TDU Talk
ISSUE 4 ▪ OCTOBER 2008
ASSESSMENT CASE STUDIES
Assessment for Learning
Nigel Robertson
The Mall Walk
Mary FitzPatrick & Trisha Koslow
Moodle Meetings
Suzanne Grant
Reflective Writing in Student Journals
Anne Hume
Kia ora
Greetings
We are coming towards the end of a very busy academic
year. This year has seen significant changes around the
delivery of teaching and learning support. Student learning
support is now part of the new Pathways College and the
Teaching Development Unit has become a distinct unit. At
the same time we have extended our collaboration with the
Waikato Centre for eLearning and the professional development team in
HR. We hope that these collaborations will help the University to offer you
a breadth of professional development opportunities that you can access in
ways that are appropriate for your needs, context, career phase and teaching
interests.
Currently, the University is also developing a Teaching and Learning Plan
which can help to bring about an integrated approach to developing quality
teaching practices. In keeping with this institutional endeavour, the TDU
continues to share ideas about good practice. This magazine is one way in
which we can provide you with ideas and resources which you may want to
incorporate into your own practice. This semester we have emphasised the
theme of assessment as this has been widely recognised as one of the most
crucial determinants of student learning. In this edition, we feature three
case studies of interesting assessment. Mary Fitzpatrick and Trish Koslow
(Marketing) describe a student assessment called the Mall Walk in which
the students engage in a highly practical exercise which is directly linked to
course theory. Suzanne Grant (HRM) describes her introduction of a
Moodle component into student group work as a way of recording and
improving group processes. Anne Hume (SOE) explains how she coached
students in the process of reflective journaling to provide a tool for their
exploration of their development as Science teachers. In designing,
implementing and refining these assessments, it is noteworthy that all of
these teachers draw on the scholarship of teaching. Their teaching is
informed by the current research related to their assessment choices. We
hope you will enjoy these case studies and they will offer you ideas for your
own practice. If you have assessment case studies that you would like us to
publish, do let us know as we would be happy to feature them in the
magazine.
ISSUE 4: OCTOBER 2008
Teaching Development Unit
Finally, here are some professional development opportunities that you
might want to put into your diaries:
Office of Deputy ViceChancellor
Celebrating Teaching Day: December 10
Private Bag 3105
WCELfest: December 11
Hamilton 3240
February workshops: February 9-24
New Zealand
Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching- contact Dorothy if you are
interested in participating in this programme.
Best wishes
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
Dorothy
•2•
Assessment for Learning
Geoffrey Crisp’s presentation on interactive eAssessment
Nigel Robertson, WCEL
Friday 3 October 2008 : Presentation and workshop session facilitated by
Professor Geoffrey Crisp, Director of Professional Development , Adelaide
University.
…while educators
are increasingly
using various
eLearning tools
and engaging
students in this
learning process,
educators are
not generally
using
eAssessments to
correspond with
eLearning
practices in their
teaching
processes.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
In our discussions in the past few magazines, we have talked about
the importance of ensuring that our assessments are in line with
and promote quality student learning. Another recurrent theme has
been the importance of student engagement and interaction in the
assessment process and the usefulness of conversation to deepen
and enhance the learning opportunities offered by the assessment
process. The presentation by Geoff Crisp demonstrated ways in
which interactive eAssessments can be harnessed in the interests of
all these features of assessment.
A key theme of Geoff‟s presentation was that while educators are
increasingly using various eLearning tools and engaging students
in this learning process, educators are not generally using
eAssessments to correspond with eLearning practices in their
teaching processes. This dissonance between teaching and
assessment undermines the alignment of course design, teaching
and assessment which is widely recognised as a fundamental tenet
of good practice (Biggs, 1999) . Geoff observed that, perhaps
because people still see assessment as a separate self-contained
category, academics commonly use a range of interactive media
and then assess in very traditional ways (such as an essay). ->
•4•
<- In keeping with his pedagogically-driven approach to e-learning,
Geoff began by contextualising the presentation within a broader
understanding of assessment types and terminology, referring to
diagnostic, formative and summative assessments and noting that
the terms „Assessment for learning‟ and Assessment of learning‟
can also be used. (See also: Jisc InfoNet http://
www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/effective-use-of-VLEs/e-assessment/
assess-methods for a further description of this terminology.)
Geoff then focussed on learning potential offered by eAssessment
which involves assessment mediated through ICT such as quizzes,
and online texts. Geoff‟s focus was on the use of interactive
eAssessment and he highlighted the opportunities to create
divergent responses i.e. based on opinion or analysis, as opposed to
convergent responses where only one correct answer is expected.
As he demonstrated, interactive eAssessment also allows students
to demonstrate their advanced skills, to role-play and to construct
responses developed through social interactions.
Geoff has examples of interactive eAssessments from a wide range
of disciplines. An issue that he has found when talking about
eAssessment is that many people are unable to see the opportunities
within their own subject areas.
Business Education
http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/home.htm
Business
http://www.jelsim.org/content/applets/bizstartup/index.html
Physics
http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/ntnujava/
Wave Interference
http://www.jelsim.org/content/applets/waves/waveinterference.html
Statistics
http://www.stat.uiuc.edu/courses/stat100/cuwu
Biochemistry
http://webphysics.davidson.edu/applets/biogel/biogel.html
Solar Graphs
http://www.jelsim.org/content/applets/solar/solargraphs.html
The table above lists several sites that give access to simulations for
the listed areas and many more can be found by searching. That‟s
not to say that other areas, especially around the social sciences, are
left out! Geoff talked about role plays where students can be
assessed on their decision making and interaction with the topic.
Although role-plays or scenario based learning can be organised
face to face, these can also be well managed in an online
environment. ->
•5•
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
Virtual worlds (or immersive environments) are one of the major
emerging tools in education. Second Life http://secondlifegrid.net/
programs/education is probably the best known of these although
there are many others. Virtual worlds offer many opportunities to
explore learning and assessment that would not be feasible or
possible in real life. Since Second Life allows interactions between
people in a community with its own social structure and economy,
educators have been using it to explore ethics, business models and
communication skills. Second Life has a full physics engine
behind it and its own scripting language allowing the creation of
physical and life science simulations as well as the creation of
Machinima - videos made from computer games.
Reminding participants that assessment can be diagnostic, Geoff
talked about the use of Student Response Systems or clickers in the
lecture hall. In Australia, the Votapedia project (http://
www.votapedia.com) allows lecturers to utilise students‟ mobile
phones for the same purpose. This is set up so that it is free for the
students, they use technology that most carry about in their pockets
and it allows the teacher to evaluate how well the class is coping
with the subject being taught.
Since Second Life
allows
interactions
between people
in a community
with its own
social structure
and economy,
educators have
been using it to
explore ethics,
business models
and
communication
skills.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
Geoff was kind enough to give us access to the Adelaide Moodle
site http://andy.services.adelaide.edu.au/moodle/course/
category.php?id=8 where there are many examples of interactive
eAssessments across most subjects. You will need to create an
account on the site (not your Waikato account) to be able to try out
many of the items that are there. If you run into any difficulties, or
would like to talk about how best to incorporate some of these
items either as activities or assessments in your courses, then
please get in touch with Nigel or Derek at the Waikato Centre for
eLearning ([email protected] or extension 4008).
•6•
The Mall Walk
An assessment in Retail Management
Mary FitzPatrick and Trisha Koslow
The Mall Walk is the first assessment that our
students do in Retail Management (MKTG357)
– which makes it important, both for them and
for us as teachers. For students, this task is
their first opportunity to
show us how
much
they
...a real-world,
authentic
assessment task
that engages the
students – one
that captures their
interest, fires
their enthusiasm
and curiosity, and
helps them to
understand how
the theory of
retail
management
actually works in
real life…
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
understand. The
Mall Walk assignment
helps us, as the co-teachers,
to check the quality of the
learning/teaching up to this
point in the
course and to demonstrate to
students that we‟re serious about learning that is deep and
meaningful (in the fullest pedagogical sense!)
Our goal then, both when we designed this task and now as we
continue to „tweak‟ it, is to construct an assessment activity that
supports deep learning (as opposed to surface learning) by our
students. We have based the task on the twin principles of teaching
as making learning possible and deep learning, to help ensure that
The Mall Walk is a real-world, authentic assessment task that
engages the students – one that captures their interest, fires their
enthusiasm and curiosity, and helps them to understand how the
theory of retail management actually works in real life.
•8•
The conception of teaching as making learning possible theorises
teaching and learning as a cooperative joint venture between the
teacher and the student (Ramsden, 1992). Taking this approach,
teaching becomes a reflective, responsive way of interacting with
students with the aim of helping them to engage with the subject
matter (e.g., Biggs, 2003; Rust, 2002). The teacher functions in the
classroom more as a coach (than as an authoritarian dispenser of
truth), building on what students already know, purposefully
teaching to elicit an active response from students, designing
learning activities that are close to real life problems, and
encouraging students to reflect on and assess their learning and
knowledge (Biggs, 2003; Brookfield & Preskill, 1999; Tetard &
Patokorpi, 2005). And it is under these teaching/learning conditions
that the student is more likely to take a deep approach to learning,
characterised by learning that has personal meaning for them,
constructed by transforming information and ideas relative to their
previous knowledge and understanding (Biggs, 2003; Entwistle,
2000).
...The teacher
functions in the
classroom more
as a coach (than
as an
authoritarian
dispenser of
truth), building
on what students
already know,
purposefully
teaching to elicit
an active
response from
students…
•9•
So, in The Mall Walk activity, we set out to challenge our students
to observe and reflect on their personal experiences as consumers
in two of Hamilton‟s retail complexes (of their choice), then to
critically evaluate the two experiences, and finally to formulate
recommendations for changes to the marketing and management of
the retail complexes on the basis of their evaluations.
One of four assessment activities for the course, The Mall Walk is
worth 30% of the internal component (Internal: Exam 2:1) and is
the first internal assessment activity, due in the sixth week of
teaching. The Mall Walk is an „individual‟ piece of work, as
opposed to an assessment project completed by two or more
students working together. The second assessment is a test (15% of
internal, individual); the third assessment is a computer-assisted
store design activity (15% of internal, group); and the last
assessment activity is a written piece of work (40% of the internal,
individual). We have designed the four assessment activities to
give students a range of choices – topics, retail contexts, partners to
work with, different formats – and thus a range of learning modes,
which will facilitate better evaluation both of the students‟ learning
and of our own teaching.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
In general, The Mall Walk is designed to assess the students‟
ability to recognise how the theory of retail management is lived in
the real world; specifically, how the concepts and theory of
consumer behaviour apply to their experiences as retail consumers,
and how retailers apply relevant concepts and theories to manage
and market retail environments. The assignment is grounded in the
student‟s personal experience as a consumer, then moves to more
objective considerations of retail practice and theory. To guide this
conceptual progression we have divided the assignment into three
parts: observation, reflection, and integration of practice and
theory.
Here is the written outline for The Mall Walk assignment that we
give to students:
Part 1: Observation
Walk around each of the 2 malls/retail complexes that you have
chosen. Complete the worksheet entitled The Mall Walk (one for
each centre) as you move around the complex.
Part 2: Reflection
Reflect on both experiences from your perspective as a „consumer‟.
The Mall Walk
is designed to
assess the
students’
ability to
recognise how
the theory of
retail
management is
lived in the
real world…
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
For each of the 2 retail complexes you have chosen,
what
5 aspects had the most impact on your experience
as
the consumer. Discuss the impact of these
aspects, referring to relevant
concepts and theories of retail
management and consumer
behaviour from the course.
Part 3: Integration of Real Life and Theory
Compare and contrast the 2 experiences, from a
marketing and management perspective. What
recommendations would you make as a result of your
experiences and reflections?
• 10 •
In the first part of The Mall Walk assignment, „Observation‟,
students are required to fill out a worksheet for each of the two
shopping complexes they choose to study, which asks them to
note and/or evaluate particular marketing and management
features in the complex. This worksheet has been designed to
focus their observations of specific concepts and theories in the
real-life practice of retail management. These features represent
the external variables in the retail environment that are able to be
directly controlled by management and which are key aspects both
in an effective marketing mix and in a successful/satisfying retail
experience for the consumer. While it could be argued that the
worksheet involves surface learning insofar as it comprises a
series of questions that the student answers by circling one of the
responses provided (after Gibbs, 1992), we have designed the
worksheet to establish a sound foundation for supporting learning
that is personally meaningful (Cuthbert, 1994). In this way, the
worksheet is purposefully intended to be a well-structured, active,
real-world learning activity that lays the base for „deep‟ learning
(Biggs, 2003; Entwistle, 1997; Rust, 2002).
The assessment
then leads
students to
reflect on the
conditions that
shaped their
experience,
referring in their
discussion to
relevant concepts
and theories of
retail marketing
and
management…
• 11 •
The second part of The Mall Walk assignment, „Reflection‟, puts
the spotlight onto consumer behaviour in a retail environment.
This section asks the students to recollect, review, and evaluate
their experiences as a consumer in the two shopping complexes.
These first-level general reflections deliberately ask students to
consider the emotional as well as cognitive elements to their
personal experience. The assessment then leads students to reflect
on the conditions that shaped their experience, referring in their
discussion to relevant concepts and theories of retail marketing
and management. So, this section is set up to encourage the
students to move between their personal observations, reflections
on their individual experiences, and more abstract theoretical
accounts to begin to make their own cognitive connections and
make „deeper‟ sense of their consumer behaviour. This part of the
assignment is in line with the “working with meaning” stage of
deep learning represented by Moon (1999, p. 139).
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
The final part of The Mall Walk assignment, „Integration
of Real Life and Theory‟, sets up the space in which
students are able to move from „working with meaning‟
to a critical reflection involving both lived experience
and theory; in other words, an integration of practice (of
both consumer and retail manager) and theory. The
students are asked to make recommendations for
improvement in marketing and/or managing the retail
complex - this enables students to play with their ideas
(after Gibbs, 1992) and try applying the „new‟
knowledge they have constructed to solve the
problems that they have identified in a real world
situation.
At a different level, this section of the assignment
means that after unpicking what might have been
dissatisfying retail experiences for them as
consumers, the students end the assignment on a
positive, constructive note – in this sense their
reflection becomes „transformative‟ (Moon,
1999), their knowledge becomes
„functioning‟ knowledge (Biggs, 2003), and
their learning becomes „creative‟ (Moon,
1999).
Conclusions
Overall, The Mall Walk has been a
very successful assessment
activity. It meets key criteria for
fostering a deep approach to
learning e.g., it is a relevant
„real-life‟ task, students have
choice within the task, the
knowledge base is well
structured and students had
to inter-relate different
bodies of knowledge for
themselves.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 12 •
However, we continue to tweak the Mall Walk on the basis of
student feedback and our own reflections on the course design,
assessments, and teaching. With each tweak we are hoping to make
The Mall Walk more productive - both for our students as a
learning activity and for us as a teaching activity. This past
semester several changes were made based on student feedback and
our reflections on the assessment. The due date was altered to be
after teaching recess rather than before to allow students more time
to complete the assignment and to be exposed to a wider variety of
theoretical topics. Although an early due date had its advantages,
students wanted more variety of topics they could use to match
theory with practice.
When completing the observation section of the assignment,
students tended to visit the malls or shopping centres as a group
even though it is an individual assignment. Since shopping is
sometimes considered a group leisure activity this makes sense!
Therefore we decided to allow students to work in pairs or threes to
complete the assignment. Students said they enjoyed working
together and felt they gleaned more information and insights from
the task. „Walking the mall‟ with a classmate let students observe
the centre not only through their own eyes but someone else‟s as
well. This led to some interesting observations-some students
discovered they had a very different set of „eyes‟ than their partnerand much richer data to work with.
One of the course objectives is to encourage students to bring their
own retailing experiences, as an employee and or as a consumer,
into the classroom. We found students were reluctant to share their
experiences at the beginning of the semester. It was hoped that by
shifting the date of the Mall Walk and allowing the task to be in
pairs that students would have more shared experiences and be
more willing to contribute to class discussion. We noticed that
students wanted to talk about, not just write about what they
learned. But they didn‟t necessary want to talk in lecture. To
capture their enthusiasm and answer questions regarding the
assignment, we offered a debrief session. This involved meeting a
student group at either one of the malls visited or after lecture in the
café. The debrief gave students the opportunity to share their
insights and ask questions. An added bonus of the debrief was the
relationship between students and teacher flourished and this
carried over into the classroom. We could make note of who had
what experience and insight and then incorporate that information
into lecture notes or ask the students to share. And it workedstudents were more open and sharing during lecture.
• 13 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
But we will continue to make adjustments to the assignment. In the
future, we need teach students how to use and apply a variety of
theoretical references to support the observations rather than
relying on just their textbook and lecture notes. Students are asked
to apply their knowledge and make recommendations for the retail
complex. We are hoping for creative, „outside the box‟ ideas that
are related to the problems noticed through the observation and
reflection steps. This appears to be an area students struggle with.
In the debrief, which was an informal chat, students shared their
criticisms regarding the centres and experiences but they were
reluctant to be overly critical of the centre in the written assignment
and that led to a lack of creative solutions.
From the teacher‟s perspective, the assignment is successful – it
helps us to evaluate different levels of student understandings and
performance relative to the key topic areas we are interested in
developing, it fits well with the other teaching activities we use
during the course, and it establishes right at the beginning of the
course a way of thinking that is built on reflection and the
construction of new meaning. So, as well as being a useful
assessment activity, The Mall Walk is an important building block
in the structure of our course. And finally, students tell us that it‟s
one assignment that they actually enjoy doing - always a bonus!
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 14 •
References
Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching for quality learning at university.
Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Brookfield, S. D. & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a way of
teaching. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Cuthbert, K. (1994). Student project work in relation to a meaning
orientated approach to learning. In G. Gibbs (Ed.), Improving
student learning: Through assessment and evaluation (pp.
245-256).Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Development.
Entwistle, N. (2000). Promoting deep learning through teaching
and assessment: Conceptual frameworks and educational
contexts. Paper presented at the TLRP conference, Leicester.
Gibbs, G. (1992). Improving the quality of student learning.
Bristol: Technical and Educational Services Ltd.
Moon, J. A. (2003). Reflection in learning and professional
development: Theory and practice. London: Kogan Page Ltd.
Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to teach in higher education.
London: Routledge.
Rust, C. (2002). The impact of assessment on student learning.
Active Learning in Higher Education, 3(2), 145-158.
Tetard, F. & Patokorpi, E. (2005). A constructivist approach to
information systems teaching: A case study on a design
course for advanced-level university students. Journal of
Information Systems Education, 16(2), 167-176.
• 15 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
Moodle Meetings
Using an online learning environment to enhance and
facilitate student group processes
Suzanne Grant
Introduction
“Technology can be used to facilitate the display of
information, to increase access to external explicit
information, and to increase the sharing and construction of
knowledge”
(Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995, p 287).
The cognitive and social benefits of group learning have been
widely documented and learning interdependence is also an
important preparation for the workplace. Recognising these
potential benefits, group work is a common component of
undergraduate management education, (Hansen, 2006). However,
students frequently cite concerns and complaints regarding both
group process and outcomes. Two of the most commonly voiced
student complaints about group work are that it is difficult to coordinate team members‟ schedules and that team members do not
share the workload equitably (Stevens, 2007). When it comes to
presenting an outcome for assessment, such as a group report,
Forman and Katsky (1986) highlight the need for support to be
given to both the group and the associated writing processes.
Hansen (2006) also expresses concern about the implementation of
group process, noting students are frequently placed in team
projects with little or no preparation to assist them to function as a
team. It was with these benefits and challenges of group work in
mind, that an additional online component was added to the group
project in the paper HRMG 241 Organisational Behaviour.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 16 •
HRMG 241 is a second year core paper within the Bachelor of
Management Studies degree at Waikato Management School,
University of Waikato. The purpose of the paper is to introduce
students to the basic concepts of organisational behaviour. In recent
years delivery of the paper has moved away from „one way‟
transmission of content through large class lectures and tutorials to
a constructivist based blended learning approach (Mason, 2005;
Rovai, 2004) whereby lectures focused on content are delivered
via the web, complemented by a series of large group (face to face)
discussions and weekly tutorials which provide students with
opportunities to discuss and apply concepts. Group projects are an
important component of course learning and assessment with each
group of five or six students assigned a topic which they must then
research, submit a report of their findings, and present their
research to the tutorial class. Through these activities students have
the opportunity to not only learn about the topic under
investigation, but also experience group organisational behaviour
concepts in action.
...delivery of the
paper has moved
away from ‘one
way’
transmission of
content through
large class
lectures and
tutorials to a
constructivist
based ‘blended
learning’
approach …
Previous iterations and experiences of teaching staff and students in
HRMG 241 confirm the presence of the challenges of group work
described in the literature, with the circumstances faced by many
2nd year students posing additional challenges. For example, many
students may be living away from home and wish to return home
during weekends and teaching recesses – thus restricting their
ability to engage in group meetings. Students whose first language
is not English may also pose challenges to the group process. Some
of these students may feel shy and have difficulties communicating
with other team members. Correspondingly, some domestic
students do not always demonstrate the hospitality and patience
towards students from other cultures which would help them to
participate successfully in group conversations. Additionally,
working with others is a skill that needs coaching and takes time
and patience to develop. Not surprisingly therefore, teaching staff
in this paper report that on average three groups (from a total class
size of approx 25 groups) each semester encounter difficulties to
the extent that formal intervention by tutor and/or lecturer is
required. In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests many groups
simply ignore, dismiss, or use „in-group‟ processes to „remedy‟
elements of group dysfunction, so as not to jeopardise their final
report and accordingly their grade.
(Mason, 2005; Rovai, 2004)
• 17 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
In the context of HRMG 241, while students are required to
research and present information on a topic, the processes through
which each group attains these outputs are left to students to
determine and can thus be considered a form of „informal learning‟.
Informal learning has been described as any activity “involving the
pursuit of understanding, knowledge, or skill that occurs without
the presence of externally imposed curricula criteria” (Milheim,
2007, p 22). When used as a supplement to other forms of
instruction, technology has been shown to assist informal learning
processes by fostering relationships and social collaborative
processes (Milheim, 2007; Selwyn & Gorard, 2004).
Observations by teaching staff from previous iterations of HRMG
241 identify that students typically use a combination of email and
to an increasing extent text messages for communication between
group members. Although such communication channels are
increasingly common among students, the chance for lost or
deleted messages is high, compounded in instances when „no
credit‟ on cell phones prohibits students from sending or receiving
text messages. Individual members can be missed/kept out of the
communication loop (be it deliberately or through human error),
thus accountability and transparency in communications across the
entire group is minimal. In the context of these multiple
opportunities for miscommunication or no communication, the
introduction of Moodle (Modular Objecto r i e n t e d
Dynamic Learning Environment)
t
o
Waikato University‟s e-learning
portfolio provided an ideal
opportunity to explore how
a n
open source learning
management system may
support student group
learning.
Moodle
is a learnercentred application
grounded in constructivist
pedagogy (Boateng
& Boateng, n.d.), and
thus encourages social,
collaborative processes.
Providing a virtual learning
space
which students are able to access when, where and for however
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 18 •
long they want to (Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995), it not only assists
students develop a tangible output (in this case a research report for
assessment) but also supports the learning process. Discussion is
not time dependent and the flow of ideas remains active over
extended periods of time, allowing team members to share tacit
(informal) and formal knowledge uninhibited by time or location
(Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995). Further, shy students who feel
uncomfortable speaking up in a group situation, or students for
whom the language of instruction (in this case English) is not their
native tongue, may find it easier to contribute to the discussion. The
asynchronous environment means there is less pressure to respond
immediately, providing them time to reflect on the discussion thus
far and compose (and edit) their response at their own pace. Thus
there is space for the reflective dimension of learning which is so
often overlooked in crammed traditional classroom schedules.
The initiative
Moodle is a
learner-centred
application
grounded in
constructivist
pedagogy… and
thus encourages
social,
collaborative
processes…
(Boateng & Boateng, n.d.)
• 19 •
As a pilot project for HRMG 241-08B (129 students), Moodle
forums were established for each project group to facilitate
communication, planning and project development. The intention
was that these sites would complement and supplement other
teaching and learning activities in HRMG 241, rather than replace
any specific component. Each group had their own secure forum.
Only group members, their tutor, and the lecturers associated with
the paper would be able to read the entries recorded, although
students were made aware that all discussions would be moderated
by teaching staff. As well as providing a transparent means of
group communications, students were encouraged to use the
Moodle site to record and track group processes and progress as
they work on their group reports and subsequent presentations. The
facility for synchronous (real time) chat between group members
was also made available. A general question and answer forum,
open to all students enrolled in the paper was also established
providing a discussion space for dialogue between all students and
teaching staff.
How each group chose to structure and use (or not use) Moodle
was up to the individual members to negotiate, providing scope for
informal learning to occur. In terms of assessment, each group was
required to post four short progress logs in Moodle at various
stages throughout the semester (see table 1). These logs were the
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
only content/participation required as per the paper outline and the
required content was set so as to encourage students to reflect on
the processes and activities they were engaged in, thereby
encouraging „learning by doing‟. Progress logs were graded by
tutors to give recognition of effort, although in terms of the overall
course grade this component was relatively small (4% of total
grade).
Final Log
a) What has been the best part about working in this group? Why? (include a brief contribution from each
member)
b) What do you think this team was particularly good at? Why? (Where applicable, link this to relevant
organisational behaviour theory).
c) What have you learnt about group processes? How will this help you in the future? (include a brief contribution
from each member)
d) If you had to work as a team together on another project, what would you do differently?
e) Anything else you wish/need to report……
Table 1: Example of Progress Log Content.
Preliminary Observations
As the teaching period is only now drawing to an end, evaluation of
the pilot project is still in its initial stages. Evaluation surveys were
completed by 94 students and are currently being processed and
analysed, however preliminary indications are that the initiative has
had more positive than negative outcomes. While many of the
students had used Moodle as part of other papers in their
programme of study, only a very small number had previously used
the technology as part of group work. Group cohesion appears to
have been strong across all tutorials, and the progress logs indicate
students have benefited from applying some of the organisational
behaviour concepts presented in their text to their own
circumstances. Although many students reported that using Moodle
was time consuming, most acknowledged they now have a more
positive perception of the tool and perhaps more importantly would
consider using it again as part of any future group work.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 20 •
Monitoring of the discussion forums revealed a range of usage
levels – from the bare minimum required for assessment purposes
to some groups continuing to use the forums as a general
communication channel once their formal group work had been
completed. The key benefit identified by the majority of students
was being able to use Moodle as a medium to communicate when
timetable clashes prevented the entire group meeting face to face.
Only a small number of students experimented with using the
synchronous chat facility, although several students report using
other „chat software‟ for electronic meetings. Arranging meetings,
clarifying decisions, allocating tasks and sharing resources and
drafts appear to be the most common applications used. While most
students agreed it was helpful having a central location to share
files and documents, some students expressed concern that Moodle
was yet another tool that had to be used and required effort to
monitor it. These students proposed that existing channels such as
email, or social networking sites such as Bebo may achieve the
same outcomes. There was also concern among some students
about teaching staff being able to read entries.
Group
cohesion
appears to
have been
strong...
students have
benefited
from applying
some of the
organisational
behaviour
concepts…
• 21 •
Tutors report very positive perceptions of the Moodle trial, both in
terms of marking the progress logs on line, and the contribution the
forums had to group processes and outcomes. Although some
changes will undoubtedly be made once the evaluation process is
complete, there appears to be the shared assumption among the
teaching team that Moodle will continue to be used to support
student group learning, with a particular view to enhance and
support the development of collaborative assessments.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
References
Boateng, B. A., & Boateng, K. (n.d.). Open source LMS for management
and e-business applications. Retrieved 4 September, 2008, from the
World Wide Web: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~bk144501/append/
paper.pdf
Forman, J., & Katsky, P. (1986). The group report: A problem in small
group or writing processes? Journal of Business Communication, 23
(4), 23-35.
Hansen, R. S. (2006). Benefits and problems with student teams:
Suggestions for improving team projects. Journal of Education for
Business, 82(1), 11-19.
Leidner, D. E., & Jarvenpaa, S. L. (1995). The use of information
technology to enhance management school education: A theoretical
view. MIS Quarterly, 19 (3), 265-291
Mason, R. (2005). Blended Learning. Education, Communication and
Information, 5(3), 217-220.
Milheim, K. L. (2007). Influence of technology on informal learning. Adult
Basic Education and Literacy Journal, 1(1), 21.
Rovai, A. P. (2004). A constructivist approach to online college learning.
Internet and Higher Education, 7, 79-93.
Selwyn, N., & Gorard, S. (2004). Exploring the role of ICT in facilitating
adult informal learning. Education, Communication and Information,
4(2/3), 293-310.
Stevens, M. C. (2007). Making groups work. College Teaching, 55(2), 88.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 22 •
Reflective Writing in Student Journals
Using scholarship to promote deeper levels of reflective
writing in student journals
Anne Hume
This article by Anne Hume from the MSTE (Mathematics, Science
and Technology Education) department at the School of
Education, University of Waikato presents preliminary findings
from an action research project centred on the use of reflective
journals to promote student learning.
Over several years I have been developing and researching the
impact of an initiative involving student journals that I introduced
into my tertiary science education course for pre-service teachers
to promote enhanced learning of how to teach science. Very soon
after introducing the journals into course work I began engaging
in my own „unplanned‟ informal reflection when I witnessed the
shallow, often trivial nature of my students‟ reflective writing and
the lack of pedagogical insights they were gaining from the
exercise. Motivated by my own ongoing scholarship I decided to
investigate ways and means of improving student‟s reflective
powers using practical action research Cresswell (2005) to
monitor the process. This year I introduced purposeful coaching
of reflective skills into my pedagogy this to scaffold students‟
learning of these skills and promote higher levels of reflection
(Bain et al., 1999). These strategies included the :
• 23 •

exposure to learning experiences that provides
the „raw material‟ for reflection, that is,
experiences which deliberately challenge their
existing ideas about science and teaching
science.

allocation of set periods of time (about 10
minutes) for reflective writing in each of the
workshops after students engage in activities
designed to increase their understanding of how
to teach science.

use of Shulman‟s knowledge categories (1987)
as a reflective tool.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
...focused nature
of the reflective
tasks on content
that challenged
preconceived
ideas, the regular
sharing of
exemplars, and
feedback that
prompted further
thinking appeared
to help students
increase the
sophistication of
their reflections
and their
insights…
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK

explicit sharing of the nature of skills to be learned (Clarke,
2001) through the use of exemplars that illustrate good
reflective journal writing, as suggested by Moon (1999). I
used examples of student writing from previous years that
exemplified certain aspects of learning to teach science along
with pieces of writing from current students that best showed
evidence of reasoning and reconstructing (Bain et al., 1999).

focus on feedback that relates to exemplars to improve
journal writing and the appreciation that “feedback focusing
on the reflective writing process –giving guidelines and a
suggested framework for moving into higher levels of
cognitive activity – is both more effective and more easily
generalised than feedback focusing on the teaching issues
raised by teachers‟ (Bain et al., 2002, p. 193).
Initial findings indicate that student teachers‟ reflective skills
are improving and resulting in deeper and more focused
thinking about learning how to teach science for learning. Most
growth occurred in the episodes of „compulsory‟ reflective
writing that occurred in the early workshops and professional
tasks. The focused nature of the reflective tasks on content that
challenged preconceived ideas, the regular sharing of
exemplars, and feedback that prompted further thinking
appeared to help students increase the sophistication of their
reflections and their insights into the teaching of science.
Content that challenges pre-conceived ideas
The following reflective writing task was given in the first
workshop after a post-box activity that required students to
comment on statements related to the Nature of Science.
On the piece of paper reflect on the effectiveness of the
Postbox technique in terms of changing the way you
conceptualise the nature of science – then do a pair and
share.
• 24 •
Here are is a piece of reflective writing that exhibits aspects of
relating and reasoning that are higher levels of reflection.
I have long believed that science is an objective discipline that
independent from commercial interests or biased human
purpose – “value free”. The post-box technique reveals that
science does have the side that is value-driven, though the
overwhelming majority is for the humanitarian purpose. As for
the technique itself, it provides a channel for open discussion
and collection of view-points that allows some ideas that I
never thought before. It is a very good and helpful
method‟
Jack (pseudonym)
The use of exemplars
Pieces of writing like the one above were used as exemplars (with the
authors‟ permission) in the follow-up session. In the interviews
students commented on the value of such exemplars for learning
what‟s involved in reflective writing.
Yes, I think hearing other pieces of reflective writing and seeing
what was expected, and having a few more goes and practice
at it probably helped me a lot.
Nora (pseudonym)
Yeah, I found it hard initially until I probably heard some other
people‟s writing and then I was able to go … „Okay that‟s what
they are after. I need to think a bit deeper, not just skim the
surface.
Carol (pseudonym)
Written feedback and feedforward comments
With other students‟ reflective writing (on the same task) I used
feedback to focus the student‟s thinking more on the required
cognitive task i.e., the extent to which the postbox technique affected
their personal learning.
• 25 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
I thought that the Postbox technique was a useful way to
challenge existing ideas, particularly as there were many
people who had very different ideas about some of the
concepts. Surprisingly, since we are scientists and
theoretically, probably from the same “school of
thought” e.g. the NZ school. I was, of course, reassured
when others thought like me, and assured, but respectful
when others had ideas that seemed absurd to me.
Valuable all the same to hear other points of view.
Vanessa (pseudonym)
My written feedback comment – Did your understanding
about the Nature of Science change in any way, or was
your understanding unchanged?
Those students who were interviewed generally expressed
appreciation of the feedback and feedforward, often
commenting how my questioning form of feedback prompted
them to think more deeply.
Yeah, and she made some comments on some of the
reflective writing that I‟ve done. She‟d written some
comments like, „Do you think it would be useful?‟ or …
you know, tried to tease … tried to get me to just take that
next step into how I would apply that in my own practice,
which is really kind of the goal of the reflective writing, in
the end. So I guess when I started off I wasn‟t really
thinking about that, I was just talking about the
experience rather than how are you going to use that
experience to build for next time … so … yeah the
feedforward was quite good … not for that particular
piece of writing, but for the next time.
Nora (pseudonym)
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 26 •
Levels of reflective writing
An example of another reflective writing task early in the course
related to a professional task I had given the students prior to the
workshop. They had been required to write a 250-500 word
statement that highlighted some of the key ideas that Shulman raises
when he talks of teaching as involving ‘processes of pedagogical
reasoning and action’ in his paper Knowledge and Teaching:
Foundations of the New Reform (1987). These prepared statements
were shared and discussed in groups during the workshop to prioritise
key ideas emerging from the paper for presentation to the whole
class. After the presentations they were asked to address the
following question in 10 minutes of personal reflective writing.
Knowledge of
educational purposes
and values
Content
knowledge
Knowledge of
educational contexts
What good
science
teachers know
Knowledge of
learners and their
characteristics
General
pedagogical
knowledge
Curriculum
Pedagogical content
knowledge
Figure 1. Shulman’s Framework
Has your understanding of teaching changed after reading
Shulman‟s paper and completing the class exercise?
• 27 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
Some reflections now begin to reveal the highest levels of
reflective thinking (Bain et al., 1999) as students reason through
their preconceptions and internalise the personal significance of
their learning.
I taught in two very different schools in the past. The
school‟s pedagogy was lecturing and the other school was
facilitating. Thinking back on my idea of teaching of
teaching in these two opposite ways I wish I could have read
Shulman‟s article about pedagogy all those years ago to just
break the way I should have taught open to me. Although I
probably had these ideas in my head I only used
comprehension, instruction and evaluation of the students‟
learning parts. Transformation was never really planned
and I do see that this could be of big value to the success of
teaching as it gets you to think about the „how to teach”, the
students etc. Further I never really reflected on my teaching
other than “Did the students understand or not?” In the
future I will spend much more time on evaluating my own
performance and reflection of how and what I taught
and also on how and what the students learned
through my teaching.
Elaine (pseudonym)
In following reflective sessions more students were able to think
metacognitively about various learning activities they engaged in.
Concept mapping, for example, was a new experience for some
and proved quite challenging.
...students
reason through
their
preconceptions
and internalise
the personal
significance of
their learning.
I must admit I hadn‟t come across this style of learning
before … I initially started writing down the main and sub
topics of the paper and then tried to organize them, it was
only when I was semi-happy that I then tried to construct
links between them. This aspect I not only found difficult
but it made me go back and re-read areas of the paper to
identify appropriate links. It was this that made me fully
understand what the paper was about and so consider
concept mapping as a useful learning tool.
Shirley (pseudonym)
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 28 •
I also found that the student teachers were approaching the set
reflective writing tasks with more ease and confidence, and tended to
write longer pieces of reflection in the given time slots. Their
reflections were also more focused on what they had learned from the
activity in relation to learning how to teach science. Here a student
teacher reflects on a reading about science teachers sharing their
pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) [Shulman, 1987] of the topic
‘Chemical reactions’.
Something that came to mind while reading this paper was that
teaching is like any other skilled task. The more you do and
learn from experience, the greater your ability to see what else
could have been done better. This for me encapsulates PCK.
Every teacher brings with them varying levels of prior
knowledge and experience and will therefore notice
different areas which need work or could have been
done better.
Georgina (pseudonym)
Independent journal writing
Once students left the workshop situation and began ‘freelance’
reflective writing in their journals while on teaching practice I
noticed an overall inclination to lapse back into lower levels of
reflection, especially those students whose reflective skills had
remained relatively unsophisticated during the coaching sessions.
However, all students continued to provide instances of reflection
that revealed deeper appreciation and understanding of how to teach
science than I had seen from student teachers in previous years of the
course. The reflections tended to be more infrequent but of higher
quality, and often focused on revelations that had been triggered by
some event. For example, after realising she has taught a concept
incorrectly Jill (pseudonym) comments:
I corrected this the next day by my associate teacher‟s advice,
because if I had left it the students would have been left with a
misconception about electrical currents that would have made
them less receptive to the correct idea when they come
across it in the next year. To prevent this I need to do
more background knowledge preparation with my
lessons
• 29 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
One student teacher was notable for the sheer volume of
reflective writing that he produced while on practicum. His
writing often reflected quite deep-seated insecurities about his
teaching abilities but also very perceptive thinking about actions
he could (and did) take to improve his practice. After a lesson
Vance (pseudonym) writes:
The whole lesson was basically lecturing with a didactic
approach and I had talked too much. I could do more
activities, such as quick-fire/pop test, testing the prior
knowledge, letting students try and then allowing them to
come up with conclusions, letting them think e.g CO and
CO2, why are they called monoxide and dioxide
respectively … I should seek for students‟ ideas more
often, and the teacher stay out of it.
The value of practising reflective writing skills
A clear finding from student teachers that were interviewed after
the course was the value of practicing the skills in the
programme. Elaine (pseudonym) in her interview explains:
E: Well, just from the start, I‟d never reflected in my life. So
the first one was shocking that I gave back to her. I don‟t
know what I wrote in that thing, but just … her doing it
over and over again and any time she taught us something,
or a new strategy or something she asked us to reflect on
that. And that really got me thinking because I never
thought that way. I never reflected on anything.
Interviewer: So it was the repetition?
Repetition … yeah, of doing all kinds of different strategies
that she taught us and then asking us to think and reflect on
how that worked for us … so yeah, that‟s …
Interviewer: So just over and over again?
E: Yeah.
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 30 •
Concluding thoughts
This initiative has been based primarily on the application of wellknown theories and strategies to develop student teachers’ reflective
skills for enhanced professional learning through reflection (e.g.,
Schon, 1987; Shulman, 1987). I have drawn heavily on the findings
and suggestions of a range of researchers in the field of reflective
journals to improve student learning in my course and many of my
findings mirror the positive outcomes reported by these experienced
workers in the field (e.g., Bain et al., 1999; Moon, 1999; Moore,
2005). However what I believe is significant about this study is the
positive impact the practice of pre-teaching these skills and the
manner in which they are taught are having on students’ reflective
capabilities. These skills are introduced and nurtured before students
are required to keep their own reflective journals, and before
they are given the independence to reflect on those issues and
events they consider significant. The acquisition of these
skills was achieved by providing focused opportunities
within the early portion of the programme for students to
experience and practise the skills as they learned how to
teach science. This targeted teaching included the use of
timetabled slots solely for reflective writing early in the
programme, exemplars of reflective writing, reflective
frameworks, and regular written feedback and feedforward
comments from myself about their writing.
The use of action research (Cresswell, 2005) is giving me a
clear sense of direction and purpose in my own professional
growth. With this focus comes the confidence that each
modification I make to my teaching approach is likely to
have positive outcomes for my students because my
decisions are guided by evidence-based reasoning specific to
our teaching and learning situation and targeted at our
identified needs. Next year in the course I intend sharing
more exemplars with students that illustrate varying levels of
reflectivity (Bain et al., 1999) and ensuring my feedback and
feedforward comments extend students reflective thinking in
ways that encourage them to take actions to refine their
understanding of how to teach science. The initiative has
been time-consuming but gratifying when I see students‟
successes in their learning. Moon, (1999) who has worked
for a long time in the field of reflection, comments:
• 31 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
In the preparation of this book, a number of situations
have become evident where journals have been
introduced without much forethought. This can work.
It is almost in the nature of journal writing to be
experimental – but some thought may mean that the
exercise is more likely to be sustained, with a more
substantial and satisfying outcome. However, while
forethought is important, it is unlikely that a journal
will be „right‟ the first year. Journal writing evolves
with the experiences of the learners and the teaching
staff.” (p. 78)
These thoughts certainly reflect my experiences with student
journals, and I look forward with anticipation to another phase of
action research next year and even better results for my students!
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
• 32 •
References
Bain, J. D., Ballantyne, R., Packer, J., & Mills, C. (1999). Using journal writing
to enhance student teachers reflectivity during field experience
placements. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and practice, 5(1), 51-73.
Bain, J. D., Mills, C., Ballantyne, R., & Packer, J. (2002). Developing reflection
on practice through journal writing: impacts of variations in the focus and
level of feedback. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 8(2), 171
-196.
Clarke, S. (2001). Unlocking formative assessment. Practical strategies for
enhancing pupils‟ learning in the primary classroom. London: Hodder &
Stoughton.
Creswell, J.W. (2005). Educational research. Planning, conducting, and
evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. New Jersey: Pearson
Education.
Moon, J.A. (1999). Learning journals. A handbook for academics, students and
professional development. London: Kogan Page.
Moore, J. (2005). Transformative mathematics pedagogy: from theory to
practice, research and beyond. In A. Rodriqez & R.S. Kitchen (Eds.),
Preparing mathematics and science teachers for diverse classrooms.
Promising strategies for transformative pedagogy (pp. 183-202). London:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schon, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: towards a new design
for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform.
Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22.
• 33 •
OCTOBER 2008 • TDU TALK
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