Following a competitive bidding process, we are delighted to announce the 10 funded projects for 2020/21:
1: Blended learning in design-practice studio-based teaching
Dr Anastasios Maragiannis; Francisco Mendez Moyano; Sarah Macdonald (Design, FLAS)
This project will explore the best practices for blended learning relating specifically to the delivery of design-practice studio-based teaching. The project will research in more detail how existing practices could help shape an innovative methodological approach (policy) through a series of pedagogical workshops.
2: Development of novel teaching aids to support inclusive science learning in COVID and beyond
Dr Abigail Rickard (Science, FES); Dr Melanie Thorley (UK Student Recruitment, CRD)
One of the most important skills for Science students to be able to perform is to accurately use a pipette in the laboratory. This fundamental skill is difficult to master given the need for excellent manual dexterity and an interpretation of acute sensory feedback in the thumb/hands of an individual using a micropipette. Not only do these problems exist for our students, but for STEM students, graduates, and professional scientists across the globe who are either learning to accurately pipette, or who may experience conditions (e.g. arthritis) that mean they are unable to readily manually operate a traditional pipette. With a redesign of this critical piece of kit, there is the potential to open up a career in science laboratories, including research, to some of the greatest problem-solvers.
3: Student Digital Champions
Sharon Perera (IT & Library Services)
The project will recruit and train 6 student digital champions to develop digital skills and capabilities as mentors and advocates for digital learning. Students will run tutorials and champion the Jisc Discovery Tool across university communities, supporting Academic Support projects and embedded in pilot digital learning initiatives.
4: Promoting peer assisted learning: the experience of the Graduate Teaching Demonstrators
Dr Riccardo De Vita (HROB, FBus), Tania Struetzel (Greenwich Learning & Teaching)
At Greenwich, we recently launched the Graduate Teaching Demonstrators (GTDs) scheme to support recent graduates to start their career, and to facilitate staff and students in the move to blended learning. Considering the benefits of peer assisted learning (PAL), GTDs can be a fundamental asset in enhancing the student experience, progression and achievements. The project aims to assess the outcome of the scheme from different perspectives: 1) the experience of the GTDs in relation to their own personal and professional growth; 2) the experience of students supported by GTDs; and 3) the members of staff who benefited from the support of the GTDs.
5: Adapting assessment support to meet the needs of a diverse student population through blended learning
Dr Leroi Henry, Dr Kenisha Linton (HROB, FBus)
The project will explore the perspectives and practices of students and staff around assessment support in the context of the shift to blended learning, with a focus on cultural capital and inclusivity for BAME and working-class students. The NSS has indicated that our students are unhappy with their feedback and the continuing awarding gap suggests a lack of support for BAME students. Using the lens of cultural capital and as part of developing an inclusive assessment strategy, the research will explore attitudes and practices around assessment support including feedforward. It will identify and promote good practice around making assessment support meaningful to facilitate increased student engagement and improve satisfaction.
6: The Resilience Enhancement Programme for Students (Online): Developing an online course for boosting resilience in students
Dr Oliver Robinson (Human Sciences, FEHHS)
The Resilience Enhancement Programme for Students (REP-S) has been developed since 2016 as a face-to-face programme for students to build resilience to stress. It was originally developed by Dr Oliver Robinson and Dr Ilham Sebah and contains practical exercises covering three aspects of resilience: cognitive resilience (goal-setting, positive reframing), social resilience (assertiveness and positive help-seeking) and physiological resilience (breathing and mindfulness). An evaluation study showing that the programme has positive outcomes for students is currently in press with the British Journal of Guidance of Counselling.
The programme has now been delivered to over 500 students across the Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences and is currently embedded within the core curriculum at Level 4 for BSc Psychology and BSc Psychology with Counselling students. Over 80% of students report that it has given them skills to manage stress and thrive at university. In order to facilitate the delivery of the course to students across multiple faculties in a time when face-to-face delivery is challenging, this project will develop an online version.
7: Leveraging diversity awareness to create inclusive curriculum collaboratively in order to improve equity, student attainment and the student experience in large modules serving multiple degrees: A cross disciplinary and mixed methods approach
Dr Olufemi Decker (Accounting & Finance, FBus); Dr Mariya Eranova (System Management Strategy, FBus)
The HE sector has realised that conscious effort and a systematic approach to engage positively with diversity are necessary to close awarding gaps. Evidence indicates that in large modules serving multiple degree programmes, diversity is more complex. There is the potential for student experience and attainment to be affected adversely by less visible factors such as differences in student expectations, attitudes and preparedness for the module, motivation, lecturers' unconscious discipline biases and understandings of diversity. These issues present challenges in inclusive curriculum development and delivery that can be exacerbated by remote and blended teaching practices. The objective of this project is to establish a cross disciplinary understanding of factors that mitigate against and promote inclusivity in large modules by exploring the experiences and views of staff and students.
8: Championing the chat: Facilitators in Remote and Simultaneous Delivery
Dr Ian Tharp; Nevin Mehmet (Human Sciences, FEHHS)
Chat champions were engaged by the School of Human Sciences to facilitate "chat" forums for sessions taught via Teams. The aim of the proposed work is to review their use to date, extract exemplars of good practice and devise simple guidelines for effective future use.
9: Feedback Hackathon
Dr Navneet Walia; Prof Denise Hawkes, Fahrida Miah; Eleanna Spyrou (EIB, FBus)
Feedback Hackathon is an initiative to fulfil two critical objectives, first, to alleviate student concerns regarding the lack of effective and relevant feedback and second, to enhance NSS scores. Built upon the collaboration between students and teachers, a full day Feedback Hackathon will be organised in Reading Week in Term 2.
Through this exercise, both academics and learners refine their teaching and learning strategies by in-depth understanding of objectives of feedback, self-assessment of learning, rudiments of good performance and closing the gap between current and expected performances.
10: An exploration of the benefits of embedding compassion-focused pedagogy in Level 4 groupwork at Greenwich
Dr Alison Gilmour; Dr Rachel George (Greenwich Learning & Teaching)
This collaborative project will evidence student experience of groupwork, relative to wellbeing; introduce a compassion-focused pedagogy intervention; explore intervention outcomes for staff and students; inform approaches to embedding wellbeing in the Greenwich curriculum.
For further information about the funded projects, please contact the Project Leads or for general questions please contact glt-admin@gre.ac.uk
