What do wheelie bins and youth voice have in common? The answer: both are at the forefront of new project-based learning (PBL) initiatives at Sunderland College. In February, the Edge team visited this Edge Future Learning Leader to explore their latest trailblazing PBL projects in an FE setting. The College supports over 10,000 full and part-time learners and has progressed from trialling PBL, real-world and community-connected learning, to integrating these into an increasing number of its curriculum areas.
We met with Chris McMahon, Lecturer and Programme Leader of Uniformed Public Services, who showed us some exciting new initiatives that the College has been offering his Level 3 NCFE students. While Sunderland College has been expanding its PBL provision for several years, two projects, in particular, have been successfully helping students contextualise their learning, while developing critical skills that will serve them in their future careers.
Immersive conflict management scenarios
By the second or third year of the Level 3 NCFE course, classroom-based assignments can become somewhat stale and repetitive for students. To combat this, Chris has helped transform certain units using PBL. In close partnership with Northumbria Police’s Community Engagement Team, the College has developed immersive scenarios that teach students to manage conflict situations. These test students’ de-escalation skills (emphasising tactics like body language, verbal communication and teamwork) while real police officers observe and provide detailed feedback on their performance. Scenarios vary but include dealing with intoxicated people on nights out, or managing disputes over parking spots and wheelie bins.
The simulations, inspired by Northumbria Police’s own recruitment scenarios, involve students donning uniforms and entering into conflict situations. They are given minimal information, just as would be the case for real police officers. Scenarios play out in Sunderland College’s award-winning 360-degree Immersive Space, equipped with full wraparound wall and floor projections. This VR environment ensures that the scenarios are as realistic as possible. The College also enlists Level 4 and 5 Performing Arts students to roleplay other characters.
“Of course, students have lots of interaction with the police beforehand,” Chris explains. “They see real-life examples and explore the theory, while topics like self-defence are covered elsewhere. But the scenarios themselves take students out of their comfort zone and that’s where the real learning begins.”
Transforming local police practice through youth voice
Perhaps one of the most exciting initiatives for Sunderland College is a recently launched public perception project. Once again partnering with Northumbria Police, students have been gathering data from their peers on how well they feel the police are dealing with community tensions relating to topics such as race, homophobia, and women’s safety.
Working in small groups, the students give formal presentations to set context, before using a mixture of questionnaires and interviews to gather views from various student cohorts within the college. This approach has provided invaluable insights into how local youth perceive the police’s handling of these sensitive issues.
The project first launched after the shocking case of Sarah Everard. As a result, much of the student feedback emphasised poor trust in the police force. This was not news to Northumbria Police's Professional Standards Department. However, by digging into specific issues and concerns, the police have been able to adapt their practices to address specific concerns.
Student recommendations have resulted in Northumbria Police now promoting personalised introductions to local police officers on social media, in order to show that they are real, approachable people. The force is also introducing contact cards that allow members of the public to verify an officer’s identity. Both changes have come directly from the student’s work.
Sunderland College is already exploring ways of expanding this project beyond the college boundaries, either by inviting local young people into the college or by allowing students to gather data in nearby schools.
Projects that offer greater autonomy for students and teaching staff
Chris explains that both projects (among other PBL initiatives at Sunderland College) have led to higher grades and improved attendance rates. While these are key performance indicators for success within the College, the PBL approach has also given students new ways to develop their critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills.
“Despite being contextualised to the police, these projects have developed students’ skills in ways that can be applied to various employment opportunities,” Chris said. “The projects have also given students autonomy to shape the focus and methods of their learning. As lecturers, that’s really important to us.”
Chris also praised the college leadership for trusting staff to deliver these innovative approaches across the curriculum. He explained that he and his colleagues are starting to progress more from teaching roles into facilitator roles. “We've never cracked it, of course, there are always things to improve,” he says. But despite his humility, it is clear that PBL is proving successful at helping deliver Sunderland College’s unique real-world, community-connected vision. And most importantly, it’s having a quantifiable impact on learners.
