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Widening participation grants in action

On Friday 27th April a diverse group of 70 Sydney high school students visited Camperdown Campus to participate in the 'IScience Program' – an initiative that supports the professional education of 'pre-service' high school science teachers.

The program is funded by the University's Widening Participation Grants scheme, which is designed to address our strategic goals for ensuring that we attract promising students from a variety of backgrounds, and that they find an inclusive and diverse learning environment while studying at the University.

The program will match groups of high school students with Faculty of Education and Social Work students who are studying to become science teachers. Together they will design a science project that the high school students will complete by August. On returning to their schools, the students will continue to work on their projects, reporting their progress and discussing their ideas using the IScience 'wiki' (an online tool for sharing ideas).

The high school students will later return to the University to work on their projects and examine aspects of science research at the University. Our pre-service teachers will mentor the school students with support from postgraduate students from the Faculty of Science and the Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis. The high school students will meet again in August when the completed projects will be showcased at a celebratory event.

“We are looking forward to seeing the IScience project in action. Our pre-service teachers will have the opportunity to develop the skills associated with teaching science through enquiry. The school students get a chance to be involved in their science project, using resources not available in their school or classroom," said Dr Louise Sutherland, who is leading the IScience Program team.

The IScience Program is one of 37 initiatives funded through the 2011 Widening Participation Grants scheme, jointly administered by the Social Inclusion Unit and the Institute for Teaching and Learning. Another project that is working with high school students and partially funded by a 2011 grant is the Girls' Programming Network. This initiative is led by Dr Tara Murphy in the School of Information Technologies and was recently featured in the Mudgee Guardian.

Widening participation for regional and rural students

Six projects funded via the Widening Participation grants are making higher education more accessible to students in regional areas. The projects are running in Engineering, IT, Science, Physics, Natural Resource Management and Rural Health.

Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer School
In January 2012, 21 Indigenous year 11&12 students from around Australia were involved in engineering activities, site visits and social and cultural activities as part of the Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer School (IAESS). Kate Thompson, a student from Bundaberg says, "[IAESS] gets you used to university so you know what to look forward to when you get here".

The academic overseer of this year's program, Dr Douglass Auld, says the school gives students an indication of the level of dedication to theoretical study required to become an engineer. "The next step with IAESS is helping students attain the exam preparation and maths skills they need to succeed in first year engineering", says Dr Auld.

Challenging students to engage with IT
Dr Tara Murphy is building on the success of the National Computer Science School Challenge, an online programming competition in which 2000 students participate each year. The Challenge will be extended to make it more accessible for socio-economically and geographically disadvantaged students, allowing them to have a positive experience of IT in a friendly and well-supported online learning environment. Dr Murphy says, “We want to work directly with teachers to make the Challenge more accessible. This will include supporting regional teachers to set up the Challenge in their classrooms." The first regional event will run in Mudgee next month.

The four other projects are listed below. Summaries can be found here under the ‘Regional’ heading.

  • Support for teachers from rural and low socioeconomic high schools to attend the Science Teachers’ Workshop 2012
  • Kickstart on the Road (Physics)
  • Targeted extension to understand and develop aspirations for tertiary education in natural resource management among students from rural and regional areas
  • Evaluating the impact of community-university partnership on career aspirations for disadvantaged students in remote NSW.

The Widening Participation grants are part of a joint initiative of the Social Inclusion Unit and the Institute for Teaching and Learning, and are aimed at promoting inclusive teaching and learning and a more diverse student community.

Peer mentoring programs: connecting students

With semester about to begin, new students across the university are participating in peer mentoring programs. The programs are connecting students, creating a sense of belonging, and improving the first year experience and retention.

Student peer mentors benefit via training in leadership skills, experience in leading a team, the satisfaction of helping others and widening their networks. New or expanded mentoring programs funded via the Widening Participation grants are running in Health Sciences, Business, Education and the Conservatorium of Music.

Inspired by Business

Students entering the business school from identified low socioeconomic schools will have the option of receiving one-to-one mentoring as part of the Inspired by Business program. Experienced peer mentors will act as buddies on as-needed basis throughout first year.

Project leader Sarah Fletcher says that “Starting uni can be a daunting experience for any student. Our Inspired by Business students will have the support of a peer mentor to assist them in this and also to encourage them to take advantage of all the opportunities that uni offers whether this is getting involved in clubs and societies, volunteering or getting work experience. We hope the mentors will inspire the new students to think of career opportunities that they may never have thought possible”.

Mentoring for Health Sciences Students

This year Faculty of Health Sciences is offering three peer-mentoring programs. The student-led Mentoring Program for first year Bachelor of Health Sciences students is strongly linked to the curriculum, with an exam preparation workshop run by the Learning Centre, and help for students choosing their second major in semester two.

The benefits are extended beyond first year students. According to one student mentor, mentors are developing “skillz that killz”, such as confidence and a sense of community. Mentoring program leader Dr Melanie Nguyen says that last week the mentors “spent two days in mentor training, laughing, role playing, discussing and learning with, and from, each other. It was really fantastic and inspiring to see the collegiality that developed.”

Physics can be a scary thought for some students. The Medical Radiation Sciences Physics Mentoring Program is a peer-mentoring program with a more academic focus. Its aim is to support the transition into physics of first year students. Mentors are guides and role models showing new students that you can survive physics and maybe even enjoy it! 

Health Sciences also has a program designed to support the learning experience of first year students who have arrived from interstate or overseas. The program aims to improve transition to a new learning environment as well as cross-cultural awareness and to raise students' sense of belonging to the University of Sydney community.

For further information on new and existing mentoring programs

The Widening Participation grants are part of a joint initiative of the Social Inclusion Unit and the Institute for Teaching and Learning, and are aimed at promoting inclusive teaching and learning and a more diverse student community.

Historic Partnerships in the Making

A Widening Participation project led by Dr Michael McDonnell will bring together university staff and students with teachers and students from schools in low socio-economic communities to raise students' aspirations.

A pilot project run by the History department during 2011 involved high school students coming onto campus to undertake history-based activities. The Widening Participation grant will enable the expansion of both the number of partner schools and the delivery of content. The campus visits will continue, alongside a virtual presence via Connected Classrooms and visits to schools. The grant also involves colleagues in English and Gender and Cultural Studies.

In 2011, Year 11 students participated in a 'history in a day' program, where they had mini-lectures from History department colleagues, a visit to the rare books room, a quad history tour and a trip to the Macleay museum. Year 9 students participated in a tutorial with Professor Ann Curthoys, Aboriginal rights activist and an original freedom rider. The students also visited the Macleay museum and the Charlie Perkins exhibition at the University Art Gallery. More recently, Year 7 students visited the Macleay and Nicholson museums, and some of the students also toured a lecture theatre, the quad, the Fisher library and got to talk to one of our current History students about student life and study at Sydney. Dr McDonnell says 'The kids are so excited by the uni and always say that it's like Hogwarts. They talk about the uni, about going to uni and about wanting to do this and that subject. For some students, it is the first time they have ever been to a University. The visit is absolutely key. We've talked to some of our current students and they say that the only reason that they're studying at Sydney Uni is because they had a campus visit when they were at school.'

Another component of the new project stems from consultation with high school teachers – uni students will be put in touch with high school students and help develop and deliver syllabus-related tutorials, as well as offering perspectives on life at uni. The project will also piggyback on the homework club that Compass runs, to help students with their History, English, and Culture and Society homework.

Dr McDonnell says 'It's an ambitious program and the whole point is to see what works and what doesn't work. It is also as much about giving back to the community as it is about recruitment. The teachers we have connected with so far are very enthusiastic and committed to doing what they can for their students. A shared love of our subjects helps undergird these relationships. Our aim is to make the program sustainable and to build lasting partnerships with the schools, teachers and students. We're hoping that once we get it up and running, the program can be maintained by willing academic and student volunteers in subsequent years.'

The Widening Participation grants are part of a joint initiative of the Social Inclusion Unit and the Institute for Teaching and Learning, and are aimed at promoting inclusive teaching and learning and a more diverse student community.