Enhancing the student learning experience through Assessed Enquiry Based Learning

1. Enhancing the student learning experience through Assessed Enquiry Based Learning Ruth Pearce

2. Evaluation of previous cohorts • Attrition at 15% (above benchmark) • ‘little personal relevance’ • ‘already doing the job’ • Onerous assessment

3. Challenges • Student cohort ‘expert’ practitioners from a range of clinical backgrounds ‘My expectations were it would be a traditional course with more depth at a different academic level and I would be reminded of being a student nurse and I expected to be made to feel stupid. We were always threatened with a discontinuation of our training and I expected that kind of culture. • Questionable motivation for undertaking programme ‘Well it sounds awful but I had no expectations of it when started because we’d been sent on it, in a manner of speaking, because we had to show we were educated to Masters level so we thought about what would we not mind doing and I suppose teaching was the obvious one, so we had a really low expectation of it.’ • Their priority was to develop technical teaching skills

4. Enquiry Based Learning • Student centred – onus is on the learner within the team • Collaborative • Allows theory to be explored within student context • Integration of knowledge and practice • Deep approach to learning as students make their own connections between ideas. • Open nature of an enquiry ensures there is scope for more realistic and relevant learning and peer interactions foster engagement. • Allows the development of a wide range of abilities: knowledge-creation, team-working, presentation, information literacy, ICT, problem-solving, creativity and project management. (Kahn and O’Rourke, 2004)

5. Context • PGCert – Teacher in Health and Social Care • Delivered as part of Masters in Advanced Social and Healthcare provision

6. How does EBL work? • Engage team and set ground rules • Launch ‘enquiry’ • Ideas explode out from enquiry • Students explore the literature to formulate speculative general principles in relation to the enquiry. • Hypotheses are generated about what actions are needed to lead to an improvement in their practice. • Students set own agenda for learning: ownership of timetable • Bring information back and articulate to team own understanding • Review, evaluate and modify understanding through subsequent sessions. • Draw enquiry to a close and address enquiry.

7. Supporting EBL • Facilitator role: • Anxieties around process • Deconstruction of existing experiences • Reconstruction • Wiki activity: • Engages students with web-based learning • Enables externalisation of the EBL process

8. Study Aims • To provide an outstanding student experience • To engage with active learning through the EBL process • To encourage collaboration, teamwork and the development of transferable skills Method • Semi-structured interviews • Thematic analysis

9. Findings (1) • All students identified: • significant change to their practice as a result of learning from the programme. • immediate application to practice. • collective learning responsibility ensured the students actively engaged with learning

10. Findings (2) • All students indicated that their confidence had developed through: • teamwork • presenting an argument • challenging each other’s perspectives. • Students spoke of EBL as a transformational learning experience.

11. Change in practice • ‘It’s been brilliant to come into something that you didn’t think you were going to learn and end up changing everything you do has been amazing. To look at things from different perspectives and realise you’re not too old to change.’ • ‘It has really helped me to achieve much more than anticipated. I think it has caused an automatic internal change because it has totally changed my perspective.’

12. Immediate application • ‘The fact here we’ve been recognised as expert practitioners and our knowledge has been respected has made all the difference, we can apply what we learn directly to our practice.’

13. Collective Learning • ‘With EBL you take a greater responsibility for your own learning and that of your colleagues, it’s very much about the team and not just letting yourself down if you don’t perform, your letting the team down – it mirrors reflective practice really’

14. Confidence and development (1) • ‘To have developed the confidence to change and look at what we were doing …it’s difficult when given a certain environment in which to teach and you’re aware you’re not doing the class justice but to then have the knowledge and awareness of the effect of the environment and how this can be changed.’ • ‘This experience has been completely different with a group that has worked together, gelled and we’ve learnt a lot from each other.’

15. Confidence and development (2) • ‘It has given me the confidence to challenge practice and truly think differently and at Masters level.’ • ‘I just found myself thinking differently, I found my teaching was different as my previous experience has been typical teaching/learning and EBL has helped me appreciate the true value of learning. I think it has increased my confidence as a teacher and learner.’ • ‘We are champions for practice education having had a positive learning experience and the confidence that brings.’

16. Transformational learning experience (1) • ‘The EBL process in itself is what has changed everything, not just my teaching and learning but the world as a whole.’ • ‘Learning is about growth and we all have our own stories of transformation from this course.’

17. Transformational learning experience (2) • ‘It’s not unique but it’s one of those prized occasions where the process has been as rich as the end result. I think the fact that it happens in education when we are actually looking at trying to attain that, does create its uniqueness and exploits the very powerful nature of a group.’

18. Examples of practice development • Change to infection control mandatory training from PowerPoint presentation to small group, practical sessions with staff led activities. • Change to GNVQ training from all day lectures with poor attendance to a one hour lead lecture supported by individual or small group tutorials and small group work. • Change to self harm and suicide risk assessment sessions to medical staff in A&E from PowerPoint presentations to scenario based activities.

19. The success of EBL in the PGCert • ‘I think that what struck me most about the EBL was that you can see the simplicity of it is it’s defining point because it can be used in any course but the I think the mastery that has been demonstrated was using it in a course about education, not only were you allowing us to use EBL but you were allowing us to experience it in a course about teaching and learning. I think that way we were able to see more than just the one side and experience real student centred learning.’

20. Success indicators • 62% of the students have new jobs leading education in their field of practice. • ‘I didn’t expect it to be fun either, I thought it would be a tick box exercise but learning should be fun and this has been.’ • ‘I was expecting it to be stressful, I wasn’t expecting fun or for it to be enjoyable or to make friends and it’s been really good, we’ve definitely learnt so much’

21. References • Kahn, P. & O’Rourke, K. (2004) Guide to curriculum design. Higher Education Academy http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/id359_guide_to_curriculum_design_ebl accessed 16.05.08