Academics’ perspectives of the teaching and development of generic employability skills in science curricula

Sarkar, Mahbub; Overton, Tina; Thompson, Christopher D.; Rayner, Gerard Michael

doi:10.1080/07294360.2019.1664998

Cited by 48 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Chorfi, Hedjazib, Aouaga and Boubicheb (2020) highlight that the combination of PBL and teamwork enhance responsible learning as well as the development of essential problem solving and programming skills for a changing society. Moreover, Sarkar, Overton, Thompson and Rayner (2020) concur that the development of such qualities are highly valued by employers. In this research, PBL was structured around the development of a project.…”

Section: Problem-based Projectsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Problem-Based Projects: A Catalyst for Enhancing Students' Self-Directed Learning in an Information Security Course

2020

Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2020)

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Although postgraduate students are required to be self-directed, this is not always the case. The aims of this study were twofold. Firstly, we investigated whether the use of problem-based projects supported students in implementing different cryptography algorithms as part of a group assignment. Secondly, we determined to which extent the use of problem-based projects enhanced students' self-directed learning. A qualitative methodology was followed. A cohort of 21 honours students enrolled for this elective course in Information Security. Students worked mainly in small groups of two on a project. Data collection involved completion of open-ended questions regarding information security and students' previous experiences in problem-based environments, completion of project sheets and narrative reflections regarding their project work. The data were manually coded to identify certain patterns of meaning. Results showed that problem-based projects provided opportunities for learning 'useful things in life' and strengthened team members' knowledge and skills. Problem-based projects served as a catalyst for enhancing students' self-directed learning in this Information Security course, which is beneficial for addressing real-life scenarios in the Information Technology profession. Additionally, an integrated model for self-directed learning skill development in a problem-based context was proposed.

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Section: Problem-based Projectsmentioning

confidence: 76%

Problem-Based Projects: A Catalyst for Enhancing Students' Self-Directed Learning in an Information Security Course

2020

Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2020)

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“…Finally, we suggest that our role as expert educational professionals and designers, together with our School's well-established WIL team, will be vital in collaborating with academic discipline experts to enable our School to successfully implement an assessment and rubric-based strategy for developing students' GQs. We suspect that in other disciplines a lack of a well-organised WIL team may mean that staff feel more challenged in assessing GQs in their courses (Sarkar et al 2019). Equally, GQs may also fail to be successfully assessed in courses in areas of a University that do not support expert educational professionals and discipline academics working in integrated ways (Gillaspy 2019), in the process 'developing' each other and not just 'products' (Aitchison et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…a home modifications plan in Occupational Therapy). Assignments such as these, in addition to video and WIL quality improvement projects, not only have the potential to develop a range of students' GQs but can also strengthen students' self-efficacy or belief in their ability to 'make a difference' in the world (Sarkar et al 2019), which in turn can enhance their employability (Sarkar et al 2019) and potentially, citizen scholarship.…”

Section: Design Issue Three: Potential Of Different Types Of Assessmementioning

confidence: 99%

“…While this is not usually an issue in our context (many of our staff have clinical experience, and are supported by an experienced WIL coordination team), in other disciplines or fields, staff may not have such 'industry currency' (Andersson and Köpsén 2018). For example in research with academic staff in Science about how students develop GQs, while some staff readily identified the importance of more authentic laboratory assignments-in which students could work on solving realistic problems to help people in imagined or real companies-they were 'apprehensive' about their capacity to invent such problems and/or coordinate industry partnerships to set up WIL projects (Sarkar et al 2019). In particular, Science academics thought, "that institutional [i.e., university] initiatives and support mechanisms were vital … for a successful WIL pedagogy" (p. 12).…”

Section: Design Issue Three: Potential Of Different Types Of Assessmementioning

confidence: 99%

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Implementing a university-wide strategy for assessing graduate qualities in the health sciences: three key design issues

et al. 2021

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For many years, universities have aspired to develop in students so-called 'soft skills' or graduate qualities (GQs), such as critical thinking and teamwork, that enhance both students' employability and citizen scholarship. GQs are often said to be 'embedded' in courses, but saying this does not of itself provide evidence that students have developed the qualities. Our University has recently proposed using common rubrics in all courses to measure and provide evidence of students' achievement of GQs. However, a solution to the problem of how to implement the University's rubric-based strategy has not been fully formulated. Many staff use assessment tasks that focus on measurement of discipline-specific content and procedures, rather than GQs, and the use of task rubrics and their design is variable. In this conceptual article, we advance a solution to the problem of how to implement the University's rubric-based strategy in our Health Sciences context. To formulate a solution, we adopted a design thinking approach, which is focussed on people's needs and taking iterative steps to create a design solution to meet these needs. We encountered three key design issues in our approach that led us to propose new 'bridging' concepts for assessing GQs: consistency in learning, rubric standardisation, and the audience for assessment tasks. These concepts link existing theory and research around course 'constructive alignment', rubrics, and assessment task design. Possible tests of our solution are suggested, and potential advances in course design and research are discussed. For universities planning assessment of GQs, we recommend a holistic approach, in which academics, educational and work-integrated learning professionals, students and community partners unite and are supported in the ongoing course design process.

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“…As employability comprises a process of learning for life, many graduates may lack a well-developed set of skills required by their potential employers (Sarkar, Overton, Thompson, & Rayner, 2020). To enhance generic skill development, students need to be aware of their strengths and limitations, and able to reflect with an attitude towards continue learning and progressing these skills (Hill, Overton, & Thompson, 2019;Hinchliffe, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the use of self-assessment to facilitate health students’ generic skills development

Sarkar

Gibson

Karim

et al. 2021

JTLGE

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Employability skills for health graduates, and many disciplines within higher education, are considered vital to maximising their capacity to cope with the rapidly changing, uncertain and highly competitive labour market. Despite the increasing importance of developing generic skills for employability, there is a dearth of knowledge about how to support health students to develop generic skills as part of their formal education. The main objective of this two-phase study was to engage health students in the process of self-assessment of their generic skills and explore the potential of this process to facilitate their generic skills development. The first phase of this study engaged students in completing a self- assessment questionnaire, incorporating a validated set of industry-demanded skills with associated behaviours. In the second phase a subsection of respondents participated in focus group interviews that explored their perception of the self-assessment process in generic skills development. Students viewed themselves as having some capabilities to perform the generic skills, as well as their university studies contributing to the development of these skills. The qualitative data found that the self-assessment process prompted students to reflect on their abilities and further engage with developing these skills. This study supports the evidence for contextualising and embedding a process of self-assessment of generic skills into the formal curricula to help better prepare health students for their future work.

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Academics’ perspectives of the teaching and development of generic employability skills in science curricula

Cited by 48 publications

References 22 publications

Problem-Based Projects: A Catalyst for Enhancing Students' Self-Directed Learning in an Information Security Course

Problem-Based Projects: A Catalyst for Enhancing Students' Self-Directed Learning in an Information Security Course

Implementing a university-wide strategy for assessing graduate qualities in the health sciences: three key design issues

Exploring the use of self-assessment to facilitate health students’ generic skills development

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