Conference Abstracts

Making group work inclusive: design of a large-class problem-based learning activity

Clare Tweedy

Problem-based learning (PBL) traditionally occurs in small groups with the presence of trained facilitators to direct learning. The pedagogical benefits of PBL include development of problem-solving skills through engagement with an authentic patient case study. By taking elements of PBL and adapting it to a large class setting, the benefits can be achieved with a single facilitator. 220 students in a Level 2 Neurobiology module were assigned to 47 groups at random. The aim was to use PBL to develop problem-solving skills and enable students to evaluate the relationship between anatomical structures and their functions. An inclusive design approach was taken to ensure that the group work element was equitable for all students as a means of authentic assessment.  Team agreements were signed by all groups in the first session. Students were informed of expectations, including how their peers may have different working styles but are still contributing to the output. A patient case study was provided alongside an assessed workbook containing weekly short-answer questions. Learning was supplemented with pre-recorded material and a laboratory practical. All sessions were timetabled in a teaching space on-campus and after training from the facilitator, groups could move elsewhere for more space or a quieter environment if required. The benefits of group work for learning gains in PBL were emphasised throughout the activity.  After submission, students completed peer ratings through BuddyCheck and were asked to reflect on their own contribution and that of their peers. Students could be penalised up to 5% if their contribution did not meet expectations. The timetabling of all group work sessions was particularly well-received and should be implemented whenever group work is carried out. In addition to development of problem-solving skills and subject-specific knowledge, students were highly engaged with the authenticity of the patient case study task. 

Decolonising Biochemistry

Anastasios Stavrou

In the UK higher education, there are concerns developing regarding the awarding/attainment gap between White and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students reaching a ‘good’ degree. Pedagogical research is ongoing on the causes of this with focus on curricula being largely Eurocentric   Decolonising higher education curricular means it's necessary to make explicit the curriculum components that give rise to a dominant cultural perspective over others. It is particularly difficult to pinpoint these components that give precedence of one viewpoint over another.  In order to make sure our bioscience courses such as biochemistry are inclusive and give every student the chance to be recognised and realise their full potential we sought to enrich our course by incorporating previously absent voices, viewpoints and activities  Studies that are ongoing show an inclusive, varied, and decolonised curriculum fosters critical thinking skills in students and enables them to challenge preconceptions, providing a better overall educational experience that facilitates academic success.  Our study aims to explore what decolonising the curriculum means for biochemistry. We have investigated how three modules (levels 4, 5 and 6) vary in their diversity. We then aimed to incorporate improvements intended to embed inclusivity, diversity and decolonise the curriculum from deep-seated assumptions. This changed and inclusive curriculum would help students to identify with their course better and lead to better outcomes. In addition, the increased diversity of the course would help attract a more diverse cohort of students.  Our focus was to rearrange the module lecture slides to highlight issues and incorporate critical perspectives on content sources. To facilitate this, we consulted a wide rage of source materials including journals/textbooks from global South offering unique perspectives and insights. This is particularly true when contextualising the subject in its historical moment.

Creating a sense of belonging for BIO students struggling with Chemistry: a combination of peer support and an easy to access ‘chemistry toolbox’ to improve students’ confidence in basic chemistry

Michael Loughlin

Most of our students join us without any Chemistry qualifications. Chemistry is seen, a bit like Mathematics, as a ‘no go area’. The barrier seems to mostly be lack of confidence rather than lack of ability; although there are some students, that don’t seem to remember even basic concepts (like interpreting skeletal formulas or balancing chemical reactions). Many Universities have central teams that help students with Mathematics, Statistics, and other general academic skills. Unfortunately, Chemistry is too ‘specialised’ a topic to be covered. So, at least at UEA, we were left with a problem. A problem that until recently meant countless 1 to 1 sessions with students. On top of this not being sustainable in terms of workload it is also ‘unfair’ as only the ‘braver’ students would come forward to ask for help.  In an attempt to create an inhouse Chemistry support group we created a Chemistry HUB. We invited all 1st year students, whether confident in the subject or not, students from further years, especially those that once struggled with the subject but managed to overcome it, as well as postdoctoral scientists and PGR students that wanted to develop their teaching skills. Members could communicate via a Teams group and were offered weekly sessions where they could meet in person and discuss any material they struggled with. Sessions were facilitated by a member of faculty but were mostly student-led. We also created a ‘chemistry toolbox’ that all students had access to via our VLE. This was a compilation of short videos and resources explaining basic concepts. Students could re-visit these throughout the year and make suggestions on other topics we could include. More importantly, the HUB offered a sense of belonging to those ‘weaker’ students, and the realisation that ‘they are not alone in this’.

Enterprise in the Life Sciences Challenge: A resource efficient intervention which enhances Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic student employability and success.

Gemma Wattret

This initiative was delivered in collaboration with Careers & Employability and The School of Life Sciences with support from the Student Success Innovation Fund. The (ELSC) was designed to help address the employment attainment gap for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in the School. Over 40 students worked in inter-disciplinary teams to address real world challenges facing employers across the Life Sciences sector. Students were introduced to key concepts of entrepreneurial thinking, including activities for creative thinking, user-research and business modelling and were provided with support to develop a digital pitch to showcase their proposed solutions to address the challenge. Data from our research evaluating the initiative highlights the positive impact this authentic and innovative activity had on the development of students’ employability skills, professional networks and awareness of career opportunities. Students’ self-assessment of skill development showed an average increase across seven skills in high-demand within the Life Sciences sector and wider graduate labour market, including problem-solving, leadership and commercial awareness. 93% of participants stated the activity developed their confidence and enhanced their student experience. In addition to the impact on student employability and experience, this initiative supported wider institutional aims for student success in the areas of inclusion and support for entrepreneurship. The initiative itself directly aligns to the UN SDG Reduced Inequalities and students developed solutions to challenges facing the Life Sciences sector which link to wider sustainability challenges, including Responsible Consumption and Production and Good Health and Well-being. 

PEMENTOS: An EDI-Focused Peer-Mentoring Pilot

James McEvoy

Mentoring programmes can improve the attainment and retention of minoritized students in higher education, but schemes vary widely in their design and delivery. Universities have been urged to measure the effect of such programmes and to identify their most effective features at a local level. PEMENTOS (PEer MEntoring TO Succeed) was designed as such a programme in the School of Life Sciences and the Environment at Royal Holloway. 68 current students in the School were recruited to mentor 103 incoming first-year undergraduates in Term 1 of the 2022-23 academic year. Mentors and mentees were asked to arrange four, in-person, one-hour “core meetings” over Term 1. Mentors attended a mid-point review meeting in Week 7, and both mentors and mentees were invited to attend an end-of-programme meeting in Week 11. Pre- and post-intervention surveys showed that the sampled mentees were statistically significantly more confident and less worried about university life at the end of the programme than they were to start with. The biggest increases in confidence were seen in response to the statements “I feel confident about managing my time” and “I feel confident about planning my revision”, and the biggest reductions in worry were seen in response to the statement “I feel worried about adapting to university life” and “I feel worried about how to meet people and make friends”. Non-white mentees reported a greater increase in confidence about socializing with their peers and about managing their finances than white mentees did. We found that mentees logged in to our VLE at almost twice the rate of non-participants, and the fraction of assessment submissions was higher for mentees than for mentors and non-participants. Class attendance was also higher for mentees than non-participants, completing an encouraging picture of enhanced engagement among PEMENTOS participants.

Analysis of Suspected Academic Irregularity Panel (SAIP) data at Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology

Karin Garrie

It is widely acknowledged that a student’s race and ethnicity can significantly affect their degree outcomes. Of the disparities that exist within higher education, the gap between the likelihood of White students and students from Black, Asian or minority ethnic (‘BAME’) backgrounds being awarded a ‘good degree outcome,’ i.e., a first, or upper-second-class degree is among the starkest. A potentially contributing factor is, anecdotally, the number of international students that are falling foul of academic irregularity issues more frequently than other students.   This pilot looked at available data in SST at NTU to discover whether certain cohorts of students are disproportionally represented. We looked at home, EU, and overseas students (residency), gender, mature and young students, disability flags (such as access statements), program year of study, ethnicity, UCAS versus direct students as one characteristic and additionally, looked at the intersectionality of these characteristics with the aim to identify potential trends. In addition, we wanted to see if there may be a link between SAIP outcomes and nationality, ethnicity.   Findings will be used to instigate conversations about bespoke interventions to reduce the number of AI’s and detrimental impact on degree outcomes. 

Increasing undergraduate students’ science identity through outreach engagement.

Katherine Rawlinson & Mel Lacey

A student's feeling of belonging in science - ‘science identity’ - is shown to be related to degree attainment and overall success in science. Structural and social inequalities can result in individuals, particularly students belonging to minority groups, having low levels of science identity. As a result the degree awarding gap widens and the diversity of society is not reflected across science.  In the department of Biosciences & Chemistry, Sheffield Hallam University, we have developed a portfolio of schools outreach activities students are able to engage with throughout their undergraduate and postgraduate studies.  Roles include, but are not limited to, co-presenters, activity design and activity impact researchers.  These activities are designed to be integrated into existing department practice and develop the professional practice and wider skills sets of students.    This talk will be co-delivered by academics and students, and present the positive impact of outreach involvement on our students’ science identity (qualitative data analysis from 38 individual interviews).  We will discuss how this has the potential to influence student attainment, retention, career progression and inclusivity.  Our students will talk from their own perspective on their journey of involvement in outreach work including challenges, achievements and personal gain.  This talk will provide other HEI’s with an example of best practice with multiple impact angles, to support their students and develop opportunities within their own departments.

Lessons learned from an interdisciplinary sustainability module

Sarah Gretton

The Sustainability Enterprise Partnership Project module is a 15 credit ‘work related learning module’ that was piloted in semester 1 of the 2022/23 academic year with third year undergraduate science students (from Biological Sciences, Creative Computing, Geography, and Physics) at the University of Leicester. It was developed to build on an institutional project to provide sustainability audits for local business with student auditors. In this module, students worked initially in groups and laterally individually, and were partnered with one of the local businesses. They used raw data (previously collected), to produce two pieces of work that were then fed back to the business to use. The Written Industry Report (group) provided the business with an overview of their current sustainability performance, with reference to relevant local and national policy and legislation as well as industry benchmarking data. Suggestions for which sustainability initiatives to aim towards and how to achieve those were provided in the Detailed Implementation Plan (individual). Alongside these, students completed a Professional Reflection Portfolio which included their Carbon Literacy Training evidence form and some reflective questions about their skill development. This presentation will review the pilot delivery of this module, and discuss lessons learnt around the delivery of real-world interdisciplinary sustainability module. 

Engaging first year biology students with the Sustainable Development Goals

Heather McQueen

Our session will show how biology students were familiarised and engaged with the sustainable development goals throughout their first semester of higher education. We will share data demonstrating positive student attitude towards this approach, including student testimonials, and will showcase creative and entertaining student work that links the sustainable developmental goals to the study discipline.

Co-creating with Undergraduates: Communication of Synoptic Assessment to Year 1 Students

Charlotte Haigh

In September 2023 the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leeds are embarking on delivering a new curriculum in year one aimed at enhancing a sense of belonging and also increasing students ability to integrate topics from across their programme. The distinctive element is assessing synoptically 60 credits of the programme via integrated programme assessment. The challenge we face, is that this is very novel to all incoming students, and different to their peers across campus and the sector. Clearly communicating the process and the benefits was a clear outcome of a 2 day design sprint which was hosted in March 2023, with 12 academic staff and 2 UG students. A resulting action was to co-create the communication of this type of assessment with current UG students. In May 2023, 2 student interns were employed to co-create with 7 year 1 UG students, and produce an output to communicate the integrated programme assessment to incoming year 1 students in September. The output will be shared in the presentation and full evaluation of the success of this output will be conducted. 

Introducing ChatGPT into the classroom 

Liz Alvey

When ChatGPT goes in to class... Top tips for educators based on my first three-and-a-half attempts.

Self-regulated learning within assessment. An international study of staff perceptions in HE.

Stephen Rutherford

The capacity for effective independent ‘self-regulated’ learning (SRL) is fundamental to Higher Education, but is a skill that undergraduate students often struggle to develop. In particular, a key graduate attribute for a successful independent learner is the ability to self-critique or self-evaluate their own work. Assessment practices have the potential to either promote this self-regulation (by encouraging students to be active agents in the activity) or limit it (by placing the students as passive participants in the activity). There are a range of institutional facilitators and barriers to developing assessment practices that support student self-regulation. Similarly there are differences in the educational cultures of different national contexts, so these facilitators and barriers will vary between national sectors. Some factors are institutional and others are based on personal experiences and perceptions. The aims of this research are to identify the key perceptions, and the impact of those perceptions, that either enable or inhibit engagement with assessment that empowers students to develop self-regulatory skills, and the ability to evaluate their own work independently.  A mixed methods approach was undertaken, with a survey of over 200 academic staff in HE, across a range of countries, supplemented by open intensive interviews. Qualitative data were analysed using a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach. Staff perceptions relate to levels of understanding of institutional guidelines, and the role of assessment as learning, for assessment for learning. Analysis of the outcomes of the research are ongoing, in particular the relative impacts of factors between different national contexts.  This talk will identify common factors, and suggest ways to address them and encourage assessment design that encourages students to become independent, self-evaluative learners. Proactive engagement between both students and staff to co-create, and revise, these assessment and feedback activities is key to success in this process.

Equipping Biomedical Graduates for the Future: Using the QAA Benchmark Statements to inform professional skills teaching.

Janine Wilkinson

Biomedicine graduates are expected to have developed a comprehensive set of skills which equips them for a technical and rapidly changing career involved in clinical and non-clinical research work. In March this year, the new Subject Benchmark Statements for Biomedical Science and Biomedical Sciences were released by QAA, providing a revised framework to support UK Higher Education and to foster excellence in teaching. The University of East Anglia (UEA) continues to enrol good numbers of students onto their main Biomedicine degree, with 71 students enrolled in 2022/23. These students follow a well-structured and strategic modular course starting with an introduction to all aspects of core biomedicine, biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology which progresses to more personalised learning with optional elements tailored to specific biomedicine concepts as well as a substantial research project in the final year. We are also proud to provide a part-time Applied Biomedical Science degree apprenticeship programme though a bespoke blended learning approach.  The learning objectives of each module are carefully curated to equip our biomedical graduates with skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the post-graduate world. Scientific laboratory techniques are covered extensively in our syllabus, but we are aware of the need to support our students to develop professional/transferrable skills throughout their degree which they showcase during their final year research project. These skills are informed by the QAA Benchmark Statements. This talk will cover the innovative ways that myself and colleagues at the UEA have been supporting our Biomedicine undergraduates to develop professional and non-academic skills and importantly, how these align with the new QAA Benchmark statements. 

Creating a sense of belonging for BIO students struggling with Chemistry: a combination of peer support and an easy to access ‘chemistry toolbox’ to improve students’ confidence in basic chemistry

Maria Vardakou

Most of our students join us without any Chemistry qualifications. Chemistry is seen, a bit like Mathematics, as a ‘no go area’. The barrier seems to mostly be lack of confidence rather than lack of ability; although there are some students, that don’t seem to remember even basic concepts (like interpreting skeletal formulas or balancing chemical reactions). Many Universities have central teams that help students with Mathematics, Statistics, and other general academic skills. Unfortunately, Chemistry is too ‘specialised’ a topic to be covered. So, at least at UEA, we were left with a problem. A problem that until recently meant countless 1 to 1 sessions with students. On top of this not being sustainable in terms of workload it is also ‘unfair’ as only the ‘braver’ students would come forward to ask for help.  In an attempt to create an inhouse Chemistry support group we created a Chemistry HUB. We invited all 1st year students, whether confident in the subject or not, students from further years, especially those that once struggled with the subject but managed to overcome it, as well as postdoctoral scientists and PGR students that wanted to develop their teaching skills. Members could communicate via a Teams group and were offered weekly sessions where they could meet in person and discuss any material they struggled with. Sessions were facilitated by a member of faculty but were mostly student-led. We also created a ‘chemistry toolbox’ that all students had access to via our VLE. This was a compilation of short videos and resources explaining basic concepts. Students could re-visit these throughout the year and make suggestions on other topics we could include. More importantly, the HUB offered a sense of belonging to those ‘weaker’ students, and the realisation that ‘they are not alone in this’.

How technology impacts metacognitive processes in undergraduate laboratory learning

Sarah Rayment

Laboratory classes are widely used in bioscience education as an authentic form of learning that builds practical skills and theoretical understanding. With the pandemic highlighting digital inequality, it is important to consider the impact of technology on learning in these spaces and if or how this impacts students’ laboratory learning. To evaluate this in the context of a technology-rich laboratory, this study evaluated the impact technology has on self-regulated or socially-shared metacognitive processes in level 5 bioscience undergraduates labs using a concurrent think aloud methodology during laboratory classes, alongside semi-structured interviews.   The data generated from the laboratory demonstrated that students used technology as a tool to help them to conduct their experiment or as a source of information to help them understand, apply or perform their experimental task; with very little evidence that it was used to help them understand the theory behind the practice. These metacognitive processes showed a higher incidence of socially-shared metacognition than self-regulated learning for all of the activities for which students used technology. Whilst some participants suggested that on some occasions they did have a change in theory understanding during the lab, most (eight out of the ten) participants said that they used technology to help them link theory to practice during post laboratory activities; suggesting this is critical for bridging the gap between theory and practice.  Given that a survey of UK bioscience undergraduate modules undertaken as part of this study suggested that a fifth (22%) of modules did not use any post-laboratory activities, there seems an opportunity for us, as academics, to reflect on how we scaffold opportunities for students to reflect and contextualise practical activities.

Enhancement of module teaching and learning quality through pedagogic innovation in NTU Pharmacology

Blessing Airhihen

Student engagement, motivation and sense of inclusion are often limiting factors in the effectiveness of teaching and learning approaches. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, student engagement with lectures has declined overall and remains a challenge. Drawing from teaching experience, NTU scholarship activities and workshops, students respond positively when sessions are inclusive, relevant, and interactive. Game based learning has been shown to enhance student learning and engagement (Subhash & Cudney, 2018; Barata G. et al, 2013) and escape room is known to have positive learning outcome (Fortaris and Mastoras, 2019). We therefore aimed to enhance teaching and learning for final year pharmacology students by providing a range of innovative approaches for module delivery through themed events. These include an escape room methodology, student led co-creation projects and employability events. The events were designed with a range of activities to meet students need as the final year group were quite diverse.  It involved a series of escape rooms based upon, solving clinical problems; a light-hearted test of how well students know the pharmacology teaching team, a Kahoot quiz drawing upon their 3 years of knowledge in small teams (of 4-5 students). The employability event involved interactive session with pharmacology alumni, NTU employability team, one to one CV clinics with feedback and mock job interviews. Lunch and opportunities to socialise was built in the day event. The transformation of some final year students’ attitude to lectures thereafter was remarkable. Students engaged enthusiastically with the events and feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We aim to further develop these approaches in future, building in a more extensive assessment of its impact upon student engagement, attainment, and sense of inclusivity. Its effectiveness in supporting groups of students who traditionally perform less well, and at what point during the student journey these approaches are most effective, would be explored.

Embedding statistics in biology practicals and assessments 

William Kay

Providing authentic learning opportunities and developing an authentic learning environment are key for biology students studying statistics. In this talk I will share and reflect on two examples of innovative approaches used at Cardiff University's School of Biosciences to integrate statistics into biology practicals and assessments, in order to facilitate authentic learning and contribute to the development of a spiral curriculum for statistics. The first is embedding live statistics tuition into undergraduate laboratory practicals, during which students generate biological data which I assist them to analyse in real-time, providing a personalised learning opportunity. The second is in incorporating statistics-related questions into Skills-Based Assignments designed to support Assessment for Learning. Feedback received from students and staff suggests these approaches facilitate a more inclusive and collaborative learning environment, generates higher levels of motivation, and supports the development of high-level learning.