Log in
The use of technology to enhance student learning is known to have a significant impact on achievement in all subject areas and across all stages of schooling and learning. Educational computer games and online tools help engage students — making learning enjoyable and therefore more effective. Computer scientists at Leicester are expert in the analysis of online learning tools and educational games. They have used this expertise to evaluate whether and why such games or tools work and, most importantly, how they can be improved.
The research has been used by:
Outcomes of the research conducted at the University of Edinburgh (2001 to 2007) that have had the most far-reaching impact are a strong conceptualisation of the whole learning environment (including curricula, teaching, learning support, and assessment and feedback) and its influence on the quality of undergraduates' learning. What gave these outcomes added resonance was a concern for disciplinary distinctiveness as well as more generic features; an alertness to the pervasive implications for day-to-day teaching-learning practices of mass 21st-century higher education; and a focus on enhancing as well as evaluating the student experience.
The reach of the impact extends to university teachers, middle and senior academic managers, local and national bodies with responsibilities for surveying quality and standards and, albeit less directly, students. Staff in at least 21 universities in 12 countries have used the Experiences of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ). The National Student Survey questionnaire was influenced by the ETLQ, and has continuing UK-wide impact on teaching through students' retrospective ratings of their experience. Project outputs were directed towards teaching staff through workshops, publications and invited presentations, followed by detailed advice on assessment and feedback of coursework.
The Transforming Learning Cultures in Further Education (TLC) project, which UWE researchers led the design of and played a key role in undertaking, informed policy debates on a range of issues including the quality of teaching and learning in Further Education (FE) settings. Several FE sector teacher training programmes (e.g. Cardiff University) have changed aspects of their content as a consequence of this research, for example to help trainees better understand and develop a positive learning culture in their classrooms. This benefits the trainee teachers and, as a consequence, the learning outcomes for the students they work with. Processes to enhance the practice of established teachers in FE have been implemented as a consequence of this research, for example, City of Bristol College's peer mentoring scheme improves the skills of lecturing staff and outcomes for learners. The project also produced a book that has been widely adopted by FE managers and tutors to help them better understand and enhance the learning context in contemporary college and adult education environments, resulting in more effective teaching and learning. On a wider level the research findings have influenced national policy debates on issues around the funding, practice, and management of teaching and learning activities across the post-compulsory education sector, particularly in further education.
Our research explored the ways the emerging Semantic Web can support teaching and learning. It identified case based learning as a key area and outputs were used to enhance the unique research council funded Economic and Social Data Service public collections and pioneers pages. Results informed the thinking of accountancy bodies on e-assessment via the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants/International Association for Accounting Education. An exemplary user case study derived from the research was selected by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The research supported the aggregation and presentation of Open Educational Resources via JISC. Project software and documentation was released as open source. Outcomes provided the `Liverpool, City of Radicals' Project timeline.
Impact in this case study focuses on developing an inclusive culture; changes in academic development programmes; and influencing national policy on inclusive learning and teaching in higher education. While student diversity has increased over the last twenty years or so, teaching methods have changed little in response. This has had a knock-on effect on student engagement and success. Research outlined here has influenced how university teachers reframe their understandings and practices of teaching and engaging diverse students. This work has reshaped continuing professional development in university teaching in the UK and internationally and has influenced national policy on inclusive learning and teaching.
This case study demonstrates clear and significant impact on placement learning in a range of universities, according with the following dimension of impact in REF 2014: `impacts within the higher education sector, including on teaching or students, are included where they extend significantly beyond the submitting HEI' (emphasis in the original). The research focuses on Community Engagement in Political Science Education, undertaken from 2007 by Associate Professor Steven Curtis. Curtis researches and publishes new models of placement learning, the learning and teaching uses of Web 2.0, and more effective approaches to feedback. Curtis's work — involving developing new approaches to the pedagogy of community engagement — enjoys both national and international recognition.
Research by the University of Nottingham's Education and Technology for Health team has benefited healthcare students, professionals, users, carers and institutions both in the UK and internationally by establishing a participatory methodology for high-quality, sustainable multimedia Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs). These learning tools are now used in 50 countries globally to facilitate individual access to knowledge, enhance learning within curriculums and deliver continuing professional development, with feedback showing satisfaction of up to 100% in some nations. They are also being used to train healthcare professionals in resource-poor countries, further strengthening the University of Nottingham's role as a global education provider.
A Threshold Concept is a new way of thinking, where a specific element of a curriculum that is difficult for students to understand, such as `opportunity cost' in Economics or `stress transformation' in Engineering, irreversibly restuctures the learner's understanding once it is grasped. Consequently, by identifying Threshold Concepts, and then by adapting teaching practice and the focus of assessment, educators can significantly benefit students' progress. Durham's conceptualisation of Threshold Concepts has had a transformative effect on educational practice, curriculum design and assessment, particularly in Higher Education (HE), but also on schools, on educational policy as well as on conceptions of work-based learning and games design in international companies such as Nokia. The concept and its application have impacted on professional practice in HE institutions in at least 30 countries. In the UK, Threshold Concepts have been adopted by a number of high profile educational agencies and organisations and are now embedded in the policy and practice of many institutions.
Our research on learning using mobile technologies has impacted on:
The delivery of interchangeable services across a range of educational platforms has been a long-term problem in the field of technology enhanced learning. The Institute for Educational Cybernetics (IEC) identified widgets as having a potential role in resolving this problem, and developed a widget server, Wookie, to provide a research tool to investigate this. The research is summarised in [4] and [6]. The work attracted international attention, and the server has been reused in a number of other projects to provide interoperable services, both in education and beyond, and including a number of European funded initiatives. The impact of the work was recognised and enhanced by its acceptance by the Apache Software Foundation as an incubator project. It has now graduated as Apache Wookie, and is a full Apache project.