Supporting student transition to University – mapping the curriculum and staff-student expectations via a teacher fellowship scheme

Dr Eugenia Cheng, Dr Eleanor Stillman (School of Mathematics and Statistics; Mrs Alison Shaw (Thomas Rotherham College, Rotherham); Dr Simon Goodwin (Department of Physics and Astronomy; Mr Jason Dewitt-Grey (Benton Park School, Leeds); Professor Alistair Warren (Faculty of Science); Ms Marie Evans (Learning and Teaching Services).

A successful transition from school/college into university, which involves a huge change in lifestyle, culture, experience and learning methods is key in ensuring students have a positive and enjoyable experience of higher education. As they start university, students enter a new way of learning, have high expectations placed on them and have their own high expectations of the environment they are entering. The experience of current students is often very different to that of staff when they entered university life and so mismatches in expectations between students and staff are likely.

Following the success of a similar project in the Department of Chemistry, the Faculty of Science secured funding from the National HE STEM programme to employ teaching fellows, within the Department of Physics & Astronomy and the School of Mathematics & Statistics, to identify gaps and overlaps in the curriculum and to characterise university and school teaching styles.

Through the project a positive and constructive relationship with local schools has been created. This enabled teachers in school and teachers in university to share expertise, ideas, approaches and attitudes with the aim of making the experience of students who will undergo the transition into university study a richer and more rewarding one in the future. The emphasis has been on the content of the subject-specific programmes of study (in Mathematics & Statistics) and on study skills and transition to university-style teaching (in Physics & Astronomy).

A copy of the Project’s final report, as well as the resources developed through the project in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, can be accessed from the quick links on the right.