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

Find out more!

vrolfe@dmu.ac.ukTwitter @DMUViv

CC BY SA Jacob Escott, HALS Project, DMU.