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Conducting Research on Student Learning in Higher Education
Developing research questions and workable methods
Gary Poole
Institute for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
UBC
Deakin University
February 15, 2007
Two Fundamental Assumptions: Educational decisions based on
good evidence are more likely to make a constructive difference
The determination of SoTL impact must extend beyond traditional publication and grant counts
Session Objectives To make our reflection on teaching and
learning more evidence-based To generate researchable questions
from our teaching To categorize types of scholarly
evidence in SOTL To link available evidence to questions
Session Overview Identify the sources and nature of our
inferences about student learning Identify the sources and nature of our
initial evidence about student learning Apply a 2x2 taxonomy to help locate,
generate and use good data for the scholarship of teaching and learning
Inference My students are:
Learning more
Writing better
Thinking more critically
Thinking like Engineers
Initial Evidence Intuitive
Anecdotal
Observational
Scholarly evidence Forms
Qualitative Quantitative
Sources Course activity Added data collection
Data Forms and Sources
Course ActivityAdded data collection
Qualitative
Quantitative
Data Forms and Sources
Course ActivityAdded data collection
Qualitative
•Journal•Group process analysis
Quantitative
Data Forms and Sources
Course ActivityAdded data collection
Qualitative
•Journal•Group process analysis
Quantitative
•Exam scores•Assignment scores
Data Forms and Sources
Course ActivityAdded data collection
Qualitative
•Journal•Group process analysis
•Focus Groups•Open-ended survey
Quantitative
•Exam scores•Assignment scores
Data Forms and Sources
Course ActivityAdded data collection
Qualitative
•Journal•Group process analysis
•Focus Groups•Open-ended survey
Quantitative
•Exam scores•Assignment scores
•Likert surveys•Enrolment figures
How to best measure impact — RQF Statements THE OLD
“The current research block funding scheme is based on quantitative measures. That is, numbers of publications, external research income and Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student load and completions” (RQF, 2004).
THE NEW “Research impact is defined as the social, economic,
environmental, and/or cultural benefit of research to end-users in the wider community regionally, nationally, and/or internationally” (RQF, 2004).
How to best measure impact — Implications for SoTL FROM
Counting number of publications and subsequent citations Grant funding
TO Impact on practice
Evidence of student learning Evidence of use Evidence of impact on the way the discipline is taught
Applying RQF Impact Criteria to SoTL A 10-page impact statement,
required of all Research Groups: Verifiable, evidence-based claims
against specific impact criteria; Up to four case studies that illustrate
examples of those claims; Details of end-users who can be
contacted as referees.
