A scheme for improving ICT units with critically low student satisfaction (original) (raw)

Common areas for improvement in ICT units that have critically low student satisfaction

Unit evaluations across many Australian universities indicate that close to 10% of units in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) disciplines are flagged as needing critical attention. Poor unit evaluation results may lead to a number of negative consequences including poor student learning. To develop an understanding of the reasons why students rate some ICT units as poor, qualitative responses to Monash's unit evaluation questionnaire were examined from 13 ICT units for semester 2, 2010 that were deemed needing critical attention. Responses from students to the question "What aspects of this unit are most in need of improvement?" were analysed. A partial grounded theory based approach was used to code 281 responses to determine common re-occurring themes. Results show eight broad areas in which units can be improved. However the top concern for students in these units is the lecture content. The implications of our results will help ICT lecturers with plann...

Five years of taps on shoulders to PATS on backs in ICT

2013

A concern for Information and Communication Technology and Engineering disciplines in many Australian universities is the need to improve a high percentage of courses that students perceive as needing critical attention. Typically, courses in the Physical Sciences disciplines score low on student evaluations and repeatedly have the highest student dropout rates. This paper reports the results of a study investigating five years of changes in course evaluation results in one of Australia's Go8 universities that applied the Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme (PATS). PATS was initially trialed in the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) at Monash University to improve teaching quality and student satisfaction through building peer assistance capacity. The focus of this study will be on student satisfaction, rather than education quality. PATS has evolved over this period through action research and has been supported by the Australian Government's Office for Learning and Teaching. Multiple changes have been made to the PATS process since its inception, and the quantitative improvements to courses taking part in PATS are reported. The paper concludes by showing that the course areas addressed by the PATS participants are indeed the areas of most concern to students.

Enhancing Student Satisfaction in Higher Education: The Creation of Staff Teaching Communities

The Australian Educational Researcher, 2001

The past decade has seen an increased emphasis on the quality of higher education teaching and learning environments. This study utilised qualitative (focus group) and quantitative (College and University Classroom Environment Inventory) methodologies to evaluate student perceptions of their tertiary classroom environment. Students were asked to both identify their preferred classroom environment and evaluate their actual experience. Qualitative and quantitative analyses emphasised the importance for students of (i) positive relational and communication issues, and (ii) explicit guidelines for, and support with, course expectations. In response to the finding that students' actual experiences of their classroom environment were significantly below their preferred ratings, a semester long staff development program was established. This program was based on the model of developing a 'teaching community' and provided opportunities for staff to explore, in a participatory action research framework, aspects of their teaching practice. Staff rated the program as valuable and engaged actively with the process. Following the intervention there were significant increases in student levels of satisfaction with their tertiary course experience. This paper examines the process and outcomes of this project and highlights some of the methodological difficulties of practitioner based research in tertiary education practice.

Using IT Support to improve the quality of Peer Assisted Learning

Peer assisted learning (PAL) is one way to increase the empowerment of students through their learning practices and, hence, enhance their learning journey. PAL involves students mentoring groups of academically less experienced students; develops the quality and diversity of student learning, and enables students to become active partners in their learning experience. PAL supports student transition into higher education and there is evidence that it can aid retention in the early weeks of degree study. Retention is becoming a key issue for universities and one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) of quality education under the strategy for higher education set out by the current government. The PAL³ project is funded by Learn Higher and is an on going project investigating the use of IT support to improve the quality of Peer Assisted Learning. The project has set up a learning environment for students, and a knowledge base for PAL student mentors and PAL and other academic staff.

Identifying satisfaction factors in tertiary education- The case of an Information Systems Program

This paper introduces a modified Kano approach to analysing and classifying quality attributes that drive student satisfaction in tertiary education. The approach provides several benefits over the traditional Kano approach. Firstly, it uses existing student evaluations of subjects in the educational institution instead of purpose-built surveys as the data source. Secondly, since the data source includes qualitative comments and feedback, it has the exploratory capability to identify emerging and unique attributes. Finally, since the quality attributes identified could be tied directly to students’ detailed feedback, the approach enables practitioners to easily translate the results into concrete action plans. In this paper, the approach is applied to analysing 26 subjects in the information systems school of an Australia university. The approach has enabled the school to uncover new quality attributes and paves the way for other institutions to use their student evaluations to continually understand and addressed students’ changing needs.

University student engagement and satisfaction with learning and teaching

2008

A. An overall QA & research framework for learning and teaching B. The purposes & desired outcomes of higher education C. Standards D. Assuring the quality of assessment E. Changing Student Expectations F. What engages higher education students in productive learning & retains them? G. Research on the productive uses of ICT-enabled Learning in universities 41 H. Multiple designs for learning I. Designing learning spaces & optimising access J. Effective approaches to monitoring and evaluating the quality of the student experience in Higher Education Conclusion References & further reading Attachments Attachment One: Context Attachment Two: Four level quality assurance and evaluation framework for learning and teaching in higher education 58 Attachment Three: Professional capability framework-key dimensions Attachment Four: CEQuery Analysis of 280,000 student comments on the CEQ Attachment 4 (b) : Learning Methods identified as a 'best aspect' in The national CEQuery study

Course evaluation matters: Improving students’ learning experiences with the Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme

In the rapidly changing global higher education sector, greater attention is being paid to the quality of university teaching. However, academics have traditionally not received formal teacher training. The peer-assisted teaching programme reported on in this paper provides a structured yet flexible approach for peers to assist each other in reinvigorating and refining their teaching practice. Academics participated in this national, multi-institutional trial for varied reasons: the majority voluntarily, others to increase low student evaluation of course scores and some as part of a graduate certificate teaching qualification. Here we report on how academics used the scheme, and the teaching areas they focused on. Student evaluation of course scores increased in the majority of courses, suggesting the changes made had a positive effect on students' learning experiences. The experiences of the multi-institutional trial reported here may benefit others considering such a scheme to reinvigorate and refine teaching practice and improve course evaluation scores.

Peer Teaching: A New Step to Improve Education, Learning and Student Satisfaction

2020

Background: In peer teaching, students act as both teachers and learners. Peer teaching can be a useful way to learn courses in interdisciplinary fields of study. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the viewpoint of health information technology students about learning through peer teaching. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 at Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Undergraduate students in the health information technology department using the peer teaching method participated. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisting of 42 questions assesses students' attitudes toward peer teaching. It consisted of two categories: "learning improvement" and "students' satisfaction with the peer teaching." Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A total of 52 students participated in the study. Regarding learning improvement, the mean score of development of individual...