Evaluating with Students Workshop Why Evaluate: a widening participation symposium 27th November 2017 Evaluating with Students Workshop Caroline Heaton Sheffield Hallam University C.L.Heaton@shu.ac.uk http://blogs.shu.ac.uk/steer Jane de Vekey Students’ Union at Bournemouth University jdevekey@bournemouth.ac.uk https://www.subu.org.uk/insight-policy

Evaluating with students: definition? Consultation or partnership? Where is the balance of power? Who decides what to evaluate, how to evaluate, who gets involved, and what the questions are? What sort of tone do we want to set? Is formal or informal best for genuine dialogue? What tools do we use - e.g. meetings, forums, discussion, surveys, online chat?... Is there a limit to what students can evaluate? How do we sample? And who does the sampling? What access can / should students have to institutional data?

Evaluating with students: examples

Evaluating with students: examples Appreciative Inquiry Define… what you're evaluating Discover… the best things about it Dream… of how it could be even better Design… your new vision Deliver… your vision, and evaluate it Free parking for issues you can't address

Evaluating with students: examples Student interviews conducted by Student Researchers (findings shared with staff) "I think quite a few things have affected my learning experience, sort of the feeling of isolation mainly. I think that I could have done a lot better, like a considerable amount not just a little bit, if I felt more included and also if I felt valued because not being valued starts to make you not value yourself." Students would sometimes rather speak to fellow students than staff.

Evaluating with students: examples Digital stories told by individual students - personal stories which can make a big point. Listening project - dialogue between students about what matters to them - choose from a selection of topics. Gogglebox - student-observed, filmed dialogue

Evaluating with students: examples Photo diaries & interviews “I think some students don’t particularly want to illustrate it to everybody that they are a carer and I think it’s really, really difficult because some people feel very very much that it’s private it’s personal and they don’t really want it out there for everybody to know…” Research involved: Identifying sample population (8 participants) Photodiaries – daily photos over 1 month Photo-elicited biographical narrative interviews Participatory workshop Semi-structured interviews with members of staff

Evaluating with students: examples Informal, semi-structured group discussions Used with specific student groups, for example: First in Family students Student Carers Black and Minority Ethnic students Initial contact via a generally-advertised drop-in session, with participants coming from that group. Interviews facilitated a group discussion around how well-supported students are, what’s working well and what could be improved for them.

Evaluating with students: examples My Voice, My Story: participatory photographic and story technique (photovoice) where students research their own lives through taking photos and narrating their stories:

Evaluating with students: examples Institution-wide questionnaire to explore students’ experiences, part of a wider 3-year research project with a web toolkit: Identify any patterns to the student experience based on widening participation characteristics.

Evaluating with students: Your turn Share examples of your experience of evaluating with students - your challenges / successes Share your ideas for new activities Choose one idea to work on as a fully-planned evaluation project

Evaluating with students Rationale Aim and objectives Actions Outputs Participation Experience Benefits / outcomes Impact Evaluating with students

Rationale What, and why? Aim and objectives Aspiration? Targets along the way? Actions What will you actually do? Outputs Tangible evidence of action? Participation and stakeholders Who's directly involved? Who has an interest? Experience What happens to participants? What's that like? Risks? Benefits / outcomes Immediate consequences? How will things improve? Impact Longer term, how will the situation have changed?

Evaluating with students: and finally... Share your idea Your take-away actions (postcard) Email address list for further information