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Building External Partnerships to Enhance STEM Education Opportunities Dr Mark Fowler & Dr Viv Rolfe CC BY-SA 2.0 (with the exception of the JISC and DMU logo)
Building ExternalPartnerships to Enhance
STEM Education Opportunities
Dr Mark Fowler & Dr Viv Rolfe
CC BY-SA 2.0 (with the exception of the JISC and DMU logo)
Building ExternalPartnerships to Enhance
STEM Education Opportunities
Presentation for STEM Annual Conference 2012‘Aiming for excellence in STEM learning and teaching’
Imperial College London, 12-13 April 2012
Background
• The Health and Life Science Open Educational Resource (HALSOER) project is releasing OER for STEM subjects including Forensic, Biomedical and Medical Science.
• Funded by UKOER Phase 3.
Other DMU STEM projects
• 2009 Virtual Analytical Laboratory (VAL)(UKOER Pilot) – content supplied internally.
• 2010 Sickle Cell Open (SCOOTER)(UKOER Phase 2) – some content from external organisations.
• 2011 SCORE Fellowship – on-line lab skills module.
Why work with external partners?
• National public sector changes suggest organisations should work more closely (BIS 2011, DOH 2010).
• Graduate employability is high on the agenda (Brown 2010).
Our aim and approach
• To investigate how partnerships can be identified and grown from potential commercial and non-commercial partner organisations.
• To evaluate our experience by recording our observations, and interviewing collaborators to identify best practice.
HALS team approach
• Faculty of Health and Life Science, DMU.
• ~20 academics are identifying existing and new partners within their subjects.
• Initial scoping meeting.
• Agree deliverables and process.
• Set sensible time frames for producing OER.
• Contractual agreements / copyright.
Who are our partners?
MEDICAL / BIOMEDICAL
Oxford University Press
National Health Service•Nurse counselling service•Pathology Department LRI / NG•Gastroenterology Unit LRI•Nutrition Service LRI
LRI = Leicester Royal InfirmaryNG = Northampton General
FORENSIC
Leicestershire Constabulary
Forensic Focus
The Fingerprint Society
Leicester schools and colleges
OER pipeline (2011)
Example scoping exercise
Level of participation
External Partner Participation Approval Decision
Leicestershire Constabulary
Producers, end-users Organisational
National Health Service Producers, end-users Individual / teams
Oxford University Press End-users Organisational
Forensic Focus Producers Organisational
The Fingerprint Society Quality control Organisational
Level of approval
• Organisational i.e. board approval, senior management sign off, senior management approval of time and commitment.
• Individual basis / small teams were happy to collaborate.
• No partnership agreements / contracts required.• Licensing permissions to release materials using
Creative Commons gained at a departmental leadership level (form 4).
Attitude
• All discussions with external collaborators regarding the concept of OER positively received.
• Staff at all levels are all supportive.
• Partners always comply with the Creative Commons license required by the project (BY SA).
Types of OER
Case studies
Lecture notes
Types of OER
Instructional podcasts
Animated image galleries
OER summary
• Wide range of materials in terms of:
– File formats (PDF, SWF, MP4, MP3, JPG…..)
– Granularities (images, lecture notes, on-line training packages with content and assessment)
• Interoperable, accessible, OPEN!
Motivation for involvement
External Partner Business Model
Leicestershire Constabulary Graduate employability
National Health Service Graduate employability / staff continual professional development (CPD)
Oxford University Press Business development / quality supplementary information
Forensic Focus Business development
The Fingerprint Society Maintaining quality of professional materials
Mutual benefits?
• OER for science undergraduates are used by junior staff professional development.
– Histology OER for final year Biomedical Science students are relevant for NHS biomedical scientists requiring Health Professions Council registration.
– OER used for junior histopathologists seeking registration with the Royal College of Pathologists.
– Constabulary and the Fingerprint Society ensure the forensic science resources are of high quality to meet professional body requirements.
Unexpected benefits?
• Discussions about OER has led to wider collaborations:
– New opportunities for final year research project students.
– MSc / PhD post-graduate opportunities for university students and NHS staff.
– Visiting professorships support undergraduate teaching.
– Ideas for further funding applications.
Summary
• HALS is exploring processes and attitudes to external partnerships working on OER.
• Initial observations suggest partnerships are easily established and are more often mutually beneficial.
• OER pipeline facilitiates OER flow but takes time to manage.
• OER is mutually beneficial and catalyses dialogue around a whole range of collaborative opportunities.
Next steps
• Continue research as part of HALS project.
• Explore student benefits:– Short-term – use and impact of new high quality OER.– Longer-term – outcomes of new teaching and
research collaborations.
Resources
• BIS (2011). Students at the Heart of the System: Consulting on the future of Higher Education. Available: http://discuss.bis.gov.uk/hereform/white-paper/
• Browne, J. (2010). Securing a sustainable future for higher education. Available: http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/publications/pubs-higher-education/browne-report-student-fees.htm
• DOH (2010). Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS. Available: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_117353
• HALS Project Website: http://www.biologycourses.co.uk
• OER Pipeline (2011). http://www.sicklecellanaemia.org/open-education-resources/training/producing-open-educational-resources
