Tag: student voice

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A&H Faculty Research: Student Experience of Continuous Module Dialogue (CMD)

This research project was undertaken by Jesper Hansen (Arena Lead) and Abbi Shaw (Faculty Learning Technology Lead) in partnership with three student researchers (from English, Arts & Sciences, and Information Studies).

It sought to understand students’ experience of, and opinions on, the newly-required Continuous Module Dialogue exercise, under which it was suggested that academics would, at module level, consult students three times per term with a ‘light touch’ to ensure that students could, in the first instance, access their resources, and that, in the longer run, students felt that their voice was able to be heard.

A survey was conducted, to which 113 students from across the Faculty responded, and three focus groups were subsequently held.

Initial findings from the survey are outlined in this summary, shared amongst the Faculty in December 2022: link to access the Initial Findings Report.

The second part of the research generated a final summary, and a brief series of recommendations for carrying out CMD, accompanied by the rationale arising from the research. These were:

Use a mix of open-ended and closed questions (scales, yes/no).

Students had different preferences and as such this research does not suggest any one model as the perfect one. However, students overall agreed that a mix of open and closed questions was to be preferred. There was a general dislike for those evaluations that solely used closed questions.
Some students mentioned that questions regarding tutors’ teaching style should be incorporated in feedback forms, so students can give constructive feedback when they are not happy with the way teaching is structured and organised.

Do not share results of surveys/Mentimeter live on screen in the room.

Some students did not like it when survey results were shown on screen, and this made them not want to engage. They reported finding it uncomfortable and disconcerting, and expressed concern that their responses could be identified by others in the class. Many students did appreciate in-person opportunities to give feedback (as opposed to only Moodle surveys, for instance). Several mentioned academics talking through responses (which were not displayed on screen as they came in) as a positive and immediately rewarding experience of CMD.

Expectations and location

Where CMD is done asynchronously, students stress that surveys should be easy to find. Furthermore, where CMD is carried out across departments, the placement of these should be consistent, e.g. in the same, clearly-labelled section of a Moodle site.

Student expectations of the process should be explicitly aligned with academic understanding and expectations. Where students understand the purpose and value of the feedback (including understanding what it is not for) they are far more inclined to participate.

The full text of this second summary of our research can be read here: link to focus group findings and CMD recommendations.

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CMD: How to Link to your Mentimeter in Moodle

To share your presentation in Moodle, you’ll need the direct URL from Mentimeter. You’ll find this via the “Share” button in the top right corner of your presentation. Copy the voting link. In Moodle, go to Add an Activity or Resource, and select URL. The name you give the URL will be the text the student needs to click on.

When linking, ensure that your Mentimeter has been changed to Audience Pace, from the default, Presenter Pace. Presenter Pace: useful in-room when students are responding “live”. Audience Pace: students move through the questions in their own time as they answer them (useful in-room or asynchronously).

To change pace, from your Mentimeter, go to Settings, and select the pace you want. Give the page a second to automatically save (visible just above).

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Continuous Module Dialogue: Session #3 for A&H Module Leads and Teaching Admin

Continuous Module Dialogue (CMD) is a pilot for 2022/23, requiring each module to survey its students 3-4 times across the life of the module (i.e. whether across 1 term, or 2).

NOTE: Please ensure that all text in your Moodle courses referencing Continuous Module Dialogue and student feedback uses the term “Continuous Module Dialogue”, and that all references to SEQs, MEQs and other previous methods of module-level feedback are removed. 

Recordings

  1. A&H Deputy Faculty Tutor Ashley Doolan explains the CMD policy at institutional level, discusses how this might look in individual modules, and outlines the requirements around the reporting process. [13 min]

2. A&H Arena Fellow Jesper Hansen demonstrates the use of Mentimeter for Continuous Module Dialogue [26 min]

Links and Resources

UCL Continuous Module Dialogue Policy, Guidance and Resources

Enrol on UCL centrally-provided Mentimeter training, 11th October 2022

 

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A&H Module Lead & Teaching Admin Session #1: Student Moodle Experience; Moodle Rollover & Recommendations.

  1.  How do A&H Students Experience the VLE?

This UCL ChangeMakers student-led research project was presented at the 2022 RAISE Conference. The recording below is of a slightly abbreviated version, presented as part of the Moodle support and orientation workshop for A&H Module Leads and Teaching Admin, held on 13th September 2022.

How students experience the VLE (presentation slides).

Recording of the presentation, featuring Jesper Hansen (Arena for A&H), Nadia Golotchoglou (SSEES) and Marta Ramió Comalat (English).

2. Moodle Rollover, Preparing for the Start of Term: Recommendations Arising from this Research

The rollover process creates annualised instances of taught modules. In most A&H departments, the rollover process has been centrally organised, but in some, this is the responsibility of module leads. If you have been tasked with rolling over your module and need further guidance on it, it can be found here: Link to Moodle Rollover Guide 2022/23  If you are unsure as to whether you need to rollover your module yourself, please check with your departmental administrators.

Recommendations arising from our research: a list in the briefest possible form. To hear me talk through this list in depth, please listen below:

    • Moodle Recommendations:

      • Everything on a module page should be intentional, and of use to the current student cohort. Leave anything that is not relevant to the current cohort that you may wish to bring in in the future in last year’s instance of the module.

     

      • Use consistent naming conventions for all documents. Avoid default strings of numbers.

     

      • If organising Moodle by week, include calendar dates in titles along with Week 1, Reading Week, etc.

     

      • Ensure assessment details and inboxes are clearly signposted, and are not hidden in weekly content.

     

      • Use Conditional Release (“Restrict Access” feature) to release content by week, or to cascade activities. State that this is in place. Link to Conditional Release How-To.

     

      • Make the module handbook clearly available in Moodle, and ensure it is up to date.

  • Resource and Library Recommendations

      • Use Reading List to ensure students access the correct versions of resources, and to keep the Library informed of current module requirements and use statistics. UCL Reading List Home and Guidance.

     

      • Use links to university databases, rather than downloading papers and uploading the PDFs.

     

      • Work with a Subject Librarian to check the accessibility of essential PDFs and documents in your course, and ensure the most appropriate versions are used. Who is my Subject Librarian?

     

      • Mark reading and resources as Core/Essential and Optional/Further as appropriate. Use the UCL Guide to Reading List Best Practice to ensure you and your students are getting the most out of the platform.