Student Feedback:Learner experience study focussing on technology-enhanced learning

Mary Jacob, Johanna Westwood, Kate Wright

Aims and outcomes

Enhance Engage

Knowledge Practice

Understand ‘them’

Improve learning

experience

Methods

Online/Paper Surveys

Focus groups

Who took part?

• 233 Prospective students

• 466 Current on-campus students

• 29 Current distance learning students

What difference has this made?

• Learning styles• Staff training

Learning preferences• VARK– Visual – Aural– Reading/writing– Kinaesthetic

• Neil Fleming• http://www.vark-learn.c

om/english/index.asp

Learning Preferences Questions

• When you are learning a new academic topic, how important is it for you to … –hear it explained?

– see it depicted visually (for example, using pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, etc.)?

–have a go at doing something yourself (for example, physically doing an experiment, manipulating data in a spreadsheet, practicing a skill, etc.)?

– read about it?

Essential

Very im

portant

Somewhat im

portant

Not nece

ssary

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Learning preferences Current students

AuralVisualKinaestheticReading-writing

Learning Preferences

Preference Essential or Very important

Aural 83.3%Reading-writing 80.3%

Visual 72.3%Kinaesthetic 69.1%

69.1% said ‘Doing’ was essential

or very important

Learning Preferences

Aural Reading-writing Visual Kinaesthetic0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

Consolidated - Essential or Very important

Student Comments

• Students who self-identified learning styles in the free-text box did so in the following sequence:– Mixed learning style– Kinaesthetic learning style– Reading-writing learning style– Visual learning style– Aural learning style

Learn how to use it [technology] properly.

I prefer group study (or peer to peer studying) rather than individual work.

Make lectures as varied as possible, with video, audio, pictures, moving diagrams etc.

I cannot learn parrot fashion - if I don't understand something I won't remember it! Simply being read to, with little interactivity, is unlikely to work well.

I do not have a preferred learning style, I am a visual, audio and kinisthetic learner.

I like them to be very interactive

I like writing wiki-articles on topics of my interest, which also puts new stuff in order and I remember it for a very long time.

“GIVE LECTURERS A COURSE ON HOW TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY EFFECTIVELY”

What recommendations would you give your tutors to use technology more effectively for your learning?

What have we done?

•13 courses offered to staff

•Recommend to PGCTHE candidates

•Includes online assessment, Web 2.0 tools, and digital audio/video

Staff Development

•One-to-one or small group consultations

•Available to all staff

Consultations

•Predominantly Blackboard training

•Try to include pedagogical advice wherever possible

Hands-on training

Building on Gwella JISC Building Capacity

Nexus

Peer Support

What have WE learnt?• Use all four learning modes

• Help tutors use technology effectively

• Engage students actively in learning

• Don’t underestimate our students or tutors

Where next?

Follow our adventures on:

nexus.aber.ac.uk