A blended learning approach to human development learning and teaching. Lynn Sheridan & Janice West. School of Health

Social Work and Human Development Year 2 Module –Covers the Lifespan –Teaching methods Didactic lectures Online seminar Activity groups supervision This is the category… Lifestyle etc.

Aims Aims of this workshop –Outline of the ‘Clydetown’ Virtual Community –Explore Pedagogy –Evaluation of Student Experience This is the category… Lifestyle etc.

History of ‘Clydetown’ project  Developed from a previous collaboration with 4 West of Scotland Universities  Consultation across the School of Health and Social Care  ‘Wish List’ developed  Web development contracted out

Pedagogy  Constructivist approach:  Individual learner constructs his/her own understanding  Informed by professional values  Inducted into professional role  Creating contextual meaning

Pedagogy  Situated Learning  Vicarious Learning  Context over Content  Learning is an (inter)active process  Learning begins with conversation

“A learning curriculum is essentially situated”

Vicarious Learning

Why use audio?  Authenticity  Emotional response to ‘stories’  Exposure to ‘Intelligent Conversation’  Range and versatility of content  Develops listening skills

Audio : Authenticity Audio Example

Student Evaluation  Initial Anxieties was raised by part-time students but this was alleviated by the end of the module.  The following quotes were recorded by the evaluation forms used at the end of the module.  62 students participated in the module  12 CPD  50 Full-time

Student Evaluation  “Very involved via Clydetown”  “Clydetown use allowed students to discuss their own summation of lectures”

Student Evaluation  “Clydetown tasks are beneficial to relating theory to practice”  “Groupwork within the seminars was also very good as it allowed individuals to have awareness of their strengths/weaknesses, it also allowed for students to be accountable to each other if unavailable to attend group meetings”

References Dalgarno, B. (1996) Constructivist Computer Assisted Learning: Theory and Technique, ASCILITE Conference [online] Available at: accessed 21 September Feldstein, M. (2006) There’s No Such Thing as a Learning Object [online] Available at: accessed 2 November Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive & Computational Perspectives), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Mayes, J. T., Dineen, F., Mckendree, J. & Lee, J. (2001) ‘Learning from watching others learn’, in Networked Learning: Perspectives and Issues, eds C. Steeples & C. Jones, Springer, London. Plewes, P. & Issroff, K. (2002) ‘Understanding the development of teaching and learning resources: a review’, ALT-J, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 4–16.