THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COLLECTIVE GROUP BLOGS AS A TOOL FOR REFLECTION WITHIN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY OF SIMULATED WORK BASED LEARNING WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION (INTED2012)

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COLLECTIVE GROUP BLOGS AS A TOOL FOR REFLECTION WITHIN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY OF SIMULATED WORK BASED LEARNING WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION (INTED2012)

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  THE EFFECTIVENESS OFCOLLECTIVE GROUP BLOGS AS A TOOL FOR REFLECTION WITHIN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY OF SIMULATED WORK BASED LEARNING WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION E. Garcia1 , M. Brown1 , I. Elbeltagi2 1 Plymouth College of Art (UNITED KINGDOM) 2 University of Plymouth (UNITED KNIGDOM) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
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  OUTLINE • Introduction • ExperientialLearning • Blogs & Experiential Learning • Methodology • Case Study • Findings • Discussion • Conclusions & Recommendations
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  INTRODUCTION / CONTEXT •Increase in general use of Social Media • Limited effect on education particularly within Art and Design • Increasing focus on employability, links with industry, vocational education • Group sizes and need for efficiency but work placement can be costly • Social Media may - support group work, promote technology, record experiences • Blogs would appear to support this well
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  EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING • Twodiffering concepts • Learning within an authentic setting • Learning activity which takes place through everyday experiences • David Kolb • Learning occurs through the transformation of experience • Emphasis is on the process rather than the outcome • Process is transformational which results in knowledge being created, adapted and changed rather than transmitted • The learning cycle
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  KOLB’S LEARNING CYCLE
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  BLOGS • Blogs enableflexible, interactive and easy to use of reading and writing reflectively • Blogs support the creation of social and peer learning communities which support learning • Allow others to read and comment – including authentic audiences • Discuss experiences – primary and secondary – actual, recalled and artificial • Any time, any place • Flexible media – text, images, videos, links • Collective and Individual blogs
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  BLOGS & EXPERIENTIALLEARNING • Enable learning through – writing, reading, receiving comments and posting comments • Collective blogs allow collaborative learning – peer facilitated learning • Sharing, creating analysing and evaluating knowledge • Communication, interaction – social and conversational • Four aspects • Writing – self reflective process • Reading – reflection triggered by reading • Reading and Commenting – reflection • Commenting – reflective dialogue
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  KOLB’S LEARNING CYCLEWITH BLOG USAGE AND REFLECTION ACTIVITIES
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  METHODOLOGY • Qualitative &Quantitative Approach • Case Study • Content Analysis • Observation • Coding: • type of post • number of images in the post • number of links • number of comments • time after post comment made • number of text lines in the post • whether the comments reflect any experiential learning
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  CASE STUDY • PlymouthCollege of Art • BA(Hons)/FD Illustration – Year 2 Module • Assignment: The Great Editorial Race • Create 10 Illustration within 3 weeks judged by “client” • Student assigned teams by Programme Team (aimed to ensure evenness) • selected a captain who is responsible for the creation of a collaborative team blog to support in class activities • Blogs aims: • Create enclosed online “safe” space • Develop online community • Reflective learning space • Peer review space • 3 blogs analysed: Fubar (FB),The Increditorials (IN), We Will Shock You (WWSY)
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  FINDINGS • Total posts– 64% in FB, 19% in WWSY, 17% in IN • Comments – 78% in FB, 15% in WWSY, 7% in IN However students also stated they kept in contact via: • Facebook • face to face • text (messaging) • Experiential Learning – 67% in FB, 19% in WWSY, 15% in IN • Therefore the greater the activity, the greater the learning
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  FINDINGS • Higher numbersof images • 70% in FB, 20% in WWSY and 10% in IN • Comments indicate higher levels of engagement within FB with other teams often posting after submission • Within FB all members contributed • Within IN and WWSY at least one team member failed to engage • Maximum contributions from one individual: FB = 71, WWSY = 16, IN = 7 • Maximum posts from one individual: FB = 26, WWSY = 7, IN = 8 • Average comments per post: FB = 2.8, WWSY = 1.8, IN = 0.9 • Learning could possibly therefore be attributed to each of these aspect
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  DISCUSSION • Experiential Learninghas occurred to varying degrees • Greater blog use appears to indicate greater learning • Only within FB is the full cycle complete • Within IN and WWSY the perception continuum appears to be less developed – lack of engaged feedback • Possible lack of reading within WWSY and IN • FB evidence of reflective learning – respond, seeking feedback, encourages other to seek feedback • Assessment not part of task may have resulted in lack of engagement • Art and Design context – more visual use of blogs
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  CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS • Collectiveblogs can be used to support experiential learning • Evidence of support for reflective learning • Dependent upon individuals, and active engagement • Need four key aspects - reading, writing, leaving comments and receiving comments • Triggers - self-reflection, reflection triggered by reading, reflective dialogue • Appear to be useful in Art and Design for critique of visual images • Need to consider assessment – will it inhibit effective reflective learning • Future studies could consider engagement with authentic audiences