Carole Sutton Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Quantitative Methods

Here at Plymouth we work hard to ensure that innovation in teaching and learning practises underpins the Sociology curriculum and there is a strong commitment to key transferable research skills. 

Carole Sutton, Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) is part of a university wide, inter-disciplinary team, who in September 2015 were awarded a £100,000 HEFCE project, Piloting and Evaluating measures of Learning Gain. 

The two year study will evaluate the use of research methods knowledge, skills and attributes gained over a student journey from level 5 (year 2) to level 6 (year 3) in both higher education (HE) college and university environments. Utilising a mixed methods approach the focus is on the commonality between subject disciplines in relation to the development of the critically analytical graduate. 

This research builds upon previous pedagogic research on quantitative research methods teaching funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Higher Education Academy (HEA).

HEFCE Learning Gain Project - awarded £100,000

Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said: 

"This research shows there is a wide range of approaches to measuring learning among students in higher education. Understanding the methods and the results from these pilots will help assess teaching quality and excellence and ultimately provide better value for all students."

Find out more on the HEFCE website.

HEFCE