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Our study compares the attitudes to their lab experience of students in two science subjects, Chemistry and Physics. We found this to be consistent across the disciplines. Laboratory learning is appreciated by students, as a means to develop knowledge and skills. Many of the benefits that students report are in line with the aims set out by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) for practical teaching. This suggests that laboratory teaching in both subjects is meeting its goals and providing a valuable contribution to the education of students.

Final year students applying for graduate jobs in industry are often required to sit numeracy tests as part of the recruitment process. Students in the College of Arts can be disadvantaged in this area as, often, the last time they will have come across any Mathematics will have been at National 5, GCSE or equivalent level (at the age of 15 or 16). This project was a collaboration between the Mathematics & Statistics support within the Learning Enhancement and Academic Development Service (LEADS) and the Careers Service to create a repository of resources designed to help students refresh their basic mathematical skills and give them the confidence to tackle Employers’ Numeracy tests successfully. A Moodle course including videos and tailored learning materials was created to enable students to improve their confidence and ability in relevant mathematical and statistical skills, as well as sample tests (both timed and untimed) to give students an idea of what to expect in a real assessment.