Experiences supporting Open University apprenticeship students: A case study Focus is on the OU’s Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Apprenticeship Soraya Kouadri Mostéfaoui (TT284 Chair) Christine Gardner (Staff Tutor, TMXY130 Chair)

Rationale This research seeks to address the fundamental question as to whether Degree Apprenticeship students in England and Wales, and Graduate Apprenticeship students in Scotland, need a different support strategy  by identifying current issues that they may face during their apprenticeship journey.

Programme – Computing & Communications (England) The programme lasts 4 to 4.5 years Explain about the types of modules: DA-specific e.g. TMXY130 OU general modules, mixed groups for 18D e.g. TM112 WBL modules e.g. TXY122, adapted for the DA programme. There is a three way relationship – OU, employer and student. Employers set entry requirements (e.g. A Level), and allocate 20% of apprentice time for study. Practice Tutor – Helps apprentices to integrate learning into the workplace across the entire programme and supports the delivery of all of the work-based learning modules and the final work-based project. Apprentices and their line managers will have face-to-face or virtual meetings with their practice tutor at least four times per year. Academic Tutors – Subject-matter experts who facilitate learning within each of the knowledge modules, through personalised tuition, support and feedback. Scotland students study an additional module each year. Wales similar to England, one module different in Y4 Practice Tutor Academic Tutors

Academic model for the OU apprenticeship Programme

Research questions Apprentice tuition support Support from subject-specific tutors Support from practice tutors Apprentice employer support How the OU can/should work alongside employers to improve support Apprentice assessment Work-based assessment (relevant to the students’ work place) The project will investigate the issues on supporting DA students. Our case study will be the level 1 module TMX130. Both the students’ and the tutors’ perspectives will be considered, issues will be identified and good practices noted. This work will inform production of new modules and the tuition strategies of other DA modules. It will also feed into potential new eSTEeM projects and pave the way for new eSTEeM project on DA students’ experiences at Level2.

Students’ Perspective Online survey (17/18 -18/19 start) – low response rate 12 students 75% have never studied online or at distance; 81.5% satisfied with the support from module tutors; 87.5% satisfied with the support from the practice tutors; 94% satisfied with the support from their employers for their DA studies 87.5% satisfied with the support from the Open University

Students’ Perspective 87.5% the assessment relates well to the module content of TMXY130 87.5% the assessment relates well to the module content of TXY122 69% TXY122 ‘Career development and employability’ is relevant to their current job role 87.5% TMXY130 ‘Computing Technologies’ is relevant to their current job role

Student perspectives…module feedback (17/18) Student experience data for module TMXY130 ‘Computing Technologies’ was mainly positive overall with very good overall pass rate. I wasn’t as keen on the maths modules and often found the materials didn’t explain some of functions very well, perhaps more examples would be useful. Really interesting stuff.

Student perspectives…module feedback (18/19) Again mainly positive , with very good overall pass rate. Very interesting module in which I have learnt a lot!. I felt that some of the maths information was not well explained in the material and I had to rely on the community to work it out together. But maybe that was the point? The amount of tutorials for this module far outweighed that of about module and I feel my results and marks reflect that.

Tutor perspectives…practice tutors Student/tutor difficulties: Getting study time off from employer (government guidelines can be misleading) Difficulties with possible deferral Compiling an eportfolio – difficulties with OneFile Assignment dates can clash with other commitments Recording made, 6 participants Can be difficult for Practice Tutors to see whole student picture

Tutor perspectives…module tutor Some key points from TMXY130 debriefing: Students generally higher standard and more motivated than previous modules. Lots of questions from students early on. Not much use of forums. Interesting because more technical than previous modules Recording made, 2 participants, TMXY130 Needed to emphasise need for workings and presentation for some . Better retention.

Summary Apprentice tuition support Apprentice employer support Support from subject-specific tutors is very good according to student feedback. Students are very motivated. Apprentice employer support How the OU can/should work alongside employers to improve support can be gained via feedback from practice tutors, gives a wider overview of apprentice experiences. Apprentice assessment Some assessment methods are more relevant than others.

Next steps Conduct further research via surveys and interviews, with both students and tutors. Initial cohort was very small. Inclusion of Welsh and Scottish apprentices, alongside English apprentices, in the research. Compare national perspectives. Consider ideas around assessment relating more closely to the workplace.

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