1. Facilitating Soft Skill Excellence in STEM subjects Leads to Outstanding Achievements
Richard J Self
Research Fellow, Big Data Laboratory
University of Derby
Richard J Self – Big Data Laboratory, University of Derby

2. Richard J Self - University of Derby
The Problem
IBM Bluemix
IBM Watson
SAS R
Analytics
Statistics
Self learning
Learning by research
Learning by doing
Analytics Challenges
Finding data
Finding “How to”
Richard J Self - University of Derby

3. Does Attendance Matter?
Richard J Self - University of Derby

4. Does Attendance Matter?
Richard J Self - University of Derby

5. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Typical Grade Profile
Richard J Self - University of Derby

6. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Typical Grade Profile
Richard J Self - University of Derby

7. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Philosophy
“Education is not filling (leaky) buckets but lighting fires (of enthusiasm)” (Plutarch, modified)
Guided Learning
No formal software teaching
Provide access to software, manuals, training materials, CBT tests
Provide big challenges
Students as co-producers
Richard J Self - University of Derby

8. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Key Factors (1)
Contact time
Mentor and guide
Skills and learning process
Big Challenges
Autonomy, motivation, confidence
Research based
Negotiate topic
Robust rubrics
Guide to task and performance
No re-normalisation
Richard J Self - University of Derby

9. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Key Factors (2)
Soft Skills development
Significant part of assessment
Real world rationale
Employability based
Simulate business tasks
Co-Producers
Publications
Students do my research
Richard J Self - University of Derby

10. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Student Reflections
“Your approach to teaching is nothing short of refreshing; not only is it inspiring but also encourages creativity and novel thinking (an important aspect of education that I often find is overlooked)”
“This approach to teaching enables me to easily become motivated, but what’s more, I now feel like I am making a genuine impact in the field”
Richard J Self - University of Derby

11. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Student Reflections
“The assignments that Richard sets are very broad with room for interpretation. The broadness of the question allows students to make the assignment their own; taking the topic and running with it”
“Something that I value a lot is that finding novel ideas for our assignments is constantly encouraged”
“This leads to a grand spectrum of findings, with the best assignments getting the opportunity to be published”
Richard J Self - University of Derby

12. Richard J Self - University of Derby
Student Reflections
“Richard reviews and gives us formative feedback on our assignments allowing us to improve not only our assignments but also our understanding of the topic at hand”
Richard J Self - University of Derby

13. Thoughts and Questions
Use of Contact time
Teaching “Questions”
Learning by Research
Meeting students where they are
“Robust” assessment criteria
Formative feedback
Learning Analytics for confirmation
Richard J Self - University of Derby