Flexibility and Pedagogy in Higher Education : Delivering Flexibility in Learning Through Online Learning Communities [1 ed.] 9789004438118, 9789004438101

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Flexibility and Pedagogy in Higher Education

Flexibility and Pedagogy in Higher Education Delivering Flexibility in Learning through Online Learning Communities Edited by

Chris Dennis, Stuart Abbott, Ruth Matheson and Sue Tangney

අൾංൽൾඇ_ൻඈඌඍඈඇ

All chapters in this book have undergone peer review. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 1DPHV'HQQLV&KULVHGLWRU_$EERWW6WXDUW6WXDUW* HGLWRU_ 0DWKHVRQ5XWKHGLWRU_7DQJQH\6XHHGLWRU Title: Flexibility and pedagogy in higher education : delivering flexibility in learning through online learning communities / edited by Chris Dennis, Stuart Abbott, Ruth Matheson and Sue Tangney. 'HVFULSWLRQ/HLGHQ%RVWRQ%ULOO_6HQVH_,QFOXGHV bibliographical references and index. ,GHQWLILHUV/&&1SULQW _/&&1HERRN _,6%1 SDSHUEDFN _,6%1KDUGEDFN _,6%1 HERRN  6XEMHFWV/&6+,QWHUQHWLQKLJKHUHGXFDWLRQ_:HEEDVHGLQVWUXFWLRQ_ (GXFDWLRQ+LJKHU(IIHFWRIWHFKQRORJLFDOLQQRYDWLRQVRQ_'LVWDQFH education. &ODVVLILFDWLRQ/&&/%)SULQW _/&&/%HERRN _ ''&GF /&UHFRUGDYDLODEOHDWKWWSVOFFQORFJRY /&HERRNUHFRUGDYDLODEOHDWKWWSVOFFQORFJRY

,6%1SDSHUEDFN ,6%1KDUGEDFN ,6%1HERRN &RS\ULJKWE\.RQLQNOLMNH%ULOO19/HLGHQ7KH1HWKHUODQGV .RQLQNOLMNH%ULOO19LQFRUSRUDWHVWKHLPSULQWV%ULOO%ULOO+HV 'H*UDDI %ULOO1LMKRII%ULOO5RGRSL%ULOO6HQVH+RWHL3XEOLVKLQJPHQWLV9HUODJ 9HUODJ)HUGLQDQG6FK|QLQJKDQG:LOKHOP)LQN9HUODJ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Requests for re-use and/or translations must be DGGUHVVHGWR.RQLQNOLMNH%ULOO19YLDEULOOFRPRUFRS\ULJKWFRP This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

CONTENTS

List of Figures and Tables

vii

Notes on Contributors

ix





,QWURGXFWLRQ Chris Dennis, Ruth Matheson and Sue Tangney

 %HQG0H6KDSH0H)OH[LEOH3HGDJRJLHVWR:LGHQ3DUWLFLSDWLRQDQG 'HOLYHURQ6RFLDO-XVWLFH John Butcher and Liz Marr



 Promoting Flexible Learning through Embedded, Online Study Skills 6XSSRUW Leila Griffiths



 *UHDWHU7KDQWKH6XPRI,WV3DUWV&RDOHVFLQJ'LJLWDODQG3K\VLFDO /HDUQLQJ6SDFHVLQ7HPSRUDU\2QOLQH/HDUQLQJ&RPPXQLWLHV Chris Little and Matthew Street



 (QKDQFLQJWKH6WXGHQW([SHULHQFH([DPSOHVRI-RLQW6WXGHQW6WD൵ Partnerships to Create and Embed Online Peer Networks within 3URJUDPPHVRI6WXG\ Nicola Poole and Sophie Leslie  $&ODVVURRPZLWKRXW:DOOV$FDGHPLFDQG6WXGHQW1XUVHV&R&XUDWLQJ 7ZLWWHULQ3DUWQHUVKLS Moira McLoughlin and Wendy Sinclair  Shadow Modules and Student-Led Online Learning Communities: Supporting Learning, Engagement, and Student Empowerment within, DQGDFURVV,QVWLWXWLRQVLQ+LJKHU(GXFDWLRQ Sheila L. Amici-Dargan, Amber M. Moorcroft and Stephen M. Rutherford 7.

8.

V@DGRPLQDQW SHGDJRJLFDOIUDPH¶5\DQ 7LOEXU\S WKDWLV(QJOLVKOHGHGXFDWLRQDPRQJ :HOVKVSHDNLQJFRPPXQLWLHV:HOVKHOHDUQHUVKDYHWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WRWKLQNZULWH 

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read and approach their studies through their mother tongue. Enabling students to teach each other, and to share best practice and ideas within a cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary learning environment, raises students’ awareness of others’ backgrounds, cultures, and underlying assumptions and discipline requirements. &RQVHTXHQWO\ WKLV IDFLOLWDWHV D UDQJH RI GLIIHUHQW OHDUQLQJ GLPHQVLRQV µUHDFKLQJ WRZDUGVDQDSSUHFLDWLRQRIWKHZLGHUZRUOGDQGRIGLYHUVLW\¶5\DQ 7LOEXU\ S  Further to the above, students were encouraged to view, respond to and participate in weekly exercises via an online resource. These weekly exercises were developed XVLQJ ;HUWH 2QOLQH 7RRONLWV DQG ZHUH GHOLYHUHG DV LQWURGXFWRU\ SUHVHQWDWLRQV at the beginning of each week to refresh and remind students of their upcoming DVVHVVPHQWVDVZHOODVWRDFWDVWKHµZRUNVKRS¶HOHPHQWRIWKHPRGXOH7KHUHIRUH this was the platform in which students were signposted to other online resources, asked to participate in various written and interactive exercises, shown examples of past student texts and excerpts of academic articles to elicit discussion, as well as reminded of assessments and the need to gather notes for their final assessment. %XUQVDQG6LQILHOG VWUHVVWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIEXLOGLQJWLPHGDFWLYLWLHVLQWRWKH programme design, to communicate purposefully and make connections between the purposes of each element of the module. To ensure balanced delivery, embedded into the module design were weekly IHHGEDFNIRUPVDQGDQµ,GLGQ¶WNQRZWKDW«¶IRUP7KHSXUSRVHRIERWKIRUPVZDV to enable students to gather and collate enough documents for their portfolio of field notes, and to facilitate critical thinking and reflective learning over the duration of the module, which would later become applicable for their final assignment and other assessments across the course. These reflective forms, submitted on a weekly basis, provided instant and continuous accounts of student learning and reflections, which helped to shape the teaching and development of the module, as well as LQIRUPHGVWXGHQWVWKHPVHOYHVRIWKHLURZQOHDUQLQJVLQFHµZLWKRXWUHIOHFWLRQWKHUH LVQROHDUQLQJ¶%XUQV 6LQILHOGS 3DOORIIDQG3UDWW VWUHVVWKLV IXUWKHUZLWKWKHLUµLQWHUDFWLRQDQGIHHGEDFN¶ORRSZKLFKSURYLGHVVWXGHQWVZLWKD tool to check their level of knowledge attainment. These forms also give students µWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WRH[SUHVVWKLVWKLQNLQJLQIUHTXHQWVKRUWZULWLQJH[HUFLVHV¶ZKLFK SURPRWHVDSURFHVVRIµZULWLQJWROHDUQUDWKHUWKDQOHDUQLQJWRZULWH¶%XUQV 6LQILHOG S 6WXGHQWVZHUHWKHUHIRUHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUGLUHFWLQJPRGXOHFRQWHQWDQG assessing their current approach to learning by responding to the following questions posed on the feedback form: ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡



:KDWGR\RXKRSHWRJDLQIURPWKLVZHHN¶VWRSLFIRFXV" 'R\RXKDYHDEHWWHUXQGHUVWDQGLQJRI;" Describe what you have learned this week. 'LGWKLVZHHN¶VWRSLFIRFXVPHHW\RXUH[SHFWDWLRQV",IVRSOHDVHH[SODLQKRZ,I not, please help us understand why not.

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‡ ,QZKDWZD\KDYH\RXPDQDJHGWRDSSO\DQGXVHWKHVNLOOVLQWURGXFHGWKLVZHHN for your other modules on the course? )XUWKHUWRWKHDERYHWKHµ,GLGQ¶WNQRZWKDW«¶IRUPSRVHGTXHVWLRQVWKDWKHOSHG students reflect on what they learned each week and how their observations might have been relevant to the final task and to their other assignments. These questions HQFRXUDJHGWKHSUDFWLFHRIVHOIUHIOHFWLRQ+DQHVZRUWK DQGGLUHFWHGVWXGHQWV¶ critical thinking skills towards course material as well as towards their own learning SURFHVV %XUQV  6LQILHOG   ZKLFK HQFRXUDJHG NQRZOHGJH WUDQVIHU DQG application. Ensuring flexible teaching, by fostering a self-monitoring environment to test students’ own knowledge and progression, and building it into the module design in the way of sixty-four hours of private study time and weekly activities FDQIDFLOLWDWHHIIHFWLYHVRFLDOOHDUQLQJµ6WXGHQWVVKRXOGNQRZZKDWWKH\DUHGRLQJ DQGZK\¶%XUQV 6LQILHOGS DQGIRUPXODWLQJZULWWHQDFFRXQWVRIWKH process locates students at a better position to take responsibility for their learning, to understand what they have learned, and to consider how they might transfer knowledge across modules. ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR WKHVH W\SLFDO ZHHNO\ DFWLYLWLHV WKH PRGXOH FRQVLVWHG RI YDULRXV OHDUQLQJ H[SHULHQFHV )RU H[DPSOH VWXGHQWV SDUWLFLSDWHG LQ SDLU ZRUN DV µVWXG\ SDUWQHUV¶ DGYRFDWHG E\ %XUQV DQG 6LQILHOG  S   DV DQ H[HUFLVH WR KROG each other accountable when designing and reviewing their weekly time planners, FRPSOHWHDTXL]DQGUHVSRQGWRHPEHGGHGDFWLYLWLHVVXFKDVD