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Blended learning to support teaching and assessment: linking theory with practice

Blended learning to support teaching and assessment: linking theory with practice. Mark Russell The Blended Learning Unit University of Hertfordshire m.b.russell@herts.ac.uk. Background. Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics Core engineering module (15 CP/ single semester)

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Blended learning to support teaching and assessment: linking theory with practice

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  1. Blended learning to support teaching and assessment:linking theory with practice Mark Russell The Blended Learning Unit University of Hertfordshire m.b.russell@herts.ac.uk

  2. Background Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics Core engineering module (15 CP/ single semester) Often seen as a difficult subject New language Reliant on some mathematical competency First year module ~50% failed the examination (2001/02)

  3. Teaching - up to 2001 What would Yorke, Kift, et al say? i. Lectures(didactic 1:~150) instruction, motivation and sign-posting / making links ii. Tutorials(interactive 1:~25) student participation working on tutorial sheets - related to lecture iii. Laboratory studies x 2 (interactive 1:~25) Practical application of theory “ Hands on” activities Some socialisation Using i) as a backdrop, ii) & iii) sought to provide opportunities for students to ‘construct’ their understanding of the subject through practice and experience. Assessment based on: 70% final examination (at week 12) 20% laboratory reports (conventional - teacher marked) 10% phase test (set at week 7/8 - teacher marked)

  4. What would you do if you wanted to fail more students / provide a lousy first year experience?

  5. Good practice… • Encourages Contact Between Student and Faculty • Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation among students • Encourages Active Learning • Gives Prompt Feedback • Emphasises Time on Task • Communicates High Expectations • Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning • How People Learn • Learning is a conversation • Learning is not a spectator sport • The learners have much to offer as well as gain

  6. What went wrong? – some possible issues • Increasing student numbers • Increasing difficulty in providing personal & prompt feedback • Increasing difficulty to track student’s progress • We teach, you learn (reciprocity?) • Increasing range of abilities (qualified to similar levels!) • Previous assumptions on student’s capabilities becoming invalid • Increasing range of motivation (or lack of motivation) • Time-on-task was varied (not appropriately encouraged) • Lacking learner focus • Did not use student’s conceptions to drive follow-up tasks (learner-centric?) • Assessment did not really support learning • Timeliness of feedback • Use of feedback • high expectations? / Active learning?

  7. Chronology of developments e-content 2001 StudyNet – opportunities to provide: • Improved teaching materials – on-line access • Additional support material (diverse talents) • Develop reciprocity… via discussion forums 2002 Weekly Assessed Tutorial Sheets (WATS) • Active Learning / high expectations 2004 Peer assessment of laboratory reports • Learning through assessing • Sharing good and bad practice • Engaging students with criteria (high exp) 2004/5 Just-in-Time Teaching • Intelligence led teaching (learner centric) 2006 IWB to encourage collaborative learning 2007 On-line tutorial using Elluminate blended learning

  8. The Use of Discussions within StudyNet Objectives: • Provide tutor prompts • Respond to student questions • Encourage student-student interactions • Drip feed students with F&T

  9. Discussions – student use (% of total students in group) • 2001 - 10% (70) • 2002 - 10% (97) • 2003 - 20% (105) • 2004 - 49% (697) • 2005 - 37% (443) Our forum? Their forum? 2002: 57% of students thought the forum was useful

  10. A new assessment regime

  11. Feed-forward to staff(Just-in-Time-Teaching)

  12. Interesting, but what about the conversation? In your own words describe the temperature change graphs What one area / topic / thing would you like further help on? Please state which question was the most difficult and why Often in manometry we ignore the density of the fluids in one of the limbs – why is this? In your own words describe Bernoulli’s Equation

  13. Some student responses

  14. Arguably we were … … Developing (forcing) good study behaviours “I think WATS was a good thing as it has made us all review our notes and revise throughout the semester instead of throwing on the floor and not looking at them until the exam”. “I think it is a good approach to learning because it enables or rather "forces" us to work on the module every week, and this kind of helps sometimes”.

  15. Final Examination Marks

  16. Some feedback… Course was well organised Independent learning was encouraged

  17. Conclusions • Improved student performance resulted from use of Blended Learning • Greatest improvement through: • Use of WATS • Adopting just-in-time teaching • Many students valued: • Greater structure • More personalised approach Pedogically driven

  18. For every classroom door? “As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do? If your answer to the question is yes, don't do it.” Gen. Ruben Cubero, Dean of The Faculty, United States Air Force. Student vs. content-centric view of T&L Teaching or learning focus?

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