Re‐working resource‐based learning—a case study from a masters programme

Abstract

A two‐year project researching reaction to a new approach to postgraduate, on‐campus teaching and learning, the Integrated Learning System (ILS) is described. ILS was intended to partly replace traditional lectures with study guides and to make seminars and tutorials more interactive in order to promote different ways of learning and teaching. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data over a two‐year cycle. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of student approaches to learning, developing active learning and changed faculty teaching behaviours and understanding. Change, desired from one perspective, is highlighted as a catalyst for a wider re‐examination of teaching practice. The influence of student expectation and prior experience on current learning behaviour is raised.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Imperial College London for the award of a Teaching Research Grant to fund this project. They would also like to thank all members of staff and students in the Department of Agricultural Sciences at the Wye Campus who assisted in the project, particularly Mr Guy Sharrock.