Student Lifecycle Strategy: Applied to the First Year Experience

1. Student Lifecycle Strategy: Applied to the First Year Experience Professor Keithia Wilson Program Lead for the FYE in Health GIHE Senior Fellow for the FYE ALTC National Fellow for the FYE

2. The Four Pillars of the student lifecycle strategy

3. The Four Lifecycle Pillars as an Action Process Leadership

4. The Four Lifecycle Pillars as an Action Process Leadership

5. Convening Partnership Roles: Within a School who contributes ….and how?

6. Convening Partnership Roles:External to the School..... who contributes….and how?

7. The Four Lifecycle Pillars as an Action Process Leadership

8. Student Transition Process (Lizzio, 2006) The ‘Five-Senses’ of Student Success Sense of Capability Sense of Connectedness Sense of Student Identity Sense of Purpose Sense of Resourcefulness

9. Student Lifecycle Process (Higher Education Academy, 2001) Insight : Students’ needs and developmental priorities vary over their degree Response : Providing enabling just-in-time (JIT) interventions at key points Early Contact Pre-Semester (Enrolment & Orientation) First 7 Weeks of Semesters 1 End of semester 1 First 7 Weeks of Semesters 2 End of Year One Years 2 & 3 Alumni and Postgraduate

10. Systems Intervention Process (Caplan, 1964) Levels of Intervention framework

11. The Four Lifecycle Pillars as an Action Process Leadership

12. Systematic Data CollectionMultiple Sources and Stages

13. 3. Data-based planning Needs to occur at a range of levels & to be informed by multiple data sources : Who are our students? Presage or input data e.g., info on Institutional student populations & the typical demographic profile in particular Schools (including risk factors from Griffith research) What is the quality of their learning experience? Process evaluation data e.g., evaluation of enabling processes or orientation activities & early learning environment e.g., our yearly Starting@Griffith data, FYA evaluation data, How’s it Going Survey (week 3) results, SEC data What are the student outcomes? * Soft performance outcomes e.g., student satisfaction * Hard performance outcomes e.g., student retention, academic achievement (GPA), non-submission & failure rates on assessment tasks, especially in threshold courses

14. The Four Lifecycle Pillars as an Action Process Leadership

15. 4. Suite of Evidence Based Strategies Co-Curricular 2005 • Designing supplemental strategies which are outside of the classroom (e.g., orientation, peer mentoring, common time/transition program) Curricular 2010 • Enhancing FY curriculum design, pedagogy & assessment practices for all first & second semester courses, and the FY Program overall Whole-of-School/Program 2010 • Focusing on the strategic combination of co-curricular & curricular strategies for a particular disciplinary context & student cohort/profile

16. Co-curricular strategies across the First Year Student Lifecycle Early Contact School Mail-out in January Pre-Semester Enrolment Day & Orientation Day First 7 Weeks of Sem. 1 Ongoing weekly Transition Program + Peer Mentoring Program + Early identification of & intervention with at-risk students via non-attendance, non-submission & failure on first assessment tasks End of Sem. 1 Follow-up & academic recovery with failing students First 7 Weeks of Sem. 2 Ongoing weekly Transition Program + Early identification of & intervention with at-risk students via non-attendance, non- submission & failure on first assessment tasks End of Year One Follow-up & academic recovery with students who are failing & build explicit transition into Year 2 Years 2 & 3 Programmatic links from Year 1

17. FY Curricular strategies across the Student Lifecycle Developing a Transition-In Practice Student Diversity Student Transition * FY Program & Course Design * FY Program & Course Delivery * FY Program & Course Assessment

18. Macro Level Curricular Strategies Using evidence-based strategies Developing a FY Transition Practice • Using an understanding of student diversity and student transition to inform curriculum design and assessment practices • Using the evidence based Griffith 5 Senses of Success model to guide the systematic enhancement of co-curricular & curricular strategies across the FY Using Predictors of student success to inform FY curriculum • Using Griffith data & research on predictors of student academic success & year 2 retention to identify more strategic, targeted interventions for our predominantly non-traditional student base: * building early sense of purpose, * enhancing student’s capacity to realistically appraise the conditions required for success, & * assisting students to develop skills in time-on-task & self-regulation across the FY year

19. Macro Level Curricular Strategies Using evidence-based strategies Assessment Design & Practice • Enhancing FY assessment across the lifecycle – design, student preparation, marking & feedback/academic recovery/feed-forward x individual courses & the FY Program Programmatic Design • Focusing on a programmatic approach to FY curriculum development progressively across each semester (horizontal curriculum integration) as well as across the FY (vertical curriculum integration) Consistency mechanisms • Ensuring a range of mechanisms for greater predictability for students e.g., consistent storage of info on L@G; single referencing style; assessment task terminology between courses in the same program etc.

20. Assessment Review Strategy • Dual Focus on individual courses and programmatic approach to first year assessment • Macro level review of first year assessment (viz. types of tasks, range of word counts, weightings, weightings x word counts, profile of semester submission dates) & discussing findings as a FYT team • Micro level review of first year assessment items from a student perspective in collaboration with convenors and teaching teams (viz. Levels of difficulty, clarity, alignment with course objectives, etc, and including suggestions & resources for scaffolding student engagement with assessment items)

21. The Four Lifecycle Pillars as an Action Process Leadership

22. 5. Continuous improvement cycles based on Monitoring and Feedback Using data to inform ongoing strategy around the Triple Bottom Line: What is effective? What can we sustain? What is satisfying? Multiple sources of feedback - students (feedback, reviews, evaluations) - mentors (feedback, review, evaluation) - staff (convenors, tutors, FYA, SAO) - surveys (University: Starting@Griffith; School: first semester & first year experience, individual courses, FYE activity evaluations) - course results (submission & pass rates for individual assessment items & courses overall) - retention data

23. Initial success: outcomes for students • Improved early student experience in the first semester, as indicated by: higher ratings for Starting@Griffith data in 2011 for involved Schools/Campuses compared to other Schools in Health & the wider university • Reduction in student anxiety in relation to assessment tasks (staff perceptions) • Decrease in failure rates for threshold courses

24. Initial success: outcomes for staff Workload Substantive drop in number of student questions & emails to clarify assessment tasks Effectiveness Substantive improvements in perceptions of S@G data for Good Teaching (11% -14%) – the highest in the university Promotion Staff engagement & success, collectively as well as individually provides data for APR & promotion

25. The Four Lifecycle Pillars as an Action Process Leadership

26. Leadership of FY Enhancement Process Capacity building and distributed approach to leadership: First Year School Leadership Teams Membership: Staff in strategic roles e.g., HoS/DHoS, PCs , FYAs, DL&T, PLFYE Role: Identify broad goals & strategies for enhancement of the FYE and oversee QA and QI First Year Enhancement Teaching Teams Membership: FYAs, FY Course Convenors (in 1st & then 2nd semesters),BLA, AC, PLFYE Role: Develop & implement a FY Transition Practice for enhancing first year curriculum design, delivery & assessment practice First Year Advisor Leaders of co-curricular strategies (& in some cases curriculum strategies) Minimum Standards Leadership through agreed FY co-curricular practice standards across the Group (since 2008) Evolving to include FY curriculum and assessment standards (from 2012 onwards) Specific Quality Mechanisms Emergence of School level quality assurance mechanisms (e.g., SoNM Assessment Sub-committee of School L&T Committee, led by the BNUR Program Convenor)

27. Maintaining the gains Ongoing mechanisms for FY Enhancement School level • FYA support via continual review & monitoring of workload & buy-out • FY Enhancement/Development Teaching Teams established as an ongoing mechanism for continued enhancement of FY curriculum • Minimum co-curricular standards for implementation of strategies by FYAs in partnership with other staff • Minimum curriculum standards for FY assessment, including a process for both quality assuring & quality improving the standard of FY assessment design & practices in each School

28. Maintaining the gains Ongoing mechanisms for FY Enhancement Group Level Resources • Program Lead for the FYE (2010-2013) role to work iteratively with Schools over 2-3 years to improve the quality of their FYE & establish ongoing QA & QI mechanisms • Health Group Assessment Consultant role provided as a dedicated resource over 3 years (2010-2013) to assist FY teaching staff with assessment design & resource development to support scaffolding of student learning (Margaret Macleod) • Blended Learning Advisor role provided to assist FY teaching staff (GaneshanRao) • FYA Forums facilitated 4 times per year to support & develop FYAs in their School role to enhance student engagement, success & retention (2006-2011 +) • FYE Budget provided to Schools & FYAs to support FY enhancement

29. We have briefly covered the full circle...... Leadership

30. Each year the view gets better....

31. Margaret Macleod Health Group Assessment Consultant m.macleod@griffith.edu.au

32. My Role • Working with Professor Keithia Wilson on a project to enhance students’ learning experiences. Whole of school, educative and capacity building approach • My focus: Assessment • Evaluating assessment tasks • Assisting academics with developing curriculum and assessment tasks • Assisting academics with writing assessment tasks • Assisting academics with the development of resources to scaffold and support student learning and assist with understanding of assessment tasks

33. Background • Prior to October 2010, a Learning Adviser at Logan campus for 10 years • Worked with wide range of students on their assessment tasks • Worked with academics from several schools to deliver task specific workshops • Developed resources for academics and students to assist students with assessment tasks i.e. scaffold learning • I also teach in 2 Humanities courses, delivered through OUA (I have been teaching since 1992) • Particular interest: Using assessment to progressively build both content knowledge and skills in critical thinking (within course and across courses)

34. Progress to date … 1. Evaluation/ critique of FY assessment tasks in School of Nursing and Midwifery, and School of Human Services and Social Work; School of Humanities. • Written Reports which identified strengths of current written FY assessment and areas needing improvement. Reports evaluated tasks against following (self-developed) criteria: • Clarity of assessment task design and description • Marking criteria – the extent to which they assist students in understanding the task • Weighting (appropriateness of weighting for task) • Size of task (appropriateness of word length for task) • Level of difficulty of task (appropriateness of task for students’ level of skill development) • Relationship to course learning outcomes • Provision of resources to assist students with the task Reports made recommendations, and suggestions for resources to assist with tasks

35. Progress to date … 2. Production of Student Writing and Referencing Guide • Initially for School of Human Services, later modified for Health Group (located on HERBIE) • Step by step guide to complete pre-writing and writing process, with accompanying exemplar essay to model process

36. Progress to date … 3. I have worked with several teaching teams/course conveners to improve existing assessment/develop new assessment 4. I have worked with Health academics to ensure clarity of task description 5. I have developed resources for academics to use with students to help scaffold student learning • Resources to assist with specific essay tasks (case studies, critical evaluation, reflective writing, report writing etc) • Resources on note taking, time management, editing etc 6. I have developed resources to assist academics with assessment design/description

37. So ….how I can help • Evaluate existing assessment tasks • Assist in the development of new assessment tasks • Assist with writing clear assessment tasks • Assist with editing for coherence between marking criteria, task description etc • Assist with developing resources to support assessment tasks

38. So what are the messages for action? • Co-curricular & curricular strategies for increasing academic readiness • Building foundational academic skills • Building academic capital • Developing student skills in time on task & self-regulation/independent learner (realistic role & task appraisal for success as a uni student) • Developing student efficacy, expectations of success & hope for a new & challenging future Prof Keithia Wilson ALTC National Fellow