Supporting students and staff in a flexible learning environment: A case study

At the completion of the 1998 academic year, the School conducted an evaluation of the experiences of their first year/first cohort students. One of the greatest concerns, that emerged from the evaluation, were the students' comments regarding the lack of opportunity for contact with, and support from, lecturers and other teaching staff. Other comments that were made on the evaluation suggested that students felt they would benefit from more contact with other students, and more "orientation activities". On a positive note, students reported that they found the compulsory and optional contact activities useful for their learning.

As a result of the comments made in the evaluation, the School implemented Common Time (CT) in 1999. CT was a two-hour session held every Monday afternoon during semester in one of the learning centres at Logan Campus and was attended by teaching and associated staff and students. CT was designed to provide the opportunity to interact with teaching staff and peers, and to attend some structured academic and professional activities. Staff from the Learning Assistance Unit (LAU) and Information Services (INS) worked in collaboration with the School by conducting workshops/sessions at CT and providing support to students in a variety of ways. Teaching staff from the School attended CT each week and interacted with students in an informal environment. In short, CT aimed to provide the support in a flexible learning environment that the first cohort had suggested was lacking. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of CT as a support to flexible learning.

Twenty-one first year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Human Services participated in focus groups, and 12 staff from the School, the Learning Assistance Unit, and Information Services were interviewed for this study. Students perceived that their attendance at CT had assisted their transition into University and integrated them into their Course. Importantly, they reported that one of the major benefits of attending CT was the opportunity to network and consult with teaching staff in an informal supportive environment. They also reported that attendance at the structured sessions/workshops at CT had increased their academic skills in areas such as essay writing and oral presentations, and their professional development via presentations by guest speakers in the field. Teaching and associated staff were asked to report on benefits for themselves and benefits for students. Staff considered that the major benefits for them were the opportunity to interact and share experiences with other staff, the opportunity to interact with students in an informal environment, and a reduction in student consultation time outside of CT. Staff perceived that the benefits for students included the opportunity to consult with staff who were readily available, the chance to work collaboratively in groups, and the development of skills in areas such as essay writing.

Results indicate that CT achieved its major objective of providing support to students engaging in a flexible learning environment. Encouragingly, it also appears that staff benefited from CT in a range of ways. Implications for research and practice are discussed.