Seminar Nasional Pendidikan

Category: Spotlight

  • Most students pleased with their digital learning

    Most students pleased with their digital learning

    Nearly seven in 10 students surveyed rate the quality of online and digital learning as either ‘best imaginable’, ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ (68% of both further and higher education students).

    But the snapshot findings of the Jisc survey of 27,069 higher and further education students in the United Kingdom also found that areas such as well-being, mental health and staff digital skills need more attention.

    Sarah Knight, Jisc’s head of data and digital capability, said: “We hope this data pulse helps universities and colleges see clearly where students are benefiting, and where they could be better supported.”

    Between October and December 2020, 21,697 higher education students and 5,372 further education students from 11 universities and four further education colleges took part in Jisc’s digital experience insights student survey.

    The surveys seek to support the sector in adapting and responding to the changing situation as a result of COVID-19 policies.

    The surveys will continue to run until 30 April 2021, but this first snapshot of results shows the swift work of colleges and universities in moving learning online has been predominantly well received by students.

    Among those surveyed, 81% were studying online, 72% of them from home.

    Both higher education and further education students surveyed noted the huge benefits of flexible learning, with lecture recordings proving helpful for note-taking and scheduling learning around other aspects of life. Some students enjoy the comfort and convenience of studying at home, as well as feeling more in control.

    Learning online (ironically) has made it easier to get support from staff. They’re more likely to encourage us to talk to them and it is a little easier than having to find them physically on campus.

    Students enjoyed a range of different online activities and were positive about being able to access lecture recordings and participate live online.

    Analysis of free text responses in the survey was particularly revealing and highlighted how being able to watch sessions again helped students to study in ways that better met their learning needs, improved their understanding and encouraged further independent study.

    For instance, recordings enabled them to catch up if they missed the live session, manage the pace and take notes. They also made it easier for students for whom English is not a first language to hear and understand the lecture.

    Some of the more engaging activities were less well used and there are opportunities to embed activities like the use of small group discussions for peer support and collaboration, quizzes or polls, and online research tasks into curriculum design, the survey found.

  • University of Cambridge commits to a major new centre for music performance

    University of Cambridge commits to a major new centre for music performance

    The University of Cambridge is creating Centre for Music Performance (CMP) to transform the visibility, scale, ambition and reach of musical life at Cambridge.

    This initiative will contribute to the recovery of the physical University in the wake of the pandemic, and is an important signal of Cambridge’s ongoing commitment to the performing arts.

    The CMP heralds a step-change in music of all genres for outreach and inclusion, and for wellbeing across collegiate Cambridge. Maintaining a tradition of excellence, it will also seal the University’s position on a world stage for music performance.

    The CMP will be a seedbed of experimentation and innovation. A radical commitment to diversity will offer more opportunities to more students than ever before, to explore new styles of music-making and performance.

    The Centre will open at the end of the year; in the meantime the search is on for a new Director to take up their post in early autumn.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen J Toope, said: “At a time of unprecedented stress for the performing arts, I am proud that Cambridge is creating a new Centre for Music Performance. A step-change in the visibility, breadth, reach and role of music performance, it will nurture the highest aspirations of the very best performers, besides offering a wonderful array of opportunities to those with previously limited experience. In the long run the Centre will be a stimulus for interdisciplinarity, research excellence and all-round personal development. I am thrilled to see the CMP go ahead at Cambridge.”

    The Senior Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education), Professor Graham Virgo, said: “This is one of the many ways Cambridge University is expressing its commitment to outreach, inclusion and diversity. We expect this Centre to build on our excellent array of musical endeavour to draw more students into the cultural life of the University, building their skills and confidence and supporting their wellbeing.”

    Dr. Anthony Freeling, Chair, Colleges’ Committee, and President of Hughes Hall, said: “The Cambridge Colleges are well-known as a seedbed of musical life; the Centre for Music Performance will not only support this but enhance its connectivity and visibility so that more students are attracted to, and can fully enjoy, the proven benefits of music performance.”

    Chair of the Faculty Board of Music and 1684 Professor of Music Katharine Ellis said: “The Faculty of Music is delighted to see the new Centre for Music Performance come into being. This new hub will be a game-changer supporting musicians right across the University, from soon-to-be professionals to those for whom music offers precious release from the stresses of intensive study. It will be a beacon for Cambridge’s already rich musical life and will enable students to access its variety more readily than ever before. We look forward to contributing to the CMP’s success.”

    The Chair of the Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) Trustees, Dame Fiona Reynolds, said: “CUMS has carried the flag for excellence in music performance at Cambridge for many years. During that time we have nurtured a host of young people for whom music is life-giving, from world-leading professional musicians to skilled amateurs. The CMP is the opportunity we have been looking for to take this to the next level, offering more students than ever before the opportunity to work with each other and professional artists from a wide range of genres in an atmosphere that fosters creativity and innovation.”