Browsing by Subjects
Now showing items 1-9 of 9
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An evaluation of the effectiveness of a programme aimed to develop the key skills capabilities of nursing students.The University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy (UoW 2000) recognises that the development of key skills and the diagnosis of key skills are central concerns. A Key Skills Strategy has been developed by the School of Health as a central theme in the School’s draft Learning and Teaching Strategy. The key skills have been seen as a major part of the curriculum in Higher Education for some years. The emphasis upon key skills development has been underlined by the Dearing Enquiry (1997). The school has completed a 2 year research project funded by HEFCE under the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP)3 initiative. The project sought to develop information technology (IT) and numeracy skills using technology support learning(TSL). This project identified that nursing and midwifery students had significant deficits in IT and numeracy skills. The project built upon work completed on the TLTP3 Project. A range of measures were devised to assist students in development all 6 key skills. Although there has been much work completed in order to raise the profile of key skills within the School, we have limited understanding of how students perceive the benefits of the Key Skills Strategy which has been adopted. The project collected data from a range of sources in several phases. The data was collected in relation to 197 Pre-Registration Nursing Students in year 1 of RN/Dip.H.E. (Registered Nurse Diploma Higher Education) programme. Participation notes were distributed to the students at the beginning of the project by a Project Team member, who was also a Module Leader for the Key Skills Module the students were undertaking.
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Development of methods for the improvement of performance and retention of postgraduate students.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.
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Distance learning and the empowerment of students: applied statistical analysis for students of the Built Environment.Built Environment students (including construction management, quantity surveying and so forth) generally exhibit limited understanding of mathematics and statistics, both from a theoretical and practical perspective (cf. Johnson, 1998; Llewellyn, 1999; Mtenga and Spainhour, 2000). This statement is supported by the fact that over half of the first year students (2001/2 intake) who completed an Individual Learner Profile (ILP) admitted to exhibiting poor mathematical skill. In addition, fewer than one in forty students have gained a mathematical qualification higher than a GCSE. Hence, undergraduate students are faced with a huge task when initially conceptualising the analytical component of a dissertation. Consequently, students elect to avoid robust and rigorous analysis in preference for elementary and somewhat naïve statistical methods to interpret any gathered data. This problem is further exacerbated by the reference to many ‘introductory’ statistical texts that are written for persons who have an ‘above average’ mathematical knowledge. Due to their background, Built Environment students struggle in transferring their data into a format that can be analysed and interpreted by statistical software. To do so requires time and commitment of staff combined with student initiative and drive. The problem here is that over 50% of students in the School of Engineering and the Built Environment (SEBE) attend University on a part time basis. Hence, physical restrictions limit these students’ ability to access the library and search for an appropriate textbook. Therefore, an easily accessible (internet) reference tool would provide an ideal opportunity with which to overcome this potential stumbling block. The aim of the proposed project was to develop an internet-based tool to assist undergraduate students learn ‘applied’ statistical analysis of data (relevant to typical construction problems) not just statistics per se. Such a tool would facilitate students, who actively seek to enhance their general mathematical and statistical knowledge as well as gain an insight into using commercially available statistical software simulation packages.
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Enhancing learning support for Masters dissertation students in management and business.This paper reports on a project that has formed the pilot phase of a development initiative that aims to progressively enhance the learning support available to students completing postgraduate dissertations in management and business. The origins of the project lie in reflection on conversations with students, and with colleagues at Wolverhampton and elsewhere, regarding their experience of undertaking, or supervising, research at Masters level. There seemed to be quite a widespread perception of a developing gap between students’ general appreciation of the characteristics of a Masters dissertation, and their grasp of the generic process by which a specific, researchable project is formulated, implemented and written-up within an appropriate timescale. The evidence of a subsequent review of literature leant weight to the view that the rate at which methodological debate is evolving, particularly in the multidisciplinary domain of management and business, is resulting in some mixed and confusing messages on the characteristics and expectations of Masters dissertations being received by postgraduate students.
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Supporting international students in UK Higher Education: key issues, and recommendations for further researchThe aim of this review is to give as full a picture as possible of the issues which affect international students on taught courses in the UK. By ‘international students’ I mean all students who are domiciled outside the UK, including EU students, who are often treated differently in the literature. Because one of the criticisms of existing research is that it lacks insight into the political, economic and organisational context (Pelletier 2003), this review begins with an overview of UK HE policies over the past 3 decades which have impacted on the way institutions perceive and deal with international students. The second section outlines non-academic issues which may affect international students’ academic performance, well-being, and satisfaction with their experience of UK HE. The third and main section of the review deals with the academic challenges which face international students. Finally, I make some recommendations for future research. This review is accompanied by a small-scale survey of international students at the University of Wolverhampton, and references to this are made in the footnotes where appropriate. Owing to limitations of space and time, I have chosen to focus primarily on UK-based studies. We are however far behind our New World counterparts regarding pedagogical research into international student affairs.
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The socio-cultural needs of international students in higher education: a comparison of staff and student views.The following article examines the sociocultural needs of higher education students on an international degree programme delivered jointly by a post-1992 university in England and a polytechnic institution in the Netherlands. A brief discussion of relevant literature is followed by a methodological overview, detailing the qualitative research design, sample, and method. Results from the focus-group interviews indicate that the majority of students attach great significance to their sociocultural needs in all years of the programme. A number of specific social support mechanisms were identified by the students, as was a greater need for staff assistance in helping the learners create and maintain their social networks. Student views are subsequently compared to those of teaching staff, who articulate a more general awareness of growing student needs and dependency on staff. The article examines these disparities in understandings and discusses staff perceptions of the ways in which institutions might resolve such tensions.
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Using Personal Digital Assistants to support studentsAs participation in higher education increases, large numbers of people from non-traditional backgrounds are entering universities such as Wolverhampton. These students are expected to need more support in becoming familiar with the novelty and complexity of studying new subjects as undergraduates in a large university. They are consequently expected to be the students at most risk of failure to progress beyond the first year of their course and hence failing to realise their potential. Universities have attempted to increase the accessibility of higher education by an increased variety of modes and timetables. Whilst this facilitates wider take up, it also increases the logistical complexity of the world that new students enter. This project explores the use of handheld computers (personal digital assistants, PDAs) in addressing some aspects of this problem and also to begin to explore the cost-effectiveness of institutional support for providing these devices.
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Visual impairment and ICT: are we magnifying the problem?Discusses research on the use of the "twin-monitor" approach both as a teaching tool and as an enabling technology for students with visual impairments.