Evaluation of open learning material designed for part of the diploma level research module for pre- and...

With the increase in the number of nurses wishing to upgrade their professional qualification to diploma or degree level, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of research modules purchased by education purchasing consortia. One approach to deal with this increase in the number of students, and also to enable students to study at their own pace and in a location convenient to them, is to develop open learning materials. The data presentation and analysis session for the diploma level research module delivered by the Institute of Health Studies at the University of Plymouth has recently been designed using text based material. An opportunity to evaluate this material has arisen during the author's participation in a teaching and learning in higher education course. Twelve out of 25 post-registration students undertaking the diploma level module agreed to take part in the study; six were randomly allocated to the self-study group, and six to the taught session. Information was also collected from the students who did not wish to take part (n = 11). A questionnaire was designed to evaluate knowledge, attitudes to presentation of the material and the method of teaching. Results revealed few differences between the two groups in terms of knowledge and attitudes to presentation of the material and the method of teaching. Of note is that there was an increase in knowledge scores between pre- and post-session assessments for more of the taught session group than the others; and the overall rating was higher for the teaching method than for the self-study material. Reasons given by the 11 who did not wish to take part in the study all related to a preference for a taught session. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the limitations of the study, and the development of teaching material in general.