Easing the transition to university- Successful student induction Pauline Fitzgerald, Leeds Metropolitan University

Background Induction consists of: One half day of course info and talk from volunteering etc One full day with course team and personal tutor Three weeks of extra activities on top of formal module teaching Front loaded skills based module

Aims of induction?: the plan Students get to know each other Get to know personal tutor Get to know the course team Find way round campus Get used to lab Expectations of them and us Opportunities while students

Do the students agree? Yes but also added they would like the chance to meet students from other years

Personal tutor groups/ icebreaker Room layout in tables with a complete postcard on each Student enters, takes a small piece of cut up postcard and goes to the table where their postcard is- their tutor group Complete the jigsaw

Get to know each other: icebreakers Lots of other ideas- introduction bingo, logic/ murder mystery puzzles Interview each other- compile book for personal tutor

Getting to know course team/ personal tutor All day induction- allocated and then sit with group All course team take part in the day running different activities

Finding a way round the campus Treasure hunt in teams covering all the areas where they will be taught, as well as catering facilities, library etc We call it a fact finding mission

Lab Lab taster day- several small activities different pieces of equipment 15 min rotation Use of lab coats, safety etc. General lab behaviour before they undertake full practicals

Expectations Course handbook quiz Student charter What we expect from them What they can expect from us

Opportunities Day 1 half day session Includes talks from Leeds Met volunteering, West Yorkshire STEM ambassadors, student reps from other years Careers service

After week 1: Group work Allocate to groups -Belbin questionnaire Working with students they may not have met yet Get them to complete a task We use a lab experiment on enzymes Final product is a poster- peer reviewed

Group work assessment Poster is marked Group has chance to peer review each other so they don’t get the same mark Each student reflects on the group work Worth 5% of module mark

Skills audit Short test containing maths, English and comprehension Marked by personal tutor Meeting with personal tutor to discuss any issues, develop action plan etc Used in end of year reflection

Lots of labs Half day sessions on use of microscopes, spectrophotometers, pipettes

Does it work? Students seem to like it They can find their way to lectures in week 1! They know how to behave in lab They meet students they may not have spoken to before and have more opportunities to make friends Retention during first few weeks reduced

Disadvantages Time consuming, involving all course team -increased students numbers this year meant a quick rethink for personal tutor meetings Late starters find it harder to join in as groups already formed- can be a problem with international students

Next year Plan to involve student reps and Biomedical Society members in the activities to give first years the chance to interact with other years

Evaluation Doubled student cohort this year to 200+ Will have to cut back on some activities Detailed questionnaire for students to find out which bits most important May not be possible to maintain

And finally…. Thank you for listening!