Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience

 

                                          Documents

 

Plan of Work and Working Method

 

Meeting:   

29/02/08

Agenda Item:

2  

Paper No:

CLex/01/02

 

 

Introduction

 

This paper invites the Committee to consider its plan of work and working method.

 

 

Recommendations

 

The Committee is invited:

 

 (a)  to consider and agree its plan of work;

 (b)  to consider and agree its working method and give guidance on the detail.

 

 

Plan of Work

 

 

 

 

The Inquiry will extend over a period of 9 to 12 months. The following is an indication of a plan of work within that timeframe.

Once agreed, the plan will inform consideration of working method, specifically the nature and scale of evidence gathering activity.

 

 

Inaugural Meeting	February	2008	Context, terms of reference, membership; work plan and working method; related programmes and studies
Second Meeting	April	2008	Activities and findings to date; proposals for interim report
Third Meeting:	July	2008	Interim findings
Fourth Meeting	September	2008	Emerging report
Fifth Meeting	November	2008	Draft final report
Sixth Meeting	December	2008	Final report

 

 

 

Working Method

 

In essence, the Committee’s work will comprise gathering and assessing evidence.  Evidence can be gathered in a number of ways:

 

• Commissioning briefing papers and reports;

• Commissioning surveys;

• Taking views orally and/or in writing;

• Making observational visits.

 

 

Papers and Reports

 

The Committee will need to decide in what areas reports and papers might most usefully be commissioned, for example: findings of studies/surveys of learner use of social networking technologies; findings of studies on learner expectation of new technology in HE; findings of international studies in these areas.

 

 

Surveys

 

The Committee might usefully consider whether it wishes to commission any surveys, either to build on work undertaken to date or to break new ground.  Possibilities might include, for example: learner use of new technologies and expectation of use in HE; institutional practice in specified areas, eg marketing and recruitment, induction, learning and teaching; staff attitudes to new technologies according to perspective, eg senior management, support services, learning and teaching.

 

Timescales will be a particular factor in relation to any surveys.  They would need to be carried out in a relatively short period in order to provide results in time to inform the Committee’s deliberations.

Oral and written evidence

 

The Committee may wish to take evidence from individuals and/or bodies.  It might invite oral evidence from a small number of individuals, perhaps including ‘forward thinkers’, and written evidence from a larger number, perhaps including overseas contributors.

 

 

Observational Visits

 

The Committee may wish to consider making two or three short, small group visits to schools, colleges and universities to observe practice first hand and talk direct to learners and staff.

The Committee is invited to consider its approach to gathering evidence and to give guidance on the detail.