The rhetoric and reality of e‐learning: using the think‐aloud method to evaluate an online resource

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a small‐scale study that investigated student nurses’ use of an online resource in Biology. The think‐aloud method was used to explore in detail the ways in which students engaged with this resource and to evaluate the ways and extent to which it might enhance their learning. The students generally expressed positive views about the resource, which they used in a variety of ways to supplement more traditional learning activities. They placed particular emphasis on the benefits of using the resource to reinforce lecture materials and to aid revision for exams. Less frequent, however, were references to deepened understanding of the subject matter, raising questions about the type of learning that students were engaged in. The possibility is discussed that ‘surface’ rather than ‘deep’ learning may be encouraged by this type of resource, and the potential tension is highlighted between the rhetoric of constructivism, which is prevalent in e‐learning, and the information transmission model of learning, which is highly influential and often favoured by students.

Acknowledgements

This project would not have been possible without funding from the HEA Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre. The authors would also like to express their thanks to all the student participants who enabled this research to take place.