Project Brief
MA Social Research runs across four schools in the College of Social Sciences; Birmingham Business School, School of Education, School of Government and School of Social Policy. The course was previously being taught face-to-face as a one-year course for MA students and a compulsory year for PhD’s students but due to incoming distance learning students the course needed to be taught fully online. The course requirements were to deliver high level academic content, to manage diverse student interest across many disciplines and to build a cohort and community of new researchers.
Solution
We designed the course with a particular focus on consistency of structure and visual style so that students had a seamless experience between modules and could easily identify the rhythm of the course. Recognising that students were coming from with a range of motivations and from diverse backgrounds, we developed engaging activities that were supported by group feedback sessions and reflections for the module leads. Students were encouraged to do self-reflection exercises in order to reinforce their learning and link it to their own area of study. Carefully structured group work and well-placed discussion forums helped build a sense of community within the cohort.
Testimonial
Dr Neve Isaeva
Module Lead, Foundations in Qualitative Research
“This has been a great learning experience for all the module leads. We have received amazing feedback from the students and the staff who carried out the QA for the online module.”