a melting pot for inquiry-based learning The University of Sheffield. Issue No.5 December 2009 The Long Arm of Law Law School students are having a direct researchers and the award of a impact on policing in SouthYorkshire – Fulbright Fellowship in Police Studies in thanks to a series of mini Inquiry Based America. And to the delight of one Learning projects organised jointly by student, Sara McManus, the Chief studies. It’s IBL at its best – everyone criminology lecturer Dr Natasha Constable Meredydd Hughes said SYP has learned so much!” she said. Semmens and Tanya Wright of South would be making changes to South Yorkshire Police say they benefit Yorkshire Police. neighbourhood policing based on the from the students’ subject expertise, results of her research. For the past two years students have knowledge of the latest technology undertaken research projects with Dr Semmens works closely with the and the fresh perspective they bring senior officers from SYP, including an police force for her own research but to challenges. Tanya Wright said: evaluation of their Safer Neighbourhood wanted to give students experience of “The projects students work on are Training and of a campaign to reduce research in real organisations. very important. They are taken criminal damage in Barnsley, “Their projects have resulted in real very seriously within SYP, and have Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield. impact on the police and the made a real difference. We hope that So far the scheme has led to SYP community. They have had to design the partnership will carry on for a student bursaries, two jobs as police their own research and apply it to their long time” By Laura McDonnell and Jamie Wood Welcome to crucIBL There’s something of an international flavour to this issue of crucIBL .We have articles about CILASS and inquiry-based learning away from Sheffield. I “ have spent the best part of the last two months as an 'Australia Fellow' in Australia and New Zealand, working with colleagues there, sharing what we have learnt here at Sheffield and learning from Evaluation Unit at Greater Manchester Police. I their experiences. There's more on this inside. The students say: matched all of the essential criteria because of my I looked at community engagement work with SYP and my time at Sheffield Uni. In Nearer home, in the last issue we told you about with neighbourhood policing in February I applied for the Fulbright Fellowship in projects that CILASS has funded at some other Woodhouse and Mosborough. I “ Police Studies and I am now working with the universities across the country. In this issue we'll conducted over 200 surveys, observed University of Cincinnati Police Research Institute. tell you about what students at the University of 7 police community meetings, conducted 7 Working with SYP through the University opened Salford have been up to as part of their project. up a world of opportunities for me. interviews with members of the public and carried And that's not all. A student from the School of out a document review of the neighbourhood English tells us about presenting at a conference on Emma Jeffcock policing marketing literature. The best bit was being Shakespeare and a former Student Ambassador told by the Chief Constable that he would be “ talks about taking an IBL workshop on the road. implementing changes based on the recommendations from my research. That made Enjoy these and the other stories! the week I spent accosting people in Crystal Peaks I evaluated ‘Operation Blight’, a Professor Philippa Levy, seem worthwhile after all! campaign to reduce criminal damage, “ Academic Director, CILASS for example graffiti, in Barnsley, Sara McManus Rotherham, Sheffield and Doncaster. The experience was really useful because I got to I was one of two understand an issue by being directly involved with In this issue... students employed by South Yorkshire it, rather than just reading about it. This is a Police to evaluate their Safer fundamental part of social work practice and will be I The poster conference Neighbourhood Training. While I was really useful for my future career. completing my dissertation I spotted a job advert I IBL Down Under “for a 'Projects Assistant' in the Review and “Mahlah Stamp I I think, therefore I do A SURE start Over thirty undergraduates spent part of last summer working alongside members of staff in Students and guests gather for the Poster Conference their departments as part of a CILASS funded scheme to give them experience of research. And the results of the Sheffield Undergraduate Research Scheme (SURE) were on show in October at a special poster conference in the CILASS collaboratories – everything from an investigation into what makes the perfect cup of tea to finding out how actions affect thinking in pre-school children. The scheme’s organiser, CILASS Programme Manager Nicolas Reilly said: “We wanted to give students the opportunity to take part in real life research projects into topics that were of special interest to them and to experience working in partnership with academic staff or collaboratively in a research group." The supervisor says: project, and the student is given the right amount of direction and feedback, then the academic can almost double their capacity to produce research in the time available Universities are all about the integration of teaching, learning and “ research. Research tends to get pushed into non-teaching times, I LOVE summer internships - I have had a summer intern working rather than integrated into ongoing professional practice. with me each summer for most of the last 8 years. These Summer research internship schemes are an opportunity to undergraduate students have contributed directly, even in one bridge the divide. The academic gets assistance with a project that instance as a full co-author, to at least two books and at least they are working on at the time and the student gets to see 5 peer-reviewed journal articles. One of them is now registered for “research "from the inside", and to develop skills and a PhD at the University of Sheffield. understandings that build on the taught curriculum. And they get paid - it's got to be a better way to spend your Of course, the project has to be well crafted, so that there are summer than stacking shelves! specific research tasks that can be given to the student to carry by Professor Tammy Hervey, School of Law out, that are within the student's abilities. But if it is the right Shivonne Gates Robert Capelle Lucy Ridley Helen Southern Department: School of English Department: School of Law Department: History Department: Animal and Literature, Language and Supervisor: Professor Supervisor: Plant Sciences Linguistics Tamara Hervey Dr Umit Ungor Supervisor: Supervisor: Project title: European Project title: Reconciliation Dr Klaus Reinhardt Dr Emma Moore Criminal Law: what does the without Recognition? Project title: Project title: Speaker Identity future hold? A comparative study of post- Sperm-Microbe Interaction: on the Isles of Scilly “I was interested in EU Law violence relations in the context An Insect Model "I got involved with the project and common law and this of Turkey and Armenia “I had a choice of either because I wanted to get an project gave me the “I did a module on the Armenian paying my rent over the insight into what lecturers do opportunity to tie the two of genocide of 1915 in the previous summer or getting to do when they are not lecturing us. them together. I also wanted year and found the module tutor some research over the I was also interested in the to do something that would to be very supportive and summer. This was a great topic that Emma was working help me to stand out when it enthusiastic. The topic is very opportunity to do both. I’d on - the language and culture of comes to applying for jobs. It relevant because Turkey still like to do some more the Scilly Isles. We looked into has undoubtedly helped me denies the genocide and the research in biology in later what language could tell us to develop my research and border between Turkey and years and this project should about the identity of people networking skills because I Armenia is has been closed for help me to do that because I living in the Scilly Isles. I have to have had to communicate nearly 100 years. I wanted to learnt loads of different lab say that it was a bit boring at with people from outside the come up with something that techniques. I also learnt how times, but it was really Law School. It was also good would compare this to other to make a poster!” worthwhile – I have learnt so that I got paid to do it!” post conflict situations because much about the history and there is not much work on this people of the Scilly Isles, about area. I also thought it would be research and about motivating useful for my final year module myself. I really want to visit the on genocide.” islands now!" 02 ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE A project on oral history led to an English graduate representing the University at a prestigious national conference on Shakespeare over the summer – all with the aim of showing how oral history can be used as an alternative method to teach the works of the Bard. Adam Smith, 21, was one of the students And hopefully I managed to capture this Sheffield. I was very excited on arriving involved in the ‘Theatre Archive Project’, an man in the interview. That’s another virtue back at University after the summer to be AHRC- funded collaboration between the of oral history: it takes a snapshot of a asked if I'd like to interview the influential British Library and the University.