cardiff v malaysia: a comparison of students’ academic experience in a first year mpharm module
DESCRIPTION
Cardiff v Malaysia: a comparison of students’ academic experience in a first year MPharm module. Dr Steve Hiscox PHRMY PCUTL Module 2 September 2011. Welsh School of Pharmacy. Taylors University College. Welsh School of Pharmacy. Taylors University College. 4-year MPharm degree. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Cardiff v Malaysia:a comparison of students’ academic experience
in a first year MPharm module
Dr Steve Hiscox
PHRMYPCUTL Module 2
September 2011
Welsh School of Pharmacy
Taylors University College
Welsh School of Pharmacy
Taylors University College
4-year MPharm degree
Welsh School of Pharmacy
Taylors University College
Requires MPharm course4-year MPharm degree
Collaborative MPharm provision at TUC
PCUTL Module2 project
Comparison of student academic experience
within a first year MPharm module
Welsh School ofPharmacy
Taylors UniversityCollege
Relevance of student ‘experience’
• Teaching, curriculum and assessment are central to student experience (and effective learning outcomes)
• Student learning experience linked to academic progress (Harvey and Drew (2006); Yorke and Longdon (2008))– Good academic experience in first year related to:
• better academic performance• higher completion rates• external perception of University (e.g. through NSS)
• Student engagement with MPharm course central to successful collaborative venture
Harvey L and Drew S (2006).The first year experience: briefing on induction. HE Academy. York. UK
Yorke M and Longdon B (2008). The first year experience of higher education in the UK. HE Academy. York. UK
Anticipated outcomes
• Identify issues which positively / negatively affect student experience – Module specific and generic– Cultural
• Reflection on my own teaching practice – Identifying strengths and weaknesses – “how can I improve the student learning experience”?
Welsh School of Pharmacy
Taylors University College
Study methodology
• Students– module questionnaire– group discussions – informal interviews
• tutees and general student body
Module questionnaire
• Likert-type scale • Addressed a number of key areas
of student’s academic experience:– teaching– assessment and feedback– ‘learning environment’
• Captured ‘overall’ experience of students of this module
• Demographic information included:– international status (Cardiff)– first language – prior work experience– prior biology study
• Opportunity for students to provide written comments
Breakdown of student cohorts
Taylors College, Malaysia Cardiff
number % number %
Number of students in year 26 - 115 -
No. of questionnaires completed 26 100 81 70.4
Median age 19 (range 18-21) 19 (range 18-28)
Male 6 23 29 25
Female 20 77 86 75
English not as first language 14 54 19 16
No prior study of biology * 2 8 10 8
No prior Pharmacy-related experience*
4 15 12 10
No. of international students 12 10
No. of Malaysian students 7 6
* Factors previously identified to affect first year student learning experience
Issues relating to students in Malaysia: ‘first language’
Experience of lectures
7.1
64.3
21.4
7.10.0
16.7
83.3
0.0 0.0 0.00.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
esp
on
se f
or
each
cat
ago
ry
English NOT first language
English first language
‘I generally understood information in the lectures’
0.0
42.950.0
7.10.0
8.3
91.7
0.0 0.0 0.00.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
esp
on
se f
or
each
cata
go
ry
English NOT first language
English first language
‘Lecturers explanations were clear’
Perception of module difficulty‘I found this module was harder than most others’
28.6
42.9
28.6
0.0 0.0
25.0
16.7
58.3
0.0 0.00.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
esp
on
se f
or
each
cat
ago
ry
English NOT firstlanguage
English first language
I found this module challenging
Issues relating to students in Cardiff:‘International student status’
Experience of small group teachingPerception of module difficulty
‘I found this module was harder than most others’
I found this module challenging
37.5
12.5
25.0 25.0
0.03.1
7.8
46.9
37.5
4.7
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
50.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
espo
nse
for
each
cat
agor
y
International
home
22.2
66.7
11.1
0.0 0.02.9
41.2
48.5
7.4
0.00.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
es
po
ns
e f
or
ea
ch
ca
tag
ory
International
home
‘I enjoyed the workshops’/ ‘..were interesting’/’..clearexplanations’
‘The workshops helped me understand the module’
61.5
30.8
7.7
0.0 0.0
24.2
43.5
19.412.9
0.00.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
es
po
ns
e f
or
ea
ch
ca
tag
ory international student
home student
53.3
40.0
6.7
0.0 0.0
29.5
37.7
21.3
8.23.3
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
es
po
ns
e f
or
ea
ch
ca
tag
ory international student
home student
‘overall, I was satisfied with this module’
12.0
68.0
14.7
4.0 1.3
19.2
57.7
19.2
0.03.8
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
esp
on
se f
or
each
cat
ago
ry
Cardiff
TUC
‘Overall, I enjoyed this module’
14.5
46.1
26.3
10.5
2.6
11.5
50.0
30.8
7.7
0.00.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
esp
on
se f
or
each
cat
ago
ry
Cardiff
TUC
‘I found this module interesting’
18.4
59.2
17.1
3.9 1.3
23.1
42.3
30.8
3.80.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
StronglyAgree
Agree neutral disagree stronglydisagree
% r
esp
on
se f
or
each
cat
ago
ry
Cardiff
TUC
Student responses: overall ‘experience’ of module
Student responses: overall ‘experience’ of module
• Data suggests that a minority of students report poorer module experience – ~30% respond ‘neutral’ or lower on questionnaire
• Analysis of these students revealed poor experience of:
Category Cardiff Malaysia
Teaching Supporting materials for lectures and practicals (h/o’s etc)
Supporting materials for lectures and practicals (h/o’s etc)
Assessment preparation time for assessments
Expectations of assessments
Communication Availability of module staff
Informal interviews and student discussions
• Positive aspects– workshop and small-group teaching– enthusiasm and expertise of visiting staff– ability to contact module staff (at Cardiff) by email
• Negative aspects– podcasts– pace of lectures– assessment information– amount of information accompanying lectures
Summary • Overall, students were generally positive about their
academic experience in the new MPharm module • Subgroups of students found this module challenging
– International students (Cardiff)– those whose first language is not English (Malaysia)
• Small group teaching/workshops rated higher by these student groups vs. lectures
• Other key factors which may negatively affect student experience include– Methods of delivery (podcasts) to Malaysian students– Information regarding, and timetabling of, assessments
Learning lessons from teaching in culturally diverse contexts
• Reflections on teaching experience at Taylors– Awareness that ones’ assumptions can influence
teaching practices• teaching at Cardiff ≠ teaching at Malaysia• Influence of student background, culture, education
– appreciation of diverse student learning styles in an international environment
• Benefits of workshops vs. lectures; A/V aids
Learning lessons from teaching in culturally diverse contexts
• What does this mean for me:– Assessment of student learning styles– modify lecture format to be more inclusive– develop workshop/tutorials– ‘internationalisation’ of elements of module
Learning lessons from teaching in culturally diverse contexts
• What does it mean for PHRMY/Cardiff– Communication of individual experiences
• Reflective log?• Provision of relevant information prior to visit
– Strengthen contacts during first two years• deputy personal tutors for Taylors students• close links with teaching staff at Taylors
– re-think introductory lecture strategy • avoid podcasts?
Acknowledgments
• Dr Mark Gumbleton, PHRMY
• Clare Kell, PCUTL Programme Leader, HUMRS
• Dr Syed Abbas Atif, TUC
• Dr Kan Mun Seng, TUC