Completing Student Tutorials Via Skype (Transforming Spaces/Transforming Technologies)

Jonty Leese

Centre for Professional Education

What: I conducted academic research into using video conferencing for tutorials for PGCE Core and School Direct Students within the CPE at the University of Warwick. This started with critical engagement on the subject, then designing a survey, getting initial student opinions, where they then completed the tutorials and then participants fed back, then analysed the results.

Why: Students were keen to experiment with modern solutions to conducting tutorials – some came in up to 2 hours away for a one hour meeting. They felt that a more “on demand“ service e.g. starting at 8am, or on a different day for tutorials would allow them greater choice as well as allowing the tutor more flexibility over when and where these took place.

Outcome: Overwhelming positive experience for students and tutor. A few technical issues did not derail the project and the overall outcome was one where quality of video, conversation and being able to “share a screen” gave an equally positive outcome. Some students found the process much less “invasive” as they were sitting in their own homes rather than the formal university environment.

Jonty Leese is currently a seconded STF within the Centre for Professional Education on Westwood Campus. He is part of the “Outstanding Team” staff award winners 2016 and has been nominated for the Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence (WATE) 2016. His interests include augmented reality and using technology to simplify our cluttered lives.

Sprint -- Transforming Teaching

Anne Wilson and Rachel Davis

Student Careers and Skills

Warwick female undergraduates are intellectually capable. However, arriving at University they may discover that they are not as academically able as their peers, impacting on their self-confidence. Students may be reluctant to speak up in seminars and to ask for support. They may not apply for jobs they feel are beyond them.

‘Sprint,’ the personal and professional development programme for female undergraduates, aims to address this lack of self-confidence and the financial and career inequalities that exist in the graduate labour market.

By building students’ confidence, self-awareness, assertiveness, time management and their ability to say ‘no’ as well as ‘yes’, students develop their self-belief.

Students are motivated by inspiring role models - senior female managers from sponsoring organisations. Speakers openly share their career stories. Participants learn that career is an iterative process and that learning from mistakes is normal.

Interaction and peer learning are at the heart of the programme. Students practice challenging scenarios in a safe environment. They present initially to peers and ultimately to a panel of senior recruiters, where they reflect on the learning they have gained from the programme and their personal successes. By the final day of the programme, students’ increase in confidence is clear.

Anne Wilson is Head of Careers, managing a team of senior careers consultants who support students centrally and within academic departments. She has a particular interest in gender equality and is a licensed trainer for ‘Sprint’ the female undergraduate development programme. She also co-ordinates the ‘Inspiring Women’ sessions at Warwick, a series of occasional talks by senior staff within the Academy, the Administration, alumni, and others in interesting roles.

Pre-Med Support Programme (PMSP): A New Programme to Aid Medical School Entry (Transforming Teaching)

Philip Young

School of Life Sciences

A large proportion of the Life Science cohorts intend to apply to medical school after graduating. Previously, these applications were supported on an ad hoc basis by student’s individual personal tutors. As there was no central support offered by the Department, the level of advice / support and guidance was not standardised or controlled. As a result ~2-5 Warwick SLS Graduates would gain places each year, which equated to a 4-10% success rate.

Building on a 2014-15 pilot study, in which we helped 6 students gain entry to Warwick Medical School, we have implemented a new 4-tiered support programme. This involves: 1) running application workshops for year 1 students (to introduce the academic standards needed to gain entry); 2) running entrance and aptitude test workshops for year 2 students; 3) holding individual meetings with year 3 students to develop individual application strategies; and 4) running mock interviews for all shortlisted candidates. The success of the PMSP has been objectively reviewed using two separate metrics: 1) the number of students shortlisted for interview (metric for the strategic applications); and 2) the number of students offered places post-interview (metric for interview preparation).