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Teaching in the CoEBE in the DIT Studying on the MA in Higher Education.

MA Higher Education Robert Morris

Robert Morris

The Research Question. “What are the barriers to independent study and

learning in first year undergraduate engineering students?”

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Some of my work involves the delivery of fabrication modules to first year undergraduate engineering students. As part of these modules the students are required to complete individual assignments. The assessment of these assignments is summative.

MA Higher Education Robert Morris

Context and Rationale

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Many of the students do not complete these assignments. Offers of support and advice are rarely taken up.

Research tells us that lack of commitment to study is one of causes of attrition in first year students Yorke, Longden (2004).

MA Higher Education Robert Morris

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Concerned about the failure of these students to engage in the individual study and learning required for the completion of these relatively short assignments, I decided to engage some of the students in informal discussions about their study habits.

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Many of the students admitted that, “if they did study at all, it was only for a couple of hours a week.”

At induction, first year engineering students are advised that they will need to do about fifteen hours study per week. They are also made aware of the study skills classes which are available to them.

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Discussions with some of my experienced colleagues confirmed that the failure of first year students to engage in sufficient study is very common, and often results in the students falling behind and either leaving the program or failing final examinations. They spend too much time ....

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Having Fun

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Partying

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The Higher Education Authority (HEA ) report

“A Study of Progression in Higher Education” (2011 )indicates that, for the academic year 2008/2009 22% of first year undergraduate engineering students who studied at Irish Institutes of Technology were not eligible to return to the second year of their program.

MA Higher Education Robert Morris

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MA Higher Education Robert Morris

Tinto (1993)suggests that there are many reasons

why students leave college during first year of study, many select the wrong program to study, some struggle to make the transition to college life and its demands, failing to integrate into the social and academic environment. Some students demonstrate a lack of commitment to study.For many students the reasons for leaving can often be a combination these.

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Conscious that the failure of students to engage in sufficient individual study and learning can sometimes result in the non completion of first year, I decided that there would be merit in the selection of this topic as the subject the research for the MA thesis.

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The Research Question. “What are the barriers to independent study

and learning in first year undergraduate engineering students?”

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This piece of research sought to identify the factors which constitute barriers to the individual study and learning of a group of first year undergraduate engineering students studying at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

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Research Aim

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A mixed method case study research design was selected as the most suitable for this project.

“A case study is an empirical study that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and with its real-life context” (Yin, 2009, p18)

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Research Design

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“Cases are units of investigation ..individuals..communities..groups”Henn et al. (2010)

For the purpose of this research the “case” is the

group of first year undergraduate engineering students.

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Research Design

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The sequential mixed research method was selected as the tool for the collection of the research data. Creswell, Plano Clarke, (2007) suggest that qualitative and quantitative research data collection can be carried out in sequence or simultaneously.

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Research Methodology

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The qualitative research element was conducted first.This involved the interviewing of four experienced lecturers of engineering.

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Research Methodology

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The interviews were exploratory in nature. Their purpose was to draw on the considerable experience of the interviewees and to utilize the results of the analysis of the data to guide and inform the selection of the questions to be used later in a quantitative survey.

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Research Methodology

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The selection of the interview questions were closely guided by the

• research question• personal experience • discussions will experienced colleagues and • a review of the literature around the subject.

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Research Methodology

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The review of the literature uncovered a very useful research tool entitled,“A brief Measure of Learner Autonomy” (MLA) Mc Askill ,Taylor. (2010)

This is a quantitative research tool comprising of twelve questions which provides a numeric value for of the students learning autonomy .

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Research Methodology

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Learner Autonomy is described as a

psychological characteristic of individuals able to direct their learning.

Knowles (1980).

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Research Methodology

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I opted to take further advantage of the

interviews to consult with experienced lecturers on the merits of the inclusion of the Measure of Learner Autonomy (MLA) in the students survey.

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Research Methodology

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Prior to conducting the interviews, all ethical issues relating to the interviews were address.Permission was sought ,a participant information sheet guaranteeing anonymity and confidentiality was issued to the interviewees, and consent forms were signed.

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Research Methodology

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The methodology which is championed by Taylor and Gibbs (2010) for the coding the qualitative data was employed. Several interesting themes emerged, these were then carefully analyzed.

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Analysis of the Pre Survey Interviews

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These themes included ,• The Student Profile; age, gender, nationality,

employment status and living arrangements.• Study skills training.• Study habits; study duration, frequency and

location.• Approach to preparing for assessments. • CAO entry points level.

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Analysis of the Pre Survey Interviews

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The student survey could now be generated. While the findings from the interviews were allowed to have significant influence on the questions a strong focus was maintained on the original research question.

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Research Methodology

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The student survey was generated in an online format using the Bristol Online Survey service. This was for two reasons ,

1. For ease of quantitative data collection and analysis, and

2. To facilitate completion by students during a session in a computer laboratory.

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Research Methodology

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72 first year undergraduate engineering students were asked take part in the survey,

50 of these completed it.The data was extracted , analysed and transferred into a series of charts for clarity.

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Some Significant Findings

Students studying alone.

Students who study alone, 96%Students who do not study alone, 4%

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Students perceptions of whether they spend enough time studying alone.

Students who don't think they spend enough time studying alone, 77%Students who think they spend enough time studying alone, 23%

72% Think they don’t study enough.

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Time students spend studying alone per week .

0-2 Hrs, 37.5%2-4 Hrs, 50%Over 4 Hrs, 12.5%

Only 12.5% spend more than 4 hours a week studying.

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MA Higher Education

Younger students are more likely to have study skills training.

None of students over 21 years (10%) had any study skills training.

48% of students under 21 years (90%) did not have any study skills training.

Age

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Younger students spend less time studying alone than older students.

10% of students between 18 and 21 years of age spend over 4 hours per week studying alone.

40% of students over 21 years of age spend over 4 hours per week studying alone.

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MA Higher Education

Younger students scored considerably lower on the MLA scale.

The average score for younger students was 33.5 out of a possible 60 points.

The average score for older students was 47.5 out of a possible 60 points.

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Students living at home spend less time studying alone.

7% of students living at home spend over 4 hours a week studying alone.

18% of students living away from home spend over 4 hours a week studying alone.

Living away from home

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Students living away from home scored slightly higher on the MLA scale. Students living away from home had an average of score of 42.95 out a possible 60 points.

The average score for students living at home was 40.9 out of 60 points.

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Students in employment

Students in employment spend slightly less time studying alone. 11% of students in employment spend over 4 hours per week studying alone. 13% of students not in employment spend over 4 hours per week studying alone.

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Students in employment scored slightly higher on the MLA scale.Students in employment had an average of score of 42.26 out a possible 60 points.

Students not in employment had an average of score of 40.22 out a possible 60 points.

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Recommendations and Further Research

Of benefit would be the early identification of at risk first year students. This possibly could be achieved with the aid of a student survey enquiring about their study habits and skills. This could include the Measure of Learner Autonomy (MLA).

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Recommendations and Further Research

First year Students need more structure, they need to be helped to find a suitable balance of social and academic activity. They may benefit from a structured weekly study timetable with dedicated time slots for each subject or assignment, perhaps with a proportion of the time to be spent studying in college for which attendance is recorded.

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References. Bristol online Survey http://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/

Creswell. J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007) Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.

Henn, M; Foard, N; Weinstein, M (2010) A Critical Introduction to Social Research 2nd Ed SAGE Publications Ltd.

Higher Education Authority HEA (2011). A Study of Progression in Higher Education http://www.hea.ie/en/Publications#2011 accessed June 1st 2011.

Knowles ,. M. (1980) The modern practice of adult education: from pedagogy to andragogy. New York, Cambridge Books.

Macaskill, A,. Taylor, E. (2010) The development of a brief measure of learner autonomy in university students, Studies in Higher Education, 35: 3, 351 — 359

Tinto, V. (1993) Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Taylor, C and Gibbs, G. R. (2010) What is Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA)? , Online QDA Web Site, [onlineqda.hud.ac.uk/Intro_QDA/what_is_qda.php] accessed March 15th 2010

Yin, R.K. (2009) Case study research : design and methods. Thousand Oaks, Calif. Sage Publications.

Yorke, M., Longden, B,. (2004) Retention and Success in Higher Education Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press,

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Thank you for Listening.Any questions?

Robert. Morris @dit.ie