Reflection 4: DESCRIPTION OF PLANNED INTERVENTION
As I have already described the intervention, I am focussing on the feedback I received, as well as the challenges I still experience.
Lessons learnt from feedback:
Lesson 1: Which tool to use:
A valuable comment I received on the choice of tool to use, was that the best approach might be eclectic, and would mean applying several tools, so that students could choose which one to use. The ideal would still be to use sms, but due to the costs involved that will not be used. At this stage the Face book option and Blackboard are still the best choices. The Google docs survey is still daunting, but will be finalized this week to distribute to the group via e mail during the next two weeks. I am not sure what the response would be like.
Lesson 2: Tasks to give via Face book:
The question on which tasks I will give them to do via Facebook opened up many more possibilities for me. I think there is an opportunity to involve students this way, by giving them specific tasks. However, after their initial interest in signing up, they have not added anything on Face Book. I will give them specific questions and then see how they respond.
Lesson 3: Incentive for students
An important comment was to consider a certificate or grades as incentive for the students. I will definitely discuss this with Pearson to find out if they have a standardized certificate or template I could use, or else will design one under the Fundani logo. This is a great idea! I am trying to finalise a specific grade with the lecturers. The one lecturer will definitely give students a participation mark for attendance, but I have to get the support from the other lecturer or HOD. That will definitely help. The Pearson support team also needs to show me how to determine the progress of the students on the system, which I still battle with.
More challenges:
Challenge 1: Cape Town campus
It seems the Cape Town campus students are not on board yet, as none of them have signed up on Face Book except the Cape Town lecturer. I will attend their class this week to market the Face book page personally and try to determine why they have not signed up yet. I told the Bellville students that their Cape Town classmates will join, and it is a bit of an anticlimax that nothing has been happening yet.
Challenge 2: Connecting with the lecturers
As I am a support staff member, I have to rely on the goodwill of the lecturers to connect with the students. I have found the one lecturer on Bellville very helpful. She attends all the sessions and is really supportive. However, I battle to connect with the other lecturer, and our meeting scheduled for today has just been postponed. I realize again this would have been so much easier with my own students…. I have put the Discussion on Blackboard but no responses yet. If I could get buy in from the lecturers, it could be a graded discussion, which will encourage students to participate. Hopefully the meeting will happen asap and I will take it up there again.
Challenge 3: Limited time
I still see the students only 45 minutes per week. With all the long weekends we missed a lot of contact time. The exams and holidays ahead, are really hindering the success of the project, as the students, although they are encouraged to continue on their own, might not be motivated or might not have Internet access.
Challenge 4: The Pearson system
The system of Pearson is still challenging and I feel I have not been briefed enough beforehand by Pearson on how to handle it. However, they are now very supportive and I am meeting one of their managers on Thursday, who will show my colleagues and myself how to manage the system more effectively.
Challenge 5: Research
I would like to finalise our research plans on he project and sent an abstract to SAALT, which has just been accepted. My one colleague at Bellville and myself will present on this at the SAALT conference and will try to finish a full-length paper to be published on the progress. I will also contact the Pearson Research team in London for support.
Challenge 6: Collaboration UP
I am meeting with colleagues at the University of Pretoria on Friday to share ideas and experiences with them. They bought the system and have rolled it out with almost 2000 students. I think I will be able to learn a lot from them.
Conclusion
Still a work in progress and some days I wonder about the effectiveness
of the tool. At least when I see the students in the computer lab, I am able to
check on their progress and they seem to enjoy it. Will it really make a
difference to their Academic language skills? Will these new practiced skills
be retained or will it be a short-term effect? Maybe longitudinal studies need
to be done. Of the 50 students enrolled in Bellville only about 30 attend the
sessions regularly. I am worried that I have already lost the other students. I
really need more support from the lecturers to ensure student participation. So, will this be effective and
successful…? Only time will tell.
Wonderful rich reflection Hanlie. Thank you
ReplyDeleteDear Hanlie, the role in which you are now in, where you have limited exposure to your students and have to have ‘buy-in’ from your lecturers requires that you use a tool which will maximise the little time you have with your students while at the same time is beneficial and non-threatening to your lecturers.
ReplyDeleteAt this stage , I think it makes sense to stick with the Facebook idea and just write about your experiences with both groups on each campus, highlighting those factors that could have influenced take up on one campus and a lack of involvement on the other.
I am glad you are making some effort to find out from your students as well. Your interactions with the lecturers could also influence your outcomes. I am glad that you are publishing around this already . We all have learnt a lot from your reflections.