Open Paper Session: Working in partnership to develop professional graduates 

  12th May 2023

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Tuesday 13 June, 11.15-12.45, TC014, Park Campus

*The above image is from the film ‘The New Puritans’ – see item no iv. below.

Four Academic Exchanges (verbal presentations of 13-14 minutes, each followed by 6-7 minutes for questions) and one Lightning Presentation (verbal presentation of no more than 6 minutes, followed by 4 minutes for questions). 

This session will be chaired by Jenny Hill, Head of Learning & Teaching Innovation and National Teaching Fellow.

Recording of the session

Academic Exchanges

i. Developing future professionals: An integrated approach to personal and professional development in Social Sciences 

Rowan Sweeney (School of Natural, Social and Sport Sciences) and Natalie Morris (Future Plan Employability) 

The Level 6 Applied Criminology module draws on the University Employability and Your Future Plan (YFP) agenda and aligns to the wider School priorities of improving the Graduate Outcomes performance of Social Sciences. Previously, no single module addressed employability, instead there were inputs across the course. Applied Criminology, which ran for the first time in 2022/23, was designed to support students’ personal and professional development and help them engage with YFP content, broaden career thinking, articulate skills, and achieve meaningful postgraduate employment. Designed and delivered collaboratively with YFP, the module draws upon our academic team, professional services, external employers, and alumni. In this presentation we will discuss the activities facilitated within the module to support students’ personal and professional growth, such as self-awareness and skills audits, career options and opportunity awareness, CV and application building, interview preparation, as well as a range of employer and alumni guest speakers and attending the Oxford Careers Fair to network and expand career thinking. We will explore the successes and challenges of these activities from the perspectives of module staff and students and consider the replicability of our approach in other subject areas. Further, drawing on student reflections, module grades, and academic staff experiences of marking on the module assessments, we will consider the extent to which assessing this module by reflective Mahara portfolio was effective and share lessons we learned when designing an assignment that assesses employability and personal development. Overall, the aim of this presentation is to share and evidence the opportunities and barriers that come with designing, facilitating, and assessing a core module focusing on personal and professional development.  

ii. Communicating in a virtual world: Educating for the future of healthcare provision  

Emma Rose and Esme Wood (School of Health and Social Care) 

The way we work has changed and we need to prepare our students for a more remote working life. The trend for flexible work arrangements is being driven not just by technical advances, but also cultural changes as workers themselves demand greater flexibility (Hunter, 2019).  The Office for National Statistics (Feb 2022) highlights a significant shift in working habits since COVID-19, with 84% of workers who had to work from home because of the Coronavirus pandemic planning to continue hybrid working.   

In the area of healthcare, the expansion of e-consultations and virtual therapy were initially driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a shift towards online provision (Gkeredakis, et al., 2021).  The use of remote technologies has continued post-pandemic, with research highlighting that it enables people to be more involved in their consultations and in managing their health (University of Sheffield, 2023). 

Aiming to prepare students for their future in a technology-driven health service, the BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy course team have moved beyond the traditional teaching of communication skills and embraced the technological drivers.  Students are tasked to complete online consultations with experts by experience, taking into consideration all aspects of communication including those specific to the virtual environment. Students and experts by experience have reflected positively on the experience and the learning gained from the simulation session.  

Virtual communication skills will be embedded into the future of education for all Occupational Therapy students at the University of Gloucestershire and could be a valuable tool for students to develop skills across all sectors. 

iii. The proof is in the pudding: Exploring the value of curriculum co-creation between students and staff  

Quynh Phuong Tran and Duong Tran Quang Hoang (University of Economics and Finance, Vietnam), Punithan Moganathas (Peninsula College, Malaysia), Ruffin Relja, Matt Barr and Andy Kok (Gloucestershire Business School), Jenny Hill (Academic Development Unit), and My Doan Ngoc Tran and Julia Belczynska (Students) 

In recent years, the higher education sector has seen a growing inclination (and pressure) to internationalize curricula in various disciplines. The University of Gloucestershire (UoG) is no exception and has forged strategic partnerships with the University of Economics and Finance (UEF) in Vietnam and the Peninsula College (PEN) in Malaysia. In line with the University’s Education Strategy 2022-2027, this longitudinal collaborative project seeks to create and maintain academic partnerships that support the cultivation and perpetuation of ‘global mindsets’ and to provide spaces where impactful research can be developed. From its inception in December 2022, this collaborative project has been designed to enhance student and staff experiences with business and marketing education by fostering partnerships between students and staff within, and across, institutions (UoG, UEF, PEN). Students as partners are co-designing the curriculum of an undergraduate Level 5 Marketing module and are systematically co-researching student experiences across multiple time points. Initial results will be presented with a particular emphasis on diverse staff perceptions. The audience is invited to exchange views on the value of curriculum co-creation between students and staff and to reflect on ways to overcome potential barriers. To nurture authentic partnerships (and social capital), collaborations must move beyond the transactional and include the relational. This project maintains that scholarship can be used not only to advance knowledge and learning but also to unlock the potential for self-authorship (and social change). 

iv. The New Puritans – Film and Fashion respond to questions of sustainability and the future of fashion

Fiona Curran (School of Creative Industries) and Margaret McDonough (School of Arts)   

The debate around fashion and sustainability is entering a new phase.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, when clothing consumption was curtailed, questions of sustainability grew apace and we are now seeing manufacturers, couture and clothing empires address everything from using brand new synthetics in design, to simple modes of delivery, through the lens of sustainability. However, the great unspoken future issue is what will become of fabric, or be available to us, to keep making clothes with. The film The New Puritans (Director: Fiona Curran; Fashion Consultant: Margaret McDonough) explores the old values of clothing and decadence versus the near future of reformed and reimagined double vintage clothing.   

Made with students on BA Fashion Design, BA Film Production and BA Television Production, as well as the School of Creative Industries Technical Team, this film was a collaboration (and a dialogue) between production students, fashion designers and lecturers which will result in exhibitions and screenings in the UK and beyond. Designed as an artwork with immersive sound, this film places students’ working methods front and centre of the debates around collaboration, design, and the real future of fashion. 

We will be showing part of the film, The New Puritans, followed by a brief illustration of our recent exhibition of the work, With What We Have Left, which includes both the film and clothing from the film. We will then open the floor for a brief Q & A which will reflect upon student participation ranging from the work of the designers to student crew on the filming of this one-day event and the wide-ranging benefits for artists and students alike. 

Lightning Presentation

v. Vlogging – reflexive practice and course enhancement for Advanced Practice

Ellie Sonmezer (School of Health and Social Care) 

Brott and Willis (2021) advocate that vlogging is a responsive, present moment approach to engage learners. Vlogging enables learners to reflect on experiences, problem solve more immediately and understand their individual growth (Parikh, Janson, and Singleton 2012). Moreover, vlogs can support responsiveness and quality of teaching through exploration of the feedback (Brott, 2021). 

The aims of the project are: 

1. Encourage active student engagement in a part or all of their learning journey at UoG 

2. Explore the student learning journey through video journals/diaries/vlogs 

3. Student experience to support other students on similar learning journeys 

4. Create a community of reflective professional practitioners through storytelling and listening 

5. Work together to enhance learning and teaching through enhancement of the student experience 

There are four project stages: 

1. Vlogging during learning by students 

2. In-class discussion about vlog and student experiences and learning 

3. Post-vlog discussion with teaching team 

4. Conclusion, recommendations, enhancements and dissemination 

Students and staff will be asked to evaluate vlogs as a learning method, a reflective tool and feedback mechanism for course improvement/student experience. This will help identify if vlogging: 

1. Is a useful reflective method and understand why this may be 

2. Improves the student experience and engagement 

3. Enables the teaching team to identify enhancements for module/programme provision 

4. Supports other students on different points of a similar journey 

5. Creates partnership working of students and academics to enhance module/programme provision