STUDENTS from the University of York are helping to make waves in education.

A group of second-year undergraduate education studies students have teamed up with their peers at Rolle College, in Exmouth, Devon, to produce a book about topics ranging from bullying to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Each of the 13 students penned their own chapters of the book, entitled Making Waves In Education, which is aimed at fellow education studies students.

The group met once in York and once in Exmouth during the three-month project.

Student author Claire Jones, 20, whose chapter looks at sex education, said the most nerve-wracking part was having her work read by other students and, in turn, commenting on their writing.

She said: "Getting their feedback was quite scary, but on the whole it was great fun and it really made a difference to the way I wrote my chapter.

"It was really satisfying when we received the finished product. The book will be in the Plymouth and York libraries and it will also be an e-journal, so other universities will be able to access it online."

Fellow author Keil Brown, 24, said: "To my knowledge we are the only ones on our course who have collaborated with another university.

"It was like two different worlds, because we had different ideas. It worked out really well.

"I focused on childhood obesity and looked at the initiatives schools have put in to tackle it and what the community can do. It was fun to research the subject from scratch and my writing skills improved a lot."

The project was overseen by Dr John Issit in York and Dr Suanne Gibson and Dr Joanna Haynes in Exmouth.

Dr Gibson said: "The students have researched a wide range of topics in education, each of their own choosing.

"Making their work public has taken courage. As tutors, we have had the pleasure of observing the growth in students' knowledge and confidence, as well as their ability to find positive ways to support and challenge one another."

11:44am Wednesday 26th March 2008

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