Date: May 12th
Time: 10:00
Venue: Athlone Institute of Technology, Athlone, Co Westmeath
Number of places available: 150 maximum open to all Irish HE providers
Presenter(s): Facilitated by Mark Davies, Professor of Bioscience, University of Sunderland who was a member of the STAR project team led by Professor Tony Cook from the University of Ulster.
Click here for brief Bio for Professor Mark Davies
Event Details:
Social and academic expectations of students change as they move into and through Higher Education. Students need to adapt rapidly and institutions need to address these changing needs as student populations become more diverse. There is widespread evidence and agreement that, in particular, the transfer from schools, FE Institutions into HE and even internally between courses, can be a difficult time for students. Therefore in these transition periods there needs to be adequate support for these students and additional support for those most affected by the change in their academic and social lives.
Mark Davies will focus on the outcomes of the Student Transition And Retention (STAR) project, funded by FDTL4 (UK) and delivered by a consortium of UK HEIs, co-ordinated by the University of Ulster. The project centred on the identification, analysis, dissemination and uptake of good practice in supporting students during periods of rapid transition from one learning environment to another with an underlying aim to increase student retention.
The critical points in the transition process will be considered such as: adapting to changes in academic teaching and expectations; adapting to changes in social lives, living more independently, a new circle of peers. However there are many stages of transition within the University experience such as pre and post placement or entrants into Year 2 or Final Year and these student groups need support in adapting or re-adapting to changes in expectations and their learning experience.
Mark will also focus on importance of curriculum design and will present an exemplar of module review undertaken to enhance student engagement and address attrition or non-completion and increase the relevance of the subject area for students.
Outputs of the STAR projects will be used as discussion points in developing practice in participants, but the workshop will also showcase exemplars of good practice from practitioners in Irish HE institutes. Thus the format will be responsive to the needs of participants, however a true workshop‚ is planned not merely a dissemination event – since participation facilitates learning. Frameworks, such as those identified by the STAR project will be explored, but the intention will be for participants to leave with plans of how to transform practice to give enhanced retention and smoother transition.
Key Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to:
- Consider the critical points in the transition process for students;
- Identify specific actions which will assist their students at various points of transition;
- Engage with and use STAR project resources;
- Develop a draft action plan for their school/institute;
- Consider the impact of module review in relation to content and assessment strategy to enhance student engagement and learning.
Contact: Nuala Harding, Learning and Teaching Coordinator, nharding@ait.ie