Modular Course Research Articles

The Long-term Effect of a Degree on Graduate Lives

This article considers the long-term effect of a degree on graduate lives. By following-up a degree course which has used active-learning methods within a modular course for over 20 years, we provide a prototype for evaluating the lifelong learning generated by modern day teaching methods. While we concur with other researchers that there are communal benefits from a degree, we also conclude that there is a huge variation in the long-term effects of a course on a relatively homogeneous group of students. The variation comes from four main sources: (i) individual student backgrounds; (ii) different reconstructions of the same academic experience; (iii) the different personal circumstances while at college; and (iv) the effects of individual careers after graduation (which in turn leads to further individual reconstructions). These findings have three major implications for higher education policy: (i) evaluation can benefit by changing its major focus from individual courses to the whole college experience; (ii) there is value in looking at the long-term impact of that college experience; and (iii) all teaching and evaluation should respect the huge differences between individuals on the same course. These findings challenge any teaching method, course comparison or policy implication which treats students as a homogeneous group.

The Long-term Effect of a Degree on Graduate Lives

This article considers the long-term effect of a degree on graduate lives. By following-up a degree course which has used active-learning methods within a modular course for over 20 years, we provide a prototype for evaluating the lifelong learning generated by modern day teaching methods. While we concur with other researchers that there are communal benefits from a degree, we also conclude that there is a huge variation in the long-term effects of a course on a relatively homogeneous group of students. The variation comes from four main sources: (i) individual student backgrounds; (ii) different reconstructions of the same academic experience; (iii) the different personal circumstances while at college; and (iv) the effects of individual careers after graduation (which in turn leads to further individual reconstructions). These findings have three major implications for higher education policy: (i) evaluation can benefit by changing its major focus from individual courses to the whole college experience; (ii) there is value in looking at the long-term impact of that college experience; and (iii) all teaching and evaluation should respect the huge differences between individuals on the same course. These findings challenge any teaching method, course comparison or policy implication which treats students as a homogeneous group.

Systems and environmental decision-making: postgraduate open learning with the Open University

Environmental issues affect everyone though the ways in which people engage with them varies a great deal. The Open University's Masters program in environmental decision making has at its core a modular course that enables students to incorporate environmental factors into their decision making from a starting point of identifying their own environmental issues using a systems approach. Students carry out a project based on their own experience in a decision-making situation of their own choice. A framework for environmental decision making is introduced and students learn how to use the framework systematically, systemically and critically. The course has evolved since it was first introduced in 1997 as both students and the course team have learnt about environmental decision making together. This paper analyses and interprets some of the data that have emerged from students projects since the course began.

The Effects of Aggregation Method and Variations in the Performance of Individual Students on Degree Classifications in Modular Degree Courses

Modularisation of first degree courses in the UK has led to degree classifications being determined 'by formula' in the majority of cases, according to systems for combining students' marks or grades which may vary between institutions. This article discusses the effects of different systems for selecting and combining module marks on students' degree classifications and shows that these effects depend on the variation in a student's marks for different modules. The potential for an aggregation system to influence students' behaviour and hence their future achievement is identified. The degree classifications obtained when different aggregation systems are used to classify a cohort of honours graduates from a modular degree course are compared. Substantial variation is found in the marks achieved by an individual student in different modules and this may lead to their being placed in different classes by different methods of aggregation. Analysis of the variation in the performance of individual students is identified as a potentially important tool for monitoring the operation of modular schemes and may also help to explain why some groups of students tend to achieve higher degree classifications than others.

Why teach anatomy? Anatomists respond

Why teach anatomy? Anatomists respond

Library and Information Education and Research in Great Britain. Some observations on the current situation and speculation on future trends

This paper reviews the context in which changes are taking place in education for librarianship and information work in Great Britain. It outlines the external drivers of change – the emerging job markets and the financial rewards available to library and information science professionals; and government expectations of growth in the University system, coupled with reduced funding for institutions and students. It points to some of the major current issues in course design and delivery: modular course structures; knowledge management, information literacy; and distance learning. The current situation of undergraduate and postgraduate education is discussed, as well as current activities to define academic standards. Finally the paper suggests some future trends, including a greater diversity in course provision and a greater emphasis on the education and employment of ‚library technicians‘.

A survey of general dental practitioners' postgraduate education activity and demand for extended modular postgraduate programmes.

The aim of this paper is to assess the level of involvement of general dental practitioners in postgraduate education and training, identify their speciality interests, preferred format of course presentation and assess the potential demand for modular postgraduate programmes. A questionnaire analysis of a one in three random sample of general dental practitioners on Health Authority lists in the North West of England and North Wales was designed and carried out. Out of a random sample of 799, 552 GDPs completed an anonymous questionnaire in 1998 which investigated their current postgraduate activity, the areas of specialist interest and their interest in extended modular postgraduate education courses with associated summative assessment. Fifty three percent of respondents attended more than four postgraduate sessions per year of whom the majority (59%) were in 35-44 year old age group. 79% identified Section 63 courses as their first preference and 63% preferred mixed didactic and 'hands on' courses. Seventy five percent of respondents expressed an interest in attending modular programmes which might lead to a postgraduate qualification. In conclusion, an enthusiasm to attend existing postgraduate courses was identified but a demand was also perceived for courses of longer duration possibly leading to additional postgraduate qualifications.

Orthodontic Auxiliaries: The Way Forward?

Currently two-thirds of European countries employ orthodontic auxiliaries and the UK is therefore unusual in not permitting their use. There is support from the orthodontic specialty for the concept of delegating routine intra-oral tasks to auxiliary personnel. The following describes a pilot project undertaken to determine the possible training structure for orthodontic auxiliaries. The modular course, which took place over a period of 4 weeks, is described and the results and implications are discussed.

Nurse education yesterday? A memoir of experiments in mental health nurse education (1987–96)

After a decade of community mental health care, the time is ripe for critical evaluation not only of the policy itself, but also of appropriate nurse education. This paper fills some gaps in the historical record of the early years of community care by describing some educational innovations within one of the earliest services to abandon mental hospitals. Whilst it is accepted that the libertarian, experimental nature of the courses described may be accused of contributing to the alleged early failings of community care, it is also suggested that such educational experiences may assist the establishment of positively therapeutic nursing relationships. Current modular courses are generally more tightly structured, highly assessed, research-based and technical. Recent claims suggest that whilst nurses are more highly educated, there may be a reduction in the quality of the caring relationships they establish. This account of largely unreported, process-based courses implicitly suggests that mental health nurse education might be better as a creative synthesis of such theoretical principles with today's more science-based, content-driven courses.

Reasoning about necessity and possibility: A test of the mental model theory of deduction.

This article examined syllogistic reasoning that differs from previous research in 2 significant ways: (a) Participants were asked to decide whether conclusions were possible as well as necessary, and (b) every possible combination of syllogistic premises and conclusions was presented for evaluation with both single-premise (Experiment 1) and double-premise (Experiment 2) problems. Participants more frequently endorsed conclusions as possible than as necessary, and differences in response to the 2 forms of instruction conformed to several predictions derived from the mental model theory of deduction. Findings of Experiments 2 and 3 showed that some fallacies are consistently endorsed and others consistently resisted when people are asked to judge whether conclusions that are only possible follow necessarily. This finding was accounted for by the computational implementation of the model theory: Fallacies are made when the first mental model of the premises considered supports the conclusion presented. Traditional applications of logic concern the validity of arguments, that is, proving that some conclusion is necessary given some premises. However, in everyday reasoning it may be just as important to decide whether some proposition is possible in light of the given information. Inferences of possibility occur whenever rules and regulations constrain a person's behavior rather than determine what it must be. For example, students choosing a degree program within a modular course structure will have many degrees of freedom but will have to respect constraints owing to timetabling restrictions, availability of teaching staff, prerequisite and corequisite relations between modules, and so on. Their decision making here involves inferring what is possible and then deciding between the possibilities identified. Most of the rules by which people live their lives in society, including criminal law, operate in a similar way. It is rarely determined by such rules that people must follow a particular course of action, but they are frequently constrained to act within a set of legal possibilities. The psychological study of deductive reasoning has been steadily increasing in recent years, and there are now many hundreds of experimental studies reported in the literature (see Evans, Newstead, & Byrne, 1993, for a review). In view of the above remarks, however, there is a curious limitation

Making Modularity Work

Post‐graduate modular courses are increasingly prevalent in higher education, and there is much controversy about the quality of student learning, and problems of coherence and progression. The article discusses some of these concerns and the solutions adopted by one modular postgraduate programme at the University of East London. It shows how experience of independent study has been utilised and concludes that recognition of the principle that intellectual development is individual to the student is vital, if Dealing's vision of a mass system of higher education for a learning society is to be achieved.

Using supported learning materials within a modular physics A-level course

The value of using materials from the Supported Learning In Physics Project in class is explained here by a teacher and three of her pupils.

Orthodontic auxiliaries--a pilot project.

To undertake a pilot study to determine a possible training programme for orthodontic auxiliaries. Trainee hygienists who had been accepted onto a 2-year programme were asked to attend the Bristol Dental School well before their course was due to begin in order to participate in a pilot orthodontic assistant auxiliary training programme. A modular course of one month's duration was constructed based on the programme at the University of British Columbia. This aimed to teach skills such as impression taking, bond placement, debracketing, band cementation as well as core knowledge relevant to these procedures. At the end of the course all participants were judged to be performing the tasks they had been taught competently and safely. UK dental nurses can be trained to fill the role of an orthodontic auxiliary. It would appear that an introductory clinical skills course of one week followed by an orthodontic skills training of three weeks is sufficient for a qualified dental nurse of above average abilities such as typifies those who are currently applying for places on UK dental hygiene courses. It is estimated that a further period of nine months supervised training will be necessary for those who have successfully completed such a training to develop clinically useful speeds when delivering these skills.

WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative — educating for success

In 1991, the WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative was launched. Globally, over 12 000 hospitals are now designated as ‘Baby Friendly.’ The Baby Friendly Initiative was launched in the UK in 1994, and to date, five hospitals have received the award. As NHS Trusts work towards gaining ‘Baby Friendly’ status, education of staff has become particularly important. This article, the first of a two part series, describes the adapted European WHO/UNICEF breastfeeding education programme currently being taught in the UK. The course is entitled ‘Breastfeeding management: a modular course’ (WHO/UNICEF, 1997).

Modular courses - a drip feed approach to teaching and learning?

Modular courses - a drip feed approach to teaching and learning?

Peer Group Assessment: its application to a vocational modular degree course

This paper represents the outcome of research to explore the uses and practical applications of Peer Group Assessment (PGA) in higher education (HE). In particular, its uses in assessing the multi‐disciplinary learning amongst students within the built environment professions. The paper reviews recent literature, examines the operation of PGA to a specific module, and highlights the students’ perceptions of this process, drawing on results from a questionnaire survey.

Ensuring effective learning from modular courses: a cognitive

Modular courses have been widely implemented as part of the competency-based training agenda. However, there is emerging concern that modular courses are not promoting effective learning although pragmatic considerations indicate they will continue to be widely used since there appear to be numerous advantages associated with their employment. A major inherent weakness of modularisation as a method of content organisation is it tends to fragment knowledge. The cognitive psychology and skill learning literatures, largely ignored in the development and implementation of competency-based training, indicate principles, which if followed, will help to ensure effective learning from modular courses. Particularly salient are the needs to ensure adequate practice and the integration of modules if effective problem solving is a desired objective. Stressed are the need for the teaching of ‘learning-to-learn’ strategies before modular courses are commenced and the importance of assessment to integrate knowledge gained from modules. Bruner's spiral curriculum concept, it is argued, is particularly useful in ensuring adequate practice and effective integration in modular course design.

Long-range Perspectives in Environmental Education: Producing Practical Problem-solvers

SUMMARY This paper addresses postgraduate environmental education by supported distance learning, as offered by the Open University—a major international provider of distance teaching resources. While distance teaching offers advantages of accessibility and cost-effectiveness, it presents difficulties in developing certain skills. In the environmental area, this is especially important in the difference between rote learning and developing practical problem-solving skills. This applies most notably in relation to anticipatory problem -solving, which is a role of environmental auditing. These issues are discussed in the context of the course ‘Enterprise and the Environment’, a module within the MSc programme ‘Manufacturing: Management and Technology’. The role of this course in wider initiatives is also outlined, to include its worldwide use in training accreditors of environmental management systems. The approaches and techniques used by the Open University in providing high-quality, supported open learning materials at such distances provide a model in environmental education at a distance. This paper also refers to techniques for regular updating of material in rapidly developing areas, as well as integrating teaching and research. Reference is also made to a new modular course on ‘Integrated Safety, Health and Environmental Management’.

Academic Achievement of Mature Students on a Modular Degree Course

The massive increase in the proportion of mature students in higher education has not been accompanied by adequate quantitative studies of their performance relative to conventional students and of the value added by higher education in relation to their entry qualifications. The limitations of published studies are identified. This paper reports a quantitative study undertaken at Oxford Brookes University on the performance of 1,222 students who graduated in 1994. Student performance was shown to increase with age after taking account of sex, entry qualifications and the type of course studied. Students entering the course in their thirties had three times the chance of gaining a good degree than equivalent students aged twenty and under. This relative performance advantage for mature students was established in their first year of study. Mature students entered with poorer qualifications and so the value added by Oxford Brookes University was shown to be greater for mature students. Practical implications and avenues for further study are discussed.

Why go modular? A review of modular A‐level Mathematics

SummaryModular A‐level courses, indeed modular forms of assessment in many areas of education, have gained in popularity over the past few years. This research looked at data collected as part of the ALIS (A‐level Information System) project. In particular, the attitudes, future academic intentions and attainment of students gaining a grade in A‐level Mathematics were compared, by gender, between those who followed a modular course and those who were assessed at the end of two years of study. The two groups were found to have a similar average GCSE grade, but overall, the final A‐level grades of those assessed modularly were half a grade higher than their linearly assessed contemporaries. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed. The types of teaching style employed in modular and non‐modular A‐level courses were compared. Initial findings suggest that modularly assessed courses are relying even more on a didactic approach.