What enables people thrive in the academic rep role? That\u2019s the question the student change lab will focus on. In our first investigation of the year, we will be working with Reps to explore a set of initial hypotheses about the \u2018Rep Learning Doughnut\u2019. We will be asking them to position a set of given hypotheses in relation to what is called \u201cLearning Doughnut\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Learning](\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/205\/2025\/09\/LearningDoughnut-292x300.jpg\")
What is the Learning Doughnut? It\u2019s a teaching and learning tool to define level of challenge. It takes the form of \u2018doughnuts\u2019, formed by three concentric circles. When we are asked to do things which are familiar and low stakes, we find ourselves in our Comfort Zone. This will feel safe and easy but we are unlikely to learn much in this space. However, when we are asked to do things well outside our comfort zone; something completely new; something which feels risky and high stakes, we are likely in our Panic Zone. The Panic Zone is not conducive to thriving nor learning either. Between these two zones we find the Learning Doughnut. The zone where we are able to build on what we already know and can do; where we can practice existing skills in a new context; where we can develop new skills and expertise.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What do we mean with hypotheses? We simply mean statement which explain what is happening but need testing. Our hypotheses are about motivations and barriers that reps might encounter. We developed them through discovery research last year. \u00a0To test these hypotheses and understand their relative importance, we could ask the question openly \u201cwhat motivates you? What challenges do you face?\u201d Alternatively, we can ask reps to respond to our hypotheses; rejecting, nuancing, and ordering in terms of importance.<\/p>\n
Below you will see some examples:<\/p>\n
Initial hypotheses:<\/h4>\n\nThe role of the Academic Rep is a challenging one. Some challenges give us an opportunity to develop skills and resilience, and some mean it difficult to succeed. We will explore, refine, and prioritise these possible experiences. We have identified these as our initial hypotheses about experience which might prevent reps from thriving in their role.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
At the point of signing-up:<\/h4>\n\nI sign up to become a Rep because I want to build my CV. I know that I need to demonstrate more than just academic achievement to future employers. I am not totally sure about what this means in practice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI sign up to be a Rep because I want to make the most of being here. I am excited by lots of different extra-curricula activities. I am not totally sure about what any of these entail or how I will fit them round academic work, paid work, and other commitments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In the first few weeks of being a Rep:<\/h4>\n\nI attend the Rep training and although I still think the role is important, I realise that it isn\u2019t really something I am comfortable doing or actually interested in doing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI attend the Rep training and am excited about doing this important role. When I try to collect feedback it turns out to be much harder than I thought it would be. I don\u2019t get many responses from my peers and I am not sure about how best to coordinate with other student reps.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Experiencing the meeting with academic staff:<\/h4>\n\nI have done what I was asked to \u2013 collecting feedback and presenting it at the meeting \u2013 but I don\u2019t feel like the meeting went well. Staff didn\u2019t feel open to what I was saying or didn\u2019t seem to understand the points I was trying to make. I didn\u2019t really feel very comfortable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI presented feedback to the academic staff but I don\u2019t feel like anything changed because of the work I did. I feel demotivated and not interested in putting that work in again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
When we have a sense of which experience it seems important to prioritise, we will the co-designing possible interventions and testing different approaches to learn what works.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.17.6″ header_font_size_tablet=”51″ header_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_use_icon=”off” parent_locked=”off” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover=”null” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover=”null” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover=”null” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover=”null” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover=”null” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover=”null” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover=”null” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover=”null” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover=”null” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover=”null” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover=”null” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover=”null” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover=”null” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover=”null” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Spacer” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ \/][et_pb_button admin_label=”Home Button” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ button_text=”Blog Home” button_url=”https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/” \/][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.17.6″ src=”https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/205\/2019\/11\/teach_journals.jpg” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n
\nBy Professor\u00a0Sarah Dyer<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Connect Title” module_class=”footer-section” _builder_version=”3.0.90″ background_color=”#1d1d1d” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” prev_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” global_module=”380″][et_pb_row global_parent=”380″ background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Professor Sarah Dyer introduces us to the concept of a “learning doughnut”: a teaching and learning tool which helps us to define levels of challenge when stepping out of our comfort zone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":12127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-blog","category-student-voice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12109"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12717,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109\/revisions\/12717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The role of the Academic Rep is a challenging one. Some challenges give us an opportunity to develop skills and resilience, and some mean it difficult to succeed. We will explore, refine, and prioritise these possible experiences. We have identified these as our initial hypotheses about experience which might prevent reps from thriving in their role.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
At the point of signing-up:<\/h4>\n\nI sign up to become a Rep because I want to build my CV. I know that I need to demonstrate more than just academic achievement to future employers. I am not totally sure about what this means in practice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI sign up to be a Rep because I want to make the most of being here. I am excited by lots of different extra-curricula activities. I am not totally sure about what any of these entail or how I will fit them round academic work, paid work, and other commitments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In the first few weeks of being a Rep:<\/h4>\n\nI attend the Rep training and although I still think the role is important, I realise that it isn\u2019t really something I am comfortable doing or actually interested in doing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI attend the Rep training and am excited about doing this important role. When I try to collect feedback it turns out to be much harder than I thought it would be. I don\u2019t get many responses from my peers and I am not sure about how best to coordinate with other student reps.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Experiencing the meeting with academic staff:<\/h4>\n\nI have done what I was asked to \u2013 collecting feedback and presenting it at the meeting \u2013 but I don\u2019t feel like the meeting went well. Staff didn\u2019t feel open to what I was saying or didn\u2019t seem to understand the points I was trying to make. I didn\u2019t really feel very comfortable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI presented feedback to the academic staff but I don\u2019t feel like anything changed because of the work I did. I feel demotivated and not interested in putting that work in again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
When we have a sense of which experience it seems important to prioritise, we will the co-designing possible interventions and testing different approaches to learn what works.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.17.6″ header_font_size_tablet=”51″ header_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_use_icon=”off” parent_locked=”off” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover=”null” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover=”null” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover=”null” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover=”null” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover=”null” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover=”null” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover=”null” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover=”null” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover=”null” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover=”null” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover=”null” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover=”null” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover=”null” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover=”null” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Spacer” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ \/][et_pb_button admin_label=”Home Button” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ button_text=”Blog Home” button_url=”https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/” \/][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.17.6″ src=”https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/205\/2019\/11\/teach_journals.jpg” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n
\nBy Professor\u00a0Sarah Dyer<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Connect Title” module_class=”footer-section” _builder_version=”3.0.90″ background_color=”#1d1d1d” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” prev_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” global_module=”380″][et_pb_row global_parent=”380″ background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Professor Sarah Dyer introduces us to the concept of a “learning doughnut”: a teaching and learning tool which helps us to define levels of challenge when stepping out of our comfort zone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":12127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-blog","category-student-voice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12109"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12717,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109\/revisions\/12717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
I sign up to become a Rep because I want to build my CV. I know that I need to demonstrate more than just academic achievement to future employers. I am not totally sure about what this means in practice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI sign up to be a Rep because I want to make the most of being here. I am excited by lots of different extra-curricula activities. I am not totally sure about what any of these entail or how I will fit them round academic work, paid work, and other commitments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In the first few weeks of being a Rep:<\/h4>\n
\nI attend the Rep training and although I still think the role is important, I realise that it isn\u2019t really something I am comfortable doing or actually interested in doing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI attend the Rep training and am excited about doing this important role. When I try to collect feedback it turns out to be much harder than I thought it would be. I don\u2019t get many responses from my peers and I am not sure about how best to coordinate with other student reps.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Experiencing the meeting with academic staff:<\/h4>\n
\nI have done what I was asked to \u2013 collecting feedback and presenting it at the meeting \u2013 but I don\u2019t feel like the meeting went well. Staff didn\u2019t feel open to what I was saying or didn\u2019t seem to understand the points I was trying to make. I didn\u2019t really feel very comfortable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nI presented feedback to the academic staff but I don\u2019t feel like anything changed because of the work I did. I feel demotivated and not interested in putting that work in again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
When we have a sense of which experience it seems important to prioritise, we will the co-designing possible interventions and testing different approaches to learn what works.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.17.6″ header_font_size_tablet=”51″ header_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_use_icon=”off” parent_locked=”off” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover=”null” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover=”null” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover=”null” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover=”null” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover=”null” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover=”null” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover=”null” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover=”null” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover=”null” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover=”null” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover=”null” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover=”null” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover=”null” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover=”null” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Spacer” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ \/][et_pb_button admin_label=”Home Button” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ button_text=”Blog Home” button_url=”https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/” \/][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.17.6″ src=”https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/205\/2019\/11\/teach_journals.jpg” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n
\nBy Professor\u00a0Sarah Dyer<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Connect Title” module_class=”footer-section” _builder_version=”3.0.90″ background_color=”#1d1d1d” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” prev_background_color=”#ffffff” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” global_module=”380″][et_pb_row global_parent=”380″ background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Professor Sarah Dyer introduces us to the concept of a “learning doughnut”: a teaching and learning tool which helps us to define levels of challenge when stepping out of our comfort zone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":12127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-blog","category-student-voice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12109"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12717,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12109\/revisions\/12717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}