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Support for the Transition Model has now ceased. This page is for reference only.
Level 4 – Mass Participation Projects
Level 4 – Mass Participation Projects
Mass participation – one employer per seminar.
Students work in small groups.
All employer projects are subject-specific with content matching module requirements.
All activity is structured into timetabled sessions.
Introduction – Level 4 What are Mass Participation Projects?
Introduction – Level 4 What are Mass Participation Projects?
The level four model is designed to enable inexperienced students to gain applied experience within a highly scaffolded learning environment while collaborating with their peers alongside experts from industry (Herrington & Herrington, 2006). The projects undertaken follow on from those touched on in the pre-arrival and welcome week activities, so the students are already familiar with the organisation they work with.
The projects enable students to take their first steps into applying their discipline to employer contexts. Within a safe and supported environment, the students are able to experience, reflect, understand and experiment. (Kolb, 1984)
Underlying Principles
Underlying Principles
Projects are designed, in collaboration with employers, to enable students to develop their self-confidence, problem solving and teamwork; the top-rated employability skills identified by students, tutors and employers. (Wickramasinghe & Perera, 2010). The employer project is constructively aligned to the module and its assessment to positively impact learning (Biggs, 1996). Student activity adds value to the employer by, enabling work that might not otherwise be done. (Harris, Jones & Coutts, 2010). Students are encouraged to embrace the value they add and to expect success in the module. Fostering these attitudes harnesses the expectancy-value theory of motivation and drives the work forward (Biggs, 2003)
How it Works in Practice
How it Works in Practice
Each seminar is assigned an employer to work with; within this students break into smaller groups and each of these groups produces their own response to a project brief from the employer. For the employer, the project meets a real need that their organisation has.
All the activity takes place in timetabled sessions, with the employer visiting the sessions to input on the student’s work. The projects are designed around the module content, making them highly subject-specific and allowing the student to apply their discipline to an employer’s context.
This constructive alignment of project to learning outcomes encourages student engagement.
References
References
Biggs, J. (1996). Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment. Higher Education, 32(3), 347–364. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138871
Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching for quality learning at university (2nd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.
Harris, L., Jones, M., & Coutts, S. (2010). Partnerships and learning communities in work‐integrated learning: designing a community services student placement program. Higher Education Research & Development, 29(5), 547–559. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2010.502288
Herrington, A. & Herrington, J. (2006). Authentic learning environments in higher education. Hershey, PA: Information Science Pub.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as a Source of Learning and Development. London: Prentice Hall.
Wickramasinghe, V., & Perera, L. (2010). Graduates’, university lecturers’ and employers’ perceptions towards employability skills. Education + Training, 52(3), 226–244. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911011037355
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