Mobile phones to facilitate connected social learning and work-based practices in marginalized...
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Mobile phones to facilitate connected social learning and work-based practices in marginalized settings.
Insights from a Research Project in Rural South Africa
Speaker: Christoph Pimmer, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
Co-authors: Sebastian Linxen; Urs Gröhbiel, Jennifer Chipps, Petra Brysiewicz Fiona Walters
Introduction & Background
3
Background: nursing education in rural (South) Africa
Importance: Nurses are “backbone” of the health system
Challenge: Professionally isolated, little support and training
Many of them fall sick or die, leave the profession or migrate to Western states (Raisler and Cohn, 2005).
± 840 km
± 526 km
± 574 km
± 694 Km
± 420 km
Remoteness: distance to educational opportunities
Field study – interviews about informalwork-related use of phones
6
Field study: Approach and Methods
RQ: Whether nurses in rural areas use mobile phones, and mobile social media, to support work-related learning? If so how and why?
Data gathering: Interviews with 16 nurse students, facilitators and clinical managers
Inductive content analysis
7
Field study: Results
Several organically-grown”, learning practices were identified: mobile phone usage facilitated
(1) authentic problem solving;
(2) reflective practice;
(3) emotional support and belongingness;
(4) the realization of unpredictable teaching situations; and
(5) life-long learning Source: Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/unfoundation/3239150042/
8
Authentic problem solving & reflective practice
Sometimes you use the (Facebook) group afterwards, after you have managed the patient, to see how you went, where you went wrong, how you did, or sometimes they say I messed up. Then, they give you the reasons, or sometimes they will tell you, oh, well done, but you missed that and that. (nurse student)
Emotional and social support
Mobile phone-based emotional support was provided that went far beyond clinical problem solving
9
Realization of unpredictable teaching situations
We would phone and tell her that […] maybe if she is close by, she will come around. […] Then, she will teach us in the real situation, not like we are doing a theory in class. (09)
Life-long learning
Nurses were provided with more, and more diverse options to participate and engage in social spaces (e.g. religious communities on social networking sites) and to access opportunities for learning not previously possible (e.g. by using mobile internet to search for new posts).
“It is part of my life now […] a means of contact, a means of learning. You know, people who have phones just learn a lot.” (12)
Design Research – a FB group to support development of analytical/research skills
11
Study 2 Action research
Research question:
Does systematic application of mobile social media facilitate effective learning practices? how/why?
Intervention:
Goal: development of a research proposal by 5 groups of nurses
Participants: 2nd year students of advanced midwifery course (n=47)
Format: a closed group on a social network site (FB) in which guidance was provided by a lecturer
Implementation: Project officer visited the 5 sites to provide initial support
Duration: over 4 months
Analysis: Content/interaction analysis & Pre, Post and Post-Post-Test
Overview: Preliminary findings
All student groups submitted feasible research project plans
Intensive interaction & rich forms of supervision activities found
Significant differences between pre, post and post-post test
Design Research – interaction patternsPreliminary findings
Analysis according to a research supervision framework (Lee, 2008)
Lee, A. 2008. How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. Studies in Higher Education, 33(3): 267-281.
%
Interaction patterns (preliminary)
Majority of interaction based on functional aspects and triggering critical thinking
Emancipation and enculturation to a lesser extent
Relationship development over time
Communication was mainly based on lecturer – 1-2 representatives of the group
Many more lurkers and observers
Now that most of us are in the Group - I want you all to start thinking of a midwifery topic that you may be interested in doing.. Lecturer
In thinking of the methodology, think of how will you go about collecting the data. How will you access the patients or the research subjects? How many will you need […] and How will you go about collecting the data (which tool?
Happy international nurses day for yesterday http://www.icn.ch/publications/2013-closing-the-gap-millennium-development-
You need to write in research language. The aim of the study is to investigate ..
Lecturer: I miss our daily chats :-) …. . Student1: well im not sure what to do now anyways so that would be lovely.... we miss u tooStudent 2: we miss u 2 u too […]. Well after examz we will backLecturer: Good luck with the exams!!!!
Design Research –Survey Preliminary findings
5 Several times a
day
4 Several
times a week
3 Several times
a month
2 Once a month
1 Less often/
0 N/A Never
Item Pre Post Post Post
I use Facebook for learning in my course (n=28) 0.8(±1.1) 3.9(±1.1) 3.2(±1.6)
How often do you use FACEBOOK to discuss your course with peers or other students (n=30)
0.8(±1.0) 3.0(±1.8) 3.6(±2.0)
How often do you use these mobile functions to chat, discuss, or ask questions about your course with facilitators / lecturers with FACEBOOK (n=35)
0.9(±1.2) 2.2(±1.5) 2.5(±1.9)
Use of Facebook to support learning in the courses
5 Several times a
day
4 Several
times a week
3 Several times
a month
2 Once a month
1 Less often/
0 N/A Never
Item Pre Post Post Post
I engage on Facebook activities that relates to clinical topics (n=25)
0.7(±0.8) 3.3(±1.3) 3.5(±1.8)
I use Facebook to discuss about my work as a nurse with colleagues(n=28)
1.2(±1.5) 2.7(±1.8) 3.1(±1.6)
I engage with particular sites on Facebook that relates to medical and clinical topics (n=28)
0.6(±0.7) 3.0(±1.6) 2.9(±1.7)
Work-related communication based on Facebook
Item Pre Post Post Post Chi-
Square
Social media sites such as Facebook are important in my daily life (n=34)
2.6(±1.4) 3.8(±1.1) 2,7(±0.9) 17.9
Social media sites such as Facebook are important for my learning/nursing education. (n=34)
2.8(±1.3) 4.0(±0.9) 3.1(±1.1) 25.6
Social media (Facebook) are essential for learning (n=35)
3.1(±1.4) 3.7(±1.1) 3.1(±1.2) 13.4
Perceive value of FB for learning
1 Strongly disagree … 5 Strongly agree
Rich mobile learning practices in informal settings relating to
learning processes and social participation
(but not by all learners/nurses)
Research supervision of student groups on FB
In the course: was effective by providing direction & triggering critical thinking
increased the use of FB for other work- and course related interactions from a mid-term perspective
Increased the perceived value of FB for learning during the course
First conclusions
Pre Post Post-Post
University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland21
Connect
[email protected] www.christoph.pimmer.info twitter.com/#!/christophpimmer slideshare.net/ChristophPimmer fhnw.academia.edu/ChristophPimmer
Questions? Just contact me