URB@N Project: Student perspective on a quality learner experience

The School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton has funding from URB@N for three projects. URB@N stands for ‘Undergraduate Research Bursaries at Northampton’. It is a bursary scheme offering opportunities for current undergraduate students to participate in a pedagogic research project taking place at the university. Details of one of these projects is included here.

Student perspective on a quality learner experience 

Scott Turner

John Sinclair

Overview

The project will form part of the larger work going on within the school

on what is a “quality learner experience” both from the staff and student

perspective.

The URB@N student project focus will be on the student perspective and as a peer can hopefully get an more unbiased view through staff not being directly involved in collecting the information.

It is anticipated that results will be disseminated throughout the School

and will inform all Subject teams in terms of the student perspective on

the current learner experience. With the expectation that this will lead to

proactively targeted enhancement activities at subject-level.


Over several years, the School of Science and Technology has been
concerned that its NSS scores, whilst improving, lag behind those of the
rest of the University of Northampton. The development of the KIS has
permitted ready comparison with competitors and whilst there is a recognised
sector-wide issue with low scores in science/technology students, we are not
managing to exceed the outcomes for the majority of similar institutions. In
2011/12, efforts were made to establish student focus groups to investigate
this issue, but student participation was low. We therefore wish to try a different approach, in which the research will be conducted by a student,
which we hope will enable greater buy-in and participation from students
within the School.

The URB@N project would enhance the ongoing project within the school into
what is a quality learner experience.

For more information about this project go Student perspective on a quality learner experience
More details about URB@N can be found at: http://www.northampton.ac.uk/urban

Science bursary students work with School of Science and Technology

Two students from Rushden Community College and Bishops Stopford Sixth Form, Kettering, have undertaken four week placements with The University of Northampton's School of Science and Technology, by the Nuffield Science Bursaries scheme .

• Ben Durrant (Rushden Community College) has been working on 3D modelling and creative design with the NVision team; NVision is a state-of-the-art facility with specialist services to help companies develop and promote their products using the latest 3D modelling and visualisation capabilities, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

•  Hayley Stevenson (Bishops Stopford)  has been working with Dr Scott Turner, Senior Lecturer in Computing, and Dr Margaret Bates, Manager of the Centre for Sustainable Wastes Management, on the Junkbots programme. Junkbots is a challenge for schoolchildren to use waste materials to create, and then program, simple robots, and the scheme has reached out to hundreds of children across Northamptonshire. For more detail about what Hayley did see her blog (including videos and pictures of her work):  http://junkbots-hayleystevenson.blogspot.com/

Nuffield Science Bursaries offer up to 1,000 funded places a year, so that students across the UK can get a practical insight into the world of scientific research and development. Northamptonshire had nine places.

For more detail see the full article at: http://www.northampton.ac.uk/news/article/206/science-bursary-students-work-with-3d-modelling-and-robots