Enhancing Student Engagement inMultidisciplinary Groups in Higher

Education

Michael Opoku Agyeman,( Haiping Cui and Shirley Bennett)

November 20, 2019

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Outline

1 Background

2 Preliminary Study

3 Intervention

4 Methodology

5 Conclusions

6 References

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 2 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Background

Increase in curriculum integration due tomultidisciplinary nature of the skill-set required by jobmarket.Students can easily identify with the relevance ofcurriculum from the same disciplineHigh risk of disengagement where a module is takenby multidisciplinary groups of students.

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 3 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Background

Excessive, irrelevant or forced examples that do notrelate to real-world applications (Bédard et al. 2012).Student interest: hands-on experience or theory(Prince, 2004).Positive correlation between student engagement andimproved academic performance (Trowler & Trowler,2010).

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 4 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Problem Statement

Year 2, HE module taken by Computing (CS), Electrical& Electronics Engineering (EE) and MechatronicsEngineering students.It has been observed over the years (at least 5 yearsunder two different module leaders) that the studentengagement is low.

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 5 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

POSSIBLE CAUSE

Student Expectation: Some students may not believethat they have the required background for the module.Uneven Student Number Distribution:Computing:Engineering students is about 4:1Computer-based Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ):The feeling of disengaging with the face-to-facesessions and trying their luck with MCQ and at leastpass (Dermo, 2009)

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 6 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Challenge

How to redesign the delivery of the module toenhance student engagement?How do we adopt the new strategies while keepingstudent-staff workload balanced?

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 7 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Student Empathy Map

In-class study with the experimental group, using anadopted empathy map (Ferreira et al. 2015)

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 8 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Observations

Students want to good programming skills and goodgrades in order to graduate and get good jobs, theyfear failing.“.

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 9 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Intervention: Problem-based learning

Problem-based learning with various hands-on laboratoryactivities to encourage experiential learning.

Effective Large and Small Student Group Strategies:• Set clear expectations for group work• Group size and composition• Encourage Intercultural/Interdisciplinary Group Work• Innovative group work activities• Help manage the logistics of group work; monitor the

group’s activities; and manage assessed group work

An element of game theory: Reward!

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 10 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Methodology

A mixed method of both qualitative and quantitativeresearch, which includes:

peer-observationevaluations of grade distributiona survey (students’ feedback)

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 11 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Study 1: Peer Assessment

A senior lecturer from a different faculty within the university,observed an in-class delivery as well as the online contentsObservation Agenda:

The effectiveness of the groups/teams in engagingstudentsThe complexity of the problem-based learning activitiesThe suitability of the VLE site in encouraging andmonitoring student engagement

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 12 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Study 1: Peer Assessment

Results:Use of groups/teams

• Use of two people per team is smaller than the idealsize reported in literature (Best & Kahn, 2016)

• However, this strategy rather motivated the students toengage in the module

The complexity of the learning activities• Giving students opportunity to complete the tasks

outside the classroom is a good practiseThe VLE

• Early weeks where students worked in larger groupshad lower student access rate

• The VLE tool made it easy to monitor studentengagement

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 13 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Study 2: Evaluation of grade distribution

Method

Difference between the number of students inexperimental group and 2016/17 is 83%Difference with 2017/18 which has only 16% with theexperimental group. 2017/19 is selected as the controlgroup

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 14 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Study 2: Evaluation of grade distribution

Results

Effect size: 0.8 standard deviation: 18.8 average score:64.4 (Experimental group) and 50 (Control group)

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 15 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Study 2: Evaluation of grade distribution

RemarksEffect size= 0.8

the grade of an average student in 2018/19outperforms the grades of 79% of the students in theprevious year.Effect sizes of 0.5 or higher (in this case 0.8) is muchhigher than most interventions reported in literature(Prince, 2004)findings of effects sizes of 0.8 are rare as it demandssignificant gains (Albanese et al. 1993; Prince, 2004)

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 16 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Study 3: Students’ Voice – ModulePerformance and FeedbackMethodAn online survey at the end of the teaching block withouttutor’s direct engagementNumber of participants = 9Numer of questions = 6

Do you find the module is intellectually stimulating?Has the tutor made the module interesting?Has the module provided you with opportunities toexplore ideas or concepts in depth?Has the VLE been a useful resource to support yourLearning?Has the library resources (physical and online) andassociated support services supported your learningwell?Overall, how satisfied are you with the module?

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 17 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

Study 3: Summary of Module Performanceand Feedback Data

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 18 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

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Conclusions

Students want high grades and care about their futureUse of variable student group sizes for formative andsummative assessment helps in engagementProblem-based learning is effective in engagingstudents but right activity complexity is requiredHelpful tips for students to self-organize to improvetheir learning experience

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 19 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

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References

Thank You !!! Any questions?Michael.OpokuAgyeman@northampton.ac.uk

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 20 - Michael Opoku Agyeman

Background

PreliminaryStudy

Intervention

Methodology

Conclusions

References

References

Please see paper.

ISSEP 2019 University of Northampton - 21 - Michael Opoku Agyeman