1. Representation training Example presentation slides
This presentation consists of example slides for you to adapt with the relevant information of your college and/or students’ union. Each slide gives you examples and things to consider for when you are adding in your relevant information.

2. Welcome and introduction
Insert photos, names and job titles of the staff running the training

3. Icebreaker: ‘Human Bingo’
Facilitate an ice breaker such as Human Bingo to get the day off to a good start and allow the participants to get to know each other.
See ‘Human Bingo’ exercise sheet and ‘Human Bingo cards’ for more information.

4. Housekeeping
Talk through the basics in terms of housekeeping (fire emergency exit procedure, breaks, refreshments and lunch arrangements, smoking rules, any photography throughout the day etc)

5. What we’ll cover today Insert agenda
It’s important to run through the agenda for the day and let participants ask any questions they have even if you have given out paper copies of the agenda.

6. What we won’t cover today
Insert information
It is also important to have a think about beforehand and explain what you won’t cover if there are key items you think the participants may expect you to cover which won’t be and sign-post to other sources of information. This helps to manage expectations and reduce any disappointment.

7. Ground rules
To establish common understanding of how we work together to establish a supportive environment
To build trust and respect
The support the trainer to enable the delegates to get what they need from the training
It is important to set some ground rules and the best way to do this is ask the participants to create them for themselves. Ask reps why the should have ground rules and what these should be. Write on a flipchart and display in the wall throughout the training.

8. Hopes & Fears
Introduce idea of Hopes and Fears (for the training session) and ask delegates to write at least one of each on a post-it and stick to the relevant flip-chart.
Explain it is useful to think about what you hope to gain from the training session and also what you are particularly wary of, what you worry will be the most difficult or be the biggest challenge during the session. Mention these will be revisited at the end of the training to ensure that learning needs are met and challenges addressed.
Read out the hopes and fears one by one and try to group them into common areas– review these with the delegates, reflecting on key areas and explain that we will review these at the end of the session.

9. Session 1 What is a representative?
Learning objectives:
Articulate the purpose of a representative
Identify key tasks undertaken by representative
Explore and agree the skills and qualities required to be an effective representative
Introduce learning objectives for the section

10. What is the purpose of a representative
To continuously improve the student learning experience in partnership with the college and students’ union by helping create solutions to problems.
To represent your fellow classmates’ views and opinions on all matters relating to learning and teaching.
To provide both positive and negative feedback to staff.
To act as a communication channel between staff and students.

11. Responsibilities of a representative
Introduce yourself to your class
Gather student opinion
Provide feedback to staff and students
Present student views at meetings
Attend meetings
Speak to people outside of meetings
Develop solutions to issues
Pass issues onto the college or students’ union
Contribute to college activities and processes

12. Key skills and attributes of a rep
Representative – the ability to gather and advocate student views
The ability to analyse and report on information gathered
Research skills
Approachable and contactable
Able to negotiate
Diplomatic, impartial and supportive
Critical and questioning
A strong communicator with tack including active listening and presentation skills
Knowledgeable on students concerns and priorities
Organised
Proactive and solution focused
Networking and relationship building ability
Able to reflect and identify areas for improvement in own performance
Ability to manage time and prioritise when required

13. Learning objectives review
Articulate the purpose of a representative
Identify key tasks undertaken by representative
Explore and agree the skills and qualities required to be an effective representative
Introduce learning objectives for the section

14. Session 2 How to represent
Learning objectives:
Understand what feedback to gather from students
List and discuss a range of feedback mechanisms to capture the student voice
Identify how to be an effective communicator
Create and develop effective solutions to a course quality issue

15. Capturing the student voice
As a course representative you should be one of the first people that students raise their feedback, issues or concerns with regarding their experience of their course .
It is then your responsibility to take the appropriate actions:
Listen carefully to the student‘s feedback
Collate the student feedback and formulate the evidence
Decide whether you should raise the feedback promptly direct to a staff member or take the feedback to your next staff-student liaison meeting.

16. What do I gather feedback on?
Course Quality
Curriculum
Feedback and assessment
Learning resources
Learning and teaching
Quality assurance & enhancement
Student Support
Student progression

17. The feedback loop Gather feedback Feedback to peers Build Evidence
Solution Focused
Feedback to peers
Introduce the concept of the feedback loop in relation to the course rep role by referring to examples for each stage within the cycle:
Gather Feedback: This is where you contact your course peers to identify key comments and feedback they want raised. This is where you identify the issues on your course. You can do this via a number of different communication methods, which we’ll explore later on in the session.
2. Build Evidence: Remember you always need to be providing evidence for the feedback you have received from your course peers. This can be done through a number of ways e.g. collated student comments, statistics, examples.
3. Solution focused: Ensure when you present your feedback and engage in discussions with staff, either at committee meetings or informally chatting with staff, you are trying to identify solutions to the issues raised. A students’ perspective will focus discussion on a positive outcome and you are more likely to have ideas that staff have not considered.
4. Feedback to peers: Remember to close the feedback loop. Feedback to your course peers after any meetings (both formal and informal), remember that you are representing them, so they should know the outcome of the feedback they gave you. Again, you can use many different methods to ensure responses and actions are fed back clearly.

18. Communications methods
Lecture Shout Outs
Course Facebook group
Virtual Learning Environment
Student poll
Conduct a survey
Question/issue box
Forums or focus groups
Notice board space
Group
Social Media
Existing surveys

19. Top tips
Questions: What is it you want to find out? Consider who your audience is, make your questions easy to understand and avoid misleading or biased questions. Does the question lead to a particular response? Is it an open question (e.g. doesn’t just have a yes/no answer)?
How should the data be collected: What information is necessary? What will you do with the information? Consider the strengths and weaknesses of collection methods, which is the best to use for what information you seek?

20. Top tips
Existing data: What secondary data is out there? Is the data current? How does it relate to the feedback you have collected? Does it inform or contextualise the information you have already collected from your peers or help you to form questions to ask them?
How you are going to analyse or interpret the data :Is it qualitative or quantitative feedback? How are you going to analyse the feedback? What are the main points/themes from the data and what is the most effective way to present the information?

21. Providing feedback to staff
Accurate: be specific, and provide evidence for what you are saying.
Balanced: present negative and positive feedback
Constructive: be solution focused
Depersonalised: do not mention staff members by name
Feedback should be widely expressed, deeply felt and achievable.

22. Problem tree
Consequences
Problem
Root causes

23. Problem tree example Reflects badly on the college
Demotivated students
Students can’t improve in time for the next assessment
Poor results
Feedback from assessment always takes too long
Not enough teaching staff
Staff have too much work
Deadlines all set at the same time

24. Solution tree
Effects
Vision
Solutions

25. Solution tree example Students see steady improvement
Motivated students
Institution sets best practice
College commit to a 4 week maximum feedback policy
Staggered deadlines will spread out work load for staff
Request for deadlines to be staggered

26. Learning objectives review
Understand what feedback to gather from students
List and discuss a range of feedback mechanisms to capture the student voice
Identify how to be an effective communicator
Create and develop effective solutions to a course quality issue