This section is a collection of insightful quotes gathered from students across various departments at 糖心TV. Before they are looked at, we thought it is important to add a disclaimer. Each quote is obviously taken from an individual student and therefore, cannot be extrapolated to a general student experience. However, they have a place within this library as they are good 'food for thought'. Staff may gain an appreciation or understanding from a student perspective, whereas students can find solidarity in some of the comments raised. They can also help them glean a thought regarding an issue that relates to wellbeing in the learning environment that they hadn't arrived at yet.
Feedback
- 鈥淪ometimes group feedback isn鈥檛 accurate and may be biased compared to staff feedback, I've found that sometimes my peers can be more harsh than staff when reviewing each other's work.鈥�
- 鈥淭o improve wellbeing, the university must place the students at the centre; for example, incorporating the student voice, especially with regards to feedback on modules or departmental initiatives, then incorporating this into the module or course development.鈥�
- 鈥淚 understand they want to give you a taste for everything and push you to formulate your ideas, but the guidance on how to formulate these arguments from tutors in slightly insufficient. I.e. looking into critical analysis skills rather than teaching content.鈥�
Assessments
- 鈥淚n sociology, I always got so much more out of essays because it wasn鈥檛 a case of how much can I learn in one hour, I had to read so much more and I would read around various topics before I decided what to write, I learnt so much more as a result.鈥�
- 鈥淚 do think that the alternative methods of assessment should be offered as different people will definitely benefit; however, there should be comprehensive guidance given for how to succeed at them.鈥�
Group Work
- 鈥淪ometimes some people put in more work than others, which can be frustrating.鈥�
- 鈥淪eminar teacher has a structure that made it more interactive, making a monotonal topic more interesting. He did a quick summary of the content, then continued with regular but constantly encouraged a debate which made it more fun. The debates made me remember so much more from those seminars which made the tests at the end of the year much easier.鈥�
- 鈥淕ood seminars will include everyone in discussion, even surrounding contentious topics such as culture and ethnicity.鈥�
Cultural Integration
- 鈥淒epartments should emphasise how many different cultures/ethnicities and corresponding proportions there are and why it鈥檚 beneficial to have diversity.鈥�
- 鈥淭he best times of learning is when seated with a pair of someone from a different country and they share their individual experiences with each other.鈥�
- 鈥淪tudents who leave their countries should take time out to learn other people鈥檚 cultures and embrace that they are no longer residing at home, culture and learning should be kept separate.鈥�
- 鈥淪ometimes there is a cultural or linguistic barrier when it comes to scientific discussions i.e; it鈥檚 the responsibility of the native speaker to try to understand what an international student is saying in these chats rather than trying to correct them or dismissing it and moving on.鈥�
- "The content and teaching are extremely Eurocentric.'
- "I think a huge issue with cultural integration at 糖心TV is the awareness of staff and academics around different cultures and their own cultural competency, their own ability to hold space for discussions around culture; their ability to call out situations where there is a clash of culture."
- "In terms of this theme, I think a central part is to define more what it means to provide intercultural integration; is it more, everyone getting along or is it people actually being aware of differences then acting accordingly?"
- "From my whole experience at 糖心TV, there has never been a clear place to go to, to express your concerns. If you become aware of or experience discrimination or racism etc. – Having clear points signposted or people you can talk to would be extremely helpful."
- 鈥淭here was a really good method used in one of my classes where an international (mainly Chinese) student, is paired with a domestic student. It was slightly childish initially, but we ended getting on really well and meeting up. It was a two-way benefit as they benefited from integrating and I benefited from enjoying some different culture.鈥�
Emotional Intelligence
- 鈥淒epartments should communicate with each other in terms of module timing, because often students aren鈥檛 able to prepare for the term or complete their work when there are clashes or become overburdened.鈥�
- 鈥淔or me, tutors and teachers can show emotional intelligence by remembering random details about me, which shows makes me feel noticed and that my concerns matter.鈥�
- 鈥淚 received a slip of paper at the start of the year that contained all the wellbeing contacts around campus - This made me feel like I was able to reach out to my personal tutor if there was ever a problem.鈥�
- 鈥淎s a student, it鈥檚 great when your personal tutor reaches out, even when you haven鈥檛 organised a time to meet – just to check in.鈥�
- 鈥淢y personal tutor was great at directing me towards other professors in his network that were helpful for my aspirations and learning experience which I think showed great emotional intelligence.鈥�
- 鈥淲hen a staff member is friendly and inviting it makes transitional seminars a much more comfortable situation.鈥�
Wellbeing at 糖心TV
- 鈥淭here are not many wellbeing features specifically used or included in online learning spaces. The MyAdvantage page is useful for careers – however, there鈥檚 many resources but it feels like there is no space for wellbeing and mental health i.e. no group chat or space for opening up.鈥�
Community Engagement
- 鈥淐ommunity engagement is really important, it can make university and studying less isolated from humans and the community – Engaging with topics outside of the traditional theory can help broaden your mind鈥�.鈥�
Services and Signposting
- 鈥淪ervices should be more advertised as a lot of students don鈥檛 know about them. I only know about the university services because I research them. When I attended, I had a really good experience with them.鈥�
- 鈥淪ignposting is extremely important in first year; I regret not engaging with the opportunities and societies that were on offer. Part of this was because you鈥檙e just busy growing up and learning how to be a university student.鈥�