dynamic learning maps - northumbria university planning. overview of dynamic learning maps...
TRANSCRIPT
http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk
Simon Cotterill, Paul Horner, John Peterson, Gordon Skelly, Tony McDonald, Patrick Rosenkranz, Nick Riches & Steve Ball
Dynamic Learning Maps: curriculum maps and personal learning
Background
1: Communicating Complex Curricula
2: Modular courses: ‘Compartmentalisation’
Need to promote cross-modular learning
Understanding linkageswithin the curriculum(students & teachers)
Occasional Teachers
Background: Web 2.0 and changing expectations of learners
“The Net Generation has grown up with information technology. The aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles of Net Gen students reflect the environment in which they were raised—one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up.”
Educating the Net Generation http://www.educause.edu/
“although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the information that they find on the web. Higher education, therefore, continues to have a unique role in providing learners with the higher-order skills of evaluation, critical analysis and reflection, synthesis, problem-solving, creativity and thinking across discipline boundaries.”
Widespread uptake of social networking and other Web 2.0= changing expectations and technical literacies of many learners
http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk
Background: Curriculum Maps
A diagrammatic representation of the curriculum.
Different ‘windows’ ontothe curriculum e.g.
• Intended outcomes• Curriculum content
/subject areas• Learning opportunities• Assessment• Learning resources• People (students / staff)
Known barriers:-Complexity-Labour intensive
Maps as a Metaphor
Where have I been?
Where am I now?
Where am I going?
Stakeholders• Learners• Teachers (incl. occasional teachers)• Curriculum Managers• Administrators• External regulators
ReflectionRevision
Contextualisation
Preparation
What should the students already know?
Where is topic X taught in the curriculum ?
Career choices
Curriculum choices
Where is my specialty covered in the curriculum ?
http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk
Synthesis / Metacognition
Planning
Overview of Dynamic Learning maps
Interactive ‘Web 2.0Sharing , rating and reviewsHarvesting multiple sources (‘Mashups’ )Facilitating communities of interest
Curriculum MapsOverview , Prior learning, Current & Future learning
Personal LearningPersonalised, sharing , reflective notes and evidencing outcomes
Linking Learning ResourcesCurriculum & External
Resources
Evaluation: Focus Groups 2009/2010
Focus Group: Psychology (n=2)
Focus Groups: Speech Therapy BSc (9), MSc (7)
Focus Groups: Medicine (students, staff)
Staff Meeting: Speech Therapy ~15
Module Choices
Liked concept / layout
Perceived duplication
Importance of personal preferences
Visual vs. Text ViewsIntegration with
Blackboard?
It is easy to use
n=193 (student response system)
“Time consuming to learn/to use?”
“Requires an amount of foundation knowledge to be able to make full use of it; either a session on it or a drop in surgery would be helpful”
78% agreed BUT some wanted training:
Medical students - focus groups
Medical teacher
“It seems a really good idea but it important that we get training on how to use it.”
The map would benefit my learning
n=193 (student response system)
80% of students agreed
“Excellent way of linking learning and thought processes”.
“Hopefully minimises learning occurring in isolated chunks.”
“Potential for more joined-up thinking for patient care”
“If assessment is not linked to it how much will it be used?”
Clinical teachers (focus group)
The map will help me better understand the MBBS curriculum
n=193 (student response system)
“Will increase relevance of Phase I lectures to clinical presentations/experience”
73% agreed
“It is helpful to be able to see [the curriculum] from both macro and micro levels”.
Stage 4 Medical Students- Focus group
Knowing how a teaching session relates to the rest of the curriculum is important to me
n=193 (student response system)
“Will increase relevance of Phase I lectures to clinical presentations/experience”
From a students point of view, one could be much clearer on ‘the big picture’, as you have a curriculum map laid out in front of you...”
77% Agreed
Stage 4 Medical Students- Focus groups
Having the map will be useful for preparation before a teaching session?
n=193 (student response system)
“Would be potentially be extremely helpful, particularly when undertaking a new topic and preview [grouping] lectures”
“Help you to pitch your teaching at the right level/know what has been taught before”
‘What’s on “curriculum” doesn’t always equate to what students know’
Stage 4 Medical Student
“Enables you to reactivate prior learning”
“Tells you what student has covered in theory, [but] still need to know how much they have absorbed.”
Clinical teachers (focus group)
57% agreed
Having the map will be useful for reviewing and reflecting after a session?
n=193 (student response system)
80% Agreed
Having the map will be useful for revision
n=193 (student response system)
? “Any way of ticking off lectures revised?”
“Excellent revision tool”
“Helpful revision tool”
Stage 4 Medical Students
Clinical Teacher
91% Agreed
It would be useful to add notes and reflections to teaching sessions and other parts of the map
“*liked+ linking the portfolio (which mayappear otherwise abstract) with the rest of a student’s education”.
“link to portfolio may increase its usage!”
Stage 4 Medical Students(Focus Group)
73% of students agree
But clinical teaching staff skeptical:
n=193 (student response system)
“Can this really be used for portfolio (if voluntary) ?“
“How to engage student with e-portfolios – won’t work without their engagement”
I frequently supplement my learning with external resources on the web
n=193 (student response system)
I only want information and resources provided by teaching staff
n=193 (student response system)
72% agreed 26% agreed
Recap: Summary of DLM
Interactive ‘Web 2.0Sharing , rating and reviewsHarvesting multiple sources (‘Mashups’ )Facilitating communities of interest
Curriculum MapsOverview , Prior learning, Current & Future learning
Personal LearningPersonalised, sharing , reflective notes and evidencing outcomes
Linking Learning ResourcesCurriculum & External
Resources
Project funded by
Further information & Public Demonstrator:
http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk
Thank You
e-Learning
Technical approach
Curricula databases
Library databases
ePortfolio/ blog
Repositories
ExternalFeeds
LearningResources
Life-longLearningRecord
ID-MAPsproject
Student Information
Systems
reflection
evidencing
discussion
adding resources,rating & reviewing
Learning Maps
(topic-specific)
Curriculum map
Personal learning
Community
http://learning-maps.ncl.ac.uk
Curriculum Maps: Potential role in Monitoring & QA
Declaredcurriculum
Taughtcurriculum
Learning &development
‘Constructive Alignment’(curriculum – T&L – assessment)
Better insight into learning outside the curriculum
External resources Prior learning ‘Life-wide’ learning
Identify popularexternal resources(QA + peer review)
Map to otherCurricula(widens learningopportunities)
Identify ‘gaps’in teaching
Identifyduplication
Monitor access & equality of learning opportunities
Initial interfaces & user preferences
Text-based interface
Mind-map style interface
Forthcoming focus groups:explore options e.g. colour codingterminology e.g. ‘nodes’ or topics
Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯1
Stage 5
Stage 4
Stage 3
Stage 2
Stage 1
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
Student journeythrough thecurriculum
‘here and now’teaching focus
Between major restructuring of the MBBS curriculum (aprox. every 5-7yrs): stable: units (modules), programme outcomesminor adjustments: sessions, cases, unit outcomes (responsive to evaluation / QA)
more variation in assessment & differences in delivery by 4 ‘Base Units’ (stages 3 & 5)
The curriculum changes over time
Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯2
Stepped availability of study guides, cases and timetable data
Semester 2Available
Semester 1Available
Sept 2008 Jan 2009 Sept 2009 Jan 2010
i.e. a fully detailed / data-driven curriculum map for the current academic year would not be available until Semester 2.
A partial map would be no good at all! (Needs to be a semi-persistent map but drawing on latest information as it becomes available).
Resources (presentations etc) are uploaded into the VLE on a ‘just in time’ basis.
Challenges for Curriculum Mapping ♯3
MBBS study guide databases (baseline) designed to support complex curricula with large number of contributors using familiar Word documents (well formatted ‘portal documents’) these populate databases and structure the VLE when they are uploaded supports changing curriculum with views by multiple academic years
Module Database (baseline)• outcomes are blocks of free text: variable formats and amount of detail
Fit for purpose, but raise challenges for online curriculum maps:
Key data is in the form of non-standardised text e.g. learning outcomes, core presentations / conditions etc. language is inconsistent between study guides (modified for context) hard to differentiate between unit-specific and programme outcomes & content
Codes used in VLE and timetable are not persistent e.g. ‘PPD2.15’ may referrer to completely different teaching sessions from
one academic year to the next Problematic as resources are linked to these non-persistent codes
Existing data may not be in a readily usable
Getting the right balance
Automation Specificity & Granularity
Initially reliant on manually makingconnections (curriculum & community)
Maintenance cost as curriculum changes
Search – High volume
of resultsmixed relevance
Saturation (too many
Connections – ‘hairball’)
e.g. MBBS: 60+ learning outcomesper module. High-level outcomespresent in virtually every module.
Refine relevancescoring
Data on connected topics used to improve future automation/specificity(related keywords / strength of connections)
Recap: Summary of DLM
Interactive ‘Web 2.0Sharing , rating and reviewsHarvesting multiple sources (‘Mashups’ )Facilitating communities of interest
Curriculum MapsOverview , Prior learning, Current & Future learning
Personal LearningPersonalised, sharing , reflective notes and evidencing outcomes
Linking Learning ResourcesCurriculum & External
Resources