For this blog I want to consider the following;

How can the principle of Constructive Alignment (Biggs, 1999) (CA) be implemented in teaching of BSc Oral Health Sciences?

The concept of CA is one in which the student “constructs his or her own learning” and the teacher creates a “Learning Environment”(LE) thus ensuring that the teaching and assessment are parallel with the “desired learning outcomes.”(Biggs, 2017)

The BSc Oral Health Sciences programme, as I have mentioned in other blogs, is required to deliver the curriculum framework set by General Dental Council. Historically this has been delivered solely in lecture format and, on reflection, I consider myself to be managing lecture content rather than “facilitating” student learning.(Biggs,1999) In the module Health and Disease (H&D) the factual content of the subject is weighty and most of the material is completely new information for the student. It is also one of the first modules introduced to students via lectures where the learning outcomes are stated and the lecture slides contain all content necessary for passing examinations and meeting GDC requirements.

H&D module, in my opinion, does not achieve the concept of constructive alignment. The first element of constructive alignment is that the students create their own understanding of the concept. This creation of knowledge, which is specific to each student, is facilitated by a “learning activity”. (Biggs, 2017) Current lecturing and teaching methods of H&D do not deliver an effective “learning activity”. Without prior knowledge, students struggle to engage with the content of the lecture and the session is an information overload. Students find the lecture environment overwhelming and do not feel comfortable enough to participate in discussion or questions, because they have not had enough time to process the information delivered.

The second element, alignment, is not fully achieved in the teaching and assessment of H&D. As discussed above, teaching style utilised in H&D is not conducive to student understanding and construction of knowledge. The current assessment format for the module H&D does not align with the desired learning outcomes. The assessment comprises of a written paper with six 20-mark question and students lose significant marks if they are questioned on a topic that they may not have learned at an adequate depth. They often resort to learning lecture slides verbatim, which they regurgitate in the exam. The questions are designed for students to showcase their memory skills, while understanding would be assessed more efficiently with a problem-based scenario. This would allow examiners to determine student’s depth of knowledge by their ability to apply their understanding to solve the issue posed. (Biggs, 2017)

I will begin to implement new teaching techniques, as learned from PGCAP to ensure my teaching is critically aligned. After experiencing my first online collaboration with PGCAP, I now identify this as a possible LE to utilise in course design. I felt the use of online conversation, as well as audio interaction, allowed discussion to flourish within the group.  Inclusion of this within the LE would promote peer learning through discussion particularly with students who struggle to find their voice in class.

An integral part of engaging with the LE is the preparation by the student. As a teacher, I would pose a question to be considered and each student would be invited to present their findings and opinions. This is an opportunity for students to develop skills in critical analysis and reflect on the feedback they receive from peers. I anticipate that, as a result of these changes, students will develop a deeper knowledge of the subject area than they would in a passive lecture.

I will continue to research other methods of assessment so that I can holistically achieve constructive alignment by employing teaching activities and realistic assessment styles.

UKPSF areas covered: A1, A4, K2, K4, V2

References

Biggs, J (2017), ‘Aligning teaching for constructing learning’, The Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/id477_aligning_teaching_for_constructing_learning.pdf  (Accessed: 06 Feb 2018).

Biggs, J (1999), ‘What the Student Does: teaching for enhanced learning’, Higher Education Research & Development, 1(18), pp. 57-75. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/0729436990180105?scroll=top&needAccess=true (Accessed 06 Feb 2018).

Additional Reading 

Medhat, K. (2017) ‘Teaching Matters blog’, The University of Edinburgh. Available at: https://www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/?p=2087 (Accessed: 09 Feb 2018).