Innovations to support learning

1. Innovations to support learning Dr Jen Harvey, AHEAD symposium 28 April 2009

2. Presentation outline Innovations to support learning: • Choices and opportunities • Feedback and achievement

3. Choices and opportunities • Where • Who • When • How

4. Where can I learn? Informed choices

11. The provision ofdifferent learning opportunities

12. Formal learning spaces: Learning about

13. Learning to be/learning with others

14. Opportunities to learn with others Who will I learn with?

15. Today’s learners: tomorrow’s learners ? • Digital • Connected • Experiential • Immediate • Social

16. University of Melbournestudent survey (2007) • 96% had mobile phone, 90% had desktop PC,76% had digital camera, 69% had MP3 Player • Most common usage of computer based activities email (94%), creating documents (88%) playing digital music files (84%) search for information (general 83% and study 76%) communicating via instant messaging (80%) • Students were also engaging with emerging technologies: blogs, file sharing, social networking, web-conferencing etc

17. My favourite piece of technology is my phone, because I record lectures. I am more likely to watch what I have recorded than to log on the [VLE] and to go through the long procedure of finding something…Student, STROLL project

22. Addressing the need for newlearning spaces and opportunities Combining virtual and physical spaces

25. What is a good learning environment? • Good learning environment provides: • interaction with knowledge • interaction with the teacher • interaction with peers • opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them • challenges • good resources • (Smith‘95)

26. Student Success in College? Academic achievement, engagement in educationally purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies, persistence, attainment of educational objectives, and post-college performance

27. Provision of opportunities to learn in different ways. How do I want to learn?

28. Thinking about the student learning experience • How can learners be provided with a range of learning opportunities? • How can practitioners support learners with different needs, experiences and preferences? • How can we design learning environments that: • support a wide range of learning tasks/interactions • meet different learner needs (access, competence) • enable positive learning experiences • What would help to improve learners’ experiences and encourage active participation? • How can we help learners improve their personal practice and effectiveness to become lifelong learners?

32. Social spaces or learning spaces? • Students spend more time out of class than in it • Learning occurs through conversations, web surfing, social interactions, group work, spontaneous interactions • “Capture time” is particularly important for non-residential students

33. Broaden definition of learning • Powerful pedagogical models (guided inquiry, apprenticeship, learning communities) • Learning distributed across classroom, work, home, community • On-demand and just-in-time • Collaborative • Dispersal of intellectual functions across physical, social and symbolic supports Dede, 2006

34. Consider the options • Visual: less reading, more visuals • Mixed delivery: mix online, face-to-face • Engagement: involvement similar to problem-solving or games • Redesign space: space for learning not just for instruction • Real: capitalizes on real world problems; information can be applied to real situations • Social: interaction with others Dede, 2006

35. eLearning the basics…Educationally lednot technology driven How are my students going to learn from using these resources? How can I encourage a student centred approach that promotes active learning?

42. Embedding technology within the curriculum Some considerations: • learner / tutor backgrounds/skills? • access, technical concerns? • aligning with learning outcomes? • aligned within the module/programme/Dept • technical support, infrastructure? • students with different needs? • plagiarism? • assessment – who, when, how?

43. Challenges to institutions • Learner expectations • Learner Literacy Skills • Staff development • Managing perceptions • Moving from project based activities to mainstream activities

44. Addressing the challenges… …thinking about the whole student experience – getting back to basics

45. ‘Ultimately it is only the decisions which learners make about what they will or will not do which actually influence the outcomes of their learning.' [Boud, 1981]

46. Learning basics – programme information Programme documentation - timetable • Module title and numbers • Programmes to which module contributes • Level and credit points • Modules leader and other staff information • Mode of delivery – distance, PT, FT – place of delivery • Aim and learning outcomes • Learning & teaching methods used (lectures, seminars etc) • Assessment (mode, weightings, links to LOs, detail) • Outline content • Indicative bibliography (essential reading)

47. before the course…common concerns of students • I’m not sure how much work I will have to do on this course • I’m afraid I’ll get behind in my work • I’m worried I won’t get a good set of lecture notes • I’m dreading the prospect of assessments • I think I probably won’t be a good student • I don’t know how much I’ll be expected to read and what to read for each subject • I’m not sure what a seminar is • I hope noone asks me to speak in class • I don’t want people to think I’m stupid • I’m not sure what to do if I get into difficulty on the course (Habeshaw et al. 53 interesting ways of helping your students to study)

48. Providing Learning Support • Outlining the basics /key information – Handbooks, guides • Introductions /overviews - induction sessions, lectures • Additional support as needed - technical advice/help desks • Access to other students /tutors etc - online /offline • New Learning communities - Self-help groups/learning sets • Prepare students for the process and ways of learning • Define key terms, key points/readings • Ensure equal access to resources (additional when needed) • Believe that students can succeed Boud (2000) • Tutor belief in student’s ability to develop through their efforts rather than innate ability is important (Yorke and Knight, 2004)

50. Feedback and achievement • Where • Who • When • How