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Compass: The Journal of Learning and Teaching at the University of Greenwich Issue 5, 2012 

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Editor’s introduction 
 

Welcome to the fifth edition of the University of Greenwich’s learning and teaching journal, Compass. This 

conference edition brings together articles from across the three conferences that the university hosted in 

July 2011. The conferences were an opportunity for colleagues and their students within and outside the 

University of Greenwich to meet, discuss, debate and to be inspired. While the conferences addressed 

distinct themes, they all shared a commitment to the enhancement of student achievement. 
 

The first conference on 4 July focused specifically on black and minority ethnic (BME) students. Entitled 

Promoting inclusive change: addressing equality and success for BME students in higher education, it 

was co-sponsored by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU). The 

conference sought to promote dialogue around the differential attainment of students of different ethnicities. 

While it is recognised that the situation is improving for BME students within UK higher education, there is 

more that can still be done to promote equity and success for all. Three papers in this edition come from this 

conference. 
 

● Sue Jones, David Timmins, David Wood, Po Li Tan and Sian Howells, Kings College London, ask the 

question: ‘multiculturalism in higher education: fact or fiction?’ Fuelled by the belief that their pharmacy 

students lacked an understanding of the broader concepts of culture, the team devised a pedagogical 

strategy to support discussions around culture. They argue that it is only through the sharing of cultural 

similarities and differences that the goal of multiculturalism can be pursued. 
 

● Chantal Davies and Matthew Garrett, University of Chester, report on a small-scale study exploring BME 

student experiences within a northern England university. Following their analysis of focus group and 

interview data, the authors drew together findings around the themes of: belonging and segregation; 

academic and social experiences; differential treatment and equal opportunities; and early education   

and employability. Their work provides clear indications for institutional development in the areas of 

student engagement and enhancement. 
 

● Ronke Shoderu and Suzanne Kane, London Metropolitan University, Deborah Husbands, University  

of Westminster and Debbie Holley, Anglia Ruskin University, focus on students’ sense of belonging 

within UK higher education. The article presents interim findings for a study involving three different 

universities. Drawing on the biographical, narrative, interpretive method (BNIM), the authors paint rich 

pictures of three students and contrasted these students’ experiences of transition, cultural integration, 

and of their expectations and aspirations. 

 
The fourth annual Learning and Teaching conference took place on 5 July. With a focus on the student 

experience, curriculum regeneration and changing relationships within higher education, the conference, 

Redefining the Student Experience: directions for learning, teaching and assessment, offered a platform 

to celebrate the successes and achievements of higher education practitioners and their students. The 

conference hosted twenty-nine presentations, three of which have been selected for this edition. 
 

● Noel-Ann Bradshaw and Steve Lakin, University of Greenwich, describe the Greenwich Maths Arcade 

initiative, piloted in the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences. Drop-in sessions were offered 

to enable maths students to receive support from staff on tutorial questions and also to play a range  

of strategy games and attempt mathematical puzzles. The drop-in sessions proved a popular way for 

struggling students to access help and for students to socialise, and to interact with each other and 

with the teaching staff. The initiative also positively impacted on student retention, progression and 

attainment. 



 Compass: The Journal of Learning and Teaching at the University of Greenwich Issue 5, 2012 

● Edward Phillips, Department of Law & Criminology, University of Greenwich, makes the case for   

the use of role play and simulation in the teaching of legal application and practice. He argues that 

the use of simulation-based teaching is particularly beneficial due to its inherent student focus. The 

approach also offers an effective means of developing ‘soft skills’ through its emphasis on collaboration, 

communication and experimentation. As such, it provides a bridge from university into the world of 

professional education and ultimately the workplace. 
 

● Rita Headington, Hetty Baron, Michael Smith and Duncan Callnon, School of Education, University of 

Greenwich, provide a case study exploring students’ perceptions of feedback and assessment. The 

project team used a World Café approach to support large discussion and analysed the resulting data. 

The findings provided concrete recommendations that led to the redevelopment of feedback sheets and 

student workshops dedicated to understanding and working with feedback. 

 
The final conference on 6 July was the ninth annual e-learning conference. The conference, entitled 

Enhanced and Transformed: Tales from the Digital Age, invited participants to tell their personal and 

institutional stories of how technology has enhanced and transformed learning and teaching practices. This 

edition of Compass carries four papers from this conference. 
 

● Will Stewart, University of Bradford, describes the pedagogical model that was successfully deployed in 

the transformation of a face-to-face postgraduate certificate into modules for online delivery. The model, 

which focuses on both collaborative and individual participation, encourages peer-to-peer support,   

while recognising individual expertise and experience. It also draws together teaching, social and 

cognitive elements into a supportive, authentic and active learning environment. 
 

● Shivaun Gammie, Medway School of Pharmacy, University of Greenwich, University of Kent, also 

describes the importance of collaborative online learning in her evaluation of web-based learning sets, 

designed to support workplace learning for community pharmacists. While the project was beset with 

some technical issues, the students seemed to appreciate the learning sets, which could be fitted into 

the busy schedules of practising pharmacists. 
 

● Christine Davies, University of Glamorgan, reports on a student experience survey that had questions 

specifically relating to students’ use of technology for learning. The findings from the survey indicate   

how students use technology, but also raise questions about the generalisability of previous technology- 

usage research and the design of survey instruments. 
 

● Nigel Ecclesfield, Learning and Skills Improvement Service, Geoff Rebbeck, Institute for Learning and 

Fred Garnett, London Knowledge Lab present the findings from a study exploring the changing attitudes 

of further education staff to e-learning and technology in action.  Their research suggest that college   

staff have a new professional confidence in using technology that stems from their own curiosity as to 

how technology could be used to enhance student learning. 
 

As these overviews show, there is a wealth of interesting work here that captures of feel of the 2011 

University of Greenwich conferences.  We hope that you will enjoy reading it in more detail and that we will 

see you at our forthcoming conferences: 3 July 2012, Inspiring Teachers: learning and leading in academic 

practice and 4 July 2012, Employer Engagement in a Digital Age. 
 

Karen Smith 

Managing Editor, University of Greenwich