60 | JADE
HIGHLIGHT #3|| 61
THE DKC PEOPLE
CHRISTOPHER LITTLE
Measuring the ‘success’ of such taught interventions can often be
difficult. We currently record evaluative student feedback at the
end of each taught session, as many central services do, via student
evaluative questionnaires (SEQs). Some scholars note that SEQ’s
can lead to a dumbing down of data with regards to teaching and
learning (Johnson, 2000). However, they still serve as an efficient
method of measuring students immediate experiences of teaching
and learning in the absence of any institutional and longitudinal
method for evaluating the development of these practices.
We ask learners to rate workshops on a scale of 1-5 (1 = poor, 5 =
excellent) as well as requesting qualitative data on what they found
useful in the session and what else they would like to see. Figure
2 shows the feedback ratings received in the 2013/14 and 2014/15
academic years.
What next?
We would encourage JADE readers to contact us if they would like
to engage with our service or would like to work with the team on
embedding learning development strategies within their practices.
Please direct queries to the following faculty-associated learning
developers:
• Humanities and Social Sciences: Angela Rhead,
[email protected]
• Natural Sciences: Jayne Eagles, [email protected]
• Health: Chris Little, [email protected]
The team is currently delivering its embedded provision for the
2015/16 academic year and beyond. In addition to this, the team
continues to provide the Write Direction Study Skills service and
freestanding development workshops. Follow the hyperlinks for
more information on these services.
When attending a recent conference, colleagues from institutions in
the local area were amazed at the levels of ‘embeddedness’ that we
in Student Learning services have at Keele. This is something for the
institution to be proud of and serves to demonstrate the university’s
commitment to providing learning and development opportunities
to our students.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Tim Hinchcliffe, Head of Curriculum Development
and Student Learning, for his comments in refining this short piece.
We are working towards more longitudinal means of measuring
impact and will be discussing these with colleagues in due process.
However, we have seen a significant growth in student attendance
and a positive rise in the average feedback score in each faculty.
This data shows the benefits of an embedded approach indicating
positive experiences for learners at our taught sessions, with
feedback scores and attendance rates rising as these sessions
become more integrated throughout programmes.