Case Study: Active Learning in Action: Boosting Outcomes with Strategic Assessment, Collaborative Feedback, and Pre-Learning Activities

Abstract

This case study explores a novel pedagogical approach implemented in weekly workshops, aiming to enhance student learning outcomes, equip them with real-world skills, and enrich their professional profiles. The approach integrates strategic formative assessment of prior knowledge with carefully designed pre-learning activities to activate context for upcoming lecture topics. Students work collaboratively in small groups on challenging tasks that simulate real-world scenarios and extend beyond the immediate scope of the lectures, encouraging research, exploration, and application of their knowledge while developing collaborative and problem-solving skills. Both instructors and peers provide timely feedback throughout the tasks, fostering a dynamic learning environment where insights are shared and diverse perspectives are explored which promoting continuous improvement and deeper understanding. Throughout the workshops, students receive recognition for collaborative efforts and problem-solving skills, fostering an engaging learning environment. This can include badges or personalized feedback, promoting achievement and improvement. The effectiveness of this approach is evidenced by pre- and post-assessment data demonstrating significant learning gains, alongside student feedback highlighting the development of valuable skills and increased confidence in showcasing their knowledge and abilities.

1. Background

In certain modules, the presence of diverse knowledge levels among students is quite evident. The initial idea of this case study was to acknowledge and address this spectrum by establishing an environment where students with varying levels of expertise can work together on challenging tasks which are mainly based on real-world scenarios. Working together encourages students to express their ideas, engage in discussions with differing perspectives, refine their understanding, and enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills through collaboration [1,2]. In addition, working in a group provide them opportunity to get feedback from their peers. In fact, team members can offer constructive feedback on each other's work, fostering self-reflection and improvement [3,4]. Furthermore, collaboration within a team could be beneficial from this aspect as well that students often feel more comfortable and less intimidated asking peers for feedback or clarification, leading to increased help-seeking behaviour within peer groups [5].  

To make this approach more effective, the task for each weak was designed in a way to not only evaluate the understanding of students from the previous lecture material but make them familiar with the next week lecture topics. The benefits of proactive preparation for upcoming topics in university settings have been discussed in many articles such as [6]. They highlight how such preparation could enhance engagement and motivation during the learning session and significantly improve learning outcomes. 

This case study not only relies on peer feedback but also provide students the opportunity to pose questions to instructors. Instructors regularly visit the groups to ensure they are on the right track, offer feedback, and address their queries. This interaction allows the instructor to evaluate students' understanding of previously discussed material and their preparedness for upcoming topics in the next lecture. Consequently, this dynamic enables the instructor to make any necessary adjustments for the subsequent lecture.  

The challenging aspect of the pedagogical approach outlined above is the design of an effective task, serving both as an evaluation method for the instructor and a tool to enhance student learning. The task must encourage all students, regardless of their expertise, and should be structured as a group activity rather than an individual one. Its design should aim to assess students' understanding of previously covered material while proactively preparing them for upcoming topics. Regarding the environment, the workshop should be conducted in a space where students have ample room to collaborate and use their computers (if required), and the instructor can easily move between groups for interactions. Additionally, students need to be well-informed about the expectations of such a workshop and actively engaged in the group activities.  

2. Methodology

Prior to the start of the module, we carefully designed tasks for every workshop, aligning them with the predefined objectives. We constantly refined these tasks based on weekly evaluations of student performance and their grasp of the subject matter to ensure they met the specified requirements.  At the beginning of the first module lecture, we outlined the aims and objectives of the upcoming weekly workshops and clearly explained our expectations for both individual students and their group participation. It is essential to ensure the students understand the significant value of these workshops in enhancing their learning experience and facilitating the development of new knowledge and skills.  At the start of each workshop, we presented a slide detailing the task, the allocated time for completion, instructions on submitting their work, and a brief overview of the task. Throughout the session we visited groups, providing guidance, answering questions, and offering feedback to ensure students stayed on track and took maximum benefit from the collaborative tasks. In the middle of the session, we introduced hints on the slide to aid those who needed additional support, ensuring all students had an opportunity to complete the task. At the end of the session, we presented the groups’ submitted works on the screen to provide Constructive feedback.  To encourage more engagement and add an element of fun and competition, we were recognising the best team performance, providing them personalised feedback and sometimes awarding them a badge helping them enrich their professional profiles. The effectiveness of gamification elements such as awarding a digital badge on student engagement and learning Outcomes have been discussed in several articles such as [7,8].

3. Issues

A potential risk to the effectiveness of this collaborative approach is student reluctance to participate actively in group activities. To address this, we dedicated time at the first module lecture to:

ï‚· Clearly communicated the purpose and objectives of the weekly workshops, emphasising their alignment with overall module goals, and how they can enhance learning outcomes.

ï‚· Explicitly stated expectations for both individual contribution and collaborative engagement

It is essential to ensure the students understand the significant value of these workshops in enhancing their learning experience and facilitating the development of new knowledge and skills.  In addition, the allocated room for our module presented some logistical challenges for our collaborative learning activities. While fostering student collaboration requires a spacious environment where students can comfortably use laptops (when necessary) and the instructor can easily move between groups for interaction, the room lacked adequate power outlets and seating space for the number of students. Despite these limitations, we worked together to find a solution. We encouraged students to bring fully charged laptops whenever possible and identified the most optimal seating arrangement within the constraints of the space to facilitate our ability to effectively support and monitor student progress.

4. Benefits

The idea of providing a real-world challenging task to the groups rather than individuals worked very well and led to more engagement in comparison to the previous years as well as establishing a dynamic learning environment where the students regardless of their diverse knowledge levels had many opportunities to learn and of gain valuable skills. 

Another beneficial strategy was showcasing group projects at the conclusion of each workshop. This allowed students to observe and learn from the approaches of other groups while providing constructive feedback to enhance their understanding.

The other approach was effective in increasing engagement was that throughout the workshops, students receive recognition for collaborative efforts and problem-solving skills. This included badges or personalised feedback, promoting achievement and improvement.

5. Evidence of Success

  A Part of survey results after running workshops for 4 weeks     

 o You like the workshops because:  

• It’s engaging to be creative
• It gives us the opportunity to go more in depth and learn some more complex techniques instead of just learning at the ground level Collaboration with peers
• It’s very interactive and enjoyable. Learning using task based exercises is really effective. Group work is also good because it lets you share ideas.
• It's fun to work with others
• As it makes a rly good change to normal lectures and makes for good social learning
• They are interactive by seeing other people's work
• Creative
• They are very fun and make me apply the content i’ve learnt
• They incorporate skills that will be needed in the future after uni
• Good recalling tool
• It helps me understand the real-world applications of web programming. Furthermore, I enjoy the challenge as it pushes me to learn more It is more interactive and allows us to share ideas
• As it makes a rly good change to normal lectures and makes for good social learning  

o You think the workshops could be improved by:  

• Doing this in other modules
• More tasks
• Having a round table or more space but can’t be helped more time and guidance
• More time at times
• Suggest how the task could be split between the 3 of us in the group.
• Releasing example code afterwards of the best solution, so that we can learn from it, if we didn’t complete the workshop.  

 6. How Can Other Academics Reproduce This?  

This approach can be readily implemented by other instructors in various modules that can benefit from collaborative learning activities. Module leaders need to adapt the specific design of group activities to align with the learning objectives, content, and context of their own discipline and course. Activities should be well-defined, engaging, and encourage active participation from all group members.  

This approach strategically incorporated gamification elements to boost student engagement and motivate participation in group activities. To successfully implement this strategy, instructors should develop a well-defined plan that outlines the specific gamification elements they intend to use. One effective strategy within this plan is to recognise and celebrate outstanding team performance.

This can be achieved through:

ï‚· Providing personalised feedback: Offering specific and constructive feedback to the high performing group(s) reinforces their positive contributions and strengthens their learning experience.

ï‚· Utilising badge systems: Platforms like Learn can be used to award badges for outstanding teamwork and individual contributions.  

7. Reflections

Any other factors which you consider contributed to the success or otherwise of your case study? If you had to do it all again, would you do anything differently? What recommendations are there for improved practice? What should be explored next?  Further research can be undertaken to explore effective strategies for forming student groups that provide opportunities for collaboration with diverse peers each week, as opposed to working in the same group throughout the semester. This approach could enhance learning through exposure to various perspectives and promote strong teamwork skills through adaptation to different work styles.  Another aspect to consider for enhancing this practice is the physical environment in which it occurs. Providing an ideal space where students can gather around a table facilitates better interaction among group members. Additionally, a larger room allows for easier instructor access to monitor student progress and provide timely feedback.

8. References

 [1] Gokçay, G., & Özçalıcı, Ä°. (2023). The Effect of Collaborative Learning on Problem-Solving Skills and Conceptual Understanding in Science Education. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 12(8), 1-10.

 [2] Herrmann, K. J. (2013). The impact of cooperative learning on student engagement: Results from an intervention. Active Learning in Higher Education, 14(3), 175-187.

[3] Double, K.S., McGrane, J.A. & Hopfenbeck, T.N. (2020) The Impact of Peer Assessment on Academic Performance: A Meta-analysis of Control Group Studies. Educ Psychol Rev 32, 481–509. 

[4] Li, C., Yang, Z., Yang, Y. (2024). The Impact of Peer Feedback on Student Learning Effectiveness: A Metaanalysis Based on 39 Experimental or Quasiexperimental Studies. In: Gan, J., Pan, Y., Zhou, J., Liu, D., Song, X., Lu, Z. (eds) Computer Science and Educational Informatization. CSEI 2023.  

[5] Noreen M. Webb, Ann Mastergeorge (2003), Promoting effective helping behavior in peer-directed groups, International Journal of Educational Research,Volume 39, Issues 1–2, Pages 73-97.

[6] Kinsella, G. K., Mahon, C., & Lillis, S. (2017). Using pre-lecture activities to enhance learner engagement in a large group setting. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(3), 231-242.

[7] Hellín, C.J., Calles-Esteban, F., Valledor, A., Gómez, J., Otón-Tortosa, S. Tayebi, A (2023). Enhancing Student Motivation and Engagement through a Gamified Learning Environment. Sustainability, 15, 14119.

[8] Smiderle, R., Rigo, S.J., Marques, L.B. et al. (2020). The impact of gamification on students’ learning, engagement and behavior based on their personality traits. Smart Learn. Environ. 7, 3.