School of Computing and Technology
Integrating Students into the Academic,
Social and Cultural Context of their
Institution
Dr Siobhan L. Devlin
University Teaching Fellow & Community
Outreach Fellow
[email protected]
School Strategy
Inputs:
• Previous School strategies, University strategy
• Recent large-scale UG and PG reviews
• Discussion with FE/6th Form staff and students about
learning styles and their expectations of University
• Work-in-progress by Automotive Technology
• School Conference on student retention January 2005
• Discussions in school committees/boards and SSCCs
• Work with Opportunities Centre staff in the development of
Personal Development Planning and Progress Files
School of Computing and Technology
School Strategy
• 1. Pre-entry - no overselling, ‘Ronseal’
publicity materials, Getting Started*,
individual applicant visits – to speak with
real students and staff
• 2. Entry – transformed induction week:
about building course identity & social
bonds, tasters for correct course, a full day
social, time for second thoughts, new
starter questionnaire
* University initiative
School of Computing and Technology
School Strategy: 3. In-Flight
Stage
• Supportive assessment, integrative skills core
module (through whole course), all modules yearlong
• Significant taught element and support in year 3
project – useful for direct entrants
• “Difficult modules” targeted with extra
tuition/support/surgeries
• Pre-planning to avoid coursework bottlenecks
• Increased personal tutorial time
• Induction week socials extended throughout the year
• ISF, ISIS, SLANG, Happy Families*, Formula Student
• Tracking scheme?
• End of year referrals before summer break*
• Retention, progression & completion
officer*
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* University initiative
Initiatives
• International Student Forum
• International Students into Schools
• SLANG
• Happy Families
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Personal Background
1.
University Teaching Fellowship examining
experience of and provision for international
students
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2.
Increasing numbers of international students –
>threefold in 5 years
Doesn’t justify current TLA and support
Aimed to investigate cause of problems, with focus on
learning and teaching styles, support for active
participation, monitoring and evaluation
University Community Fellowship
–
Help integrate international students with the local
community
Both Fellowships allowed time & money to put
initiatives in place
School of Computing and Technology
Motivation
• Increasing numbers
• new environment - includes issues of
culture, language, homesickness,
independence
• education system of home country very
different to UK system
• important that home and international
students integrate, so vital to provide
inclusive mechanisms and frameworks
School of Computing and Technology
Motivation
• help integrate students into the
academic and local communities in
the university and city of Sunderland
– 1st year of study – also usually 1st year of
immersion in British life and culture
• aim to underpin and support the
whole academic and social
experience of the students
School of Computing and Technology
International Student Forum
•
Helps students understand what is expected of them in a western
HE context:
– Understanding the rules
– Understanding how to do well/their lecturers’ expectations
– Taking part in their studies in the same way that UK students do
– including placement year
– Understanding what to do and who to talk to if they need
something explaining, or just need to talk.
– Acquisition/practice of study skills
– Practice with English language
•
Allows them to have their say
•
Planned Format (doesn’t always happen like this): Invited Speaker,
Study Skills, Surgery
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Early on we ask:
• What they hope it will be like living and
learning in Sunderland
• What they hope to get from their education
• What has happened so far – good and bad
things
• Would they tell a friend from home to come
to Sunderland University?
• What can we do to help?
School of Computing and Technology
They answer:
On living and learning in Sunderland
• “I hope [it] will be wonderful. I hope I can attend some
local people’s activities, visit famous places and
improve my English, make friends with local people”
“…[in the summer] my EAP teacher invited us to
have dinner at his home, that’s very nice”.
• “It would be very nice to live here if kids aged around
12-15 won’t make any trouble to Chinese”.
• “Make more English friends, get more confidents
about my English”
• “Give us a chance to make friends with English
students”
School of Computing and Technology
They answer:
Do you like the way classes are taught in
Sunderland?
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“Yes, I do, but I am not used to it as in China we have at least 8
hours’ class each day”
“Yes I like it. It’s enhancing my independence and self
confidence”
“To be honest, I still can’t suit with the studying way in the UK”
“Not really. There is too much self studies.”
“Frankly speaking, no. But I’ll get used to it.”
“Yes the classes are very interactive sessions and students feel
free to attend these”.
“For the time being it is a bit difficult to get adjusted and I am
getting used to the lectures and the way to proceed further and I
hope I get good support from lecturers”.
School of Computing and Technology
They answer:
Do you get enough help with your studies?
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“I hope I can get more help with my studies”
“I don’t think it’s enough. Many questions I get answers are from
my friends, not university”
“Not enough, just have a CIE department is not enough.
Sometimes we can just help ourselves”
“No. I have not got enough help!”
“I’m afraid not. But as a new student from China I don’t know
where I can get help”
“No, but it is not their responsibility”
“Not before, but I’m glad to see a lot of Chinese can get much
help from now on”
“Yes, but sometimes I don’t know how to ask the questions
because of my bad English”
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They answer:
What good thing happened this week?
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“Attend the meeting of Chinese forum”
“I am getting to know some English students”
“Experienced a new study environment, I mean real university
life”
What bad thing happened?
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“In the class, I only understand 40% of what the lecturer has
said. I haven’t made any friends with my classmates”
“nobody tells me what to do next” (comment was crossed out)
“Bad organised in my timeframe”
“Sometimes, I don’t know what my English friends were talking
about”
“I still can’t catch the words of my teacher”
“The UK teens are not friendly”
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They answer:
What can we do to help?
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“Keep, run the Chinese student forum”
“Open more English classes to help me improve my English,
especially speaking”
“Put more concentration on international students especially
during the tutorial and lab sessions”
“Teach me how to prepare and go over my studying”
“Please tell me more education and life rules of UK, thanks. It’ll
[be] good for me to understand UK”
“Offer some extra skills (such like more living skill)”
“More vocabulary about computing”
“I am very worry about my final year project”
“More placement chances for PG students from outside UK”
“Please help me to know how to contact with lecturers and get
help about academics”
• “The university can arrange a get together for the 1st year
students”
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Common Themes from ISF
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Chance to integrate in academic and larger society
Chance to practice speaking English
Help in adjusting to new TLA styles
Help in organising their time/studies
Where to go for help
Lecturers need to be aware of them
– In course preparation and delivery
• Safe & welcoming society, free from racist attacks
• More chance to take English classes & English
classes that are more finely tuned to their needs
• Better accommodation information/support
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Effect of forum
• Well known
• Acknowledged as means of student support in
programme validation documentation
• Support for the students that wasn’t there before –
even allowing for PT system
• Invaluable fact finding tool for the school – we can
thus rectify problems
– the students seem to feel comfortable feeding back using this
mechanism as opposed to module/programme feedback
forms
• Trust
• Real time problem solving
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International Students into
Schools (ISIS)
• Voluntary opportunity which gives
students and local children the
opportunity to work together to gain
an understanding of each other’s
culture and promote racial tolerance
in the region
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Student Comments (ISIS)
•
“The aim of this project was not only to live outside the
campus but also we knew that it was a good chance to show
our country's culture and build strong, friendly relationships
with English and Chinese people.”
•
“The project has given us a lot of benefits. All of the skills are
now really useful in our study, in life and in the future job
market. We are not afraid anymore to do presentations in
front of people, and we know how to manage our time. As an
overseas student who has been in England for 2 years
already I traveled to a lot of cities to find out what is the real
England and English people. However, until now I think I had
just touched the surface of realising the culture and people
here.”
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ISIS Posters – competition for school children
to represent their time spent with the international students
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ISIS Poster Example
– to be displayed around the city
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Sunderland Language And
News Group (SLANG).
• One of two mechanisms for drawing all
students together
• Most recent development in suite of
interventions
• Social forum, meeting at weekends,
which is also a means for international
(and UK) students to improve their
language and communication skills and
cultural awareness
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SLANG
SLANG
SLANG
Sunderland Language And News Group
Culture
C l u b
No, not the 1980s pop group! The SCAT
Saturday morning news group.
Find out more about local and worldwide
stories in the press this week. Improve your
English reading and speaking and knowledge
of life and culture around the globe.
Co-ordinator:
[email protected]
Meeting 11
Saturday 30th April
All around
the world
Each week the group
discusses stories that have
appeared in newspapers
from Britain and around the
world - helping you
discover more about British
and other cultures.
Sunderland Language And News Group
Egg-stra
Egg–stra
read all about it!!!
Where and
when?
Painted egg
competition
Every Saturday
Easter egg parade.
Bring along a painted
egg and win a chocolate
PRIZE.
in the
David Goldman
Informatics Centre
Room 208,
Open to all students - UK
and International.
10.30am - 12.30pm
Refreshments provided
Meeting 8
Saturday 19th March
All around
the world
Where and
when?
Every Saturday
in the
David Goldman
Informatics Centre
Room 208,
10.30am - 12.30pm
Refreshments provided
Co-ordinator:
[email protected]
School of Computing and Technology
Student Feedback on
SLANG
• We shall pick our interested topics from the newspaper
such as from Royals wedding to the Pope’s funeral,
from top chef Jamie Oliver’s TV program to North East
children top junk food eating league. We could expose
our own opinion or experience and/or what’s the
difference between UK and our own countries.
• The [newspaper] articles have no limitation, which
makes the discussion unexpectable and active…[this]
stimulates students’ brains thinking in English instantly.
This way of training brain to adapt into daily
communication on spoken English is better than using
of prepared presentation. The discussion often reveals
different culture background, and help students
understand more about things outside their own
countries. This meeting is often in a chatting
atmosphere without any pressure, which is a joyful way
of learning.
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More SLANG Feedback
• “English for Academic Purposes classes are more
focus on reading and writing and they are about
academic [matters/language] not social – they
don’t care about how well you can speak to
somebody”
• “SLANG means in quite a short amount of
reading, not a heavy load, you can pick up about 5
words each week”
• As an overseas student you don’t dare to speak
up in class in case your English might not be right.
You need confidence – SLANG does this”
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Happy Families
• 2nd of two interventions drawing all
students together
• provides new students with a support
network of peers, with level three
student ‘grandparents’, level two
‘parents’, and level one ‘children’ who
are the major recipients of the
support
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Inspiration: The STAR Project
http://www.ulster.ac.uk/star/
A three phase induction process
Prior to Study
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Managing expectations
Support for students prior to entry
Induction processes – extra activities organised in year 1
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Familiarise students with the campus and its support services
Clarify student academic obligations + develop independent study
habits
Activities to promote good communication between staff and students
Events to allow social interaction between students / mentoring
Induction processes embedded in the curriculum
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•
Ensuring the curriculum builds on the students’ past experience and
skills
Ensuring students receive regular formative evaluations of their work
early on in the course
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Happy Families
The idea
Create a student peer support network to ensure:
All the goals of phase 2 of the STAR project are met
plus possibly extend it to cover phase 1
and use the feedback from students to enhance the curriculum
Bonus feature: Reduction in staff time dealing with student problems?
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Creating the Families
A big or a small family?
Small
Big
2 or 3 students from each level
One student from each level
Level 3
Grandparent/s
Level 2
Parent/s
Level 1
Teenager/s
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Creating the Families
A big or a small family?
Big
2 or 3 students from each level
Level 3
Grandparent/s
Level 2
Parent/s
Level 1
Teenager/s
Reduces the problem
of having family members
you dislike as there is
someone else to talk to
Students often already
have a best mate
by levels 2 and 3 which
helps create the family
structure and support
level 1 students
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Creating the Families
Day 1 – Level 1 students meet for the first time – ice breakers (based on
telling other students their favourite food and drink) to let the students
get to know each other
Day 2 - Agreement from all level 2 and 3 students that the idea was worth
trying and that they would come in on Thursday (even though they
had no other classes etc.)
Day 3 – Standard Learning to Study session (1.5 hour) after which they
created small groups each with 3 students, picked a family name and
wrote it on a piece of A4 paper. These were then placed faced down
at the front of the classroom.
Level 2 students then entered the room and paired up with each other.
Then each pair was asked to pick one of the A4 sheets to discover
their new family.
The process was then repeated for level 3 students.
This process was not only good fun but also tamper-proof!
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Happy Families
What would be the best way for students to communicate with other
family members?
Text Messaging
- asynchronous
- most students unwilling to pass on mobile phone
numbers
Email
WebCT
- online notice boards for
each family
- not private enough for
students
- asynchronous
Good for general all family discussions
MSN Messenger/ Yahoo Messenger
- synchronous
- students only needed to pass each others email address
Most students
already use these
regularly
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Happy Families - Results
STAR guideline 2.1
Familiarise students with the campus and its support services
Level 2 and 3 students showed level 1 students around the
Campus during induction week.
The level 2 and 3 students were primed with key areas they had to visit
e.g. help desk, resource centre, library
STAR guideline 2.2
Clarify student academic obligations + develop independent study
habits
Communications between students at different levels have shown them
the difference in the study and learning requirement between level 1
and levels 2 and 3
Example : Level 1 students used their families to discover what a TCT was
and how hard it was likely to be in programming course
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Happy Families - Results
STAR guidelines 2.4 and 2.5
Activities to promote good communication between staff and students
Events to allow social interaction between students / mentoring
- Very hard to find rooms on the campus big enough to hold events
-Also timetables across levels made it impossible to run day time events
but this is being looked at for next year
However one course did manage to have a Halloween Party on campus
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Happy Families
• Conclusions
– Positive feedback from students
• “The family idea – met some good friends”
– Next year more students will be involved: International
Foundation Programme students = ‘babies’, placement year
students = ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’, masters students = great
grandparents/cousins
– More social events needed to help build families and
build better relationships between staff and students
– The true benefits may only be reached after the system
has been in a place for a few generations
• i.e. until level 1s become level 3s and they ALL
understand the value of peer support
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Evaluation
• Fellowships finished but initiatives
continues
– Requires recognition of time involved in support –
mechanisms made official
– Require recognition across university and
city/region that these students are important
– Need a change in staff attitudes – willingness to
commit to staff development – not ignore problem
or leave it for someone else to deal with – 4 th Star
project Guideline is about staff development
All these are happening!
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