DigiExplanation driven assignments for personalising learning in construction education

Abstract

Personalising learning is critical for universities to achieving excellence in education.  It entails maintaining an education system that is responsive to the learning needs, aptitudes and interests of individual students.  Rather than imposing a ‘one-size fits all’ model, personalising learning is anticipated to ensure that every learner achieves his/her highest potential. Pedagogical literature suggests that learning-oriented assessments that are engaging, authentic and relevant are an effective mode for personalisation. DigiExplanations is a novel approach that requires students to create short digital media to communicate their ideas to ordinary audiences. It offers an opportunity for research-based authentic learning by harnessing digital media that exist outside of their institution and their digital competencies to create personally relevant and interesting resources. The aim of the research was to investigate the effectiveness of digiExplanations driven assessments for improving personalised learning in construction education. A case study strategy was adopted in the research. A first-year subject from the construction management degree was chosen as the case, which had a class of 159 students. A new assignment scheme was introduced for which students were required to develop digiExplanations in groups of five. The assessment criteria comprised: rationale for the study; depth and breadth of the discussions for the topic; appropriateness of media used in the discussions; creativity in the use of media (storyboarding); design of digiExplanation; quality of conclusion; and proper acknowledgement of materials used. After the submission deadline, an online survey was conducted with the students to assess how the new assessment approach facilitated personalised learning. Several findings emerged from the study. The digiExplanations based assignment provided similar learning experiences for students with different characteristics concerning their first language, domestic/international student status, work situation and digital competencies. Moreover, the study found that some considerations are more significant than others in designing assessments that can drive personalised learning, which are: personally relevant/interesting, engagement, harnessing internet resources and progressive feedback. The survey findings further suggest that while the new pedagogical approach achieved its intended aim, few students perceived it a cumbersome method as it required more efforts than traditional assignments.