Do you know who we are? We think you should! Developing effective engagement strategies for in-work students

In this blog Ann-marie Steele (FHEA, Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University, a.steele@shu.ac.uk) and  Stella Jones-Devitt share two key outputs which emerged from the recent HEA-sponsored Teaching Development Grant project: "Going beyond ‘you said, we did’ approaches to student engagement: developing effective co-design processes with part-time undergraduate health and social care leadership students". Both outputs have been written collaboratively - primarily by students at Sheffield Hallam University with support of staff - and draw upon evidence emerging from the project.

The objectives of this project are to:

• challenge superficial engagement approaches that privilege passive consumption by contributing to an evidence base;
• provide opportunities for all students to unlearn passive student consumption approaches;
• introduce effective strategies for engagement via co-design principles;
• raise awareness across the institution of the need reconsider the engagement of part-time students as part of a flexible pedagogies framework.

Animation

The first output is a short animation which was co-designed with students on our BA (Hons) Health and Social Care Leadership and Management course. Following a fifteen month process of co-design. We provided the student participants with recording devices and asked that they record key messages they would want other students and policy makers to hear about. The data were transcribed and independently thematically analysed by two of the project's researchers, and then member checked by the participants. We explored various formats including scenario modelling and a more formal toolkit  to convey the findings. The participants decided that a more suitable vehicle for the findings would be to construct a short animation. The words and ideas are all from participants' data. The animation depicts the actual students who describe in their own words and voices the experiences of studying as part-time in-work students.

Manifesto

Secondly, the emerging  themes have been incorporated into a 'Manifesto for In-Work Students'. Participants felt that the animation was a starting point for change and that the manifesto seeks to further develop significant  ideas. This incorporates key messages emerging from the film for both universities and students.