Learner skills
Projects that investigate the new skills learners and employers are looking for.
New educational methods, tools and technologies place new demands on learners (and teachers) in terms of skills required to navigate and exploit resources in appropriate and effective ways.
The recent publication of AI tools such as Chat GPT is a case in point. Being able to formulate and refine effective prompts and evaluate results are new vital research and learning skills.
The projects in this section investigate the new skills learners and employers are looking for.
The kinds of questions they address are:
- What kinds of literacies are required by 21st century learners and how can they best be developed?
- What are the implications of hybrid mixed mode courses for learners?
- How appropriate is PhD level study?
Learner skills projects
About the project
The aim of this small project (five days in total) was to identify any common features across various literacies in higher education, and to see what scope there may be for learning from and with each other in support for the definition and implementation of literacies. Participants provided input on information literacy, research literacy, and careers literacy.
Funding
This project is funded through a grant from the 91app Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE).
Project team
Dr David Baume (CODE Fellow)
Dr Julie Voce (CODE Fellow)
Dr Matt Phillpott (CODE Fellow)
Dr Liz Wilkinson
Dr Sandra Tury
Time frame
October 2019 - September 2020
Outputs and resources
A was made to the CDE event, Supporting Student Success, in October 2019. Participants met to share and develop ideas in December 2019.
Baume, D., 2022. Literacies, fluencies and academic practices. Educational Developments.23.3:24-28, September 2022 ISSN 1469 - 3267. Available via the , page 24.
About the project
The project aimed to support the integration of information literacy skills into the curricula at both postgraduate and undergraduate level. Three methods for achieving this were:
- Identifying current policy and good practice in the development of information literacy across the curriculum of UoL programmes.
- Delivering writing workshops for programme teams to facilitate the integration of IL skills.
- Establishing evaluation processes and measures of the effectiveness/impact of IL skills instruction in UoL programmes.
Funding
This project was funded in two stages through grants from the 91app Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE).
Project team
Benedetta Cappellini, (Programme leader RHUL and former CODE fellow)
Dr David Baume (former CODE Fellow)
Dr Sandra Tury (Associate Director, Online Library Services, 91app
Time frame
March 2018 - September 2020
This project is now completed.
Outputs and resources
- Notes towards possible policy and strategy on information literacy - D2 [PDF]
- Implementing and integrating information literacy in UoL programmes - D3 [PDF]
- Information literacy and beyond: Some issues in policy and practice - [PDF]
- A paper was delivered at the EDEN conference 2022 by Dr David Baume.
- A presentation to the Dean and Programme Director forum provided insight on the ways in which literacies can be built into programmes and has resulted in some changes to practice.
- A was made to the CDE event, Supporting Student Success, in October 2019. Participants met to share and develop ideas in December 2019.
- Preparing 91app students for living and working in the world: The development of information literacy/Critical Information Fluency. Final Report [PDF]
About the project
The Bloomsbury Learning Exchange (BLE) is developing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the FutureLearn platform. Aimed primarily at under-represented groups, the course will seek to guide potential applicants and dispel misconceptions they may have about doctoral study. The resource is co-authored by a small team of doctoral students, who draw upon their own experiences and that of their peers. For this project, CODE Fellows have been recruited to offer the perspective of experienced doctoral supervisors and admin staff.
Funding
The CODE project is funded through a grant from the 91app Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE).
Project team
Sarah Sherman (Project Director, CODE Fellow)
Nancy Weitz (Project Lead)
Ashley Cox (CODE Fellow)
Oscar Mwaanga (CODE Fellow)
Nichola Gretton (CODE Fellow)
Time frame
August 2022 – August 2023 for the course development, but the CODE Fellows will work mostly between September 2022 and January 2023.
Outputs and resources
Two of the CODE Fellows will review and enhance the text produced by the Authors with contributions from the perspective of doctoral supervisors. The third Fellow will help guide the Authors into the next phase of development – creating the learning design.
Ultimately the course will stand as the finished resource, having included contributions from all three CODE Fellows, the course Authors and other course development teams.
About the project
At Queen Mary 91app, a highly ambitious project in mixed-mode education (MME) (hybrid) delivery was rolled out across the entire institution from Summer 2021. A university-wide survey conducted in 2021/2 showed that students felt MME was inclusive, flexible and prepared them for the world of work. Educator feedback however presented concerns that students do not always know how to make most effective use of MME and specifically that online students can be less engaged in learning than their in-class peers during MME sessions.
The aim of this project is to review a set of student-facing resources developed by Queen Mary on the use of MME in order to make improvements to the resource for Summer 2023.
Funding
This project is funded through a grant of £2000 from the 91app Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE) for Fellows time.
Project team
Shoshi Ish-Horowicz (CODE Fellow, Project Lead)
Danielle Thibodeau (Queen Mary 91app, Project Lead)
Leo Havemann (CODE Fellow, UCL)
Leonard Houx (CODE Fellow, Cambridge Education Group)
Dr Jonathan San Diego (CODE Fellow, King’s College London)
Dr Julie Voce (CODE Fellow, City, 91app)
Time frame
CODE involvement - November 2022 - February 2023
Outputs and resources
The project will produce a feedback report for Queen Mary with recommendations for improving the student-facing resources.
About the project
Recent developments in AI have created new opportunities and disrupted conventional ways of working for both educators and learners. Universities have responded by creating new communities of practice for staff, funding small-scale innovation projects and hosting events for staff and students (workshops, hackathons, conference etc.)
The broad goals of all these interventions is to support and grow awareness, skills and what is being seen as ‘critical AI literacy’. Given the speed of innovation, many of these initiatives have not been evaluated for their impact and effectiveness in capacity building for AI in education and in terms of impact on critical engagement.
This project aims to evaluate the impact of these interventions by collecting and evaluating data from participants using a combination of focus groups and surveys.
Funding
This project is funded through a grant from the 91app Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE).
Project team
- Shoshi Ish-Horowicz (Queen Mary 91app, CODE Fellow)
- Dr Martin Compton (King’s College London, CODE Fellow)
Time frame
April 2024 – June 2025
Outputs and resources:
- Top Tips for Developing AI Literacy in Higher Education (Not yet available)
- RIDE 2025 Practice presentation P157 Evaluating the impact of AI capacity building innovations for university educators.
- Journal publication (Not yet available)
Get in touch to learn more
If you want to learn more about our projects or how CODE can support you, drop us a line.