1. Evaluation 2 Headlines Pass rate and mean marks improve Improved module review ratings Better attendance at seminars Evaluation 2: Module review Questionnaire Module results Student- influenced redesign Focus group study:- Listening to the student voice: The student voice in higher education curriculum design: is there value in listening? A case study What might students’ voices give to the process of curriculum development that teachers in HE cannot provide themselves? If the student voice is to be heard then it is important that value is found in doing so (Seale, 2010). This case study compares the relative effectiveness of a tutor- centred redesign of a module with one more closely aligned to the student voice. Could this provide a sustainable method for developing curricula? Approached from a pragmatic paradigm (Cresswell, 2007), the research aimed to find out how students perceived their learning experiences in a particular module and ‘what worked’ for them. Evaluation 1: -Module results -Staff discussion -Module review -Questionnaire Tutor-led redesign Lectures - Front loaded - Plus exam revision Study pack - Essential information - Background details - Seminar preparation Four seminars -articles and cases -structured sessions -no prep=can’t attend Exam - Choice of 6 questions - Descriptive and problem-based What’s the student voice? ‘Change based on what students say’ Cook-Sather, 2006 Hearing the student voice: Campbell, Beasley, Eland & Rumpus, 2007 Empowerment: Mcleod, 2011 Under-represented: JISC, 2011 What’s the curriculum? ‘a unit of learning’ Dempster, Benfield & Francis, 2012 A product or a process? Fraser & Bosanquet, 2006 Content vs engagement? Bovill,Bulley & Morss, 2011 Evolution from product towards process? Evaluation 1 Headlines Pass rate and mean marks get worse Module review shows dissatisfaction Staff and students don’t see eye-to-eye Questionnaire responses unexpected: ‘the whole thing was confusing and boring’. ‘ When (lecturer) went on about someone selling fruit in Germany, it didn’t really make sense…..’ CONCLUSION There is value in listening to the student voice in Curriculum Development – results, improved learning experience, small collaborative steps can have an impact Why? Re-interpretation of literature, better understanding Sustainable model – time-efficient, straightforward Wider applicability – across modules/courses/institutions WHAT HAPPENED? Students in curriculum design? Benefits students’ motivation, commitment and perception of shared responsibility for learning, Bovill, Cook-Sather & Felten, 2011 Continuum from brief module review to co-creation, Trowler & Trowler, 2010; Bovill, 2013 Barriers? Less control, experience, Bovill, 2013; external regulations, Ritter, 2006 Is there an effective, sustainable middle way? PROBLEMS Lack of engagement - Poor attendance - Bad reputation - Low achievement…… BACKGROUND ‘…..(But when) she started using examples for us, just common examples that we could relate to, then started applying the articles to them, then we understood it’ Simon Brooman Sue Darwent Alex Pimor School of Law