very advanced things because that’s the things that are living in the day to day.

And we try to approach things by teaching the fundamentals because we believe that the understanding of the fundamentals will lead them to do these kind of greater things. So I think that is one of the main challenges that we have with so much information, so many tools that we have available to solve complex problems, how do we get them engaged? And how do we get them to understand the subjects so that these tools become really, really powerful? And the second one that I want to highlight is that, normally when we’re thinking about engineering, we are thinking solving problems.

And I think that is embedded from very early days, solving problems. And I think that we don’t always focus or emphasize the problem formulation. And I think that is another element that we’re missing. A lot of our students, and I think that probably all the students, all the engineering students around the world, they get a problem and they want to find the solution rather than trying to formulate the problem, really understand what is the thing that they have at hand and how to tackle it or how to address it. So I think that these are two key things that I tried to solve with my scholarship.

Wendy Garnham 5:33

I’m particularly interested in, that idea of sort of there being so many tools and so many technological advances and that idea of sort of being able to support students in how to use them effectively. I think that is going to be increasing important.

Heather Taylor 5:51

So, Zahid, can you give us an idea of what scholarship projects you are or have been working on?

Zahid Pranjol 5:59

So in Life Sciences, the main project that I’ve been doing since 2020 is integrating decolonised and inclusive content into our curriculars. And we’ve done that through our EDI committee as well as a lot of work with students. So for example, we created this race equity action plan, and part of that action plan we had several themes and one of the theme was teaching and learning. So part of that theme, and also these themes are created through collaborative work with students, so co-creation again. But one of the things we wanted to highlight is to teach a variety of cultural and scientific traditions within our curriculum.

For example we teach about DNA, the history of DNA discovery. And we always talk about Watson and Crick, but nobody mentions Rosalind, so there is this sort of hidden agenda almost that it was a male centric discovery when actually it wasn’t. So we highlight these things and we also highlight discoveries of vaccine, you know it wasn’t done by Jenner, it was actually done by a slave from Africa, who was brought to America and he saved a lot of lives. And so these are all historical scientific discoveries that are not taught to our students and that they need to know the true history of science.

So what we’ve done is in all subjects, in all courses, we have a module dedicated to teach students about the true history of science, different ethical aspects of clinical trials that went wrong and really appreciate that these things were not correct. So the knowledge that we have today, some of it may have stemmed from that part. However we don’t eliminate Eurocentric knowledge. That’s not the point of decolonising the curriculum. What the issue is that you know what we want to do, what we’re going to achieve is integrate and include more of these different works done by ethnic minority scientists, female scientists, and bring them from all around the world and show how it works differently.

So and on a practical point of view what we did, so these are obviously theories we implement them, embed them in our curriculum, But also when it comes to teaching we do two things. One, we have a lot of case studies, case study based group work. And these case studies are not just plain simple patient case study you know, Mister Watson or Mister James had this cardiac arrest. We actually bring in the ethnic side of things.

So we try to introduce somebody who’s from an Indian background or maybe African background. And so we bring in this diversity and that shows genetic diversity but also precision medicine which is where you have the treatment that is not the same for all. There are different treatments for different people for the same disease. So we highlight these things and also we talk about personal experience and experience that exists within communities. So an ethnic minority person who is pregnant might have a different experience than somebody who’s from, lets say, a local Caucasian background. So we tend to highlight these with case studies and stories.

And the second thing we are about to do is called global class rooms. So we are inviting groups of students from India, to join a couple of our courses online at live hybrid seminars, so that students can engage knowledge of the local initiatives and local perspectives and things that happen locally. For example malaria, we teach them about malaria. Yeah great it’s textbook stuff but really we want to hear from students from southern India and Africa. Tell us how they deal with malaria, what are the access to healthcare issues, you know there are barriers to access to healthcare, there are barriers to, there are cultural elements as well. So you bring those into the classroom for our students to actually see the world with a different lens that you know what, the things are very different out there and that’s what you want to achieve in the end and this is a couple of things we’ve been doing in in the School of Life Sciences. We’ve had some successes but we continue to push for more.

Wendy Garnham 10:28

Sounds amazing. Really opens their mind to the global picture rather than just the, as you say, just the textbook knowledge.

Heather Taylor 10:40

I think as well it’s just great that we’re told as teachers to, you know, decolonise the curriculum, sometimes it’s not that straightforward how you do it. I’ve done projects myself with students doing co-creation stuff, and evaluation of modules, related to that.

But, you know, the idea that you’ve got some really, really practical things, practical steps to take. So, Luis, can you give us an idea of what scholarship project you are or have been working on as well, please?

Luis Ponce Cuspinera 11:16

Yeah. So one of the main things I try to do with my students in electrical engineering is that I deliver the theory a little bit, kind of like in the normal context, but then they have a lot of hands on activities that range from doing some experimentation with real electrical machines. So they will do the tests, they will gather data, and they will understand how the theory matches with the experiment. And then I give them multiple scenarios from real engineering problems where they have to do simulations using tools such as MATLAB, and then they will be solving these problems. But rather than just solving the problem, like the way we see it in the classroom where you’re given a set of data and you just know how to solve the problem, I asked them, or I pose the question, like, if there are engineers working already, so they have to validate or they have to test something, and they will gather the data from the real world rather than from the classroom.

They do go through a process of learning and struggling, you know, kind of translating the theory into the real world. And, but I also prompt them into the kind of that engineering practice where I say, this is not far from what you will face when you become an engineer and you start working in industry. There are going to be some things that will come very straightforward to you. I know what to do. There are other things that you’re going to struggle a little bit more.

You also need to learn how to self learn, but also be able to ask for help, whether it’s through colleagues or to line managers. So I encourage that they talk to each other. I encourage that they come and ask me questions as if I was their line manager. So give it a go because you don’t want to be the person that is nagging the line manager all the time, but, at the same time, you don’t want to be stuck forever not giving the results to your line manager. And, it tends to work quite well, most of my students do get engaged, and I think that part of the self learning and self development is quite embedded into the way I teach.

And towards the end of the module, they actually design and make a physical implementation of one of the devices that they have to design. So it’s a full process where I take them from, this is how the real world works, this is how we normally operate in the engineering world with using simulations and so on, and now it’s your turn to take from scratch to design something. And they tend to be quite good at that design element, I guess, because they have gone through the learning process at the beginning and in the middle. I think that’s in a nutshell, that’s how I will describe it.

Heather Taylor 13:50

Yes. Brilliant. And I mean, it must be something like you’re saying is valuable if it’s in the real world, and it must be something that like the working world, and it must just be something that they, employers, must be very pleased, I would imagine, about this. I mean, whether they know or not, I don’t know. But, when they get someone who’s come from university into a job, and they’re like, oh, I’ve worked through problems practically, yeah, it’s great.

Wendy Garnham 14:15

Yeah. I was going to say, employability aspect is pretty strong, which brings us to our next question, in fact. So maybe we’ll start with you this time, Luis, in talking about the impact that you think your scholarship will have or that you hope it will have.

Luis Ponce Cuspinera

I think that one of the main things that I have seen already in my students is that they get more engaged in the module, which was a little bit concerning, especially just kind of pandemic, post pandemic, where the engagement was suffering a little bit. And they do learn a lot about their self development and self learning, which is a life skill. So that will help them whatever routes they end up taking, in their lives. So I think that is really, really good. And the fact that they learn how to formulate their problems.

I think that whenever they go to an interview or they’re discussing a potential job or they’re discussing with their managers, the way they’re thinking is slightly different because they’re not just thinking ‘this is how I solve the problem’, but rather ‘this is how I tackled the situation that I have in front of me’. And whether it’s breaking it down, whether it’s just having different approaches, using simulation, running to the lab and doing some testing or designing something, you know, building a prototype. I think that those skills, employability, of course, are very variable for them. So this is one of the main things that I want them to get out of my scholarship.

Wendy Garnham 15:40

I suppose it’s good as well that they have the oversight of the whole process rather than just one sort of problem solving aspect of it, it’s looking at that whole process from how you work through from the initial identifying what the problem is right the way through to the end.

Heather Taylor 15:57

Do you see more confidence in the students, do you think, as a result of them doing it? Maybe it’s too early to tell, you know, from if you’re doing it all within the same year group. But I just wonder if it would give them better confidence entering the workplace?

Luis Ponce Cuspinera

I hope it does. I definitely see them more confident as they go through the semester. And, they do struggle at the beginning, I have to say, because it’s quite unusual. They’re very used to kind of traditional A levels, you know, especially when you are facing already ‘I’m going to do engineering or mathematical sciences’ kind of thing. They are so used to just solving the problems, you know, numerically, that when they have to face the real data, and I give them data sheets, that come from manufacturers and things like that, they start to see that not everything is exactly the way we teach it, but, they can bridge that. And that’s the aim, you know, that they bridge that and they do quite well towards the end of the semester. I think that they gain more value and they have that confidence, and normally, at least from informal experience, I say students that meet me on the following semester, they say how much, they appreciate now the skills that they acquire through that module and how that has helped them in sort of facing the 2nd semester and even their final year.

Heather Taylor 17:25

Oh, amazing. That’s great.

Wendy Garnham 17:28

It’s like the strongest form of active learning, really, isn’t it? Just dropping them in at the deep end with a proposal, I like the sound of that a lot. So I’m going to pose the same question to you, Zahid. In terms of your scholarship, what impact do you think it has had or will have or what do you hope it will have?

Zahid Pranjol 17:48

So the ultimate goal is to have our students learn about holistic science. Science is not just you get in the lab, it’s also about learning the history of science, and knowing that science is a global thing and we want them to be global citizens and global workers. So you know we have a lot of group projects and group work, group activities, and these are majority of them, at least in my modules, and I know that it’s done across the school now as part of the new curriculum which is great, is to teach students, for them to work together on ideas and cases or patients cases that really highlight the global perspective, so how things work differently in another country and how does it work here in the UK, even in the UK how does it work for different communities, you know what is the acceptance rate, why is there a hesitancy in taking COVID vaccine in certain communities, and why is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and treatment different in different communities and why do you see that difference in morbidity and mortality rate.

So the idea is for them to work in real world context. Now have I seen any impact yet? We have a couple of students that came back to me, they graduated last year. And they said actually when they went to the workplace they’re more able to sort of appreciate the differences. And they could quickly pick on that, ‘oh actually this person is from ethnic minority and they have a different result compared to this group of people, so that means, oh actually, yeah, we did learn that there are differences’, so I think that’s what we want to achieve, we want them to appreciate the differences and we do live in a world where as you can see there’s tensions and political tensions globally right? What else, what more can you want at this point, you want your students to learn? How to respect, how to live in peace, how to understand each other’s views and appreciate those differences. So yeah I think that’s the plan, we want them to be holistic scientists or employees who have all the skills. And I think maybe in 5 to 10 years time we’ll see a much bigger impact going forward.

Decolonisation is not just a Sussex thing, it’s happening all across, and especially in science there’s a big push now because you could decolonise. I can’t say it can decolonise easily but you could decolonise subjects like social sciences, but it’s really tough to challenge some of the views that exists in science. How can you challenge a professor who’s so big in their field and tell them ‘actually you know what you should do things differently’. It’s very challenging but we start small and we expand and you make it big and you get people to accept it and engage with it. So for example – I’ll give you one example in Life Sciences. When we first started talking about this decolonising curriculum, the uptake was very low and I was faced with some challenges. You know I faced some challenges. So for example, somebody came to me and said, ‘do you really want me to erase all the reading materials that are written by white scientists?’  And because I can’t do that. I’m like, well, that’s not the point. Just so you know, it’s about including, more diverse materials. And then when I did that actually and he showed it to me, ‘do you think it’s okay?’ I’m like, yeah, sure. It’s great. So it’s all about engaging with them at a micro level to start with and then expand and work with students because they’re the ones who have the voice to make a difference.

So co creation. So that’s the impact I hope to achieve that they will become very employable in the context of this diversity, the globalisation and the real world contexts.

Wendy Garnham 21:58

I suppose the impact there is also for staff as well. It’s just clarifying what it means to have a decolonised curriculum and how to practically go about ensuring that as well because it sounds as though the staff are benefiting as well as the students from this input that you’ve had with the scholarship. So, yeah, it sounds like it’s a double whammy.

Zahid Pranjol 22:19

That’s the plan.

Heather Taylor

In the future as well, I just think that teaching students this now and you’re providing greater representation, but you’re also just giving them really valuable perspectives like you said that they can use practically, and will be important to people practically, but also the problem you were talking about earlier about how the theory and research is very Eurocentric. Well, hopefully, in the future, as a result of this kind of work, it will move away from that and this will be – it’s not a problem that will never go away. It’s an evolving thing as culture changes and so on. But I mean, yeah, the idea that we can more easily access and know about multiple perspectives in the future, I think starts here so you could have a massive impact in the future, you know? Yeah, it’s great.

Zahid, what advice would you give to anyone regarding scholarship in science teaching?

Zahid Pranjol 23:21

I think it’s very important to be open minded. That’s number one advice because scientists we tend to focus on one thing, you know. I can spend my whole life on one protein. Or one antibody and you know, and so I think we need to be open minded.

We need to be open to ideas that are not very ‘sciency’ in my own specialisations. So it could be, you know, educational matters in science. So I think we also need to listen to students, they have lots of great ideas, and you know if you can involve them as well in our work we can really make something big and something different from it. Which is what we’ve seen in our work, that when you involve students they’re fantastic, they have so many great ideas and so yeah and I think that’s what we need as science educators, we need to be more open minded, open to ideas, and especially you’re open to challenges, you know, challenge yourself a little bit. The things you are teaching is great, but what if we did that differently?

What if we change the way we taught and the things we taught. And I think that’s very important and you know, the curiosity comes from our science, but I think we should pass that curiosity a bit more onto how we disseminate knowledge and we are the ones who are influencing all these people, all these young minds. So they need to be more open minded and have a bit more student-centred approach. And I think then you could do different things differently with big impacts hopefully in the future.

Wendy Garnham 25:04

I think sometimes it’s that element of risk taking that we need to be brave and just be prepared to take a little risk with the knowledge it may not always work out exactly as we want, but if you don’t take that risk, you don’t move things forward.

Heather Taylor

Yeah. Definitely.

So same question to you then, Luis. What advice would you give to anyone regarding scholarship in science teaching?

Luis Ponce Cuspinera

There’s not much to add, to be honest, to what Zahid has said. I think he has covered quite a few points that I was thinking, he was mentioning them already. Maybe we’re connected because we’re just sitting next to each other. But, Wendy also mentioned that the sort of being brave, try to explore, and be open with the students, and if the students are involved in the process as well.

I have to say that I probably had it a little bit wrong the first time I thought this way. My students were very, very stressed and everything. Even though I had used some students to try to kind of gauge whether it was suitable or not. I would say that to some extent, I got it wrong.

But I adapted, and I was trying to adapt as I went through. I fixed some things as kind of on the go almost for that first iteration, and then the subsequent situations worked much, much better, and the students were enjoying the benefits or are enjoying the benefits, without an amount of stress, because this is something that I definitely don’t want. And I wanted also to take away the stress that they have from exams. So I got rid of the exam for a reason. So I didn’t want to bring stress levels elsewhere.

So I think that’s, yeah, be brave and be adaptable, you know, adapt as you go. Keep the communication open with your students, especially the first couple of times that you are implementing something new because, you are also learning. Right? Because you are exploring something new.

Heather Taylor 27:06

Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. They’re really nice messages, actually, aren’t they? Open minded, brave, flexible.

Wendy Garnham

Definitely. And I think they’re the sort of skills that employers are looking for anyway. So you’re sort of really feeding into that employability agenda, I guess.

Heather Taylor

Yeah, brilliant.

Wendy Garnham

So, I would like to thank our guests, Zahid and Luis, and thank you, everyone, for listening. Goodbye.

This has been the Learning Matters Podcast from the University of Sussex, created by Sarah Watson, Wendy Garnham, and Heather Taylor, and produced by Simon Overton. For more episodes as well as articles, blogs, case studies, and infographics, please visit The Learning Matters Forum.

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in Podcast

New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies: Measuring and Recording ‘Engagement’

Posted on by Kitty Horne — No Comments ↓

This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit. 

This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project. 

This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to student engagement, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.

‘How could engagement be recorded differently?’

Workshop participant

Challenges

Despite ‘interactivity’ being a buzzword linked to the digital, a lot of loneliness and disconnection was observed by teachers in online contexts, with the teacher feeling like they had to carry the discussions. How do teachers disrupt the likelihood of passivity in online settings?

Participants shared how they learn best, and discussed how various aspects (setting, content, emotions, etc.) affect their engagement levels (Boler, 2015). One opinion was that content and passion affects learning outcomes, alongside if the learning arose internally (from curiosity) or externally (they were told to do so). Space and engagement have a close relation, and people are more likely to be passive in bigger settings such as large meetings, webinars, or lectures.

While these opinions were based on the individual’s ability to learn, clear expectations set by the teacher were a big factor in enabling confidence. For example, clear expectations of interactivity using a chat function or speaking aloud increases engagement in online lectures.

Participants felt that there was a lack of emphasis on the differentiation of each learner. Some learn well reading alone rather than collaborating in classrooms: ‘Sometimes it’s best when I’m left completely alone to investigate and explore.’ This was a heightened difficulty with digital technology, which demands significant adaptation and attention from both teachers and students (Haleem et al., 2022). Therefore, there is a need to recognise these differences and create an environment which is attentive to each students’ needs.

Managing limitations to one’s attention was particularly challenging with online learning, where individuals are overwhelmed with a variety of notifications and content, and their attention tends to be dispersed. Participants agreed that how we learn is dependent on too many cultural/social factors, and although useful for self-reflection, a set learning style cannot be applied all the time. Adapting content and format for a set learning style in a classroom or online setting increased pressure on staff to figure out what works for the majority.

Connection and flexibility

Throughout the workshops, participants came up with two solutions: ways to promote more connection and flexibility; and a call to change the existing mindset about how passivity and engagement is measured and recorded.

One of the participants shared a successful case from their own experience that disrupted the passive student role. ‘I found a huge shift in engagement from students when I shared tasks that I could see happening and students could collaborate on’. Creating online tasks where the teacher can see work happening in real time, or where students can collaborate together, is usually one of the best ways to promote interactivity in online spaces. Traditional learning formats should be challenged; lectures could be more dynamic and interactive, rather than a passive space where students sit and listen.

Instead of creating a set learning style for each individual, it is best to be flexible and create opportunities and choices for students and teachers to figure out what works for them in different contexts and situations.

Measuring Engagement

Participants identified a difference between passive and active engagement, with teachers noting that when students didn’t seem to engage actively, teachers didn’t feel seen. The notion of active engagement should be problematised for ignoring that of more passive learners.

A more welcoming mode of measuring and recording engagement should be created, assessed in a more human way, with one to ones or small group meetings, rather than focusing on current engagement data as the only appropriate mode of engagement. Three approaches to measuring engagement that could work in tandem:

  • Data collection: statistics such as attendance, library data and grades.
  • Self reflection: give the space for students to self reflect on their research journey based on the data collected as well as their personal experiences.
  • Human intervention: create a space of support to keep students on track. Statistics can have a negative impact on students, and they need a place of contact and adaptable support.

Questions and Resources

  • How is your students’ attention and engagement impacted by their use of digital technologies? 
  • Can you collaborate with students when setting expectations and intentions of certain spaces and invite them to share experiences of their engagement (anonymously, in one to ones, small groups)?
  • How is engagement measured and recorded in your teaching and learning setting? 
  • How is your teaching and learning setting supportive to those who might be passive rather than active engagers?

Read the full toolkit:

Digital Pedagogies ToolkitDownload

References

Boler, M., (2015) ‘Feminist Politics of Emotions and Critical Digital Pedagogies’ PMLA, Vol. 130, No. 5, Special Topic: Emotions (October 2015), pp. 1489-1496.

Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Qadri, M.A. and Suman, R. (2022). ‘Understanding the role of digital technologies in education: A review.’ Sustainable Operations and Computers, 3(3), pp. 275–285.

Tagged with: ,
Posted in Blog

Decolonising the Curriculum

Posted on by Kitty Horne

Tobey Ahamed-Barke is a student on the Contemporary History MA course. He is entering his second year as a Race Equity Advocate for Media, Arts and Humanities, a role which involves advocating for students of colour at Sussex and working with staff and students to reduce the awarding gap and improve the experience of students of colour. 

The Race Equity Advocate (REA) project began in 2020 to help close the significant awarding gap between students of colour and white students at Sussex. As of 2022-23, the awarding gap between black home students and white home students at Sussex is 25.8%, meaning that black home students are 25.8% less likely to receive a good degree (First or 2:1) than their white home student peers, even when entry levels are considered. This gap is higher than the sector, which sits at 22.4% (2022/23). 

Students who work as REAs develop projects with the Students’ Union and staff at the University to help improve the experience of students of colour. As an REA for Media, Arts and Humanities (MAH), I have spent the past year working with fellow REA Abby Keyla and SU Equity and Inclusion Coordinator Arham Farid on a range of projects towards this goal. This has included representation and advocacy roles, such as involvement in the MAH Student Forum and meetings with senior leadership. We also focused on improving the understanding of race equity and the awarding gap at Sussex by recording a podcast about liberation with students and SU staff (soon to be published). However, the issues that students of colour face are structural and embedded within University pedagogy, and we believe that non-inclusive teaching practices adversely impact the experience and success of students of colour, so one of our central projects focused on curriculum redesign and ‘decolonising the curriculum’. 

We spent the Spring semester running a ‘decolonise the curriculum’ pilot study with the History department. This focused on the first-year History BA Making of the Modern World module, with great help from then-module convenor Professor Jim Endersby. Four students of colour who had completed the module were recruited for five hours of paid work, in which they reflected on the module and provided feedback in two meetings. The participants discussed what decolonisation meant to them, how the module could be decolonised, and how the History course could be decolonised more broadly too. Abby and I wrote these findings up into a report, linked below, which outlines the key findings of the pilot study and their implications for decolonising the curriculum. These findings show best practice that tutors can take up to facilitate inclusive, decolonised teaching. 

Recommendations from the Decolonise the Curriculum Study  

Content Warnings and Distressing Content 

Participants appreciated when tutors used content warnings at the start of lectures and seminars for ‘difficult’ and offensive language, like outdated and derogatory terminology, as well as for distressing imagery, such as photographs of violence. They concurred with their tutors’ decisions not to vocalise offensive language and felt that distressing imagery is better suited to seminars, where it can be discussed and unpacked collectively, rather than being displayed in lectures. 

For further guidance, please see the University’s guidance on teaching sensitive subjects.

Inclusive Module Content and Structure 

To avoid Eurocentrism and the othering of Global South topics and people of colour, the participants felt that there should be more regionally and culturally diverse content throughout modules, rather than Global South topics being ‘tacked on’ at the end of lectures or in the final weeks of modules. These topics must be examined with equal analytical rigour as white, Western topics and must be approached as self-sufficient, not always discussed in reference to the West. They should also not just focus on Global South elites and elite culture, but more grassroots approaches where possible. 

Readings 

The participants felt that essential readings are still dominated by white, male authors. Essential readings should have more diverse authorships, not only from academics of colour/from the Global South, but also non-academics with lived experiences of the topics. Participants appreciated when other forms of media were used as ‘essential readings’, such as videos, photos, and blogs, as this can de-privilege elite forms within modules and improve the diversity of cultures and topics being represented. 

Staff diversity 

There needs to be more efforts to increase the racial diversity of staff in the History department and at Sussex. The participants explained that the lived experiences of tutors of colour facilitate the introduction of decolonial perspectives into the curriculum and affects the diversity of topics taught during the degree, as well as providing representation and avenues of aspiration for students of colour, so improved diversity needs to be prioritised at Sussex. 

Next Steps 

The REAs highly recommend that tutors integrate these findings into their modules wherever possible. Improving the diversity of module content can improve the inclusivity of modules, while handling distressing content sensitively can avoid the alienation of students of colour. While staff diversity is not an issue tutors can as readily address themselves, it is important that departments, faculty, and the senior management of the University prioritise hiring staff of colour and break down the barriers that prevent students of colour from continuing to further study and careers in academia. 

There still needs to be more work done on how specific courses and modules can be decolonised. Different courses have different needs, and some of our findings are far from unanimous – for instance, there are differing opinions on the benefits of content warnings. For this reason, the REAs have proposed a Connector Project that would look at modules across MAH undergraduate courses. Like the pilot study, this would enable students of colour to give feedback on how the curriculum should be decolonised. Any work on decolonising the curriculum should also feed into guidelines on module design and approval, while tutors’ efforts to decolonise their own modules should be built into their Planning of Annual Workload (PAW) hours. 

It is the responsibility of all staff to decolonise their teaching and help address the awarding gap. Many staff are already doing their bit to decolonise the curriculum and make Sussex a more inclusive space, but progress is slow and the awarding gap is persistent. Decolonisation therefore needs to be made a crucial part of Sussex’s central strategy through active implementation of decolonial pedagogy and inclusive teaching practices, to address the structural barriers that work against students of colour. 

Get in Touch 

I will be continuing as an REA for this coming academic year. If you have any questions or would like to contribute to work around decolonising the curriculum, please get in touch at tobey.a@sussexstudent.com. 

Resources

Read the Media, Arts and Humanities Race Equity Advocate End of Term Report.

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in Blog

New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies: Accessibility and Culture

Posted on by Kitty Horne — No Comments ↓

This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit. 

This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project.

This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to accessibility and culture, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.

‘We forget that we are actually dealing with people.’

Workshop participant

Challenges

Participants shared that groups from certain backgrounds, contexts or countries may be more susceptible to surveillance, especially racialised groups, and may be subject to further marginalisation as a result. Considering the context from which students originate is a useful way to safeguard students. One participant shared that, instead of creating safe spaces, they talk to their students about creating ‘accountable’ spaces, in which people are invited to share freely but can be challenged for the things they say that might harm others.

Making online sessions accessible was discussed, both from the perspective of including those with financial issues (who may struggle to access a laptop or have problems with reliable Wi-Fi connection) and those who are neurodivergent, disabled or have a mental health condition. Students should ideally be involved in any modifications to ensure specific adjustments are beneficial for the student, but the time implications of managing multiple, sometimes conflicting, needs and complicated technological interventions can be overwhelming for staff.

The intersection of disability and racial politics coincides in the use of attendance records: the home office usually sets attendance as a condition of international students’ visas and attendance records are typically lower for disabled and neurodivergent students, which typically leads to further intervention from the university. Although this data gathering can be useful for staff to reach out to students to offer further support, these structures of oversight can have the opposite effect for students who can feel policed and ashamed for their low attendance (Macfarlane, 2013).

Proposals

A key component of teaching involves caring for students, which is often an unpaid and underappreciated part of supporting students, made particularly challenging during the Covid-19 pandemic (Gray, 2022). Some participants noted that it is useful to consider small details in a student’s day, such as how they travelled to campus, to discuss how even the journey to the classroom (how far students travel, the disruptions to the flow of their day, how hungry they might be) locates how they are able to learn. It is important to humanise these day-to-day practices in the classroom, to check in and connect with students to build community amongst students and teachers. These tend to be lost in both synchronous and asynchronous digital learning environments, but this does not need to be the case.

Questions and Resources

  • How might students’ needs be better assessed? 
  • How can content/format/structure be modified to support disabled students? 
  • How can this be managed at an institutional level to remove the burden from teaching staff? 
  • Which (racialised, non-UK) students are more likely to be surveilled by university structures? 
  • How can surveillance practices be shared with students?

Read the full toolkit:

Digital Pedagogies ToolkitDownload

References

Gray, B., (2022) ‘The University Cannot Love You: Gendered Labour, Burnout and the Covid-19 Pivot to Digital’ in G. Veletsianos & S. Koseoglu, (Eds.) Feminist Critical Digital Pedagogy: An Open Book, EdTech Books.

Macfarlane, B., (2013) ‘The Surveillance of Learning: A Critical Analysis of University Attendance Policies’, Higher Education Quarterly, Volume 67: Issue4, October, pp. 358-373

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in Blog

New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies: Teaching Format

Posted on by Kitty Horne — No Comments ↓

This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit. 

This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project. 

This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to format of teaching, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.

‘What does the digital or a platform offer specifically?’

Workshop participant

Participants reflected upon the difficulties and possibilities produced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Expectations were to migrate in-person teaching to online settings, with limited provisions or training on how to do so. This meant that the experiences of both those teaching and learning in online settings was particularly challenging, with limited acknowledgement of the difficulties of getting to grips with new technologies and the stresses of living through a pandemic, along with the unknown distinctions and possibilities that online learning could offer in comparison with in-person.

Pros of online learning

  • The need driven by Covid-19 meant people were able to explore technological solutions in ways that were previously unimaginable.
  • Online learning means that people can take part from all over the world.
  • Only the space in front of the camera needs to be presentable!
  • There is a comforting sense of anonymity if you want to engage more passively with the camera and mic off.
  • At the same time, being able to see people’s names online helps teachers to keep track of who is talking in a way that is more difficult in person.
  • Historically, teaching was written like textbooks. Online tools allow the creation of non-linear, differentiated journeys to (re)think how teaching takes place.

Cons of online learning

  • Participants discussed the difficulties of meeting students’ needs with online learning, with students indicating they prefer an in-class or in-person ‘presence’.
  • Online videos produced by teachers can feel like a textbook for some students.
  • Those who teach online expressed the difficulties of being unable to see or hear students with cameras and mics off, with a lost sense of atmosphere.
  • It is more difficult to maintain students’ attention or gauge engagement on Zoom.
  • In Zoom, only one person can talk at a time which can sometimes mean people talking over each other, affecting the confidence of speakers.
  • Chats with neighbours during small or large group sessions to check understandings – what one participant called ‘liminal spaces’ – are missing.

Questions and Resources

  • What is distinct that can be done in-person and what can be done online? 
  • How might you share reflections with students around how/why the space is being used? 
  • How can clear expectations be set on how the online space of teaching should be navigated and can this be co-created and adjusted if necessary?

Read the full toolkit:

Digital Pedagogies ToolkitDownload
Tagged with:
Posted in Blog

New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies: Student Agency

Posted on by Kitty Horne — No Comments ↓

This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit. 

This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project. 

This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to student agency, as well as some questions for reflective practice and resources to explore these ideas further.

‘Students don’t have any autonomy in their learning journey.’

Workshop participant

Challenges in Student Agency

When considering digital pedagogies, the role of the student in the classroom is vital: how might students be more critical or involved in their learning and education? Participants noted a certain amount of passivity in students. This passivity was not necessarily in terms of engagement or class participation, but rather something that arose from the structure and content of student’s education, which is often entirely reliant on the teacher. The student is usually only assessed through quantitative data, such as attendance and grades. Yet it was pointed out that this method of recording data does not actually reflect students’ own academic and personal journey at university. The quantitative data produced primarily serves the needs of the university and the teacher as opposed to the student.

Proposals for Student Agency

Participants suggested a range of solutions to re-engage students and encourage them to reclaim agency in their education. Participants felt it was important to place students in an active role, where they would be able to take agency in recording their own learning journey (Gibson et al., 2016). A digital model was suggested as a space where students could explore their learning journey. Students could:

  • Write week to week academic reflections about what they have learnt or struggled with.
  • Upload a selection of their favourite work or readings, and then reflect and self-report on these.
  • Have access to their own metrical data, for example how many readings they have downloaded and how many seminars they have attended. Students would be able to see their different engagements and narrativise these experiences.
  • Access their learning journey without institutional or teacher oversight. It was debated if this could be marked, with suggestions that it could be built into part of a contributory grade.

Participants raised concerns that this kind of student learning journey tool might be difficult in some ways for students. Looking at data that confirms low attendance or submission rates can further isolate and demotivate students. Therefore, this kind of tool needs to be promoted alongside confirmation that it is okay to make mistakes or not meet expectations, as part of a broader process of community building. This kind of community building might look like autonomous chat groups in student cohorts, as they provide spaces for students to talk freely.

Questions and Resources

  • What role does the teacher play in sessions? How much space do they take up? 
  • What role does the student play in sessions? How much space are they invited to take up? 
  • How could students be more empowered to take ownership over their learning journey?

Read the full toolkit:

Digital Pedagogies ToolkitDownload

References

Gibson, D., Coleman, K. and Irving, L., (2016) ‘Learning Journeys in Higher Education: Designing Digital Pathways Badges for Learning, Motivation and Assessment’ In D. Ifenthaler, Foundation of Digital Badges and Micro-Credentials: Demonstrating and Recognizing Knowledge and Competencies, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, pp. 115-138.

Tagged with:
Posted in Blog

Insights from the Sussex Education Festival, 2024

Posted on by Sarah Watson — No Comments ↓
Sasha Roseneil (Vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex) opening the Sussex Education Festival, 2024

In July this year, 90 colleagues from across the University came together to share their experiences and insights into teaching, learning and assessment at Sussex. Over two days, both online and in person, the Education Festival covered a whole range of topics, from gamification and using social media to build learning communities, to developing student evaluative judgement and the impacts of generative AI.  

The University’s Vice Chancellor, Sasha Roseneil, opened the festival by celebrating the work of teaching colleagues, the growing impact of the Education and Innovation Fund projects, and the increased support for Advance HE Fellowships here at Sussex.  

The task of summarising all the exchanges we enjoyed during the festival is a difficult one: we saw over thirty different talks, sessions and workshops across the two days. The programme is a helpful starting point, as all the slides and resources we have permission to share are linked there (for Sussex colleagues). Alongside several Learning Matters case studies and blogs from our speakers to be published in the coming months, this blog highlights three key themes we saw emerging across the two days.  

1. Student belonging  

Belonging is recognised as crucial to student success, but equally hard to define and quantify (Robertson et al., 2019). A students’ sense of belonging at university can impact their entire experience, including their chances of completing their course and their results, and was, unsurprisingly, the focus of many speakers at the festival. Fiona Clements (Law, Politics and Sociology) presented her work on the ‘Humans of Sussex Law School,’ a post-pandemic project on Instagram which aims to build connection and belonging between students and staff. The project has seen great engagement, with one student commenting that it makes Law feel ‘more like a family’. In the Q+A, participants discussed the difficult balance between wanting to build a strong community and expanding the project wider across the faculty.   

Several talks focused on initiatives to build student belonging across the university, all of which emphasised the importance of co-creation and student voice. Chloe Dobson (Library) and Elena Sargent (Student Connector) also found social media important for promoting their work on well-being spaces in the Library. Joanna Little (Project Manager) and Eleanor Ferguson (Library) highlighted the challenges Sussex students can face trying to find accessible and welcoming study spaces, whilst Emily Danvers (Education and Social Work) focused on student needs in their own study spaces.  

Other speakers focused on removing barriers to belonging for specific groups of students. Gavin Mensah-Coker (Media, Arts and Humanities) shared insights from his ongoing research into the experience of BAME students with learning differences and the impacts of these intersections on student retention and success. Sarah Watson (Educational Enhancement) and Simon Overton (Educational Enhancement) discussed their Education and Innovation Funded project, which collaborated with international students to provide resource and recommendation for supporting belonging for our international student cohorts at the University. Sophie Anns (Psychology) shared valuable recommendations for supporting autistic students at university. Lastly, Namse Peter Udosen (Education and Social Work) engaged participants in a reflective creative writing exercise, asking us to explore our own cultural heritage to demonstrate his work on decolonising literacy development. 

Gavin Mensah-Coker: Supporting Students of Colour with Specific Learning Differences

2. Scaffolding student learning 

Several of our speakers covered the importance of carefully structuring students’ learning across their modules and courses. Scaffolding was raised in several sessions, including Jon Powell’s (Engineering and Informatics) lightning talk on developing student understanding of marking criteria. Discussions during the Q+A covered the tensions between providing enough support early on in course, whilst trying not to restrict students’ creativity and personal expression.  

Jo Wilson (Law, Politics and Sociology) raised questions for us to consider with optionality in assessment, and the difficult balancing act of providing students with enough formative experience of innovative assessments to sufficiently build their assessment literacy when confronted with choice. This issue was also picked up by Gillian Emerson (Education and Social Work) and Hayley Preston-Smith (Education and Social Work) who shared the activity cards they have developed to help their first year PGCE students identify, situate and discuss key educational theorists. We discussed how the cards could scaffold students’ information literacy, as well as their confidence.     

The constraints of our predominantly modularised approach to assessment were raised several times in the context of scaffolding. The new Curriculum Principles as part of Curriculum Reimagined prioritise a course approach to student learning and assessment mapping, so these discussions will be important in the coming years.  

3. Developing student’s evaluative judgement 

Developing students’ self-reflection skills was another running theme of talks, particularly in the context of generative AI. Verona Ní Drisceoil (Law, Politics and Sociology) provided a deep dive into the scholarship of developing student evaluative judgement and her learnings from scaffolding student self-reflection in her module. Both Verona and Jon Powell noted that students can be hesitant to engage with self-reflection, and discussed how reframing to evaluative judgement and the development of essential skills can help.  

Recent Sussex graduates Max Baylis and Aaron Fowler (University of Sussex Business School) also covered evaluative judgement, highlighting its critical importance for students as we navigate a new generative AI landscape. Together, they demonstrated some of the sophisticated ways students are co-writing assignments with generative AI. In response, they suggested turning Bloom’s Taxonomy on its head, and prioritising the development of higher order thinking skills in the first year. On a similar theme, Angela Gao (University of Sussex Business School), explored the implications of AI for how we write learning outcomes and for the role of the lecturer to one which focuses less on content, and more on students. 

In response to the growing interest in embedding student reflection into the curriculum, we have developed further guidance on our webpage. Many of our speakers will also be following up with blogs and case studies to share their experiences and insights- watch this space!  

If you’d like to help out with the organisation of the Festival next year, or have ideas for its development in future years, please get in touch with Charlie Crouch: c.h.crouch@sussex.ac.uk  

Tagged with: , , , , ,
Posted in Blog

New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies: Teacher Practice

Posted on by Kitty Horne — No Comments ↓

This blog is part of a series on ‘New Proposals for Digital Pedagogies’ that launches the Sussex Digital Pedagogies Toolkit. 

This toolkit conceptualises new ways to think through digital teaching and learning, gathering data from members of the University of Sussex community who shared their thoughts, fears and hopes about digital pedagogy. This toolkit has been created collaboratively by a staff-student research team and uses material from a series of online workshops with members of the Sussex community, including faculty, professional services and students. Those who took part will be introduced as ‘participants’ to emphasise their active participation in knowledge production for this project.

In order to gain a mutually understood definition of digital pedagogy, we asked participants to choose their preferred definition. Surprisingly, all participants agreed on one definition of digital pedagogy: 

A technique for working and learning with technologies, generating new, flexible, rich, quality learning experiences. 

(Dangwal & Srivastava, 2016)

The importance of digital pedagogies lies in creating innovative digital learning frameworks and enhancing teachers’ digital competencies to provide interactive and meaningful learning experiences. This post will explore the challenges and proposals for teaching and learning with technologies in relation to teacher practice, as well as some questions for reflection and resources to explore these ideas further.

Teachers should have ‘that magical blend of humility and authority.’

Workshop participant

Challenges in Teacher Practice

Discussions amongst participants took place on the role of a teacher as a ‘facilitator’ or ‘curator’ to de-emphasise any hierarchical position over learners as passive recipients of knowledge (Friere, 1970; Castrillo, 2014). Some participants, however, reflected that ‘not all teachers are made equal’ in which a teacher’s humanness is not automatically assumed, with evidence suggesting that students see white men as having more authority (hooks, 1994). Participants note that those who teach critical race studies or gender studies are those most likely to receive complaints from students. The pressures of working in Higher Education (HE) were shared, with people feeling they didn’t have time to reflect upon their teaching practice or explore the possibilities of new technologies.

Participants shared that, when learning about something, a teacher who is interested in their subject gets them ‘excited’ and ‘passionate’ and makes them want to learn. Building more personal relationships with students by sharing their background or experiences was generally preferred (Henry and Thorsen, 2018), although some felt like teachers could have ‘main character syndrome’ if they showed off, made excuses for being unprepared or shared things that went off-topic! It is a difficult balancing act between a teacher taking up too much space and not taking up enough, especially in online distance learning (ODL) contexts where students share a desire for more teaching presence. Generally, participants shared a preference for a more personal touch and connection to their teacher in online and in-person contexts.

Proposals for Teacher Practice

It was important for participants that teachers be flexible and recognise when learners are struggling to keep up and adapt accordingly. Teachers were commended for being able to frame learning in-relation, both to real-world scenarios and to the learning objectives and assessments. A teacher being knowledgeable but ‘confident to say when they don’t know the answer to a question’ breeds trust and reflects human fallibility.

Knowing and demonstrating how learners are assessed using digital technology was highlighted as promoting transparency in the expectations of the course and the kinds of support that the teacher will provide. Giving appropriate, supportive feedback – either verbally or via digital means – at regular intervals against the learning objectives was recognised as very important. Participants discussed making assessments more personal and creative to think outside the box of conventional ways of teaching and assessing.

Questions and Resources

  • How might you share personal experiences, and passion for the topic? 
  • How could you reflect upon digital pedagogical practice with other teachers and students? 
  • How can you set – and reassess – boundaries and expectations? 
  • How might you embed flexibility?

Read the full toolkit:

Digital Pedagogies ToolkitDownload

References

Castrillo de Larreta-Azelain, M. D., (2014). ‘Language teaching in MOOCs: The integral role of the instructor’ in E. Martín-Monje, & E. Bárcena, (Eds.), Language MOOCs. Providing Learning, Transcending Boundaries, Berlin: De Gruyter Open, pp. 67-90.

Dangwal, K. L., & Srivastava, S., (2016). ‘Emotional maturity of internet users’ Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(1), pp. 6–11. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2016.040102.

Friere, P., (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, London and New York: Continuum.

Henry, A. and Thorsen, C., (2018) ‘Teachers’ self-disclosures and influences on students’ motivation: A relational perspective’, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1441261.

hooks, b., (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, Oxon: Routledge.

Tagged with:
Posted in Blog

Making group work inclusive

Posted on by Sarah Watson — No Comments ↓

Sussex hosts a large group of international students and group work is an excellent way of sharing ideas and experiences from different parts of the world. Successful group work enhances the already rich academic material and facilitates a more holistic understanding.

Student quote from the focus group: Supporting the International Student Experience at Sussex and Beyond 2024 

What is inclusive group work

Inclusive group work is designed by a tutor in a course or specific module with ground rules that ensure inclusivity and equality. A carefully designed work plan for a group ensures the inclusion of students who may otherwise be on the periphery of the learning community, perhaps because their characteristics are different from the mainstream cohort.

Group work can be called inclusive when everyone is part of the conversation and can contribute to the output. An inclusive group is designed to ensure that language differences, cultural differences, and learning differences are not barriers to participation. To make group work inclusive, the teacher may need to develop the students’ ability to perceive differences within the group positively and approach any barriers that arise from these differences with an open-minded, reflective, and problem-solving approach. This blog post provides guidance on making group work inclusive. It was co-created by colleagues from Educational Enhancement and the University of Sussex postgraduate students who took part in the project: Supporting the International Student Experience at Sussex and Beyond.

The University of Sussex students who collaborated on the project: Supporting the International Student Experience at Sussex and Beyond.  

Why is inclusive group work important? 

The University of Sussex has a diverse student population, and group work is an excellent way of sharing different ideas and experiences. Inclusive group work promotes an environment of collaboration, rather than competition, in which students engage with the work process together. Additionally, inclusive group work develops valuable skills such as organization, leadership, cooperation, delegation, effective communication, confidence, and cultural understanding. These skills are hugely beneficial for students when they graduate from university, supporting their future endeavors, whether in employability or social situations. Working effectively in diverse groups can be challenging and rarely happens automatically. To avoid cultural segregation in class and to get students truly collaborating with one another, group work needs to be structured by the tutor. Our guidance and resource below will support you in structuring inclusive group work.

How to facilitate inclusive group work

Inclusive group work involves active participation from all members, clear communication, and a collaborative effort to achieve shared goals. Each member should feel included and valued, contributing their unique perspectives and skills.  

Please note that if there is a summative assessment related to this group work, then you may also wish to read the University’s guidance on group work for assessments. 

These six steps will help you facilitate inclusive group work: 

  1. Assign students to groups to avoid segregation within the class. Please see setting up groups for further information.  
  1. Establish group etiquette to help ensure your groups have a healthy dynamic. This etiquette can be co-created with your students. But you may want to use this etiquette guidance as a starting point.  
  1. Set an agenda for each meeting to help maintain focus and productivity within the group. We have created an agenda template that you can give to your students for each meeting. Feel free to adapt the template according to your preferences. 
  1. Allocate roles for each meeting. To help meetings run smoothly, each meeting should have a chair and a notetaker. The chair will keep the meetings running to time, maintain a focus on goals, ensure all participants can contribute, and summarise the output for the meeting. 
  1. Check your groups are inclusive. This inclusivity checklist is a list of factors for you to consider when setting up your study groups. 
  1. Speak to your students about establishing and maintaining inclusive groups. Alongside the information you provide about group etiquette, you will also need to speak to your students about how they can ensure their group dynamics remain inclusive. The following information supports students with maintaining inclusivity within their groups.  

Supporting literature 

Boyd, T., Harz, D. and Besche, H. (2024) “The role of inclusion in collaborative learning,” Medical Science Educator, 34(4), pp. 909–913. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-024-02045-5. 

Oprandi, P. (2018) “5 ways to make groupwork work in your teaching,” Educational Enhancement, 30th October [blog]. Available at: https://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/tel/2018/10/30/5-ways-to-make-groupwork-work-in-your-teaching/ (Accessed: 18/08/2024). 

University of Reading. Making the Most of Group Work. Available at: https://sites.reading.ac.uk/curriculum-framework/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Making-the-most-of-group-work-A-guide-for-staff-2022.pdf (Accessed: 18/08/2024). 

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in Blog

Clarifying assessment expectations for inclusivity

Posted on by Sarah Watson — No Comments ↓

Different countries have different ways of doing assessments and it makes a lot of difference to have the academic expectations outlined by the convenors at the beginning of the course or module, so that students can approach their studies accordingly. When students understand what is expected of them in their assessments, they can focus their efforts on mastering those specific skills. Clear expectations reduce uncertainty and anxiety, allowing students to prepare more effectively. A good understanding of expectations enables students to begin assessments from the appropriate starting point and continue in the correct direction. 

Student quote from the focus group: Supporting the International Student Experience at Sussex and Beyond 2024 

Introduction

The assessments we set for our students are often ones that we are familiar with because they are embedded within our disciplinary practice, of which we are experts. This familiarity can cause us to overlook parts of the assessment that may be confusing or challenging for students. We may forget to be explicit in our assessment instructions because, to us, the assessment process is so obvious. As the quote above highlights, students who are unfamiliar with the UK higher education system won’t necessarily understand the academic processes or expectations required to succeed in their assessments, resulting in anxiety and potentially poor outcomes. It is therefore a matter of inclusivity that our assessment expectations are as transparent as possible. This blog post provides guidance on enhancing the transparency of your assessment expectations. It was co-created by colleagues from Educational Enhancement and two University of Sussex postgraduate students, Tarun Kachhwaha (Sustainable Finance and Accounting) and Serra Ciftci (Engineering Business Management).  

Serra
MSc Engineering Business Management

Tarun
MSc Sustainable Finance and Accounting

Listen to Tarun and Serra explain why clear assessment expectations are important.  

Transcript

Tarun: Coming to a different place and being unknown to how you are going to be judged marked. You always have that unknown fear of flunking, unknown fear of scoring less. Because you come with a very good grade – that’s why you have been accepted into the university. The pressure to keep up on the same grade induces that fear, anxiety that what different should I do? Because this is a different examination pattern? What different should I do to live up to that expectation? So. Uh, the clarity in terms of how you are going to be assessed is foremost very important.

Serra (0:40): Your graduation note is so important when you’re looking for a job. So we all want us to want to have higher grades, graduating with higher grades. And as I said, in this university, I am in a very little gap. I’m always having the same grades. There were assessments that I really worked hard and I was taking the same grade, and there were assessments that I really just in a few days. And I had the same grade as well. So to be able to achieve my goals, I need more clarification.

Seven ways to clarify your assessment expectations 

One: Outline the assessment expectations via the assessment brief 

For each assessment, provide an assessment brief that outlines the aims, key components, and criteria of the assessments. This should be discussed in class to ensure all students understand what is expected. The Assignment Brief Design Project has researched and developed guidelines to support staff across the sector in effectively communicating to students what is required and expected of them in assessment. These guidelines are helpful for writing an inclusive assessment brief. Here are some key recommendations for making your assessment brief assessible and inclusive:

  • Each assessment brief should be available on Canvas for easy reference. The assessment brief should include key information such as learning outcomes being measured, marking criteria, referencing style, format, word length/duration, academic integrity, and submission guidelines.
  • The assessment brief should be written clearly. Potentially unfamiliar terms, like ‘analyse’ or ‘critically reflect,’ should be explained.
  • Discuss the assessment brief during one of your lectures or seminars, allowing students to ask questions and seek clarification about areas of confusion. 

Two: Create marking criteria that are clear and streamlined 

Before students start their assessment, they need to understand the marking criteria. This will give them the best chance of doing well. Help students understand the marking criteria by:

  • applying faculty/departmental level marking criteria if available. This provides consistency between modules and makes it easier for students to apply feedback from one assessment to another,
  • outlining what is expected at each grade level. To help students interpret the criteria, you could create a video demonstrating how to evaluate an assessment using the criteria, differentiating between “excellent,” “good,” “satisfactory,” and “needs improvement” submissions. The video can be uploaded to the assessment page on Canvas for easy reference,
  • developing a feedback template/rubric that relates directly to the marking criteria, addressing common areas of strength and areas for improvement. This will ensure consistency in feedback and help students understand where they need to focus their efforts for the next assessment,  
  • making space in a lecture or seminar for students to ask questions and seek clarification about the marking criteria. This can also include activities where students apply the criteria to sample assessments.

Three: Allow students to practice and receive feedback before the final assessment 

Design teaching activities that provide opportunities for students to develop the skills needed for their assessments and give students the chance to undertake practice assessment tasks and receive feedback ahead of the summative assessment. This feedback can come from tutors or peers in class, formative assessments, or progressive summative assessments. 

Four: Break down the assessment task 

Breaking down the assessment task is particularly important for students who are unfamiliar with the type of assessment. It can also be helpful for students with certain learning differences. It is likely that students will need less assessment detail as they become more familiar with the assessment and the associated academic expectations. At the start of the students’ study, we suggest:

  • Outlining the stages of work involved in an assessment task and collaborate with students to establish a timeline for completing each stage. 
  • Providing assessment details that break down the components of the assessment and explain what is to be included in each of the stages. Please see this example of an assessment breakdown , from the University of Sussex Business School. 

Five: Use exemplars 

  • Share high-quality examples of past student work that highlight proper structure and formatting. Annotate these exemplars to point out effective introductions, thesis statements, topic sentences, transitions, and conclusions. Explain why these elements are effective and how they contribute to the overall quality of the work.  
  • Share examples of lower-quality work to illustrate what does not meet the criteria. Explain why these exemplars fall short and how they could be improved. This can include annotated exemplars pointing out specific weaknesses and offering suggestions for improvement. 
  • Provide examples of different types of writing required in your module such as analytical essays, research papers, or reflective journals. Discuss why these examples are effective and how they meet the marking criteria.  
  • With regards to presentations, share exemplary presentation slides with students to set clear expectations for their presentations. Highlight key aspects such as clarity, organisation, design, and content. By providing these examples, students can better understand how to create effective and engaging presentations that meet the assessment requirements. 

See the University policy and guidance for using exemplars.

Six: Clarify the acceptable use of AI tools in assessments 

  • Reinforce the importance of academic integrity, linking to the guidance on Skills Hub. 
  • Clearly state what AI tools can and cannot be used for. For example, specify if AI can be used for grammar checking but not for content generation. Outline the boundaries of acceptable use and provide examples of appropriate and inappropriate uses. See AI permission templates, which you can copy onto your assessment page on Canvas.  

Seven: Communicate what should be avoided in assessments and provide improvement strategies 

  • Highlight common mistakes to help students avoid pitfalls and achieve higher scores. Compile a list of common errors to avoid and provide this to students ahead of the assessment. This list can include issues such as poor thesis statements, lack of evidence, improper citation, and off-topic content. Explain why these mistakes are problematic and how they can negatively impact on the quality of the assessment.
  • Offer strategies for avoiding these mistakes, such as double-checking sources, and proofreading. Provide resources and tools that can help students improve their work. Many excellent resources can be found on Skills Hub.  
This resource was generated from an Education and Innovation Funded project aimed at closing the international awarding gap. To help understand why this gap exists, ten international students participated in a focus group to discuss their experiences at the University. A key theme from the focus group was the importance of understanding assessment expectations and knowing what steps to take to succeed. Drawing on the focus group discussions, the students then worked hard to develop resources aimed at helping you welcome your students to Sussex. They hope you find these resources useful. 
Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in Blog