2010 Conference Book of Abstracts - Flexible Learning
An activity-based approach to the learning and teaching of research methods - measuring student engagement and learning
1. An activity-based approach to the Learning and
Teaching of Research Methods - Measuring student
engagement and learning.
Eimear Fallon
Terry Prendergast
Stephen Walsh
School of Real Estate and Construction Economics
Dublin Institute of Technology
2. Impetus for Project
Dissatisfaction with ‘lecturing’
Research Methods – very abstract subject
without specific application
Good fit for DIT L&T Strategy
Developing new approach to learning
Skills transferable academic/professional
3. Research Methods
.... for Learners
Boring
Poor attendance
Little engagement
Poorly learned
4. Research Methods
.... for Teachers
Difficult to engage students
Frustration
Difficult to measure output but general view that ...
Achievement of Learning Outcomes is poor
6. The Activities
Part 1
Research methods
Part 2
Generating thesis idea
Part 3
Developing and peer critiquing thesis proposal
7. Activities – Different Approaches
Tailor-made approach for each activity
The learning approaches include:
Workshops
Brainstorming & mind mapping
Quizzes
Presentations
Peer to peer critiquing
Meet the final year students – speed-dating
Self reflection
8. Part 1 – The Methods
Questionnaire Survey
Case Study
Interview
Criteria-based Analysis
9. The Case Study – 3 Tasks
Initial students’ perceptions of case studies
Task to ‘fill in the blanks’ using internet or
other resources – very challenging
Preparation of outline of three possible case
studies
10. The Case Study - 1
Activity 1:
What are your pre-conceived notions about what it
should contain ?
Each Group should write in not more than two
sentences what you think a case study is and what it
should contain.
We will have a general class discussion after Activity
1.
11. The Case Study - 2
Activity 2:
The following sentences discuss case studies. Read them carefully and fill in the blanks. Appropriate answers are given below.
(25 minutes) Please email this to us when you are finished. The answers to the above will be discussed after the activity.
Case studies aim to illuminate the by looking at the .
Case Studies allow you to study things in and helping to unravel the of the issue.
The real value of a case study is that it offers the opportunity to certain outcomes might happen- more than just
finding out what those outcomes are.
Normally a case study is not artificially generated specifically for the purposes of the research, it .
While may be a consideration in choosing a case study, it is way down the pecking order in terms of criteria
Case studies tend to be rather than deal with isolated factors.
Case studies focus on the of a subject rather than the of the subject.
Cases should not be selected on a but rather on the basis of . Selection should be
established.
Cases should not be chosen simply because they are , this is a bonus.
In particular, cases should be chosen on the basis of their to the research topic.
If the subject of a case study is a group of people and they know that they are being studied, the result may not be reliable. This
is known as the .
Some critics suggest that a case may not be , that the results may be to
that case and that the results should not be .
Sometimes a case is chosen if it is a rarely occurring event and it offers a to study the effect, e.g. a strike in the
electricity supplier companies.
Key Words:
unique, complexities, relevance, known attributes, generalised, depth, intrinsically interesting, criteria, explain why,
unique opportunity, all-encompassing, particular, already exists, observer effect, representative, convenience, help,
detail, general, random basis, breadth,
12. The Case Study - 3
Activity 3
Think of an appropriate case study as part of a research study
Outline in not more than 30 words what the case study would try
to illuminate/explain/describe etc.
“The psychological impact on contestants of reality TV
programmes”
“Risk sharing in public-private partnerships”
“The ‘winner-takes-all’ focus of professional sport”
“Are Academy Awards (Oscars) evidence of artistic quality ?”
“The growth of international chains in the Irish retail sector”
13. Part 2 Generating the thesis idea
Using mind maps to brainstorm ideas
Draw a mind map of ideas/ words/ concepts relevant to one
of the topics below.
Taxation and property investment
Urban regeneration
Transparency in property investment
Industrial property
SDZs
The impact of the internet on property investment
Commercial property leases.
17. Part 3 Peer Critiquing of thesis proposals
Each student’s proposal was critiqued by their
peers (small groups)
Students were given criteria to assess each other’s
proposals.
Written feedback and critique given to each student by
group
We thought this was a very successful activity but mixed
reaction from students
19. General student feedback
I felt that working in groups really helped me to get different perspectives
on all aspects of the thesis. I thought that the group size was perfect and
the time allocation with the groups and the class was just right too
I enjoyed the group interaction in the classes . They were a welcome
change of scene from the usual two hour, sit and listen lectures that the
rest of the course consists of.
More topics should be learned this way if it is possible.
Good fun
20. …more time with lecturers would have been beneficial….
The fact that we were all spread across a huge floor
obviously made it difficult for the lecturers to see to the
every group’s needs. I did feel that when this help did
arrive, it was great and often resulted in us being told
where we were going wrong, rather than where we were
going right.
21. I felt this was an excellent task (Designing
questionnaires), we discussed how to conduct an
interview and how to develop different types of
questions. I had planned to undertake interviews
as a source information and a very useful website
was given and this will help me develop my
questions for the interviews
22. I found the proposal writing and peer critiquing very
useful. It allowed me to share my thesis ideas and
aims which helped me focus more on what I actually
wanted to achieve in my thesis.
The constructive criticism enabled me to change
aspects of my thesis idea that were too broad and
enabled me to create a more focussed idea with a
clear aim.
23. Measuring student engagement
Designed questionnaire.
This draws from a number of US-based research
projects on student engagement - Kuh, G. D. (2001)
National Survey of Student Engagement
Results suggest
Meaningful Contribution
Positive Learning Environment
Interesting and Challenging
Fun
24. Student Engagement Survey
78% of students said that it was very characteristic or
characteristic of them to contribute in class discussions
71% of students said that it was very characteristic or
characteristic of them to ask a question of lecturers or
class mates when they didn’t understand something
63% of students said that it was very characteristic or
characteristic of them to have fun during this module
25. Student Engagement Survey
96% of students said that it was very characteristic or
characteristic of them to feel that lecturers created a
positive environment for asking questions
70% of students said that it was very characteristic or
characteristic of them to feel that they made a
meaningful contribution to the tasks
70% of students said that it was very characteristic or
characteristic of them to feel that they were challenged
by the material and were interested in the material
26. Have we achieved objectives?
Better way to learn Research Methods
Improved student engagement
Still to devise more rigorous and
equitable assessment methods
27. Progress to date – Assessment Methods
Examining potential of self-assessment with ‘penalties’
for over-assessing oneself – challenging
Peer assessment will be incorporated but exact format
not yet determined
Examining how to turn facilitators’ subjective view of
individual student’s engagement and contribution into
objectively measurable metrics.
28. What else have we learned ?
Team teaching
Continual self-reflection
Not everything works as we hoped
We listen more
Assessing individuals in the context of Groupwork
remains a significant challenge
29. Where do we go from here ?
Mainstream the approach to the rest of the School
Offer the module throughout the Institute
Continue to try to crack the ‘Assessment’ conundrum
