The effects of Covid-19 on student transition from school to university in STEM subjects

Covid‑19 restrictions affected most of the post‑16 learning experience of the students who will begin university courses in STEM in the UK in autumn 2021. Ongoing disruption to learning culminated in the cancellation of normal A-level examinations which were replaced with teacher assessments. Informal discussion with secondary school teaching colleagues reveals some possible consequences for the students’ transition to degree level study in STEM subjects. The main suggestion is that, despite the resilience that students have shown both academically and socially, there have been significant omissions from the normally studied curriculum that may affect their progress on degree courses in STEM including: lack of experimental practice and skills, lack of specific subject knowledge and lack of experience of assessment.

Interim findings from the Uni Connect Raising Higher Education Aspirations evaluation in Lincolnshire

This short article summarises the evaluation findings from the end of Year 1 Phase 2 Uni Connect Raising Higher Education Aspirations project in Lincolnshire. This national initiative, funded by the Office for Students, delivers targeted Higher Education outreach activities to young people in Years 9 to 13 in areas where the Higher Education participation of young people is much lower than expected based on GCSE-level attainment. These areas often coincide with where universities focus their widening participation efforts to help them meet their Access and Participation Plans. In Lincolnshire the project is managed and delivered by LiNCHigher, one of 29 local learning partnerships involved in the project nationally. The data were collected between March and July 2020 during the Covid-19 national lockdown when all schools were closed and draws primarily on data collected from six case study schools. Evaluation activity comprised an online student activity survey, semi-structured interviews with School and College Leads, LiNCHigher Area Engagement Officers and two student focus groups, conducted just prior to lockdown in early March. The evaluation found that, prior to Covid-19, interventions were beginning to have a positive impact on the Higher Education aspirations of all students and that schools both welcomed and valued the initiative highly. The evaluation report made several recommendations, including ensuring workshops are more interactive.

The Application of Bloom’s Taxonomy to Higher Education Examination Questions in Physics

Examination papers were analysed using a methodology based on Bloom’s Taxonomy to identify the cognitive skills required to complete questions and compare these to the cognition necessary for graduate skills. This research found that examinations access mainly mid to low-level cognition such as recall and apply, while competencies required by employers tend to need higher-level cognition such as synthesis and creation, which are not as commonly tested through examinations. This paper proposes that careful design of examination questions using different measurable verbs could be more effective at encouraging development of higher-level metacognitive skills in formal examinations.

The impact of student timetables and commuting on student satisfaction

Widening participation has encouraged students from a diverse range of backgrounds into university with more students commuting (many being Black and Minority Ethnic, BME). Since timetabling forms a major way by which students identify and interact with their learning environment understanding its influence is important. This project aimed to identify the experiences of students with their timetables using questionnaires and focus groups to determine perceptions and relationship to travel to university by ethnicity, gender, age and level of study. Five hundred and fifty students participated across levels 4 to 6 at Kingston University. There was a strong negative correlation between travel time and ‘the timetable works efficiently for me’ (Question 16, National Student Survey). Students from ethnic backgrounds on average were found to travel double the distances of their White counterparts to get to university. In addition, timetable satisfaction was also reflected in the modes of transport used and in perceptions of expected timetabled hours (i.e., whether too many or too few hours scheduled) based on travel times. We identified a number of inclusive priorities to help improve the timetable for student groups including having later starts to days and one guaranteed day free per week. In addition, the COVID-19 world has temporarily reduced the need for most students to commute and can be regarded as a positive disruptor for future commuting students. Certainly, it will be important to find a new balance in applying the identified priorities and the realised alternative COVID-19 teaching practices for creating more inclusive, flexible and blended learning environments to achieve the ultimate student-centred timetable.

Managing your mind: how simple activities within the curriculum can improve undergraduate students' mental health and wellbeing

The transition into higher education stretches students socially, academically and within their personal lives requiring adaptation and development of resilience. For many, such demands may lead to decreased mental well-being and, for some, mental ill-health.This project aimed to trial simple mental health awareness and well-being tasks with first year undergraduate students, and to determine whether students find these interventions beneficial and worthy of embedding as transition activities within the first-year curriculum. Four activities were trialled with 185 first-year students who reported the activities as beneficial. All activities caused an overall increase in student knowledge of how to maintain good mental well-being. In the light of this project’s findings, such activities are recommended for embedding into the first-year curriculum and throughout higher education.

Writing multiple-choice questions to access the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy

I report the implementation of an activity in which students are asked to write multiple-choice questions (MCQs) on the subject of ‘orbitals’ in order to consolidate their learning on the subject. This was facilitated using the online system PeerWise, which allows students to upload MCQs that they have written and to then answer those authored by their peers. The process of writing questions accesses the upper levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, and the discussions incorporated within the activity allow for socially constructed learning as part of the pedagogy of constructive evaluation.

The university campus and a sense of belonging: what do students think?

The physical configuration of the university campus impacts upon student learning and experience, and can be used to signal institutional priorities. The extent to which campus, particularly in post 92 institutions, is designed as opposed to evolving as older buildings are repurposed or replaced is variable. Student experiences and perceptions of the campus physical space are also unclear. This study aimed to explore student perceptions using qualitative methods. Data were collected during 8 focus groups from 37 participants. The majority were young and female, with considerable ethnic diversity. Six major themes were identified, many of which did not directly relate to the physical space itself. Rather the impact upon students’ emotional experience and engagement with the institution was emphasised. ‘Belonging’ was the most common theme; indicating that the nature of the physical space on campus is not neutral, but can affect the extent to which students can form attachments with each other and academic staff. ‘Nature’ was the second most commonly mentioned theme. Green space has therapeutic potential in stress management, important given mental health concerns in young people including students. The ideal campus as described by participants would include green non-smoking spaces with an emphasis on health promotion. Opportunities to include nature on campus should be taken, and future proposals to design the campus should canvas student views.

Classroom Response Systems: Inclusion, Attainment and Active Learning

The ‘clickers project’ is a University-wide project, designed to provide an inclusive facility for technology-enhanced learning to staff and students.Every level 4 student received a free clicker device. Students were asked to register their clicker using the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE) in order to investigate student engagement with in-class quizzes using clickers. Participation in the clicker registration process was recorded and evaluated as an indication of engagement with classroom technologies.Overall, significant differences in progression and participation in the registration process were observed with respect to ethnicity, gender and non-continuation rates for full-time, first degree entrants. In an accompanying survey, students who were less confident in their in-class responses were more likely to resist working with peers or to give-up more quickly when tackling difficult questions.This paper presents three key elements of the project: First, Kingston University’s inclusive approach in promoting classroom technology, second, analysis of engagement with the clicker registration process, and finally student perceptions of the use of classroom technologies. The objective is to show how classroom technologies can be seen as inclusive tools for feedback, capable of providing early signs of gaps in attainment among learners.

Transition to higher education; prospective and retrospective student experiences

Pre-university (foundation or Level 3) study attracts significant student numbers annually, but approximately 10% of successful Level 3 students do not progress into their university degrees. This project aimed to identify the experiences of current and previous Level 3 students, using questionnaires and focus groups to explore differences by gender, ethnicity and intention to study. One hundred and two current and 56 previous level 3 students participated. Those who felt part of the university were significantly more likely to agree that the foundation course met their expectations. Personal support from academic staff, was highly ranked by students in all year groups, peaking in the final year. Despite considerable student diversity, the foundation year met expectations. However this was significantly lower for Black students compared with other ethnicities, which needs further exploration. Fostering ‘belonging’ to university is important for foundation year students to improve retention rates into their degree courses.

Investigating students understanding of organic reaction mechanisms from performing organic chemistry experiments

The use of laboratory work to improve students’ knowledge of theory is one that is disputed. Student reflections of what they learn during practical work repeatedly show that students rarely think about theory. There is a lack of data that objectively compares students’ knowledge of theory where they complete an associated experiment to when they do not in order to understand if practical work does effect students’ knowledge of scientific concepts. In this work we aimed to address this gap by investigating the effect of students’ knowledge of organic mechanisms where they both perform and associated experiment and where they did not. Our results showed that organic chemistry experiments had no effect on students’ knowledge of organic mechanisms. These results support the view that there is little evidence to support the use of laboratory work to aid understanding of theory.