The document discusses managing student workload in higher education, emphasizing the importance of aligning course expectations with actual academic demands to optimize learning. It highlights the negative impact of excess material and ineffective workload perceptions on student performance, suggesting various strategies to improve workload management. Recommendations include reducing unnecessary assignments, providing clear directions, and ensuring that assessments align with learning activities.

1. Making time for learning:
managing student workload.
Liz Norman
Director of Teaching & Learning, College of Sciences
NCTL Friday Sessions, Massey University, 9 November, 2018

2. How does your
course look to
students?
overflowing by zoetnet, Attribution License

3. What do you expect students to spend
their time on?
15 credit course = ~ 10 hrs/wk
Each week: 5 hrs face-to-face (3 lectures, 1 tut)
What should they do for the other 5 hrs/wk?
• revise their lectures and write up notes? – 3 hrs
• read 10 pages of the text book? @ 500 words per page = 1 hr
• work on an assignment? 1500 word essay = 10 hours, @1hr
per week this will take them 10 weeks!
When are they going to
• Revise for the mid semester test?
• Think about the feedback you give them on the assignment?
• Do the other assignment you want them to do?

4. Parkinson, Gilling & Suddaby (2006). Workload, study methods, and motivation of students within
a BVSc program. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 33(2), 253-265.
Why student workload is important

5. Why student
workload is
important
excess
material
superficial
approach
lack of
connections
inability to
be selective
perception
of overload

6. superficial
approach
Excess material leads to
rote learning strategies
Entwistle & Ramsden (1982) Understanding student learning. Kent, UK.
Kember & Leung (1998) Influences upon students’ perceptions of workload. Educational Psychology, 18(3), 293-307
Kember & Leung (2006) Characterising a teaching and learning environment conducive to making demands on students
while not making their workload excessive. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 185-198

7. lack of
connections
Superficial learning is
unlikely to develop solid
connected knowledge.

8. lack of
connections
Superficial learning is
unlikely to develop solid
connected knowledge.
insufficient disconnected
disordered
connected
ordered
Biggs & Collis (1982) Evaluating the quality of learning: The SOLO taxonomy (structure of the observed learning outcome).
New York: Academic Press

9. inability
to be
selective
Lack of connected
knowledge leads to
difficulty identifying
relevant and irrelevant
material.

10. perception
of
overload
Teachers and students
may have very different
perceptions of the course
workload

11. perception
of
overload
Filename: Save date: 4/11/2014
excess
material
superficial
approach
lack of
connections
inability to
be selective
perception
of overload

12. But what about…
Studies of award
winning teachers show
that they place high
demands on students
sheep with blue ribbon
by K-State Research and Extension, Attribution Licence.
Kember & McNaught (2006) Excellent university teaching:
The Chinese University Press.

13. ‘Good’ vs ‘bad’ workload
• Differential effect of ‘bad’ and ‘good’
workload on evaluations of teaching:
• an increase in work the student considers
valuable for learning is associated with
increased course satisfaction. (up to a point)
• an increase in work not considered valuable is
negatively related.
Marsh (2001) Distinguishing between good (useful) and bad workloads on students’ evaluations of teaching.
American Educational Research Journal, 38(1), 183-212.

14. ‘Perceived’ vs ‘actual’ workload
Differential effect of
‘perceived’ and ‘actual’
workload
• actual workload is only a
minor contributor to
variances in perceived
workload
• we can lower the perceived
workload without reducing
the amount of work
Kember & Leung (1998) Influences upon students’ perceptions of
workload. Educational Psychology, 18(3), 293-307
Kyndt, Berghmans, Dochy & Bulckens (2013) ‘Time is not enough.’
workload in higher education: A student perspective. Higher Education
Research & Development, 33(4), 684-698.
Perception:IsitaSnakeorstick?Rosiechewing,lawn,tree,Broadview,
Seattle,Washington,USAbyWonderlane,AttributionLicense

15. What influences perceptions of
workload?
surface
approach
perceived
workload
Kember D, & Leung DYP (1998). Influences upon students’ perceptions of workload. Educational Psychology, 18(3), 293-307.
Kember D (2004). Interpreting student workload and the factors which shape students' perceptions of their workload.
Studies in Higher Education, 29(2), 165-184.

16. surface
approach
perceived
workload
Biggs & Collis (1982) Evaluating the quality of learning : The SOLO taxonomy (structure of the observed learning outcome).
New York: Academic Press.
assessment

17. Parkinson, Gilling & Suddaby (2006). Workload, study methods, and motivation of students within a BVSc program.
Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 33(2), 253-265.

18. What influences perceptions of
workload?
Complex interplay of factors including:
• Surface vs deep learning approaches by the student
• Assessment
• Motivation and interest of the student
• Time savers: clear structure, asking Qs
• Contact hours (but not independent study time)
• Projects – ‘active’ learning activities
• Student-student relationships
• Difficulty of the subject
• Concentrated deadlines
• Other stressors going on in the student’s life
• English ability

19. So what can we do?
1. Reduce ‘bad’ workload
2. Reduce perceptions of excessive workload
3. Reduce actual workload (and keep it evenly
spread)

20. Reduce ‘bad’ workload
Remove all work that is not related to learning
outcomes
– reduce ‘admin’ activities
– think of how you can make it easier for students
to find what they need
– direct them to what is important
– do the “little things” for them eg: point them to
the page in the textbook

21. Reduce perceived workload
1. Trim the actual workload
2. Make the work as interesting as possible – be
enthusiastic!
3. Align assessment activity with learning outcomes
4. Reduce “bad” workload
5. Provide opportunities for questions and the climate
that encourages students to ask them
6. Increase interaction
7. Use project-based work and group work (but ensure
there is enough time for it)
8. Support good peer-peer relationships
9. Space out deadlines (in relation to other courses)

22. Working out actual workload
1. Calculate the face-to-face time
2. Calculate the hours of exams or tests.
Add 9 hours of study for each hour of exam/test
3. List all the required learning activities and
calculate the time for each
• eg reading material, self tests, videos to watch
• For reading work out the word count and allow 70 words per
minute.
4. List any other assessments and calculate the
time for each
• eg 5 hours to produce a 10 minute oral presentation
5. Calculate total

23. Some helpful metrics
Student task Time to allow
Reading time 70 words per min
Examination/Test
preparation time
9 hours per hr
of exam/test
Prep time for a 10 min
oral presentation
5 hours
Poster preparation 10 hours
1500 word assignment 10 hours
5000 word assignment 50 hours

24. Reduce actual workload
1. Trim content
– If we try to teach too much they won’t retain everything –
you are better at deciding what to leave out than they are.
– Think in terms of teaching skills (what students need to be
able to do) rather than content
– Think in terms of the expected knowledge and skills for the
level of that course (eg first year, second year). Remember
they will gain more knowledge, skills, and experience later
2. Reduce summative assessment
– keep it to 3 or fewer occasions per 15 credit course.
– 3 per 15 credit course = 12 per semester, 8 of which occur
during the 12 weeks of semester, most during the last 6
weeks.

25. Reduce actual workload
3. Align learning activities with assessment
activities
– Ensure that what you have them do to learn, is
also preparing them for what you need them to
do to be assessed.
– This does not necessarily mean that learning
activities are also used for assessment but could
do).
– Show them how these learning activities link to
assessment activities

26. Reduce actual workload
4. Provide clear direction about what we want
students to spend time on and how much
time we want them to spend and how it will
help them do the assessments
– Clear instructions, organised materials, lecture
slides, Stream sites
– Remove optional materials – don’t fall into the
learning styles trap (the false belief that students
need to learn according to their own learning
style)
– Provide exemplars for the work you expect

27. Reduce actual workload
5. Even out the time expected out over the
semester
– Ensure that all assigned work and assessment
study can be accomplished within the 10 hours
per week allocation.
– Reduce face-to-face time when students need to
work on assignments

28. Useful resources
• Karjalainen et al. (2006). Give me time to think:
determining student workload in higher education,
Finland: Oulu University Press.
http://www.oulu.fi/w5w/tyokalut/GET2.pdf
• Fielding, A. (2008). Student assessment workloads: A
review. Learning and Teaching in Action, 7(3), 7-15.
http://www.celt.mmu.ac.uk/ltia/issue17/fielding.php
• A collection of calculators and other resourses on the
CoS sharepoint site:
https://one.massey.ac.nz/teams/CollegeofSciences/Ac
ademic%20Teaching%20and%20Learning%20Pages/Stu
dent%20workload.aspx

29. Liz’s presentations
http://www.slideshare.net/liznorman