Bath Spa University

Psychological Science for Student Success

For some time now, higher education has been called upon to deliver much more than content expertise. Recognizing our directive to help students of diverse backgrounds engage, persist, and thrive at university, there is no shortage of initiatives to be found. Recently, the global COVID pandemic sent shockwaves through education at all levels, making it more pressing than ever that we meet the needs of our incoming students. Whilst central university programmes like wellbeing and peer assisted learning are often at the heart these efforts, within Psychology we are uniquely poised to be able leverage our curriculum in service of these goals. This talk will share details of a semester 1, first year module entitled Psychological Science for Student Success, where students interrogate aspects of their university life through the lens of psychological science. Based upon the literature on successful transition to university, students explore the social, emotional, and academic aspects of university life and apply this to specific areas of their own life to gain a richer understanding of best practices, skills, and strategies for their remaining time on campus. To complete the circle, the module culminates with a final project where students develop a resource to better support the next incoming class of students. Whilst curriculum change can be slow, and not every course has room for a bespoke module, details will be shared to support the integration of this applied learning within existing core Psychology curriculum. The hope is to inspire discussion, action, and, most importantly, a positive impact for students.