Journal of Academic Development and Education JADE Issue 11 Summer 2019 | Page 26

Collaborative Cross Sectional Partnerships in Europe (Erasmus +) Ian Crawford ([email protected]) Abstract: Over the last 5 years I have been fortunate to participate in a number of Erasmus + Educational Partnerships covering areas such as NEET, Gifted and Talented, STEM, Teacher Improvement and currently Women in STEM. These partnerships offer key insights into European approaches and solutions to many of our own priorities. This presentation will hopefully provide insights to colleagues and look ahead to future projects in light of BREXIT. Teaching Students to Learn Michele Bourne ([email protected]) Abstract: Students arrive at university with existing knowledge and learning strategies which have worked for them in the past. The culture of learning at a university is often very different and requires different strategies. In order to be successful, students need to adopt a new role within their own learning. Which practical steps can educators take to help students through this process and to explicitly facilitate it? Over the past eight years, I’ve used an action research approach to change the way that I teach students in their first year at university so that in addition to learning module specific material, they can develop their autonomy, proactiveness and awareness of their own role within their learning. This harnesses the power of each student within the classroom, making learning far more effective and enabling students to transfer their existing knowledge into the ways in which they manage their learning in both this module, other modules and their future learning throughout life. 26  SwattUp - The Social Learning Network * Jayne Eagles ([email protected]) Abstract: SwattUp (The Social Learning Network) has evolved from concept to launch with the support of Keele's KRISP program. The platform is now live, housing students and tutors from more than 12 different universities. Our aim was to understand how students learn most effectively and the University environment they are operating in – in order to co-develop a peer- to-peer learning solution that supports the student learning journey. Our team interviewed students and university staff through focus groups, online surveys and one-on-one sessions which resulted in the understanding that collaborative learning can help students to close the achievement gap on their peers, not only because it gives all students a voice (including those left behind) but also because the ever increasing information available to students is making ‘thinking and forming answers’ exponentially harder. Since launching SwattUp, we have discovered a multitude of ways in which the platform is benefitting students and we are proud that the connections being made online are being carried through to the physical world through offline learning collaborations, catalysed through the platform. Today a large number of students are not asking questions and are falling behind - SwattUp gives them a platform to re-engage and keep up with their peers.