Engaging the next generation of students and fostering learner autonomy through web-based learning resources
Wednesday 3 July: Conference day one, 12:00pm – 12:30pm parallel session
Venue
Room 7 – 301-G053 Med Chem
Presenters
Dr Manisha Thakkar
Endeavour College of Natural Health, Australia
manisha.thakkar@endeavour.edu.au
Mark Payne
Endeavour College of Natural Health, Australia
mark.payne@endeavour.edu.au
Jenny Yeeles
Endeavour College of Natural Health, Australia
Dr Andrea Bugarcic
Endeavour College of Natural Health, Australia
Background
A significant challenge in next generation higher education is supporting learners to become more autonomous in both the classroom and online environment. Benson (2001) mentions technology-based approaches as one of six approaches for the development of learner autonomy. Use of various learning technologies is widely observed to support and facilitate autonomous learning since the shift in the teaching paradigm from teacher-centeredness to student-centeredness. Web-based learning and teaching resources are being developed and used in almost every discipline to provide students with the opportunity to acquire diverse learning strategies as well as their receptive and productive skills. However, not all web-based resources support learning and foster autonomy if they are not designed to reduce cognitive load–the load imposed on working memory. This calls for a pedagogical usability evaluation of any web-based or digital learning resource to ensure effectiveness (Nokelainen, 2005).
The initiative
At Endeavour College of Natural Health H5P interactive content has been used to develop web-based tutorial activities for pathology and clinical science subjects. This use of H5P learning tool helped in preparing virtual patient cases that are essential for gaining clinical analysis skills and replaced traditional paper-based tutorials and clinical case scenarios. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the pedagogical usability and explore the effectiveness of these newly developed H5P interactive tutorial activities on improving student engagement and supporting learner autonomy, compared to traditional paper-based learning resources.
Method of evaluative data collection and analysis
Students who have completed Pathology and clinical science subjects incorporating H5P interactive tutorials were surveyed using a Pedagogically Meaningful Learning Questionnaire (PMLQ) (Nokelainen, 2005) and compared to a control group of students who have studied the subject with only paper-based tutorials. Inferential analysis will be conducted using unpaired t-test.
Intended outcome
This showcase will demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in student engagement and learner autonomy through the use of web-based interactive learning resources. Evaluation of various components of pedagogical usability of H5P interactive tutorials including learner control, learner activity, applicability, added value, motivation, flexibility and feedback will also be presented.
References
Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Nokelainen, P. (2006). An empirical assessment of pedagogical usability criteria for digital learning material with elementary school students. Educational Technology & Society, 9 (2), 178-197. Retrieved on 27/02/19 from: https://www.j-ets.net/ets/journals/9_2/15.pdf
Presentation topic
Students – Technology
