HEA BMAF Conference, 21 st April, 2010

1. Reflecting on the Teaching and Learning of Research Methods: Sharing Innovations (TRICKS)Rob Wilson, Paul Richter, Gyuzel Gadelshina, Rob Jones HEA BMAF Conference, 21st April, 2010

2. Introductions • Who are we? • Who are you? • Why are you here?

3. Structure of the workshop • Introduction and initial tasks • About our project and it’s context • Reviewing material: Task 1 • Reviewing material: Task 2 • Discussions

4. An activity… • Please draw a picture of a ‘satisfied’ student

5. Sound familiar? …… “Admitting one teaches research methods is unlikely to impress acquaintances, win friends or influence people. The subject possesses a peculiar association with boredom, lack of relevance, and with all that is held to be worst about academia: an obsession with theory, with trivial, arcane distinctions and with pointless detail.” (Harrington and Booth, 2003:7)

6. Another activity….. • Please write down the three things that you find most challenging about teaching research methods – 1 thing per piece of paper

7. About our project

8. Our project: TRICKS • UTLC Innovation award • Why? • Emerging KITE research agenda (HE modernisation; student experience agenda) • Opportunity to enhance our RM teaching practice • Possibility of contributing data to University’s efforts to obtain feedback on student experience

9. So, what are we doing?…. • Research Team: 2 lecturers, 1 RA • 20 Credit Level 2 UG Research Methods course (framed as preparation for Final Year Dissertation) • Assessment: outline proposal (S1 1000 words) and a full proposal (S2 3000 words) • Incorporating ‘student satisfaction/student experience’ empirical theme into RM teaching • Developing interactive classroom activities • Utilising VLE • Observing classroom interaction • Employing other data-gathering methods (e.g. video, ReCap, voting system, activity materials…) • Revisiting classroom-generated data with students in a spirit of co-production • All focused on encouraging student engagement and gaining useful student feedback

12. Context for the student experience agenda • Expansion of higher education (traditional market and new markets) • Shifting HEI funding landscape • Tuition fees • Internationalisation of HE • …

13. Students and the ‘student’ identity under fresh examination “it’s time for educational institutions to face two facts: they are in a competitive battle for students, and students are customers.” (Sines & Duckworth 1994:2) • New challenge for HEIs: better knowing (and satisfying) their ‘customer’? • ‘Student customer’ a contested notion • Who is our ‘customer’ anyway?

14. The contemporary Business School student-customer “Put simply, according to tutors, students (both undergraduates and postgraduates) expect to be told exactly what to do in order to secure a good mark…and many are not prepared to go beyond this with a view to pursuing their own lines of enquiry. They also expect more by way of handouts and other support materials, both paper-based and electronic, and see the fees that they are paying, as well as other demands on their time, as a justification for this (Ottewill and Macfarlane, 2003:8)

15. The contemporary Business School lecturer “They expect students to take responsibility for their own learning; to acquire the attributes of an independent learner; to develop the ability to think critically; to engage with the subject matter; and to prepare for, attend and participate in, teaching sessions.” (Ottewill and Macfarlane, 2003:8-9)

16. Project Aims • to develop a more participative and engaging approach to the delivery of social science research methods teaching that has pedagogic benefits for the wider academic community • to supplement the University’s strategic management information gathering processes at school, faculty and university-wide levels (and NSS) in respect of students’ expectations, concerns, and satisfaction • to develop an existing KITE research agenda around the themes of innovation and enterprise in higher education

18. Pedagogical Underpinnings • Students made aware of our ‘project’ and its multiple aims • Presented as opportunity to challenge image of student as a passive receiver in favour of one where s/he is a co-producer of the learning experience, and in this case, valuable knowledge • Theme connects with contemporary education-based initiatives: • Students as Researchers (SaRs) – creation of knowledge about schooling/education through research involving partnerships of practitioners, pupils and educationalists • An established strand of action research/learning in Universities that engages students as researchers exploring particular subjects as a part or all of the assessment

19. Pedagogical Underpinnings • Common aim – progress towards a pupil/student culture in which learners are closer to what Jerry Freiberg calls ‘citizens’ than ‘tourists’: “Tourists are not that concerned about the places they visit as long as the places provide them with the fun and entertainment they are seeking…Citizens, on the other hand, have a strong connection to the community, their rights balanced by responsibilities.” (National College for School Leadership, nd:8)

20. Another activity • Please draw a picture of a ‘satisfied’ research methods lecturer… • You have 5 minutes

21. Reviewing Task 1

22. Illustration of the teaching method • Learning point: Collection and analysis of visual data • Illustrative examples using video clips: introduction, task, data collection and data analysis of visual data over the course of two lectures • Qualitative Data Collection (Jan 09) • Qualitative Data Analysis (Feb 09) • Use of Ramsden’s (2003) theories of teaching approach to structure data session: • Teaching as telling • Teaching as organising activity • Teaching as making learning possible

23. Ramsden’s (2003) 3 theories of university teaching

24. Teaching as telling “Many university teachers implicitly or explicitly define the task of teaching undergraduates as the transmission of authoritative content or the demonstration of material” (Ramsden, 2003: 108) • Introducing the notion of qualitative data collection using visual methods

25. Teaching as organising student activity “Lecturers see teaching as a supervision process involving the articulation of techniques designed to ensure that students learn” (Ramsden, 2003: 109) • Student generation of visual data (satisfied student drawing exercise) • Look at these!

26. Teaching as making learning possible “Teaching is comprehended as a process of working co-operatively with learners to help them change their understanding” (Ramsden 2003:110) • Synthesis of student data followed by co-productive collective reflection and methodological critical discussion

27. What do these pictures tell us? • On your tables spend 5 mins thinking about what these pictures tell us • About what students are thinking about satisfaction?

28. Task 2: Linking RM to skills

29. Data linking RM to skills • UG and PG results from ‘Introduction Lecture’ TurningPoint Surveys • UG and PG in total 250 respondents

30. Doing research is a everyday task for a manager? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

31. What do this feedback tell us? • On your tables spend 5 mins thinking about what these polls tell us • About what students are thinking about RM and skills?

32. Discussion

33. Emerging observations: Unanticipated consequences • Provides students with the occasion to directly articulate individual opinions via a medium and setting not ordinarily available to them • Exposes students to varied and potentially new perspectives of the debate surrounding student experience (i.e. challenging assumptions about being a student; dissatisfied lecturers…)

34. Emerging observations: Unanticipated consequences • Served to improve staff-student relationships, enhancing student satisfaction…but potentially highlighting shortcomings in other areas of degree programme in terms of opportunities for expression • Good things about module: • “you’re making an effort to engage with us. Why can’t others?” • “Paul is a legend!” • “the teachers were very approachable and caring” • “lecturers were enthusiastic and seemed to want to help unlike some other modules” • But…”Remove this module as it is very boring to attend and understand” (things to improve module) • Raised the possibility that module assessment could be better aligned with module aims (e.g. portfolio of practical RM tasks) and linkage to other parts of UG curriculum • Do the pedagogical value and the positive engagement outcomes outweigh the methodological shortcomings?

35. Emerging observations: Valid and Reliable way of Teaching and Learning RM? Lecturer bias- prompting/directing Lecture theatre setting – influence from peers Participatory Action Research? Pedagogical innovation or merely more entertaining research methods lectures? A more interesting conversation between students and faculty?

36. Final Questions • Has this workshop prompted any ideas for you? • What innovations have you been using in your teaching of research methods? • To what extent is our approach transferable across RM teaching more widely? • How should/could we take this forward?

37. Thank you for your participation