Author: Alison Wride, a.e.c.wride@exeter.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Technology-enhanced Learning Environments

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Economics

This case study illustrates...an effect on learning, an effect on student personal development, innovation in learning and teaching, staff satisfaction with e-learning, a positive effect on recruitment, a positive effect on retention, use of resources, an effect on social equality

Background & Context

Why did you use this e-learning approach?

This case study from the School of Business and Economics at the University of Exeter involved a move to using online formative exercises for several modules; two of these were intermediate microeconomic modules, another was a business awareness module for non-business students. Resources were provided by the publishers of a set text, students were given training and information in an introductory session and weekly help sessions were run by the module leader.

The initiative was motivated by several factors:

• A change of module structure in our economics programmes. We have moved from 30 credit level 2 economics modules to 15 credit modules. The semester one modules are taken by all year two students, on both single honours and joint programmes; the semester two modules are core for the single honours economists. The result is increased numbers on semester one modules, with very diverse mathematical background. This raised pedagogic issues we needed to address.
• The introduction of a business module for students from outside the School of Business and Economics
• The identified need to increase the amount of formative assessment and associated feedback
• Increase in the proportion of international students
• An identified need to improve administrative systems particularly at module level
• The move to full economic costing and a change in incentives has resulted in increasing numbers of 'buy-outs' of academic staff. We therefore have identified a need to have core modules which can be delivered by a number of people including temporary lecturers.

What was the context in which you used this e-learning approach?

The University of Exeter is a member of the 1994 Group of Universities which are generally small and medium-sized universities, built on a human scale. Exeter is research-focused but avoids the impersonal feel of some very large institutions. The School of Business and Economics is seen as very student-focused, with some outstanding scores in the 2006 NSS.

The Economics programmes are largely split into those that are very technical, with a strong mathematical core, Economics, Economics and Finance, Economics with Econometrics and less technical programmes including Business Economics and Economics and Politics. The students are largely between the ages of 18 and 22 and enter with three A levels at around AAB-ABB; they may work part-time, but generally are available to attend all lectures and classes and do not have family responsibilities. However the School of Business and Economics is aware of the needs of students who do not conform to this traditional picture. We have also increased the number of international students in recent years and have found the use of WebCT invaluable in ensuring that all students are able to access materials in advance of lectures. Students on the business awareness module are from outside the school, from degree programmes that include Drama. Computer Science, Mathematics and English. Teaching staff in the school are mostly research active; we were the smallest 5-rated Economics department in the last RAE. Many of the staff are from mainland Europe and for several this is their first teaching post and first job in the UK. In recent years the school has started to employ full-time teaching fellows, appointed for their ability to teach and interest in pedagogical issues.

These were new modules; however the modules they replaced involved a traditional mix of 2 hour long lectures per week and a one hour class. The class involved students preparing a formative exercise which was then discussed. In recent years the class sizes have increased from 12 students to around 25 on level 2 modules. Numbers in lectures range from 40-200. Attendance at lectures is around 60% on average, attendance at classes is somewhat higher, around 75%. We do note student attendance at classes, however follow-up on this has proved costly, particularly in terms of academics' time and we are seeking alternative ways to measure/track student engagement.

We anticipated some challenges:

• Many of our students expect weekly classes, identifying contact time with learning
• Introduction at level two for economics students meant that we had missed the opportunity to make full use of e-learning from the start of their time at Exeter
• We were concerned about the response of students on the Business awareness module; the very diverse background meant that some students would be used to classes while others expected seminars/discussion groups
• The use of password-protected publisher's resources meant that students would have to buy the book; we anticipated complaints from some students and from other staff
• The resources were not at this time embedded within WebCT and we were aware that this might lead to confusion
• The major challenge anticipated was whether the students would actually do the work each week, allowing them to develop their skills and learning throughout the modules

What was the design?

We wished to retain lectures as a learning/teaching tool. This is driven partly by the institutional context where the number of contact hours is a matter of scrutiny, but also as a core strand of our commitment that all our research active staff will continue to teach. However we increasingly felt that students were attending classes to 'get the answers'. They were not always preparing exercises in advance of the class, nor were all of them prepared to participate in discussion. Given the pressure on resources we really did not feel that this was effective teaching or learning. We therefore decided that linking each lecture with an associated exercise, and referring to it both before and after the students had completed the exercise would reinforce the lecture-based learning.

On the business awareness module we had a two hour timetabled slot each week. The use of one line exercises and other learning materials allowed this contact time to be used in a developmental way. Initially there were several lectures; these were followed by seminars and presentations and then we moved into groups working on business plans, which were discussed by the complete cohort. Staff involved in the design of the approach were the lecturers on the modules, the Head of Department and the Head of Undergraduate Studies of the school.

How did you implement and embed this e-learning approach?

The new approach was explained to students at the start of the modules. The necessity to buy the text was stressed and the advantages of e-learning were discussed. The students were given a presentation by the publisher's technologists and the information was made available again at the weekly help classes. Staff received training in the materials before the start of term. Since the resources were 'online' there was no requirement for IT support teams to be involved, we have very good IT facilities across the campus but nearly all our students have their own computers.

Evaluation of the approach took several forms. During the modules the proportion of students logging in and completing assessments was recorded. Student feedback was sought informally throughout the modules and formally on completion of the modules. Staff using this approach will be meeting at the end of the academic year to exchange views and reflect on the approach. A record of log-ins has been retained and has been compared with the exam results.

Most of the challenges identified above did not arise; the major exception was the number of students completing the assessments each week. When challenged some explained that they were working in pairs and thus only one name would appear on the record; others agreed that they had fallen behind. Students did not cite unwillingness to buy the book/access code as a reason for not completing the assessments. In the future we will consider making completion of 80% of assessments compulsory in order to attain 10% of the module mark.

One unanticipated problem was the dissemination of the approach to other staff, particularly to support staff. Classes are administered and organised by an undergraduate support team and at one point they were heard telling students that 'There aren't any classes, just lectures'. While this was partly true - though it ignored the help class - it was unhelpful and gave the impression that the online support was a poor substitute for classes and that the motivation was entirely resource driven. This is being addressed for the 2007/8 session with a workshop for support staff explaining the processes and the benefits.