A pragmatic look at some of the issues faced by those who seek to produce and deliver Resource Based Learning (RBL) in Higher Education

Suzanne Robertson, Manager of Learning Development Services, University of Sunderland, UK (1996)

Introduction

There are some excellent publications extolling the virtues of Resource Based Learning (RBL) including those by Graham Gibbs, Phil Race, Richard Freeman and Roger Lewis. There is even a growing amount of high quality material available at an affordable price from the Open Learning Foundation (OLF), Oxford Brookes, my own University of Sunderland, many others and latterly a variety of publishers who have realised that there is merit in more than text books. Apologies to the Open University for while much of their material is excellent it is unaffordable for an academic who might have responsibility for 2- 300 students in a module. There is also a body of literature and an abundance of workshops to help you get started producing your own material.

There is still scope for much more material but in my opinion the progress so far shows a growing confidence within our academic system. All RBL is developed and delivered by teams and whereas academics have always been pleased to shout about their research activities, only gradually are they prepared to expose their teaching and teaching materials to equivalent scrutiny.

So what is holding us back?

In the olden days when one went "up" to University to "read" a subject it might be claimed that resource based learning was the major part of a learning experience but it was excruciatingly inefficient, unfocused and often took place in a rarefied atmosphere devoid of any relevance to the real world.

With the growing success of the Open University and other distance learning institutions, Open Learning became associated with a hands off approach to teaching and any suggestion that it might have relevance in a traditional course had it labelled with the unfortunate acronyms BODY and FOFO (the definitions of which are inappropriate in this document!).

Gradually through the work of a number of champions and the effective use of high quality interactive open learning materials, initially in print format but also including multi-media, and the appropriate use of video, audio and HTML options, the broader term RBL has been acknowledged for what it is- an extremely effective learning strategy, with the emphasis on learning rather than teaching.

Some of the many benefits which are largely independent of the resource base (print, video, audio, computer etc.) include:

• doing rather than listening or watching
• flexibility of time, place and pace
• "retakes" if a topic is not fully understood at the first reading
• formative assessment available at every stage
• greater uniformity of experience for large groups with different tutors

The term high quality interactive materials refers not to the glossy cover or the stunning graphics but to the quality of interaction involved in participation. We should always consider both elements, content and activity, of the learning experience. More about presentation later.

Materials

Open Learning editing is a very different and skilled activity from that of the more readily understood traditional interpretation of editing. The OL editor is looking for the quality of interaction and the consistency of feedback. It requires an expert who understands the medium -print, video, multi-media etc.- but not necessarily the subject. So, a very important member of the team. Peer review and piloting to make sure that you have got the content right and that the material is as easy to understand as you thought it was, again adding to the team effort and helping to assure the quality of the product- but it's not a threat! No-one wants to do it for you.

Having gone to the trouble of producing good quality materials, it is then worth taking some time over the presentation. It is surprising the difference a cover and standard template make to the reception of material by students. The feedback is that they feel someone has put some effort in on their behalf and it's not just a tatty photocopy of a lecturer's notes. This improves the attitude to using the materials.

Support

My own experience of RBL has all been positive and I know I have learned a lot from my experiences.

We have a short course (2 hrs per week for 10 weeks) in our Staff Development programme and are in the process of introducing a module into our own Cert Ed HE both called Using Resource Based Learning. Both courses give our academic staff the opportunity to work together to produce and evaluate materials for their own delivery with access to support and help from Learning Development Services staff and selected experts.

In conclusion

One last point- don't expect all your students to be ecstatic about RBL. The good ones will be, the part-time and distance students will appreciate having the materials, but some students will discover they have to work harder because they were not actually doing much before- probably just taking a few notes in a lecture and putting them in the back of a file for a rainy day two weeks before the exams. However in my experience they do better in assessments because they are not relying solely on memory.

Do you have any materials for sale or exchange? Please let me know.