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DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTING

Dr Keith Burley DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTING

Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences Dr Keith Burley, John Walton, Dr Elizabeth Uruchurtu

Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences Dr Keith Burley, John Walton, Dr Elizabeth Uruchurtu Enhancing the learning experience of post-graduate students from the Indian Sub-Continent August 2009

Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences Dr Keith Burley, John Walton, Dr Elizabeth Uruchurtu Enhancing the learning experience of post-graduate students from the Indian Sub-Continent August 2009 This session introduces how we have researched this topic

Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences Dr Keith Burley, John Walton, Dr Elizabeth Uruchurtu Enhancing the learning experience of post-graduate students from the Indian Sub-Continent August 2009 This session introduces how we have researched this topic

Gamma Release What motivated the Research? The department has taught Students from the Indian Subcontinent for many years. In the past this was in the host country. It is only recently that we have large classes composed mainly of such students in the UK. The achievement of these students fell significantly below that which the (experienced) staff expected.

OUR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO are they? Graduates who have had limited IT experience in firms in India WHAT are there aspirations? to develop their career, to progress through the glass ceiling of being a 'coder' WHY do they choose SHU? - the Pull Factors - modern University, often by recommendation

THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE "…no hand-outs provided… teachers only come and write on the board and explain diagrams. You have to take notes and refer to books and help each other… help is always taken from our seniors" (Participant 5) "…teachers would tell you what books or other references to consult… then you would go and search on your own" (Participant 6)

THE SHU EXPERIENCE "… you do your work on your own… nobody is teaching you, everybody is guiding you" (Participant 3) "In this country lecturers are friendly… they interact with students…" (Participant 5) "…(the) marking approach is also different, in here there are schemes indicating how many marks you would get for different components of your assignments… there is not like that in India" (Participant 5)

WHAT DID WE FIND? Threshold Factors Exceeding Factors Short Factors Impressing Factors

What did this tell us The nature of the learning is different. It concerns the process by which knowledge is accumulated, not the task to which the knowledge can be applied [ This has two implications. You cannot treat such learning as being continuous with the educational experience hitherto, and the new learning process has to be introduced gradually not imposed on the students "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"

THE ROLE OF Dialogic Teaching Two conditions have to be met: (1) We have to introduce this early on with the academic staff 'Chairing' the discussion, and (2) Setting the conditions so that the students handle the dialogue by 'turn taking', respect for each other, and assessing against stated criteria what is valid. This has two implications, it involves double loop learning, and it requires activation energy to avoid the students slipping back into single loop learning.

Fig 9.1 Single-loop learning [Senge 2000:174] Discovering Acting Choosing Consequences and other changes

Fig 9.2 Double-loop learning [Senge 2000:175] Discovering Acting Choosing Consequences and other changes Previous mental model New mental model

WHAT HAS IT TOLD US? Educational research such as this demands considerable resource - but what is the alternative? Gathering valid accounts is very significant, we therefore chose small group interviews rather than a questionnaire. A greater understanding of the socio economic drivers is very important Students do appreciate learning and understanding frameworks that will have lasting utility rather than short term advantage.

THE IMPACT FROM YOU What are your thoughts –Do you recognise these characteristics in your own postgraduate students? –Do your students have same aspirations as ours? –Do you encounter the tension between single and double loop learning as I have described?

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