Complete thesis - Murdoch University

to students. What this meant was that students were much more aware that any previousgroup, of what was being attempted, and why.An additional ‘distraction’ was the requirement to work more formally in groups for the secondassignment. To all intents and purposes, this meant that class work was also undertakenin the same groups – this gave them the opportunity to flip between assignment and classwork throughout the session, and was useful in particular when I was making the rounds– they could raise assignment problems at that time. As has been stated, this assignmentacted as an ‘eye-opener’: the need to negotiate with team members, explore alternatives andresolve conflict, co-ordinate tasks and produce a deliverable that had a unified look-and-feel,taxed some students (this leaves little time for other subjects; not clearly stated what we arerequired to do in terms of assessed work) while others could relate the experience to theworkplace (can see industry advantages; shows how to analyse stuff). In almost every case ofa request for an extension beyond the due date, the comment was on the lines of the work isdone, just not put together.The unit was completed with submission and return of the second assignment, submissionof the Portfolio and a final exam. The portfolio, in particular, was a contentious issue.Students had indicated, as early as Week 4 of semester, that they considered it unnecessaryeffort, despite the value of marks allocated to it (large workload; need to learn new software).Although a minimum was set at that time (in response to comments in the Year survey)negotiations continued during the rest of the semester. However, students indicated theyfound the mind maps particularly useful. For some students, these were checked periodicallythroughout the semester while for others they were completed in block mode. They appearedto be used by many students as their unit review material for the exam – discussion sessionsduring the study week were split between conceptual understanding (with mind maps asprops) or application of the notation correctly.6.2.3 Interpreting what happenedThe purpose of the evaluation conducted after the 2002 semester was to assist in determiningif the implementation was effective in facilitating student learning and transfer, and toprovide the researcher with data to reflect on improvements to be made. Table 6.2 providesa summary of the instruments used to collect data for analysis in this cycle.All elements of assessment were available to be evaluated in relation to this research. Forthis cohort, this included individual and group application of tools and methods being learnt(the assignments) and a Portfolio that included mind maps to provide some information on261