The benefits Discussion
المؤلف:
Marilyn A Campbell & Denise Frost & Joanna Logan
المصدر:
Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Assessment
الجزء والصفحة:
P451-C37
2025-08-21
268
The benefits
Discussion
The project was successful in facilitating deep learning and promoting collaboration among the students taking the unit. Student evaluations and the coordinator's personal reflections have contributed to the evaluation of the project and will inform the redesign process for the next iteration.
Part of the successful facilitation of deep learning and collaboration can be attributed to the removal of the "authentic task" out of the context of the "real life" of the school. This meant that students were encouraged to develop different hypotheses to account for Emma's situation in the case study rather than the prevailing practice of using a battery of tests. If the assessment item had remained the same, asking students to undertake an actual case study, situated in a real school, the range of hypotheses and understandings would have been limited by the practices and environment of the school, as in previous years. The hypothetical case study therefore allowed students to think more creatively and critically, as well as providing all students with a common scenario. The use of a hypothetical case study, in a controlled environment, also provided students with further opportunities to consider diverse hypotheses and solutions to Emma's problems.
However, the poor quality of some of the final reports and an analysis of the discussion forum postings indicated that many students did not engage sufficiently with the professional or scholarly literature to support and inform their hypotheses. In spite of completing a literature review earlier in the semester the students seemed to disregard the literature for the second case study. Greater scaffolding for students will therefore need to be provided in order to encourage them to more deeply engage with the literature informing their practice as well as their academic work.
In the next iteration of the action research cycle of this project the unit's objectives will be rewritten and the literature review will be replaced by another assessment item which more closely aligns with the objectives of this unit. Instead of one process report or diary, due at the end of the semester, students will be required to submit their reflections weekly. This is aimed at motivating all students to engage with the online weekly case study and receive feedback on their progress from the lecturer. The marking criteria will also need to be altered to reflect the changes in the assessment.
An additional recommendation for change is the introduction of the chat room earlier in the semester to facilitate better communication between students and the generation of more hypotheses, which students can then develop throughout the semester. The use of the chat room earlier in the semester also provides increased scaffolding for student learning. Additional resources to provide further scaffolding include the introduction of documents such as teacher reports and school records regarding Emma.
Student confidence in their actual or future computer skills and experience, as gauged from the pre and post student surveys, indicates that these were not barriers to their engagement with the online learning environment. The importance of this level of confidence and experience is supported by Lee, Hong and Ling (2002), who found that positive attitudes to using a virtual learning environment were more important than student's computer skill levels. Furthermore, Venkatesh and Morris (2000) propose that user acceptance of technology is determined by the perceived usefulness and ease of use of the technology. The use of the IMET screen meant that students only had to use one online page for each of the six weekly scenarios and they indicated that they found the technology easy to use. The results of the post survey indicated that the majority of students enjoyed and learnt more from the second assessment item, the online case study. The assignment of bonus marks for student interaction in the discussion forum acted as a student motivator for the majority in using the technology.
Although the technology did not appear to be a barrier to engagement in the discussion forums, and the assignment of bonus marks was provided as an incentive, some students chose not to post to the forums and instead appeared to wait for others to post their hypotheses. This is probably due to the element of competition, which acted as a negative factor against the development of student collaboration. Those students who did not engage in the discussion forums on a regular basis did poorly on the second assessment item. However, this could be because of poor motivation as well as non-participation. In the next iteration, the students will practice the online collaboration during the intensive block and receive feedback. In addition, the measurement instrument, the pre and post student surveys, will need to be modified for next year, to ensure that the questions are grouped under the same themes and use the same rating scale.
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