ESCalate 2nd Student conference 16 April 2010
Glasgow Caledonian University
School of Health
Student Engagement Through Collaboration: Enhancing
the Curriculum with Learners as Partners
Helen Gough
Patricia McDonald
Patricia Lynn
Linda Proudfoot
Lynda Yates
Aim of Presentation
To share the collaborative journey between student nurse
teachers and lecturers in the evaluation of reusable
learning objects
Background to action research project
The collaborative journey
Challenges and learning
Students as stakeholders
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Glenfinnan Viaduct, West Highland Line
Planning the Journey
MSc in Healthcare Education
GCU Caledonian Scholar &
Associates Initiative
Learning, Teaching & Assessment
Strategy
Caledonian Scholar Project Aim and Objectives
AIM:
Collaboratively develop, implement and evaluate creative, reusable
learning objects which build on existing, innovative educational
approaches.
OBJECTIVES:
To collaborate with student teachers and key stakeholders in the
development and embedding of two reusable learning objects.
To design the evaluation in collaboration with student teachers.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the reusable learning objects and
their impact on student learning.
To engage and disseminate at programme, school, university &
wider education community levels.
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The Ticket Office
Pre departure
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Pre departure: Engaging students as
stakeholders
Incentives to engage
Choosing to engage
Year 2 students and newly qualified nurse
teachers (NQNTs)
Opportunity to know more about research and
evaluation
Learning opportunity & teaching practice
hours for Year 2 students linked to stage in
programme associated with M Level
research and evaluating a curriculum
development
Application of theoretical research knowledge
to practice was anticipated
CPD opportunity for NQNTs to contribute
towards retaining professional recognition
Opportunity to collaborate with peers
Enable practical application of research
process and develop research skills and
knowledge
Enhancing curriculum
Build on existing relationships between
students and programme team
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Involvement in innovative teaching and
learning
Enabled achievement of NMC/UKPSF
outcomes
Developing teaching and research roles
Departure Point
Establishing the
collaboration
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Establishing the collaboration
Five members of the collaborative group ( two lecturers, two
second year student nurse teachers and one newly qualified
nurse teacher)
Agreeing the use of the small scale evaluation model (Hall &Hall
2004)
Determining the guiding framework for collaboration (Barrett &
Keeping, 2005)
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Determining the guiding framework
Collaboration in action
Cycle 1:
• Seven meetings from November 08 - May 09
• Constructed evaluation objectives:
• To determine the effectiveness of two learning objects as
resources fro blended learning
• To ascertain the reusability of two learning objects
• To explore student learning from engagement with two
learning objects
• To explore learning from collaboration in the design
and evaluation of two learning objects
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Collaboration in action
Cycle 1:
Determining study populations: Emerging stakeholder positions
Students emerging as learners
Students emerging as co-investigators
Students emerging as research participants
Sampling, recruitment & data collection methods
Questionnaires
Synchronous discussion
Focus groups
Selecting analytical methods
Descriptive statistics
Thematic analysis
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Collaboration in action
Cycle 2:
Critical reflection on collaboration and outcomes of cycle 1 to aid
decision making for cycle 2
Students as learners and co-investigators
Determination of participant population for cycle 2
Revised recruitment strategy & ethics
Revised questionnaires
Recruited study participants
Management and analysis of quantitative data
Students as research participants
Research participants in Cycle 2 focus group
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Signalling : Student challenges and learning
Challenges
What have we done?
Part-time study mode
Full-time employment
Distance
IT access
Are we going to manage this?
Do we have the appropriate
knowledge?
Learning
Move from surface to deep
approach in learning
Made jargon more meaningful
Collaboration filled gaps in learning
Development of teaching role
Promoting interprofessional working in a
curriculum development
Development of preceptorship programme
Development of research role
Ethics, designing data collection tools &
qualitative data analysis
Transference of research knowledge
& skills
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First Station: End of cycle one early themes
Shared learning
…“Its each individuals knowledge
and background experience that
they bring to the collaboration”
Relationships and ownership
...“Oh you’re my tutors and you
have much more knowledge base
than me, but because of the
collaboration it has not been that
way at all, it has been, I think
equally shared”…
Collaboration Process
“I think that when we came to
analysing the feedback from the
students and working together with
the coding…that was really
beneficial and I got a lot from that
collaboration…”
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Signalling : Lecturer learning and challenges
Challenges
Staged ethical approval &
recruitment
Learning
Learning from collaboration requires
to be recognised and made
meaningful
Integrating research activity within
Relationship is crucial to learning
current workload
Facilitator Vs group member
Significant organisational role
involved
Resisting the urge to lead;
Flexibility is a double edged sword
Co-ordinating communication
Emerging model of collaboration
Balancing stakeholder positions
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Emerging model of collaboration
Collaborative
Environment
Inhibiting
Forces
Collaborative
Learning
Collaborative
Relationships
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Stakeholder
Positions
Approaching our Destination
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Students as stakeholders
Students as learners
Students as co-investigators
Students as research participants
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References
Barrett, G., Keeping, C. (2005) “The process required for effective
interprofessional learning” In: Barrett, G., Sellman, D., Thomas, J.
(Eds) Interprofessional working in health and social care Palgrave
MacMillan: Basingstoke pp 18-31
Hall, I., Hall, D. (2004) Evaluation and social research: introducing small
scale practice Palgrave MacMillan: Basingstoke
Contact details:
Helen Gough: 0141-331-8333, H.Gough@gcu.ac.uk
Linda Proudfoot: 0141 331 3904, L.Proudfoot@gcu.co.uk
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Discussion
Key questions for debate:
Please tell us about your experiences of collaboration between
students and lecturers in relation to improving learning and
teaching.
What frameworks or models did you use to support
collaborative learning and what are your views on the model for
collaborative learning introduced in the presentation today?
How viable are the three stakeholder positions (students as
learners, co investigators & research participants ) in enhancing
a curriculum with learners as partners
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