Motivation and emotion/Changes/2011

Changes made

In 2011, the main change was that the mid-semester and final exam were dropped in favour of 16 online chapter quizzes (one per textbook chapter).

Recommended changes for 2012/2013

Although student satisfaction with the unit was slightly higher than discipline, faculty, and university averages, there is room for improvement.

Based on reading the open text comments about should be improved, the following themes emerged:

1. IT/media/technical/wiki focus
   1. Some commented that there was too much emphasis on IT/media production. Possible solution:
      1. Emphasise that the purpose of the unit and assessment is about developing knowledge about content (book chapter - literature search and essay writing; 5 min recorded overview - recorded presentation) not IT/media and developing generic skills (e.g., communication). The IT/media methods to be used are very basic and are taught in lectures/tutorials and/or online modules.
   2. Some students didn't like doing the book chapter on Wikiversity because they found it technically difficult and had difficulty understanding how this related to the learning outcomes for the unit. Other students had almost opposite comments (e.g., appreciating continuous feedback in the wiki format etc.), hence possible solutions include:
      1. Clarify that the book chapter exercise is about the content and endeavour (process) of collaborative writing, not the technical aspects of formatting and layout.
   3. Some commented that they did not wish to place their work online and preferred a more traditional format for assessment. Possible solutions:
      1. The unit should provide a clearer introduction and rationale for the assignment format, including copyright and licensing, and provide an opt-out for those who do not wish to work openly online (e.g., Google Doc) - see additional section about this below

1. Lectures
   1. Some comments that lectures were boring/uninteresting/repeated textbook/too much information on slides. Possible solutions:
      1. Revise lecture slides (currently heavily based on textbook materials) to a) cover key content which is reflected in textbook/quizzes; b) include other related aspects/examples (but also reflect these in quizzes); c) key assessment skills

1. Tutorials
   1. Some commented that fortnightly tutorials weren't sufficient. Possible solutions:
      1. Make screencasts of Book chapter exercise FAQ which are recommended in alternate fortnights as online modules

1. Quizzes
   1. Some commented that quizzes should have been released earlier. This occurred because it was the first time that one quiz per chapter was use. Possible solution:
      1. Release all at start of semester to allow self-paced learning/achievement.

1. Book chapter
   1. Some commented about the amount of weight on the book chapter (55%) being too high. Some also commented about the lack of interim goal/assessment for the book chapter. Possible solutions:
      1. 10-15% could be allocated to a book chapter plan due mid-semester
   2. A comment was that "a further overview of what is exactly required for the main book chapter assignment" Possible solution:
      1. Add/do this
   3. There was a comment requesting less instruction about the wiki marking criteria for assessment (is it trying to do too much (e.g., is it essay or something different), too little for the multimedia (e.g., what is creativity (is that what is wanted?) and is this judged?). Possible solutions:
      1. Review Marking criteria for book chapter (less?) and multimedia (more?)