End of course celebration – June 26th 2023
On June 26th 2023 the students from BA Education, MA Education and BA Primary Education came together with staff from the subject area for the first Student Research Conference. Several Level 6 BA Education students from the final year who have recently completed their final dissertation, spoke about their research projects from Level 5 and how those developed further into their Level 6 final dissertations.
| How do parents of primary school children support their children with their learning in primary schools? Sofeda Bibi |
| What role can art therapy play in the self-confidence and social and emotional skills of a primary school child? Kristy Patino |
| What are the perceptions of early years teaching staff of issues related to personal grooming and hygiene of children in their care? Priscilla Haslam |
| How do secondary school girls construct their self-image in a hyperreal world? Mursheda Haque |
| Higher education and social class differences, how working class have a symbiosis with each other? Rammari Harrison Carr |
After the 5 presentations the five student presenters took part in a student panel. Students and staff were impressed by how the students spoke of the learning experience and what they had achieved by completing ther final dissertation.
The students spoke very articulately about their perceptions of their own personal growth development and how the process had changed them for the better, how they had developed as critical thinkers throughout their research and dissertation modules.
The presenters also gave students in the audience some very useful study tips regarding time management, organising sources, writing literature reviews and avoiding the use of AI in their writing skills during their reserach and dissertation modules.
After the presentations the five presentators then each led a discussion group with the other students in the audience. The discussion activity was to reflect on the skills gained through doing research and how they could be transferred into future careers and the world of work.
The 5 skills the workshop discussions focussed on came from the paper Five Essential Skills for Every Undergraduate Researcher
- Persistance
- Organisation
- Communication
- Creativity
- Judgement
The students were put into 5 groups with one of the presenters and given a flipchart paper and pens and asked to braintorm examples of how the skill could be evidenced or developed through the research process of writing a dissertation.
The presenters led the discussion on the particular skills and after a few minutes the groups moved round the room until they had discussed and contributed to all five skills brainstorm charts. Photos of the ideas gathereed in the activity can be seen in the photos below. The levels of discussion, reflection and deep thinking were in evidence during the activity and gave the presenters some ideas of how they would transfer these skills into their future careers.
Well done to Rammari, Kristy, Mursheda, Sofeda and Priscilla for presenting so thoughtfully and confidently. Well done also to the rest of the students at the conference who also got up on stage to present back to the conference the findings of their skills discussion group.
The atmopshere during the Student Research Conference was extremely collegiate, professional and supportive and was a great example of a well-developed learning community. This was the first such student conference but will be an event we will hold each year for our Undergraduate and Postgraduate students and staff.