A day in the life of a BA Education student
From communities and societies to field trips and volunteering projects, find out what it's like to study education at the University of Nottingham
Discover what's on offer with insight from our current students
As a prospective education student at the University of Nottingham, we want to share some insight into what your days might look like while you study with us.
You’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourself in both academic and social aspects of your course, building connections and finding like-minded, lifelong friends while you get a world-class education degree.
We'll take a look at some of the different experiences you'll be able to get involved in, including:
- Education Society
- Breaking the ice in induction week
- Joining the Learning Community Forum (LCF) as a course representative
- Field trips
- Volunteering
Education Society
Your typical university day might include activities with the Education Society, like taking part in their book club, volunteering or going to a social event. The society provides a space for you to get academic support, meet new people, share ideas and build transferable employability skills.
Year one induction week - breaking the ice
We asked first-year student, Pippa Oldacre, to share her experience of meeting her new classmates during our induction week.
Being a new student at any university can be daunting and feel overwhelming at times. For me, the main way to feel more relaxed and ‘at home’ is to meet like-minded people and start making new friends.We were set the task to arrange a trip to a place in Nottingham city centre, with the aim to get to know each other and Nottingham better.The challenge of organising this task is what made this activity so effective. Some names started to appear on the sign-up sheet, which had five places to choose from, and at the induction events in the days leading up to the trip, we started organising our visit.A group of us met at Stonebridge City Farm to feed some animals. It was a lovely few hours but also really useful, as not only did we get to feed really cute goats and a cow, but we also got to know each other even more.We discovered each other’s passions in education, why we have chosen to study this course and our future goals and aims that we have in mind after we’ve graduated.
Pippa Oldacre
BA Education
The Learning Community Forum (LCF)
If you decide to join our Learning Community Forum (LCF), you could become a course representative, with the opportunity to influence academic life.
Second-year students, Annie Shepperson and Emily Pearce explain what’s involved in being a course representative.
The LCF allows a strong link of communication between staff and students and forms relationships that allow anything to be said, and nothing to be ignored.
We’ve seen the positive effect of having a student representative interact with staff. Issues that are raised are resolved quickly after the meeting, meaning we can share this with other students across the years to keep them in the loop.
Annie Shepperson and Emily Pearce
BA Education
Field Trips
As part of your 'Joining the Academic Community' module, a day as an education student might include a field trip. Our students recently visited St Anns Community Orchard to explore collaborative and experiential learning in an outdoor environment. The day involved a number of team-building activities on the beautiful orchard site set within the historic Hungerhill Allotments.
Activities included:
- shelter-making
- crossing 'shark-infested' waters
- sawing wood
- visiting other eco-projects and finding out about their educational work
- reflecting on the site as a place for engaging learners with collaborative activities
- designing a scheme of learning for a group of learners
Volunteering
Volunteering could be one of the most rewarding ways you could spend a day as an education student. You’ll also gain real-world experience and expand your skill set for life after university.
First-year student, Fatima Suleman, wanted to gain some more experience working with children in an educational setting to prepare herself for the placement module in year two.
So far I've completed three sessions with my mentee and I've found it to be a very rewarding experience. I can offer support with what they want to do, and I can also develop skills such as problem-solving and communication through working with them.
Fatima Suleman
BA Education
