University of the West of England Bristol

Using Lumina Spark to support Student Learning and Self-Development

UWE Bristol has partnered with Lumina Learning to offer the experience of Lumina Spark as a personality tool across postgraduate and undergraduate psychology programmes, in order to support student learning and student development. ­

For the last few years, our MSc Occupational Psychology cohort (approximately 20 students each year) have had the opportunity to complete a Lumina Spark assessment and receive a full Lumina Spark Feedback Report.

With growing success and positive feedback from the MSc cohort, In the last year our BSc Psychology Level 1 cohort (approximately 200 students) have had the opportunity to complete a Lumina Spark assessment and receive a bespoke Lumina Spark Development Report focusing on communication, teamwork and leadership skills.

What did UWE Bristol want to achieve by incorporating Lumina Spark into the MSc Occupational Psychology programme?

As part of the MSc Occupational Psychology at UWE Bristol, the module of Psychological Assessment at Work focuses on an understanding of theory and practice in applying psychological assessment techniques in the workplace. A specific example of a psychometric assessment was needed to help students understand the development of psychological assessment and to encourage critical evaluation of the nature of psychometric tests.

The key aim of Introducing a personality assessment as part of the Psychological Assessment at Work module was to help students to understand the theory, background and application of psychometrics within the workplace and support student learning. Lumina Spark was introduced as an example of a modern psychometric tool that can be used by organisations in selection and development contexts, looking at personality and behaviour across 24 trait-based Qualities and the Three Personas which demonstrate personality as dynamically capable of change.

What did UWE Bristol want to achieve by incorporating Lumina Spark into the BSc Psychology programme?

The BSc Psychology at UWE Bristol has a strong practical focus and helps students in building professional skills. The first-year module of Psychology in Action, aims to Introduce students to a range of psychological perspectives and explore how psychological theory can Inform applied Interventions. As part of this, there is a focus on reflection and development of academic, professional and personal skills.

The key aim of introducing a personality assessment Into the Psychology in Action module was to help students to identify their own strengths and development areas as well as to help them discover practical actions for Improved communication, teamwork and leadership. Lumina Spark was introduced as a tool to enhance self-awareness and support students develop their approach to group tasks and team-working across the module.

Results

MSc Occupational Psychology Programme Student Feedback

95% of respondents felt Lumina Spark had supported their learning within the Psychological Assessment at Work module.

Student’s expressed that Lumina Spark provided a valuable example of a modern psychometric tool that supported their learning the following ways:

• Completing the assessment helped to understand the process of test administration
• Reviewing Lumina report results in relation to understanding own personalities and reflect on their own strengths and development areas
• A useful example for considering type and trait personality models
• Considering the validity and reliability of a widely used psychometric tool
• Understanding how personality assessments work

When asked what they enjoyed the most about using the Lumina Spark tool a number of students reported that the output’s visual presentation, particularly the Splash Mandala was both comprehensive and clear. Additionally, many students enjoyed the visuals and interactive features within the Lumina Splash application.