Blogs as an assessment tool in higher education

Who? What? Where? When?

• 102 PGCE students 2014-15
• After a pilot project in 2013-14
• 48 hrs (6 Art, PE, history and geography, 8 technology enhanced learning)
• LOC Park Experience, Online Learning, Taught Session, School practice, Online Assessment.
• 1 year timescale

Research approach

Mixed methods evaluative case study

Triangulation:

• Pre and post questionnaires
• Focus group interviews with students
• Blog: discourse analysis of multi-sensory content

Ethical considerations

• Purpose of study disclosed
• Consent sought and anonymity and confidentiality assured
• Participants volunteered and right to withdraw consent given
• Participants consented to research being shared and disseminated

Ethical problems:

Disclosure of school identity on blogs

Power relationships

Group dynamic for assessment

Focus group

Can blogs enhance Higher Education students' understanding of Learning Outside the Classroom principles?

1) Questionnaires show value of LOC increased this is reiterated in focus group findings and blog

2) Students think their confidence of digital learning didn't increase but the blog and focus group reveal it did. Perhaps students are unaware of how the blog aided learning.

3) Students apply LOC learning on the blog showing a learning shift also evident in the focus group.

Pre -focus group - 8 students Sept 14

Post -focus group 5 students March 15

Considerations

* Volunteers -self selected

* Only two students in both groups

* Potential impact of context/ group

perceptions on responses

Focus group findings

Positive

- Enquiry-based learning was emphasised

- Distinctive qualities of LOC

- ICT opportunities - including blogs

- Learning in groups

Issues -

- Effectiveness of group work varied

- Virtually no references to application of LOC to enhance learning

Introduction

Blog analysis

Questionnaires

Helen Caldwell

Rebecca Heaton

Emma Whewell

Paul Bracey

• Why was a focus on learning outside the classroom in the foundation subjects needed?

Time reduction

Creative learning styles

Model collaboration

Build confidence

• Why were blogs chosen as a learning tool?

Enhance reflective learning (Caldwell and Heaton, 2015)

Build content to share socially (Deng and Yuen, 2013)

To create learning communities (Yang, 2009)

Increase ownership (Farmer, Yeu and Brooks, 2007)

Educate the 21st Century Teacher

• Where does this fit within the research of contemporary learning strategies?

Meta-cognitive learning (Gunawardena et al, 2009)

Group mediated cognition (Mason and Rennie, 2008)

Pedagogy, Andragogy, Heutagogy (Luckin et al, 2010)

Case blog analysed: http://mypad.northampton.ac.uk/parkrangers/

Pre- and post-module questionnaire

Pre n=56, Post n=28

Themes

1. Understanding of foundation subjects

2. Confidence in developing children's skills

3. Beliefs about integrating subjects

4. Value of LOC and need for guidance

5. Blog assignment and digital literacy

Approach: 3 coding stages

-Theoretical coding

-Coding in relation to questionnaire

-Coding in relation to focus group

Blog analysis findings

Questionnaire findings

Blog analysis is embeded within

a framework for visual, social research (Margolis and Pauwels

2011, p.5)

Key findings when correlated with questionnaires and focus group:

• A learning shift occurs from learning how to teach towards modeling in application.
• Students' value of digital learning grew. The blog and focus group demonstrated this.
• Students need to be shown how reflective learning can occur on blogs.
• Students' value of LOC experiences increased, but all planned FS separately despite questionnaire acknowledgment of the value of them together. Is the adoption of both strategies most effective?

Implications of approach:

-wealth/type of data

-recognition of contributions

-analysis conducted by 1 person

-Focus only on the theoretical

learning types identified in literature

1. An increase of 19% in the number of students who felt that their own understanding of foundation subjects was good or very good.

2. An increase of 25% in the number of students who felt that their confidence in developing children's skills in foundation subjects was good or very good. Above 80% confidence in developing skills in Art, PE, Geography, History and ICT.

3. 100% thought that teachers should look for ways to integrate subjects. 39% also thought that they should be taught separately.

4. 100% agreed that LOC should be on the curriculum. 68% felt that they did not need further guidance on LOC. 86% reported that they felt confident about engaging children with LOC.

5. 100% thought that children should be taught to be digitally literate. 96% also thought that a sense of audience and sharing beyond the classroom is important .

6. 100% thought that creating the blog helped them understand more about LOC.

‘Carefully constructed outdoor learning experiences can demonstrate the relationships between many subject areas and disciplines that are simply not visible in classroom settings’

'Digital literacy is a vital skill that will be as relevant as English and maths'

'LOC allows children to make connections across subject boundaries and demonstrates how these subjects can be relevant in the real world.'

'You can learn more in social situations than individually'

(Beams et al. 2012, p.24)

Beames, Simon; Nicol, Robbie; Higgins, Peter J 2012 Learning outside the classroom: theory and guidelines for practice Published New York; London: Routledge,

Blog Analysis

Research overview

Research implications

Student voice:

" I think you can get a lot of impact from learning outside the classroom because it is so different. I think it is really important." (Focus group contribution)

We feel that outdoor learning is highly beneficial to help maximise and engage children with their learning. The hands on experiences will provide meaningful and memorable learning opportunities to help support all children with their academic journey. We feel that it will help the children to become more confident, resilient learners while providing them with a deep learning experience. (Blog contribution)

-Maintaining the focus of the research for staff and students

-Student contributions to the questionnaire post LOC input

-Quantity of data

-Assessment

-Students not going beyond the purpose of the assessment

Next steps

"What you are doing with us we should be doing with the children, you've shown the purpose of LOC" (Focus group contribution)

Teaching:

-Teach students how to engage in the process of reflective blogging

-Make students aware of how learning can occur when blogging

-Identify how we can move LOC and digital practices forward into our new PGCE course (flipped approach)

-Understanding and using techniques with children.

Emerging themes

Research:

- Disseminate the project through

publication

- Strengthen data analysis by the team analysing the findings of other members research

References

• Caldwell, H. and Heaton, R. (2015) The interdisciplinary use of blogs and online communities in higher education. Conference Paper: ICICTE.
• Deng, L. and Yuen, H. (2011) Towards a framework for educational affordances of blogs. Computers and Education, 56.2, 441-451.
• Farmer, B., Yue, A. and Brooks, C. (2008) Using blogging for higher order learning in large cohort university teaching: A case study. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 24.2, 123-126.
• Gunawardena, C. N., Hermans, M. B., Sanchez, D., Richmond, C., Bohley, M. and Tuttle, R. (2009) A theorectical framework for building online communities of practice with social networking tools. Education Media International, 46. 1, 3-16.
• Luckin, R., Clark, W., Garnett, F., Whitworth, A., Akass, J., Cook, J., and Robertson, J. (2010). Generated Contexts: A Framework to support the effective. Web 2.0-Based E-Learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching, 70.
• Mason, R. and Rennie, F. (2008) Social networking as an educational tool. E-learning and social networking handbook: Resources for Higher Education, 1-24. Yang, S. H. (2009) Use blogs to enhance critical reflection and community of practice. Educational Technology and Society, 12.2, 11-21.
• Margolis, E. and Pauwels, L. (2011) The SAGE Handbook of visual research methods, London: SAGE.

• LOC and blogs blurring boundaries: formal and informal and interdisciplinary

• Blogs facilitating documentation of cyclical learning: applying theory to practice

• Communities of practice enabling co-construction of knowledge

• Multimodal contexts multiplying learning opportunities

• Self-directed learning within socio-technological environments redefining teaching roles

Blogs as an Assessment TOOL IN Higher Education