Transcript No Slide Title

From Researched to Researcher:
Empowering Students to become Co-Producers of
Networked Knowledge
Dr Jennifer Hill
University of the West of England, Bristol
University Learning and Teaching Fellow
National Teaching Fellow
UWE Internal Knowledge Exchange for Work-based Learning
Launch Event, 9 September 2011
1. Research background
• a University L&T Fellowship and an HEA small grant
funded a project aimed at investigating:
1) undergraduate student perceptions of the learning utility of
video podcasts, with particular reference to their
understanding of exotic ecosystems (Level 5 optional
module)
2) empowering undergraduate students to
become active agents in the research process,
progressing them from their usual position in
pedagogic research as objects of study
2. Objectives
1) Examine student engagement with podcast technology
2) Assess perceived and actual value of podcasts as a
learning, revision and assessment resource
3) Develop a generic model of good practice for deploying
podcast technology
4) Empower students to become active participants in and
disseminators of research, informing a
knowledge network linked to innovative
use of technology in student learning
3. Methods
• produced a series of short (6 x 15-20 minute; three
per ecosystem) video podcasts
Deserts
Rain forests
• podcasts made accessible via university VLE: on-line or to
download to mobile technology
• assessed 2008/09 and 2009/10
......... led to ..........
• a small group of students from the
project becoming co-producers
and co-disseminators of knowledge
• informed an international geography knowledge network;
the Royal Geographical Society at their Annual
International Conference in 2010
4. Results
Student engagement with podcasts
• students watched the podcasts numerous times, largely
within a week of lectures and/or during revision
• engagement largely at home, split almost equally between
accessing VLE remotely and laptop/i-pod download:
- convenient + flexible
- could self-pace, make notes, concentrate
‘I chose to watch it on my laptop at home … so that I could start and
stop when I needed to. I could also make a good series of notes from
them’
‘i-pod is a good, convenient way to watch them. Useful on train journeys’
Perceived value as learning & teaching resource
Overall utility of podcasts as a L&T resource
89% rated 4 or 5
‘It was good being able to refer to the information
unlimited times whenever I wanted’
‘Not all the locations will be accessible, so good to
see them via podcasts. Puts information into
context’
‘They are visual and so you can associate some
subjects with a picture’
‘Visually being able to look at plants and species
helped me to link together all my learning’
How can the use of podcasts be improved?
• students noted integrating flexible technology into
scheduled sessions to allow interaction and
feedback
‘Could be used as part of … a seminar with group
discussion’
‘Have questions on them ... so its more interactive
... maybe have feedback in seminars’
Actual student learning: assessment results
• insignificant differences in performance (p=0.05)
• similar strengths and weaknesses before and after
podcast adoption
• might be linked to dominant learning style of
students:
- 69% assimilators and convergers
- 31% divergers and accommodators
5. Student empowerment via research
• student involvement in the research process, co-producing
knowledge with staff, is an innovative practice both within
the University and across the wider HE community
• the project directly supported the University vision of
creating a ‘learning community, actively engaged with
global society and based on values of … critical
engagement and self-awareness’
• the RGS conference allowed students to jointly synthesize,
interpret/evaluate and present information, practising
higher order skills of deep learning
• students attended the entire conference, engaging with a
broad spectrum of academics and crossing the threshold into
an academic community of practice at an early stage in their
careers:
‘Coming here makes you feel part of a wider community. I
definitely feel more confident now. It’s been an inspiring
experience’ (Vicky Blackler, Graduate 2010)
• students currently writing a paper with me for publication in
the GEES Subject Centre journal Planet
• this will communicate their experiences to a national audience
and reinforce their position as geography researchers
6. Discussion
• students engaged with podcasts creating flexible
spaces / times of learning
• a diversity of students were empowered to elect when,
where and how to use the technology, based on individual
learning styles
• engagement with the technology blurred social and
academic territories
• but, need to progress students from superficial acquisition
of facts to deeper understanding and application
• encourage diverging and accommodating learning styles
7. Model of good practice
8. Developing skills for the workplace
• the model for podcast integration highlights the broader
utility of developing skills of flexible independent enquiry
and critical reflection (the latter alone and in groups)
• the allied development of students as researchers
highlights the utility of networking and presentation skills
(increasing confidence)
• all are important skills for undergraduates to cope with the
world of work or are transferable to
the post-qualified/post-graduate
communities who will be undertaking
work-based learning modules in
the future