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International Journal for Academic Development

Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2009, 6981

Students experiences concerning course workload and factorsenhancing and impeding their learning a useful resource forquality enhancement in teaching and curriculum planning

Mirja Ruohoniemi* and Sari Lindblom-Ylnne

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki

TaylorandFrancis LtdRIJA_A_366119.sgm

(Received 23 April 2008; final version received 14 October 2008)10.1080/13601440802659494InternationalJournalfor AcademicDevelopment1360-144X print/1470-1324 onlineOriginal Article2009Taylor&Francis141000000March2 [email protected]

The aim of the study is to deepen our understanding of factors which students

experience as important in learning, in order to improve the quality of teaching andcurriculum planning. A total of 132 veterinary students participated in the study

by answering a questionnaire containing open-ended questions. Most of thecomments on factors enhancing learning were associated with teaching practices.Factors related to the planning of teaching, including curriculum and courseoverload, were commonly mentioned as impeding learning. The students rarelycommented on their own actions. The results have been widely implemented inquality enhancement procedures at the faculty, such as curriculum planning andreform, planning of individual courses, improving teaching and assessment

practices and arranging support for students reflection.

Lobjectif de cette recherche est dapprofondir notre comprhension des facteurs

qui sont important en matire dexprience dapprentissage des tudiants, de faon amliorer la qualit de lenseignement et la planification curriculaire. Au total,132 tudiants en sciences vtrinaires ont particip la recherche en rpondant un questionnaire contenant des questions ouvertes. La plupart des commentaires

portant sur les facteurs facilitant lapprentissage taient associs aux pratiquesdenseignement. Les facteurs relis la planification de lenseignement, tels quella surcharge au niveau du curriculum ou du cours, taient communmentmentionns comme nuisant lapprentissage. Les tudiants ont rarement fournides commentaires au sujet de leurs propres actions. Les rsultats ont t largementutiliss dans le cadre de procdures damlioration de la qualit au niveau de lafacult, entre autres en ce qui a trait la rforme et la planification curriculaires, la planification des cours individuels, lamlioration des pratiquesdenseignement et dvaluation, et aux mesures visant soutenir la rflexion destudiants.

Keywords: quality enhancement; curriculum; undergraduate studies; universitystudents; learning, teaching; veterinary medicine; Bologna Process

Introduction

High-quality learning and workload

Learning includes changes in knowledge, understanding and skills brought about by

experience, and reflection upon that experience (Brown, Bull, & Pendlebury, 1997).

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

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70 M. Ruohoniemi and S. Lindblom-Ylnne

Several factors, including the educational context, curriculum design, learning envi-

ronment, teaching and assessment practices as well as the student her- or himself, havebeen shown to influence student learning (e.g., Biggs, 2001; Bowden & Marton, 1998;

Brown et al., 1997). Approaches to learning can be considered as reactions of the

student to the learning environment (Biggs, 1993; 2003). They can be roughly divided

into two qualitatively different categories. The first, a deep approach to learning,

refers to an intention to maximise understanding (Biggs, 1993; Entwistle & Ramsden,1983). It is associated with high-quality learning outcomes, such as the students abil-

ity to apply knowledge to new problems (Entwistle & Tait, 1990; Trigwell, Prosser,

& Waterhouse, 1999). The second, a surface approach, means that a student simply

tries to cope with the course requirements, and, therefore, concentrates on routine factmemorisation (Biggs, 1993; Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983). The surface approach to

learning has been related to students lack of prior knowledge, lack of intrinsic interest

in their study tasks and to students perception of the learning environment as unsat-

isfactory (Kember & Leung, 1998; Ryan, Irwin, Bannon, Mulholland, & Baird, 2004).

In order to apply a deep approach to learning, students should have a stimulatinglearning environment in which the workload is manageable and there is sufficient time

to study and understand the course content (Chambers, 1992). Heavy workload

impedes the use of a deep approach to learning and undermines students motivation

to study (Blumberg, 2005; Parkinson, Gilling & Suddaby, 2006; Sutton, 2007). Theperceived workload, however, has been found to vary individually. Factors such as a

high number of class contact hours, a surface approach to learning, difficulties in

distinguishing key concepts from supporting material, effort not leading to success

and other forms of stress may lead a student to feel overloaded (Chambers, 1992;Kember & Leung, 1998; Kember, Ng, Pomfret, Tse & Wong, 1996). It has also been

suggested that students employ a surface approach when they find the workload high(Blumberg, 2005; Kember & Leung, 1998; Parkinson et al., 2006; Ryan et al., 2004).

Assessment has been found to be an important stimulus for study but also one of

the most important determinants of workload (Kember, 2004; Parkinson et al., 2006).The type of assessment has also been shown to influence students approaches to

learning (Scouller, 1998). Traditional examinations, especially when frequent or asso-

ciated with a large volume of material, may unintentionally guide students towards

superficial learning, which is not useful or functional for their future occupation(Lindblom-Ylnne & Lonka, 2001; Parkinson et al., 2006; Tynjl, 1998). On the

other hand, alternative assessment methods are used to promote a deep approach to

learning (e.g., Birenbaum, 1996; Brown et al., 1997; Tynjl 1998). These methodstend to be more continuous and informal and are often integrated into the learning

process itself. According to Brown et al. (1997), students who seek to understandwork better in environments that provide manageable formal workloads and a variety

of forms of assessment.

Need for curriculum reform

Veterinary faculties are responsible for operating under appropriate academic stan-dards and providing learning opportunities of acceptable quality (Rodriguez-Martinez,

2006). In general, the graduating student must be competent to act both independently

and in cooperation with others to solve unforeseen problems in challenging situations

(Bowden & Marton, 1998). Veterinary students should acquire knowledge and skills

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International Journal for Academic Development 71

healthy and sick animals and surveillance of foodstuffs of animal origin for human

consumption (Fernandes, 2005; Leibetseder, 2004). The six-year veterinary curricu-lum is demanding in several ways and maintaining students motivation over a period

of years is challenging. The veterinary profession has generally been thought to

demand a huge content base, given the wide range of animals and types of diseases

involved (Blumberg, 2005). The multifaceted requirements and generally recognised

explosion of knowledge have caused content overload in the veterinary curriculumworldwide. It has become increasingly difficult for the students to apply the deep

approach to learning. Thus, instead of covering the contents by traditional teaching,

curriculum reforms need to concentrate on the quality of students learning

(Fernandes, 2005).Furthermore, quality assurance is becoming increasingly important in higher

education. Finland committed to restructuring and redesigning its university degrees

to be in line with the Bologna Declaration by 2005. The ultimate goal of the Bologna

Declaration is the creation of a coherent European Higher Education Area by 2010. It

has been used as a tool to enhance learning and instruction and to assure the qualityof education (Gonzlez-Soriano & Rodriguez Veiga, 2004; Lindblom-Ylnne &

Hmlinen, 2004). For these purposes, an extensive re-evaluation of the contents and

existing structures, including the curriculum design, was needed (Clement, McAlpine,

& Waeytens, 2004; Lindblom-Ylnne & Hmlinen, 2004).

Aims of the study

The first aim of this study is to deepen our understanding of factors that students find

important in their learning. The students perceptions of the curriculum, individual

courses and assessment of learning have been found to differ considerably from theintentions and expectations defined by the curriculum designers and teachers (Biggs,

1993; Kember, 2004; Kember & Leung, 1998; Lindblom-Ylnne & Lonka, 2001).

The second aim is to gain information on the workload of the courses as the students

experience them. Student feedback is a fundamental part of educational quality assur-ance, but it is commonly gathered at the end of a course, using standardised questions.

By collecting data at the end of the academic year and not immediately after a specific

course we wanted to give the students an opportunity to evaluate the course from a

longer time perspective, rather than being confined to immediate impressions. Addi-tionally, this type of approach gives the students a possibility to evaluate the courses

of the whole academic year in relation to each other. We also show how these resultswere applied to the systems relevant to student learning at the Faculty and how they

were used in curriculum reform associated with the Bologna Process and the Facultysown needs.

Materials and methods

At the end of the academic year 20032004 the study planning committee of the

Faculty carried out a survey of students experiences of courses offered that year. The

first author (senior lecturer of university pedagogy, working at the central administra-

tion of the Faculty) acted as the coordinator of the survey. Getting the students views

on the studies from the third to the fifth study year was considered highly useful asthese studies were know to be affected by the forthcoming degree system associated

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The response rate was 100% for the third-year (n=51) and fourth-year students

(n=47) as returning the questionnaire was obligatory for them. The fifth-year studentswere asked to return the questionnaire when applying for a temporary licence to prac-

tice, and the response rate for them was 65% (n=34). The average percentage of

returned questionnaires was very high (88%). All participants remained anonymous.

During the academic year the third-year students had participated in 13 courses.

Of these, 12 were lecture courses many of which also included practical exercises, andone course was practically oriented. The fourth-year students had a total of 15 courses,

three of which were practically oriented. Seven courses in the spring term were shared

by the third- and fourth-year students. Some courses were short and intensive, whereas

others were spread over a longer period of time. The curriculum was very school-likein nature, with a preset timetabled study plan. There was a limited need for the

students to take active responsibility for their studies. A written examination at the end

of the course was the most common assessment method, even though individual

teachers had developed alternative methods of assessment. The fifth year was practi-

cally oriented and the students rotated through various clinics of the animal hospital.Rotations in five units of the hospital were included. The total number of courses

(third- and fourth-year students) together with clinical rotations (fifth-year students)

was 26.

The questionnaire was based on the same format but was modified individually foreach study year. At the beginning of the questionnaire for the third- and fourth-year

students there was a graphic presentation of the courses and their timing so that the

students could easily recall what they had been studying. All students were asked to

raise factors that had enhanced or impeded their learning in each course or clinicalrotation and how they had experienced its workload. This part of the questionnaire

was in the form of a matrix, with each course on a separate row and factors enhancingand impeding learning in separate columns. The space was limited but students were

able to continue their answers on the other side of the paper if necessary. Instead of

directing the students attention to any particular point, no guidance was given as towhat factors were expected.

Data analyses

Students responses concerning factors enhancing and impeding learning were

grouped by the first author. Both authors then analysed the data independently, and a

large number of preliminary categories were formed. These preliminary categorieswere further reanalysed and 10 subcategories were formed (Table 1). At each step, the

data was analysed by both authors independently and discussed together until mutual

agreement was reached. Disagreements were limited to borderline cases. In cases

where the students comments could have been classified in more than one way, thespecific features of the curriculum were taken into consideration. For example, active

construction and processing of knowledge was categorised under planning of teach-

ing and not under the students actions because the responses referred to aspects

that were included in curriculum planning, mostly in the form of providing an oppor-tunity to apply theory to practice, rather than individual experiences. The frequency

of students comments in each subcategory was calculated.

Students comments on the perceived workload for each course were classified in

the following way: 0 = easy; 1 = manageable, approximate to credits given; 2 =

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comments for each course, all courses were classified either as easy (mean < 1.0,

mode 0 or 1), manageable (mean 1.01.5, mode 1 or 2) or overloading (mean > 1.5,mode 2 or 3). Other comments not directly related to the perceived workload of the

specific course, were grouped separately and excluded from the calculations. Differ-

ences between the comments of the third- and fourth-year students attending the same

courses were investigated.

Results

Factors affecting learning

Four main categories regarding factors enhancing or impeding learning became

evident: (1) the planning of teaching (what was known and could be done before-

hand); (2) the teaching (what was done or happened during teaching, choices that

were up to the teacher rather than administrators or curriculum planners); (3) theteacher; and (4) the student. The largest main category of both enhancing and

impeding factors was related to teaching. The contents of each category, together

with examples of each subcategory and frequencies of the comments, are shown in

Table 1.The teaching practices most often cited as beneficial were related to practical

exercises and lectures. Especially those exercises where students were able to use their

hands were found valuable. Lectures were often mentioned without any description or

with only a short description such as excellent, motivating or practical, and in a

minority of answers the activities performed during the lectures were identified. Anexception to this was visualisation. The use of practical examples and especially

videos of clinical cases were considered highly instructive. Occasionally, the

perceived lack of a connection to real life was documented as affecting motivation:

Teaching was too theoretical and I dont quite believe that is relevant to veterinary medi-cine my motivation was zero. (CIII/21)

Alternative assessment methods raised twofold opinions. Supervised homework

(answering questions given by the teachers along the course) was preferred to learning

diaries. Several students considered alternative assessment methods not only useful

for their learning but also less stressful than examinations:

Passing the course by doing homework was good, because I learn best by findinganswers to questions and writing, and there was no stress of an examination. (CIII/22)

However, completely different views were also recorded:

Writing the learning diary was more time consuming than reading for an examination,and at the same time, a lot of matters remained completely ignored because we were notforced to study them. (CIV/19)

Discussions, both formal and informal, and the possibility of concentrating on inter-esting cases without any hurry were highly valued during the clinical rotation. None

of the fifth-year students mentioned lack of motivation/interest or difficulty under-

standing the importance of matters as an impeding factor. On the other hand, nearly

all the comments (except for two) relating to the teaching-learning atmosphere, such

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able1.

Commentsofthird-,fourth-andfifth-yearveterinarystudents

onfactorsmentionedasenhanc

ingorpreventinglearning,classifiedintofour

aincategoriesandtheirsubcategories.Examplesofeachsubcategory,togetherwithfrequenciesofcomments,arealsogiven.

ATEGO

RY

ubcateg

ory

Mention

edasenhancinglearning(frequencies)

Mention

edasimpedinglearning(frequencies)

LANNI

NGOFTEACHING

anning

ofteachingat

curricu

lumorcourselevel

Goodgeneralpicture,clearoverview,clearlyorganised

course,goodcoverage,nooverlapping,goodstudentgroup

size,concentratingonrelevant/essentialelements,basic

matte

rswellhighlighted(107comments)

Overloaded,workloadtoohigh,toomuchcoveredina

limite

dtime,toomanylecturers,toom

anystudents

inthe

smallgroups,chaotic/miscellaneous,

overlapping,somemattersnotcoveredatall,too

narrowcoverage,superficial,basic/relevantmatters

notclarified,courseatwrongplacein

the

curric

ulum,overlappingcoursescausinghurry,

timingpoorlyplanned(411comments)

ctiveco

nstructionand

processingofknowledge

Previousknowledge/experience,levelofpreviousknowledge/

exper

iencetakenintoconsideration,p

ossibilitytosee/do

soonaftercourseorduringit,possibilitytoapply

know

ledgetopractice(138comments)

Lackof

previousknowledge/experience,studentsnot

allowedtodothingsthemselves,nopossibilityto

apply

knowledgetopracticeduringor

soonafterthe

course(38comments)

EACHI

NG

eaching

practices

Practica

lexercises(e.g.necropsies,labo

ratorywork,surgical

proce

duresusinganimalcadavers),cl

inicalwork,lectures,

concr

etisation(demonstrations,visits,useofclinicalcases

ando

therexamples),useofICT,hom

ework,writtenand

orale

xercisesandtheirevaluation/analysis,seminars,

discussions,teachingmanneringeneral(655comments)

Poorlectures,useofICT,activatingmethods,practical

exercises,discussions,lackofexempl

ification,lack

ofpra

cticalexercises,clinicalwork,u

norganised

work

(mess),lackofsupervisedteaching(332

comm

ents)

tmosph

ere

Pleasant,calm,innovative,relaxedatmo

sphere,good

coher

ence,studentsarevalued/studen

tneedsaretakeninto

consideration(23comments)

Poor,tig

ht,stressful,pressingatmosphere,studentsnot

valued(20comments)

attersr

elatedtotimein

genera

l

Nohurry(25comments)

Hurry,rapidpace,lackoftime(60comments)

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able1.

(Continued).

ATEGO

RY

ubcateg

ory

Mention

edasenhancinglearning(frequencies)

Mention

edasimpedinglearning(frequencies)

aterial

(clinicalpatientsnot

included)

MaterialinFinnish,goodtextbook,notes

supportlectures(123

comm

ents)

Nomate

rialprovided,lackofrelevantte

xtbooks,poor

notes

provided,materialandlecturesd

idnotsupport

eachother(55comments)

ssessmentoflearning

Examinations,alternativewayofexamining(homeexercises,

lecture/learningdiarynostress)(100comments)

Examinations,alternativewayofexamining

(homework,learningdiary)(43comm

ents)

EACHE

R

Knowledgeofsubstance,expertise,experience,motivation,

enthu

siasm,personalcharacteristics,style,attitude,good

intera

ctionwithstudents(312comme

nts)

Poorpre

paration,lowvoicedifficulttohear,uncertain,

tooth

eoretical,lackofpracticalexper

ience,poor

motiv

ation,personalcharacteristics,style(138

comm

ents)

TUDEN

T

udentsownactions

Indepen

dent/individualstudyingandpra

ctising,reading

books,studyingtogether(53commen

ts)

Laziness,notpresent,hurriedforotherr

easons,

examinationsnotpreviouslypassed,w

ork,fatigue,

depression,stress,illness(102comments)

otivation,interest,

unders

tandingimportanceof

thesubject

Interest

inthetopic,desiretolearn,imp

ortantsubject,

stress

ingofsubjects/animalspeciesre

levant(173

comm

ents)

Lackof

interest/motivation,topicnotinteresting,

difficulttopic,topicsoundsdistant(53comments)

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They also commented on matters related to time in general (e.g., rapid pace, lack

of time) more commonly than others.The frequency of comments was higher for the enhancing factors compared to

impeding factors (mean 13.0 versus 9.5 comments per student, respectively).

Responses for the enhancing factors tended to be short and informative, often listing

several factors in the same sentence, as the following example shows:

Interesting subject, good lecturers, good handbook. (CIII/48)

On the other hand, the responses for the impeding factors often concentrated on onesubject, clarifying that from different views; for example:

Lack of examples! If details were tied more closely to practice, it would be easier toremember them it was not rewarding to try to memorise lists of drugs because youforget them in any case! (CIII/3)

Perceived workload

In each course at least two thirds (6690%) of the students had commented on the

workload in such a way that it could be classified relatively easily. The othercomments, not directly related to the perceived workload of the specific course were

most commonly related to the overlapping of two or more courses and the high

number of examinations or high demands of some specific examination. Occasionally

the students considered the workload high but the course otherwise rewarding, or feltthey had had to do a lot of work themselves (e.g., more independent study than they

were used to) but it was not evident how stressful they had experienced this to be.

Most of the courses and clinical rotations were considered to be convenient oreven easy. Six courses (two of which were shared by the third- and fourth-year

students; one was practically oriented) and one clinical rotation were considered over-loading. Typical comments for the overloading courses and rotation were those related

to high amount of new and/or difficult content in a short time, long workdays, unclear

objectives or unorganised work, lack of relevant textbook or specific features of the

teacher. The easy courses were found to be both frustrating and relaxing.

Differences between third- and fourth-year students

Of the seven courses shared by the third- and fourth-year students, the fourth-yearstudents commented more frequently than the third-year students on factors related to

the planning of teaching. This was the case for both enhancing and impeding factors.

The difference between third- and fourth-year students knowledge base became

evident in some comments, as the following illustrates:

The teachers thought that all students had the same knowledge base even though wethird-year students had not even had the course on andrology! Some matters were onlymentioned quickly. (CIII/5)

Too much repetition of the basic stuff. (CIV/30)

Three of the seven courses shared by the third- and fourth-year students were consid-

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Concrete actions initiated

The results have been widely utilised at the Faculty as shown in Table 2. The practical

actions taken were related to (1) enhancement of the student feedback system, (2)

planning of courses and curriculum reform, (3) improving everyday teaching, and (4)

making attempts to train students practice reflection.Based on the structure of the questionnaire, the students comments could be

linked to certain courses. The first author who acted as coordinator of the survey deliv-

ered the results to those responsible for each entity, i.e. to the study planning commit-

tee of the Faculty, the department heads, teachers responsible for courses, orindividual teachers. They were analysed and discussed at the teachers meetings and

in the study planning committee of the Faculty. The discussions remained at the

course level and the identity of individual teachers was raised only in a positive sense.

The results were extensively used in the curriculum reform associated with theFacultys own needs and in the Bologna Process to create a two-tier degree system

based on core analysis. One example of the actions taken is the open-ended personal

study plan (Bachelors portfolio) that was added to the curriculum to offer students the

possibility to practice reflection. The students comments regarding workload were

taken into consideration when the national credit allocation system was replaced by anew workload concept similar to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

Concrete actions were also initiated to modernise the discipline-based curriculum to

be consisted of larger, more animal species based units where unnecessary overload

caused by overlapping of courses could be avoided.

Discussion

In general, the students in this survey tended not to concentrate on only one perspec-tive when assessing factors that affected their learning. The frequency of comments

was weighted towards teaching practices, the planning of teaching and the teacher.

This is not surprising, as the students were studying a traditional, discipline-basedcurriculum. Comments related to different aspects of teaching were markedly more

common than those related to the students own actions. This may be due, on the one

hand, to the fact that the students are used to giving feedback on teaching, and on the

other, to the fact that it is difficult for students to assess their own contribution tolearning. The results of our study suggested that reflection skills need to be explicitly

taught in the veterinary curriculum, and a portfolio-type of approach was found prac-

ticable at this point. The development of students metacognitive skills is a veryimportant component in developing study practices and making them more effective

(Lindblom-Ylnne, 2004).The planning of teaching at both course and curriculum levels is likely to have

been considered self-evident by most students, and not always mentioned when

considered as adequate. Problems associated with poor planning, however, were

commonly felt to impede learning. The fourth-year students seemed to be more awareof the importance of planning than the third-year students. They already had experi-

ence of coping with overlapping courses and were also likely to expect to be able to

make use of their previous knowledge. Overloading caused by overlapping courses

and their assessment activities was not surprising, as the number of courses each year

was high and good coverage of the content has traditionally been highly valued. Basedon the students comments, there was need for the core content analysis which was an

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able2.

Utilisationofthestudentsresponsesconcerningfactorsaffectingtheirlearninginqualityassuranceandcurriculumplanning.

atalystforchange

Utilisedby

Concreteactions(Exam

ples)

ypeofsurvey:questionnaireatthe

endof

alongerperiodofstudy

St

udyplanningcommitteeoftheF

aculty

Includedinthestudentfeedbacksystem(partofthequa

lityassurance

attheFaculty)

ommen

tsonindividualcourses

Teachersresponsibleforthecours

e

Feedbacktothestudents(briefsummaryofthecommentsand

conclusiononhowth

eywillbetakenintoaccountpu

blishedonthe

universitysintranet;

becameaconsistentpartofqualityassurance)

udentsresponsesconcerning

curriculumplanning

St

udyplanningcommittee

Departments

Curriculumreformasso

ciatedwiththeBolognaProcessandthe

Facultysownneeds

(e.g.creatingatwo-tierdegreesystem;new

curriculumbasedon

largerblocksinsteadofsmallco

urses,theory

andpracticeasclose

toeachotheraspossible)


teaching

St


Departments

Improvingeverydaytea

chingpractices(e.g.providings

omechoicein

assessmentoflearnin

g)


teacher

Departments

Teachersresponsibleforthecours

e

Individualteachers

Practicalactions(e.g.arrangingmicrophone;reassessin

gneedfor

externallecturers)

udentsresponsesconcerningtheir

ownactions

St


Allowingpossibilityto

practisereflection(e.g.creating

aportfolio-

typepersonalstudyp

lan)


perceivedworkloadandcoursesin

genera

l

St


Departments

Planningofcoursesand

curriculum(e.g.corecontentanalysis;

reassessmentofwork

loadofcoursesandstudyyears)

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& Hmlinen, 2004). A curriculum which is based on a high number of separate

courses and is associated with a high number of examinations can also easily causecumulative problems for the student. For example, previous failures affect later stud-

ies, which was also evident from the responses here. It may be very difficult to find

time to study for a re-examination and simultaneously keep up with new studies.

Relevance to clinical practice is very important to veterinary students (Parkinson

et al., 2006). Occasionally, our students found the topic distant and saw no connec-tion between it and their future profession. This may be due to the fact that some

students are very professionally oriented, or that they have a surface approach to

studying and lack the ability to relate different phenomena and areas of veterinary

knowledge (Lonka & Lindblom-Ylnne, 1996). Professionally-oriented students havebeen found to try to relate theoretical knowledge to practical situations and real-life

experiences, and to stress the importance of using knowledge later in clinical situa-

tions (Lindblom-Ylnne & Lonka, 2001). Understanding the importance of the subject

matter in relation to their future profession may motivate students in a similar way as

interest does (Simons, Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Lacante, 2004). However, whenstudents acknowledge the importance of the topic or course under study but do not

find it interesting, they are likely to rely on external motivation.

The active construction of knowledge is an important component of learning. This

subcategory included factors such as the level of previous knowledge and the abilityto integrate theoretical knowledge with practice, which is one key objective in profes-

sionally oriented curricula. The opportunity to apply knowledge to practice as soon as

possible, either by seeing or preferably by doing, was generally considered important

by our students. The clinical year offers a unique opportunity to apply knowledge andskills in practice, but not all rotations were found to be equally useful. The fifth-year

students rotate in small groups and learn to perform a multitude of different tasks invarying conditions, but often more quickly than they feel comfortable with. Being in

a constant hurry has deleterious effects on learning (Blumberg, 2005; Chambers,

1992; Kember & Leung, 1998). In addition to a peaceful learning environment, thefifth-year students also wanted more opportunities for informal discussion during the

clinical rotations, which should be encouraged.

Our students valued the lectures, especially those illustrated by clinical cases.

Lectures have been considered effective for transmitting information but quite inef-fective for stimulating high-order thinking (Biggs, 2003). Students who expect the

teacher to transmit knowledge to them are likely to enjoy passive participation

(Kember & Wong, 2000; Trigwell et al., 1999). These students are also likely tocomplain about unsupervised learning (Lonka & Lindblom-Ylnne, 1996). However,

good lectures can complement textbooks and provide up-to-date information. Thelecturer can also show the students a perspective of expertise, gained through research

and scholarship, teach students how to use concepts and principles as well as how to

think (Biggs, 2003). Based on the students comments, it appears that most of their

teachers were fairly skilled but tended to practice a teacher-centred transmissionmodel of teaching (Biggs, 2001; Trigwell et al., 1999).

Both examinations and alternative methods of assessment were mentioned as

enhancing and also impeding learning. Alternative methods were found to cause less

stress than traditional examinations but occasionally the students felt that they would

have learned more by studying to a traditional examination. The fact that supervisedhomework in form of answering questions was generally preferred over learning

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learning objectives set by the teachers. Tasks to help the students to actively build

their knowledge during the course and not only just before the examination are gener-ally thought to encourage a deep approach to learning. The passive learners who want

to act as receivers of knowledge are not likely to enjoy this type of action (Kember &

Wong, 2000). Moreover, Birenbaum (1996) stresses the instructional components of

alterative assessment and points out that engaging students in performance tasks does

not necessarily mean that they are learning and creating meaning.From the quality enhancement point of view, we found this survey very useful.

Collecting data jointly at the study year level turned out to be a valuable addition to

feedback collected by teachers after the courses. Biggs (2001) considered departments

as the best locus for arranging student feedback on teaching, not faculties or thecentral administration. Our results show that in a small faculty the central administra-

tion may successfully assume part of the responsibility of collecting feedback from

students. Kember (2004) stresses the need to adopt an open approach to gathering

feedback in order to be able to examine the wide array of curriculum elements. Our

survey gave not only valuable information for the curriculum reform but also offerscomparison material in the future when the new curriculum needs to be assessed.

Students responses to the three simple questions presented in our study provided

information that proved to be applicable at several levels, from that of the individual

teacher to overall curriculum planning.

Notes on contributors

Mirja Ruohoniemi is senior lecturer of university pedagogy at the Faculty of Veterinary Medi-cine, University of Helsinki. Her main interests are student learning, curriculum developmentand quality enhancement in higher education.

Sari Lindblom-Ylnne is professor of higher education and director of the Centre for Researchand Development of Higher Education at the University of Helsinki. She is president-elect ofEARLI (European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction). Her research focuseson teaching and learning at university, for example, on approaches to teaching and learning,assessment practices and quality enhancement in higher education.

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