Name: Kate Atkinson (k.atkinson@trinitylaban.ac.uk) and Louise Jackson (l.jackson@trinitylaban.ac.uk)

Discipline/Subject: Music

Institution: Trinity Laban of Conservatoire of Music and Dance

Title: Integrated and Vertical: Methods of developing outreach infused Music curriculum in higher education

Overview of programme of outreach:

Our model of outreach focuses on an integrated model, utilising subject-specific Learning and Participation (L&P) activity that intersect with our Higher Education provision. HE students are engaged in participation activity with wider communities, which also support and deliver our outreach agenda. Two programmes of activity in the Music discipline exemplify this approach.

Example One: Artist as Educator is a second year module on our BMus, where students are supported to develop their contextual understanding of and practical skills in musical leadership working alongside members of the academic and L&P teams, the latter supporting awareness of teaching practices in wider educational contexts, exploring some of the skills they will use within a workshop setting and then go on to set out professional standards (a Code of Conduct) and Institutional Safeguarding procedures. In subsequent weeks L&P staff then go and observe and provide feedback to ‘dry run’ workshops, these visits are repeated once students are in school.  Students deliver one class performance demonstrations to 9 and 10 year olds in local primary schools.

Example Two: L&P offer student placements in a variety of settings. These are always supported by a professional music leader and allow for planning and preparation beforehand. We provide a range of different levels of placements from those that may be observational, to others that are more actively involved in delivering aspects of sessions. We try to encourage students to stretch themselves in new ways and in ways that are right for them as individuals, and we encourage them to use the experience as a safe space to try something new that may feel initially uncomfortable. Placement settings are really varied – from schools, work with older people in a local church hall, to work on out of schools creative projects to in an established arts venue like the Tate taking inspiration from their collections.

Description of non-academic group, subject areas and age groups with which the programme is engaged:

A variety of community and formal educational settings are engaged with through this integrated model.

Links to resources:

BMus programme specification: https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/study/music/bmus-hons

Jackson, L. H. and Price, C. (2017) ‘Illuminating constellations of peer mentoring: The case of Music programmes in Higher Education’, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, DOI: 10.1080/14703297.2017.1417887

 

Name: John Foster (j.foster@lancaster.ac.uk), with Faye Tucker (f.tucker@lancaster.ac.uk) and Myfanwy Williams (miffywilliams@googlemail.com)

Discipline/Subject: Philosophy

Institution: Lancaster University and Second Thoughts Philosophical Enquiry

Title: Provoking Thoughts: Outreach Philosophy in Schools

Overview of programme of outreach:

John Foster has led outreach work with school pupils since 2004. Initially on-campus and in-school sessions on a wide range of topics were funded by G&T and AimHigher (Government funding no longer available). After Lancaster Philosophy joined a merged Department, topics with political and religious aspects were increasingly included within the mindOUT programme: www.lancaster.ac.uk/ppr/about-us/schools-outreach/mindout/.

The aim was mainly to get younger people doing philosophy, although there was also a strong Widening Participation element. In a complex world, enabling school pupils to engage with philosophical questions and tools was both educationally valuable and fun. Over time John teamed up with interested Postgrad colleagues (including the co-presenters here), to work on new ideas and build up a substantial programme of work, reaching over seventy schools and more than 2,000 pupils over the period to 2016.

Highlights:

Funders included

  • Higher Education Academy,
  • Lancaster Alumni,
  • Corporate sponsorship (Booths)
  • The university’s Student Recruitment and Outreach Office (UKSRO).

These sources have successively dried up, most recently through a decision by the university to concentrate UKSRO outreach work on Undergraduate recruitment.

It is more important than ever to try to inspire school pupils to adopt a philosophical approach, challenging the regime of testing and ‘skills development’ that now overshadows school education. So we have set up a registered Community Interest Company, Second Thoughts, to carry on these activities: www.secondthoughtsphilosophy.com. This is a work in progress offering a potential development model – to some extent betting on schools’ again having funding available for outreach (perhaps with a change of government) and hoping to continue providing opportunities for Undergraduates and Postgraduates

Description of non-academic group, subject areas and age groups with which the programme is engaged: 

Primary and Secondary school students in the North West of England

Links to resources:

Community Interest Company, Second Thoughts, to carry on these activities – see www.secondthoughtsphilosophy.com

Extended Project Qualification (see http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ppr/about-us/schools-outreach/engaging-with-philosophy/

mindOUT: www.lancaster.ac.uk/ppr/about-us/schools-outreach/mindout/

 

Name: John Lazarus (john.lazarus@ncl.ac.uk)

Discipline/Subject: Biology, psychology, medicine and science more generally

Institution: Newcastle University (John Lazarus and Ann Fitchett) and independent artists Kitt Jackson, Adam Carruthers and David Wright.

Title: Fulcrum Arts and Research

Overview of programme:

Through public events focussing on hands-on involvement Fulcrum’s aim has been to enhance understanding of science through artistic engagement. In Fulcrum workshops a science presentation is followed by participants producing an art work – visual, performance or written – in small groups and with a facilitator. The work expresses their understanding of the science and has the more ambitious aim of producing new work that might be used to pass on this knowledge to a larger audience. Topics covered:

  • Evolution, psychology and economics of cooperation. In a number of events participants played social dilemma games and were enabled to reflect on their willingness to cooperate and on the factors that encourage and constrain a concern for others.
  • ‘Correlation and Causation’ in the series ‘Science Tips for Policy Makers’. On scientific method with exemplar from the field of nutrition.
  • Medical and ethical aspect of genetic counselling.

Description of non-academic group, subject areas and age groups with which the programme is engaged:

Events have been for the adult general public. Subject areas have been: scientific method; evolution; psychology; nutrition; and medicine.

Links to resources:

Fulcrum Arts and Research: https://www.facebook.com/FulcrumArtsAndResearch

Cooperation and social dilemma events:

http://lloyd-wilson.co.uk/html/convention_habit_custom_events.html

http://emptyshop.org/event/cafe-scientifique-durham-city-2/?instance_id=25820

http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/good-culture/events/cooperation-games/

Additional event on social dilemma games by John Lazarus for the British Science Festival, 2013:

https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-337129643/game-of-life-surprises-are-you-trustworthy-a-game

 

Name: Séamus Ó Tuama (sotuama@ucc.ie)

Discipline/Subject: Continuing Adult Education

Institution: University College Cork

Title: Two modes of response to guide university outreach in building societal resilience

Overview of programme of outreach:

I propose that universities can play two pivotal modes of response in building resilience for wider community. The first mode of response draws on Boyer’s (1990) reflection on the role of the professoriate as the 20th century closed, much like Newman and Humboldt had done in previous epochs. He posed fundamental questions about aspects of the role of universities. He proposed a model with four key scholarship functions, discovery: ‘contributes not only to the stock of human knowledge but also to the intellectual climate’ (16); integration: serious, disciplined work that seeks to interpret, draw together, and bring new insight to bear on original research’ (19); application ‘theory and practice vitally interact, and one renews the other’ (23); and teaching ‘involving all the analogies, metaphors, and images that build bridges between the teacher’s understanding and the student’s learning’ (23). Like Newman and Humboldt, he posed a bigger question too, about the role universities need to play in the contemporary world. He makes clear his conviction that ‘higher education must focus with special urgency on questions that affect profoundly the destiny of all’ (77). The critical conclusion that can be drawn from Boyer is that universities need to be engaged, internally as a community of scholars, across and between disciplines, in addressing the big challenges of the day and contributing to and benefitting from a dynamic interaction with wider society.

The second mode of response, not unrelated to the first, I wish to build around Granovetter’s (1973, 1974, 1983) theory on the strength of weak ties. His work is extremely important in helping us understand two closely related concepts, bridging weak social ties and cognitive flexibility. Both of which are critical for the generation of bottom-up resilience, which is absolutely critical for dealing with contingency, both now and in the future.

Description of non-academic group, subject areas and age groups with which the programme is engaged:

Community groups, educational institutions, citizens

Links to resources:

Ó Tuama, S., Fitzgerald, H., Sandmann, L, & Votruba, J. (2017). ‘Community Engaged Universities Beneficial Exchanges’, in, A. Knox, S.C.O. Conceição & L. Martin (eds), Mapping the Field of Adult and Continuing Education, Volume 4: Inquiry and Influences, e-book, Sterling, VA.: Stylus, chapter 66.

 

Name: Sarah Pierce (Sarah.Pierce@nottingham.ac.uk)

Discipline/Subject: Ecology, citizen science

Institution: University of Nottingham

Title: Citizen science: bridging research and public engagement

Overview of programme of outreach:

I am an early career researcher in ecology.  I have extensive experience in outreach and public engagement through both professional and voluntary roles.  Most of my recent work has been on the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) citizen science project (www.opalexplorenature.org).  The project had twin goals of engaging more people with nature while collecting valuable environmental data. Outreach/engagement work has included public lectures, ecology ‘busking’, environmental surveys, nature craft activities, and much more. Events have taken place at schools, university campuses, parks, nature reserves, libraries, community halls, pubs, festivals, and community events. Most events focus on encouraging people to engage more with nature and/or to contribute to ecological research by collecting environmental data using our simple surveys. While the survey methods remain the same, the pitch for events and activities is always carefully adapted for the audience, often including bespoke resources.

Description of non-academic group, subject areas and age groups with which the programme is engaged:

The OPAL programme aimed to engage with a broad range of people throughout the UK, with a specific remit towards ‘hard-to-reach’ individuals.  I have worked with around 15,000 people in the last few years, encompassing all ages and levels of ability.  This has included school children from nursery through A-level (particularly from WP backgrounds), adults with dementia and their carers, and wide range of other groups.

Links to resources:

Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) citizen science project: www.opalexplorenature.org