Contextualising employability & academic skills for Construction and Property students Presentation by Simon Lee Senior Lecturer, FET Tilly Line Senior Careers Consultant, FET Beth Lethaby Subject Support Librarian, FET 20 June 2017

Professional Practice for BE Professionals Background: Level 2 provision Approx. 110 f/t students across 7 programmes Aim to enhance academic and employability skills Incorporates GDP/APT activities Assessment: 10 Portfolio Tasks 2500 word literature review

Professional Practice for BE Professionals Approach: Progressive learning journey Links professional and academic skills Assessments linked to workshops Key Challenge: Engagement

Assessment to support learning journey Portfolios (Component A): Identify company and examine its approach to CSR Visit company at Employers Fair and interview them about CSR Use Careers Toolkit – Submit 4 elements  Submit Careers' Action Plan, Cover Letter & CV Define CSR & identify specific area of interest  Attend Mock Interview & submit reflective report Draft literature review on area of interest Examining research methodologies/methods Tutor Progress Meetings Attendance [Mainly coarse grading (0, 25, 50, 75, 100) - rewarding engagement and content] Coursework (Component B) 2500 word literature review [fine grading] or

Employability/Career Management skills Purpose of the sessions led by the FET Careers Consultancy Team

Session 1: Introduction to professional development Attendance: 73 students = 66% LEARNING AIMS: Students understand the concept of Professional Development Through an introduction to relevant ‘tools’, students feel confident about how to take personal action in relation to professional development Students feel informed about potential paths for professional development through the use of UWE graduate destinations for relevant degree programmes LEARNING GAIN ASSESSED VIA  Paper based questionnaire before and immediately after session

How knowledgeable do you feel about ‘professional development’?

How confident do you feel about planning and carrying out your own professional development?

Session 2: Know Yourself: Establishing your professional starting point Attendance: 88 students = 80% LEARNING AIMS: Students understand and feel confident about exploring their person professional interests, values, strengths & skills Students are able to identify a professional develop goal based on an understanding of themselves in a professional context Students feel they have a knowledge of relevant labour market information in relation to their degree subject – which in turn can inform their professional development goal LEARNING ASSESSED VIA: Paper based questionnaire before and immediately after session Students were required to attend the UWE Meet the Employer Fair and write up one employer’s CSR policy

How knowledgeable do you feel about how to explore your professional work/career interests, values or strengths?

How confident do you feel that you are able to identify a professional work/career goal?

How knowledgeable do you feel about the labour market related to your degree programme?

Session 3: Preparing for the UWE Employer Fair Attendance: 92 students = 82% AIMS Students understand the purpose of the Fair – i.e. to better understanding the opportunities available to them and the employers who want to employ them Students feel confident about how to utilise the fair LEARNING ASSESSED Paper based questionnaire before and immediately after session Students were required to submit the results of three of the following four Careers Assessments completed through the Careers Toolkit Temperament 4.    Motivation at Work Workplace Culture 5.    Personal Resilience

How knowledgeable do you feel about the purpose of the UWE Employer Fair?

How confident do you feel that you will get something useful from the Employer Fair?

Session 4: Know Your Options: What is your current professional profile? Attendance: 55 students = 50% AIMS Students understand whether they are in a position to apply for positions offered by employers They can interpret job descriptions and person specifications They understand recruitment processes Students are confident in their ability to evidence their skills, knowledge, strengths and attributes LEARNING ASSESSED Paper based questionnaire before and immediately after session Students required to submit CV and professional development action plan

How confident do you feel that you can evidence your skills and strengths? There was a shift in the percentage of students who thought attending the fair wold be useful at this point in their degree (purple columns) …and a significant shift in the percentage of students who felt they knew how to best utilise their fair (orange column)

How knowledgeable do you feel about the STAR technique?

How confident do you feel about the STAR technique?

Further engagement of these students in their professional development

Success of partnership working A module leader who consults on what is needed by the cohort being taught – enabling us to tailor content Truly embedded content  Assessment attached to the classroom activity and flipped tasks between workshops Annual review and planning – we also collect data on the teaching methods used

Library Services What we did, how it all fit it and what the students thought of it…

Programmatic view Level 1 – Library Online Workbook plus assessment To get students started with basic information and academic skills that they can use throughout their first year of study. Searching my way – Google and evaluating information Library Search and reading lists Databases and keyword searching Reading and note taking Writing for University  Referencing and plagiarism Level 2 – Professional Practice for Built Environment Professionals To connect academic skills with transferable skills, and prepare students for their Level 3 dissertation.    Reflective Writing The easy way to cite and list your references Exploring the body of knowledge

Reflective writing Identifying examples of reflective writing Reflecting on the mock interview experience Using Gibbs Reflective cycle Being a reflective practitioner 

Feedback

Feedback comments I was not aware of the Gibbs reflective writing process before the session. Knowing and implementing it for PT 6 helping in achieving the grade I received. I feel more confident but that mainly comes from doing the portfolio task - will look to use Gibbs again in future. Breaking down the process of the cycle and reflecting in small groups was effective, as majority of people wasn't too sure.

The easy way to cite and list your references Plagiarism and academic integrity Managing references effectively Referencing tools  Acknowledging the work of others in a real world context 

Feedback

Feedback comments Gave clarity to how to reference quickly and effectively. Great session, very informative. May be useful to have this in first year though. I felt the session ran well although when other classmates got their marks back for a portfolio task around that time, a number of people got pulled up for plagiarism. I think it needs to be made clearer how to avoid plagiarism. The use of RefMe and Write and Cite etc was new to me and something I've begun to use. I wouldn't have known about it without this session and it will be invaluable during my dissertation.

Exploring the body of knowledge Planning a literature review search Planning my writing Identifying critical writing and evaluative language Being an informed and evidence based practitioner 

Feedback

Feedback comments Highlighted the types of data we should seek to resource within our area of expertise. But also looked at peer reviewed writing to improve our scholarship. The search functions and use of key words was really helpful, the delivery was very good as well. It was good to know what makes a good literature review.

How it fits in to the module Research skills, final report and preparing for placement Library workshop: Exploring the body in knowledge Portfolio task 7 set: Draft literature review Library workshop: The easy way to cite and list your references  Library workshop: Reflective writing Interview practice and Portfolio task 6 set: Reflective writing Level 1: Library Online Workbook

NSS scores for Q16 (library question) *students from previous year Feedback from students NSS scores for Q16 (library question)  *students from previous year BSc (Hons) Building Surveying 92 BSc (Hons) Construction Project Management  86 Master of  Planning  100 BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management  BSc (Hons) Real Estate  91 I can see how this module helps with preparation for writing a dissertation, which has been useful to me. (module evaluation)

Success? Positives Working in collaboration with Module Leader and Careers Team Fully embedded within the module Sessions support students to complete assessment tasks  Opportunities to promote Library support available to students Room for improvement More feedback from students Further evaluation of the impact on student learning 

The Modular View Attendance Achievement >65% average weekly attendance Achievement Portfolios – Av 66% Literature Review – Av 51% Module – Av 65%

Activity

Make notes on Post-its/flip chart. Your thoughts Would this model work for YOUR programme? If not, why not? What elements of what we have done could you use? What improvements could you suggest for our approach, based on your experience? Discuss in groups. Make notes on Post-its/flip chart. Feed back key points.

Collaborating with Careers & Library If you would like to discuss how you could embed employability and academic skills in your programme, note your contact details on a post it note. We will pass this to your Faculty Careers Consultant and/or Faculty Librarian who will follow up.