Teaching Young Pups Old Tricks in New Ways

Teaching Young Pups Old Tricks in New Ways Teaching Research methods Innovation through Co-production of Knowledge with Students (TRICKS) Rob Wilson, Director, KITE and Senior Lecturer, Business School Paul Richter, Lecturer, Business School

2

RM teaching: a badge of honour…or shame? “Admitting one teaches research methods is unlikely to impress acquaintances, win friends or influence people. The subject possesses a peculiar association with boredom, lack of relevance, and with all that is held to be worst about academia: an obsession with theory, with trivial, arcane distinctions and with pointless detail. ” (Harrington and Booth, 2003: 7) In order to meet the growing challenges confronting UK HEIs “we require curricula that…extend students to their limits [and] that develop skills of inquiry and research…” (Ramsden, 2008: 10) 3

Context for the student experience agenda Expansion of higher education (traditional market and new markets) Shifting HEI funding landscape Tuition fees Internationalisation of HE … 4

Students and the ‘student’ identity under fresh examination “it’s time for educational institutions to face two facts: they are in a competitive battle for students, and students are customers. ” (Sines & Duckworth 1994: 2) New challenge for HEIs: better knowing (and satisfying) their ‘customer’? ‘Student customer’ a contested notion Who is our ‘customer’ anyway? 5

‘Student experience’: a key differentiator in a shifting landscape Expansion of HE (traditional; new; international markets) Shift in funding streams (including tuition fees) Explosion of HEI ranking initiatives Difficult graduate job market Ratcheting up of policy rhetoric Most recently. . . Higher Ambitions (2009) “Universities setting out clearly what students can expect in terms of the nature and quality of courses offered” = New challenge for HEIs: better knowing (and satisfying) their ‘customer’? http: //www. ncl. ac. uk/students/yousaidwedid/ More diverse mix of feedback methods 6

Our project: TRICKS UTLC Innovation award Why? 1. 2. 3. 7 Emerging KITE research agenda (HE modernisation; student experience agenda) Opportunity to enhance our RM teaching practice Possibility of contributing data to University’s efforts to obtain feedback on student experience

An activity… Please draw a picture of a ‘satisfied’ student. We need to see why they are satisfied – you have 5 mins 8

The contemporary Business School student-customer “Put simply, according to tutors, students (both undergraduates and postgraduates) expect to be told exactly what to do in order to secure a good mark…and many are not prepared to go beyond this with a view to pursuing their own lines of enquiry. They also expect more by way of handouts and other support materials, both paper-based and electronic, and see the fees that they are paying, as well as other demands on their time, as a justification for this (Ottewill and Macfarlane, 2003: 8) 9

The contemporary Business School lecturer “They expect students to take responsibility for their own learning; to acquire the attributes of an independent learner; to develop the ability to think critically; to engage with the subject matter; and to prepare for, attend and participate in, teaching sessions. ” (Ottewill and Macfarlane, 2003: 8 -9) 10

Re-emerging debate in light of the student experience focus… ‘student as customer’ vs ‘student as co-producer’ emphasises consumer role vs shared demands & expectations encourages student passivity vs active participant in entire learning process surface learning vs ‘deutero’/’deep’ learning student as sole choice-maker vs academic & support staff involvement edutainment/lecturer ‘beauty contest’ vs re-professionalises academic role educational experience as ‘product’ vs (painful) ‘process’ reinforces individualism/competition vs cooperative/collaborative learning (Mc. Culloch, 2009) 11 Customer metaphor – No-one wins (students, educators, business, society…)?

Project Aims 1. 2. 3. 12 to develop a more participative and engaging approach to the delivery of social science research methods teaching that has pedagogic benefits for the wider academic community to supplement the University’s strategic management information gathering processes at school, faculty and university-wide levels (and NSS) in respect of students’ expectations, concerns, and satisfaction to develop an existing KITE research agenda around themes of innovation and enterprise in higher education

13

Pedagogical Underpinnings Students made aware of our ‘project’ and its multiple aims Presented as opportunity to challenge image of student as a passive receiver in favour of one where s/he is a co-producer of the learning experience, and in this case, valuable knowledge Theme connects with contemporary education-based initiatives: ESRC’s Teaching and Learning Research Programme 2000 -2003 – ‘Consulting Pupils about Teaching and Learning’ – since taken forward by the National College for School Leadership Students as Researchers (Sa. Rs) – creation of knowledge about schooling/education through research involving partnerships of practitioners, pupils and educationalists There is also an established strand of action research in Universities that engages students as researchers exploring particular subjects as a part or all of the assessment 14

Pedagogical Underpinnings Common aim – progress towards a pupil/student culture in which learners are closer to what Jerry Freiberg calls ‘citizens’ than ‘tourists’: “Tourists are not that concerned about the places they visit as long as the places provide them with the fun and entertainment they are seeking…Citizens, on the other hand, have a strong connection to the community, their rights balanced by responsibilities. ” (National College for School Leadership, nd: 8) 15

Subject of lecture Nature of thematic integration What is Research? Enrol students in nature and objectives of the project Activity – Data collection (post-it notes): “How should the university best elicit student feedback? ” Developing a research question Re-presentation of student data created in L 1 Activity – ‘Student satisfaction’ concept map; Whole group co-produce synthesis of concept map Activity – Students develop researchable Q’s from concept map; Whole group synthesis and critique of questions Reviewing Literature Research Philosophy Illustration of ontological positions (Objectivism Vs Subjectivism) Research Design Quantitative and Qualitative approaches Activity – Students consider which category of research (exploratory, descriptive or explanatory) applies to studies of ‘student satisfaction’ Activity – Students consider pro’s & cons of survey/case study/ethnography/multi-method in understanding student satisfaction Quantitative data collection methods in practice: Questionnaire design and administration Activity – Students design short questionnaire to measure levels of student satisfaction; Whole group synthesis and critique of student generated questionnaires Activity – Students complete NSS questionnaire individually, compare experience and evaluate instrument in pairs; Lecturer-led reflection & evaluation of NSS: what kind of data can it collect? How useful are data for acting on? What assumptions about HE and what satisfies students? 16

Subject of lecture Nature of thematic integration Quantitative data analysis Activity – Students consider example of how NSS data can be analysed and presented Qualitative data collection (Re. Cap, video) Activity – Demonstration of potential sampling frames within student satisfaction research Activity – Students interview each other on ‘student satisfaction’ Activity – Students draw picture of ‘satisfied student’ (e. g. of visual data collection) Qualitative data analysis (Re. Cap, video) Activity – Previous week’s student-generated data (pictures and interviews) analysis reflected on and synthesised with students. Activity – Student analysis of interview transcripts (using various analytical frames) Ethnography Students reflect on pros and cons of ethnographic approach to understanding ‘student satisfaction’ Action Research (Re. Cap, video) Activity – Voting system used to capture ongoing feedback at various points during the lecture Activity – Students write opinion on purpose of the project on post it notes; Responses categorised as group exercise Activity – Action research data packs dispensed to students for consideration Activity – Summative group evaluation of course; Group discussion reflecting upon reasons for success/failure of various ‘student satisfaction’ - based activities Activity – Summative test of research methods learning outcomes Research Ethics 17

Another activity Please draw a picture of a ‘satisfied’ research methods lecturer…we need to see why they are satisfied You have 5 minutes 18

Illustration of the teaching method Learning point: Collection and analysis of visual data Illustrative examples using video clips: introduction, task, data collection and data analysis of visual data over the course of two lectures Qualitative Data Collection (Jan 09) Qualitative Data Analysis (Feb 09) Use of Ramsden’s (2003) theories of teaching approach to structure data session: Teaching as telling Teaching as organising activity Teaching as making learning possible 19

Ramsden’s (2003) three theories of university teaching Theory 1 Teaching as telling Theory 2 Teaching as organising Theory 3 Teaching as making learning possible Focus Teacher and content Teaching techniques that will result in learning Relation between students and subject matter Strategy Transmit Information Manage teaching process: transmit concepts Engage; challenge imagine oneself as the student Actions Chiefly Presentation ‘Active Learning’ organising activity Systematically adapted to suit student understanding Unreflective: taken for granted Apply skills to improve teaching Teaching as a research like scholarly process Reflection 20

Emerging observations: Valid/reliable data collection exercise? Lecturer bias- prompting/directing Lecture theatre setting – influence from peers Participatory Action Research? 21

Emerging observations: Unanticipated consequences Provides students with the occasion to directly articulate individual opinions via a medium and setting not ordinarily available to them Exposes students to varied and potentially new perspectives of the debate surrounding student experience (i. e. challenging assumptions about being a student; dissatisfied lecturers…)TRICKS data. ppt 22

Emerging observations: Unanticipated consequences Served to improve staff-student relationships, enhancing student satisfaction…but potentially highlighting shortcomings in other areas of degree programme in terms of opportunities for expression Good things about module: “you’re making an effort to engage with us. Why can’t others? ” “Paul is a legend!” “the teachers were very approachable and caring” “lecturers were enthusiastic and seemed to want to help unlike some other modules” But…”Remove this module as it is very boring to attend and understand” (things to improve module) Raised the possibility that module assessment could be better aligned with module aims (e. g. portfolio of practical RM tasks) and linkage to other parts of UG curriculum Do the pedagogical value and the positive engagement outcomes outweigh the methodological shortcomings? 23

Illustration of the pedagogical approach Learning point: Collection and analysis of visual data Introduction, task, data collection and data analysis of visual data over the course of two lectures Qualitative Data Collection (Jan 09) Qualitative Data Analysis (Feb 09) Use of Ramsden’s (2003) theories of teaching approach to structure data session: Teaching as telling Teaching as organising activity Teaching as making learning possible 24

Teaching as telling “Many university teachers implicitly or explicitly define the task of teaching undergraduates as the transmission of authoritative content or the demonstration of material” (Ramsden, 2003: 108) Overview of visual data analysis (narrative, emotional, spatial, temporal) 25

Teaching as organising student activity “Lecturers see teaching as a supervision process involving the articulation of techniques designed to ensure that students learn” (Ramsden, 2003: 109) Student generation of visual data (satisfied student drawing exercise) Look at these! 26

Teaching as making learning possible “Teaching is comprehended as a process of working co-operatively with learners to help them change their understanding” (Ramsden 2003: 110) Synthesis of student data followed by collective reflection and methodological critical discussion 27

Emerging observations: Valuable pedagogical innovation? Useful framework for introducing/evaluating research approaches Student feedback…module feedback Voting results TRICKS data. ppt Module assessment results broadly similar “The high levels of interaction were great, we could follow our own interests” “Student satisfaction as the core topic for research methods explanation” Makes ‘research’ a more immediate/tangible experience (students as the object of research) “more interactive than other lecture; learn as we discuss and interaction; feel getting more involved in the module” Module assessment could be more practice-based and better linked to other parts of UG curriculum/Graduate Skills Framework? 28

Emerging observations: Valid/reliable data collection exercise? Data analysis in process… Students favour range of feedback mechanisms (focus groups; better personal tutor system; compulsory feedback) Lack of programme identity; sense of unfair treatment vis a vis other schools (timetabling, contact hours) Pictures suggest a satisfaction bias towards extrinsic over intrinsic rewards; product over process Lecturer bias? – prompting/directing Lecture theatre setting – influence from peers? Fragmented teaching team More effective design/management of data collection processes 29

Emerging observations: Unanticipated consequences Novel occasion for students to directly articulate individual opinions Exposes students to varied perspectives of the student experience debate Improved staff-student relationships (enhancing student ‘satisfaction’? )…but highlighted lack of opportunity to exercise voice in other areas of degree programme “you’re making an effort to engage with us. Why can’t others? ” “the teachers were very approachable and caring” “lecturers were enthusiastic and seemed to want to help unlike some other modules” “Paul is a legend!” But… “Remove this module as it is very boring to attend and understand” 30

The debate is being played out via initiatives elsewhere… York St. John University: Student Experience Partnership http: //w 3. yorksj. ac. uk/registry--ysju/student-policies-andprocedure/student-experience-partnership. aspx Exeter University: Student-led action research project Student-selected research topics (e. g. assessment & feedback; quality of seminar provision; shared learning spaces; peer mentoring for language teaching; inter-campus teaching; employability) Findings presented at a student-led conference More than ‘students as researchers’, about enabling students to engage formally with processes of change Cambridge University: Working in partnership with Students http: //www. materials. ac. uk/pub/case-cambridge. asp 31

Emerging questions (for theory and practice) What are the means by which different models of the student (e. g. customer, co-producer etc. ) might be encouraged/supported? Does RM teaching provide an obvious place to develop coproduction? Which model do our conventional methods of engagement/feedback encourage? How might we learn from other engagement initiatives? …? 32

And finally… Please fill out feedback form Thank you! 33

References Department for Business Innovation & Skills (2009) “Higher Ambitions: The Future of Universities in a Knowledge Economy”, Available from: http: //www. bis. gov. uk/wp-content/uploads/publications/Higher-Ambitions. pdf Accessed 16/11/09 Harrington, J. and Booth, C. (2003) “Research Methods Courses in Undergraduate Business Programmes: An Investigation. A report to the Learning and Teaching Support Network”, Business Education Support Team; July 2003. Bristol Business School Mc. Culloch, A. (2009) The student as co-producer: learning from public administration about the student-university relationship. Studies in Higher Education, 34(2), 171 -183 Ottewill, R. and Macfarlane, B. (2003) “Pedagogic challenges revisited: reviewing the evidence”. Conference paper, BEST Annual Conference 2003; Creativity and Innovation in Academic Practice Ramsden, P. (2008) “The Future of Higher Education Teaching and the Student Experience”, Available from: http: //www. dius. gov. uk/higher_education/shape_and_structure/he_debate/~/medi a/publications/T/teaching_and_student_experience_131008 Accessed 10/9/09 Ramsden, P. (2003) Learning to teach in higher education. London: Routledge 34