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Overview

Ketso has been used in a range of teaching and learning settings in Universities across the UK. The use of Ketso in teaching spatial planning has been awarded an international Excellence in Teaching Prize! The AESOP jury stated:"The interactive approach is developed by a specific and original technique [Ketso], which appears well tested and which shows its efficacy in supporting "student oriented teaching".

You may wish to watch this brief video, or download this article about Ketso in teaching in the University of Manchester's Teaching and Learning News.

For more on Ketso in schools and work with young people, click here.

For more on Ketso in training and skills development, click here.

This section includes:

Overview of Ketso in University Teaching

Undergraduate

Education

Ketso provides a great way to start a course, getting students to talk to each other through exploring what they already know and how they understand the key terms. It is also a useful tool for revision. It can help students to discuss what they have learned and identify areas for further study. The gaps around the key themes can be as telling and useful for learning as where there are lots of ideas.

Ketso can be used to help students learn to structure an argument and to see how to structure an essay or report. The leaves can be moved and developed into themes. Ketso can also be used to help students draw out key ideas from case studies. Each student can write their ideas from the case studies on leaves, then share them on a felt, helping to see similarities and differences and learning to build themes. 

It can be used in tiered lecture halls and encourages interactive learning and debate, even in large groups. Comments from students at the University of Manchester (2007) have been positive: One third of those taught using Ketso (2nd year Development Process course; up to 80 students) noted, in end-of-year feedback, that it was what had most helped them with their learning throughout the course.

Ketso has also been used in workshops inducting first year students into undergraduate life in the School of Education. The kit was used to explore perceptions of the course, processes of studying and learning.

At the University of Bolton, one senior lecturer says:

"I have used the Ketso for about 4 years running now with my second year students to help them decide on and plan a group project.  It is a good way of getting all the students to contribute to the discussion, particularly the ones who tend to stay in the background.  The outcomes are typed up and given back to students as a spreadsheet so that they have a record of them.  This can then be referred back to further down the line with the project, serving as a useful reminder of the initial discussions.  The students seem to like the experience of using it."

At the University of Manchester, the Department of Archaeology has used Ketso workshops to help 3rd year UGs in the process of designing an informative radio programme. MA students were prepared for final assessment by encouraging small groups to comment on the display of human remains in museums using the toolkit.  Ketso has enriched staff away days, allowing them to think creatively about their own teaching and learning methods and to redesign the curriculum.

Dr. Melanie Giles (UG Programme Director and Lecturer in Archaeology) said that “Ketso helped us organise these coherently and whittle down suggestions into a coherent level 1 programme, which enabled us (at a glance) to evaluate the experience of our level one students. Arguably, this has helped us massively improve the student experience (resulting in some very good NSS results this year!)”.

Graduate teaching assistants have used Ketso in seminars to stimulate discussion, an example being being for an undergraduate statistics module (where the students were bemused at first thinking they had come to an arts class), where students were asked to explore their skills and how they related to statistics, as a precursor to discussing the course itself and how it would help them develop their skills.

The fact that there is a physical artefact helps graduate teaching assistants interact with the students. They can look at the ideas students are sharing and use common sense questions to draw out their thinking, which helps the students to make connections. The following quote describes the experience of one graduate teaching assistant, where Ketso was being used in a large group workshop:

"Using Ketso in the Settlement Project course unit facilitated my work as a GTA. I was not very familiar with the site for which the Master Plan was being developed, or the UK planning context. Also as a new GTA, I was uncertain which aspects students at this level would find challenging. Seeing information related to all of these elements laid out and organised within the Ketso framework allowed me to quickly grasp the overall picture and the students' needs. As a result I was able to assist them much more effectively than if I had had to start by asking, "How are you getting on?"   Ketso itself is very easy to use; with minimal instruction, I was able to assist the students with any questions they had about how to proceed."
Janice Astbury, PhD Candidate at the University of Manchester

Ketso was used by students for project planning in groups in the cross-Faculty Manchester Sustainable City Projects. Click here for a case study.

Postgraduate

Ketso has been used in several  postgraduate courses at the University of Manchester, including: ‘Planning Theory & Values’, ‘Community Planning’ and 'Participatory Learning and Action', In each instance, the kit was used to explore approaches to tackling complex challenges, involving many different issues and viewpoints.

In addition to project planning and dialogues, Ketso has been used to help students review what they have learned in lectures, encouraging discussion and deeper learning from the taught material.

 

Group dissertation supervision

Group dissertation supervision has many advantages, including the opportunity for students to learn from each other and benchmark their progress against their peers. It can be hard, however, to encourage meaningful dialogue in a short period of time. Ketso can be used in the early stages of developing research ideas and questions. The Ketso Grid can then be used to plot out the actions required to answer the research questions and finish a dissertation.

Ketso has been used in both undergraduate and postgraduate group supervisions for dissertations. Students have reported the workshops helpful in finding clarity around their areas of interest, how to go about doing the research, and often, the feasibility of their research plans (which has led to revisions to the plans!). In particular, they have reported that it was useful to see how other students were thinking and to hear the feedback from the tutor on other students' ideas, as it made them see their own work from a different perspective.

The picture on the right shows MA students creating a project plan to for their dissertations from Easter to submission in September.  After this workhop, one student commented:

"It was really helpful to lay out the research questions and tasks needed to complete the dissertation along a time line. It helped me see how much I need to do during term time to be able to complete on time!"

You can see a workshop plan for developing research ideas here.

Ketso in widening participation

Ketso is beginning to support students from non-traditional backgrounds. The Widening Participation team at the University of Manchester, for example, has used Ketso in the following activities:

  • Team feedback – identifying strengths and challenges
  • Project planning with staff
  • Primary schools activity
  • Careers workshop for year 10 pupils
  • Focus group on sustainability with students

A workshop for careers planning, which could be used in widening participation workshops with students, has been tested and developed in a workshop with the Widening Participation team at the University of Manchester and with the West Yorkshire Dyslexia Tutor Forum. Tutors were able to experience being 18 again, through playing roles as first year undergraduate students exploring their careers options. In the process they were able to explore alternative career paths and discuss the relative merits and disadvantages of different career options, as well as what they would need to do to achieve their chosen careers. Several agreed that they wished they had had an exercise like this when they were 18!

You can download the results of two workshops with Higher Education Liaison officers, looking at attracting students to Universities, here.

in a workshop at Leeds Metropolitan University with the West Yorkshire Dyslexia Tutor Forum. Tutors were able to experience being 18 again, through playing roles as first year undergraduate students exploring their careers options. In the process they were able to explore alternative career paths and discuss the relative merits and disadvantages of different career options, as well as what they would need to do to achieve their chosen careers. Several agreed that they wished they had had an exercise like this when they were 18!

Support for students with learning disabilities

Ketso has received positive feedback from undergraduate students with dyslexia at the University of Manchester, who have used Ketso in their learning process - as illustrated in the following quotes:

“I like the fact it is so visual, you can really see your ideas and the links between them and other people’s ideas. It helps to see that other people have similar ideas to you as well! I like the way you can move the ideas around, it makes it practical and is more inviting than a list.”

“Having a leaf there on the felt helps with short-term memory, I can engage better with others as I can still see the ideas down on the table”.

“I don’t feel intimidated, because the leaves aren’t too big, and I don’t feel I have to write a lot. I can build up my ideas in small parts and I can draw as well as write. I can even ask my neighbour to write an idea for me if I can’t spell it.”

In a workshop with members of the West Yorkshire Dyslexia Tutor Forum and a seperate workshop for  Association of Dyslexia Specialists in Higher Education second North West regional group meeting, 338 ideas were developed about how to best support students with dyslexia. A lot of disussion centred on the need for a culture change and shifts in attitude towards learning approaches that both support students with dyslexia and help all students learn better (such as mind mapping). Ideas that were highlighted as key included:

What works well:

  • Mind-mapping
  • Experimental learning
  • Empathy
  • Regular report back
  • Supportive environment

Future posssibiltiies:

  • More time for training staff
  • Dyslexia group problem solving (creative)
  • Role models
  • Clay
  • Picture packs
  • Using technology
  • Alternative forms of assessment
  • Awards training
  • Share knowledge of new stuff

Key challenges:

  • Resources :-( $$$
  • Resources - money, equipment, time staff
  • Some use it as a 'get out' clause
  • Sensitivity needed to students with Special Learning needs
  • Attitudes

The full set of results can be downloaded here.

Example course- Settlement project – group based teaching with 70 students

Dr. Joanne Tippett (Lecturer in Spatial Planning, School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester)

In this second year undergraduate course, students spend a semester developing a master plan for a challenging site at the neighbourhood level. Working in groups, they learn to assess the site and develop an integrated plan for its future, considering ecological and social sustainability, design quality and the historical and wider context of the site within the urban fabric.

This course has traditionally been taught as a studio-based course for around 25 students. This re-development of the course was a successful transformation to a much larger than normal cohort of 70 plus students, whilst maintaining effective feedback and developing peer-supported learning. Engagement of all students during class time was  facilitated through the use of Ketso.

Students are encouraged to develop their reflective capacities through the group processes and discussion during classes, and through the inclusion of an individual reflective journal. In the first year of running this course to the revised programme, there was positive feedback from course participants, and recognition from management of the wider potential of the achievements in facilitating personalised learning and effective group based enquiry in challenging circumstances.

Click here for the full report about this case study.

Read an article about this prize-winning work in the Journal for Education in the Built Environment.

Feedback on the use of Ketso in teaching at the University of Manchester

The following is from feedback collected over five years in Joanne Tippett's teaching. In particular, the following graph shows a summary of responses to questions about the use of Ketso in teaching in first and second year classes (each of around 70 students).

In this annonymous one student commented:

“…as a group we were bouncing ideas off each other taking one member’s idea and developing it. This made me very optimistic about the future of the module and strengthened my positive attitude, which has continued throughout the module.”

An international student commented: “usually, in a discussion, some people tend to kept silent because they do not wish to be involved or they are not good at oral expression, while some others dominate the whole discussion. With Ketso, everyone has independent time to think about the topic and equal opportunity to share the idea written on the leaves”.  

Evidence of impact on personalised learning and greater student interaction (the purpose of using Ketso) is indicated by feedback from students on PLAN40562 and 30562 - Community Planning and Development, P&L 15/20credits, PG core course, UG option (45-50 students): Lecturer was engaging and well-informed and brought in up-to-date case studies with graphical stimuli; I enjoyed this class, lecturer was one of the best!;  Lectures were interesting every week, making me want to learn and read around the subject .

Twelve out of 37 of these respondents said using the hands-on 'Mind Mapping' tools was the element they found most useful in their learning. Comments in 2007-8 included: This is the best course I've ever had! The concepts are explained very clearly to me; Multiple ways of learning are used; The Mind Map ideas will hopefully help with learning; the teaching method was very effective at learning the concepts; The course helped me to see from different perspectives – including a community member’s perspective; The open discussions were interesting and engaging. This feedback from students about seeing ideas from different perspectives was particularly encouraging, as it shows that the teaching methods help take students outside of their normal viewpoints. A further comment, This was the most like a seminar course we have had, suggests that using Ketso to stimulate discussion is effective at promoting meaningful group discussions, with interaction from the tutor, despite the relatively large size of the group.

In the first year of developing a new approach to teaching Settlement Project (Plan20272, UG Level 2, core course, 70 students), the feedback was very positive. Qualitative feedback from the course suggested a reassuring degree of student satisfaction: The course was interactive, enthusiastic and informative (with each group); Useful skills learnt for the future career as a professional planner; Constant feedback was very beneficial; Joanne constantly checked to ensure that everyone understood the whole. One comment in particular is telling – It was the first time I felt like a proper student (not just a number). This demonstrates that with careful attention to group process and the use of interactive tools to stimulate discussion, it is possible to encourage personalised learning even in large classes.

In the second year, the comments were similar. In response to the question, 'what helped you learn?', comments included: very hands-on about doing and learning by doing; the feedback gained from Joanne for the presentations benefited everyone; interesting group work; using alternate versions and methods of looking at and understanding a subject; feedback on our work anytime we needed it so we could change it if something was wrong; always adapted different ways of learning.

Enhancing the student experience

On Feb. 21, Ketso ran a workshop hosted by the Association of University Administrators, using Ketso to explore ways to improve the student experience.

During the two hours in which colleagues from a range of Higher Education institutions across the North of England debated ways to enhance student experience, a total of 450 ideas were developed, nearly 100 of which were opportunities. Ideas that were highlighted as priorities were:

Opportunities:

  • Business links and internships
  • Marketing alumni networking careers
  • Work-related learning and more employer involvement
  • Community engagement as part of course structure
  • Comms training for staff
  • Employer engagement
  • Culture change
  • Adobe Connect and Skype lectures available internationally
  • Delivering what we say we will
  • Public info - manage expectations

Future possibilities:

  • Helping staff be experts, upskilling for better student experience
  • Staff development, embrace change
  • Early planning
  • Involving as many people as possible in key decisions
  • Personal role evaluation: Should I do x rather than could I do x?
  • Joined up systems so we have good information
  • Systems to promote, not stifle, change
  • Effective communication - ask why not how
  • Communications and training
  • Change of government
  • State key areas to be delivered
  • Widening participation - ensuring teaching is accessible
  • Raise awareness - networks/resources/but also get staff to see benefits
  • Managing expectations of employers, students, staff and parents
  • iPads, e-publications - give to each student

Challenges:

  • Time and money are 'precious'
  • Decrease in time and opportunity to develop new ways of thinking
  • Student and staff engagement (or lack of!)
  • Two way street: students need to engage as well!
  • Students assuming university is just like school
  • Decrease in funding
  • Unclear government strategy on fees
  • We need cultural change in HEIs' attitudes to students and students' attitudes to their own education
  • Changing embedded culture
  • Challenging vested interests
  • Staff lack of knowledge
  • Diversity of expectations
  • Con-Dem-Nation
  • Plans based on guess work, uncertainty
  • Staff morale, especially given the current climate
  • [lack of ] Involvement in decision-making
  • Achieving our objective and still making students happy!

The first hour was spent looking at ways to do more with less, an important topic in this time of budget cuts. Future possibilities that were highlighted in this part of the workshop included:

  • Greater faith in individuals
  • Motivation
  • Using up leftovers; collaboration with other colleagues and institutions
  • Regular review
  • Better Performance Development Reviews with better outcomes/more action
  • Stop and think - why do we do this anyway?
  • Clearer value for money - 2012 fees
  • More distance learning
  • Training in technology

Ideas about what is already working well included ‘increasing student involvement’, which was a key theme to emerge from the topic of discussion in the second part of the workshop.

You can download the full set of results from the links below:

Developing a student charter

The Ketso team was asked by a University to work with staff and students to develop a student charter. A workshop using Ketso was held to develop the key concepts in dialogue. Key ideas and principles were discussed in 1 hour and 15 minutes with 50 members of staff and 50 students, using two different colours of leaves to show which ideas came from which group. Feedback from the event was positive and the ideas have informed the creation of a new student charter.

Engaging students in problem based learning

The Higher Education Academy sponsored a workshop entitled ‘HEA STEM: Ketso Showcase – a Hands-On Teaching Innovation’. This workshop formed part of the Higher Education Academy Discipline Workshop and Seminar Series 2011-12 (Built Environment) and was held at the University of Manchester. Fourteen delegates learned about the use of Ketso in teaching, including the way it is used to stimulate dialogue in large group teaching in the built environment, for which Joanne was awarded a Teaching Excellence Prize from the Association of European Schools of Planners.

As a sample workshop, participants used Ketso to explore how to engage students in ‘problem based learning’. The results from this workshop can be downloaded here (excel spreadsheet).