Implementing the Actions

Table 2.5 presents a list o f themes or recommendations for improving learner experiences. For practical purposes these are presented as two distinct groups, module design level themes and module delivery level themes. The size o f tutor groups (module level delivery theme six) was not relevant as module design was based on one single tutor group.

Therefore tutor group size was not considered further. In addition, the design o f the online environment (module level delivery theme five) was substantially given, however I

endeavoured to provide easy access to information and clear links etc. The discussion o f the findings has argued that the remaining themes are all encompassed within the concepts o f ‘active leadership’ ‘active learning community’ and ‘communications o f module

elements’ suggesting a three pronged approach to improving learner experiences i.e.

implementing actions to achieve a high salience o f leadership, an active learning

community and good communications o f module element which are learning objectives,

instructions on achieving learning tasks and the assessment scheme.

3.6.1 Implementing Active Leadership

Active leadership in the context o f this study refers to the pervasive, approachable presence o f the tutor in fostering confidence and motivation in learners. More specifically it refers to a presence which was conspicuously absent from the modules undertaken by learners who participated in the first phase study. Active leadership suggests a presence which should be aware o f learner needs, easily contactable, approachable, supportive, and responsive, and one which communicates enthusiasm and high expectations to learners. The provision o f active leadership also needs to be underpinned by an approachable tutor mind set in order to be sincere and be perceived by learners as genuine. My general disposition towards learners reflects this mind set. Active and salient leadership was enforced through the following actions:

1) Ensuring learners had contact details o f tutor.

2) Getting mobile phone numbers o f learners to facilitate sending group texts. 3) Becoming familiar with the name o f each learner to improve one to one

communication. This was assisted by scheduling a short meeting with each learner early in the module for a general discussion. Learners were asked, for example, why they were undertaking that particular Master’s degree.

4) Setting one hour aside each week for individual learner consultations.

5) Observing individual attendance at face to face sessions and forums in order to detect learner drift. When detected or suspected early intervention occurred. 6) Communicating enthusiasm to learners, learners could not be expected to remain

enthusiastic if the tutor was not.

7) Using communication technology to provide continual general feedback to the class.

8) Providing speedy and potentially useful individual feedback to learners, for

example, speedy feedback was provided using mobile texting and potentially useful feedback using the comment tool in Microsoft word in conjunction with embedded audio feedback.

9) Continually communicating expectations to learners. This was done at the commencement o f each topic on Moodle and reinforced at each face to face session.

10) Ensuring learners felt welcome and confident in approaching me. Learners were explicitly welcomed by adapting a friendly and supportive tone and efforts were made to approach any difficulties in an objective and non-judgemental manner. 11) Responding quickly to questions. A time was set aside each working day to respond

12) Scheduling a daily forum visit and determining if some action was required, for example, mobile texting was used to nudge several learners to participate. 13) Directing learners towards new emerging learning material.

14) If I was unavailable for a period, it was decided to inform learners and provide them with learning tasks which would progress them towards the learning outcomes.

3.6.2 Implementing an Active Learning Community

It was attempted to foster an active learning community from the outset to module completion. The objective was to enhance the experiences o f learners by promoting an active and productive interaction with peers. I endeavoured to convince learners o f the value o f peer learning activities. The following actions were taken:

1) Learners were issued with name badges to promote a level o f intimacy and enhance communication.

2) Each learner was asked to introduce themselves, provide a little background and say a little on what they hoped to gain from the programme and the module. 3) Learners were advised on the value o f participating in an active learning

community e.g. contributing to forums etc. Direct quotes for the second phase study were useful for this e.g. ‘Survival in e-leaming module may depend on the

social element; networking and sharing’

4) Expectations regarding contribution to forums were related to learners. 5) I monitored forum discussions and encouraged non-contributors to engage.

6) Each peer to peer activity was monitored in the forums and learners were asked to report on their progress at face to face meeting.

7) Learners were encouraged to get involved in study groups for revision. Each group was supplied with a problem set and advised that each learner should present the solution to one problem each week to his or her study group.

The final set o f interventions involved the communication o f module elements such as the module overview, clear and precise learning objectives, and instructions on achieving learning tasks.

3.6.3 Communications of Module Elements

Communications o f module elements, module overview, clear and precise learning objectives, and clear instructions on tasks when appropriate, involved presenting them on Moodle and orally from the outset o f the module. In addition actions were taken to ensure the learners understood the assessment mechanism and were facilitated in reviewing their own grades in light o f marking schemes. Actions taken are specified below:

A module overview with sufficient detail to facilitate the learner in monitoring their progress through the module was presented. Topic one, on the virtual learning environment (VLE) Moodle, presented an introduction to the module and provided a link to a Microsoft word document outlining weekly topics, learning objectives in general terms, learner deliverables (such as the research proposal) and the assessment method. The module overview topic was discussed at the induction session (15th September, 2010) where learners could ask questions. This topic included learning objectives to encourage the learner to engage and develop a good understanding o f what the module was designed to achieve and how module delivery was to proceed. Topic one was supported with a discussion forum.

Clear and precise learning objectives were presented textually in Moodle with the introduction to each topic. When appropriate each learning objective was accompanied by

a statement on what the learner should be able to achieve. For example, the learning objective ‘to develop an understanding o f the usefulness o f the box and whisker plot’ involved informing learners that they should be able to explain why one interquartile range might be larger than the other.

Communication of instructions for achieving learning tasks were provided with a comprehensive guide for developing a research proposal. In addition, clear and precise instructions were provided for technical tasks such as running statistical analysis tests. When appropriate such instructions were provided by way o f links to Web resources such as podcasts and online tutorials.

Communication of a fair assessment scheme: The assessment scheme comprised o f 50% for a research proposal and 50% for an end o f module exam in statistics. The research proposal was evaluated on a number o f weighted criteria. The evaluation criteria was communicated to students in a document entitled ‘Guidelines for developing a research proposal’. The end o f module exam was graded according to a grading scheme which was posted on Moodle subsequent to the learners sitting the exam.

This section has traced the development o f actions which were implemented in the module Research Methodology and Statistics. The next section provides an overview o f this module.