I have been reviewing the evaluations from my pilot with the child nursing students in semester 1. I compiled a survey using Bristol Online Survey that particularly focused on all the methods of teaching and learning within the module and students have also commented in the general module evaluation. Now we have to decide what to do with this feedback. There are several factors that need to be considered. First, the number of students who completed the evaluation and their representativeness; second, whether the overall feedback is negative or positive and third what we can feasibly achieve with a cohort of approximately 300 students.
Representativeness Only 18 students completed the specific blended learning evaluation making a response rate of 36%. This was despite 3 emails and a face to face discussion about the importance of this feedback and the influence it would have. This is only feedback from 1 cohort of students and 1 field of nursing. There is evidence that child nursing students are different in their demographics to other fields of nursing so this may affect the feedback given. The students who did complete the feedback have provided very useful information and this will inform the direction the module takes but we must proceed with caution and continue to evaluate to ensure we are meeting the needs of all (or the majority) or students. Feedback The students were asked to comment on key lectures, lecture capture, face-to-face sessions, Articulate, Blackboard Collaborate, blogs, videos, podcasts and the VLE group rooms as well as the timeliness and appropriateness of information given. This covers all the different elements the students used within this module. We also have feedback from other fields of nursing that discusses key lectures, lecture capture, face-to-face tutorials, Articulate and for some the use of Padlet. This gives a range of information and as expected often contradictory viewpoints. Feasibility The module runs in semester 1 and has at least 6 academics leading tutorial groups for approximately 300 students. This means any changes made have to be implementable for a lot of people. Just managing the module space on the VLE for this many students and 3 fields of nursing can be challenging and a key to successfully implementing any further blended learning strategies will depend on students being able to access information easily. From a staff perspective any changes potentially require the learning of new skills and a new way of thinking. It wasn't easy to implement this strategy for 50 students that I know well and getting it right took a large amount of time; it would be quicker next time as I now have planning but for others even using my plans would be challenging. The changes to this module also have to be discussed in the context of many other changes that are happening. These include electronic registering in sessions, new e-practice documents, new placement software, introduction of academic review meetings, potential increase in student numbers and the list goes on. People already have a lot to manage and there is only space to learn so many new things at once without feeling overwhelmed. Recently there has been an email thread discussion on the ALT mailing considering what is the evidence for the implementation of edtech. The resulting conversation focused less on the evidence and more on the reasons why people, particularly academics didn't implement or engage with the available technologies. The conversation was interesting and made me think about many things but the main point I took was the tension between needing to change and move forward and the headspace, will and time that academics have to make these changes. Kerry Pinny's blog 'In defense of technology' summarises this excellently. So where now?
I think there are a couple of things I really want to take from this pilot:
All in all I am pleased I did this. I have learnt a lot, will use this in other modules and the students are willing to try new things as long as you listen and take them with you. Thank you to my 09/15 child nursing students.
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AuthorKirsten Huby Lecturer Child Nursing interested in blended learning, educational technology and improving student engagement. Archives
September 2017
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