Impact of frequency and scale of coursework in STEM subjects

School: Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy

Team: Dr David Quinn, Dr Konstantina Zerva, Dr Ross Galloway, Dr John Loveday

Abstract

Coursework is often used to assess learning outcomes, to create feedback opportunities and to motivate student engagement. There is evidence, from student feedback, that the level of coursework can create excessive workload creating stress and limiting engagement with activities which are not assessed as students need to prioritise their time. 

The project aims to explore how students in the School of Mathematics and the School of Physics and Astronomy manage their study time, with a particular focus on the impact of coursework. We will collect weekly timesheets from student volunteers including students from both prehonours and honours in each school. These timesheets will record time spent on different study activities for each course and include a short reflection. This will give an insight into how students have distributed their study time and identify which elements they feel have had the greatest benefit to their learning. Furthermore, this will identify when students have found workload to be excessive and show the impact on their learning and wellbeing. This breakdown will be compared with how course organisers intend for students to engage, which will enable reflection on course design to enable students to engage fully and reduce stress caused by excess workload. Data from students and course organisers will inform the creation of advice on time management