Learning and Development
Current projects
The Learning and Development team is involved in a number
of activities and projects that contribute to the aims and
objectives of the
Learning and Teaching
Strategy, principally through
Richard Yates,
Maxwell Stevenson,
and
Liz Guyar-Brown. The
following activities are ongoing:
Frontrunners - Internal Placement Scheme
Frontrunners is the
University's unique internal placement scheme which offers around 200 placements
each year. The scheme is unique because it gets students into the fabric of the
University while offering exciting opportunities for them to gain work
experience with the added benefits of training, high-levels of support, and the
flexibility to fit in with study. Placements are arranged and supervised by
staff, and range from working in the VC's office to being front-of-house at the
Lakeside Theatre. Frontrunners was enthusiastically received at the national
Higher Education Conference 2010 and is the subject of growing interest from
other institutions.
Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) Training for Local
Schools
In partnership with the Widening
Participation Office, we have been working with Year 13 students from local
schools who are undertaking an extended research project either as part of a
Diploma or as a discrete AS Level. Students are enjoying coming onto
campus to attend a research training day and have been given a supporting
booklet,
How to Write a Research Project (PDF), which is also pitched at first-year
undergraduates. Contact Richard or
Maxwell for more information.
Supporting Mature Students
We are working with Student Support
and the Widening Participation Office
on a two-stranded project to explore the experience and expectations of mature
students and pilot a series of timely interventions to ensure that academic and
social support is made available at crucial points during the academic year. To
find out more, contact Maxwell or
Richard, and visit the new
website for mature students.
Personal Tutoring Arrangements at Essex
There are many different tutorial arrangements in departments across the
University. We are currently involved in a working group to determine what this
means for students and the University, and how to ensure that there is a system
in place that best suits the needs of students and academic departments. Contact
Richard or
Maxwell for more information.
Estro - Student Journal
This is the University's multidisciplinary academic
journal for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and is
run by a small team of Frontrunners who are supported by and
housed within Learning and Development.
Estro
(Essex Student Research Online) now has a wide student
and staff readership and is supported by a large pool of
anonymous postgraduate reviewers. Estro was promoted at the
national Higher Education Academy (HEA) Conference in 2010
where it was well received by other institutions, and has a
growing external readership. To access past issues and find
out more, visit the
Estro website or contact
Richard or
Maxwell.
Maths@Work - Developing the Numerical Reasoning of
Graduates
Funded by
TALIF,
this is a joint project between Learning and Development and
the Department of Mathematical Sciences. The Maths@Work team
is working to create an employability-focused numeracy
support service for students across the University. Contact
Maxwell for more
information.
Tower Publishing House: Embedding Employability
in HCS
With the support of TALIF, we are working in partnership
with the Departments of Art History and Theory and
Literature, Film and Theatre Studies to create an in-house
publishing house for use in undergraduate modules in the
Faculty of Humanities and Comparative Studies. Contact
Maxwell for more
details.
eBooks for Essex
eBook technology – iPads, eReaders, and the like – is an exciting new
technology that has the potential to make a significant positive impact on the
university classroom. This TALIF-funded cross-University project is working to
determine how more use might be made of eBooks at Essex. For more information,
contact Richard or
Maxwell.
Encouraging the Development of Good Practice
Visit the University's good practice website,
Muse, to find out how good
practice is encouraged, disseminated, and funded (includes information about
TALIF and ETA). If you would like to talk about making an application to the ETA
or TALIF, please contact Maxwell.
Employability Activities
Learning and Development has worked with academic departments and the Careers
Centre on various different activities related to the University's employability
agenda. These include the design and delivery of sessions for students, the
institutional Employability Audits and resulting Framework, and the
Employability Action Group (EAG). This academic year we are working to launch an
online student employability portal. For more information, contact
Maxwell.