‘have your say’ project annual report, academic year 2011/12 · ‘have your say’ project...
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‘Have Your Say’ Project
Annual Report, Academic Year 2011/12
Part of the Wales Initiative for Student Engagement (WISE)
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Contents
Background to the Have Your Say Project Page 3
Background to the Wales Initiative for Student Engagement Page 4
‘Have Your Say’ outputs to agreed targets Pages 5 – 10
Additional Outcomes Page 10
Planned Future Activity Page 10
Appendices:
Engaging with Institutions: Summary
(omitted – submitted in confidence) Appendix 1
HYS Toolkit Training Resources Appendix 2
Training to train course representatives workbook Appendix 3
HYS Course Rep Conference Agenda Appendix 4
Associate Trainer Training Session Plan Appendix 5
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Background to the ‘Have Your Say’ Project ‘Have Your Say’ is a collaborative project between the Higher Education Funding Council
for Wales (HEFCW) and the National Union of Students in Wales (NUS Wales). The
project was initially conceived in September 2007 when NUS Wales received £19,000
from HEFCW to raise awareness of, and generate involvement in, student representation
and participation among students studying in Wales.
The initial focus of this project was on the course representatives themselves,
encouraging interest in the course representative role, providing training for newly
elected representatives and providing guidance through the publication of a course
representative handbook, wall planner and institutional review guide.
The end of the period of the initial project in 2009 allowed for a review of the project
impacts and NUS Wales highlighted a number of areas for growth and development. It
had become clear that for the project to flourish it could not be reliant on centralised
activity as NUS Wales do not have the staff capacity to deliver the amount of training and
support needed to maintain a national course representative system.
Project development discussions resulted in a new project agreement between HEFCW
and NUS Wales funded at a cost of £19,847 in 2009/10 and £20,084 in 2010/11. A
report on the project covering the academic 2009/10 was submitted in June 2010. The
focus of the project in 2010/11 was to continue to provide students’ unions with the tools
and expertise to recruit, train, support and motivate course representatives within their
own institution.
Following the completion of this two year project, a further two-year proposal was
submitted in September 2011. Mindful of the need to create a sustainable approach, the
renewed proposal reflected the need for continued direct support to HEIs in Wales but
also the need to move universities into being independently able to develop and support
their own structures in order, through representation, to effect positive change in the
institution.
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Background to the Wales Initiative for Student
Engagement
Wales Initiative for Student Engagement (WISE) is a cross-higher education sector
initiative launched in October 2009 by the then Welsh Assembly Government Minister for
Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, Jane Hutt AM to reinforce, share and build
upon current good practice that has been identified in approaches to student engagement
in Wales and to learn from partners across the UK and Europe to help Wales’ HEIs and
sector bodies to enhance and improve their approaches. The WISE partners are:
• the National Union of Students in Wales (NUS Wales)
• the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW)
• the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)
• Higher Education Wales (HEW)
• the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• Colleges Wales/Colegau Cymru, who joined in 2011/12
WISE is a collaborative project which aims to empower students in Wales to engage with
the processes that will enable them to participate in the enhancement of their own
learning experiences. Projects run under the WISE banner are focused around 3 aims:
• Valuing Feedback
Ensuring that students are given the best opportunities possible to reflect upon
their experience and enhance the quality of learning for current and future
students.
• Harnessing Expertise
Viewing students as experts in their learning experience and ensuring that their
feedback is sought and appreciated at all levels within the Higher Education
sector.
• Working in Partnership
Building a constructive and authentic dialogue between students and institutions
within Wales and sharing best practice across the sector.
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‘Have Your Say’ outputs to agreed targets
The project has eight agreed outputs that NUS Wales has been working against, as
outlined by the project proposal. As the Have Your Say project proposal covers two
academic years, a number of the outputs are ongoing although progress has been made
in all areas. Outlined below is progress for 2011/12 against each of the outputs.
1. Host two associate trainer training courses per year for course rep co-
ordinators and course rep champions from at least eight HE institutions.
In the academic year 2011/12, NUS Wales held two associate trainer training courses for
Welsh HEIs, one at RWCMD on the 26th June 2012, and one at Aberystwyth University on
the 29th August 2012. In total the training events were attended by a total of 22
representatives from 10 Welsh HEIs
and included those in a range of roles
from course rep co-ordinators, to
education officers and student
development co-ordinators.
Feedback from the events was
positive with attendees giving both
events an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5. This compares to an overall rating of 4.3 for the
training events last year but it should be noted that the previous training was of a
significantly different nature to the events held this year. Qualitative descriptions of the
events were positive including comments such as:
Aberystwyth University Event
“It was very enjoyable and not really what I
expected. I expected it to be more centred
around content of training, but you
recognised that everyone does things quite
differently. The theory side was great and it
was a good chance to see course rep staff
again.”
“Very informative and useful.”
“It was excellent.”
RWCMD Event
‘I’ve been introduced to a whole new
range of ideas and ways of thinking’
‘I found it particularly useful gaining
knowledge on different learning styles
and their effects on people/situations’
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2. Host two training events per year for student representatives from at least
eight HE institutions specifically involved in quality assurance processes
including student reviews, internal audits.
1. NSS: Using your results Training Event, 18th October 2011
The NSS day event held at Swansea Metropolitan University on the 18th October 2011
was attended by 20 representatives from 9 HEIs. This event featured a range of
workshops targeted at both staff and officers covering a diverse range of NSS-related
topics including action planning, evidence-based campaigns, using the NSS website and
promoting the NSS.
Overall the event was rated 4.3 out of 5 by attendees and was positively received with
comments including:
‘I’ve gained a better understanding of statistical analysis of the NSS’
‘I feel I have gained a better approach to evidence-gathering’
‘An enjoyable day!’
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2. HYS Course Rep Conference 2012, 8th June 2012
The first annual course rep conference was held at Swansea University on the 8th June
2012. The event was attended by 34 delegates from 8 Welsh HEIs in addition to
representatives from QAA and
NUS UK.
The day included a diverse
range of workshops and
presentations from NUS UK,
Glamorgan’s course reps,
Aberystwyth’s student
representation officer, the QAA
and Swansea University’s
Academic Registry. Topics
covered included the NSS, the
student learning experience, institutional review, tiered course rep structures and
engaging atypical learners.
The day was well-received with an overall rating of 4.1 with comments including:
‘Brilliant!’
‘All of it was useful’
‘I would have liked to have gone to all the workshops!’
‘The engaging atypical students workshop was particularly important as it was thought-
provoking and some great ideas were discussed’
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3. Create a WISE partners supported accreditation framework for recognising
the skills developed for class representatives.
Work on an accreditation framework for recognising the skills developed by course
representatives has been on-going since the recruitment of NUS Wales’ representation
officer. We are currently liaising with SPARQS and NUS UK to explore how we might
progress with this framework with the research and work they are also carrying out in
this area, specifically on the best way to integrate recognition of the course rep function
into section 6.1 of the HEAR.
In addition to liaising with partners, we have also been consulting with staff and officers
at unions across Wales to find out what, if any, accreditation already takes place at their
institutions.
Moving forward with this, our intention is to shortly utilise the research we have
conducted in addition to that garnered from our partners and develop a framework that
outlines best practice for accreditation through the HEAR, distributing this framework to
partners and running training around best practice.
4. Enhance the Have Your Say Guide by creating two new sections per year
directly linked to the national accreditation framework. This will take the
form of training materials or new subject chapters as determined by
associate trainer feedback.
This year a range of training materials has been created for the HYS toolkit. This chapter
originated through consultation with representation staff and officers at unions in Wales
who identified what additions to the toolkit they felt would be appropriate. It will initially
be made available to staff and officers at Welsh HEIs via digital distribution.
In addition to this, further chapters of the toolkit will be developed with an initial further
future chapter that will be developed in the coming months and will cover more generally
what being a course representative entails and the skills it requires as well as how to
develop them. This will inform the upcoming accreditation in the sense that it will
contribute both to the projected ‘participate in initial training’ and ‘participate in ongoing
training’ categories of the accreditation framework.
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5. Create online resources of good practice to complement the Have your Say
guide including completing an annual statement and supporting NSS, PGR
etc. As well as the HYS toolkit being available online from the NUS website, training resources
have also been distributed digitally to those that we work with in Welsh HEIs.
We have also collated resources from the staff and officers at unions across Wales and
will be compiling these into a resource archive that is available to those that work in
representation in HEIs in Wales. Including among these resources are examples of best
practice such as one unions’ booklet disseminating the years’ NSS results in a clear and
accessible infographics. We will also use the resources page to direct partner unions and
HEIs to best-practice examples of annual statements across the UK.
In addition we have also created a Facebook group, on the request of our partners in
Welsh HEIs that will enable course representatives to network with each other and share
information, problems and experiences. Previous Facebook groups suffered from
stagnation whereby, after a year, you’d have a situation where last years’ reps were still
members. To surmount this problem, the new group is for 12/13 reps only, with the
intention being to refresh the group each year. In interests of sustainability, this could be
done by any of the staff or officers at Welsh HEIs.
6. Analyse existing course rep models where there exists a senior course rep
tier. Work with these models to identify ways to create articulation
pathways for course reps through the model to improve continuity. Produce
recommendations and promote model to other universities.
As part of the mapping exercise we have visited all Welsh HEIs (with the exception of
the Open University and the University of Wales) and detailed their own distinct and
varied course representation structures and processes. This information has been
compiled and we are currently analysing it into a report that will produce
recommendations regarding the effectiveness of different structures.
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7. An annual report outlining success against agreed outputs submitted prior to
annual steering group meeting.
This report was duly completed including an update of success against agreed outputs and a summary of engagement with institutions. 8. An annual steering group meeting including representatives from HEFCW
and NUS Wales. The WISE group meeting is termly and, as such, it is perceived that the ‘steering’ for the HYS project is best drawn from the WISE meeting.
Additional outcomes
- The Have Your Say project has increased UK-wide awareness of WISE’s work
through sessions at WIDAR 2012 and HEA/NUS Student Engagement 2012
- The Have Your Say project helped promote the course rep role at freshers’ fayres
at Glamorgan, Glyndwr and Swansea
Planned future activity Over the academic year 2012/13, NUS Wales will continue to work towards and meet the
outputs agreed in the 2011 project proposal and outlined above. In brief this includes:
• To hold a 2013 course representative conference for sharing best practice,
receiving training and networking
• To hold a further two course representative training events
• To publish a chapter of the HYS toolkit linked to the accreditation framework and
review the existing content to ensure it is effective and current
• To research, finalise and make available the course rep accreditation framework
• To continue to promote the use of annual statements as best practice to unions
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Appendix 2
Training course representatives can be a time‐consuming activity, particularly with the variety of other demands you may find taking up your time. The intention of this toolkit is to provide you with the best resources possible to help alleviate that pressure. Whereas the other chapters look at particular topics on which it is useful for you train your course representatives, this chapter is intended to provide a simple and accessible selection of training materials that you can use when putting together training programmes for your course representatives. Ice‐Breakers/Networking Activities Often with a group it can be challenging to move the group to a stage where they feel comfortable discussing, debating and sharing their experiences. Ice‐breakers are effective ways to quickly break down barriers between trainees and ensure that the group is on good terms. The following are a selection of useful and easily‐used ice‐breakers and networking activities. Unique and Shared This icebreaker is an effective and easily deployed activity to encourage trainees to get to know each other. The activity should be completed in relatively small groups of around 5 people. First have groups identify things they have in common – things that they share. Encourage groups to avoid easy responses such as ‘we all have hair’, and ‘we’re all wearing clothes’. Responses can be linked to their role as a course representative, their interests or any other traits they find they share. Once these similarities have been shared with the entire group, have the small groups try to identify qualities unique to one person. For example, it may be that one person in the group plays a musical instrument to a high standard, or is involved in some interesting volunteer project. Following the completion of this activity, feedback to the entire training group can be managed in a number of ways. You could have each group feedback on what was unique to their group, or alternatively you could have groups list the ‘unique’ traits and have other trainees attempt to identify who the traits belong to. Lost on a Desert Island Lost on a Desert Island takes more time than ‘Unique and Shared’ but also creates an opportunity for greater communication within the group. Again, this icebreaker is suited to groups of around 5 people. The first step of this icebreaker is to inform the groups that they are to be stranded on a desert island and that they are able to take one thing that is somehow representative of, or meaningful to them. Each individual in the group then needs to explain to the group why they would take that item – for example, it may be a particular item of clothing, a musical instrument, a book, a tool. Once this stage of the icebreaker has been completed, groups then need to work collectively with their amassed items to try and figure out how those items might be used, whether in conjunction with each other or singly, to aid the group’s survival. Following this stage of the activity the groups
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present their ‘survival method’ back to the training group. Post‐it‐Post‐me This icebreaker is particularly effective where groups already have some familiarity with each other. If the group is not at all familiar with each other, it is necessary to have individuals briefly introduce themselves prior to starting the activity. This icebreaker is ideal for two groups The first step is to have individuals in each group write on a post‐it, in as non‐descript writing as possible, three words that describe them. They could be words related to interests and hobbies, personality traits or perhaps something more abstract. Once this is complete the notes are mixed up so that it’s not clear which note belongs to who. The groups then swap tables and each group must try and match up the traits with to whom they belong. My Shield This icebreaker is more effective at getting learners to reveal information about themselves than encouraging discussion. Learners in the group will all design a shield to represent them. Ask them to draw the shield outline and divide it into four. In each quadrant of the shield, learners will then draw, write or otherwise represent each of the following:‐
• One thing that they cannot live without • One thing that they are looking forward to in the coming year • One thing they want to be remembered for • One secret that no one else in the room knows
From here, you can either have each individual present their shield to the group. Or have pairs discuss the shields together, and then have each individual present their partner’s shield to the group.
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Case Studies & Scenarios Some of the most useful resources you can use in training are case studies and scenarios. They provide an effective way to communicate the real situations and difficulties that course representations may encounter. Included in this section of the ‘Have Your Say’ Toolkit are a range of case studies and scenarios to use in your own training sessions as well as some background to how they can be used. Scenario Set 1 – Student Learning Experience These scenarios are orientated around the ‘student experience’ and dealing with the associated problems concerned with the student experience that a course representative might face including poor feedback, lack of facilities/resources and contact time. Anisah Anisah is a 3rd year BA Marketing student; she has been a rep for 2 years. She has came to you and told you that she, and her classmates, have a problem with the feedback they get. Anisah knows that the students’ association has campaigned on this issue and, as a result, the university has implemented a 3 week turnaround policy for receiving feedback. Anisah explains that not only is it taking longer to get the feedback but it is also of poor quality. Many students just get their mark, though they do not know where this comes from as they are not provided with the marking criteria. When they do get comments they are not helpful. One student even told her that he received a comment saying; ‘Were you on crack when you wrote this?’ which they both think was pretty unacceptable. They do not receive feedback from exams either. She would like your advice on how to approach this. Gonzales Gonzales is a studying HNC Sociology and this is his second time being a rep. He has come to you and said that he doesn’t think he receives enough contact time with lecturers because his friend at another university told him he gets 6 hours a week, compared to his 2. He gets one hour worth of lecture and one hour’s tutorial. He thinks that some of his mates are struggling as a result. He wants to know how to argue for the same contact hours as his friend in the other university. It should be noted that you know the university he attends is making cuts as it has been in the press recently.
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David David is a 1st year BSc Mathematics student. He has approached you and said that he doesn’t think some of his lecturers are up to scratch. He has spoken to a number of his fellow students, who agree. When asked a bit more about why he does not think they are up to scratch he explains that:
• Some do not put their slides up until a week after the lecture and this is bad because quite often they cannot read the text on the slides.
• Lecturers turn up late to class. • Some do not speak clearly and because of the size of the room some students
cannot hear. • Some drone on and are pretty monotone meaning some students fall asleep. • Some do not use real life examples and only talk about maths in an abstract way.
Sarah‐Jane Sarah‐Jane is studying for her degree in Photography and has never been a rep before. She hasn’t really spoken to her classmates yet but she feels that the materials they have access to are not good enough. She also thinks that the library could do with more books for her to do her research. She explains that she thinks:
• The studios they have access to are not fit for purpose as they are too small. • The lighting equipment often breaks down. • There is not enough equipment for all of the class to loan out over the weekend. • The dark rooms aren’t so dark and therefore the pictures don’t develop in the way
she intends. • The library has a lot of fine art and art history books but very few that cover modern
photographic practices, or examples of work (such as Eddie Adams and Iain Smart ‐ they are her favourites).
As it is her first time being a rep she in unsure on how best to proceed. She has asked you for advice in developing a solution to her problems, thus ensuring that the situation affecting her fellow students is also resolved.
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Scenario Set 2 – The Course Rep Role This selection of scenarios explore some of the challenges that come from being a course rep – not so much the problems they may have to find resolutions to, but rather the problems they may experience first hand. Andrew Andrew has been a course representative for a few months. Other students have approached him regarding the punctuality and engagement of some of the teaching and lecturing staff. Despite noting these concerns, Andrew feels unable to act upon these concerns as he fears it will negatively affect him and his achievement. What advice could you give Andrew? Ffion Ffion has never been a course rep before. She volunteered for the role because no one else on her course did and thought it was important that someone was a course representative. However, now she is in the position she feels incredibly unprepared and doesn’t know what to do. What advice could you give Ffion? How could her situation be avoided? Anisah Anisah is tired. So, So, tired. She’s a second year and this is her second year as a course representative. She makes sure that she attends all the staff‐student liaison committees, she writes a regular blog for her course outlining what is happening and she volunteers for the University’s RAG. As well as this, she works part‐time at a local bar and tries to participate in the student social life as much as possible. Anisah is feeling exhausted and overworked but feels she has made serious commitments that she must adhere to. What can Anisah do? What would you suggest? Is there any way her situation could be avoided? Rhys Rhys just doesn’t understand. He has been a course rep for a few months now and yet nobody has approached him with any problems. He keeps announcing before lectures and seminars for people to approach him but still nobody has approached him. He feels a bit at a loose end and not sure what to do with himself. What advice could you give Rhys? What should he do?
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Activities It is important to ensure that the activities you use in your training are varied in nature. People learn and retain information in different ways. The average student retains less than 10% of what they are lectured in yet 90% of what they spend time teaching others about. As such this section explores different kinds of activities as well as the different ways it is possible to stage them. Ranking Exercises One way to encourage a group to consider the importance and purpose of different things is to have them rank them according to importance. For example – this could be the attributes a good course representative needs, the functions of a students’ union, the most serious issue a course rep may encounter. Ranking encourages the learner to consider the ins and outs of each statement, prioritising it against others. You can either provide learners with the statements yourself, or alternatively have them come up with the statements themselves and then rank them. There are different ways to have learners rank statements including:‐
• Having the statements printed out and cut up onto separate pieces of paper, learners then arrange them on the table from most important to least important
• Having statements printed on large pieces of paper, give each learner a statement and have them physically arrange themselves to rank the statements
• An activity that has become increasingly popular is to use Jenga to allow this ranking exercise. By attaching statements to jenga blocks, learners then have to construct the Jenga tower with the most important statements at the bottom (the foundation) and the least important at the top. This can be further developed by having certain statements removed – an example of this would be with the topic ‘Features of Good Course Representation’, have learners remove the ones they feel their institution lack to see if the tower retains a strong enough foundation.
• ‘Diamond Ranking’ is a slight twist on the standard linear ranking. Rather than ranking from ‘Most’ to ‘Least’ important, learners have to slot statements into a diamond formation meaning the statements in the middle have similar importance, the one at the top is the most significant and so forth.
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Peer‐Teaching Exercises It should come as no surprise that learners retain 90% of what they have to explain and teach to others. To be able to adequately explain something, the ‘teacher’ must have a good grasp of the concept themselves and able to respond to the groups questions. As such a fantastic way to develop a group’s understanding is to put them in a position where they have to teach the concepts and ideas to others. A simple way to do this is to split the group into small sub‐groups. Give each sub‐group a topic related to their course rep role and have them develop a presentation around it (you may wish to provide them with some materials related to that topic, for example from the HYS Toolkit). Topics could include Assessment, Feedback, the National Student Survey etc. Another way to organise this kind of activity is to use a ‘marketplace’ arrangement. Once the subgroups have explored their topic, split the subgroups into presenters and ambassadors, the presenters remain at the table and have to explain their topic, ambassadors have to move around the other groups finding out as much as they can about the other topics before returning to their subgroups to feedback. Mindmaps Never discount the mindmap! Although subject to absolute overuse in training – ‘now in your groups, please mindmap…’ – it remains a useful and effective way for groups to quickly develop a range of ideas in a visual and accessible way. If you do feel as though you’re suffering from mindmap fatigue you can try ‘mixing’ it up. Mindmaps are very geared towards visual learners – take it a step further by encouraging learners to draw pictures to support their points. An effective way to get people really thinking about how to communicate their ideas is by limiting their words – limit them to just 5 or 6 key words in their mindmapping, specifying that everything else should be communicated through visual means.
[E Hoffman & Z Bartkowicz, The Learning Adventure, 1999, Middlewich]
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[T. Buzan, The Mind Map Book, 1995, BBC Books]
If you have access to IT, you could have your learners complete ‘Concept Maps’, which are like mindmaps but more detailed, more complex and more informative (Uber‐mindmaps, essentially).
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De Bono’s Thinking Hats This is a useful activity where you can set a group of six a challenge/activity/problem and then have the group assume different roles in tackling that challenge. The six roles involved in the thinking hats are: White – Information/Facts Responsible for considering what information the group has, what information they may need to find out. Black – Cautious/Judgement Responsible for identifying problems/downsides with the issue in question and any potential solutions put forward. Yellow – Positive/Benefits Responsible for identifying what are the benefits of the issue at hand? What are the benefits of any possible solutions?
Red – Feelings Responsible for identifying any emotional aspects tied to the issue and any proposed solutions. How do people feel about it? What do they like and dislike? Green – Creativity Responsible for attempting to come with new ideas, fresh perspectives – thinking outside the box. Blue – The Meta Hat – Thinking About thinking What has been learned? What is the overview? How can the group improve its approach?
Topics/Tasks you may wish to set groups of course representatives in training include: ‘How can you ensure you represent everybody on your course?’ ‘What are the best ways to improve your course? How can you engage with the university?’ ‘What support should course representatives have from the union?’ It is also particularly worthwhile attempting to pick an issue that is pertinent to your institution and having the group work on that.
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Appendix 3: Designing a training course: When designing a training course, there are a number of stages that you need to work through. These are represented in a simple model below: Research Topic Research the area fully: use up to date material and
ensure you identify and speak to the relevant people prior to planning any training. Successful course rep training relies on a productive partnership with the University. Find out:
• Who holds organisation responsibility for course reps within the institution
• What information the university would like to see delivered to course reps
• The detail of any University learner voice / student involvement strategy
Aim What you want the training to achieve. This should be a general statement of intent, what is the bottom line that you want to happen following the training. Training has to be for a purpose, it should never be an activity for its own sake. The aim provides focus to the training and also aids the evaluation process.
Objectives The objectives tell you how you will achieve your aim. They need to be specific and precise. These provide clarity on what the learner will be able to do following the training. The SMARTER* the objectives, the more effective the course. Always write the objectives before moving on to think about content and methods. Consider what you want course reps to be able to do, what knowledge you need them to have, what skills they will need to exhibit and develop. * Specific Measurable Agreed
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Resourced Timed Evaluation Resources
Content The content flows on from the objectives and is a product of the research stage. You need to consider who your audience are, and how much they know at this stage as well… You will need to think about:
• Key information that course reps need to know o How the system will work o What they need to do o Who can help them o What projects they can feed into o How to deal with difficult situations
• Skills that you would like course reps to develop
• Networking & development opportunities • Issues that the reps might encounter
Methods At this stage you can start to plan how you are going to deliver your content. Consider different learning styles and experiential learning theory (detailed on the next few pages of this booklet). Use a variety of methods to keep people interested and engaged. It is always tempting to try and consider methods earlier in this process, but it essential that you work through this chart – remember that a fantastic training exercise will not be fantastic if the content behind it is poorly thought out – each training exercise needs to have a purpose.
Materials Once you have chosen your methods you need to ensure that you have appropriate materials to support the learning. Try to make the supporting materials interesting and as clear and concise as possible. You will need to consider at what stage you provide the learners with the material – will it be as a tool to support the learning at the event, or something to work as a reminder or a reference?
Learning Theories Experiential learning (Gibbs – Learning by Doing, 1988) Adults learn best when they:
• Become Autonomous • Make use of their experience • Reflect on their experience • Discuss current topics • Learn from problems • Are activity based • Are involved in negotiation • Focus on principles • Have responsibility for their own learning • Acknowledge the importance of process • Share ideas and feelings • Experience openness, trust and commitment • Set their own goals • Are in a climate conducive to learning
How we can apply this theory to course reps training:
• Pose questions instead of supplying information • Ask delegates to reflect and dissect their academic experience • Encourage delegates to raise issues and problems • Provide clarity on the role of the course rep and how they can
remain effectively involved • Give the reps responsibility for setting the agenda post-
training.
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The Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1984) For learning to be effective, learners have to cycle through four stages of development:
How we can apply this theory to course reps training:
• Make the focus of the training practical based so that reps can
easily apply learning
• Ensure that reps are given exercises that require them to
move around the cycle during the training
• Ask delegates to consider what they would like to achieve and
set targets together
• Set opportunities for review and debate
• Recognise that the training is only a part of the development
of reps and much of the learning will be ‘on the job’
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• Learning Pyramid (NTL Institute for Applied Behavioural Science, 1960s)
How we can apply this theory to course reps training:
• Incorporate practical activities & group presentations to supplement learning
• Pose open questions to create discussions, ask for opinions instead of providing facts
• Encourage reps to take responsibility for student engagement in the classes/schools/departments
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Learning styles (Honey & Mumford, 2000) Activists Learn best where:
• There are new experiences / problems and opportunities to learn from
• They can engross themselves in short here and now activities
• There is excitement and a range of diverse activities • They can dominate the limelight • They are allowed to generate ideas without
constraints • They are thrown into the deep end of a task they
consider difficult • They are involved with other people
Reflectors Learn best where:
• They are allowed space to watch and think • They are able to stand back from events and listen • They are allowed to think before acting • They can carry out research • They have opportunities to review • They have opportunities to exchange views with
people within a structure • They can reach a decision in their own time without
pressure and tight deadlines
Theorists Learn best where:
• Learning links to a system, theory, model or concept.
• They can question and probe the methodology, assumptions or logic
• They are being intellectually stretched • They are in structured situations with a clear
purpose • Arguments made are rational and logical • They are encouraged to analyse information
Pragmatists Learn best where:
• There is an obvious link between the subject matter and their role
• They are shown practical techniques • They have a chance to practice with feedback from
a credible expert • They are given techniques currently applicable to
their situation • They are given immediate opportunities to
implement what they have learned • They can concentrate on practical issues.
How we can apply this theory to course reps training:
• Include a range of activities • Don’t force anyone to participate • Provide informal opportunities to engage with you outside of
the formal training
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Facilitation John Heron (1977) developed a model describing 3 modes of facilitation. The key to the modes is who makes the decisions and how are decisions made? Trainers need to consider their style, and which is the most effective and appropriate, this will need to change from exercise to exercise and group to group.
Hierarchy mode • Commanding • Directing • Prescriptive
Co-operation mode • Consultative • Negotiation • Persuade
Autonomy mode • Self direction • Freedom • Hands-off
I CHOOSE WE CHOOSE YOU CHOOSE The facilitator directs the group, poses all the questions and leads from the front. In charge of all of the major decisions.
The facilitator proposes, consults and elicits views Decision-making is shared and views are compared and contrasted. The final outcome is an agreement.
The facilitator stands back and allows the group to set its own direction and discussion Decision-making is placed in the hands of the group as a collective
Positives: controlled, no surprises. Negatives: Authoritarian, may encourage rebellion
Positives: Collaborative, involving, inclusive. Negatives: Can slow down learning, some people may become disengaged whilst points are laboured.
Positives: Can be very creative and involving Negatives: Can lead to domination of the group by individuals, may become irrelevant and can also provoke feelings of frustration at the trainer for abdicating responsibility
Too much can mean participants become passive and dependant or hostile and resistant.
Too much can mean repetition and irrelevance
Too much may mean that the group wallows in ignorance, misconception and chaos
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Managing Difficulties in Groups Don’t ignore difficulties
• Be open and honest with your delegates • Try to discuss difficulties and negotiate an agreement
Don’t be confrontational
• Try not to argue with delegates, avoid battles • Turn disagreement into debate • Don’t rant at them • Manage your own frustration if things are going wrong
Open disagreements out into the wider group
• Allow the group to resolve discussion rather than you sitting in judgement
• Create debate and allows for sharing of opinion Create Ground Rules
• Gives you something to refer back to if things go wrong Acknowledge contributions
• Welcome contributions even if the content isn’t what you were looking for.
Rephrase and summarise
• It’s essential that you listen to delegates when they are contributing as you will need to be able to paraphrase their points to emphasise things that you want to get across.
Watch out for body language
• Changes in body language can indicate that you may need to change the activity, introduce a break or re-focus the room on the topic at hand
• It’s also important to manage your own body language, tone of voice and expressions – these can give you away!
Break groups up into smaller groups
• Use this technique to break up chatting delegates • Changes the layout of the room – keeps things interesting • Small groups mean that people have to play a part – less room for
disengagement, particularly if they have to report back.
Remember – the difficulties in the room may be nothing to do with you!
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Enthusing & retaining course
representatives Individuals volunteer their time for a range of reasons. It’s not possible to
treat everybody in the same way, understanding the individual’s reason
for getting involved will help you to keep them motivated and engaged.
They might be involved for the following reasons:
• Achievement: looking to do the job better than its been done in the
past; keen to make improvements and move forward. Enjoy
challenging tasks, the opportunity to learn new skills and require
regular feedback.
• Affiliation: to extend their network of friends and feel a sense of
belonging; to build friendships and be respected. Want to work with
others, need social time to be built into any tasks.
• Recognition: to be sent to do something with a clear reward at the
end; usually keen to be involved in shorter projects with clear
endings. Need to be clear on what the rewards for work are
available, prefer short deadlines and to be in positions of high
visibility.
• Altruism: being involved in attainment for the wider good; very
keen on accountability and ideals and values. Prefer to work with
others of a similar mindset, require a high level of commitment.
• Power: looking to build a base from which they can run for
sabbatical next year; keen to raise their own profile. Want to be
involved in making change and directing others.
People volunteer for projects that interest them, you need to ensure that you talk to your representatives and find out what it is that is motivating them. Match volunteers with their interests and with the level of effort they are willing to put in is the key to success.
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Top Tips for successful recruitment and retention of course representatives:
• Sell your reps the vision of what you are trying to achieve. • Be clear about what their contribution to the vision is. • Empower your reps, engage them in decision-making and
direction setting. • Acknowledge that circumstances change. Do not constantly
rely on a small group of individuals, seek to involve people on projects or tasks according to their interests and skills
• Have realistic expectations • Support your representatives • Emphasise the social aspect of volunteering • Seek out regular feedback from your course reps • Understand the value of recognition: ensure that you thank
and reward your volunteers properly.
Appendix 4:
Course Representative Conference 2012Agenda - #HYSReps
Time Activity Facilitator/Speaker Notes 10:00 – 10:30
Registration, Tea & Coffee
10:30 – 10:35 Introduction to 2012 Course Representative Conference
Kieron Rees
10:35 – 10:45 Opening Remarks Luke Young 10:45 – 11:15 Speaker on Institutional Approaches
11:15 – 11:30 Speaker on the Course Rep Experience
Amarah Jawad From University of Glamorgan
11:30 – 11:45 Introduction to Workshops
Kieron Rees
11:45 – 12:45 Workshops
QAA – Quality Assurance and Review Sarah Ingram An introduction into the QAA quality assurance processes and review mechanisms. This session
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will look at what the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) does in order to review institutions, in a way that is relevant to course reps. If you have ever been confused as to why staff have looked nervous when 'Institutional Review' is mentioned, or you've never heard of it before and are intrigued about how the student experience in your institution is monitored at a national level, come along and find out all the facts.
Engaging the atypical student
Sam Reynolds How can Course Representatives ensure that they are reaching students across all sections of the student community? Engaging postgraduate, international, mature, distance-learner and part-time students present many challenges when campus life is highly geared towards the ‘traditional’ undergraduate. The session will act as a forum for discussion to develop and share best practice from across Wales.
12:45 – 13:30 Lunch
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13:30 – 15:00 Workshops
Using the NSS as a Course Rep Lucy Buchanan-Parker This session will examine the importance of being evidence-led in education campaigns and representation activity and will help reps to understand the evidence that is available to them. There will be a special focus on how the results of the National Student Survey can be used by reps to improve their courses.
Understanding The Student Experience
Kieron Rees The aim of this session is to develop your understanding of what exactly the Student Learning Experience is and how reps can use it to improve their course’s collective experience.
15:00 – 15:15 Plenary Kieron Rees
15:15 – 15:30 Closing Remarks Samantha Reid
15:30 Depart
Appendix 5 Associate Trainer Training Session Aims & Objectives - Participants will have developed an understanding of learning theory and how it applies in practice - Participants will be able to effectively plan a training session targeted at course reps Introduction Purpose of course Aims and Objectives Ice-breaker – Unique & Shared
10 min 10 min
Best/Worst Training Exercise & Feedback Participants in groups split a flipchart in two and identify their best and worst training experiences and why they were the best/worst
15 min
Planning & Outcomes The Course Rep Role Groups work together to identify what a course rep does and what they need to know. Groups then feedback to the rest of the participants. Common Problems Participants explore course rep case studies from Understanding SLE workshop. Participants discuss ‘what things can you provide in training that will assist them with these difficulties? What can they actually do?’ Feedback with discussion
20 min 10 min
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Objectives and Outcomes Explore what constitutes a good outcome. Participants devise outcomes of their own that they may use in rep training. Learning Styles Have everyone complete learning styles questionnaire Introduce learning styles concept – distribute four learning styles, have participants discuss four theories, what they mean and why they might be relevant to the event Have learners look at their questionnaire and relate it to the learning styles – have them evaluate their responses and how learning styles should influence the planning of their training events.
15 min 10 min 10 min
Activities Go through a range of practical activities that participants may be able to use in their own training and which learning styles they may appeal to Have participants discuss the different activities presented to see which they may find useful in applying to their own training- relate to what a course rep needs to know Marketplace Have participants complete a marketplace activity themselves. Four groups each have a description of a different aspect of the course rep role, have to produce a presentation on said topic using a maximum of 10 written words. Two ‘ambassadors’ from each group must then rotate around the other groups, where the remaining group members present their flipchart and topic.
15 min 45 min 20 min
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Use Planning Guide to Plan a Session in Outline Participants will use the provided planning guide to outline a session that they could run for course reps including learning objectives and a selection of activities that they would use. Trainers have to be… Discuss facilitation and what it means, how a trainer differs to a teacher or a coach. Have participants identify 6 key traits of a trainer and then arrange themselves according to most important trait to least important. Examples of common traits include ‘approachable’, ‘knowledgeable’, ‘good communicator’, etc. Questioning Explore the different kinds of questions including open and closed questioning, the purposes of different kinds of questions. Have learners come up with examples of open and closed questions that they can then ask other members of their group.
25 min
Challenges Have groups devise a challenge that may occur when training a group of course representatives. For example, a particular course rep dominating the training, a disruptive course rep etc. Groups then exchange problems with other groups who have to devise ways to overcome the challenge.
20 min
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Feedback to whole group. Plenary Participants identify 3 action points that they will take away from the training event.
10 min
Evaluation