Seeds for Solutions, How does the past inform the future? Innovation projects from 2014/15 #KATS2015

Project Title: Students' Psychophysical Responses to Feedback
Project Leader(s): Yvonne Skipper and Russ Crawford

Research examining the impact of feedback suggests that different forms can lead to different responses to failure. Some forms lead students to persist and succeed while others can lead students to give up (Dweck, 1999). However, the reasons for this have largely been discussed as being due to thoughts about intelligence.

By using physical measures and combining ideas from both psychology and medicine, results from this research will tell us more about how the body and mind respond to feedback together. Perhaps some forms of feedback create more of an adrenaline-mediated ‘fight or flight’ response which could hinder learning.

Students' Psychophysical Responses to Feedback - Final Project Report

Students' Psychophysical Responses to Feedback by Yvonne Skipper and Russ Crawford, Keele University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Project Title: Can Interactive Classroom Technologies Improve Student Engagement and Performance?
Project Leader(s): Jan Hoole and Tracy Lovatt

Increasing student engagement with learning materials during lectures and tutorials is a challenge for every lecturer. This project evaluates three freeware and one licensed programme, each offering ways of optimising student/teacher interaction. The student can offer free-text responses to lecturer questions and answer multiple-choice questions. In addition some of the software is suitable for real-time student feedback in the form of ‘confusion rating’ of individual slides and of teaching evaluation questionnaires. The research will enable tutors to quickly choose appropriate free software for the particular application they require, reducing preparation time and improving interaction between student and tutor.

Can Interactive Classroom Technologies Improve Student Engagement and Performance? - Final Project Report 

Can Interactive Classroom Technologies Improve Student Engagement and Performance? by Jan Hoole and Tracy Lovatt, Keele University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Project Title: Personalised Immersive Learning: Using Virtual Reality Headsets to Provide Engaging and Flexible Clinical Learning Opportunities
Project Leader(s): Mel Humphreys, Luke Bracegirdle, Pete Lonsdale, Tim Smale, Daryl Kerr and Ian Wood

New virtual reality headsets allow us to provide students with personal, immersive environments where they can take part in simulations of clinical episodes. Building on previous work between the Schools of Pharmacy and Nursing & Midwifery, we will be extending existing work on the Virtual Ward to allow access by a greater range of students from more diverse settings, and utilising a variety of scenarios. Students will be able to immerse themselves within clinical environments, interacting with patients and healthcare teams to explore the essential skills of teamwork, communication, and meaningful decision making in an authentic and safe setting.

Personalised Immersive Learning: Using Virtual Reality Headsets to Provide Engaging and Flexible Clinical Learning Opportunities by Mel Humphreys, Luke Bracegirdle, Pete Lonsdale, Tim Smale, Daryl Kerr and Ian Wood, Keele University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Seeds for Solutions, How does the past inform the future? Innovation projects from 2014/15 #KATS2015

Project Title: Welcome to the World of Research: an Undergraduate Research Conference for Biochemistry and Biomedical Science Finalists
Project Leader(s): David Watson, Sheila Hope and Trish Procter

Final year research projects are integral to most undergraduate programmes, usually assessed as a project report. Wider dissemination of research work in the context of professional practice is through conference attendance with delivery of an oral and/or poster presentation. Whilst many courses also include these additional assessments, often based on the final year research projects, few students are afforded the opportunity to attend professional conference. This project will establish a two-day undergraduate research conference for final year Biochemistry and Biomedical Science students, designed to give students real-life experience of conference presentation in an environment more akin to professional practice.

Welcome to the World of Research - Final Project Report

Welcome to the World of Research: an Undergraduate Research Conference for Biochemistry and Biomedical Science Finalists by David Watson, Sheila Hope and Trish Procter, Keele University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Project Title: An e-learning Platform to Promote Active Learning through Screencast Technology
Project Leader(s): Laura Hancock

The use of screencasts to supplement learning is becoming commonplace in higher education but there are concerns that their use may promote mostly passive learning. The aim of this project is to create an e-learning platform that provides the appropriate scaffolding to stimulate active learning in chemistry by combining screencast technology with interactive quizzes to deliver instant feedback. Users of this resource will be required to demonstrate recall and understanding of basic concepts before gaining access to higher level screencast material, allowing users to construct their own knowledge and discouraging a passive approach to learning.


An e-learning Platform to Promote Active Learning through Screencast Technology by Laura Hancock, Keele University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Seeds for Solutions, How does the past inform the future? Innovation projects from 2014/15 #KATS2015

Project Title: Using Twitter in Sociology Teaching and Learning
Project Leader(s): Ala Sirriyeh and Emma Head

The aim of this project is to assess the use of Twitter as a tool to promote enhanced student learning and engagement on a sociology module. The research will evaluate the use of Twitter as a learning tool in a new level seven module 'Race', Racism and Resistance, which will run in semester one, 2014-15. Twitter activities will be designed to connect the online and offline tasks that students are engaging in. This project will contribute to wider debates around the use of social media in higher education teaching and learning.

Using Twitter in Sociology Teaching and Learning - Final Project Report

Using Twitter in Sociology Teaching and Learning by Ala Sirriyeh and Emma Head, Keele University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Project Title: Intelligence' and Success at University
Project Leader(s): Yvonne Skipper

Students can think of intelligence as being fixed or malleable. Research suggests that those with a malleable view are more likely to choose challenging learning goals, cope well with setbacks and perform better. This is because they believe that intelligence can be changed with effort.

This project involves delivering an intervention to encourage students to feel that intelligence and success are due to their efforts more than their abilities. This will involve a lecture during Freshers week and reflective activities cross the year. Students will also complete questionnaires to examine how the intervention may have impacted their views and performance.

Intelligence' and Success at University - Final Project Report

Intelligence' and Success at University by Yvonne Skipper, Keele University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.