Not just some random English class: raising the profile of in-sessional provision through the CEM model

In-sessional support for students on taught postgraduate degrees is a growth area in EAP as increasing numbers of international students come to study on these programmes. The CEM model (Sloan and Porter, 2010) is designed to provide a systematic approach to managing and evaluating in-sessional provision by assessing the degree to which in-sessional classes are contextualised within a subject area, embedded within a programme and mapped to the ongoing needs of students. The CEM model was used as a framework for an action research project to evaluate and improve in-sessional provision within the School of Management and Languages at Heriot-Watt University. Classes were delivered in semester 1, 2009, for each of the six degree pathways in the school. In order to systematise the delivery, a coherent set of materials was created, which could be customised for individual degrees. The delivery was evaluated within the CEM framework through semi-structured interviews with staff and students. Lessons learned from the first year were implemented in the second year when the CEM model was used as the basis for teacher and staff development. The CEM model provides a meta-language for discussion with staff and EAP teachers which has contributed to raising the profile and status of in-sessional provision within the school.