6.3 Teaching and Learning Case studies

6.3.2 Structured Exercise in a Time-tabled Class - University of Bath

The use of the Guinea Pig Ileum package at Bath totally replaces live practicals for first year Pharmacy students. Teaching sessions are time-tabled in the CAL laboratory with a member of academic staff present who works with the students whilst they are studying the CAL. Several sessions are time-tabled on the Guinea Pig Ileum package and this evaluation has concentrated on the first of these, based on the Agonists section in line with the other case study sites. First year students time-tabled for this class were issued with a workbook detailing structured exercises on this and other sessions in the CAL laboratory. The workbook begins with an overview of the workshops and the experiment included in the simulation. The teacher began each session with a brief introduction to the whole group, including advice on constructing dose response curves using the package. Students then worked through the package individually but following the step by step instructions in the structured exercise which directed them to specific pages within each section and required them to complete exercises and draw graphs of their dose response curves in the workbook. This was therefore a very tightly specified learning situation in which the teaching staff were targeting certain key learning points. The class was time-tabled for three hours, although students generally went to finish off the work away from the computer laboratory and most spent 2.5 hours or less working on the package. During observation of these sessions, the teacher was seen to be proactive in her approach with the students in offering help and advice. This is obviously easier to do when the learning situation is task-oriented and the teacher has a good sense of the overall progress of the group. However, it was observed how readily students accepted help when asked directly about their progress and students nearby were then prompted to ask for help themselves. This was in contrast to other groups where the CAL sessions were not wholly supported by a member of academic staff and where the students were asked to work through the whole package. In such cases, help and support were usually only given as a response to student requests. This may be another indicator of the effect that the medium has upon student study patterns and the perception that students possibly have that they must behave in a highly individualised way. In their recent paper on "Integrative Evaluation" Draper et al (1995) note from their own observations how highly suggestible students are when studying a CAL package about issues such as taking notes. For example, students were observed to immediately start taking notes as soon as the tutor suggested they might wish to do so and then stop just as quickly when the tutor declared that they did not need to take down every word. Our observations here seems to show a similar pattern. Students were given the pre-tests immediately before the CAL session and the post test was administered one week later at the start of their next time-tabled session. As with University of Wales, Cardiff, the evaluation methods followed the standard set of tools, previously outlined. Familiarity with the technology was similar to previous groups. 100% of students had previous experience of both a mouse and a computer. Levels of usage were rather different from those of the groups at Cardiff, with 60% reporting that they used a computer "Every Day" or "Every 2-3 Days". This almost certainly reflects the difference in studying students beginning their course (Cardiff) and those well into their first year (Bath). This evaluation took place in January 1996. Despite this, when asked the question "How do you feel about using a computer today?" not all the students reported feeling comfortable. 44% declared that they felt only "Fairly comfortable" or "Not very comfortable". This is perhaps a larger number than might be expected, when the students are using computers on such a regular basis.

FIGURE 7: LEVELS OF CONFIDENCE IN SUBJECT click on image to see larger version

In figure 7 levels of confidence before and after studying the package are presented. It is clear that the overwhelming majority (70%) of the students were either "Not very confident" or had "No confidence at all " in the subject beforehand. This is not surprising, in a similar way to the students at Cardiff, this was their first experience of the subject. The levels of confidence after the teaching episode had clearly risen dramatically with 86% declaring that they were either "More confident" or "Much more confident". This confidence is also reflected in the pre and post test results outlined in table 11. This shows clearly that there was a significant increase in scores even after a fairly limited amount of time spent with the package and that the method of using a highly specified, structured exercise appears to be an effective way of teaching students using this CAL package.

TABLE 11: PRE AND POST TEST SCORES AT BATH (N=71) PRESCORE Range 0 - 10 POSTSCORE Range 0 - 10 t VALUE 2 TAILED P S.E.M 3.0845 4.1268 -4.64 .000 .225

The amount of time spent working with the package was much more fixed than in the previous study, see figure 8 below. Students were not invited or expected to work through all sections and the time-tabled session appeared to be adequate for the work required. 66% spent 2 hours or less on the package and no student spent more than 3 hours. This is important in assessing the efficacy of the methods used as the students in this case study have managed to increase their scores despite a lower level of exposure to the package. This is perhaps due to the targeted approach taken by the workbook in guiding students to the key areas for study and, if so, implies that this is both an efficient and effective approach.

FIGURE 8: TIME SPENT WORKING ON THE PACKAGE click on image to see larger version

TABLE 12: UNIVERSITY OF BATH - OBSERVATION DATA OBSERVATION NUMBER OF COUNTS Requests for help 52 Discussion with neighbour(s) 136 Use of other aids or support materials: Calculator 3 Taking notes 217 Leaving without returning to room 2 Negative statements or behaviour 3 Positive statements or behaviour 8

The level of discussion appears to be much higher than at Cardiff. This may be due to the structured nature of the structured exercise, which perhaps keeps students working along the same lines more than in a situation where they work through all sections. Taking notes was quite a frequent activity with very little use of other support materials. The workbook is designed to be self sufficient, is used to log results and does not require the use of other aids. Furthermore the constant support of the tutor ensured a rapid resolution of any difficulties. It is not surprising therefore that recorded levels of help were higher than in the previous study where students worked much more independently. This is also supported by the findings from the post test questionnaire which shows 48% of respondents stating that they asked for help. Finally, it is worth noting that of the four case studies, University of Bath is the only example where the package is used without the addition of a live practical. Apart from the effect on learning outcomes which has already been considered, the following quotations represent a wide range of comments on questionnaires and in the discussion group that the experiment was easy to understand: When asked what was easy to grasp: "....the apparatus of the experiment and how it worked" - Questionnaire response " The principle of the experiment and how it worked" - Questionnaire response It is interesting to note that these students found the experiment easy whereas at other institutions, this was frequently one area singled out as being difficult. This will be examined in more detail in section 6.3.5 on student opinions. When they were asked in the discussion group whether or not they felt a live practical was necessary, opinions were strongly divided, although there was some agreement finally that a demonstration would be of benefit. Students generally liked the approach taken in this study, although they felt it was quite difficult. These comments were generally agreed upon: "The materials were fine but (we) needed help entering doses and concentrations" - Discussion group - Bath "Challenging! Especially without A level biology" - Discussion group - Bath In conclusion, the use of the package in this context appears to have been very successful in increasing student learning and confidence in a relatively short amount of time, given the range and coverage of the package. The structured exercise approach is well liked by the students and appears to enhance levels of interaction if a tutor is present during the time-tabled session.