Author: Cristina Leston-Bandeira, c.c.leston-bandeira@hull.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Technology-enhanced Learning Environments

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Sociology, Anthropology and Politics

This case study illustrates...an effect on learning, an effect on student personal development, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, staff satisfaction with e-learning, a positive effect on recruitment, an influence on policy, use of resources

Background & Context

Why did you use this e-learning approach?

e-Learning was used to enhance the link between the department and students away from the University on internships with MPs at Westminster. This was achieved by using Merlin, the University of Hull's award winning virtual learning environment. Although the students are on placement they are still registered with the University and have to participate in assessed modules, which is credited as part of their degree. Merlin therefore had to be able to provide students with the same level of support and information as on-campus students at the University. It also had to be simple and straightforward to use as well as capable of information exchange and anonymous assessment submission.

The use of Merlin for WHIP was part of the department's strategy of fostering e-learning for both students on placements and to role out other online courses at Master's level.

What was the context in which you used this e-learning approach?

The Politics and International Studies department at the University of Hull provides a variety of courses aimed at students interested in the study and practice of politics. The BA (Hons) in British Politics and Legislative Studies (BPLS) is a four-year degree programme that includes a one-year placement in the House of Commons. The degree provides a strong theoretical and practical grounding in parliamentary procedures and behaviour. At Westminster students take two practitioner-led seminar courses and undertake original research on which to base their dissertation. Above all, however, they are assigned to an individual MP. In addition to this scheme, students on other single honours politics degree programmes have the opportunity of applying for a one-semester internship at Westminster or Brussels, also working with an MP/MEP. This internship is taken in the first semester of their final, third, year. The internship is fully integrated in our credits and assessment structure.

The internship group consists of approximately twenty BPLS students with ten one-semester students, the latter drawn from up to six undergraduate degrees. 2-3 members of the departmental staff are directly affected.

Teaching was carried out purely on a face-to-face basis with paper copies of departmental/university regulations and information either provided by hand in advance of the internship by post or not at all. Some additional support and information would involve the use of telephone communication, which would need to be repeated individually to students at a cost to the department.

The University's student registration procedure was not set up with off-campus students in mind and administrative staff involved therefore had a significant challenge in overcoming problems arising from this. Administrative staff also had to ensure that the information provided was both up-to-date and relevant.

Prior to this e-learning approach, the single-semester internships would have been difficult to administer, as there were no secure means to submit assessed work.

What was the design?

The learning approach that was used had to accommodate several criteria in addition to being a useful source of information for students. The main tools of the VLE were already set up as default, but there had to be a large amount of migrating information in an online format. As WHIP involved students being in London and Brussels (having previously been in Hull) a substantial amount of support material and resources had to be available to the interns. In addition, the distance learning aspect of the course had to support six separate modules being taught to two separate sets of students (the BPLS and one semester interns). Important also was the communication aspect. The VLE had to support an internal email that encouraged students to log on to answer and compose replies, both to tutors and fellow interns. The overall system of learning and support was designed around encouraging an internship community. The staff involved in developing this process were the BPLS course coordinator, Professor the Lord Norton of Louth as well as Dr Cristina Leston-Bandeira and Mr Matthew Kavanagh.

How did you implement and embed this e-learning approach?

In practice, as Merlin was a university wide supported VLE, it meant that in 'rolling out' the internship information was relatively straightforward. The Merlin support and other departments explained how Merlin operated in practice. This was simple and not that difficult to understand. The pedagogical elements required departmental and university approval after which it was easy to migrate the module information into Merlin. The other information and resources had to be added gradually and to a certain degree from experience which has developed over time.

This approach was monitored in the same way the department monitors all modules, using student feedback and assessing where improvements, if any, are required. Merlin is used by most students in the department in another (on-campus) core teaching module and therefore the training of students in Merlin's capabilities was not required. Students using Merlin for the internship programme are given access in the semester before their internship actually commences giving them plenty of time to digest the information and get a feel for the way learning takes place. Some of the problems that came up included insuring that students understood that the departmental/university rules still applied to them and that included assessed work deadlines; in addition, that the use of Merlin was compulsory and that important messages from tutors and administrators were posted there. As ever, some students were more attentive to these rules than others. In preparing students for their internship they are all made aware whilst still in Hull how the system of teaching works and what it expected of them. They are also aware of the support, both academic and administrative, that is available.