The learning design comprises a set of small-scale tasks followed by an open-ended task, online resources and a range of support mechanisms. The Learning Design Sequence is illustrated as follows.

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WHAT THE STUDENTS DO
Two distinct models of activities provide the structure for this learning design. All the activities integrated into the learning design are grounded in a simulation of virtual Masters students designing, collecting and analysing their data within the simulated Kingston township. The activities and the sequence in which students conduct these activities are detailed as follows:

Activity 1 : Group assignments (Mini-assignments)
All six group assignments are grounded in the Kingston simulation using the data from the studies conducted by the two virtual Masters students (Brian and Peggy). Students are expected to provide explicit evidence from the simulated data and reference-related research readings from the Unit Guide.

Group assignments are to be approximately 300 words in length.

Group assignments associated with building understanding and skills in Quantitative methodolgy :

• Activity 1.1: Content analysis of Brian’s qualitative data, interviews and newspaper articles.
• Activity 1.2: Use SPSS to calculate and interpret alpha reliability values from Brian’s survey data. Comment on Face validity and dependent variable measure.
• Activity 1.3: Use SPSS to look at mean differences on pre-tests data for each category in each variable in Brian’s survey. Justify which characteristics seem most important in explaining alienation of Kingston residents.

Group assignments associated with building understanding and skills in Qualitative methodolgy :

• Activity 1.4: Content analysis of one of Peggy’s interviews with a Kingston school mother. Recognise emerging themes and evidence to support Peggy’s claim.
• Activity 1.5: Comparison of data collection methods for Ethnographic and Grounded theory methodologies grounded in Peggy’s field work and data gathering.
• Activity 1.6: Provide structure for a thesis (Thesis title and chapter outlines) based on Narrative methodology, using Peggy’s research questions as a broad guide.

On completion, each group assignment is posted on the general bulletin board and becomes a resource for subsequent group assignments and the final individual assignment for the cohort.

Activity 2 : Individual assignment (The Envelope)
The final activity completes the inter-related set of authentic tasks set within the virtual world of the Kingston simulation. This individual major assignment is the culmination of the conceptual development outcomes of the six team assignments and the 15 weekly activities.

The main question to be investigated by students is whether the school closure has had an impact on the community living in and around Kingston.

There are two components to the Envelope:

• A 1500 word summary and justification of selected evidence relating to the impact of the school closure. The summary may take a quantitative or qualitative research methods focus, or a combination of both. The final document must be of publishable standard.
• Between four and ten enclosures of evidence to support the position taken in the summary above. Enclosures are evidence of data analysis and conceptualisation. The evidence chosen may be a combination of working documents, group assignments, SPSS print-out or conceptual diagrams. At least four must be original pieces of analysis from the Kingston simulation.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ORDER
The activities underpinning the unit work in a two-tiered structure:

• Two distinct research methodology sections -quantitative and qualitative.
• Three group assignments developing specific skills for each of these two research methodology sections.

Although the learning design is structured on a dynamic, interactive model rather than a linear model, there is a significance in the order of activities within each research methodology section.

First priority in skills development is the heavy ICT component built in to all beginning activities, as it is essential to establish connections within the group within the first two weeks.

The three group assignments, along with the associated learning outcomes/activities, are sequenced from skills development to conceptual/ data analysis development through to understanding of specific qualitative or quantitative research methodologies.

Learning teams may choose to tackle the group assignments in a different order, as long as each assignment is posted by the required date. Students are encouraged to submit their group assignments before the set date if it suits the wider workload factors of the group. However, the support mechanisms built into the learning design advantage the students working through the planned sequence of activities in a broader, cohort approach.

The quantitative research outcomes have been positioned first in the learning design, as our experience in teaching a research methodology unit clearly indicates student need for an extended learning timeframe for development of statistical and SPSS outcomes.

CRITICAL ACTIVITIES
Although all the activities that underpin the design can be considered critical to meeting the outcomes for the unit, some students have a clear preference for a particular research methodology and hence concentrate on refining their understanding of specific data analysis skills.

ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES
There are five key resources in the learning design:

1. Kingston Simulation/ Case Studies

The assignments are all based around the work of two Masters students (Brian and Peggy) who are undertaking research in Kingston, a country town. Comprehensive case study materials are provided for each of the two Masters students. In order to complete the various learning and assessment tasks, students need to gain access to the data collected by the virtual Masters students. The students’ data includes:

• Transcripts of interviews.
• Videos of interviews.
• Field notes.
• Survey questions.
• Survey data matrices in SPSS.
• Overview of thesis chapters.
• Notes and interactions with supervisors.

2. Reading Guide

General reading about the 14 topics covered - the 'text' of the unit. The Reading Guide provides a theoretical perspective on quantitative and qualitative research methodology, including contextual examples and suggested references for further reading.

3. Procedure Guide

A detailed 15 week plan provides explicit learning outcomes for each week, linking appropriate reading from the Guide with step-by-step directions for skills development grounded in the Kingston Simulation.

Each set of weekly activities provides appropriate skills practice and methodology understanding required for one of the Group assignments. A key feature of the weekly activities is the explicit and active links between the assessment, resources and support mechanisms underpinning the design. The activities provide a structured environment in which students can construct an understanding of theories of research methodology while exploring the simulation data.

The weekly activities are structured to scaffold development of:

• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills.
• SPSS skills.
• ICT communication skills.
• Critical appreciation of research methodologies.
• Understanding the processes and expectations of thesis development.

The outcomes in the weekly activities allow for the varied pre-requisite research background experience and knowledge as well as varied statistical and SPSS skills background within the cohort. Students are able to take ownership of choosing appropriate outcomes for focus and structuring their own skills development within these activities.

4. Data Analysis manual

The manual contains examples of how to use SPSS to do the kinds of analysis Brian and Peggy will be expected to do in their studies. The examples are designed within the virtual framework of the two Masters studies, modelling the group assessment tasks.

The outcome of each group mini-assignment become resources underpinning the learning design:

5. Resource A-F
Each completed group assignment posted on the bulletin board builds an on-going resource pool for the cohort. Generic feedback on each mini-assignment from tutors and comments/questions from students contribute to this growing resource. Students are expected to refer to the discussion board interactions when developing their response to subsequent mini-assignments and their final assignment.

Some screen shots from the web site are as follows.

RESOURCES IN CONTEXT
There is a synergy in that the social issue being examined in the simulation itself models the applied nature of postgraduate study.

The public nature of the compilation of group assignments as a cohort resource set for each research task provides a significant learning experience for beginning researchers, illustrating the openness of interpretation of data in quantitative and qualitative research designs.

VARYING THE RESOURCE SET
All resources as described above are critical to the dynamic interactive learning design.

Students initially consider some activities ‘optional’ until they begin to appreciate the higher order expectations of the final assignment. It is not uncommon for students to return to earlier weekly activities to develop these skills in context.

As the logic of the learning design revolves around student interaction within and between the resources, the online (or CD-Rom) versions optimise student engagement and choice in constructing understanding. The print version of the resources is only provided as an immediate source of information for students with limited ICT skills. It is feasible to exclude the print version, increasing the expectation that students work fully online. However, many students would still choose to work from their own printed copy of the resources.

SUPPORTS SUPPLIED
There are four key support elements underpinning the unit.

1. Tutor/mentor/ICT Guidance
The tutor/mentor role of staff working on the unit is a fundamental support mechanism for students. This role includes:

• Scaffolding and problem solving any necessary ICT access issues with students and/or the appropriate ICT support within the university.
• Assisting student development of ICT skills outlined in activities by demonstrating at workshops, instructing by email or phone, or individual appointments.
• Providing a tutor/mentor relationship with individual students who require extra help. Students are encouraged to ask for help by posting messages on the general bulletin board. Students are also encourages to group problem-solve - respond to requests for help from their colleagues.
• Monitoring the bulletin boards for a designated time each week. Students can expect a response from a tutor within two days.
• Responding to more personal requests for help via email or phone.
• Modelling collaborative teamwork by team teaching at workshops and transparent shared allocation of teaching tasks within the teaching team.
• Providing confidential feedback on fortnightly group assignments via group email to each learning team.
• Unit coordinator posts generic feedback/ critical issues/ discussion points/ suggested extra reading on the general bulletin board after each group assignment .

Strategies used by tutors to enhance broader team spirit and collegiality include interaction on the general bulletin board between tutors within the unit and whole cohort. This interaction is prompted by encouraging students to:

• Respond to queries/comments from tutors and/or other colleagues.
• Respond to group assignments posted by other teams.
• Share resources – web links, references, ideas.
• Respond to prompts related to up-coming workshop themes.
• Provide summaries of their reflections on workshops.
• General, collegial interaction.

2. Discussion Forums (Asynchronous)
In order to operate within the resources to co-construct responses to the learning tasks, students need access ICT resources. Bulletin boards and email are essential discussion tools for individual, team and cohort interaction. The bulletin board is used to share suggested extra resources such as web sites, E-journals. Any notes or slides provided in the workshops are posted on the general bulletin board for those students who could not attend. Students are encouraged to search for additional resources and share their findings with their colleagues.

3. Learning Pathways
This support element provides the structure for activities and assessment for the unit.

• The semester plan - detailed plan for the 15 weeks scheduled for the unit, including the time line for submitting assignments. The expected outcomes for each week include specific reading from the Reading Guide menu, modelled skills development from the Data Analysis menu and familiarisation with the Kingston Simulation data. The weekly plan of preliminary outcomes models the reading, skills and conceptual development required for each group assignments.
• The assessment menu - detailed outline of assessment expectations for each group mini-assignment and the final individual envelope.

4. Collaborative Teams
Students are assigned to a Learning group of 3 by the Unit Coordinator. Key criteria for membership of each group are

• inclusion of at least one student who cannot attend workshops, for distance or life style reasons;
• location of ‘distance’ students (e.g. if a small group live in a country town they will become a learning team);
• cross disciplinary grouping where possible to provide more open, dynamic discussion.

Induction activities are included in the weekly outcomes for the first two weeks of the unit. These activities include:

• Friendly, informal learning environment at weekend workshops – providing afternoon tea, encouraging friendly interaction.
• Activities at initial workshop include introductions, meeting team members, assisting students to post bulletin board messages to absent colleagues, suggesting ‘distance’ students are online at time of workshop for instant collegial ICT interaction.
• Posting their profile on the student profile section of the bulletin board as a form of introduction to their new colleagues.
• Posting a message on the bulletin board asking for their team members to respond (i.e. to ‘meet’ their team).
• Locating their team bulletin board and beginning to post team-specific notices.
• Negotiating roles within the team for each group assignment. Some suggestions are provided in the Plan (Support 2) for alternating team leadership roles for each assignment.
• Making sure the external student in the group has been invited to post a response to the team messages.

These learning groups will remain intact for the duration of the unit. Each group is to work collaboratively to master the necessary skills to complete 6 mini-assignments.

Students are encouraged to provide inter and intra team collegial support for 'external' colleagues who cannot attend workshops by:

• Responding to all posted messages from their external colleague.
• Taking responsibility for posting on the team and/or general bulletin boards a summary of issues discussed at workshops.
• Continuing the links through email.
• Being considerate of time differences when setting deadlines for contributions to the group assignments.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SUPPORT STRATEGIES
All the support strategies listed above are critical to the effective implementation of the learning design. Access to online discussion tools, especially the bulletin boards is essential, as student interaction /communication is one of the key constructivist mechanisms underpinning the learning design. The communication support provides opportunities for students and staff working on the unit to develop effective relationships within the virtual learning environment. The dynamic nature of this virtual learning community is dependent on the ICT supported communication for all stakeholders – inter- and intra-group interaction for both students and staff; public use of bulletin boards and access to all resources.

The detailed plan provides a clear structure for the learning journey for students. This is especially significant for those students who have no face-to-face contact with their tutor or their group members. The detailed plan also provides a safety net for those students who have ICT access problems throughout the semester.

SUPPORT STRATEGY ADAPTATION
Internet access is critical to the communication expectations implicit in the learning design. Institutional and instructional support strategies to ensure each student can link to the web version of the unit, especially the online discussion tools, are critical within the first two weeks of the semester. A series of graduated instructions to support development of ICT confidence and competence are built into the learning objectives for the first four weeks. One key role of the tutor is to help students problem-solve in accessing and implementing ICT resources. This is critical support for off-shore and distance students, who cannot easily access the university ‘Help’ mechanisms.

Strategies to help students develop skills related to effective group work are also critical to the learning. Suggested strategies for structuring group participation are outlined in the assessment guidelines. On-going interaction with the tutors provides additional support for students negotiating roles and participation within their group.