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The student voice in higher education curriculum design: is there value in listening? A case study. PROBLEMS Lack of engagement - Poor attendance - Bad reputation - Low achievement…….
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The student voice in higher education curriculum design: is there value in listening? A case study PROBLEMS Lack of engagement - Poor attendance - Bad reputation - Low achievement…… What might students’ voices give to the process of curriculum development that teachers in HE cannot provide themselves? If the student voice is to be heard then it is important that value is found in doing so (Seale, 2010). WHAT HAPPENED? Tutor-led redesign Evaluation 1: -Module results -Staff discussion -Module review • -Questionnaire • Evaluation 2 Headlines • Pass rate and mean marks improve • Improved module review ratings • Better attendance • at seminars Focus group study:- Listening to the student voice: This case study compares the relative effectiveness of a tutor-centred redesign of a module with one more closely aligned to the student voice. Could this provide a sustainable method for developing curricula? Approached from a pragmatic paradigm (Cresswell, 2007), the research aimed to find out how students perceived their learning experiences in a particular module and ‘what worked’ for them. • Evaluation 1 Headlines • Pass rate and mean marks get worse • Module review shows dissatisfaction • Staff and students don’t see eye-to-eye • Questionnaire responses unexpected: • ‘the whole thing was confusing and boring’. Student-influenced redesign Under-represented: JISC, 2011 What’s the student voice? What’s the curriculum? ‘Change based on what students say’ Cook-Sather, 2006 A product or a process? Fraser & Bosanquet, 2006 Empowerment: Mcleod, 2011 Content vs engagement? Bovill, Bulley & Morss, 2011 Evaluation 2: Module review • Questionnaire • Module results ‘a unit of learning’ Dempster, Benfield & Francis, 2012 Hearing the student voice: Campbell, Beasley, Eland & Rumpus, 2007 Evolution from product towards process? CONCLUSION There is value in listening to the student voice in Curriculum Development – results, improved learning experience, small collaborative steps can have an impact Why? Re-interpretation of literature, better understanding Sustainable model – time-efficient, straightforward Wider applicability – across modules/courses/institutions Students in curriculum design? BACKGROUND Continuum from brief module review to co-creation, Trowler & Trowler, 2010; Bovill, 2013 Is there an effective, sustainable middle way? Barriers? Less control, experience, Bovill, 2013; external regulations, Ritter, 2006 ‘…..(But when) she started using examples for us, just common examples that we could relate to, then started applying the articles to them, then we understood it’ Simon Brooman Sue Darwent Alex Pimor School of Law Benefits students’ motivation, commitment and perception of shared responsibility for learning, Bovill, Cook-Sather & Felten, 2011 ‘When (lecturer) went on about someone selling fruit in Germany, it didn’t really make sense…..’