Creativity, enthusiasm and commitment
10 July 2009
Another successful year for Student Associates.
Over 300 students, mainly from LJMU, Hope and The University of Liverpool, received certificates after their successful participation in the Student Associates scheme, a project funded by the Training Development Agency (TDA).
The students completed two days of pre-placement training and fifteen days of placement in Greater Merseyside or more distant primary and secondary schools.
Whilst on placement the students:
• Designed and delivered a presentation about university life, including promotion of different pathways to Higher Education
• Researched issues for secondary language department, including Learning to Learn
• Created Maths PowerPoint presentations for GCSE students on indices, fractions and algebra
• Organised a mini graduation ceremony for a primary class
• Worked on updating a school website
• Assisted in the organisation of extra curricular activities, including musical productions, sports days and lunchtime and after school clubs
• Conducted a Sports Science research project with a primary class on whether their height affects the distance pupils can jump
• Taught lessons on a wide range of curriculum areas, including crime scene detection, The Holocaust, fractions and emails.
All these examples support the aims of the project, which are to give students a taster of teaching and help raise aspirations of young people in schools.
Creativity, enthusiasm and commitment are the hallmarks of the scheme, as can be seen in the feedback from teachers in school:
“A wonderful asset to the department.”
“An excellent role model …helping the pupils realise you don’t have to come from a privileged background to go to university….She was fantastic!”
“Earned the respect of staff and pupils alike”
The response from students was equally enthusiastic as they built up their portfolio of transferable skills. Previous LJMU Student Associates have been able to develop these skills still further through the WoW initiative.
As one student commented: “The scheme was excellent. It really helps build belief in yourself of what can be achieved.”
The Student Associates scheme is managed by Stella Yates and co-ordinated by Nicola O’Brien in ECL Faculty. Any students interested in applying for 2009/10 can do so now through the dedicated website: www.liverpoolsas.ac.uk
