learning - Academic Conferences Limited

Andrea Benn
It was also clear that this was going to be as much a challenge for the lecturers as it was hoped it
would be for the students.
Research Questions
The main objectives for this research were:
To identify the specific skills new learners would require in order to cope with and enjoy, enquiry
based learning (EBL)
To identify appropriate blended strategies and technologies which would complement EBL within
a business programme
To identify ways to introduce EBL to colleagues, students and the local business community
2. Research Methods
The primary method for this report was desk research reviewing the available literature for problembased;
work-based and action learning and in particular the findings of some of the experts in this
field as Barrows & Tamblyn (1980); Savin-Baden (2006), Boud & Feletti (2001) and Duch et al (2001).
More recent journal articles discuss the experiences of implementing PBL but only one example was
found for an UG programme in the UK, Parrott (2009)
Students studying on the existing course at UoB, the FdA Business, were asked for feedback on
completion of a fully online module ascertaining what they liked or disliked most about the activities;
the time spent on each activity and whether they considered they had sufficient IT skills to cope with
the module or how these had developed during the module. They were also asked how they would
feel about using social networking sites ie Facebook for University work and interacting with lecturers.
Results from earlier action research by the author, Moon (2010), which looked at the development of
her practice and skills in order to bring about change in the module delivery to encourage the students
to rise to their new challenge, were also incorporated into this report.
2.1 The Pedagogical Strategies
The concept of EBL was determined as the preferred principal strategy as it requires the programme
to be student-centred, therefore the curriculum design must also have a student-led approach,
allowing students to “take care of their needs... particularly pushing them into reflecting on a certain
number of aspects they are already acquainted with but which they tend to forget when working on
their own”, Brudermann (2010).
The underpinning skills required can be identified as being those suggested by Bloom (1956) as
knowledge; comprehension; application; analysis; synthesis and evaluation as well as collaborative
group working and co-operative learning. Developments of these skills is already expected of
graduates upon completion of each stage of existing UG programmes, and are now translated to the
QAA level descriptors for UG programmes. What differs is the expectation that students from the
outset of Level 4, will take control of their learning for themselves, ie they adopt an active approach,
Savin-Baden & Wilkie (2006) and put these skills to use immediately. It is recognised that for Level 4
UG this may be a tall ask and the design of the first year needs to be more formative, demonstrating
to the students what is expected of them.
The next stage is to understand how, through the design of the curriculum, the students will
recognise these skills and map their development over the course of their study and whether using
blended strategies and incorporating technology would complement or complicate and how far should
it go.
Earlier research emphasised that the first consideration needs to be for the technology to support and
be driven by the pedagogical principles. From a business perspective, Laudon & Traver (2009, 4-4)
advise that business decisions drive the technology and not the other way around, to ensure that its
technology platform will be aligned with the business and not the other way around. This view is
reiterated by Cox et al (2010) in an educational setting, which is to find the best technology that suits
the subject being offered, the context in which it is offered and which can be utilised for the greatest
advantage for that purpose.
57