ORIGIN OF THE LEARNING DESIGN
The unit RES 5101: Introductory Research Methods has been a core postgraduate unit for the Faculty of Community Services, Education and Social Sciences for the last decade. Feedback each semester through the unit evaluations indicated students enjoyed the unit and felt well prepared for beginning their thesis development. However, there was clear evidence in unit feedback and interaction with the students throughout each semester that students were struggling to bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge of research methods and the development of the requisite research skills. The external students in particular expressed their sense of isolation from the postgraduate learning environment. There was clearly a need to contextualise the conceptual development of research methodologies.

The idea to create the virtual research centre metaphor as the learning design for the online version of the unit emerged from the experiential model already being used in the unit for assessment. The narrative was to model the experience and expectations of ‘being’ a postgraduate student while incorporating existing unit materials (Reading Guide and Data Analysis). The aim was to create a virtual learning environment to foster student-centred learning, encourage student commitment, innovation and initiative, and recognise and support students from diverse backgrounds.

NUMBER OF TIMES THE LEARNING DESIGN HAS BEEN USED

The learning design has been implemented for five consecutive semesters from Semester 2, 2000 to Semester 2, 2002.

MODIFICATIONS SINCE FIRST USE
There have only been minor modifications made to the learning design since its first implementation. These modifications include:

• Editorial corrections (each semester).
• Upgrading of suggested extra readings/web sites to maintain current and cutting edge thinking related to research methodology (each year).
• Refining of assessment criteria according to student queries and teaching experience (after first year).
• Modified survey data and interview data to prevent quality assurance issues (after two years).
• Introduction of voluntary self-evaluation feedback to tutors on contribution to group assignments (Semester 2, 2002). This feedback provided students a confidential vehicle for reflecting on their own participation. Students have been very open and aware of their learning and varied involvement in each group assignment. The feedback is not part of the formal assessment for the unit.

A more extensive modification is being planned to prevent quality assurance problems and to accommodate the increasingly cross-discipline cohorts. A third virtual student is being created, along with a full set of virtual data.

DISSEMINATION
James Cook University negotiated access to the current form of the learning design, with the stated intention of modifying the learning design to meet the particular needs of their external students.

We have not received any further information related to their implementation of our learning design.

RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE DESIGN
Unit evaluation by students have been very positive. For each semester in 2001 and 2002, the independently administered university measures of unit and teaching evaluation (UEI and TEI ) have yielded a mean score of at least 4. Students particularly like the security of working within small teams (teams of 3). The 'external' students have been especially pleased with their sense of inclusion in the public and collegial bulletin boards (both team and general).

Feedback from external students indicate their sense of inclusion in the research learning community:

"I am finding this method of working in teams to be very stimulating. Working with someone from Tanzania and the Seychelles (my team) has broadened my perspective of education from the rather narrow EDWA model" (Student X, Semester 2).

"Thank you very much for producing (along with Max) a unit online I finally felt I could finish. It is very hard working on your own overseas, but the structure of this unit has made me feel responsible to other people. Thus, I have felt very supported by my team, and in fact the whole bulletin board structure has been very encouraging. I visit it often." (Student Y, Semester 2).

Having taught the unit over 5 years in both face-to-face, external print version and the recent online version, the quality of the group assignments and the individual assignments provide evidence of students’ improved conceptual development in the online version. Students are able to work comfortably within the discourse of research methodology, grounding their theoretical statements in the case-study data.

The combination of working with virtual students modelling postgraduate research experience, plus the chance to ‘handle’ virtual data analysis, has provided the scaffolding to develop higher-order thinking skills, problem-solving skills and the sense of being part of a research team.

The interaction between team members on their individual team boards provides a discourse analysis of this group development of skills. The interaction between teams as they read each other’s assignments on the bulletin boards provides further evidence of the scaffolding of the learning experience.

Students have commented that there is ‘no place to hide in the learning’. Some are initially quite anxious about the public nature of 40% of their assessment.

TAS coordinator and team teacher of the unit, the workload is much more intense than other modes of presentation. However, the level of intimacy and trust built within this intensive (and immediate) interaction does seem to promote a greater sense of a whole team.

Many students find the double hurdle of tackling statistical analysis at the same time as developing ISPSS skills very stressful. Supportive team members and workshops help address this, but do not alleviate the problem.

DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS VERSUS INTENDED OUTCOMES
The virtual postgraduate student world of the learning design provides a very effective medium for assisting students achieve the intended research learning outcomes. The combination of the collaborative support network, the structured activities and skills developed within an experiential framework and the two virtual postgraduate studies model the processes underpinning the theoretical design, data collection, analysis and decision-making involved in a Masters thesis.

UNEXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Several unexpected learning outcomes have consistently surfaced since first implementing the design. Throughout the 15 week unit, students developed:

• An on-going learning community which included networking after the end of the semester.
• An increased level of conceptual, discourse and analytic sophistication of group responses and length of responses through the public nature of the posted group assignments.
• Close relationships with their team colleagues which involved supporting each other in other postgraduate units.
• Cross-disciplinary knowledge of research from inter and intra team and cohort discussion at workshops and on the bulletin board.
• The capacity to be critical reflective learners .
• The social skills and etiquette for effective communication on the bulletin boards.
• The capacity for professional communication with their colleagues.

HOW LEARNER ENGAGEMENT IS SUPPORTED
Students become very emotionally engaged in the dynamics of the (virtual) Kingston saga and the personalities of the participants. For most students, the two Masters students Peggy and Brian, as well as the Kingston community, become real. Any sense of working within a virtual setting is lost within the first two weeks. Heated discussions take place on the bulletin boards within the first few weeks related to methodology issues associated with Brian’s survey and continue in workshops and bulletin boards all semester. Students begin to develop comfortable use of the research discourse through discussions with their peers grounded in the virtual scenario.

The dynamic nature of the learning is triggered by the fortnightly group assessment expectations and the use of ICT to make the learning public. Learners' prior experiences and research skills ( particularly statistical skills) are accommodated within the weekly tasks. This provides students with a sense of control over their learning curve as they choose which combination of weekly activities best meets their personal learning needs in order to effectively contribute to each group assignment.

Comment from the Evaluation Team...

The project evaluation concluded that learner engagement is supported very well by this learning design. Some of the evaluators' comments are as follows.

"Having Brian and Peggy in the research is good idea. Having the context of the PG room and the newspapers, etc., is useful here. Motivates by placing student in the study. The learning environment offering the room metaphor is an engaging one."

"A lot of control here – students can choose where they go and when – it is not sequential. However, while you could choose to work at a different pace, this would affect team interactions."

"Might need a few more signposts to indicate good starting points, etc., so that students are not lost.
The interface supports an independent choice of what to do when, but in fact the course is very structured and has clear indications of what to do step-by-step. "

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LEARNING CONTEXT
The activities and assessment structure invite students to explore the virtual world of Kingston and the case studies of the two Masters students. The data provided for the case studies includes contextual information related to the social, political, economic and environmental factors impacting on the Kingston community. On completing the unit, students are able to transfer this experiential exploration of context and have developed an appreciation of the impact of these contextual factors on any research design and chosen methodology. In order to support student understanding of the role of context in research, several of the group assignments specifically deal with an exploration of the context of Kingston and contextual factors impacting on the participants.

Although the closure of a school is a universally understood phenomenon, for some off-shore students the local cultural context used in the virtual setting may seem obscure.

Comment from the Evaluation Team...

Following on the from Designers' last point, the evaluation findings concluded that the learning design focussing on one particular scenario, that is, the closure of a school", may be somewhat limiting in terms of the potential for students to "transfer knowledge":

"Not much choice is offered about applying research methods to studies of particular interest in students’ areas, which is an opportunity lost. Perhaps more scenarios could be offered, or assessment tasks could be related to students’ proposed studies. This would allow for transfer of knowledge."

HOW THE LEARNING DESIGN CHALLENGES LEARNERS
The learning design presents a wide range of challenges for learners. Key challenges are:

• Negotiating the group dynamics within a collaborative learning team. This is especially challenging when students are interacting in a virtual setting without the social cues implicit in face-to-face interaction.
• Negotiating an effective learning sequence to meet their personal learning needs as well as those of their team.
• The openness of the authentic task (Activity 3), where students are invited to provide their own justified conclusions.
• Using ICT to access other resources to support and justify their chosen perspective in the authentic task.
• Accepting the limitations of truth and expectations of a ‘correct’ response in a research design and outcomes.

Comment from the Evaluation Team...
The evaluators commented that the "structuredness" of the learning design could potentially limit the extent to which learners are challenged:

"The planning is clearly structured in the course – very clear indications about what to do when. Not much decision-making needed by students in this regard – all provided on the semester calendar."

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICE
The learning design provides opportunities in the virtual case study context for students to practise the skills and processes involved in research methodologies by providing:

• An assessment structure which expects students to articulate and demonstrate their learning within their groups and on the bulletin boards.
• A series of weekly activities and practice examples of data analysis skills to develop some level of expertise prior to attempting each group assignment.
• Group conceptual tasks, research examples, and SPSS skills practice at fortnightly workshops
• Regular feedback from tutors at all key points in the learning process and on all activities/assessment to indicate achievement of appropriate learning outcomes on three levels – individual, group and whole cohort.
• Transparent links between the suggested weekly activities and the assessment framework.

Comment from the Evaluation Team...

The evaluators concluded that this learning design supports the opportunity for practice very well. Some comments included:

"Models provided by Brian and Peggy and by other students in the discussion board are helpful here. Provision of these models is a very strong feature of the program."

"Objectives are clearly stated."

"Perhaps a few reflection exercises would encourage learner confidence."

"Goals, tasks and assessment were well aligned."