Introductory Level Course Rep Training

name of trainerassociate trainer | sparqs

sparqs student participation in quality scotland.

Aim: to improve student engagement in quality enhancement.

2549 reps trained in the academic year 2010-11.

89% found the training useful or very useful.

Funded by the Scottish Funding Council since 2003.

Learning outcomes for today

Session aims: Develop your understanding of the course rep

role.

Discuss the student learning experience and explore how you can use it to improve your course’s collective experience.

Develop some of the skills you will use as course rep.

Exercise 1- Your course of study…

Task In pairs, discuss the following questions:

→ What course are you studying?→ What do you hope to get out of your chosen course

of study?→ What do you like most about it?→ What would you like to change about it?

Exercise 2- Your rep roleTask What do you think the purpose of the student

rep is?

What do you think some of the tasks will be?

What skills do you think you will need and develop as a rep?

How do you think being a rep will benefit you?

The rep rolePurpose To continuously improve the student learning

experience in partnership with the institution and student association by helping create solutions to problems.

To represent your fellow classmates’ views and opinions on all matters relating to learning and teaching.

To provide both positive and negative feedback to staff.

To act as a communication channel between staff and students.

The rep roleTasks Introduce yourself to

your class. Gather student

opinion. Provide feedback to

staff and students. Present student views

at meetings. Attend meetings.

Speak to people outside of meetings.

Develop solutions to issues.

Pass issues onto students association.

Contribute to institutional activities.

The rep roleSkills developed Communication. Listening. Networking. Relationship building. Reflection. Presentation.

Organisation. Report writing. Diplomacy. Negotiation. Research. Time management /

prioritisation.

The rep roleBenefits to you Learn new skills. Looks good on your CV. Networking opportunities. Background for future representational roles. Good experience for future employment. Can be validated on student transcripts. Make a difference.

Why is representation important?

YOU ARE THE

EXPERT!

The Student Learning Experience

Short break

Exercise 3- Gathering student opinion

Task Look back to Exercise 1 and, in groups, pick one

of the elements you like most about your course and one you would like to change.

Think how you would find out whether or not your fellow classmates agree.

Gathering student opinion Hands up before/after class. Emails. Face to face chats. Online spaces:

→ Facebook.→ Twitter.→ Virtual Learning Environments.

Surveys. Post it notes in tutorials. Comment boxes.

Effective feedback

The A,B,C,D of Effective Feedback

Exercise 5- Developing solutions

Task Taking the negative element from the ‘Gathering

student opinion’ task, we want you to develop a solution to the problem.

You need to think about:→ What resources the staff have access too. → How realistic your solution is.→ How creative your solution is.

Exercise 6- Getting your problem fixed

Task There are no meetings for the next four months. How are you going to try and get the staff running

your course to take on your solution to the identifies problem?

Exercise 7- Attending student-staff meetings

Task You can now pick either:

→ You problem is fixed or;→ You problem is not fixed.

Now think about what you would do:→ Before you to go to the meeting?→ During the meeting?→ After the meeting?

Student-staff meetingsBefore Where and when is the meeting going to take

place? Find out what your classmates think about their

learning experience. Is there anything you want to put on the agenda?

Get in touch with the Chair/Secretary. Read any of the papers that have been sent

round, including the previous meetings minutes.  Speak to other course reps.

Student-staff meetingsDuring Always be on time, if you are going to be late let

the Chair/Secretary know before the meeting. Take a pen and paper for notes.  Sit where the chair can see you and raise your

hand to indicate you want to contribute.  Remember the A, B, C and D of effective

feedback.  Ask questions if you do not understand anything. Support other course reps in the meeting.

Student-staff meetingsAfter Report back to your classmates. Check the minutes. Do anything you have been asked to do. Follow up any areas of concern. Did you achieve what you wanted to achieve? If

not what are you going to do about it?

Exercise 8- Closing the loop

Task How would you let students on your course let

you know what you have achieved?

Closing the loop Stand up before/after class. Emails. Face to face chats. Surveys. Online spaces:

→Facebook.→Twitter.→Virtual Learning Environments.

Your future rep career Additional training courses are available for

students engaged in quality enhancement include:→Intermediate course rep training.

Online training resources are available via www.sparqs.ac.uk

If you’re interested in becoming a sparqs Associate Trainer, recruitment days will be held in March/April 2011.

For further info about any of these opportunities, contact Iain Delworth at iain.delworth@sparqs.ac.uk or phone 0131 622 6599.

NUS Scottish Executive Committee

President: Robin Parker.                   Depute President: Graeme Kirkpatrick.          Women’s Officer: Kelley Temple.Black Students Officer: Surya Prakash Bhatta.Disabled Students Officer: Jay Wakefield.LGBT Officer: Nathan Sparling.              Mature Students Officer: Sheila Josey.  International Students Officer: Nikki Holder Block Members: Correen Dickson ; Gordon

Maloney; Beneta Brown; Stefani Millar; Paul Murphy & Charandeep Singh.

Contact them by emailing: firstname.secondname@nus-scotland.org.uk

Learning outcomes for today

Today we have: Explored your understanding of your role as a

course rep.

Discussed the student learning experience and explore how you can use it to improve your course’s collective experience.

Developed some of the skills you will use as course rep.

Thank you for attending Introductory Level Course Rep

Training!Please fill in your evaluation forms and

hand them in.

name of trainer (INSERT EMAIL ADDRESS)

associate trainer | sparqs