EVIDENCE TO THE CR STEERING GROUP

1
EVIDENCE TO THE CR STEERING GROUP

• Dr Mark Young
• Centre for Learning and Teaching
• School of Biological Sciences

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A CASE FOR RESIDENTIAL FIELD COURSES

• Residential field courses carry great benefits
• Topic-related material, like field skills, but
  ALSO
• A sense of identity and community
• Informal student/staff interactions
• A wider perspective on University life
• Un-distracted by normal social scene
• Opportunity for extended discussion/reflection
• Group working skills/ social skills
• Practice for communication other skills
• Develops confidence and independence

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WHY NOT MORE SUCH COURSES?

• Expensive and heavy on staff time BUT
• Excellent value for money
• Easy to fit into a flexible curriculum
• In the spirit of a wider curriculum
• I learnt more in one week, than in a whole
  term!
• It was extremely helpful to my degree
  programme
• I enjoyed setting my own agenda in the project
• Why arent there more courses like this for
  everyone?

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A PERSPECTIVE ON NACs(with emphasis on the 1st
Year experience)

• Are they to benefit students in own subject area?
• OR, are they to benefit across Colleges?
• Are they to be compulsory, in some structured
  way?
• If many are placed in gtone year, how will the
  rules apply?
• Are they necessarily part of an 8 course 1st
  Year?
• How will these issues influence existing
  curricula?
• All this may be under discussion BUT
• Staff are already actively planning NACs, with
  detail included!

5
THE BIOLOGY 1ST YEAR, AS A CASE STUDY

• The current curriculum
• Biology 1 Biology 2
• Chemistry Biology 3
• Choice 1 Choice 2
• Chemistry is a required subsidiary course
• Choices 1 2 may be a related subject, such as
  Psychology or Geography
• BUT Choices 1 2 are often a language or Arts
  subject
• SO some students already follow a wide
  curriculum

6
THE INTRODUCTION OF NACs

• The new curriculum
• Biology 1 Biology 3
• Biology 2 Biology 4
• NAC1 NAC2
• Choice 1 Choice 2
• Four Biology retained as main subject area, and
  to allow focus on student identity within wide
  curriculum
• If Chemistry remains a requirement then PS or GG,
  and/or Arts subjects are excluded
• If NACs are NOT from other Colleges, then
  curriculum is more focused, not widened

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CONSULTATION IS MEANT TO CONSIDER SUCH ISSUES

• BUT detailed curricula are already being
  discussed for NACs!
• We need ground rules to guide the use of NACs
• AND, we need a decision on the move back to 8 1st
  Year courses
• OR, we may very soon end up with unconsidered
  consequences!

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SOME POSITIVE THOUGHTS

• The spirit of curriculum reform includes a
  widening view
• This includes scientists having an appreciation
  of arts and vice versa
• This suggests NACs being designed for those
  beyond their host College
• This also may suggest some sort of direction to
  ensure students study outside their main subject
• Our previous Biology for Arts Students failed
  from low demand and no direction

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AND SOME MORE

• Could languages count as honorary NACs?
• Could this apply to Basics of World Religion,
  Reading Writing, Global Worlds, Global
  Challenges, Meteorology and Astronomy or
  similar existing courses?
• Using these, plus a few new NACs, within the
  existing curriculum design
• Plus some direction to ensure a wider
  curriculum
• Can we achieve our desired benefits with little
  disruption and just some re-arrangement?

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AND LASTLY .

• NACs (plus revised existing courses) may help us
  improve our provision of skills teaching
• Using active learning and group project work
• Flexible delivery and assessment methods
• Supported by PDP and skills mapping
• Improved community and support may be possible
• Using Peer Assisted Learning
• Project groups made up of same degree students
• I welcome these opportunities but am anxious that
  unconsidered changes may be close unless some
  guidance comes soon