Chris Cope

Improving students' learning approaches through intervention in an information systems learning environment

A study is reported which aimed to improve the proportion of students using aspects of deep learning approaches in an undergraduate information systems (IS) subject. Underlying the study was relational learning research, which identified learning environment factors more likely to be perceived by students who adopted deep learning approaches. These factors were used to design, and refine over five years, small‐scale interventions to the IS subject’s learning environment. To investigate the impact of the interventions students’ learning approaches were evaluated each year on the basis of responses to short written answer and Likert‐scale questionnaire items. In the fifth year of the study a statistically significant increase in the proportion of students using aspects of deep learning approaches was identified. Among a number of important learning environment factors, perception of workload appeared to be a key to encouraging the use of deep learning approaches. Through gradually decreasing the workload in the subject each year, a point was reached where enough educationally critical content was covered to satisfy the subject aims, but significantly more students perceived they had enough time to apply deep learning approaches.

Requirements Elicitation - What's Missing?

In this paper we show that interviews between IT co nsultants and clients are considered best practice in terms of methods for eliciting IS requireme nts as part of IS development projects. The process of conducting successful conversations with clients as part of requirements elicitation interviews is not well understood. The paper report s a literature survey which established current understanding. To date this understanding has been achieved through research which: considered conversations as black boxes; proposed and implemented treatments to be applied by consultants; and then measured the quality and quantity of the r equirements elicited. The treatments have not been successful as poor requirements elicitation co ntinues to be a major problem in IS development. Our analysis of current understanding indicat ed that consultants’ experiences of the nature of conversations with clients and approach to condu cting conversations have not been studied. It would seem imperative to look inside the black box of consultants’ experiences of conducting conversations with clients if improvements to the o utcomes of requirements elicitation are to be made. A study is proposed which aims to examine variation in how consultants experience requirements elicitation conversations. Through analy zing the variation in the light of current best practice it is aimed to identify the critical aspec ts of successfully conceived and conducted conversations. These critical aspects can then be used in IS education and practitioner training programs.

Improving student learning about a threshold concept in the IS discipline.

The threshold concepts of a discipline are the portals to a deeper understanding of disciplinary knowledge, form the keys to learning progression, and are typically difficult to explain and learn. The notion of information systems (IS) as social systems is proposed as a threshold concept in the IS discipline. From this perspective IS are considered to be systems of people performing purposeful organizational activity, supported by embedded information technology (IT). Without an understanding of IS as social systems students are unlikely to come to terms with the complex notions underlying the development of IS in business organizations. This paper describes a study that sought to improve undergraduate student learning about IS as social systems. Three learning activities were designed to specifically target key aspects of IS as social systems. Questionnaires were used to categorize 30 students’ understanding before and after participating in the learning activities. A statistically significant improvement in students’ understanding was identified.

Seeking Meaning: The educationally critical aspect of learning about information systems

The research reported in this paper investigated and compared the experience of learning about the concept of an information system (IS) at a scholarly, and an undergraduate level. A scholarly level learning experience was developed from the literature and represented a benchmark against which students’ learning experiences could be compared. A group of undergraduate students’ learning experiences were investigated in an empirical, phenomenographic study. An awareness and understanding of the process of seeking meaning was found to be an educationally critical aspect of a deep approach to learning about IS and a deep understanding of the concept of an IS. The finding has important implications for teaching and learning about IS. Learning tasks can be designed which aim to enhance learning through focussing students’ awareness simultaneously on the IS conceptual and learning aspects of seeking meaning. An example of the use of rich pictures to achieve this aim is given.

Toward an understanding of teaching and learning about information systems

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How an "Imperative" IS development was saved from a failing course of action - a case study.

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Integrating learning technology into classrooms: The importance of teachers' perceptions

When an information systems (IS) development project exceeds time, budget and functional constraints a point is reached where the decision has to be made to abandon it or attempt to save it. Some systems are of such value that management is prepared to take extraordinary measures to save them. This paper examines a case study of one such system whose development was saved from likely failure by a combination of good project management, intervention of a business sponsor and a synergistic relationship between management and the system developers. Organizational culture’s role in the project’s development is also examined in order to present a more holistic view of how the project’s successful outcome was generated.