Teaching strategies enhancing student learning using WebCT

Salim Siddiqui
Curtin University of Technology

Keywords: WebCT; flexible learning; prior knowledge

The general perception of physics among many first-year university science students enrolled in enabling physics units is that it is an inherently difficult and conceptually complex subject. It becomes even more difficult for those students who have not studied physics at high school or have done poorly in Tertiary Entrance Examinations. Such students from various disciplines across the University study one or two semester of physics in first year at Curtin. In general, these students are not interested in learning physics, firstly because they find it intellectually demanding and secondly they do not see the relevance of physics to their chosen discipline. To address these issues, teaching resources and teaching strategies have been restructured and designed accordingly. WebCT has been used as a tool for unit management, delivery of teaching and learning resources and students' self-assessment quizzes. These resources enable students to learn, think and integrate knowledge, thus further improving students' problem solving skills. Moreover, students' communication with instructor and peers in getting prompt responses to their queries through emails and discussion board, continually keeps them in a learning environment, which further maintains their interest and enthusiasm for learning physics. Flexible assessment using WebCT technologies have also been incorporated in some physics units including a portable laboratory program. Assessment of students' prior knowledge has also been used in designing a student-centred learning environment for a medical imaging science unit.

This presentation reports strategies that have been effectively used in teaching various physics units, the outcomes and the students' feedback.