‘I'll play the game, but I cannot stay’ : The role of third space professionals in encouraging the retention, success and sense of belonging of undergraduate students

In 2019, a diverse, post-92, Midlands university implemented a new, hybrid third space role called the ‘academic coach’ (AC) to support its mission towards to support its mission to make its educational provision fully accessible to all its students, to retain them and to ensure their success to support its mission to make its educational provision fully accessible to all its students, to retain them and to ensure their success of all its students. Since a sense of belonging to their institution is such a powerful influence on students’ sense of wellbeing, their development of an academic identity and their resilience in the higher education context, with consequent positive impact upon their retention and success, this role is devoted to the pastoral care and personal tutoring of levels three and four students. This case study considers the journey of the AC in defining and shaping this new role and offers the ACs’ perceptions of their influence on the experience of students at levels three and four by enhancing collaborative and learning relationships within the wider university.

Engaging students in online learning: technology-integrated distance learning for Chinese students at partner institutions in China

To mitigate the problems of lack of preparedness and lack of a sense of learning community associated with online learning, this case study illustrates how a range of technologies including online platforms and educational tools may be integrated to assist purposeful engagement with learners for active learning to ensue. This case is based on an undergraduate module delivered virtually to three TNE partner institutions in China. Zoom, Mentimeter and WeChat were adopted to help with cognitive and affective engagement by the students. While this design is focused on online delivery, there is also an important implication for classroom-based teaching in achieving purposeful engagement with students.

Developing an online learning community through an open reflective assessment

The concepts of learning communities, open educational practices and co-created teaching and learning are topics of current debate, particularly since the switch to online learning in 2020/21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This case study uses student feedback to evaluate a new assessment method introduced within an online distance learning Master of Public Health programme. The assessment required students to blog about their motivations for studying public health, submitting their reflections to an open online platform, resulting in the co-creation of a shared, open-learning resource for current and future students. The assessment design was informed by the benefits of open educational practices and co-created teaching and learning, with the overall aim of developing an online learning community that will continue to grow and develop beyond the initial assessment and cohort. Feedback suggests that the open, reflective nature of the assessment had a positive impact on the student learning experience and contributed towards a sense of learning community through enhanced social cohesion within the group.

Autobiographical accounts of students working on the Innocence Project London (IPL): students telling their story about how working on the IPL affected their lives

This reflection on a presentation at the Greenwich Learning and Teaching Conference (SHIFT) 2021 shows how powerful a sense of belonging can be, not only for students, but also for academics. By sharing their autobiographical reflections’ project, the student and staff presenters so powerfully connected with their audience that everyone was struck by the importance of collaborations that give students a voice. The occasion both produced some unanticipated outcomes and enabled everyone to relate personal experience to that of others.’

The challenges of teaching and learning during a pandemic become an opportunity: reflections on a student and academic partnership.

The current pandemic has forced us to implement major changes in the way we communicate, interact and work, all of which have had a massive impact upon all aspects of our lives. Academics and students alike have had to adapt very quickly to the new situation and the challenges encountered, although viewed from different perspectives, are largely similar. Changes are often unsettling and taxing, especially when they are not the result of a personal choice, but they can also offer great opportunities, the most significant of which is for lecturers and learners to develop best practice together, in partnership (Kurczek and Johnson, 2014). This article reflects upon how sharing our experience of a students-and-staff partnership at the University of Greenwich 2021 SHIFT conference has affected our experience of teaching and learning during a pandemic.

Reimagining the role of technology in higher education: the new normal and learners’ likes

The COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to look at teaching provision. As a result, new technologies, an increasing usage of existing online platforms and alternative ways to engage with learners in the classroom, have together become ‘the new normal’. This research aims to answer the questions: how do higher education learners perceive the new role of technology in the classroom? Is technology overload counteracting the potential benefits that blended delivery can offer? In-depth semi-structured interviews with eight students from two seminar groups reveal their positive perception of and continuous interest in the use of technology in the physical and virtual classroom. The study provides examples and recommendations, enabling the effective deployment of technology focusing on three areas: the learner, the facilitator and the technology. Finally, this study makes important contributions to constructivism in the context of technology usage and current and post-pandemic pedagogic practice.

Editorial Team SHIFT 2021 Special Edition

.

“A brain to pick, an ear to listen and a push in the right direction” (John C. Crosby)

This paper provides the context and background to a ‘Student Peer Mentoring’ scheme that was co-created with students and piloted within the Business Faculty in University of Greenwich. We reflect on sharing this experience at the annual SHIFT1 conference on Teaching, Learning and Assessment and the lessons learned that will support the further development of this scheme. Key themes that arose were around the value of mentoring to support first year students and the benefit for mentors in terms of their own self confidence and development as evidenced by their contribution to SHIFT. Lessons learnt were the need to provide more guidance to mentees in preparation for mentoring and providing supervision support to mentors to allow them to reflect on issues that arise out of mentoring. Our complex approach to evaluation was challenged given the small numbers of numbers of mentors and mentees. We concluded that qualitative evidence gives enough support for the success of this scheme. It is planned to provide mentor training to all students on a voluntary basis leading to enhanced peer relationships and support.

The climate emergency in higher education: working together to meet the challenge of student activism

This conference reflection explores the themes raised by participants in the authors’ interactive workshop at the SHIFT 2021 conference. The workshop focused on how universities are responding to the climate emergency through innovative teaching practices.

Employability themes for economic recovery

As part of the University of Greenwich SHIFT 2021 conference on teaching and learning, I led a discussion workshop called ‘Employability themes for economic recovery’ in which delegates considered economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, the inevitable changes in working practices and, consequently, the changes’ influence upon student employability skills development. In this article, I reflect both on the current context of significant workplace change across the globe and how we as educators should respond if we are to skill students for this new working world.