Evolution of an Induction Programme

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Evolution of an Induction Programme

• Janet Lavery
• Active Learning in Computing (ALiC)
• Janet.lavery_at_durham.ac.uk

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In the beginning

• We were being told that our level-one students
• felt isolated
• did not feel they were part of the department
  and
• did not feel supported by the department.
• Changes in level-two as a result of the year long
  team project
• The Team project provides students with
• A team for collaborative study (the project)
• A study group for cooperative study (everything
  else)

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Induction Programme

• First week of the academic year
• Three separate 2 hour sessions
• Games
• Round Robin
• Posters
• Treasure Hunt
• Team project
• Role Play
• Presentation

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Asking the Students
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Students comments

• Complements
• computer science for the win!
• Free chocolate is a brilliant idea
• Love the free food
• Really good way to get people talking and
  increase their confidence. I have made some good
  friends this week
• Suggestions
• Need a hot drinks facility for when it is cold
• More individual work would have been a benefit
  as well. Also a bit too much time was set a side
  for the work.

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The Bootstrap Programme

• As before but more
• The first week of term
• Games
• Team Programming
• Visual Result
• Team Project
• Learning Labs (workshops)
• Active Learning
• Deep and Surface Learning
• Learning Styles
• Surveys
• Technology (ALiC)
• 3 words about Math (lecturer)
• VARK

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Asking the students
Comments It was an interesting week / good
introduction to the course Need to change teams
around to get to know more people
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Embedding Bootstrap

• Games
• Name game
• Quiz (team based)
• Team Programming
• Problem Solving
• As a group working through problems
• Mathematics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Staff intensive
• Sessions of between 30 and 120 minutes
• Research Talks and Tours

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What I would do next year

• Move the students into different groups for every
  big activity
• Involve more of the demonstrators (teaching
  assistants)
• Put the treasure hunt back in and remove or
  reduce the quiz
• Do the learning lab (workshops) after the
  students have had some feedback and grades
• But it is not my project any more!

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Completely different cohort

• Taught Masters Postgraduate Programme is one year
• Strong social programme through the Grad School
• Students must start to work on the first day
• The belief was that the postgraduates needed all
  the relevant information right at the start
• Now we believe that they need to know where to
  access the information
• Available for when they need it
• Essential that they know the regulations
• Desirable that they get comfortable with staff
  quickly

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• Thank you for listening