1. Associate Professor Matthew Stubbs and Dr Carolyn Semmler, with the members of the Community of Practice on the Small Group Discovery Experience
A Preliminary Evaluation of the Small Group Discovery Experience in Large First-Year Courses

2. Outline of Presentation
Evaluation
The SGDE: Why Evaluate?
Evaluation Design
Key Questions
Results
Overall Satisfaction
Course by Course Responses
Aggregate Assessment of Individual Features
Demographic Factors
Qualitative Results
Best Practice Considerations for SGDE Implementation
University of Adelaide

3. Evaluation

4. The SGDE: Why Evaluate?
A new signature pedagogy of the University of Adelaide
Emphasizes the link between the University’s teaching and its world-class research, in the context of equipping graduates of the University of Adelaide to be the creators of new knowledge throughout their lives
Aims of the Project
Generate representative quantitative and qualitative data about the student experience of the SGDE in 2014/15
Form the basis for more broad-based qualitative and quantitative assessments of the SGDE in the future
Provide an evidence-based list of considerations for best practice implementation of the SGDE
It was introduced as a requirement for first-year courses in 2014, and from 2016 is offered to each student at least once in each year of undergraduate study.
University of Adelaide

5. Evaluation Design Methodology Courses Evaluated
Online survey ed to students through the LMS
Deliberative Discussion Forum
School of Psychology Human Research Ethics Sub-Committee approval 15/98
Courses Evaluated
Large (300+), First-Year courses
Law
Computer Science
Public Health
Science
Arts
Biology
Psychology
Accounting
25-69 responses per course; 330 overall responses
University of Adelaide

6. Key Questions
Q 6: In general, how would you rate the quality of learning you received in the SGDE for this course?
Q 7: The SGDE supported my learning experience for this topic
Q 8: The SGDE was well organized
Q 9: I had adequate contact time with the lecturer/academic during the SGDE
Q 10: The SGDE for this course improved my knowledge of research
Q 11: The SGDE for this course increased my appreciation of the research process
University of Adelaide

7. Results

8. Overall Satisfaction
University of Adelaide

9. Course by Course Responses
G reason for high 7 (‘The SGDE supported my learning experience for this topic’): runs for most of the course and has specific SGDE assessment (but so does F, which is modest on this scale)
D reason for low 9 (‘I had adequate contact time with the lecturer/academic during the SGDE’): D had only two SGDE sessions; score similar to B which was the other course with this structure
Mean of questions 6-11 by course
University of Adelaide

10. Aggregate Assessment of Individual Features
Preference Order:
Q9: Contact with academic mentors
Q8: Organisation
Q10: Improving knowledge of the research process
Q11: Appreciating the research process
Q7: SGDE supported learning
Q6: Quality of learning in SGDE
University of Adelaide

11. Demographic Factors Age Gender Groups No significant differences
18-24 years
25-34 years
> 35 years
No significant differences
Gender
University of Adelaide

12. Qualitative Results Positives Mixed Areas for Improvement
Discussions with Staff and Peers
Contact with Academics
Mixed
Group Work
Areas for Improvement
Integration with Courses
Organisation
University of Adelaide

13. Summary of Results Students generally like the SGDE
Key Beacon of Enlightenment aims for the SGDE are being achieved, including
increasing student contact with academic mentors, which is highly valued
developing student understanding and appreciation of the research process
Group work experiences vary
positives include students getting to know their peers and developing a sense of cohort amongst the student body
negatives focus on difficulties working within groups
Integration with course structure and link to course learning outcomes important
University of Adelaide

14. Best Practice Considerations for SGDE Implementation

15. Best Practice Considerations for SGDE Implementation (part 1)
SGDE content should be closely linked to the content in the rest of the course, and students need to be given a clear understanding of how the SGDE is integrated with the overall course structure and linked to course learning outcomes.
Where multiple groups of students are involved in simultaneous interaction with mentors, each group should be limited to 3-4 students, in classes of no more than students in total, supported by at least two academic mentors.
Students should be assisted to learn about expectations for group work, and processes should be in place to manage conflict in group assessment settings.
If there is group assessment attached to the SGDE (which should be seriously considered), it should be weighted at 10%- 20% of the entire course grade.
University of Adelaide

16. Best Practice Considerations for SGDE Implementation (part 2)
Each SGDE should have at least 3 mentoring sessions (even if only one hour each, and even if mentors are shared amongst multiple groups) (fewer sessions may be possible where mentors are unique to each group of students).
Ongoing feedback should be offered to students as they engage in the discovery process.
SGDEs should be scaffolded across each program, with the content being appropriate to each year level.
Mid- and early- career researchers, and even postgraduate students, should be considered for opportunities to academically mentor students in the SGDE (at least at the first-year level).
University of Adelaide

17. Our thanks to the fantastic teams
RAs: Dr Peta Callaghan; Heidi Long
Course Coordinators (anonymous)
CoP on Teaching Large Classes ( )
Dr Carolyn Semmler (co-facilitator)
Assoc Prof Matthew Stubbs (co-facilitator)
Prof Nicholas Burns
Dr Shona Crabb
Dr Michelle Coulson
Dr Georgina Drew
Dr Matthew Dry
Dr Adrian Koerber
Dr Virginie Masson
Dr Adriana Milazzo
Dr Lynn Rogers
Dr Adam Webster
Dr Natalie Williamson
CoP on the SGDE (2016)
Dr Carolyn Semmler (co-facilitator)
Assoc Prof Matthew Stubbs (co-facilitator)
Prof Amanda Able 
Prof Nicholas Burns
Jason Chan
Dr Michelle Coulson
Dr Matthew Dry
Nel Duffield
Dr Chad Habel‎
Margaret Hosking
‎Dr Kim Hynes
Dr Cate Jerram
Joel Lisk (Student)
Dr Beth Loveys
Dr Andrew MacKinnon‎
Dr Virginie Masson
Dr Joy McEntee‎
Dr Danijela Menicanin‎
Dr Dee Michell
Dr Adriana Milazzo
Devon Milton-Hutchison (Student)
Dorothy Missingham
Dr Edward Palmer‎
Assoc Prof Lucy Potter
Assoc Prof Catherine Snelling‎
Dr Adam Webster
Dr John Willison‎
University of Adelaide