Kamilla Woznica Miskowiak

Psychology

Blended learning eksemplificeret ved en model for kollaborativ læring via debatgrupper og padlet samt brug af student-respons-systemer til at øge de studerendes aktive deltagelse og læring

Abstract

While traditional teaching methods that involve passive learning are common in higher education, active learning methods have gained increasing popularity because of their putative benefits on student motivation and learning. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of two blended learning teaching activities to promote active learning: (i) a model for collaborative learning with debate groups and padlet use and (ii) the student-response-system Shakespeak in lectures. Twenty-two of 29 (76%) students completed a questionnaire on their motivation and perceived learning benefits of the above teaching activities at the end of their elective MSc course Cognitive Neuropsychiatry at Department of Psychology in the spring of 2018. In addition, five students participated in a focus group interview during the last session of this course. The students generally perceived both blended learning activities as beneficial for their learning and motivation. Specifically, the collaborative debate groups with padlets had the following benefits: they (i) enabled a deeper, more critical reading of research papers in preparation for the debate groups, (ii) gave the debate groups a clear structure and a strong sense of a shared responsibility for the product, which resulted in active participation of all members, (iii) enhanced the quality of the written group product, and (iv) facilitated a highly active subsequent discussion with the rest of the students on the course. For 18% of students, the use of padlets also enhanced confidence to present the work of the debate group orally in front of the rest of the students on the course. Further, the students felt that implementation of Shakespeak quizzes in the teaching slides created a good dynamic between the teacher and students, helped them concentrate during lectures and to check whether they had understood the material (leading to a sense of self-efficacy), introduced a fun competition-element and enabled the teacher to immediately rectify any misunderstandings. Taken together, the collaborative model with debate groups and padlet as well as the Shakespeak quizzes in teaching slides enhanced students’ perceived learning, motivation and active engagement in the course work. These activities will therefore –after some minor adjustments– be implemented in my future teaching courses and may also benefit other courses at the University of Copenhagen