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Funded Learning and Teaching Projects

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Funded Learning and Teaching Projects

This page lists projects which were funded by HEFCE and DELNI in Autumn 2000 under Phase 3 of the FDTL Initiative. The projects were in the assessment areas of Building and Surveying, Town and Country Planning and Landscape, Land and Property Management and Civil Engineering.

Fund For the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL)

 

FIRE Support Programme for Assisted Resources and Knowledge (FIRE SPARK)

This project developed student support mechanisms, particularly for part-time students, distance learning students and those students who study under collaborative arrangements with other educational, industrial or employer partners.

Host Department: Department of the Built Environment

Host Institution: University of Central Lancashire

Collaborating Institutions:
Fire Service College Moreton-in-Marsh
International Fire Training College Chorley
Eastleigh College
Preston College
Barrow in Furness College

For Further Information Contact: Mr James Flannery

E-Mail: jflannery@uclan.ac.uk

Web Site: http://www.uclan.ac.uk/firespark

 

Developing Business Skills within Land and Property Management Courses (DEBS) 

Developing Business Skills in Land and Property Management Courses (DEBS) was a two year, collaborative project between De Montfort University, Sheffield Hallam University and the University of West of England, Bristol, which focused on the adaptation of traditional land and property management courses to meet the needs of the profession.

This project produced a specification of business skills appropriate to the new demands of business orientated surveying programmes and developed appropriate teaching, learning and assessment strategies.

Host Department: Department of Strategy and Management

Host Institution: DeMontfort University

Collaborating Institutions: Sheffield Hallam Uiniversity University of the West of England

For Further Information Contact: Martin Hill, former Project Director

E-Mail: mphill@dmu.ac.uk

Web Site: http://www.debs.ac.uk/

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Best Practice in Building Education 

This project aimed to ensure that all providers of Building education could benefit from the positive aspects of the QAA assessment process and that issues that were common across the sector could be addressed by collective sharing of good practice. This was achieved through the production of a series of Best Practice Guides, covering the six areas of QAA assessment. Each guide used a case-study approach, drawing from good practice within all the Universities and Colleges identified within the overview report. The guidelines form a comprehensive support package for all institutions offering Building provision and will encourage and embed best practice in teaching and learning.

Host Department: School of the Built Environment

Host Institution: Coventry University

Collaborating Institutions: Loughborough University and Nottingham Trent University

For Further Information Contact:  Mr Martin Beck

E-Mail: m.beck@coventry.ac.uk 

Web Site: http://www.cebe.heacademy.ac.uk/BPBN/index.htm

 

Learning to Work: Working to Learn 

Students who study for professional qualifications in architecture, landscape, planning and surveying are provided with an educational experience both within Higher Educational Institutions and the professional workplace. In order to provide a more consistent approach to the delivery of student teaching, learning and assessment, new opportunities were needed to increase the interaction between employers and educational staff. This two year project sought to facilitate this interaction through staff placements, workshops, and focus groups, with reference to work based learning.

The project outcomes were twofold: the development of web based teaching and learning information to provide support and guidance to students and their workplace supervisors in practice, to assist in attainment of professional competencies as set out by the accrediting bodies. Secondly, recommendations were made as to how educational staff could enhance their knowledge of professional practice to better inform academic curricula.

Host Department: School of Surveying

Host Institution:  Kingston University

Collaborating Institutions:
Sheffield Hallam University
University of Central of England
University of West of England 

For Further Information contact: Amanda Lewis

Email: a.lewis@kingston.ac.uk

For Further Information See: http://www.learningandworking.ac.uk/

RAPID 2000: Developing Professionalism, Competence and Excellence 

The RAPID 2000 Project was designed to significantly enhance the skill development of undergraduates in Civil and Building Engineering by:

  • Designing revised versions of the RAPID Progress File 1 in line with the competencies required for membership of Professional Institutions within the Construction Industry
  • Implementing these revised versions of the RAPID Progress File in a minimum of 10 HE departments
  • Evaluating the impact on student learning and progression resulting from this implementation process
  • Disseminating widely the experiences of the project and the lessons derived regarding best practice
  • Promoting, with the assistance of the Professional Institutions, the widespread adoption of the RAPID Progress File as a mechanism to develop student skills and competencies in Civil and Building Engineering across the HE sector

The RAPID Progress File is a mechanism designed to maintain a record of achievement and to audit and develop skills compatible with the competence requirements of Professional Institutions. The original RAPID Progress File was developed to prepare students for the Chartered Institute of Building's Professional Development Programme. It is available in both paper and Web-based formats.

Host Department: Department of Civil and Building Engineering

Host Institution: Loughborough University

Collaborating Institutions: University of Central England

For Further Information Contact: Mr Alan P Maddocks

E-Mail:  A.P.Maddocks@lboro.ac.uk 

Web Site: http://rapid2k.lboro.ac.uk/

 

Project Based Learning in Engineering (PBLE) 

This project aimed to enhance engineering education by promoting and facilitating the use of Project Based Learning (PBL), thereby improving students' key transferable skills and their grasp of the subject content. The key skills developed through PBL will produce more employable graduates, ready and confident to begin their professional careers. Project activities included a survey of current 'good practice', the development and use of appropriate frameworks for implementing PBL in engineering, appropriate staff development events and a dissemination strategy to ensure that PBL was effectively embedded into the curricula of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering courses.

For copies of resources and further information regarding the project please contact LTSN Engineering or visit the LTSN Engineering Resource Database.

 

Student Centred Flexible Learning in Building and Civil Engineering (SLICE)

This project was initiated to enhance the quality of student learning by embedding good practice in student centred flexible learning (SCFL) within the two units of assessment of Building and Civil Engineering. The project had four objectives:

  • Stimulate the adoption of good practice in Student Centred Flexible Learning (by documenting and disseminating good practice).
  • Empower staff throughout the sector to develop and utilise effective SCFL within their specialist subjects (through the provision of subject specific Staff Development Toolkits).
  • Assist teaching teams embed SCFL good practice.
  • Measure the effectiveness of the project outputs.

Host Department:  School of Civil and Structural Engineering

Host Institution:  University of Plymouth

Collaborating Institutions: 
University of Plymouth, University of Greenwich
Salford University
University of Brighton
University of Birmingham

For Further Information Contact:  Mr Steve Donohoe

E-Mail:  steve.donohoe@plymouth.ac.uk

Web site: http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=9547

 

Better Together

Inter-Professional Collaboration: Stimulating Partnership Working in the Built Environment Curriculum 

This project addressed major current challenges and changes in professional employment. Professionals in many areas are being drawn increasingly into collaborative partnerships with specialists in other fields of practice. 'Networks' rather than discrete 'domains' are becoming more central to professional activity, a development that demands new knowledge, skills and qualities. Underlying this trend is a secular and pervasive challenge to traditional professionalism and modes of governance that recognises the 'voice' of users and communities. The overall aims of the project were:

  • to stimulate, in consultation with key user groups, the development of an inter-professional curriculum and appropriate teaching, learning, and assessment strategies in the broad field of the built environment;
  • to disseminate and consolidate good practice in inter-professional education amongst the widest range of academic institutions within the built environment sector; and
  • to consolidate developments in student learning that would equip graduates for effective and reflective practice in employment roles which place increasing emphasis on inter-professional and inter-agency partnerships.

Host Department: School of Environment and Development

Host Institution: Sheffield Hallam University

Collaborating Institutions:
Kingston University
Oxford Brookes University

For Further Information Contact:  Mr Mike Green

Tel: 0114 225 2979

E-Mail: m.w.green@shu.ac.uk

Web site: http://www.bettertogether.ac.uk/

 

Linking Teaching with Research in Planning, Land and Property Management and Building

This project aimed to identify, design, develop and disseminate good practice in linking teaching with research and consultancy in the three closely-related disciplines of town and country planning, land and property management and building. It built on the strengths of four consortium institutions - School of Planning, Oxford Brookes University; School of the Built Environment, University of Westminster; Faculty of the Built Environment, University of West of England; School of Environment and Development, Sheffield Hallam University.

The project focused on curriculum models and teaching, learning and assessment strategies for built environment undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes, linking teaching with research and consultancy. It was designed to enhance research and teaching synergy within and between the three disciplines and reinforce subject-specific findings within the consortium departments.

The project set out to: embed the findings in other built environment providers through targeted partnership contracts; transfer generic findings to cognate departments and disciplines in consortium, partner and other institutions. More generally, the project aimed to enhance institutional learning and teaching strategies and ensure post-project sustainability. Dissemination comprised: extended partnerships with allied departments in other universities; web-based resources, which were the major component of both Good Practice guidelines and an evolving teaching resources portfolio of case studies; conferences; an international network; and publications.

Host Department: School of Planning

Host Institution: Oxford Brookes University

Collaborating Institutions:
University of the West of England
University of Westminster
Sheffield Hallam University

For Further Information Contact: Dr Bridget Durning

Tel: 01865 483430

E-Mail: bdurning@brookes.ac.uk

Web Site: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/planning/LTRC/team.html

 

The Use of the Construction Site as a Learning Environment 

The SiteCam project provided a partnership between HEI's, industry, client and professional bodies in the preparation of teaching and learning materials acquired via web camera and video images taken from a construction site. The aim was to enhance the learning experience and employability of Built Environment students by bringing the reality of construction processes and procedures closer to the lecture room. The collection of such material would provide reference, teaching and research material for a range of subject areas.

Project Objectives

  • To provide a medium by which all students were able to access activities which take place during the design, planning and construction of a building project.
  • To increase graduate employability through exposure to work place practices and processes.
  • To further enhance the vocational relevance of the curriculum
  • To foster stronger links with industry and improve employer involvement in higher education
  • To enhance the facility and scope of student centred learning.
  • To provide case study material and documentation for future use throughout the subject area and across institutions.
    To disseminate the findings by delivering seminars, producing papers and reports at various stages throughout the duration of the project
  • To further continue and develop the activity following the completion of the funded period
  • To provide evidence through the project that further development of this method of student centred learning is appropriate for other subject/discipline area

Host Department:  The Department of Technology

Host Institution:  The University of Luton

For Further Information Contact: Mr Andrew Callard

E-Mail: andrew.callard@luton.ac.uk

Web Site: http://www.luton.ac.uk/sitecam/index.shtml