Creating a lasting impact with our community and student voice
Our vision at the University of Leeds is to foster an innovative and transformative educational experience, empowering students to make a significant impact on the world. Through Curriculum Redefined (CR), we’ve created a thriving community where staff and students can come together to re-design their curriculum. Now as we look ahead, let’s build on all our successes so far and continue to transform student education here at Leeds.
Lasting impact and change
Engaging in a project as large and ambitious as Curriculum Redefined has been a profound personal journey for me. The project is not only a source of pride for what has been achieved but is expected to leave a legacy for the University. At the core of this initiative is the belief that, when done right, it has potential to significantly change students’ lives.
The project’s community aspect, with colleagues investing time and creativity, is crucial to delivering this change. I’ve encouraged colleagues to be bold and this takes courage; sometimes you experiment and get things wrong or fail. In the academic environment, this process is similar to what we do when we research — setting problems for ourselves and testing them out. In a way CR serves as a ground-breaking test project with pedagogy at its core. Yes, it’s exciting and scary, but we have the right skills, attributes, and resources here at Leeds. We’ve invested hugely in CR, and have the drive to make this have lasting impact.
Collaboration has become the cornerstone of the process, encouraging colleagues to acknowledge interdisciplinary differences by learning from others in different schools and faculties and reflecting on how we might do things in our own location.
Excitement for the future
The prospect of sharing our success with the world is really exciting! We can’t wait to see the impact of new programmes and curricula, and students emerging with valuable skills. We’re eagerly looking forward to sharing this with colleagues from other institutions.
I’m keen to hear feedback from our students about the new programmes and how they are experienced at ground-level. As the world moves at a very fast pace, our curriculum must evolve to match this. It needs to be flexible, agile, and put students at the heart of it.
Currently, students navigate their programmes as a series of distinct modules. Our aim is to cultivate a more integrated learning experience, where students perceive their education as a cohesive whole rather than compartmentalised segments.
The prospect of hearing from our graduates is particularly exciting, not just those fresh out of our programmes, but also those who, five years down the line, have established themselves in the workforce or have set up businesses and can reflect on their experiences at Leeds, telling us what a difference it has made to them.
Looking forward
Our focus now shifts towards building on the hard work we’ve achieved so far by fleshing out modules, assessments, and curriculum content. This is particularly exciting as we envision creating engaging and accessible learning experiences for students, with a particular emphasis on active learning. We’re keen to see how colleagues are going to rise to that challenge and eagerly await the significant September milestone when students return to campus.
I’m particularly excited to observe the diverse approaches that will be adopted, as assessments will vary across different schools and faculties.
Student voice
The active involvement of students in the design phase of their courses and modules is a deeply embedded principle within CR. The programmes are crafted in partnership with students, ensuring their perspective underpins the entire learning experience. This commitment to incorporating student feedback and involving them in the design process aims to enhance the meaningfulness of their educational journey.
In our pursuit of excellence, student feedback holds immense importance. It’s crucial to gather high-quality feedback from a diverse range of voices. To achieve this, we actively listen to various perspectives and integrate this feedback into the iterative design process. Design, by its nature, is a continuous cycle of creation, implementation, and refinement based on feedback. This approach is fundamental to design thinking, and it’s a commitment we wholeheartedly embrace.
Assessment innovation
In the year ahead, we anticipate concrete changes in how we do assessment, which is my area of responsibility. It will be interesting to witness how colleagues have embraced the challenge of redesigning their assessments and to gauge students’ reactions to these changes.
Collaboration has become the cornerstone of the process, encouraging colleagues to acknowledge interdisciplinary differences by learning from others in different schools and faculties and reflecting on how we might do things in our own location.
Assessment plays a significant role across the University, affecting everyone, and we are eager for our innovative ideas to shine through. I’m particularly excited to observe the diverse approaches that will be adopted, as assessments will vary across different schools and faculties. Some have already demonstrated remarkable ambition in overhauling traditional assessment methods that we have had in the education sector for years.
A focal point of our current endeavours involves the re-evaluation of assessment methods at programme level. Currently, students navigate their programmes as a series of distinct modules. Our aim is to cultivate a more integrated learning experience, where students perceive their education as a cohesive whole rather than compartmentalised segments. Some of our colleagues have already begun exploring synoptic forms of assessment that transcend individual modules, facilitating a more interconnected learning journey. Rather than isolating topics, these assessments draw upon knowledge and skills acquired throughout the programme.
A message to colleagues
We’ve made remarkable progress on this ambitious project, and I’m thrilled to witness the pieces of the puzzle coming together. While change inevitably brings challenges, our collective efforts in considering its implications at every level, from schools to faculties, have been commendable. January stands as a defining moment, marking the successful transition of our programmes. Let us continue to trust in the process and remain steadfast in our commitment to innovation and excellence.
Professor Alice O’Grady (Dean for Student Education: Quality and Standards)
