Becoming flexible: Resolving the paradox of teacher directed, student centred learning

The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study which describes such an experience, to examine the results of an evaluation conducted to identify student and teacher perceptions of the experience, and to provide some recommendations which might be transferable to other situations, in order to better prepare students for flexible delivery, and allow them to reap the pedagogical benefits of a variety of student centred learning approaches.

The experience involved a graduate nursing subject, previously offered via a weekly on campus lecture and a weekly tutorial. It was transformed to a print offering, complemented by online formative assessment activities and a fortnightly face to face tutorial, with a view to possible subsequent introduction of web based tutorial groups and delivery of problem based scenarios online. Within a short time it became apparent that the changes were not universally accepted by the student group and an evaluation was designed and implemented to identify student and teacher perceptions of the experience, responses to specific aspects of the subject and suggestions for improvement. It consisted of a student questionnaire with qualitative and quantitative components (including questions about students' backgrounds and conceptions of learning), a student focus group and an interview with the teacher.

While the findings indicated that high levels of concern were confined to a vocal minority of students, there was evidence to suggest the importance of carefully preparing students for flexible learning experiences and ensuring that ongoing guidance and support features are well organised and thoroughly understood by the students. Flexibility presented a challenge to the perceptions and transactions of the learning experience, involving renegotiation of the student-teacher relationship, and placing greater emphasis on openness, two way communication and teacher availability. In this context, both student perceptions and organisational arrangements relating to computer literacy issues, equity, and access to technology and other resources also required careful consideration.

Characteristics of the particular student group which appeared to have contributed to aspects of the student response were limited nursing and specialty experience and a high proportion of emergency and intensive care nurses, with stressful professional lives and limited time for study. Part of the focus group discussion also centred on the comment that 'maturity's not an age thing', highlighting the issue of readiness for self directed learning. Another issue requiring further exploration was the impact of the views of a sub-group of nurses from regional hospitals amongst the primarily metropolitan based student body.

As a result of the evaluation, additional investigation of students' approaches to learning are planned so that ongoing design of flexible learning experiences which engage students actively in the making of meaning, can increasingly be adapted to learner characteristics, including students' perceptions and learning contexts. In the meantime, efforts have been made to introduce a more supportive and flexible approach to student centred flexible learning, and to prepare students more carefully for what is involved.