student feedback and leadership - Office for Learning and Teaching

Part B: Building Leadership CapacityIntroductionPart B presents the experience of the three Action Research Teams establishedas part of this project to create a shared sense of purpose between membersin using student feedback. As outlined in Part A the three ARTs representedeach of the three academic Colleges (Business, Design and Social Context andScience, Engineering and Technology) of the University. These three disciplinaryareas identified low levels of student satisfaction in some areas and volunteeredto become part of this project as follows:––School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, College of Business(Case Study 1).Four courses were chosen from primarily core first year coursesin Business Statistics, Marketing Principles, Macroeconomics, and Pricesand Markets. These courses are common to a number of undergraduateBusiness degrees with a total of 1000-1500 students (onshore) per yearin lecture cohorts. The issue chosen was courses with large enrolmentsand low student satisfaction.––School of Property, Construction and Project Management,College of Design and Social Context (DSC) (Case Study 2).Two courses were chosen, one a final year course in ConstructionManagement with 85 students and the other a first year coursein Computer Aided Drafting with 21 students. The issue chosenwas teaching capabilities in course delivery, including how teachingcapabilities were affected by the quality of the learning environmentwhich has affected student satisfaction.––School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences, College of ScienceEngineering and Technology (SET) (Case Study 3).Two courses in mathematics are taught as ‘service’ courses acrossa broad range of Programs, each with 220 students from mixeddisciplines. The issue chosen was service teaching large classeswhich affect student satisfaction.The ARTs were supported by small incentive grants to assist their activities.Each ART retained ownership of their contribution to the project activities.While the focus of these case studies is on actions taken by the ARTsaimed at improving student feedback, they each demonstrate leadershipcapacity building in the design, implementation and assessment of strategiesimplemented. Each of the case studies demonstrate the need for holisticchange leadership to improve student learning and teaching as summarisedin the R.E.A.L.I.S.E.D Change Management Model presented in Part One.In each case study action by individual academics (and teams of academics)to change their teaching practice requires an interlinked supportive process.Change in teaching practices introduced in the case studies includes:––Use of technology to provide students with instant feedback on theirunderstanding of key concepts and individual performance relativeto peers and to provide additional commentary and feedbackto students on key points raised in lectures and by students.––Introduction of ‘drop-in’ sessions to supplement lectures and tutorials.Page 85