Innovation
Programme leaders of our International on-line distance learning MSc Global Health and Wellbeing Programme have developed a ‘Wordpress’ weblog for use primarily by students currently participating in the programme and staff from the range of colleges involved in programme delivery. Additionally, access is given to other members of University staff who have interests in Global Health from a teaching or research perspective.
The aims of the blog are
- to foster a sense of community amongst all students on the programme, ability to learn from each other and a sense that as international on-line students they are part of a much wider Global Health community of scholars and practice
- to create a lifelong interest in the topic and for programme scholars to disseminate their knowledge elsewhere.
Communities of practice are “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an on-going basis” (Wenger 2004 p1). Wenger observes that in the real world we learn most in the process of becoming part of a community and contributing to what it is doing. As well as students learning from each other, staff can learn about unique perspectives on global health from students and thereby foster one of the key philosophical principles of the programme, that of ‘mutuality’.
The use of a weblog enables a range of different sorts of media to be shared amongst blog users. It is a way of sharing information about educational events as well as creating fora for discussion of current Global Health issues as they arise and as they are portrayed in scholarly works or in the media.
Wenger, E. (2004). “Communities of practice; a brief introduction”. Available from; http://www.ewenger.com/theory/communities_of_practice_intro.htm
What prompted innovation?
- Awareness of potential isolation of some international students, particularly those from low income countries: a summary of related research on distance learning students back in 1997 (Marland) highlighted that a sense of isolation is frequently experienced by distance learning students, which can lead to high attrition rates.
- Global Health issues and challenges are not limited to semester time; we wanted to bridge the gap between semesters.
- When developing the MSc programme we were aware that other colleges and faculties within the University of Dundee were engaged in teaching and research and partnership projects that have an impact upon Global Health in a number of different ways. We wanted to ensure that our students felt part of the much wider community of scholarship and practice within the University rather than that contained in the programme and in doing so, sustain viable dialogue across cultures.
Marland, P. (1997). Towards more Effective Open and Distance Learning, London, Kogan Page
What makes innovation different?
- It is not situated at module level – therefore students who start the programme in different academic years and who are participating in different modules can network with fellow students at different stages of the programme.
- The use of a blog that does not operate within a specific module allows the ‘conversation’ to continue between semesters and beyond completion of the programme.
Changes in practice
It is too early to comment upon change in practice as this was only launched in Spring 2013. However, participants have commented that this is a thoughtful addition to our usual modes of communication e.g. email and discussion boards within the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE ). As new students have progressed through the programme, transformation of learning style is apparent, moving from one which relies solely upon teacher led discussion to one that is also guided by peers.
Impact
- Discussion with scholarship awarding bodies for students from low income countries have verbally commended the initiative.
- Early student evaluation includes positive comments about the use of the blog and on-line discussion facilitated by the programme team.
Dissemination
Targeted emails and through discussion at relevant forums.