Michelle Verity, Acting Director LearnHigher CETL

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What do students really do??? Understanding
study practices
Michelle Verity, Acting Director LearnHigher
CETL June 24 2008 PAR Symposium
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• 16 partner universities
• Committed to improving student learning
• Providing excellent resources that support
  students learning development
• Through practice led enquiry that builds a
  research base to inform the effective use of
  these resources

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LearnHigher Research Aims

• To understand the learning development of our
  students their practices, what hinders them and
  how we can better support it
• In particular, how resources can be used
  effectively to support the process

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Social practice perspective on TLA
Rejects the rational-cognitive model (individual,
private, context independent) Views learning as
an interplay between individuals and their
environments (Knight et al., 2006) Knowledgeabi
lity and expertise are not simply inside our
individual heads but are intimately tied to
various aspects of the relationships we have with
people, technologies and other dimensions of
context (Lave, 1988)
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Activity Theory
Engeström, 1987
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Questions

• What aspects identified in the activity system
  could be said to support effective study
  practices and what tensions are identified that
  could hinder success?
• How far does Activity Systems Theory help us to
  make sense of students study habits?

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The present study

• 22 undergraduates
• Interviews rich pictures
• Hermeneutical interpretive data analysis

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TOOLS AND SIGNS Course handbooks and
booklists Previous assignments Virtual Learning
Environment Library resources Electronic
resources (university based) Internet/
Google Computers Writing Centre
SUBJECT Student undertaking an assignment
OBJECT Achieving a good assignment grade
OUTCOMES
RULES Subject discourse/ conventions Departmental
rules Assignment deadlines Tutor preferences/
expectations
DIVISION OF LABOUR Tutor/student power
relations Student sharing of references, reading
and notemaking
COMMUNITY Students on same course Other
students Family (support) Library
staff Department staff/ Tutors
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• What was the nature of the mediating artefacts
  and signs?
• How did they support or undermine study
  practices?
• Module handbooks booklists
• The library books
• Electronic resources

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• What was the nature of the stated and tacit rules
  that were operative in the community?
• How did these support or undermine study
  practices?
• Activity directed
• Misinterpretation distortion
• Tutor owned

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• How was the division of labour manifested in the
  community?
• Did the division of labour support or undermine
  the development of effective study practices?
• Peers, family, library staff, IT support,
  Learning Developers
• Tutor power

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Limitations

• Issues of agency
• Location within the nodes
• Description not prediction

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Conclusions

• Study practices are structured by mediating
  artefacts, rules and division of labour within
  the university community.
• Successful utilisation of handbooks, booklists,
  library, books, electronic journals, e-books,
  internet, support services
• Grasp subject conventions, department rules,
  tutor expectations
• Tensions existing within the community shape
  study practices
• Scarce resources/ access issues
• Peers as a source of support/ propel
  misinformation
• Tutors as valuable mediating artefact/ power
  relations

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Future research?

• Exploring students use of tools in supporting
  their learning development
• Social practices of students and staff
• Staff expectations
• Support/ independent learning paradox

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• Thank you!