Loughborough University

Q&A Lightning Talk 3 - Dr Kathryn Maskew - Loughborough University

• Is this module core/required for progression?

Students can fail one module per year and are allowed to progress, so not required for progression. They were not doing the 2nd year lab module so did not necessarily need to get a top mark.

• How does having a PhD student helper affect peer learning/bonding?

Definitely a different experience for them than if they were partnered with other students – would love to make them more integrated into the cohort somehow.

• Was a PhD helper necessary in the case you presented? Could the student have chosen a friend to pair up with?

For safety reasons - I think yes. The student had quite a lot of additional needs that I don’t think it would be fair for another student to be responsible for. But I definitely think we could do more to integrate the students with the rest of the cohort in future.

• You mentioned the student didn't always finish - did you consider extending their lab time as an RAdj?

All students with reasonable adjustments containing extra time would get this ET for assessments, but unfortunately, due to timetabling, for a normal none assessed lab class, we couldn’t give ET due to timetabling constraints. Students would often have our lab on a Friday morning and then another module in the afternoon.I think this also adds to the need for a ‘helper’ to support the student, i.e. to help keep the student on track/on time.

• Why not use other students so there is better interaction?

The student had quite a lot of additional needs that I don’t think it would be fair for another student to be responsible for, especially as all the students are quite nervous in their first few weeks of labs! In hindsight, it might have been nice to have two students on the same row as the student and helper so that this row felt more integrated with the rest of the cohort.

• How involved was the student in planning arrangements - was there trial and error?

Fairly involved, at the start of the year there were discussions between student, helper, programme lead, student support and lab staff etc– however, we definitely learnt new things as we went along. I think it would be really useful to have something similar to Dr Sobia Kauser’s MaRILU system where students are involved in creating a risk assessment for themselves. Perhaps we could have key prompt questions that opens up conversation surrounding their needs– expecting a student who has never been in our laboratory environment or done our lab classes before to know how their conditions will affect their H&S is a big ask!

• How many PhD student helpers are usually in the lab?

One PhD helper for the student– and then there are also two members of staff (Technical Tutors/University Teachers) and another PhD student to teach the whole class (class sizes usually up to 48 students).