Simon Rae Programme on Learner Use of Media (PLUM) Institute of Educational Technology,

1. Do disciplinary differences affect the ways new technologies are received - how helpful do OUr students find the various media?~ Simon Rae Programme on Learner Use of Media (PLUM) Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University

2. introduction … • For over 30 years the Open University has offered degree-level courses to dispersed adult independent learners, the majority of whom are home-based • Ages range from 18 to over 80 with considerable variation in terms of educational experience, occupation, location and needs • Many OU courses now contain elements of ICT use, for example E-mail support, computer conferencing or web-based resources

3. Institute of Educational Technology • Teaching, research and development of educational technology in the service of effective learning • PLUM, the Programme on Learner Use of Media is an inter-centre programme of work within IET • PLUM’s role ~ to investigate and develop an understanding of students' use of and learning from combinations of educational media

4. the OU’s Annual Courses Survey • Sample of some 30,000 students • Responses from over 15,000 • Media monitored include: • Printed teaching material • Face-to-face tutorials / Day schools • Videocassettes and Audiocassettes • Online tutorials (i.e. non face-to-face) • Broadcast TV • Multimedia CDs • Course websites • Electronic resources accessed via the Web

5. 9. Course Components. How helpful did you find the components you used on this course?Please only respond for those components listed below which formed part of your course or that you used during your studies.(Not at all helpful) 1 … 2 … 3 … 4 (Very helpful) • Printed teaching material • Course guide/notes • Face to face tutorials • Non f2f email • Non f2f phone • Non f2f conferencing • Broadcast TV • Video • Audio • CDs • Other computing software • Website • ROUTES

6. ‘Very Helpful’ - All OU

7. by Discipline • Arts • OUBS – OU Business School • Social Sciences • Faculty of Education and Language Studies (Education) • SHSW – School of Health and Social Welfare • FELs (Language) • Maths & Computing • Science • Technology

8. Printed teaching material

9. Course Guides/notes

10. Face to Face tutorials

11. Non F2F - Email

12. Non F2F - Phone

13. Non F2F - conferencing

14. Broadcast TV

15. Video

16. Audio

17. CDs

18. Other computing software

19. Website

20. ROUTES etc

21. average ‘helpfulness’ ...

22. discussion … • Two cultures? • “Literary intellectuals at one pole – at the other scientists, … . Between the two a gulf of mutual incomprehension - ..., but most of all lack of understanding.” (C.P. Snow, 1959) • Four main intellectual clusters: • Hard pure – abstract reflective • Soft pure – concrete reflective • Hard applied - abstract active • Soft applied – concrete active (Becher, 1994)

23. Arts

24. OUBS

25. Social Sciences

26. FELs (Education)

27. SHSW

28. FELs (Language)

29. Maths&Computing

30. Science

31. Technology

32. discussion … • Two cultures? • Teachers’ beliefs and practices concerning teaching in higher education • Identified significant differences across academic disciplines on beliefs concerning ‘knowledge transmission’ … use of media … (Norton et al, 2002)

33. … there does seem to be a pattern • Students from different disciplines have reacted differently to the various media • Is this to do with: • What they are given? • What they expect? • What is expected of them? • The media’s perceived ‘usefulness’?

34. e.g. … approaches to learning • ‘Deep’ learners • encourages & challenges understanding ‘constructivist’ • ‘Strategic’ learners • achievement motivation, time & study management • ‘Surface apathetic’ learners • directed & ‘transmissive ’ • … ‘deep learners’ rather than ‘strategic learners’ or ‘surface apathetic learners’ were more comfortable with technology assisted learning … (Jelfs & Colbourne, 2002) • … measures of learning styles may be of limited value in predicting students’ preferences … (Richardson & Price, 2002)

35. use of media ... Adapted from Rowntree (1994)

36. discussion … considerations • ‘Best’ use of media … • DVD (3 formats) • Students’ attitudes to and preferences for using any particular medium will be conditioned by how well they see it serving their learning purposes (Learning Styles) • Technologies per se do not support new students and new learning – it is the educational context, purpose and design for use that are fundamentally important

37. Arts

38. OUBS

39. Social Sciences

40. FELs (Education)

41. SHSW

42. FELs (Language)

43. Maths&Computing

44. Science

45. Technology

46. References: • Snow, C. P. (1959) The two cultures and the scientific revolution, University Press, Cambridge, 1959 • Becher, T. (1994) The Significance of Disciplinary Differences, Studies in Higher Education, Vol 19, No 2 • Norton, L., Richardson, J.T.E., Hartley, J., Newstead, S. & Mayes, J. (2002) Teachers’ beliefs and practices concerning teaching in higher education, unpublished manuscript, 2002 • Rowntree, D. (1994) Preparing materials for Open, Distance and Flexible Learning. An action guide for teachers and trainers, Kogan Page, London, 1996 • Jelfs, A. & Colbourne, C (2002) Do Students’ Approaches to Learning Affect their Perceptions of Using C&IT?, Journal of Educational Media, Vol 27, No 1-2 • Richardson, J.T.E. & Price, L. (2002) Meeting the challenge of diversity: A cautionary tale about learning styles, PLUM Paper 151, 2002 • Neumann, R. (2001) Disciplinary Differences and University Teaching, Studies in Higher Education, Vol 26, No 2