Dimitris Nikolaidis resolves a fake dilemma "Spoon feeding the students or Student Engagement?"

I have been teaching a Postgraduate unit in Public Relations for many years now and my main aim – as we all have – is to provide students with valuable guidance for the coursework so that they will meet the class requirement and learn out of it. Students, coming from various ethnic backgrounds with different perceptions and standards about education and learning experiences. I have seen, however, the effort that many students put to adjust with the UK system and to perform at the level we expect them to perform.   

Public Relations Strategies is delivered during the autumn semester and it is one of the first units students have to deliver an assignment.  Last year, about two week before they submit their assignment I send them an e-mail addressing some important areas to pay attention to along with a motivational paragraph, and the level of acceptance by students were very high; they all found it useful because it helped them better focus on the important points of the coursework and avoid unnecessary verbalisations.   

This year I decided to go a step further. I have developed a table guide and sent it to them with the intention to make them focus and to provide them a list of items to pay attention to along with some indicative proposals on how to address these critical for their learning areas.

Some of you might think that this is too much and we spoon feed our students while some other will find the idea interesting. One thing I can assure you is how positive their reaction is and how much this helps them to prepare for their first assignment. 

This is the guide:

The way to produce and submit an EXCELLENT work.

As we are getting closer to the date of your coursework submission I would like to bring to your attention the importance of early starting working on your project. It is a demanding project since this is the only piece of assessment you have; however, do not waste time. Start working today. Try to be as realistic as possible putting yourself in the shoes of a PR director.

 

 

Dimitris Nikolaids

HoD, BAED