Old Lecturer - New to Student Engagement

[Chris Middleton]

I feel I should re-work a well-known statement here, and say :"My name is Chris Middleton and I have to confess that student engagement is something new to me."

I currently have a role to prepare my teaching colleagues for the advent of our new curriculum for our graduate nursing course starting in 2012 and as part of the research for that role I came across some work by Colin Bryson and Len Hand and found that inspirational for presenting a new way of thinking about teaching and learning. As a result I have focused my staff development work around student engagement.

I am in the process of setting up, what I hope will be a very proactive staff and student conference - equal numbers of each group - to really work through what it means to work in an interactive way with our students to help maximise their opportunities and experience of being a (nursing) student in this university. Delegates will be charged with a responsibility to produce action points for change and I am committed to make sure that they will be implemented.

Unfortunately the conference - for internal staff only, I'm afraid - will happen after the closing date for submissions for the RAISE September conference as it may have been interesting for others. I will still write it up and share it with you.

[Grace Barker]

This sounds really positive! I like the idea of the practical action points from the conference - is there any way of handing over some of the commitment to make change (not just notice the need for it) to the students and staff who are at the conference? For me, Partnership is the key to understanding student engagement.

There are some other people who will be joining the network over the next few days who do some work in nursing as well - it would be good for them to make themselves known to you when they read your post. Thank you!

Anyone else running internal student-staff events?

[christine hardy]

What a shame it is after the closing date Chris as it sounds really interesting and just the thing that we are looking for.  When do you think this event will be?

 

[Julie Wintrup]

Hi Chris

I agree with Grace - I've recieved a lot of inquiries about the conference from colleagues in nursing so this would be really interesting to learn about. I think there are particular challenges and opportunities for health students with such long placements -we have to think about engagement in new ways as there is little time for the more often-discussed 'volunteering' type activities. We also have reasons to understand the nature of persistance and to create the conditions for, in every way we can.

julie

[Colin Bryson]

Hi Chris

I think there is every opportunity to share the outcomes of this interesting event at the RAISE conference. Just put in a proposal saying you will discuss this when you have it available - as long as that is before Seprember that's fine. We all want to hear more about these ideas of partnership into practice - and that's a big part of the conference...(and network!)

Colin

[Chris Middleton]

Hi

I haven't been ignoring you, I have been on leave. The conference is still scheduled for 4th May - it was a little touch and go as the expected rush from staff and students for places has not happened!  This week, though, I am pleased to announce a major surge in student applications, at least.

I will, as Colin suggests, submit a proposal to submit a paper for the September conference and I am looking to write this up with the students.

As Julie says there are particular issues for nursing students and their opportunities to engage with the wider university and community.

I am going up to Edinburgh, to the SPARQS conference at the end of this month to hear what they've got to say. I'm hoping to come away with some good ideas. I'm pleased to say that my school has fully funded two students to come with me.

Chris