1. Building working relationships in learning communities
Lee Beck, Phoebe Maina, Felicia Stanford
Susan K Robbins
BSc PGCE MPhil PhD FHEA
Principal Lecturer in Student Experience
University Teaching Fellow
ASKe Fellow
School of Life Sciences

2. Transition to University
Relocation: making the move from home to university
Domestication: learning to live independently
Integration: mixing with different people
Building networks: making friends and meeting colleagues
Lifestyle issues: making independent choices
Academic issues: recognising differences between teaching at school and university
School of Life Sciences

3. Integration Where students come from:
Global catchment area: the whole world
Social catchment area: all social backgrounds, though unbalanced ratios
Economic catchment area: various, wide-ranging
Disabilities: various, wide-ranging
Ages: various, wide-ranging within a cohort
So… how do we set about integrating these students into a learning community?
School of Life Sciences

4. Support networks
Previous support networks: family, friends, peer group, teachers, work colleagues, social and sports groups
Making new friends: university social life: clubs, societies, residential groups (halls)
Building collegiate groups: discipline-based peer groups, peer support for study, student-staff working relationships, personal tutor support
School of Life Sciences

5. Building learning communities
Developing cohort identity through activities: doing things together, experiential learning
Example from Extended Sciences, foundation year prior to starting science degree study
Induction: using experiential learning to break down barriers and establish friendships and working relationships
Using outdoor pursuits to build friendships, working groups, belonging…
School of Life Sciences

6. Experiential Learning: integrating Foundation Students
Cohort: students; age range 18-50; ethnicity – various; socio-economic – various, many WP; domicile – local, regional, UK, overseas
Activity Day as part of 3-day induction programme
Invitation to outdoor pursuits centre to participate in an exciting programme of activities
Two-thirds of students attend each year
All participants gave resoundingly positive feedback
Non-participants wished they’d not missed out!
School of Life Sciences

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23. What the students said then …
Before: I was nervous and excited, also curious, scary.
After: I felt different from before the experience, it wasn't that scary. I loved the experience of getting to know each other.
Before: Thinking that it would be a little boring going doing simple tasks with people I didn't know.
After: Friday was amazing. Wasn't boring at all. I was fully involved and having fun throughout all of it. Managed to get to know everyone a lot better as well.
Before: I was in suspense as to what, where the day would intail (student’s spelling!).
After: It could well be a pivotal tool to help new students break the ice and get a fun element out of team working and getting to know one another better.
School of Life Sciences

24. What the students say now …
Over to Phoebe, Felicia and Lee…
Phoebe FSC , now entering final year Biomedical Science
Felicia FSC , now entering Stage Cell and Molecular Biology
Lee FSC , now entering Stage Nutrition
School of Life Sciences

25. Acknowledgements
The Extended Sciences Activity Day was funded by Brookes Student Learning Experience Strategy (2007&8) and is now funded by the School of Life Sciences (2009)
Photography: Sheona Bellis, School Photographer
Support from colleagues helping me run the activities
Staff at Longridge, Marlow
School of Life Sciences