EMPLOYABILITY IN THE CURRICULUM – A NO-FUSS APPROACH Dr Errietta Bissa School of Classics University of Wales Trinity St David

A bit of history… The Classics Employability Project started in 2009/10. The School of Classics in UWTSD has about 210 FTE UGs, and some 20 FTE PGs. We teach Greek and Roman history, culture and literature, as well as Greek and Latin. The idea was to embed employability in the curriculum within existing subject-specific modules, rather than add a bolt-on module.

Aims of the Project 1. Provide students with a set of skills that make them more employable in the long-run. 2. Make these skills part of the curriculum. 3. Preserve (and increase) student satisfaction rates.

Method 1. Identify key skills wanted by employers but not as yet covered in the curriculum 2. Embed these are part of assessment in existing subject-specific modules. 3. Pilot the idea in 2009/ Keep on, if successful, in later years.

Skills and Assessment Skills-training can and is part of modules, often as part of formative assessment: Ex. group work in seminars, presentations in tutorials, reflection over feedback HOWEVER Such skills-related activities are not obvious to employers There is no way for students to show/prove their competence at them if part of formative assessment Often students do not recognise them as part of skills training and thus fail to articulate them in their quest for employment

Main Hurdles 1. Possible effect on student satisfaction 2. Possibility of students not realising that they are becoming more employable 3. Staff workload increase 4. Some staff do not want to consider changing assessments

Assessment Types tried Portfolios – using formative portfolio to inform summative portfolio Reply to scholarly article – to encourage formal discussion and reporting Oral presentation – individual and group Group essay/wiki Reflective reports on group work, presentation (own and peer) Webpage creation Take-home examination (Students received the examination paper at 9.15am and had to return a completed essay of 3000-words by 3pm on the same day. Aim: Recreate work-place pressure to complete assignment within a business day)

Life of Assessment types Assessment TypeHow long did it last?Any Problems? Formative Portfolios1 yearWorkload increased to an unbearable extent Oral Presentations4 years (still going)Availability to external examiner, making arrangements for assessment Group Essay4 years (still going)Students find it difficult Reflective Reports3 years (but expected to return in 2013/4) Explaining requirements of assessment Web-page Creation1 yearLack of administrative support Take-home examination4 years (still going)Some administrative issues in the first year Reply to Scholarly Article3 years (still going)Explaining requirements of assessment

A basic compromise Some, but NOT ALL, modules have assessment types that are not traditional. This keeps both students and staff happy And we keep enhancing important skills, such as formal writing, argument creation, and research methodology. Choice of assessment methods is a responsibility of individual members of staff. So, adoption of the employability-specific assessments is slow, but less onerous to staff

Student Satisfaction in modules with employability-specific assessments

Students’ Recognition of Employability Enhancement 2009/102012/13

Workload considerations Assessment TypeWorkload issues Formative Portfolios100% increase of workload Oral PresentationsTakes longer for moderator Group EssayNone Reflective ReportsNone Web-page CreationSevere problems in supporting students for assessment Take-home examinationNone Reply to Scholarly ArticleNone

Results 1. Student satisfaction remains excellent. 2. Students recognise the importance of acquiring new skills and that these enhance their employability. 3. Some assessment types are too workload-intensive. 4. Employability-specific assessments have been adopted by diverse members of staff, but this cascading can be slow. 5. Staff have become more flexible as to types of assessments used in modules, and types considered for new modules.

Some issues for managers Validation or re-validation of modules due to change of assessments Providing training for staff, particularly new staff, regarding marking and moderating these types of assessments. The first time staff use a different assessment method, there will be some workload increase. It is imperative that administrative support is available for some types of assessment (take-home examination, webpages).

The future We are still trying to find a way to help students with their NUMERACY skills. Considering very carefully providing more take-home exam opportunities Still looking for a more satisfying method of group assessment.

Applicability across subjects Classics is a very traditional subject, like many of the Humanities. Employability is a less prominent feature of student thinking than in more hands-on subjects. Embedding via assessment types has worked. It is essential to identify the skills that are not covered by traditional assessments. There is a limit as to how far one can take this approach – see the issue re numeracy.

THANK YOU Errietta Bissa