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Higher Education Pedagogies
ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rhep20
Embedding employability and transferable skills
in the curriculum: a practical, multidisciplinary
approach
Maria De Rodanas Valero , Tom Reid , Ghislaine Dell , David Stacey , Jo Hatt ,
Yvonne Moore & Sally Clift
To cite this article: Maria De Rodanas Valero , Tom Reid , Ghislaine Dell , David Stacey , Jo
Hatt , Yvonne Moore & Sally Clift (2020) Embedding employability and transferable skills in the
curriculum: a practical, multidisciplinary approach, Higher Education Pedagogies, 5:1, 247-266,
DOI: 10.1080/23752696.2020.1816846
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2020.1816846
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa
UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis
Group.
Published online: 16 Sep 2020.
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ARTICLE
Embedding employability and transferable skills in the
curriculum: a practical, multidisciplinary approach
Maria De Rodanas Valero
a
, Tom Reid
b
, Ghislaine Dell
c
, David Stacey
d
, Jo Hatt
e
,
Yvonne Moore
e
and Sally Clift
f
a
Electronics and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland;
b
Skills Centre, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland;
c
Careers Service, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
d
Library, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
e
Centre for Learning
and Teaching, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
f
Mechanical
Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses a practical, multidisciplinary approach used to
embed employability skills in a new postgraduate (PGT) Engineering
course at the University of Bath. Informed by relevant professional
bodies, key transferable skills were identied and embedded in the
curriculum with discipline-specic content. Students worked on
a series of hands-on activities in which they integrated and applied
principles and methodologies from various areas (linguistics, infor-
mation, etc.), complementary to their technical expertise, as in the
working environment. This was facilitated by a multidisciplinary team
comprised of Academic and Professional Services sta at the
University of Bath. The organisational context and rationale for the
approach presented, including the practical implementation and
initial outcomes in the new PGT course, are provided.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 30 July 2019
Revised 6 April 2020
Accepted 7 June 2020
KEYWORDS
STEM; employability;
multidisciplinary
Organisational and historical context
With rapid advancements and developments in Smart Devices, Internet of Things (IoT),
5 G Technologies, AIs and robots, the development of Electronics graduates who can
offer solutions to complex and multifaceted problems is crucial. This requires graduates
develop an ample set of skills beyond discipline-related baseline ones (Chetwynd, Aiken,
& Jefferis, 2018) such as the ability to deal with complex interdependencies, work in
multidisciplinary teams, combining information from several sources and linking theory
and practice (Huber, Hutchings, & Gale, 2005).
In response to this need, the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
(DEEE) (University of Bath Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, 2019) at
the University of Bath has increased their provision of specialist MSc programmes, such as
the MSc Electronic Systems Design (ESD) (University of Bath Electronic Systems Design
MSc, 2019), which ran for the first time in the academic year 2017/2018. Focusing on
graduates’ employability by giving them key skills, both technical and transferable, to offer
CONTACT Maria de Rodanas Valero wb20489@bristol.ac.uk Electronics and Electrical Engineering, University of
Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES
2020, VOL. 5, NO. 1, 247–266
https://doi.org/10.1080/23752696.2020.1816846
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.
solutions to the challenges of the 21
st
century electronics industry, the development of MSc
ESD graduate skills has been supported by a multidisciplinary team of staff from the DEEE
and Professional Services from the University of Bath: Careers Services (University of Bath
Careers Service, 2019), the Library (University of Bath Library, 2019) and the Skills Centre
(University of Bath Skills Centre, 2019).
This paper presents the authors’ work on fully embedding transferable skills (Mohan,
2010) – henceforth referred as ‘professional skills’- in the MSc Electronic Systems
Design curriculum with an overarching aim to develop and enhance the students’
employability and professional skills, improve academic performance and graduates’
prospects. Section 2 presents the rationale and pedagogical approach for this methodol-
ogy, whose implementation is discussed in Section 3. Section 4 presents the preliminary
evaluation of the methodology after its implementation in the MSc ESD and an analo-
gous, cross-departmental unit at the Faculty of Engineering & Design at the University of
Bath. Finally, conclusions and future work are presented in Section 5.
Rationale and pedagogical approach
The need for Professional/Employability skills training
As highlighted in the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) annual ‘Skills and
Demand in Industry’ Survey (Institution of Engineering and Technology Skills & Demand in
Industry Survey, 2017), despite a rise in demand for engineering staff, UK employers find that
many new engineering graduates have significant skills deficiencies. In fact, Engineering UK’s
2018 report on the state of Engineering reported that 61% of businesses ‘expressed a lack of
confidence that there will be enough people available in the future with the necessary skills to
fill their high-skilled job vacancies’ (EngineeringUK, 2018). This epitomises the concerns of
STEM employers in UK and Europe around graduate skills gaps (Wakeham, 2016).
Engineer graduates skills portfolio
As identified in the QAA benchmark statement for Engineering (The Quality Assurance
Agency for Higher Education, 2015), among others, engineering graduates should:
●be pragmatic, taking a systematic approach and the logical and practical steps
necessary for, often complex, concepts to become reality [1];
●seek to achieve sustainable solutions to problems and have strategies for being
creative, innovative and overcoming difficulties by employing their skills, knowl-
edge and understanding in a flexible manner [2];
●be skilled at solving problems by applying their numerical, computational, analytical
and technical skills, using appropriate tools [3];
●be risk, cost and value-conscious, and aware of their ethical, social, cultural, envir-
onmental, health and safety, and wider professional responsibilities [4];
●be able to formulate and operate within appropriate codes of conduct, when faced
with an ethical issue [5];
●be professional in their outlook, be capable of team working, be effective commu-
nicators, and be able to exercise responsibility and sound management approaches [6].
248 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
This requires graduates to possess:
●information skills to acquire relevant and diverse knowledge, putting this into
practice in a flexible and creative manner [2], using their analytical and technical
skills [3] in order to solve complex problems [1];
●communication skills that will enable students to work in teams, with the essential
time and work management skills to be successful in their projects; and an ability to
communicate effectively with both specialist and non-specialist audiences [6].
●criticality and reflection skills required for ethical, social, cultural, and environ-
mental awareness of own professional responsibilities [4] and practice, which is
compliant with appropriates codes of conduct, health and safety and Ethics [5].
Embedding Professional/Employability skills in the curriculum
Substantial research indicates that the development of academic skills is most effective
when it is successfully integrated into course design (Huijser, Kimmins, & Galligan, 2008).
In addition to improving student engagement and motivation, discipline-based skills
provision enhances the efficacy of skills acquisition, ultimately improving graduates’ like-
lihood of securing high-skilled jobs (Fahnert, 2015; Heaviside, Manley, & Hudson, 2018).
In fact, improving job prospects is a major motivator for students to pursue university
qualifications (Bhardwa, 2017; Lowden, Hall, Elliot, & Lewin, 2011; Wells, 2011).
Need for curriculum alignment
Curriculum alignment at programme level, with constructive coherence between teaching,
learning, and assessment, is crucial for the quality of teaching and learning (Biggs, 2011;
Wijngaards-De Meij & Merx, 2018). Through constructive alignment, student learning is
optimised with intended learning objectives turned into actual learning outcomes through
meaningful activities (Azcona, Valero, Medrano, & Calvo, 2014). The understanding of
curriculum moves from product-based (Wijngaards-De Meij & Merx, 2018) to the co-
construction of knowledge between student and facilitator (Fink, 2013).
Need for integrative learning
From the accelerated emergence of transdisciplinary technologies such as information,
nano- and bio-technology to multifaceted challenges such as resource-efficient sustain-
able production, today’s world of work is moving to the age of synthesis (Cai, 2011). 21st
century Electronic Engineers -and STEM professionals in general- have to synthesize
information and apply ideas from multiple disciplines to develop new understanding and
solutions (Nadge, 2005). Learning becomes a constructive process (Bruning, Schraw, &
Norby, 2011) in which students need to integrate and apply the principles and meth-
odologies from multiple areas different to their expertise.
Need for experiential learning
Whilst still widely used as the main method for knowledge dissemination in many
universities (Beckem, 2012; Wakeham, 2016), traditional teaching methods may be not
be the most effective method for students to learn (Freeman et al., 2014). In fact, the skills
required within employment based on experiential learning may amount up to 90%
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 249
(Nadge, 2005). This experiential approach enables an active and constructive learning
process. The instructor becomes a facilitator (Grasha, 1994) and students construct their
own understanding and knowledge through doing and reflection (Bada & Olusegun, 2015).
Implementation
Design considerations
Historically, the provision of professional skills for MSc DEEE programmes has been
mostly delivered through general, faculty-wide workshops and drop-in sessions and
activities led by Professional Services staff, usually with limited input of academics.
Research studies have pointed out that generalised approaches such as remedial and
limited one-to-one support mentioned above ‘are less likely to be effective than those
targeted at specific aspects of learning within the academic courses in which the need for
knowledge or skills becomes apparent’ (Huijser et al., 2008).
We therefore designed our new integrated approach based on the rationale set out in
section 2, with an aim to overcome some of the issues identified with the more conven-
tional methods of skills provision currently offered on MSc DEEE degree programmes.
Curriculum alignment
By identifying key discipline-specific skills (Section 2), we produced a tailored skills
portfolio that is fully integrated into the structure and content of the programme. This
skills-set approach helps to align the needs of all stakeholders through a relevant, subject,
topic and assignment-specific skills syllabus with desirable and achievable intended learn-
ing outcomes directly linked to academic and employability gains (Cox & King, 2006).
Integrative learning
As discussed in Section 2, Electronic graduates are required to integrate and apply
principles and methodologies from multiple areas (linguistics, information, etc.) in
addition to their technical expertise. Session design as well as co-delivery by
a multidisciplinary team of professional (employability/professional skills focus) and
academic (technical skills focus) staff can facilitate this process.
Student evaluations from previous courses highlighted that the direct involvement of
the academic in both design and delivery stages could further enhance student engage-
ment with skills development and acquisition, as this facilitates:
●a perception of endorsement and authority, elevating the value and importance of
the skills unit;
●the co-construction of knowledge between student and diverse facilitators.
We decided therefore that the unit should be co-delivered, and worked to design
a professional skills unit with subject-informed, relevant and up-to-date skills content
and learning outcomes.
250 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
Experiential learning
A key objective of the new approach was to enable students to become active agents
in their own learning process, so their skills development and improvement are seen
as a shared responsibility between facilitators and students (Huijser et al., 2008).
Research (Thomas, 2012) and student evaluations from previous embedded courses
across the university indicated that successful engagement requires:
●Relevance: aligning skills topics with specific coursework and assignments in the
programme;
●Timeliness: delivering skills at optimum needs-must points during the
academic year, i.e. aligning skills topics with coursework and assignment deadlines.
Content & delivery
Sessions were carried out through both semesters 1 and 2 (Figure 1). Semester 1 content
focused on providing students with the basic skills toolkit to support learners’ academic
development. Semester 2 shifted to skills practice, enabling students to build on and
practice the skills acquired in semester 1 in a real-world (project) setting.
Semester 1
Semester 1 content was input-focused to provide students with a ‘nuts-and-bolts skills
toolkit’ to scaffold skills acquisition to apply in academic assignments. The concept of
scaffolding is based on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of learning (Vygotsky, 1980),
which has been utilised in schools and HE for many years. Studies by Pol (2010) and
Stone (1998) define scaffolding as a means of providing support for the construction,
extension or development of knowledge and skills. Scaffolding can also ensure step-by-
step skills acquisition and effective application, facilitating a shift in focus and respon-
sibility for learning from the tutor to the student (Pol, 2010).
Figure 2 shows the general structure of the Employability/Professional skills sessions,
which comprises:
●Lecture time: each session was informed by subject specific content, which aimed to
provide the foundations of student learning;
●Workshop time: students worked on short tasks and exercises that served to
provide concept checking, practice and review of input;
●Programme assignment link: sessions were organised content and time-wise with
specific, relevant assignments within the unit or programme. Alongside better
alignment between teaching, learning and assessment, this facilitated a better under-
standing of the assessment rubric and marking criteria.
●Students’ deliverables: students were provided with anonymised work samples of
previous years’ students. These were used to illustrate good and problematic prac-
tices, facilitating discussion and evaluation and helping students develop their
assessment literacy by recognising what good work looks like.
●Facilitator’s feedback: discussion was initially facilitated by teachers, to provide
guidance to students for following peer review and discussion;
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 251
●Peer feedback: pair and group working helped to improve individual participation,
group cohesion and peer support, and facilitate the shift in learning responsibility
from tutor to student, who could apply all the above to the creation of their own
products for the assignment;
Figure 1. Employability/Professional skills provision in the MSc electronic systems design throughout
the academic year (semesters 1 and 2).
252 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
Figure 3 shows how this structure is applied to the Employability/Professional skills
sessions regarding Communication Skills – Technical Report Writing.
Semester 2
In semester 2, a workshop approach was adopted, shifting focus from input to output and
application. The ESD group project (University of Bath EE50225: Electronic systems
design project, 2019) provided a suitable framework for students to practice many of the
skills acquired in semester 1 in a real-world scenario.
In the ESD group project, students in groups design an electronic system to
a specification in order to achieve a set of design goals. Assessment comprises an oral
group presentation, a lab demonstration, a group technical report and an individual
reflective report.
To succeed in their group project (Figure 4), students were required to apply and build
on the knowledge and skills developed during semester 1. Key skills, such as information
and communication skills were revisited and extended. New competencies such as
critical and reflective thinking and practice were developed and applied to new topics
(Ethics, Codes of Practice) and contexts (group project):
Figure 2. General structure of the Employability/Professional skills sessions.
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 253
●Information skills. Students built on the prerequisite skills from semester 1; finding
and selecting appropriate sources, and examining in detail what it means to be
critical. This involved exploring and developing skills for judging, selecting and
Figure 3. Example session structure for communication skills – written skills: technical report writing.
Figure 4. Electronic design project phases. Key skills (e.g., information and communication skills) are
revisited and extended by the development of new competencies (e.g., critical and reflective thinking
and practice). Skills are integrated and applied to new topics (e.g., Ethics, Codes of Practice) and
contexts (group project).
254 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
prioritising the most appropriate sources from a literature search, reading skills for
scanning and note-taking to facilitate an evaluative assessment of the quality of the
content and its utility for their written work. Sample workshop activities included
a series of linked individual and paired activities analysing pre-selected abstracts
then full papers, comparing and contrasting their relevance and utility for the scope
of their project and assignment (such as the group technical report).
●Communication skills. Skills content focused on the reflective report assignment,
which was informed by the sources critically analysed on the information skills
provision sessions. Semester 2 sessions on communication skills delivered input
on reflective practice and writing, with models and examples to highlight good
practice and provide students with an attainment standard. Sample workshop
activities included students working in groups unpacking and analysing model
answers.
●Employability skills: Ethics and Codes of Conduct/Practice. In practical work-
shops, students worked in groups on an ethics in engineering problem. The sessions
were designed to facilitate critical thinking and analysis, problem-solving and
decision-making developed in the previous sessions. Namely, students faced the
difficulties and issues they may encounter when making complex, real-world deci-
sions rather than reaching abstract academic conclusions. The task also raised
awareness of professional standards frameworks and the complexities of ethics in
real world scenarios, which were reviewed and analysed for their own discipline and
emerging professional identity.
Preliminary evaluation
Running for its third time at the time of writing (March 2020), efforts have largely
focused on the development and implementation of the proposed methodology, which is
carried out in two main phases:
●Phase 1: Pilot stage. Implementation and preliminary evaluation of the proposed
methodology in a single programme, the MSc ESD.
●Phase 2: Expansion stage. Implementation and preliminary evaluation of the
provision for large classes and multiple programmes.
Phase 1: pilot stage (academic years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019)
The first phase of the evaluative process focused primarily on the relevance, usefulness
and adequacy of the Employability/Professional skills provision. A holistic approach was
adopted throughout, accounting for internal (students and staff) and external (internship
providers and employers) perceptions and views:
●Relevance and usefulness- Is the designed provision deemed as significant by the
learning (students) and teaching (staff) community?
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 255
●Adequacy – Does the designed provision accomplish its main pedagogical purpose
(i.e., employable graduates) from a professional/employers perspective?
Relevance and usefulness
Student feedback
1
showed high satisfaction rates, with content considered relevant and
helpful, namely when applying for a job/internship (from now on referred to as place-
ment). The multidisciplinary approach was seen as a key strength by all student cohorts
(2017/2018 and 2018/2019). Endorsement of the programme’s success is evidenced by
the adoption of the model for the faculty -level PGT employability skills course that ran
in 2018.
Adequacy
Ultimately, the main aim is to develop and enhance the students’ employability and
professional skills to improve their graduates’ prospects. To evaluate the adequacy of the
proposed approach, the MSc ESD graduates’ competencies and employability were
considered and evaluated from a professional/employers perspective, where the follow-
ing criteria were considered:
●Feedback from placement providers. Testimonials from placement providers
about our students (Figure 5) were positive.
●MSc ESD graduates’ employment success after completion of the programme.
After their graduation (July 2019), our first cohort of students (2017/2018) were
already working in their area of expertise as electronic embedded systems, control
systems, hardware engineers in diverse fields, including microelectronics, health-
care and aviation, from start-ups to multinational companies such as ARM and
Dyson.
Phase 2: expansion stage (academic year 2019-2020)
After the preliminary validation of its relevance, usefulness and adequacy, the proposed
methodology was adapted for its delivery on large classes and/or multiple programmes,
such as in the MSc unit XX50214: Professional skills for engineering practice (University
of Bath XX50214: Professional skills for engineering practice, 2020). Lead by the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, XX50214 is a faculty-level postgraduate unit
taken by students from three different departments in the Faculty of Engineering &
Design at the University of Bath:
●Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering: MSc Civil Engineering:
Innovative Structural Materials
●Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering: MSc Mechatronics
●Department of Mechanical Engineering: MSc Automotive Engineering and MSc
Engineering Design
Typical cohort sizes for XX50214 rage from 60 to 80 students, which made translating
key features of the proposed methodology, such as those relying on class interaction and
256 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
monitoring of student progress, challenging. To address this, Microsoft Teams
(Microsoft Teams, 2020) was used alongside the existing VLE course (Moodle). Unlike
VLEs, mostly conceived as an educational tool only, Microsoft Teams (now referred as
‘Teams’) is a unified communications platform for the workplace combining chat, video
meetings, file storage, etc. widely used in professional settings.
Introduced to the University of Bath in summer 2019 as part of the Office 365, toolkit
Office 365 Office 365 (2020), Teams provides students with a valuable tool to engage with
learning material as well as communicate and interact with peers and staff. Besides a chat
and instant messaging function, Teams provides a digital space (Class Notebook) for
each student in the Team/course for collecting course notes and reflections, coursework
preparation and planning, etc.
Implementation and initial evaluation in large-class & multi-programme settings
The XX5014 Teams space (Figure 6) was organised so that each week had its own
dedicated space or channel (Figure 7). During lecture time, students worked on bespoke
activities related to the content being taught. Microsoft Forms (Microsoft Forms, 2020)
was used for collecting students’ response and views (polling).
Figure 5. Tweet from one of our placement providers (Bristol is Open) talking about their experience
with one of our MSc electronic systems design graduates as an intern (placement) at their company.
Link: https://twitter.com/bristolisopen/status/1085831933118955521.
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 257
Microsoft Forms was also used for a series of post-session activities to reinforce
learning and help students to prepare a technical report (80% of the final mark).
Each student was provided with their own Class Notebook (Figure 8). Based in the
software OneNote (OneNote, 2020), this provided each student with a private
Figure 6. Microsoft Team space for XX50214: professional skills for engineering practice.
Figure 7. The XX50214 Microsoft Team space was structured into several Channels to facilitate
activities and communication over eight weeks.
258 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
space to make notes during the class, prepare for their assignments and reflect on
their own learning. Four students were commended for their use of this feature.
Participation in the activities above (post-session activities and Class Notebook)
accounted for 20% of the final mark. Used as the evidence of continuous and active
engagement with the unit, this was used to appraise the development of students’ skills
and abilities such as critical analysis and reflection, workload planning, etc., as well as the
assimilation of concepts taught.
The 2019/2020 cohort comprised 81 students. 67% of the students were active
members of the Teams area, posting and engaging in group and class discussions
(Figure 9). Homework (Figure 10) and class (Figure 11) activities saw a high level of
engagement, although the latter tailed off towards the end. This was reflected on the
student attendance to class (Figure 12), which nonetheless was significantly increased
compared to previous years.
Student evaluation surveys
1
for the unit (2019/2020) did not reveal any significant
opinion about using Teams for this activity. One student commented that there was some
confusion working across multiple tools (i.e. Teams and Moodle) but this is not surpris-
ing as staff and students were using the new tool for the first time.
Conclusions and future work
With only a few iterations run and evaluation still ongoing (Phase 2), it is difficult to draw
definitive conclusions at this stage. Nonetheless, the positive outcomes for the initial
evaluation phase uphold the suitability of the skills provision, thus supporting further
developments and analysis of the proposed methodology.
Figure 8. Example of the Class Notebook of one of the students in XX50214, as seen by the facilitators.
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 259
Further developments on the skills provision and methodology
Professional skills and practice fully embedded in other (PGT) programmes
At the time of writing (March 2020), the University of Bath is going through the review
and curriculum transformation of all UG and PGT courses (Learning and Teaching Hub
0 5 10 15 20 25
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
41
43
45
47
49
51
53
Number of Posts
Students
Active Student Participation in Microsoft Teams
Team Chat Message Count Private Chat Message Count
Figure 9. A chart illustrating active student participation in the XX50214 Microsoft Team for profes-
sional skills. The chart shows the number of posts made by a student, either to the whole team or
privately to another person. Those students who did not make any posts (n = 27) are not included.
260 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
@Bath, 2019a), to deliver Higher Education for the next generation of graduates. One of
the key principles is to integrate professional and transferable skills (Learning and
Teaching Hub @Bath, 2019b) as well as build on existing success. Currently, we are
working to develop a Professional Skills and Practice unit/module that can be embedded
on all PGT Engineering degree programmes post-curriculum transformation.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Week 1
Week 2 & 3
Week 4
Number of responses
Student responses to Homework Activities in MS
Forms
Figure 10. A chart to show the student responses to the homework activities presented in MS Forms
and delivered through the XX50214 Microsoft Team.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Week 1
Week 2
Week 4a
Week 4b
Week 5a
Week 5b
Number of responses
Student responses to Class Activities (in MS
Forms)
Figure 11. A chart to show student responses to the class activities presented in Microsoft Forms and
delivered through the XX50214 Microsoft Team.
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 261
A more encompassing Employability/Professional skills provision
●Deepening criticality and reflection: developing evaluative judgement. With
rapid changing technology and a more globalized economy, critical thinking and
reflection are highly desired skills for graduates (Roohr, 2019). Among these
competencies, evaluative judgement (Tai, 2018) can play a major role in the
work environment, when an appraisal and an understanding of standards or
quality of own and other’s work is required (Tai, 2018). We are revising our
current practices to include additional content and activities, such as student co-
creation of rubrics (Fraile, Panadero, & Pardo, 2017), which can support the
development of this competency.
●Developing an Employable mind-set. Individuals perceiving themselves as
employable are more likely to secure employment, as they tend to engage in positive
behaviours that will lead to gain employment (Forsythe, 2017). A lifelong-
development mind-set and resilience are seen as key ‘employability’ attributes in
the workplace (Römgens, Scoupe, & Beausaert, 2019). Working with staff from
Student Services at Bath (University of Bath Student Services, 2019) we are explor-
ing ways of helping graduates to develop this set of competences. Namely, as part of
the Professional Skills provision in the MSc ESD, we have run sessions on resilience
co-delivered with staff from Student Services. Currently, we are looking into how to
increase our provision for future years.
Further analysis on the proposed methodology
More substantive data will be collected to extend and deepen our analysis and improve
the delivery (e.g., on the use of tools such as Teams and VLEs to maximise student
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020
Student class attendance (# students)
Week 2 Week 7
Figure 12. Student attendance of XX50214 over the last academic years, at the beginning (week 2)
and towards the end of the course (week 7).
262 M. D. R. VALERO ET AL.
engagement) and its efficacy. With regards the latter, this will focus on learning gain and
consider aspects such as self-efficacy, self-assessment skills, peer-instruction gains and
peer-instruction confidence gains (Arico, Gillespie, Lancaster, Ward, & Ylonen, 2018).
As discussed, confidence plays a significant role in the development of an ‘employable
mind-set’ and thus the likelihood to secure employment (a major goal for graduates).
Self-efficacy (Arico et al., 2018), measured as student self-reported confidence in per-
formance, has been identified as one key learning gain indicator (ibid). Without a unique,
definitive method to assess learning gain (Evans, Kandiko Howson, & Forsythe, 2018),
self-efficacy stands a relevant metric for:
●Holistic evaluation of this methodology. Through a series of questionnaires, a self-
diagnostic tool (Learning and Teaching Hub @Bath, 2019c) recently developed in
Bath will enable students to self-assess their confidence on their employability/
professional skills performance. These results can be then compared with student’
academic performance (self-assessment skills indicator).
●Pedagogical enhancement. As explained, future development plans such as
“Developing an Employable mind-set focus on developing a set of ‘employability’
competences to increase student confidence levels on their employability. Self-efficacy
and self-assessment skills measurements will enable to determine the overall impact
of the skills provision in terms of facilitator delivery, with the peer-learning compo-
nent assessed via peer-instruction gains and peer-instruction confidence gains. This
data will evaluate and inform any necessary pedagogical enhancements for the future.
Note
1. Student feedback was collected through University mechanisms such as unit evaluations
(University of Bath Unit Evaluations, 2019) and comments are covered by consent and
secured in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to Dr Tracey Madden, Mr Thomas Rogers, Ms Sandra Haywood, Dr Helen
Liang, Dr Joshua Lim, Mr Anthony Payne and Dr Eleanor Parker for their support to the
implementation of this methodology.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
Maria De Rodanas Valero http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3691-5934
HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGIES 263
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