Stuart Laverick, Julie Hilton and Kevin Johnston

Case study 4

Using resource-based learning to integrate lectures and independent study time

First-year HND marketing students, University of Derby
Originators: Stuart Laverick, Julie Hilton and Kevin Johnston
Reproduced with permission from Course Design for Resource Based Learning - Business (1994), Diana Eastcott, Bob Farmer and Graham Gibbs (Eds)

This case study describes how three tutors used resource-based teaching methods in order to cope with a fivefold increase in student numbers.

Background

Student numbers in the Derbyshire Business School have risen dramatically. In core subjects such as marketing on the Higher National Diploma numbers now stand at 330 students, compared with 60 students only four years ago. many lessons were learned from the first year of resource-based learning and the course is now in its second year as a resource-based operation.

Aims

Staff are faced with teaching what to the students is a 'new' subject. Their aim is to maintain and, if possible, improve the quality of learning with increasingly large numbers of students.

Implementation

Resource-based learning was introduced in 1992 by three lecturers who were relatively new to the university. Working together closely as a team, they have made a conscious effort to overcome the problems of teaching increasingly large numbers by using resource-based learning. The new method of delivery enables tutors to provide an integrated programme of self-study supported by interactive lectures and seminars.

Student induction

Staff are convinced that without proper induction students would not demonstrate their present levels of motivation and commitment to learning. In a two-week period at the beginning of the year students are introduced to the course in an induction programme which includes:

• meeting their personal tutors and an introduction to personal tutorials;
• practice assignments;
• sessions on common skills;
• practise in working in groups.

Resources

Students are asked to reflect on the various ways in which they behave in groups in order to overcome some of the resource problems they are facing as learners on the course. One outcome of this is that informal systems have emerged for sharing scarce textbooks and other more ephemeral reading material associated with a course in marketing.

Since it is unrealistic for staff to expect to be able to refer 330 students to a single journal article there was an acknowledgement that it is necessary to provide some core materials. There was also the realisation that time and effort was required in creating materials that encouraged active learning rather than simply providing 'knowledge on a plate'.

Staff at the Business School take a pride in the packages they have produced. Marketing Workbook 1(200 pages) and Marketing Workbook 2 (170 pages) form the core of the RBL materials. The packages are made up of articles, sets of marketing data, brief summaries written by members of staff and student-learning activities. The booklets are printed and bound in the University Reprography Unit to an acceptable but by no means glossy standard and are issued free to all students. Staff found that preparing the materials before the end of the Summer term had the advantage of saving time during the term (often previously spent in front of the photocopier) and allowed more time for informal team meetings and discussion.

Operation

The intention of teaching staff is that, by operating a tightly structured programme of resource-based learning, lectures and seminars, students will be better able to understand and apply concepts in what to them is a completely new subject area.

Staff found that by using RBL materials students could be encouraged to engage in learning tasks during 'lectures'.

Lectures are still an important element in this programme. However, by working with classes of 60 rather than 120 it has proved possible to greatly increase levels of interest and learner activity. Reading and RBL exercises are completed in the students' own time: this often forms the basis of the learning tasks undertaken in lectures and in subsequent seminars. Many students begin the course with the traditional attitude of expecting to learn by taking notes in straight lectures. However, with the help of RBL, patterns of learning change over time as students are encouraged to become more autonomous. Not only do students rely more on their own resources, but staff have also noticed that, because interactive lectures are now seen by students as forming an essential part of their learning, attendance levels have risen.

From the first day of the module the students know what is expected of them in the next 30 weeks. This information is contained in the learning package. Typically a student will receive the Marketing Scheme of Work (see Appendix 1: Case 4, page 54) and an assignment pack for all subjects being studied on the course. The students are expected to use this information in order to plan their own learning. The staff consider that it would be hypocritical of them not to provide this detailed information if they are expecting their students to develop the skills of time management required of autonomous learners.

Assessment

A mixture of formative and summative assignments are given to students in a separate booklet; these are introduced in specified lectures or seminars. Some assignments encourage creativity and choice by providing students with a number of pathways for moving through the materials.

Skills in areas such as statistics and information technology are assessed by observation on a continuous basis, often during seminars. During a typical ten-week period, students are required to demonstrate and record evidence using skills portfolios.

The use of resource-based methods has not eased the considerable burden of marking faced by staff, who overall on the HND course are working with a FATE staff/student ratio of 43:1.

Costs

Costs in staff time have not changed over the two years of resource-based operation with 330 students. However, as the table [below] indicates, patterns of use of staff time have changed.

The new pattern has not only enabled the same number of staff to teach more students but has also kept down numbers attending lectures to manageable proportions (55). This was an important consideration because the new pattern allowed for a higher level of student activity during class contact time.

In the first year of operation staff were aware that there was a danger of asking students to do too much studying in their own time and that this could have implications on the amount of work undertaken on other aspects of the course.

A typical student week on the HND comprises three lectures, one workshop and nine seminars. In addition, staff expect students to do a minimum of 13 hours of preparation and reading. In practice, student feedback suggests that there is no such thing as a typical week and that students' time management skills need attention.

Staff try to encourage a culture where students use each other for support. Consequently there is some evidence of students' sharing responsibility and informally dividing their labour in their preparation for lectures and seminars.

Evaluation

Staff show considerable enthusiasm for the current pattern of teaching and learning.

This successful use of RBL resulted in very positive feedback from students who felt that they were learning something relevant and also acquiring skills

Student feedback on the marketing option has been very positive. They find the course challenging and welcome the opportunities it gives them to be imaginative and creative. In particular, they seem to appreciate the way the course has been structured and delivered, and the care taken over their induction to new ways of learning. The marketing course has scored well on feedback questionnaires, which ask students to rate items from 1 (Poor) to 5 (Very Good). Key questions which asked whether students felt they were learning on the course and whether they were acquiring skills and content with relevance to business both scored very highly Students also commented positively on the Schemes of Work, the Assignment Packs and the Marketing Workbooks. Apart from obtaining feedback by traditional means such as questionnaires at the end of each term, staff are aware of other indicators such as very high levels of class attendance and non-verbal communication of enthusiasm for the subject and the way that it is taught.

A considerable amount of fine tuning of the delivery of the marketing option and of RBL materials takes place throughout the academic year. Staff teaching the Diploma also give themselves a week at the end of the year away from their normal place of work where they can reflect on how well the whole course is going.

Developments

The success of the marketing course has encouraged the preparation of further RBL materials in the Business School, including a Business Statistics Workbook. Staff working in other disciplines are showing an interest in how the system is designed and managed.

Conclusion

Lecturers teaching on this course were faced with the challenge of having to teach increasingly large numbers without additional library and human resources. They were concerned that:

• The quality of student learning could not be maintained by resorting to traditional mass lectures.
• Active learning by students was essential if lectures and seminars were going to support effective learning.
• There was little point in encouraging very large numbers of students to make more use of the library, particularly in a subject area that requires a wide range of up-to-date learning materials.

Three tutors working together closely as a team was an essential ingredient in the success of this project.

The three staff responsible for teaching the marketing course operate as a closely knit team. They decided to tackle the problem by preparing resource-based learning materials for students to work on in their own time between lectures. They see the integration of RBL and more traditional teaching methods as an important ingredient in the successful use of learning materials. Students are therefore expected to learn on their own or in informal groups in preparation for lectures and seminars. What might otherwise have been traditional lectures and seminars to very large groups have now become active learning experiences for the students. At the same time the overall 'package' gives students a clear indication of where they are going because it contains a scheme of work and an assignment pack. Although the new course is tightly structured, the learning tasks and assignments allow student high levels of creativity.

Appendix 1