Accelerated Learning: A Study of Faculty and Student Experiences
- PDF / 169,334 Bytes
- 12 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 87 Downloads / 193 Views
Accelerated Learning: A Study of Faculty and Student Experiences Nicolette Lee & Briony Horsfall
Published online: 24 February 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract In this study we explored faculty and student experiences of accelerated learning. We conducted interviews with faculty members who had delivered the same course in 12 and 6-week timeframes, and we analysed a student survey. Students reported overall positive experiences in the accelerated courses, particularly in the social aspects of learning, higher than usual motivation, and confidence in their learning. However, both faculty and students raised concerns about the scope and timing of assessment tasks, student workload expectations, faculty workload, and administration of courses. We offer recommendations regarding implementation, assessment practices, and management of learning in an accelerated timeframe. Key words accelerated learning . academic calendar . curriculum Acceleration of existing courses into shorter delivery timeframes has enabled many universities in Australia and internationally to extend their academic calendar (Baldwin and McInnes 2002; Wlodkowski 2003). There are incentives to do so, including financial benefits, fulfilling student demand for flexibility, and increasing compatibility with overseas university calendars (Baldwin and McInnes 2002; Daniel 2000; Davies 2006). While accelerated courses are being implemented more widely, compared to research on related topics such as the translation of courses to distance learning contexts there is relatively little
Nicolette Lee received her B.A. (Honours) and M.A. (Design) from the University of Brighton. She is currently Academic Director, Swinburne Professional Learning, Swinburne University of Technology in Australia. Her research interests are project-based learning, curriculum development and learning space evaluation. Email: [email protected] Briony Horsfall received her Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, where she is currently a PhD candidate. N. Lee (*) : B. Horsfall Swinburne Professional Learning, Higher Education Office H20, Swinburne University of Technology, John Street, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia e-mail: [email protected]
192
Innov High Educ (2010) 35:191–202
research regarding the impact of changes in delivery timeframes on curriculum design or on learning experiences. At an Australian metropolitan university, Swinburne University of Technology, we undertook an exploratory study to investigate student and faculty perceptions of the differences between 12 and 6-week timeframes for the conduct of a course. At this university, the traditional 12-week semester had recently been supplemented by 6-week terms, scheduled during semester breaks. We sought faculty views on the implementation of this shorter timeframe. We also analysed a survey of students who had recently completed 6-week courses.
Definition of Accelerated Learning and Key Concepts As we began this project, we realized that th
Data Loading...
