Towards Constructivism: Investigating Students' Perceptions and Learning as a Result of Using an Online Environment

Abstract

The effects of changing to an online delivery mechanism within a third year, undergraduate, module have been evaluated against the lecturing staff's intended move towards a student-centred, constructivist learning approach. It has been suggested that this type of delivery can increase critical thinking and active learning for students. In the study described in this paper, qualitative analytical techniques were used in order to explore students'experiences of online delivery. The study addressed their perceptions about online methods as well as the educational implications of their patterns of usage of online resources. The findings suggest that students were quick to overcome anxieties about online learning but generally did not develop any significant degree of discussion. It is argued that a move to online delivery needs a greater attention to design and development of facilitator skills than has been previously recognized.