Engaging with spurts and drips in the higher education environment

Abstract

It is well acknowledged that students work and learn in different ways and at different paces. One of the oft-cited distinctions is that between on-campus and off-campus students, another is that between school-leavers and full-time workers. Generally, school-leavers and on-campus students are accustomed to a more structured study environment where they can easily follow a step-by-step process, whilst full-time workers and off-campus students tend to have more ongoing and competing demands for information and assistance. A third distinction, well recognised by lecturers yet scarcely discussed in the academic literature, is that between the so-called 'spurts' and 'drips'. 'Spurts' refer to students who typically study in intensive blocks. They may build up a workload through a number of weeks and then set aside an entire weekend to undertake their academic work. They are typically off-campus full-time workers who find it difficult to arrange time throughout the week to get this work done. 'Drips', on the other hand, undertake small parcels of work at short intervals on a week-by-week basis. They represent more of a mix of on-campus and off-campus students, and a closer balance of school-leavers and full-time workers. Together, and in combination with other distinctions, the diverse study preferences of these groups can present difficulties for lecturers attempting to develop distance education based curriculum.