Guiding new students through course material with a Pebblepad workbook

Minerva can take some getting used to. For some students, this is a manageable process in the first semester of University. For other students, Minerva is a sizable barrier to learning. Could a workbook be the answer for these students?

What did you do? Why did you do it?

Navigating Minerva as a new student can be overwhelming. Accessing large quantities of multi-model information from a variety of sources, and comprehending that information before applying it to assignments, can be a huge challenge. We are asking students do all this whilst adjusting to student life away from home and developing an academic, independent learning style. Are we asking too much of some of our students? Is this an inclusive approach to expect everyone to be able to cope?

I decided to create a workbook which would accompany my module. The module is an introduction to academic writing skills and so requires basic concepts but also referencing and other library guidance. The workbook I am creating will be designed to emulate the type of content students might have encountered at A Level with a series of explanations, examples and tasks to work through. Learning to navigate a Virtual Learning Environment is arguably part of the university experience and a pre-requisite for success in later modules. This approach does not intend to avoid this fact but provide additional support to students.

Therefore, this workbook is not designed to replace all module Minerva content. Rather, it is a supportive tool to be used by a smaller number of students who require more guidance in the early stages of developing both academic skills and independent learning strategies. By scaffolding the process of acquiring basic academic skills it is hoped that students will be less overwhelmed in their early university studies.

What is the expected impact of your practice and how will you evaluate it?

The intention is to introduce this resource next academic year to my Level 1 students at the beginning of the module. I intend to gather on-going feedback from students by establishing via anonymous poll how many students have utilised the workbook. I will also use a Padlet to gather more in-depth feedback on any strengths and weaknesses of the workbook and adjust accordingly. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the overall impact of the resource, I will invite students to come forward and participate in a focus group or individual interview to glean more in-depth understanding into how the workbook may have impacted their ability to absorb the relevant course material. Finally,  I will include questions in the module evaluation specific to the workbook to capture student feedback at the end of this module.

How could others benefit from this example?

If this workbook is successful, other level 1 modules could benefit by adapting the workbook and sharing it with their students. Some of the content relating to academic referencing and writing would be suitable for other faculty and departments. This resource could also be adapted into a self-study resource unattached to a particular module. I also teach PG modules and notice that many students who have studied elsewhere are not familiar with the expectations of academic writing at post graduate level at Leeds. Once I have trialled it with my level 1 UG students, I too will adapt it for my PG students, particularly international students who can be overwhelmed with the speed of lecture and seminars content.

Author

Nicky Kinsey,  n.kinsey@leeds.ac.uk, Marketing Department, Leeds University Business School

Do you have an example of your practice to share?

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