Turning up the volume on the distant learner voice

1. Turning up the volume on the distant learner voice Dr Susie Schofield & Stewart Squire • March 2019 • One of the UK’s top 30 universities (The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019)

2. Outline of talk • Importance of dialogic student <-> staff evaluation • Challenges of distance learning • Partnership between DUSA and staff at the University of Dundee • Engagement with sparqs’ distance learning toolkit • Some initial findings at the University of Dundee

3. What contributes to the student experience? https://www.sparqs.ac.uk/resource-item.php?item=205

4. Importance of student voice

5. Kirkpatrick Pyramid for Programme Evaluation (after Phillips 1996)

6. Student Representation

7. A useful starting point • Formality Formal--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Informal • Leadership Staff-led--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student-led • Activity Reactive------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proactive • Content Themed------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue-led • Ethos Democratic------------------------------------------------------------------------- Partnered • Student membership Limited-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inclusive • Frequency Frequent---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Infrequent • Format Face-to-face-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Online www.sparqs.ac.uk

8. University of Dundee World Top 250 University Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 • 1 in WorldWorld’s most influential research institution in pharmaceuticals • Clarivate Analytics 2017 • 4th in UK • for impact of scientific research • CWTS Leiden Rankings 2018 Numbers c.16,000 students > 3,000 staff > 5,000 ODL Top 10 in UKNational Student Survey 2017 and 2018

9. Challenges of hearing the distance learning voice • Less homogeneous than F2F • Competing time pressures • May have very different motivations for contributing • Often already in jobs • Sense of belonging – where does it lie? • Equipment • Sense of safety sharing online • Often study is asynchronous • Often (though not always) at a distance • All these contribute to risk of voice being ‘distant’

10. Enhancing DL Representation • Set up in response to internal audit recommendations: • “There is a risk that there is a lack of engagement and regular communication between the University and distance learning students, due to the lack of distance learning student representatives.” • The audit recommended: • “The University should work in partnership with DUSA to ascertain ways of improving the number ofdistance learning student representatives. The University may wish to introduce incentives for students to volunteer to become student representatives.”

11. DLRWG • Working group was created • Remit to: “review and enhance distance learning student representation to ensure distance learners have an appropriate voice in improving their student learning experience.” • Important piece of work was the creation of a survey looking at DL experience of representation • 142 responses recorded with 47% of responders based in Scotland, 20% in England and 27% from “other” locations

12. Findings: Understanding our students • Why were they doing • the course? • How much study did they do • per week?

13. Representation (or not…) • The survey provided an important insight into the DL student experience. • 71% said they had been asked to provide ideas/suggestions on how to improve their learning experience. • Only 6 responders were representatives (3 appointed, 2 elected, 1 unspecified) • 65% responders believed they had not been asked for feedback from their reps • Popular ways to feedback was social media and email

14. Ways they liked to communicate

15. Ways they are updated

16. DL Toolkit • Simon Varwell was invited to the DLRWG • UoD colleagues contributed to the development of the toolkit • Toolkit has been embed into the Joint Agreement of Student Representation as a source of best practice

17. How it has impacted • From this work DUSA is beginning to develop its access to class rep training • Based on St Andrews approach, a flipped classroom has been used for class rep training • Working with sparqs we have developed a PGT class rep workshop • Work has started on working to identify and get feedback from DL reps on how best to engage them in the training

18. Using the tool • Formality Formal----------X--------------------------------------------------------------------- Informal • Leadership Staff-led-X------------------------------------------------------------------------ Student-led • Activity Reactive-----------------------------------X----------------------------------------- Proactive • Content Themed--------------------------------------------------------------------------X--- Issue-led • Ethos Democratic----------------------------------------------------------X------------- Partnered • Student membership Limited--X---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inclusive • Frequency Frequent--------------X------------------------------------------------------------ Infrequent • Format Face-to-face---X------------------------------------------------------------------------Online • Timing Synchronous---X-------------------------------------------------------------Asynchronous www.sparqs.ac.uk

19. Where are we now? Where are we now? Where do we want to be? Where do we want to be? How do we get there?

20. Case study from University of Dundee • Masters in Education, totally distance learning (c. 400), 3 intakes p.a. of c. 50 each • Three student reps, all distance (currently Scotland, Africa, Far East) • Programme board meets twice a year • Staff and student representation body meets twice a semester • Advertised for in handbook, but also identified by programme director in 1st module • Stewart’s training, skyping in • Tried blog, email working much better, also student facebook group • Report from student reps -> programme lead who presents at programme board • Minutes shared back, but can be slow and impersonal • Programme lead now feeds back quickly ‘what we celebrated, what needs sorting’

21. Case study from University of Dundee • Masters in Medical Education, distance learners (c. 1000), 3 intakes p.a. of c. 150 each • Small face to face cohort (12) • Asked for volunteer from F2F cohort to represent distance learners • Programme board meets monthly • Stewart’s asynchronous online training • Blog to collect student comments • F2F student presented at board, fed back to students in blog • F2F student not keen to continue • Full time f2f is very intense – seen as extra work • English not first language – barrier? • Blog within vle – try facebook?

22. dundee.ac.uk