1. ulster.ac.uk Active, Creative and Critical Thinking: Engaging Year 1 Students Groups with Final Year Mentors Offers Enhanced Employability for ALL Staff Partners: (Col) Michaela Black, Martin McKinney, Janet Allison, Adrian Moore (Magee) Heather Sayers, Aiden McCaughey Student Partners: (Final Year) Gerry Burke, Alison Campbell, Alison Gillespie, Tom Neil, Shannon White, (Placement) Chloe Kernohan, (Class Reps) Rebecca Brennan (Y1), Euan Cantley (Y2), Magee Mentors

2. The 2015 Mentoring Team!

3. Set the Scene Learner centred teaching: Gamification Problem Based Learning Strong Group Focus Employability Focused with PDP embedded Feed Forward Assessment Community of Practice – Initially staff and PhD students with shared passion – New format of staff and final year students/PhD students with shared passion

4. Gamification SIX factors contributing to effective engagement in games FUN: engagement is easier if the experience is enjoyable SOCIAL: engagement is reinforced by the social support of others going through the same experience IDENTITY: engagement can be encouraged if everyone has a visible role in the learning environment CHALLENGE: engagement can build on human competitive drive, enhanced by social pressure STRUCTURE: engagement is more likely if objectives and constraints are clear and acceptable FEEDBACK: engagement is reinforced by making achievement explicit and timely

5. Our Aim: Highlight Benefits of Student Partners in Curriculum Enhancement (SPICE) Objectives: 1.SPICE Project: Aim & Model 2.Curriculum Delivery & Development Model 3.Three Keys Areas of Student Engagement & Belonging 4.Benefits to Staff 5.Benefits to Students

6. Aim: Engage Student Partners in creating dynamic opportunities both inside and outside of the class for a student learner centered approach The Project Aim & Model CoP Coaches: PhD Students Coaches: Final year Students Teaching Staff Support Staff Class Reps (Y1/Y2) HEA What Works Project

7. Weekly Delivery Model Lectures Academic Group Lab Classes Academic Support team Coaches Group Tutorial Classes Academic Coaches Support Staff Curriculum Development Model Coach Induction Curriculum Review Meetings – every 2 weeks Academic Coaches Student Feedback Meetings – 3 per semester Academic Coaches Year 1 Reps School Review - SSCC & CC & HEA – 1 per semester Academic Staff HEA What Works Support Staff

8. Student Engagement & Belonging Active Learning with PBL Collaborative Learning with Peer Support Scaffolding Delivery Sequence

9. Active Learning with Problem Based Learning (PBL)

10. Scaffolded Delivery Sequence Concept Thresholds – (Meyer, Land (2003 – 10) Year 1 building blocks – the foundations Series of convexities – S. Rabin (2005) Points of limited choice (A) alternate with points of many choices (B)

11. Student Engagement & Belonging Active Learning with PBL Collaborative Learning with Peer Support Scaffolding Delivery Sequence

12. Curriculum Developments From This Model Whiteboards in ALL tutorial sessions Whiteboard data captured Smaller mini group assignments University example of good practice in student feedback from year 1 reps Android App development for charities Agile Methodology with group projects Very DYNAMIC and REACTIVE as each students needs change

13. Variety of Learning Styles No problem! Varied learning space and resources Reduced tiered lecture time Flat room tutorial – needed an extension – Thanks Gerry! Whiteboards Computing Labs – dedicated room and mentor Blackboard Game Enhanced Learning - GEL

14. Barriers to Student Engagement & Belonging

15. Student Feedback Did you find the Group Structure a helpful support resource for starting University? Which aspects of the Group Support Model did you find the most useful? Did you find the student Lab Mentors a helpful support resource in labs and tutorials? What aspects did you find the Mentors most useful with?

16. Have you any suggestions for improving the Group Support Model? Nope, the group system was top notch The only possible suggestion would be to let the students choose their own groups. No I think the model is good as it is and has helped me greatly. It is helpful for other people to explain different aspects of the course to you. It is also helpful for mentors to be there to support you and be there to explain different ways to do the coursework. No it's very good No allison was very helpful. Have outside class meetings with group leader

17. It's really great for helping with your overall understanding and enjoyment of Uni.. No, wish other modules would somehow implement group work. Found our mentor to be very helpful, always there if we needed help. Couldn't ask for anyone better. The group mentor model is really good to have as it enables students to have some gudiance in what their do from someone whose done similar things recebntly themselves. Our group's structure worked fine and the support from professors was greatly appreciated and always beneficial, so I believe the Group Support Model is good as it is right now. it is useful for confidence building. I don't like to talk out in lectures but i feel i can in tutorial. Maybe give the Mentors a little training in advance; it felt as if at points, the mentors were a little tentative to get involved and just sort of laid back and waited for a problem to happen that they could solve. It might just come down to persoanlity of the individual but they at times seemed a little tentative. Tutorials very helpful in mentors explaining tasks in more detail

18. Student Feedback Continued Have you ever considered leaving the course? Being unsure over whether this was the course that I wished to study Course wasn't what I expected at the start, didn't think I liked it The amount of stress and work at times felt too much. At times I believed I was not going to be able to follow through on wat was expected, but the group support proved to be really helpful for me. too much stress

19. Staff Benefits Improved student retention! Improved student performance – across all modules Enhanced student engagement Dynamic curriculum design and adaptation Enthusiastic student partners passionate about their contribution Encourages other staff Team effort!

20. Employers Feedback A confident developer – they have put themselves out there as being someone who is confident enough in their abilities to be able to help others and explain technical issues; A confident Interviewer – Being questioned by a first year who is trying to understand programming fundamentals is often what technical interviews are like! If I see an applicant has put themselves in this position with 1st or 2nd year students I know they are much more likely to perform well at technical interview! Doing something extra – having this type of experience makes a CV stand out. The vast majority of graduate CV’s are the same: everyone has either done a placement year and are doing a degree, very few CV’s show that the candidate has had the motivation to do something that they wanted to do rather than something they were told to do.” [Recruitment Agency Belfast]

21. Benefits of Student Partners in Curriculum Enhancement (SPICE) Why not try it – what is there to loose!