Making connections and building resilience: Developing workshops with undergraduates

Abstract

While defining resilience is recognised as complex with recent research highlighting the disparity of interpretations, there is however, a common appreciation of the wide range of contributory factors impacting on students’ resilience within the Higher Education sector. These can include but are not limited to, an increasingly competitive environment for graduate jobs, increased financial pressure from student tuition fees, alongside the more traditional concerns of moving away from home and transitioning towards greater independence. Building on previous research at the University of Surrey with high achieving students, this paper outlines the development and delivery of a student focused workshop designed to enable the participants to build their understanding of resilience using different but complementary pedagogic approaches: LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and Concept Mapping. The case study included within this paper demonstrates one student’s reflection of the workshop and previous experiences which have contributed to their own resilience. What has become apparent at the University of Surrey, and more broadly within the UK Higher Education sector, is that universities have a vital role to play in fostering positive mindsets amongst students and developing strong and resilient independent learners.