Much educational research is positivist in its approach, using pre-test/post-test strategies to identify statistically significant changes in conceptual understanding or the ability to perform practical tasks. This approach is highly valuable since it can provide a clear ‘measure’ of
the effectiveness of teaching and learning interventions. However, it tells us little or nothing about the factors influencing change, or about the experiences of the students during the learning process.The student experience of specific learning environments and activities is addressed through research conducted directly in the field or the lab (see previous section). This area of the research looks at wider aspects of the student experience, i.e. those that influence learning indirectly, rather than directly. Rather than collecting data within a specific teaching and learning context, data have been gathered from Stage 1 students using blogs and emails as
a means to ‘capture’ their experience. Students were encouraged to write about all and
any aspects of their lives, academic and non-academic, in order to identify factors that were personally significant. Ultimately this information has been combined with that gathered from specific learning environments (fieldwork, labwork and work based learning) to gain a more holistic understanding of the factors which influence learning.Findings from this study have been presented at national conferences, and a publication for peer review is in preparation.
