Abstract:

This research paper discusses an exploratory study, in an English University. The two first Researchers already collaborated successfully over 10 years producing over thirty research papers, evaluating the Pedagogical Variation Model (PVM, Rogers 2013) not only with pre-service teacher undergraduates for the acquisition of professional qualified teacher status implementing Information, Communication Technology (ICT) in the Natural Sciences, Biology and Chemistry but also students of the Master's degree in Professional and Technological Education at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The third Researcher, from the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, School of Health and Society, University of Bolton, is joining us in the evaluation of the PVM with sample populations drawn from staff and students in the Schools of Nursing and Health and Social Care at the University of Bolton, being provided with study materials e.g.:
(i) an information sheet about the study;
(ii) a consent form; and
(iii) a pre-designed questionnaire (Rogers, 2013), during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The research aims to identify the most effective pedagogy for online teaching and learning where objectives relate to understanding preferences for students and teachers. The university has a large international student population and participants came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds: White (n=33); Black (n=11); Mixed (n=1); Asian (n=4); Persian (n=1); and Brazilian (n=1). A total of 52 consent forms and questionnaires were returned i.e. n(students)=46; n(staff) =6. Participants were a mix of Nursing students (n=27) and Health and Social Care students (n=19),consisting of undergraduate students (n=7) and postgraduate students (n=12). Furthermore, staff participants were Nursing staff (n=3), predominantly teaching on undergraduate Health and Social Care programmes (n=2) and mainly on postgraduate Health and Social Care programmes (n=1).Participants were predominantly female (n=45), with male (n=6).The PVM Evaluation Questionnaire elicits participants’ responses to the matching of e-learner teaching preferences according to their preferred learning styles. The PVM is constructed with a graphical design known as the Boston Matrix consisting of four quadrants. One Matrix Format, regarding learner characteristics, is based on two variable identifiers, namely:
(i) learner collaborative capabilities and
(ii) learner knowledge construction and practical skills.

A second Boston Matrix Format elucidates pedagogical leadership characteristics of teachers / lecturers, namely:
(i) Transactional (task-giving) and
(ii) Transformational ((empowering / motivational), providing participants’ with insights regarding transactional pedagogical leadership (i.e. task-giving) in comparison to transactional pedagogical leadership (i.e. empowerment/ motivation).

Rogers et al. recommends the PVM to be a model for decreasing drop-out rates i.e. attrition rates where online lurkers/shirkers are often marginalized as “failures”. The matching of preferred e-moderator teaching styles by e-learners to their (e-learner) collaborative and knowledge construction capabilities is more likely to increase retention rates than a “one size fits all” framework.

Keywords:

Teaching, learning, pedagogy, students, teachers, online, healthcare, constructivist, instructivist, Nursing Education.