Multistranded Strategies to Investigate Ways of Improving Retention and Enhancing the Learning Exper

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• Multi-stranded Strategies to Investigate Ways of
  Improving Retention and Enhancing the Learning
  Experience of Students in the Faculty of
  Engineering
• D.Ballance1 , A.Browitt2, J.Davies1, R.Green1,
  S.Roy1, W.Stewart1, M.Vezza1, L.Walker2,
  A.Whittaker1

1 Faculty of Engineering 2 RAPS
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The Strands of the Two Year Project

• Pre-entry provision of course information packs
  for all and telephone follow-up for a sample of
  cohorts across the Faculty.
• Pilot of attendance monitoring at classes for
  Mechanical Engineering first year students.
• PDP website and introduction of this to first
  years, along with a personal tutor scheme.
• Student mentor scheme with senior Aerospace
  Engineering undergraduates providing peer support
  for first years.
• Pilot early formative assessment and feedback.
• Team-building and academically motivating
  exercises introduced from induction for EEE
  students

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Pre-entry Initiatives cross-Faculty with RAPS

• Methods (1)
• Pre-entry initiatives were based on UK-OU Taster
  Packs and pre-entry telephone calls (Simpson,
  2006)
• New entrants to the Faculty of Engineering were
  identified from the Admissions database and were
  sent information packs in August 07
• Packs were developed with each Engineering
  Department and included course descriptors,
  sample timetables, comments from current
  students, an extract from a lecture, information
  from professional societies of Engineers. See
  http//www.eng.gla.ac.uk/infopacks/posted/
• Enthusiastic telephone callers were recruited and
  briefed in the principles of Positive Psychology
  (Simpson, 2006)
• Simpson, O. (2006) Using Strengths to Support
  First Year Retention UK Open University, paper
  presented at ESCalate Conference on the First
  Year Experience, University of Stirling, April
  2006.

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Pre-entry Initiatives cross-Faculty with RAPS

• Methods (2)
• The list of new entrants to call was generated by
  stratifying UK entrants on the basis of Maths
  qualification on entry (Browitt Walker, 2007)
• Approximately half of the students in each strata
  were contacted for a 10 minute phone call,
  leaving a not phoned control group.
• Browitt, A and Walker, L. (2007) Retention and
  Widening Participation in the Faculties of
  Sciences and Engineering, University of Glasgow,
  funded by The Sutton Trust http//www.suttontrust
  .com/reports/glasgow_science_and_eng.pdf

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Feedback on Information Packs

• For initial feedback students were asked about
  the packs during the pre-entry telephone call.
• There were no negative comments and the 109
  students (70) whose specific comments were
  recorded were all positive about the packs.
• Their comments included Sample timetables
  were the most useful pack item (53) Liked
  the quotes from current students (9) Maths
  revision questions were useful (5) Liked
  material from the relevant Institute or Society
  of professional Engineers (4) Liked
  extract from a first year lecture (4).

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Pre-entry Telephone Calls Results of
Questionnaire

• Phoned students were universally positive, most
  highly positive, about the phone call - it had
  produced an important FEEL GOOD factor
• The overwhelming majority of all the students
  felt that their experiences to date had measured
  up to their expectations. Yet those from the
  Phoned group were far more likely to state that
  their expectations had been exceeded. Not Phoned
  students were more likely to add negative
  provisos and suggestions for change. We surmised
  that the Phoned group felt more positive about
  the University
• 65 of the Phoned students mentioned that they
  felt well prepared for their studies, yet only
  30 of the Not Phoned group felt the same
• The large majority of Phoned students felt that
  the Faculty/University were doing a good job with
  new students and that no additional support was
  needed. In contrast, 85 of the Not Phoned
  students felt that there was more that the
  Faculty/University could do to help new students
  through their first year of study.

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Pre-entry Telephone Calls Students Quotes

• The phone call was very useful as someone could
  answer those little questions that lay at the
  back of my head, that seemed quite trivial but
  were important to me! It was also useful to speak
  to a current student as they understand what you
  are going through.
• I was really pleased when I was contacted by the
  university as I thought it showed that it is
  actually interested in how the students feel. I
  was initially quite worried about coming to
  Glasgow as I hadn't really spoken to anyone apart
  from on the open days but speaking to someone who
  was able to answer my questions really put my
  mind at ease. It also put my mums mind at ease as
  she realised that there is always someone about
  to help
• It was a nice wee surprise and made me feel like
  I was being eagerly awaited, but it may have been
  more useful to have had some notice to allow me
  to think of questions in advance.

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Outcome of Pre-entry Telephone Calls

• There appears to be an impact of the pre-entry
  phonecall on whether a new entrant takes up their
  accepted place and registers at the start of the
  session all 153 Phoned students registered
  while 11 of the 154 Not Phoned students did not
  register.

(Not on list includes overseas students and
those not on Admissions database in August, eg
came through clearing)
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Outcome of Pre-entry Telephone Calls

• A marked improvement by Phoned students in
  early Maths assessments in Civil Engineering was
  shown.

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Outcome of Pre-entry Telephone Calls

• The Phoned group cross-Faculty make slightly
  better progress in Semester 1 with 74 gaining
  GPA 9.1 or above compared to 69 of the control
  group despite being slightly less well qualified
  on entry.

(Grade D GPA 10)
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Mechanical Engineering Attendance Monitoring

• Aims of Attendance Monitoring
• Define relationship between attendance and
  retention
• Provide early warning of non-attendance to enable
  action to be taken
• Determine whether monitoring attendance increases
  attendance

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Mechanical Engineering Attendance Monitoring

• Attendance monitoring undertaken using RFID
  Readers
• Hand-held device (190)
• Reads Student card in proximity upon pressing
  a button
• Returns 8 digit hexadecimal number
• Compact size (6 cm x 4.5 cm)
• Battery operated
• Robust
• Downloads to a PC via a USB cable and simple
  software
• Successfully used in Lectures, Tutorials, Labs
  and Examinations
• Networked (Fixed) Device also available (265)

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Mechanical Engineering Attendance Monitoring

• Outcomes
• Initial study concentrated on first year
  Mathematics
• Attendance at lectures was typically 70 80
• Compulsory tests increased attendance to 90
• Attendance monitoring seemed to increase the
  number of students completing the coursework (
  95)
• Tutorial attendance strongly linked to exam
  performance
• Significant drop off in attendance at start of
  Semester 2

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Mechanical Engineering Attendance Monitoring
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Personal Tutors and PDP

• Aims
• To promote student engagement and motivation
• To provide a reason for student/personal tutor
  meetings

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Personal Tutors and PDP

• Students asked Why should we bother with PDP?
• Our Engineering Alumni said

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Personal Tutors and PDP

• BSc Electronic Engineering 1990
• 2.    Richard Sproul
• ASIC Specialist, Nokia UK
• I am Manager of Specialist ASIC integration team
  for 3G mobile phone chip sets for Nokia.  Lead
  teams in UK and Finland, France and
  India.pdp_examplesPDP is part of the Nokia
  working practice.  Each year we have a
  Development review and highlight areas that need
  improvement for personal skills as well as
  professional.  The review takes place with the
  manager to plan for training either as part of a
  learning package (onsite or offsite) on the job
  training, and general areas that need
  coaching.pdp_startBit of both, I am part of
  IEE so PDP is part of my own objectives but also
  the company encourage the individual engineer to
  look at improving all areas. I started as part of
  my chartered IEE recognition process after
  leaving University in 1990.pdp_advicePlan to
  develop as much of you personal skills as is
  possible.  My team is required to make
  presentations to large groups of professionals at
  management and technical levels.  Technical
  training should always be planned, for as my
  career has changed a lot over the last 17 years
  and even more in the last 5.  Technologies moves
  fast and unless you get ready you get left
  behind.  Engineering is becoming much more global
  and there are challenges working with cultural
  differences as well as the time differences.  Try
  to learn how other areas connected to your
  business work, finance, manufacturing, test,
  project management.

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Personal Tutors and PDP

• Staff buy-in
• Identification of target students
• Student buy-in
• PDP personal tutoring is still work in
  progress

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Aerospace Engineering Buddy Scheme

• Aim
• Improved student engagement
• Methods
• All first years included in scheme this session
• Buddy volunteers from 4th year aero and one
  from mechaero
• 1st year groups and buddy to meet over the
  academic year discuss issues they are concerned
  with

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Aerospace Engineering Buddy Scheme

• Issues Raised by Staff Running the Scheme
• 4th years can find first years difficult to
  contact
• Meetings arranged, and students often do not
  appear
• Meetings seem to turn into an opportunity to moan
  about studying or air their frustrations about
  aspects of the course
• but 4th years commented on being able to give a
  pep talk and advice from a senior UG student
  seemed to be appreciated
• Disclosure Scotland

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Aerospace Engineering Buddy Scheme

• Feedback from Mentors
• I think the first year students are benefiting
  from the scheme, mostly by obtaining knowledge
  how the department operates and how to deal with
  their first set of exams. 5 out of 6 have been
  turning up to meetings
• As a mentor I feel this has been good
  opportunity to work on my soft skills, especially
  communication
• Would definitely run the scheme again as its
  easier for First Years to ask academic and
  orientation questions to another student than to
  approach lecturers or Adviser.
• Feedback from Mentees
• I would say that the mentoring program has been
  worthwhile, and I would encourage all first year
  students to take advantage of it
• The mentoring scheme is a really good idea as
  any trivial problem can be sorted with an older
  student instead of looking like a twit asking a
  lecturer
• whenever I had a problem I asked my student
  mentor and I often gained a new way of
  approaching, or thinking about, the solution to a
  question.

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Formative Assessment Feedback

• Maths Diagnostic courtesy of the Maths
  Department
• Maths can be a major hurdle for UG students in
  engineering
• All 1st year aerospace UG students took maths
  diagnostic test
• What are maths skills of first year entrants?
• Diagnostic system set up by maths
• All first year entrants will have done the maths
  prior to university
• Web-based
• Students allowed two practice sessions to allow
  them to brush up
• Organised during aero 1 laboratory sessions
• Tutors not present
• Students take test and submit results student
  may take test more than once
• Scores returned to aero for analysis

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Correct scores for each question

• Some types of question score poorly.
• Worrying observation is that some crucially
  important maths is very poor

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Post-test follow up

• Students allowed to access their test results
• Document circulated to students containing
  results
• Tutorial sessions arranged with tutors present
• Attendance poor
• Reason Afterthought? Not credit bearing?

• Next Steps?
• Make passing the test a condition for progressing
  to year 2?
• Help from new Number Unit?

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EEE Team Building

• Aim
• To enhance social interaction between students by
  building on the department's mentoring program,
  which has been running for many years.

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EEE Team Building

• Some of the funds were used to
• buy one pair of Parallax SumoBotsfor each team.
• www.parallax.com

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EEE Team Building

• The SumoBots
• require straightforward construction, which
  provides a good, hands-on focus for an initial
  team-building session
• are easy to program (BASIC language), do not
  require previous experience of programming but
  give plenty of opportunity for the team to
  develop strategy
• are competitive, leading toward a tournament in
  which all teams compete

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EEE Team Building

• The greatest impact of the SumoBots was at Open
  Day. A SumoBot was modified to use a Wii
  controller, which was a great attraction to
  visiting students.
• The effect of the team building activities on
  retention are yet to be determined.

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Conclusions

• Too soon too tell for many of the initiatives.
• Pre-entry packs and phone calls appear to be a
  good investment.
• Attendance monitoring appears to be improving
  attendance.
• Attendance seems to correlate with examination
  success (certainly in mathematics).