Innovation
The innovation falls into the final year of undergraduate study and is an optional module open to all Nurses/Midwives and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs). It provides additional credit beyond 360 required for BSc (Hons). However, it also has the potential to be a university-wide module that may be undertaken by any undergraduate student in their final year of study. Students may enrol on this module if they have demonstrated a successful study record to-date and are not trailing modules within their current programme.
What prompted innovation?
The team has developed a level 6, 15-credit module that enables any Faculty of Health undergraduate student to gain academic credit for the extracurricular activity that many will undertake in addition to their requisite modules for their award. There are no taught elements to the module, it is essentially assessment only and is designed to be flexible to fit in and around concurrent study. Students are asked to reflect upon their extra-curricular experiences and link them to the aims of their current programme of study. They will demonstrate how the aims of their programme have been furthered and how their employability profile will have been enhanced through the process of reflecting on their extracurricular experience.
What makes innovation different?
The Faculty recognised the need to acknowledge and reward the many extracurricular initiatives that Health students undertake during their study at Birmingham City University (BCU). These initiatives have ranged from acting as ambassadors/peers, to undertaking simulation projects, such as the ‘Major Incident Scenario’, to taking part in overseas visits to the United States and Nepal.
In undertaking these initiatives/projects and in order to make a success of them, students are required to demonstrate leadership/mentorship, personal initiative and commitment. These skills not only enhance them personally but also greatly enhance and develop their employability profile. The Faculty wished to encapsulate these activities and frame them in such a way that would enable the student to reflect upon the activity in a personally structured way. The journey is supported by designated tutorial staff and facilitates a real acknowledgement of what they have learned in addition to their undergraduate studies and how then this translates into an enhanced employability skill set.
Changes in practice
- This Faculty-wide module is unique within the university and will be a way to foster further innovative practice in learning and teaching. The module will offer students additional credit for extra-curricular project work and this will be an added incentive for staff to pursue funding for developing and implanting such projects in the future.
- The module boldly allows students to select their own assessment method to evidence their learning, with the module lead providing on-going guidance and support as required. This method of negotiated assessment empowers students to select an assessment method, which will highlight better their own inherent skills. For example, a student with robust ICT skills may showcase these through the generation of an e-portfolio or video-blog. Students who are confident public speakers may choose to give an oral presentation or viva. Students who value collaborative work may choose a group-based assessment method. Offering such choice encourages ownership and subsequent engagement.
- The module is designed to be flexible enough to meet a wide variety of extracurricular activities across all undergraduate programmes. The flexibility of submission times also enables students to manage their study time more effectively and will encourage them to become more autonomous and independent learners.
Impact
- The Faculty of Health currently offers a selection of extra-curricular activities both within and across programmes of study (as previously noted). Since the recent launch of the module this year, there has been increased staff activity around the generation of extra-curricular projects that will, in turn, be linked to this module.
- Staff are ever mindful of student progression and retention rates with considerable support being duly offered to any trailing or struggling students. It may be all too easy to overlook the more proficient student who could be developed further. This module offers a further development opportunity and associated reward for these students.
Dissemination
- The innovation has been disseminated locally within Health through the Faculty Learning and Teaching committee and within ‘Partners for Success’ (P4S) working group meetings. P4S is a University-wide project, supported by the Students’ Union where staff and students will work together to maximise the success of our students.
- The innovation has also been disseminated centrally through the University Learning and Teaching committee and has garnered significant interest from other faculties who are now considering developing similar modules for their programmes.
- Following module evaluation, we aim for journal publication and will submit to journals such as: Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education or Innovations in Education and Teaching International as a method of disseminating our practice.