• An investigation of the structure of, and demand for, learning delivery systems to further enable flexible access and customised provision within postgraduate and continuing professional development programmes in Environmental Science.

      Crossland, Glenys (University of Wolverhampton, 2002)
      Within the context of Lifelong Learning it has been increasingly recognised that the new constituencies of learners now entering Higher Education (HE) will place different demands than hitherto upon the institutions and the programmes delivered. In the Division of Environmental and Analytical Sciences at the University of Wolverhampton (UW), it has also been noted that the typical participant profile for some award programmes is increasingly reflecting this national trend. This has been growing particularly within the masters programmes where the significant numbers of post- experience candidates render the cohorts much more disparate than previously in their needs and demands from the course provision. The growing importance of demand-led provision has been further driven by an increase in the upskilling needs of the regional economies which, in turn, are generating an influx of new constituencies of learners into HE. For the West Midlands region, and for UW, this is a particularly important issue given their joint commitment to economic and social regeneration, and the latter’s role as a major employer in the region. Locally, this is a particularly pertinent issue for the field of Environmental Sciences where there have been clear statements of need regarding the development and management of the environmental economy. (Advantage West Midlands 2000). The project was intended, initially, to gather data, which would inform future provision for the following masters award programmes: Land Reclamation; Environmental Science; Environmental Management; Environmental Technology.
    • Development of methods for the improvement of performance and retention of postgraduate students.

      Whitehead, Michael P.; Hooley, Paul (University of Wolverhampton, 2006)
      A problem had been identified with the intake of postgraduate students to MSc courses in SAS. The students became increasingly diverse in terms of origin and previous learning experiences. This presents challenges in terms of what can be expected in generic learning skills and methods, and also subject specific knowledge (genetics in our case). This has led to problems for students during their first semester as they adapt to the new learning requirements, resulting in poor performance. Therefore the team proposed to develop a project which assesses students’ basic genetic knowledge, generic scientific skills and learning skills before they start on the course by using formative assessment exercises that give intuitive feedback. We would then follow this up by giving students learning tasks based on their demonstrated knowledge of the subject and learning skills.
    • Encouraging Reflective practice through the introduction of e-portfolios: a comparison of the postgraduate and undergraduate experience.

      Maiden, Barbara; Kinsey, Susan (University of Wolverhampton, 2006)
      Encouraging students to reflect on their learning and life experiences and making sense of these reflections has been widely reported in the literature as problematic (Barclay 1997, Stalker et al 2001). Pedagogic responses aimed at deepening reflection have often encouraged the use of learning journals to make sense of theory in the light of students’ practice. There is evidence that students find it difficult to engage in this process in anything but a superficial and cursory way (Betts 2004). This innovation project stemmed from a desire to utilise the newly developed electronic portfolio, Pebblepad, as a mechanism for encouraging a more systematic and structured approach to reflection thereby assisting in overcoming the barriers to engagement. The aim of this project was to introduce, trial and evaluate the tools offered by the e portfolio system to two cohorts of first year part-time postgraduate HR Diploma students in the encouragement of reflective practice. In reality this introduction proved to be problematic as described later in this report, hence the scope of the project was widened to include the experiences of first year cohorts of undergraduates studying for BA Honours in Human Resource Management and Business. This has provided the opportunity for valuable comparison of the experiences at post and undergraduate level. Prior to this project students would submit a summative piece of work for assessment which was often constructed in retrospect rather than being indicative of continuous review and sense making of the learning experience. The possibilities for formative and timely feedback provided by Pebblepad appeared to yield a rich foundation for encouraging more critical reflection. The introduction of the e portfolio for the postgraduate student cohorts was embedded within module HR 4059 Workbased Project and Personal Development. Students are required as part of their assessment on their individual project, to reflect and analyse their experiences of undertaking research, developing themselves and making sense of academic ideas over the course of the year. The undergraduate students studying HR 1007 Learning and Development are asked to reflect on their learning experiences during a Semester and comment on their progress as independent learners demonstrated through a piece of reflective writing. The two modules therefore have similarities in requiring sense to be made of a variety of experiences over time.
    • Prediction of Postgraduate Performance from Self-Efficacy, Class of Degree and Cognitive Ability Test Scores

      Lane, John; Lane, Andrew M.; Cockerton, Tracey (Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Network, Oxford Brookes University, 2003-01-31)
      The study examined the predictive validity of variables used to select graduate students onto a postgraduate degree course. One hundred and forty-five postgraduate students completed a cognitive ability test (MD5, Mental Ability Test), a questionnaire to assess perceptions of self-efficacy to succeed on the programme, and reported their performance on their first (undergraduate) degree. Students completed these measures at the start of the degree. The degree comprised 12 modules, which all students were required to complete successfully. Multiple regression results showed that 32 per cent (Multiple R = .56, R2 = .32, p <.01) of the variance in postgraduate performance could be explained significantly by variations in class of degree, cognitive ability, and self-efficacy scores. It is suggested that future research should investigate the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance performance through raising self-efficacy.
    • Self-efficacy, self-esteem and their impact on academic performance

      Lane, John; Lane, Andrew M.; Kyprianou, Anna (Society for Personality Research, 2004)
      This study investigated relationships between self-efficacy, self-esteem, previous performance accomplishments, and academic performance among a sample of 205 postgraduate students. Participants completed measures of past performance accomplishments, self-esteem, and self-efficacy at the start of a 15-week course. Each student's average grade from modules studied was used as the performance measure. Correlation results indicated significant relationships between self-efficacy and self-esteem. Multiple regression results indicated that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between performance accomplishments and academic performance. Findings lend support to the predictive effectiveness of self-efficacy measures in academic settings.