134 | JADE
KATE BAKER, ELLA TENNANT & FRANK RUTTEN
readily be addressed. She then concentrated on the creative aspect,
namely the submitted work, which the students were introduced
to by means of a day-spanning exercise to produce a (men’s or
women’s) magazine article on aspirin. After this the students are
given two weeks to produce the actual submission, of which Katie
then showed a number of examples from past years. A Monopoly
game had all the usual aspects, including an adapted board and
cards with question, which if not answered correctly did not lead
to “jail”, but rather to “PR scandal”. And a crazy golf game came
with its own club. Other submissions were inspired by Star Wars
(incorporating all required aspects is no mean feat and requires a
lot of creativity!), Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (a much easier
option as the template is available from the ITV website…), a diary
from a patient’s perspective, a novel on balsalazide, a menu “Gastro
Pharmacie” and even included edible components such as cupcakes.
A superb if rather bizarre submission involved interpretative
dance filmed at the lakes near Keele Hall – surely the epitome of
creativeness!
The assessment is generally liked by students, apart from the viva
aspect which some consider too unexpected in nature – rather
missing the point of that component of the exercise…
As Katie summed-up, if given free reign, even scientist can be
creative, have fun and learn a lot in the process!
After this fun and informative talk a lively discussion touched
upon assessment and remedial work, which involves a “re- viva” as
submitted work has always been of sufficient standard. Introduction
of an informal prize is under consideration to specifically encourage
creativity, perhaps using a formal show akin to “Britain’s Got Talent”.
Assessment of creativity is being developed for a final year exercise,
using creative writing cues. The assessment criteria along with the
assessment instructions are supplied to students in advance, so
that they know what they are working to. International students
can sometimes struggle with the creative aspects and if initial
encouragement is not sufficient are supplied with a list of options,
allowing them to meet the ILOs. Some submissions were actually
transformative for the academics involved!
Kate Baker from Keele University’s School of Life Sciences
presented on work carried out in her previous post at Aberdeen
University on personal development planning for international PG
students. This scheme abbreviated as PIPS originated in Aberdeen,
with a view of implementing it across Scotland.
Kate first explored aspects of personal development planning
(PDP), highlighting the importance of structure and support as well
as reflection on learning. Crucially it should support personal and
career development and encompass a range of transferable skills,
such as flexibility, self-awareness and communication skills. Prior