This case study is one of four outputs created as the result of a funded project entitled ‘Thinking, learning and ‘doing’ international work experience’. this case study describes how a team of colleagues at Sheffield Hallam University added an international stream to a core level 2 degree module.

This case study forms one of six submitted to SWAP to illustrate ways in which academics use social policy research in teaching. This initiative develops student appreciation of research/consultancy in the discipline and brings findings from staff research into teaching and learning into the curriculum.

This case study is one of four outputs created as the result of a funded project entitled ‘Thinking, learning and ‘doing’ international work experience’. This case study describes the process of students keeping a reflective diary for the duration of a level 5 ‘work and professional development’ module. They were expected to write up their reflections at the end of semester two via an electronic portfolio after they had carried out some form of work experience or work-related activity.

This case study is one of four outputs created as the result of a funded project entitled ‘Thinking, learning and ‘doing’ international work experience’. Fifteen students elected to join the international stream of a Work & Professional Development module. Of these, three students went overseas to New York for one week and were accompanied by SHU staff. This case study reviews this short international work experience abroad. SHU students took with them projects they needed to carry out in order to fulfil the module’s assessment requirements. These projects were concerned with work-related activity (i.e.the students themselves became researchers, or, the topic under scrutiny was either something they had prior work experience in or was an area that International work experience they were interested in developing as a possible career area).

This case study is one of four outputs created as the result of a funded project entitled ‘thinking, learning and ‘doing’ international work experience’. This case study reviews the desk based international experience implemented by colleagues delivering the international stream. The main aim was to enable desk-based students an opportunity to develop their work and professional development skills and interests around an international perspective. In effect, we wanted to internationalise these students’ experiences without them having to travel.

An automated assessment of a level 2 unit entitled 'Theories of welfare' was used for 20% of the unit's assessment. The institution was encouraging the use of Blackboard as a VLE. A set of 'gateway' multiple choice questions were offered and which had to be answered correctly to enter the next stage. Students had to attempt all five comprehension exercises on excerpts relating to each of the five theoretical topics. Although there were benefits to student learning in that the gateway questions developed foundation knowledge without penalising incorrect answers, the frustration encountered as technical problems occurred, together with the additional time needed meant that this form of assessment is no longer used.

In 2005 SWAP funded eight projects in social policy and social work education designed to promote the use of effective learning, teaching and assessment activities; to encourage the development and sharing of innovative approaches and to raise awareness of the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of educational methods. The following is the final report The Impact of Work Based Learning on Students’ Understanding of Citizenship and their Role in the Community.