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Abstract for Seminar
The massification of higher education has led to the development of large-scale examination models, modularisation of teaching programmes, a move from Faculty to individual Programme entry for all students, anonymous assessment mechanisms, the growth of the "student customer" model, and a significant loss of direct contact between academic staff and individual students. Whilst this permits a level of consistency in the offering made to all students in any programme, which is highly valued by those responsible for QA in individual institutions and across the sector, and enables significant reuse of teaching materials, thereby improving academic efficiency, the individuality of the resulting learning experience is highly questionable. However, a key requirement of HE Computing degree programmes is to produce graduates who are not only capable of working within current research and industrial environments, but also have the individual learning capabilities to self-manage their own development in a rapidly changing technology arena. If the future of the UK is predominantly focused on the "Knowledge Economy", then we need to ensure that our graduates meet this key requirement, while also being able to be creative in team environments and understanding the business requirements of their situation.
In the School of Computing and Creative Technologies at the University of Abertay Dundee, we have developed a new academic pedagogical model aimed at addressing these issues, and linked to the development of a set of graduate attributes that have been explicitly identified and built into the taught programmes that we offer. The model is based around a constructivist approach to learning, with students building their own understanding of their learning processes and representing the development of their learning and understanding within the topic area through the production of an individual, personal portfolio. Support is offered through a scaffolding-based individual Academic Tutor system, with assessment throughout the academic year being formative, and end-of-year summative assessment being carried out by an academic viva panel considering a student-produced executive summary in combination with the portfolio. The model has been in operation for two academic years and has been very positively received by students and staff alike, the University QA and the QAA have reviewed it positively, and we have seen some positive effects on student performance and retention, but predominantly the beneficial effect has been in the personalisation of learning for individual students and a far greater level of knowledge of those students by academic staff.