All Ireland Society for Higher Education
| Name: | Gabrielle McKee |
|---|---|
| Email: | gmckee@tcd.ie |
| Institution: | Trinity College Dublin |
Adams, Audrey, auadams@tcd.ie Porter, Michael, michael.porter@tcd.ie Costello, Paul, costeln@tcd.ie
Mature and other non traditional groups have always made up a significant proportion of students entering nursing courses. Biology lecturers on the nursing degree attempted to meet the learning needs of students with a wide ranging knowledge / understanding of this area by developing a self-directed e-learning course: Essential Life Sciences (ELS). The students were to work through the online course before attending the main classroom-based teaching sessions. The specific aim was to enable students to study the relevant content in their own time, at a pace suitable to their prior knowledge / understanding of biology.
In order to determine the perceived effectiveness of the ELS course the students (as the main stakeholders) were surveyed using an anonymous questionnaire, employing both open and closed questions to ascertain usage rates and barriers to using this course.
Findings from the questionnaire showed that the majority of students reported usage levels below those recommended by lecturers for the course, with lack of time being the most frequently stated reason. Mature and Intellectual Disability nursing students displayed the highest usage rates, while coincidently also reporting the lowest levels of IT skills and the most difficulties with the course. Qualitative analysis of the survey again highlighted lack of time as a major factor, together with access issues and a preference for other study materials.
The value of e-learning materials, integrated within a teaching course is now well recognized. To maximise the effectiveness of this teaching tool, there is a requirement to tailor the course to meet the needs of the relevant stakeholders, through identification of perceived barriers, such as lack of time.