The TMA01

The last week has been spent preparing and submitting the first assignment and then having a look round the materials for Block 2. Thought I would post TMA01 here, so that I can refer back to this course and my progress on it, in one place. Hoping to get started on the new Block tomorrow, when I have a couple of days allocated for much of my study.
Part 1
Empirical research question
This is based on an aspect of my current practice;
‘Are there likely to be any benefits to HE students, of using blogs as a tool to improve learning through personal reflection?’
A theory of ‘reflective learning’ (Kolb, 1984 and developed by others) has been held as ‘true’ and been used constantly in the field of education. The concept of reflection has also been perceived as an important aspect of developing in a professional capacity in the workplace - the ‘reflective practitioner’, as discussed by Schön, (1987) - which may be of particular relevance to HE management courses, in the important bridge between integrating the study of management theories and the ‘world of work’.
The promotion of reflective learning, for example, by the Higher Education Academy (HEA, 2002), in conjunction with government employability strategies, has resulted in a move within the HE sector to greater emphasis being placed on personal development skills, including those of being a reflective learner. For many management and/or business courses, the awarding body looks to evidence of being able to reflect and to discuss the application of the theoretical learning, in the form of learning logs and/or personal journals. This is emphasised by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in a policy statement (2001), which includes refers to the need of HE institutions to have a ‘…means by which students can monitor, build and reflect upon their personal development…’
Within an institution I am currently involved with, a blog facility was set up last year, within the existing VLE, (‘Blackboard’). The current use made this varies tremendously between departments, with the main purpose being as a repository for session resources.
This deserves to be researched because the technology is currently in place and readily accessible. As we move towards using more on-line resources and there is wider access to IT for the HE management population, it has been suggested that we should use a blog tool as an integral component of some courses. However, it must be considered what would be the likely benefits to the student (if any); would incentives be required to assist this change? It may be viewed as ‘not worth the effort’ by the student community.
This needs to be researched in order to identify if this would be the case, as the conclusions would impact on the allocation of a range of resources in the future (in relation to technology, teaching development or/and student awareness).
Initial thoughts are that
There may be opportunities to use the blog facility as part of evidence for assessment
The use should not be viewed just as a ‘tick box’, administrative task (Black, 1999)
The blog may be an important building block for developing future, shared, on-line learning
There may be ethical implications, as there would be with any ‘human involvement’ project. Students may be reluctant to discuss some aspects of the course and specifically state their thoughts on, say, conflict or motivation in the workplace, if these thoughts were to become part of a visible, ‘permanent’ record, which others could view, as this relates to and is integrated with, their current working environment.
Part 2
Methods - strengths and weaknesses
A wide range of methods are available as part of the researcher’s toolkit. Personal interviews can provide a richness of information and a depth of insight, inaccessible by other forms of data collection. Time may need to be spent in the preparation, however, in relation to ensuring confidentiality and trying to encourage ‘free speech’. In some settings, it may be important to ensure anonymity, but it would need to be considered if this was viable or would detract from the validity of the project. These types of face to face methods of data collection may mean that some nuances, such as body language, go largely unrecorded, but some interpretation may be offered, for which there is no tangible evidence; or the evidence could be used out of its original context, which may lead to questioning the validity of the data. Additionally, the transcription of any interview, however, brief, takes time, as would a manual analysis of the transcriptions.
Questionnaires can allow preparation of specific questions to be asked in exactly the same format to all participants and may provide benefits ease of comparison; for example, Hiltz and Meinke used a pre and post questionnaire method. The negative implications of questionnaires can be the high time and cost resource usage.
Statistical data and analysis, whether small scale (Hiltz and Meinke), or much larger scale (OECD), can provide measures by which to easily compare variables and present the information in a suitable visual format for the audience; detailed and complex information could be analysed (as Wegerif and Mercer achieved). However, analysis may be limited to the researcher’s manipulation skills or, on a larger scale, be dependent on the software and processing technology and financial commitment available. There may be ethical implications related to manipulation of data; while, qualitative data may appear on the surface to be easier to validate than qualitative data, it may be more challenging to validate the methods used in the analysis.
The use of computer-based text analysis highlights the benefit of capturing context and temporal issues; a blend of data, which can be linked; but again this may be dependent on available resources, particularly the investment of technology and skills.
Wegerif and Mercer also used coding schemes, to create the ‘big picture’ of using a range of variables, with ‘publicly verifiable’ categories, which indicates that the research may be more transparent and accessible then other methods. However, the coding may be limiting to the text interpretation, if researchers make suppositions and assumptions. This is where the ethical dilemma of a researcher may be of concern; if the project is intending to confirm a hypothesis, the selection of categories and the analysis and interpretation of these may be skewed.
Systematic observation can provide a richness of detail, but may be limited in value, as much may depend on the observer’s perception and focus of topic. In the case of Laurilland, the observations included extensive explanatory notes, transcriptions and diagrams, in an effort to clarify the situations; this level of detail would indicate greater validity than a purely note-taking style of observation. A disadvantage of this method, in some situation, would be that the observer may alter the normal course of the activity, by their presence in the situation.
Methods – selection
The preferred methods would be those which necessarily fit my existing skills set and experience as a researcher, as well as those methods which would be most suitable for the type of data to be collected, which would mainly be qualitative in nature. It is also important to consider the participants, who would be more familiar with questionnaires than other methods, but who may not feel comfortable with one-to-one interviews.
From the methods met so far, many could contribute; however, due to word limitations, the focus will be on
· Interviews
· Coding schemes
· Statistical data analysis
Interviews could be arranged, with anonymity protected, as it would be the content of the qualitative statement that would be used to highlight key issues, not the respondent’s relationship with the statement; the use of a quote or phrase from a particular student would be used to sum up a general consensus for a particular aspect. Students would perhaps feel more comfortable in a focus group setting, than being interviewed individually; but this would have its own set of advantages and disadvantages, particularly in management course, where there may be vying for leadership.
The interview transcriptions could be analysed by the use of coding schemes, where a range of categories are created from the overview of the material and each input is assigned to a specific category to indicate the volume of subject discussion or the range of topics stated.
Statistical data analysis could also be developed from this coding analysis, such as recording the number of variables linked to the student’s perception on different topics. However, the main use of using this type of analysis would be in relation to the physical counting of participation variables, such as times of access, duration of logon and word quantity of the posting. The analysis could be carried out manually or by the use of simple Excel formulas. Any statistical collation would allow for the use of graphs and/or charts and this is useful in the presentation of data and may appear to contribute to the validity of the project conclusions (whether or not this is actually the case).
These methods would be preferable because they are in keeping with a small scale project, where the researcher’s skills are limited and time resources constrained. One other ethical consideration would be any personal bias; while is it expected that integrity and high professional standards overall are maintained, if it is in ones own interests to achieve a particular recommendation in any study, this may impact on the methodology and therefore the conclusions reached.
(1502 words)

References
Black P. (1999) Assessment, Learning Theories and Testing Systems in Murphy, P. (ed.) Learners, Learning and Assessment London, Sage Publishing
Brockbank, A and McGill, I. (1998) Facilitating Reflective Learning in Higher Education, Bristol, Open University Press
Higher Education Academy (2002) Personal Development Planning: a Tool for Reflective Learning available at http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/resources/casestudies/cs_080 Accessed 6th March 2008
Hiltz, S.R. and Meinke, R. (1989) ‘Teaching sociology in a virtual classroom’, Teaching Sociology, vol. 17, no. 4, p. 431–46
Kolb, D. A., (1984) The experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. NJ: Prentice-Hall
Laurillard, D. (1994) ‘How can learning technologies improve learning?’, Law Technology Journal, vol. 3, no. 2
Oliver, M., Roberts, G., Beetham, H., Ingraham, B. and Dyke, M. (2007) ‘Knowledge, society and perspectives on learning technology’ in Conole, G. and Oliver, M. (eds) Contemporary Perspectives on E-learning Research, London, RoutledgeFalmer.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2005) E-learning in Tertiary Education: Where do we stand?, Paris, OECD.
Quality Assurance Agency (2001) http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/progressFiles/guidelines/progfile2001.asp accessed 4th March 2008
Roschelle, J. (1992) ‘Learning by collaborating: convergent conceptual change’, Journal of the Learning Sciences, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 235–76.
Schön D. (1987) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass
Wegerif, R. and Mercer, N. (1997) ‘Using computer-based text analysis to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods in research on collaborative learning’, Language and Education, vol. 11, no. 4, p. 271–86

Part 3
Project selection
It is anticipated that I would select option (a), plan the design of a study. Currently, I am not aware of how this should be constructed and presented in the ‘…form of a research bid…’, but I am sure this will become clear as I continue through the course.
While still considering the main theme of my project, I am aware of the need to consolidate the idea as soon as possible. My situation is that I am working part time in a business and management centre, which is part of an FE college and my role, is delivery of both FE and HE courses.
My brief has been to start with one course (the CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management) and to look at devising a blended learning model, which will necessarily require increased use of technology, in order to develop and make best use of distance learning components. The other additional need is to integrate technology as part of developing professional practice, as many of the candidates use e-mailing, conferencing and numerous software programmes in their daily lives – being part of a college community should not appear to be taking a step back in time!
In the light of these thoughts, I am considering a project along the lines of
‘How could technology components be embedded into existing management courses?’
The intention would be to look at, on a practical level, how specific new components (such as, perhaps, wikis and blogs) could be of embedding and what the technical and technological implications might be.
It is likely that interviews would be relevant in relation to assessing student perceptions of the likely changes and the perceived benefits; discussions with existing staff and IT support would also be required, but there are no issues of access and there is support in the wider college politics for this type of project. There would also be opportunities to ground the research in the concepts of collaboration (Murphy), reflection (as discussed briefly in part 1) and assessment methods (Gardiner, Black). I have yet to access more recent research on changes in management course and review HE-based research papers in relation to awarding bodies thoughts on evidence for assessment (for example, could a professional discussion – still a relatively new method in this context, anyway – also be linked with using webcams?).
This should be a doable project in relation to existing skills and knowledge; although assistance with technical specifications of using some components may need to be accessed.
The limitations of the project are that it will be a ‘local story’ and may contribute little to ‘new knowledge’ outside the current setting. However, there may be valuable information uncovered, which would assist with the implementation of the new components, which is already being driven by reduced demand for the traditional college attendance course and for economic reasons.

I await my feedback on this....