Presentation at the Firs Year in Higher Education Conference, Te Papa, Wellington, 9th July, 2013.

1. Exploring the Disconnections:
Student Interaction with Support Services Upon
Commencement of Distance Education
FYHE Conference, Wellington
9th July, 2013
Mark Brown, Helen Hughes,
Mike Keppell, Natasha Hard & Liz Smith

2. http://www.dehub.edu.au
Acknowledgement
Support for this project and the production of this report has been provided by
DEHub, funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations (DEEWR). The views expressed in this report do not necessarily
reflect the views of the DEHub, Australian Government or DEEWR.

3. Outline…
1. Background
2. Overview of Literature
3. Research Design
4. The Participants
5. The Findings
6. Key Takeaways

4. Set against the backdrop of the
“Bridging the Distance Project”
1. Background

6. …and the challenge of
retention, progressionandcompletion
Set against the backdrop of the
“Bridging the Distance Project”
1. Background

7. 72%
58%
Background… 72%
58%

8. 82%
66%

10. 1. Background

11. • Wealth of literature
• Issues around attrition and completion are complex
• Further investigation required of the „soft factors‟
• There is a growing body of literature on first year experience
• Gap in the literature on the experiences of (first-time) distance
learners
• Emergence ofonline learning literature on student experience
• Dearth of research that presents the learner voice
2. Overview of Literature

12. Heyman (2010)…
1. Student support and connection with the Institution
2. Quality of interaction between faculty and students
3. Student self-discipline (and study orchestrations)
2. Overview of Literature
Heyman, E. (2010). Overcoming student retention issues in higher education online
programs. Online Journal of Distance Education Learning Administration, 13(4).

13. To improve the supports and services available for first-time
distance learners. More specifically…
Research objective…
3. Research Design

14. To improve the supports and services available for first-time
distance learners. More specifically…
• To investigate the experiences of being a first time distance
learner „in their own words‟ from a student perspective
3. Research Design
Research objective…

15. To improve the supports and services available for first-time
distance learners. More specifically…
• To investigate the experiences of being a first time distance
learner „in their own words‟ from a student perspective
• To develop a set of overarching principles for enhancing
distance learner engagement and success;
• To help develop a conceptual framework for identifying the
most effective use of various intervention tools, supports
and resources at early stages of the study lifecycle.
3. Research Design
Research objective…

16. • Design-based research
• Mixed method approach
• Strong phenomenological dimension
Methodology…
3. Research Design

17. • Phase 1 - Audit of existing services
• Phase 2 - Baseline and end of semester survey
• Phase 3 - Stories of first-time distance learners
• Obtained full human ethics approval process
• Weekly video diaries using Sony bloggie™
• 140 volunteers from pool of 850 potential participants
• 20 participantsbroadly representive of distance learners
Method…
3. Research Design

18. 4. The Participants
Gender Female (13) Male (7)
Age Under 25 (4), 25-29 (4), 30-39 (6), 40-49 (4), 50-59 (2)
Ethnicity Pakeha / European (12), Māori and/or Pasifika (8)
Location A campus town (11), Other urban town (3), Remote (4),
Overseas (2)
Delivery Mode Distance only (17), Mixed mode (3)
Total Papers (Units) Undergraduate: One (6), Two (6), Three (0), Four (6);
Postgraduate (2)
Discipline Business (8), Humanities (6), Education (3), Sciences (3)
Prior Education High school (8), Diploma (2), Degree papers (5), Degree (5)
Employment Full time (11), Part time (3), Casual (1), None (3), Full time
mother (2)
Dependents None (11), One (1), Two or three (5), Four or more (3)

19. 30 – 39 years
Maori
4 papers (units)
College of Humanities
Remote location
Not employed
7 children
4. The Participants

20. 30 – 39 years
Maori / Pasifika
4 papers (units)
College of Business
Wellington
FT employment
1 guardianship
4. The Participants

21. 20 – 29 years
European
2 papers (units)
College of Humanities
Urban location
FT employment
0 children
4. The Participants

22. 50 - 59 years
Maori / European
2 papers (units)
College of Business
Auckland
Seeking employment
4. The Participants

23. 60+ years
European
1 paper (unit)
College of Education
Remote location
Employed 3 days
4. The Participants

24. When asked whether, during the course of their
studies, they were contacted by anyone from the
University, the majority (52%) reported to have been
contacted by both their lecturer(s) and another person;
20% by another person only; 17% by their lecturer only;
and 11% by nobody whatsoever.
5. The Findings
Phase Two…

25. Phase Three…
5. The Findings
• Support Seekers (25%)
• Lone Wolves (75%)

26. Support Seekers…
5. The Findings
“Moodle is very useful – I've managed to work my way around it;
as well as the library website and the online tutorials.”

27. Support Seekers…
5. The Findings
“Moodle is very useful – I've managed to work my way around it;
as well as the library website and the online tutorials.”
“I went to Uni and I saw a counsellor and she was just awesome.
She also put me in touch with the Teaching & Learning Centre. I
came away from Uni this morning feeling so much more positive.”

28. Support Seekers…
5. The Findings
“Moodle is very useful – I've managed to work my way around it;
as well as the library website and the online tutorials.”
“My paper coordinator writes real mean in the forums... and
there's been a couple of times I've wanted to write on there but
I'm a bit scared of her reaction so I figure it out myself.”
“I went to Uni and I saw a counsellor and she was just awesome.
She also put me in touch with the Teaching & Learning Centre. I
came away from Uni this morning feeling so much more positive.”

29. Lone Wolves…
5. The Findings
“I think one of my papers had a contact course during semester
break but because of work and stuff like that I didn't go... I couldn't
make the time.”

30. Lone Wolves…
5. The Findings
“I think one of my papers had a contact course during semester
break but because of work and stuff like that I didn't go... I couldn't
make the time.”
“Moodle is available but people's base fears of putting something
out there and being wrong... it's very different to leaning over to a
peer and checking for immediate reinforcement.”

31. Lone Wolves…
5. The Findings
“I think one of my papers had a contact course during semester
break but because of work and stuff like that I didn't go... I couldn't
make the time.”
“I‟ve been trying to integrate my wife in to talking about what I'm
doing but it‟s hard as it can be sometimes quite technical with
writing essays and stuff.”
“Moodle is available but people's base fears of putting something
out there and being wrong... it's very different to leaning over to a
peer and checking for immediate reinforcement.”

32. "I've finished my paper [unit], which is such a
relief because, in the last six weeks, I just
wasn't really interested in it. Other things in
my life meant it went on the back-burner and
was something that was frustrating and it got in
the way of... well, life got in the way."
5. The Findings
The reality of study…

33. 1. Stories „add flesh‟ to the „soft factors‟of what it means
to be a distance learner.
6. Key takeaways

34. 1. Stories „add flesh‟ to the „soft factors‟ of what it means
to be a distance learner.
2. Distance learning is perceived to enabletertiary study
to fit around other life commitments; but first-time
distance students have relatively little conception of the
actual demandsof studying from a distance.
6. Key takeaways

35. 1. Stories „add flesh‟ to the „soft factors‟ of what it means
to be a distance learner.
2. Distance learning is perceived to enable tertiary study
to fit around other life commitments; but first-time
distance students have relatively little conception of the
actual demands of studying from a distance.
3. Efforts to support distance learners need to recognise
different preconceptions of „what it means to study
from a distance‟ and fostergenuine opportunities for
interaction (online and offline) between teachers,
students and support staff.
6. Key takeaways…

36. Video diaries, coupled with the researcher‟s role,
influenced the level of „student
engagement‟ by metaphorically providing
a new cave, campfire, watering holeand
mountain top for active and self-reflective
learning which helped to bridge some of the
disconnections.
Final comment…

37. Questions…
“He [she] who asks a question
is a fool for five minutes; he [she] who
does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”
Chinese Proverb