Student perspectives of learning experience

Learning experience of students can be similar or different depending on a range of factors, both internal and external to students. Some of the influential factors that were mentioned by members of the student panel during the Teaching and Learning Forum were: socio-cultural environments, life and work experiences, personal preferences, historical events, and materials and methods used during formal teaching.

Sheena Graham presented her personal experiences to illustrate the issues an Aboriginal youth faces in a forma education system in Australia. Sheena described how she “grew disillusioned with the education system … [as she] progressed through primary, secondary and tertiary education,” and drew the conclusion that “we need our own historians, our own lawyers, our own teachers – so that we can find ourselves on a more equal setting with the rest of Australian society. Our voice has been silenced for far too long. We need our people to make it through the education system and come into the tertiary level in order to get into those very positions.” Another aspect highlighted by Sheena was that of single parents entering tertiary education. Although she was appreciative of the support universities provide to students in their transition to tertiary environment, she said that UWA could be more considerate of those of us who are older and have family responsibilities.”

Jean Swanson provided another perspective of mature aged students’ learning experiences, and outlined the reasons for re-entering formal education. Jean’s love of learning developed at an early stage in school and she was keen to continue her studies at the university level, however social tradition and other circumstances prevented that pursuit for many years. Because my interest in learning about my subjects is so strong the study has never been a chore. In fact there have been many times when I have been impatient because the realities of life have intruded on my study or research. I am not sure I have always been right in what I have done or the way I have done it but I have passed eight units with quite reasonable marks and enjoyed every moment of it,” said Jean.

While Sheena Graham and Jean Swanson touched on the issues related to mature aged students learning at UWA, Mathew Chuk as the President of UWA Student Guild provided a general view of what contributes to good learning experiences. According to Mathew, learning experiences can be enhanced by teachers “being inclusive and flexible in course delivery. Students learn differently, some prefer being personally guided through material, others like to self-teach late in the evening using online course materials. Students today are working longer hours in paid employment than ever before, be accommodating of those who miss class due to work or family commitments and make sure that the material is available in an alternate format.” Mathew also suggests that teachers get students talking to each other about the course, as this will increase the time they spend thinking about it (and thus learning). Be controversial, introduce subject matter that students will disagree about or otherwise want to discuss amongst themselves. Get students teaching one another!”