PLanT Projects Scheme winners 2023/24

A podcast dedicated to supporting first-generation students and work to improve employer engagement are among seven collaborative student-staff projects that have received up to £500 funding each through the Partnerships in Learning and Teaching (PLanT) Projects Scheme.

The PlanT scheme aims to support small-scale collaborative projects involving students and staff working as partners to identify problems, find solutions, and enhance teaching and learning at the University.

It is overseen by the Centre for Quality Support and Development in partnership with Reading Students’ Union.

For the second year running, the scheme is being supported by additional funding from the Diversity & Inclusion fund.

You can find out more about the successful projects below.

First in family: developing a podcast for First-Generation students

(Project leads: Jane Setter and Lily Dewar, School of Literature and Languages)

Lily and Jane said, “We are grateful for the funding we have received, with which we aim to research the logistics of starting a podcast entitled "First in Family" to encourage and support First-Generation students from a range of backgrounds across the university, nationally - and, potentially, internationally.

“We look forward to using the PLanT funding to explore this, and also to produce a pilot episode. We then hope to apply for follow-up funding to launch our podcast in earnest and involve fellow First-Generation students outside our team.”

Across the Pond: The International Speech and Language Therapy Students’ Guide

(Project leads: Mirjana Sokolovic-Perovic and Marie-Elena Goddard, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences)

Mirjana and Marie-Elena said, “This is a collaborative project between international Speech and Language Therapy students and staff in the school of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences.

“Speech and Language Therapy is an Allied Health Profession and our international students need to adjust not only to a new culture and educational system, but also to the UK health and care system. We will work together to explore unique challenges they face and to design resources to support them in their transition to the UK. This will enhance their student experience and will help them integrate into their chosen profession.”

Enhancing employability engagement in students on The Media and Politics (P02TMP) module

(Project leads: Dawn Clarke and Cian Everett, School of Politics, Economics and International Relations)

Dawn and Cian said, “We are delighted to receive this PLanT funding with the aim to enhance employability of students on The Media and Politics module. This project will enable funding of student partners to work together with academics and Careers to consider the Graduate Capital Model (Tomlinson, 2016), analyse current and possible media related careers content, recommend material that would be engaging for students and co create those materials.”

Co-creating Clinical Studies Module Assessments and Rubrics to Improve Student Experience

(Project leads: Carol Fairfield and Nic Davie, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences)

Carol and Nic said, “Our project aims to promote a culture of continuous development by producing a revised or alternative assessment via joint staff and student body workshops to review current portfolio assessments and to co-construct revised assessment rubrics for these.

“In addition, the project aims to identify potential alternatives/amendments to the portfolio assessment, supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion within the student body in order to enable equal access to success for all students via use of different assessment modalities.”

AI-Driven Empowerment in Curriculum Decolonization

(Project leads: Hong Yang and Amy Harriss, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science)

Hong said, “Decolonising the Curriculum remains an ongoing journey, and the advent of generative AI tools, particularly ChatGPT, presents both opportunities and challenges for Decolonising the Curriculum.

“In this project, staff and students will collaborate using ChatGPT to critically analyse and decolonise learning modules, thereby fostering a more inclusive and globally responsive educational environment.”

Embedding Inclusivity and Employability in Public Law Workshop Design for Semesterization

(Project leads: Shweta Band and Jana Hamadeh, School of Law)

Shweta said, “We are delighted to receive the PLanT funding for our project, which is a pilot staff-students partnership project on the core modules Public Law 1 and 2. Our aim is to design Public Law workshops for semesterization, which represent student voice on embedding employability and inclusion as core attributes.

“The funding has enabled us to recruit students as Workshop Design Consultants and for focus group discussions.

“The project is entirely led and directed by our student partners who will be instrumental in shaping the Public Law semesterization curriculum and workshop design and delivery methods.

Neurodivergent well-being in higher education: Building communities of care through staff-student partnership and decoloniality

(Project leads: Vishnu Nair and Jack Takeda, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences)

Vishnu said, “Higher Education experiences can be challenging for students with marginalised identities due a number of factors. Our project aims to build a well-being community hub for staff, neurodivergent students and their allies in speech and language therapy.

“The project will utilise decolonial thinking that recognises the power of collective and create a space that embraces diversity and differences among co-learners.”