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Abstract
Research into the effects of large classes demonstrates that students are disadvantaged in terms of higher order learning because interactions between teachers and students occur at lower cognitive levels. This has significance for social work education, with its emphasis on the development of critical thinking and problem solving, both higher order cognitive skills. This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative research that explored social work students’ perceptions of different teaching and learning strategies in a large mental health course designed with reference to principles of student‐centred learning and constructive alignment. Findings revealed that well‐integrated design, relevance to the real world and teacher enthusiasm were seen as most useful by students, rather than particular learning strategies per se. Higher satisfaction ratings and grades were also associated with this student‐centred course compared with an earlier traditional lecture‐style course. The paper concludes that design based on the interplay between diverse learning activities, including lecture input, strengthened the student‐centred orientation of learning and recommends further research that compares learning outcomes associated with these contrasting approaches to professional education.
Notes
1. Clickers allow lecturers to construct a series of quiz questions via PowerPoint slide, which students answer using a small remote device. The Turning Point software embedded within PowerPoint then analyses the responses ‘on‐the‐spot’ and presents these in graphical form on the slides, the specific format specified by the lecturer beforehand.
2. This is an approximate figure because technical difficulties with the clickers meant that students were counted manually rather than electronically.