Motivation, Peer Learning and Feedback in Flexible Learning

120830 Bitte Rydeman, Per-Olof Hedvall &Andreas Larsson

Department of design sciences

Rehabilitation engineering & Innovation engineering

Department of design sciences Lund University

Two online courses at the Department of design sciences

1. “Design of Everyday Cognitive Support” (DECS), 10 ECTS

2. “Use of Digital Pictures in Healthcare, Schools and Social Services” (UDP), 7.5 ECTS

The courses have been formed with constructive alignment (Biggs, 1999) in mind.

Virtual learning environment used: Moodle

Purpose

The purpose was to study and describe how feedback,

peer learning and motivation were manifested in the courses,

in order to learn how they relate to constructive alignment and support flexible learning in diverse student groups, and based on that suggest changes to enhance student learning.

Overview of the study

Based on material from previous classes, we examined

1. the respective roles of student-to-student, teacher-to-student and student-to-teacher feedback

2. the ways in which students consulted and collaborated with each other in a peer-learning mode, and

3. the strategies used to enhance the students’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Flexible learning

Flexible learning is designed to provide learners with increased Choice Convenience Personalisation

Students

Great diversity

Come from all parts of Sweden.

Work with individuals with cognitive disabilities as teachers, occupational therapists, support workers, personal assistants etc.

May also be relatives to individuals with cognitive disabilities.

Feedback

Can be described as information provided to an individual to increase performance (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996)

Corneli and Mikroyannidis (2011) build their work on a couple of basic axioms about feedback: Feedback doesn't do much good if the agent(s)

receiving the feedback can't use it. Giving feedback tends to be an “extra step”, so we

should make it useful for people to give feedback (or they won't do it).

Good feedback practice

1. Helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards);

2. Facilitates the development of reflection and self-assessment in learning;

3. Delivers high quality information to students about their learning;

4. Encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning; 5. Encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-

esteem; 6. Provides opportunities to close the gap between current

and desired performance; 7. Provides information to teachers that can be used to

help shape the teaching. (Nicol and Milligan, 2006, p.1)

Peer learning

“the acquisition of knowledge and skill through active helping and supporting among status equals or matched companions” (Topping, 2005, p.631).

Course 1: “Design of Everyday Cognitive Support” (DECS)

Spring 2011: 29 started, 23 finished. Fall 2011: 32 started, 21 finished.

Course 2: “Use of Digital Pictures in Healthcare, Schools and Social Services” (UDP)

Spring 2011: 18 started, 15 finished.

Teaching

Two teachers in each course The main teacher was the same ( T2 / TEA ).

A few video lectures.

Books, reports, compendia .

Written course assignements.

Qualitative, written feedback from teachers.

Structured around themes (DECS)

1. Variations in cogitive development2. The people behind the diagnoses3. Theories about cognitive design 4. Distributed cognition 5. Cooperation with the individuals 6. Final assignment: Developing

cognitive support

Discussion forums

One forum for each theme All in all 15 different forums Most voluntary to post in Mandatory in ”Theories about

cognitive design”: Post in ”Hall of shame” and in ”Hall of

fame” Comment on two other student’s posts. Find a common denominator and write

about that.

Part of the ”Hall of shame”

Posting in the forums – new topics

Topics started by the students and the main teacher (T2) in each of the forums, spring 2011

Posting in the forums – new topics

Topics started by the students and the main teacher (T2) in each of the forums, fall 2011

Posting in the forums – new topics

Topics started by the students and the main teacher (TEA) in each of the forums, spring 2011

Reflections

In the UDP course, the students could see each other’s course assignments.

Very motivating for the fellow students.

Only text based interchanges in the forums – maybe other modes could have stimulated dialogue more?

Would group dialogues via Skype make a difference?

Activity in the forums

Number of topics introduced by each student and their total number of posts, spring 2011. Yellow = have passed with distincition. B = bachelor degree. R = relative with disability

Activity in the forums

Number of topics introduced by each student and their total number of posts, fall 2011.Yellow = have passed with distincition. B = bachelor degree. R = relative with disability.

Forum posts related to age

Number of forum posts in relation to the age of each student.

Education, age, activity & grades

Individual differences No evident relationship between

prior education and grades for this course – students with and without bachelor degrees passed/did not pass with distinction.

No evident relationship between activity in the forums and grades for this course.

No evident relationship between activity in the forums and the age of the student.

Analyses and reflections – where?

Syllabus: ” A grade of VG (pass with distinction) will be given to students who demonstrate the ability to analyse and reflect on the knowledge acquired and exhibit independent thinking in relation to the course contents.”

24 of 59 students in all three courses got VG.

Based on course assignments rather than forum activity.

Feedback

The teachers gave written feedback to the students on each assignment, and this feedback included suggestions about what the students needed to do to improve

What about peer learning and feedback? Was that visible in the forums?

Feedback in the DECS course

Feedback in the forums, related to the different assignments in the DECS course, spring 2011. Feedback here = all replies and follow-up postings to an original posting in a forum.

Feedback in the UDP course

Feedback in the forums, related to the different assignments in the UDP course, spring 2011

Feedback by individual participants

Mean number of feedback posts for each student in the coursesNo mandatory feedback to other students in the UDP course

Concluding thoughts

Courses that rely entirely on VLEs have many advantages – flexibility for students

The courses that we have studied here have already been formed with constructive alignment in mind.

Great effort has been employed to create assignments that lend themselves to analyses and reflection by the students, as well as to solutions that can be of use in the real world.

Possible improvements

Possibility to read other students’ assignments also in the DECS course.

More assignments that lend themselves to be commented in ways that make the students analyse and reflect.

The alignment between course aims, assignments and examination has to be made clear to the students – including (mandatory) forum activity

Possible improvements

Some assignments could be created as group assignments, where the participants can see and talk to each other through Skype

These assignments could be created as two-step assignments to promote feedback through dialogue.

This might make two already good courses become even better.

Contact information

E-mail: per-olof.hedvall@certec.lth.sebitte.rydeman@certec.lth.se

The Activity Diamond:www.certec.lth.se/doc/theactivitydiamond

The Growth of Phrases:http://hdl.handle.net/2077/22204

More information about us: www.certec.lth.se

References

Design of Everyday Cognitive Support TFRB20Use of Digital Pictures in Healthcare, Schools and Social Services TFRB55

Biggs, J. 1999. Teaching for quality learning at University. St Edmundsbury Press, Suffolk.Corneli, J., & Mikroyannidis, A. (2011). Personalised Peer-Supported Learning: The Peer-to-Peer Learning Environment (P2PLE). Digital Education Review, (20), 14–23. Retrieved from http://greav.ub.edu/der/index.php/der/article/viewFile/188/330Kluger, A. N., and DeNisi, A. 1996. The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 254–284.Nicol, D., and C. Milligan. 2006. Rethinking technology-supported assessment practices in relation to the seven principles of good feedback practice. In Innovative assessment in higher education, ed. C. Bryan and K. Clegg, 64–77. London: Routledge.Topping, K. J. 2005. Trends in peer learning. Educational Psychology, Vol. 25, No. 6, pp. 631-645.