Seírbhísí TF UCDUCD IT Services Blogs as Reflective Learning Tools Niall Watts Educational...
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Transcript of Seírbhísí TF UCDUCD IT Services Blogs as Reflective Learning Tools Niall Watts Educational...
Seírbhísí TF UCDUCD IT Services
Blogs as Reflective Learning Tools
Niall Watts
Educational Technology Officer
5th Annual Teaching & Learning Conference, NUIG, June 2007
Aims of Research
• Do students learn from blogging?– How to measure learning?– Reflection & Collaboration– Learning Style (Kolb)
• Active or Reflective• Individual or Collaborative
– Blogs promote reflective learning?
• Background to Research– Open University– Hype about new technologies– Little educational research– Methods criticism – student evaluations
Blogs in Web 2.0 Context
What is Reflection (Reflective Learning)?
• Reflection describes the processes where learners explore their experiences to gain a better understanding and appreciation of their learning (Boud, 1985).
• Many students find reflective learning difficult and initially resist it… Properly implemented blogs can help bring about reflective learning (Bartlett-Bragg, 2003).
Kolb’s Learning Styles
Based on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory– Accommodating: intuition, people– Assimilating: logic, theory– Converging: practice, technology– Diverging: imaginative, group work
Which would you expect to be reflective/collaborative ?
Reflection
• Assimilating
• Diverging
Collaboration
• Accommodating
• Diverging
Learning Styles Critique
• Valid & Reliable (Kolb)
• 71 theories of learning style. 13 major (Coffield)
• Doubts – usefulness & validity
Case Study
• Students using blogs for course work
• Multimedia & Communications
• Minimal scaffolding
• Develop critical writing and thinking skills
“Tool for creative thought perceived electronically”
Methods – Learning Style
• Student Consent
• Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory– Statements match a phase in Kolb’s Learning Cycle– Results plotted on graph– Students scored themselves– Discussion
Methods – Text Analysis
• Blog posts coded for reflection using heuristics (Hatton & Smith)
• Risk of subjectivity
• Writing categorised as reflective (or not):
Student Blogs
Student Blogs
Student Blogs
Methods – Collaboration
• Count number of comments made/received by classmates
• Count classmates listed as ‘Yahoo! Friends’
• Online community?
Methods – Triangulation
• Kember’s Questionnaire on Reflection– Agree/disagree 16 questions on their learning
• Blogging habits questionnaire (10 questions)– Do you enjoy blogging?– Does it help you to learn?– Do you/read comment on your classmates blogs?
Results – Blog Analysis
• One third of posts reflective
• One third of comments reflective
• 1 comment for 3 posts suggests collaboration
• Yahoo! Friends suggests online community
BLOG POSTS COMMENTS MADE RECEIVED
Total
Total Refl. Total Refl. Total Refl.
6 92 33 31 12 69 14
Results – Learning Style
Converging Learning Style dominant among bloggers:– Four keenest
bloggers – One non-blogger
Results – Reflective Learning
• Triangulation:– Kember’s & own questionnaire- Most students highly or somewhat reflective- All bloggers highly or somewhat reflective
Conclusions
• Bloggers reflective & collaborative learners
• Unexpected Result – Converging Learning Style– Not associated with Reflection or Collaboration– Skills with Hypermedia (Kolb)– Practical, hands-on
• Sample bias?– Students existing community– Teaching & learning practices– Lecturer well-known blogger
Questions