Friday 6 July 2018

Seeds for Solutions: Innovation Projects from 2016/17

Project Title: Using corpora to enhance autonomous language learning unit in PGR students
Project Leader(s): Russell Clark, Suzanne Heaton and Alison Long


This project will develop a series of videos and activities to train international postgraduate research students in how to use published English language corpora, corpus programmes, and the information generated. It will then create specialised corpora, initially for students studying in Keele Management School and the School of Pharmacy, along with tasks designed to raise awareness of specialised language use. The students will then be trained in how to create and exploit their own corpus, and how to use the information generated not only to improve their writing, but also to develop a sense of autonomy and ownership.

Using corpora - Final Project Report

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Project Title: Project Ponder - Making students think using 'Posh Clickers'
Project Leader(s): Russell Pearson and Tejesh M.Pattni


Project Ponder encourages students to think using small, frequent interludes of a classroom response system based on “Clicker” handsets. Phase 1 of this project involved 140 students having a year-long loan of a clicker handset to answer MCQs. Our student feedback clearly shows that smart and thoughtful clicker usage has a powerful impact with 97% requesting their continuation next year and 81% asking for handsets with free text answering capabilities. Phase 2, therefore, introduces “Posh Clickers” and so this proposal describes (1) how just 35 devices would be required, and (2) why alternative mobile phone technology should be avoided.

Project Ponder - Final Project Report

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Project Title: Virtual laboratories as a complementary E-learning tool in Biomedical Science
Project Leader(s): Anne Loweth and Sheila Hope


Laboratory investigation lies at the heart of the biomedical sciences and acquisition of excellent laboratory skills is essential to our undergraduates’ employability. Delivering high quality, resource-intensive practical classes is economically challenging hence, despite extensive laboratory classes, students encounter some complex techniques in theory only. This project evaluates the merits of Labster laboratory simulations, integrating virtual laboratories with theory and molecular animations, in improving students’ learning, firstly, of a theoretically-encountered technique and, secondly, as a preparative adjunct to support laboratory classes. Test performance and questionnaire data analysis will assess our hypothesis that female students may especially benefit from this learning resource.

Virtual laboratories - Final Project Report

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Seeds for Solutions: Innovation Projects from 2016/17

Project Title: Video Resource Pack: Developing Academic Communication Skills for International Students
Project Leader(s): Ella Tennant


The need to adapt to Keele’s academic culture is one of many challenges faced by international students. This project will focus on the design, production and publication of a video resource pack aimed at helping students develop the communication skills necessary to succeed in their degree programmes.  The resource pack composed of short video films and an accompanying handbook will serve as a learning tool embedded in the KLE, concentrating on three areas: giving presentations, participating in tutorial/seminar discussions and communicating with a personal tutor, within the Keele academic context.

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Project Title: The Lecture as Performative Pantomime: (Back)channelling student conversations to maximise engagement and collaborative learning in lectures
Project Leader(s): Angela Rhead and Matthew Brannan


This project will explore the use of TodaysMeet to create temporary chatrooms unique to each lecture, which employs students’ personal electronic devices (smartphones / tablets / laptops) to stimulate and capture individual / small group dialogues. These dialogues create a feedback loop between lecturer and audience to facilitate a collectively produced learning event. 

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Project Title: Supporting the international student transition: The English-Mandarin 'talking glossary' for Environmental students
Project Leader(s): Katie Szkornik


Students from China coming to study in the UK face significant language and cultural barriers. Studies show that despite extensive support, English Language problems remain a major barrier to achievement within assessment from China (Mathias et al., 2013; Szkornik et al., 2015). This study develops a subject-specific, English-Mandarin 'talking glossary', which will be used as a learning tool in modules currently delivered in China by Keele-based academics (flying faculty; Smith, 2014), as part of our collaborative degree programme in Environment and Sustainability with Nanjing Xiaozhuang University. 

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