learning communities and belonging

Supporting departmental student society in improving students’ experience and sense of belonging

Fiona A Wilkie Leave a Comment
The team
Staff: Dr Yulia Ioffe
PhD Student: Mhari Gordon
MSc Student: Kim-Anh Anastasia Chau
BSc Student: Libby Kay
Department
Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR)
What happened?
The idea started with student representatives at the Staff-Student Consultative Committee mentioning students’ feelings of isolation and desire for more social interaction. A student survey was sent at the beginning of the ChangeMakers project (with 30 respondents) where students expressed the desire for a department society in order to improve the student experience, sense of belonging, and collaborative environment society. This ChangeMakers project aimed to gather the opinions of current students of the IRDR to formulate recommendations for the upcoming new department student society. This project benefits the current 170 students of the IRDR and is expected to benefit the creation of the student society and future IRDR students as the overall student number is expected to grow in the next 5 years to 500 students. In order to capture the wider views and be representative of the IRDR student community, the team comprised of a student from each cohort (BA, MSc and PhD). Furthermore, the project was run in collaboration with a staff member. To meet the project aim, the team organized and ran both a focus group discussion (FGD) session, including 12 students (4 per cohort), as well as social events open to all IRDR students, including a tea and coffee morning and pub evening. After the FGD and events, the team met to discuss the success of the project and write a report to hand over recommendations to the new department society. Overall, the findings were that the IRDR students wanted a more vibrant student community and the ChangeMakers team was able to identify social events that students want next year, such as regular social events which are per cohort, across cohorts and with alumni, including activities such as picnics, game nights and museum trips, as well as taking part in activism, volunteering, and seasonal activities including ice-skating trip and end of term dinners. The team is confident that the new department student society will start with strong based on the contributions and recommendations of the efforts from the ChangeMakers team and the ‘starter kit’ report.
What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
Taking part in a UCL ChangeMakers project reinforces the feeling of belonging in the department, a great way to get to know students from other cohorts, as well as the wider UCL community. It is rewarding to contribute to building the student’s sense of belonging and identity by supporting the development of a new society. To know the project will be impactful, you should start by questioning what would be very valuable to the student community you are part of. This can be achieved by running surveys or simply discussing with your peers. To ensure the project is successful, set targeted and quantifiable goals. Set and follow clear deadlines. Discuss with your colleagues or staff if you experience difficulties. Organize reflective sessions.

REACT: REconceptualising Architectural studio Crits and Teaching practice

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The team
Staff: Maxwell Mutanda, Lecturer in Environmental and Spatial Equity, MAHUE
Lakshmi Priya Rajendran, Lecturer in Environmental and Spatial Equity, MAHUE
Lead Students: Jude Jabali, MAHUE [Chevening Scholar Palestine]
Ajmona Hoxha, MAHUE [Chevening Scholar Albania]
Department
Bartlett School of Architecture
What happened?
REACT is a co-constructive dialogue series to be held within the MA Architecture and Historic Urban Environments (MAHUE) programme at the BSA. The project focuses on one of the most characteristic pedagogic activities in architectural education, the crit. The crit — a hallmark of architectural professional education delivery and the traditional culmination of a design studio — is the place where work is shared, critiqued, reviewed or developed and a foundation for students to develop critical design thinking. However, there is growing and legitimate criticism around how and why crits are undertaken, and the negative impact this is having on students and in particular female or Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students (de Graft-Johnson, Manley and Greed 2003, CABE 2004). The project is student led and the main output of the project is creating a short film which captures and reflects on the student experiences during the crit session and how it transform the learning and teaching experience in MAHUE
What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
It is important to make sure the project is well advertised to encourage more involvement from faculty and student members.

Supporting students with mental health difficulties during their studies

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The team
Staff lead: Sarah Rowe
PGTA lead: Aisha Alyafei
MSc student leads: Hania Khatib, Magdalena Tomaskova
MSc students: Heema Ajeet Gokani, Alejandro Arguelles Bullon, Ruby Jarvis, Hannah Williams, Zahra Fatima, Melisa Yilmaz
PhD student and Lived experience mentor/Peer support group lead: Natasha Lyons
Department

Division of Psychiatry

What happened?
For our project we wanted to know how effectively we support students with mental health difficulties during their time on our one-year MSc programme. It is important to raise awareness of the accessibility of support on the MSc, particularly to international students or those who may be less familiar with how to navigate mental health support. We also want to promote a supportive and inclusive environment on our MSc. We conducted focus groups with past and current students who have lived experience of mental health difficulties, about the various sources of support we offer on our MSc (e.g. lived experience bursary, lived experience mentor, peer support group), and wider mental health support via the university, and where there may be gaps we need to address. Upon completing our focus groups, some of the key things we found were: 1) students are often aware that there’s mental health support but not the specifics about what is available and how to access these. 2) students often feel overloaded with information and emails at the beginning of the year when this information is provided 3) the processes when applying for support felt lengthy and discouraging, 4) academic support provided by the MSc team e.g. extensions, was viewed as being efficient and helpful, 5) feeling connected to their peers, peer support and social activities had a positive influence on a student’s mental health. These findings informed two separate guidance documents – one for students and one for programmes/departments – on how to support students with mental health difficulties during their studies. We produced a blog to promote the sources of support available via the MSc programme, and a case study for programme teams at UCL.
What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
To ensure a successful and impactful ChangeMakers project, drafting a plan as early as possible with clear project tasks and deadlines is key. Allocating roles and tasks amongst the project team members and frequent meetings to incorporate everyone’s ideas and perspectives will help enrich the project. Taking notes throughout the project and during meetings helps keep things on track and keeps records of completed tasks. Teamwork is vital. As this project required many individuals to come together and contribute, establishing initial face to face meetings can help instil a sense of connectedness and comfort between team members working together.

Re-launching the Education Society for Long-term Community Engagement

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The team
Project lead students: Molly Edwards and Leow Tian Ahn
Project support students: Youvin Lawela Kim and Noa Adan
Staff: Mark Freeman and Georgina Brewis
Department
Education, Practice and Society
What happened?
Our project was to re-establish the Education Society and lay the foundations for its longevity, as this is not something that had been achieved by previous cohorts despite their efforts. We decided to do this, because we felt a lack of community and belonging among students in our course, as well as a disconnect between staff and students who had only met each other online, due to the pandemic. Since then, we have worked in partnership with our staff leaders and with the help of ChangeMakers to create a society that addresses this issue. We first held elections for ten roles we viewed as necessary to the society’s success. Some of the students in the committee were responsible for creating an Instagram page for our society where we could share our events with students, but also create ‘Day in the Life’ videos and opportunity posts for students to feel more connected. This page now has over 100 followers. We have also hosted numerous events for students, such as a series of coffee chats some of which were in collaboration with members of staff and the Psychology with Education society, an Easter Egg Hunt, and a Fancy Dress Strike. We are continuing to use our platform to connect with staff and students and we are seeing more engagement with the Education Society as our platform grows. It is clear that there was a need for a student focused, staff supported initiative like the Education Society, and with the ChangeMakers’ support and funding we have been able to launch this society and initiative in a way that we would not have been able to do otherwise.
What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
I would advise anyone starting a project to discuss it with as many people who you might want to be involved as possible and gain any feedback you can. The staff in our student/staff partnership were really knowledgeable about what had and had not worked in the past, how we could figure out some of the more logistical obstacles and how to manage a project like this. We also informally talked with students to figure out exactly what they wanted and expected from their university experience, so we had an idea of where improvement was needed and how we could address it with our society. I would also just suggest students take this opportunity and do as much as they can with it. The Education Society has been an amazing project to work on, but it has also given those involved more opportunities to engage in other projects in different ways and create new initiatives with the support of the Education Society. I think one change can really lead to another and with the support and structure of ChangeMakers there is definitely more opportunity for you to make positive, impactful change if you embrace it.

AstroSyndicate

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The team

Students: Nancy Yang, Maurane Gisiger, Nasko Stefanov, Patrycja Lakomiec.

Staff: Prof. Giorgio Savini, Dr. Steve Fossey.

Department

Physics and Astronomy

What happened?
The goal of the AstroSyndicate was to bring together astrophysics students from across different years of study. Events were catered to our shared interests in astrophysics and were held around campus and at the observatory. Examples include astrophysics talks and observing nights.
What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
Starting something from scratch can be difficult but don’t give up on it. Take note of what works and what doesn’t and don’t be afraid to change your plans slightly as you go along.

SWANA Forum for Social Justice

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The team

MPhil/Phd Student – Reem Ben Giaber: Co-lead Doctoral Candidate – Nidal Al Haj Sleiman: Co-lead Doctoral Candidate – Jumana Al-Waeli: Co-Lead Staff Partner – Professor Eleanor Hargreaves: Staff Partner at Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment (IOE)

Department
Department of Learning and Leadership (IOE)
What happened?

The SWANA Forum for Social Justice has emerged out of a perceived need for a community of scholars from South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region interested in education and social justice. With a specific focus on the SWANA region, members would be aware of the similarities and differences between countries in this vast geographical area (often too reductively and easily lumped together) and speak about/from specific countries to draw out practical opportunities for positive change in context. The co-founders of SWANA-FSJ find that one of the most exciting parts of this ongoing project is developing a monthly Webinar Series where two Guest Speakers from or working in the region present their thoughts and research on issues of social justice and education in the region. The Webinar Series hosts a range of scholars, practitioners and activists which draws in UCL students from a range of faculties and degree levels. One of the aims of the Webinar Series is to encourage aspiring academics from the SWANA region at UCL and beyond to find a community of shared interests – a place that values their voice and visibility in such an effort. SWANA-FSJ also organised a Focus Group discussion with UCL students to evaluate the need for such a Forum and the value of our activities. The findings where both encouraging and thought-provoking when the main themes from this discussion where issues of belonging, visibility of minorities in a big university like UCL and the importance of finding and building community action and solidarity – we have work to do.

SWANA FSJ Flyer_Reem Ben Giaber

What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
Be organised: decide how many hours you would like to dedicate the the ChangeMakers project and stick to it – it can easily take over!