evaluation 2 headlines pass rate and mean marks improve improved module review ratings
DESCRIPTION
The student voice in higher education curriculum design: is there value in listening? A case study. PROBLEMS Lack of engagement - Poor attendance - Bad reputation - Low achievement……. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Evaluation 2 Headlines
•Pass rate and mean marks improve
•Improved module review ratings
• Better attendance at seminars
Evaluation 2:Module reviewQuestionnaireModule results
Student-influenced redesign
Focus group study:-
Listening to the student voice:
The student voice in higher education curriculum design: is there value in listening? A case study
What might students’ voices give to the process of
curriculum development that teachers in HE cannot
provide themselves? If the student voice is to be heard
then it is important that value is found in doing so (Seale,
2010).
This case study compares the relative effectiveness of a tutor-centred redesign of a module with one more closely aligned to the student voice. Could this provide a sustainable method for developing curricula? Approached from a pragmatic paradigm (Cresswell, 2007), the research aimed to find out how students perceived their learning experiences in a particular module and ‘what worked’ for them.
Evaluation 1:-Module results-Staff discussion-Module review-Questionnaire
Tutor-led
redesign
Lectures- Front loaded
- Plus exam revision
Study pack- Essential information- Background details
- Seminar preparation
Four seminars-articles and cases
-structured sessions-no prep=can’t
attend
Exam- Choice of 6
questions- Descriptive and problem-based
What’s the student voice?
‘Change based on what students say’ Cook-Sather, 2006
Hearing the student voice: Campbell, Beasley, Eland & Rumpus, 2007
Empow
erment: M
cleod, 2011Und
er-r
epre
sent
ed: J
ISC,
201
1
What’s the curriculum?
‘a u
nit o
f lea
rnin
g’ D
emps
ter,
Benfi
eld
& F
ranc
is, 2
012
A product or a process? Fraser & Bosanquet, 2006 Content vs engagem
ent? Bovill, Bulley &
Morss, 2011
Evolution from product towards process?
Evaluation 1 Headlines
•Pass rate and mean marks get worse•Module review shows dissatisfaction•Staff and students don’t see eye-to-eye•Questionnaire responses unexpected:•‘the whole thing was confusing and boring’.
‘When (lecturer) went on about someone selling fruit in Germany, it didn’t really make sense…..’
CONCLUSIONThere is value in listening to the student voice in Curriculum Development – results, improved learning experience, small collaborative steps can have an impact
Why? Re-interpretation of literature, better understanding
Sustainable model – time-efficient, straightforward
Wider applicability – across modules/courses/institutions
WHAT HAPPENED?
Students in curriculum design?
Benefits students’ motivation, commitment and perception of shared responsibility for learning, Bovill, Cook-Sather & Felten, 2011
Continuum from brief module review to co-creation, Trowler & Trowler,
2010; Bovill, 2013
Barriers? Less control, experience, Bovill, 2013;
external regulations, Ritter, 2006
Is th
ere
an e
ffecti
ve,
sust
aina
ble
mid
dle
way
?PROBLEMSLack of engagement - Poor attendance - Bad reputation - Low achievement……
BACK
GRO
UN
D
‘…..(But when) she started using examples for us, just common examples that we could relate to, then started applying the articles to them, then we understood it’
Simon BroomanSue DarwentAlex Pimor
School of Law