Student Participation Kathryn McFarlane

Aims Revisit underpinning theories relevant to student participation Generate discussion…..

Deep v. Surface Learning Surface An intention to achieve a minimum pass Non-academic priorities exceed academic ones Insufficient time Poor understanding of course or module requirements Marton and Saljo (1976) Deep Intrinsic curiosity & an intention to engage the task meaningfully Appropriate background knowledge A genuine yearning for knowledge and understanding

Ramsden’s 3 stage developmental model of teaching 1.Teaching as transmission of information (blame the student) 2.Teaching as organising student activity (blame the teacher) 3.Teaching as making learning possible (what the student does) Ramsden, 2003 Extended model - and-teaching-theory-guide/thinking-about-leaning- and-teaching.html - HE Academy 2011http://exchange.ac.uk/learning- and-teaching-theory-guide/thinking-about-leaning- and-teaching.html

Theories of motivation Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Intrinsic – extrinsic – social – achievement (Biggs and Tang, 2011) Feather, 1982, cited by Biggs, 2007: Motivation = V x E The two variables of ‘value’ and ‘expectancy’ should be multiplied, not added And many more…….

Encouraging Deep Learning Interesting and above all relevant Objectives must be clearly stated, emphasising the relevance and need for the learning Range of delivery and assessment methods - to accommodate all learners Motivation should be considered as a by-product of good teaching not a prerequisite Active response from students Regular and constructive feedback (Biggs and Tang, 2011)

Motivation strategies Enhance students’ self-belief Enable students to work autonomously, enjoy learning relationships with others and feel they are competent to achieve their own objectives Recognise that teaching and teachers are central to engagement Create learning that is active, collaborative and fosters learning relationships Create educational experiences for students that are challenging, enriching and extend their academic abilities

Motivation strategies (2) Ensure institutional cultures are welcoming to students from diverse backgrounds Invest in a variety of support services Adapt to changing student expectations Enable students to become active citizens to develop their social and cultural capital Enable students to develop their social and cultural capital (Zepke and Leach, 2010)

Discussion  To what extent do the theories explain the behaviour of our students?  What is the impact of technology / customer culture / others?  What are the unique challenges of different disciplines?  What strategies do we currently use to motivate our students?  What else might we try in the future?

References and reading  Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University: What the Student Does. Buckingham: SRHE.  Marton F. and Säljö R. (1976) On qualitative differences in learning. – Outcome and Process’ British Journal of Educational Psychology 46, pp  Ramsden, P. (2003) Learning to Teach in Higher Education. (Second edition) London: Kogan Page.  Zepke N and Leach L (2010) Improving Student Engagement: Ten proposals for action. Active Learning in Higher Education 11 (3)