Increasing student engagement through curriculum redesign: deconstructing the ‘Apprentice’ style of delivery

Abstract

Curriculum design is crucial to maximising the students learning experience and is often overlooked and underutilised. The way that learning is delivered, supported and assessed can enhance employability attributes as the individual becomes more aware of their skills and abilities. Within this study, all elements (delivery; content; assessment and feedback) of one final-year module were redesigned to enhance the learning experience and aid self-development. The approaches taken were adapted from ideas gained from the Apprentice television show. The students (n = 30) on the module were asked for their views on the aspects of redesign and how these had impacted on their skill development. The findings showed that this group of students had benefitted from the changes made, liked this way of learning and felt they had improved in a range of skills. Overall, the redesign and the subsequent student learning experience was a success and changing the approach in all aspects of the module developed a much stronger and well-received experience.

Keywords:

• curriculum design
• delivery
• assessment
• engagement
• feedback