Grant recipients:
Erica Refling, Centre for Career Action
Christine Kampen Robinson, Centre for Career Action
Meghan Riley, Department of English Language and Literature
Janet Michaud, Department of Philosophy
Kristin Brown, School of Public Health and Health Systems
Faith-Anne Wagler, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies
Project team:
Erica Refling, Centre for Career Action
Christine Kampen Robinson, Centre for Career Action
Mehrnaz Mostafapour, School of Public Health and Health Systems
Meghan Riley, Department of English Language and Literature
Janet Michaud, Department of Philosophy
Kristin Brown, School of Public Health and Health Systems
Faith-Anne Wagler, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies
(Project Timeline: May 1, 2017 - April 30, 2018)
Description
The purpose of this project was to conduct a research-informed pilot investigation of Skills Awareness and Articulation Training (SKAATR), which aims to help graduate students develop the strategies required to identify the skills they are developing through their programs. SKAATR is intended to foster deep learning through its integration of systematic opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and how they can apply that learning beyond their degree. The program was embedded into several graduate-level courses in fall 2017 and winter 2018 where Graduate Skills Facilitators supported students in recognizing and articulating their skills through activity-based workshops, reflection papers connected to skill development and course/graduate school activities, and feedback on those papers encouraging a shift from descriptive thought (e.g., what?) to critical reflection (e.g., so what? now what?).
To assess the learning outcomes associated with SKAATR, pre- and post-surveys were administered to student participants and one post-programming focus group was conducted.
Questions investigated
We intended to evaluate the degree to which the SKAATR program enhanced graduate students’ abilities in the following areas:
- Identifying and assessing skills developed through their academic experiences
- Critically reflecting on the value and transferability of the skills they are developing
- Reframing and articulating their academic experiences for different contexts, both academic and non-academic
At this pilot stage, we assessed participants’ perceptions of the programming and their perceived value of the program as related to the above activities (e.g., perceived improvement in skill articulation, confidence in communication, etc.) through the use of pre- and post-surveys and by conducting a focus group.
Findings/insights
A total of 167 graduate students (n = 100 in fall 2017, n = 54 in winter 2018, n = 8 in a year-long course) participated in the SKAATR program, from which 73 and 54 students participated in the pre-programming and the post-programming surveys, respectively. The students were enrolled in eight courses across four of the six faculties: Arts, Applied Health Sciences, Science and Environment.
A thematic analysis of the participants’ responses in the post-programming focus group (n = 5) highlighted a number of themes in line with the intended learning outcomes of the SKAATR program. Specifically, these students believed the program: improved their ability to recognize the broad range of skills they are developing in their graduate studies, boosted their self-confidence by highlighting the range of these skills, improved their ability to communicate their skills to others, and provided further clarity in their career planning.
To further assess the program’s learning outcomes, we also analyzed the pre- and post-SKAATR survey data. Prior to and after their participation in the program, we asked students to indicate the extent to which they needed to improve their ability to effectively communicate their skills to an employer (1 = no improvement, 3 = moderate improvement, 5 = significant improvement). Prior to SKAATR, 81% of students perceived a need for moderate to significant improvement, whereas only 61% of students perceived a need for moderate to significant improvement after the SKAATR program. More specifically, examining the two highest points on the scale, 47% of students selected a rating of 4 or 5 prior to participating in SKAATR, but only 19% of students selected the higher end of the scale after participating in SKAATR. These descriptive analyses include a comparison of all participants who completed either survey, however, to more directly evaluate how the students’ perceptions changed after the program, we further analyzed the data for participants (n = 21) who completed both the pre and post-surveys. A paired sample t-test confirmed that students perceived need for improvement significantly decreased after the program, p
To directly assess the students’ confidence in effectively communicating their skills verbally and in writing, we asked participants to respond to these questions in the pre- and post-surveys. Fifty-two percent were confident or very confident in their ability to verbally communicate their skills before the SKAATR program and 55% were confident or very confident after the program. Fifty-nine percent of students were confident or very confident in their ability to effectively communicate their skills in writing before the program and 68% were confident or very confident after SKAATR. Paired sample t-tests of participants who completed both the pre- and post-surveys revealed that students’ perception of their confidence in communicating their skills both verbally and in writing significantly increased after participating in the SKAATR program, p
As part of the post-survey, we also further probed students’ perceptions about the usefulness of the SKAATR program and explicitly asked them about the perceived benefits they received from participating in the program. In sum, the majority of students somewhat or strongly agreed that the SKAATR program was useful, helped them more readily identify the skills they have developed/are continuing to develop in graduate school, and increased their understanding of the value of those skills.
Overall, these findings suggest that the SKAATR program was viewed as a useful course component by the majority of respondents and positively influenced graduate students’ perceptions of their ability to identify and effectively communicate their skills to others.
Dissemination and impact
- At the individual level: Results will be shared with participants who requested a copy of the research results and discussed with relevant campus partners (e.g., Graduate Professional Skills working group - GRADventure, Writing and Communication Centre, Student Success Office, CTE, Library, etc.)
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At the Department/School and/or Faculty/Unit levels: SKAATR has changed delivery/curriculum of several courses through reoccurring integration requests and, anecdotally, by shifting faculty mindsets to be more intentional connecting course content/activities to learning outcomes. Results will be presented at a Centre for Career Action departmental meeting and shared with SKAATR faculty partners
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At the institutional (uWaterloo) level: We received Career Ready Funding from the provincial government in January 2018, part of which is being used to improve the SKAATR program based on findings from the Seed Grant and to make SKAATR more sustainable/scalable going forward. We also plan to share our results at the University of Waterloo Teaching and Learning Conference.
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At the national level: Dr. Refling presented findings at the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) Experiential Learning Best Practices Exchange in November 2017.
Impact of the Project
- Teaching: The findings from this grant highlight the learning outcomes associated with the SKAATR program and the perceived value of the program from the student perspective. We plan to adjust the model of the program so that it is accessible to more graduate students (not just those in SKAATR-integrated courses). The findings from this grant will help inform what components of the program will remain and which ones will be altered.
- Connections with people from different departments, faculties, and/or disciplines about teaching and learning: New faculty connections were made in Science, Applied Health Sciences and Environment. We also connected with directors from career centres and university administrators across Canada as a result of presenting at the COU Best Practices Exchange
References
Project Reference List (PDF)