Abstracts I – Z
Preparing students for clinical practice: Applying Learning in Context
Rosemary Isles,
The University of Queensland
Robyn Cupit,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Applying Learning in Context
Physiotherapy students complete most of their clinical practice in the fourth year of their program. In response to experience and feedback, a program has been developed to prepare students for clinical practice - Professional Studies and Principles of Physiotherapy Clinical Management. It covers learning areas of health service delivery, organisational and management issues and their impact and student learning in clinic.
The course provides some learning through formal lectures but most occurs through group and individual experiential / discovery learning in context.
In the management module, students in groups explore a topic by interviewing 'expert' resource personnel, examining literature. A verbal / AV presentation is delivered to the whole year group as the evaluation. These presentations often incorporate humour and innovation and provide information in an enjoyable, relevant way.
The student learning module incorporates tutorial sessions using role play to examine supervisory processes of questioning, coaching and feedback. Students visit clinical sites and place their learning in context whilst completing relevant workbook tasks.
Students report that they enjoy working in groups and learning in ways that are context specific and therefore more immediately relevant to their needs.
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Effect of Web-Based Materials on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Abbas Jamalipour,
Sydney University
Science Based Stream (Engineering) Beyond the Classroom
With the revolutionary increase in popularity of the Internet in recent years, web-based materials find their way as a new component in teaching and learning in higher education. Although the usage of information technology and in particular the Internet can be considered as a significant boost in distance education, replacement of traditional materials and classroom education with their electronic counterparts is something that requires more consideration. The reason is that the availability of the new technology, if it is not carefully adopted in teaching and learning process, could lead misunderstanding and misusage of the technology by both students and teachers and exhibit destructive effects instead of natural constructive and improvement role.
In this paper, a review on the usage of the information technology and in particular the Internet in modern university education is provided and the results of a case study on usage of electronic materials in an engineering subject taught at the University of Sydney are discussed and analyzed. As a result of the discussion, a proposal on a more efficient way in usage of the Internet in classroom-based teaching and learning is provided. The proposed method will be analyzed and expected advantages of the method will be discussed.
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"What do I have to know to work this thing?" Information technology cannot be taken for granted - learning for life
Ingrid Kennedy, Central Queensland University
General stream Beyond the class room
In higher education in Australia today, the general perception is that IT is a self-taught skill. Many mature aged learners who intend to participate in tertiary studies find IT daunting as they are unsure of what is expected of them to manage the process of computing. As many of them have not used a computer in the formal sense, they have a fear of the machinery, consider the skills to operate it out of their reach and far too new for them. Many of their children are skilled in the use of computers; and their parents and grandparents (our students) have not had or have missed the opportunity to gain these valuable skills because of access issues in the past. These learners have the perception that these skills are difficult and complex to learn because they see the activity that is unfamiliar and perceive that to achieve this requires a very different kind of knowledge that is beyond their scope and only relevant to the new age in which youngsters dwell. This creates a barrier between them and the computer, and the confidence to learn a new skill is hindered by this fear.
Access to the computer itself is often restricted by lack of ownership (unaffordablilty and/or lack of cash flow). Many of the students have not been employed in a situation where access to a computer was possible allowing the perception to develop that it required exceptional ability to operate.
Adult learners have often been out of the learning environment for extended periods of time. They have different concepts as to what constitutes learning, and any technology (computers, calculators and the like) seemingly take over or interfere with the learning process rather than compliment it. Enabling these learners shows them that the use of technology in the 'taken for grantedness' of IT and universities. Generic skills are not taken for granted, and the lessons begin with outlining the very basics with the utmost patience - underlying confidence building.
Lessons learnt in CQU are that unless this process takes place, the student will waste valuable time writing assignments, and be frustrated when things don't work because they don't know how to perform simple tasks and because they don't know how to fix them!
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Is the tail wagging the dog? Evaluating the alignment of assessment tasks with learning goals and approaches
Lisa Lobry de Bruyn,
University of New England
Science based stream Assessing students' work
The focus of this paper is on assessment tasks their - alignment with learning goals, appropriate design and implementation. In the process of completing this evaluation I hope to review assessment tasks in a 3rd year unit of Natural Resources and Urban Regional Planning Degrees and comment on the nature of assessment tasks and their:
- alignment with learning goals - do they assess life skills? Do they demonstrate student understanding of relevant and current ways of knowing in discipline area?
- typology (both current or proposed) - do they comply with the criteria of educational relevance?
- sequencing through the semester and workload expectations - are they consistent with student, academic and university expectations? For instance was feedback timely and constructive? Was the lecturer able to allocate sufficient time (1.5 hrs per student) to marking without having detrimental effects on teaching efficiency and workload such as marking for 160 hrs for 60 students (2.67 hr per student).
The author presents her experiences in attempting to deal with the above issues, and her strategies for achieving transparent, effective and equitable assessment of students' learning that compliments their learning goals and expectations.
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Attributions of Previous Music Experience on Success or Failure of Teaching Music in Primary Schools
Michelle Lovett,
University of Southern Queensland
General Stream Inside the class room
Arts Education reports from three decades ago raised issues of classroom teachers feeling inadequate teaching music in the classroom . The identified reasoning for the inadequacies included insufficient teacher training and lack of inservice workshops. Reports presented in the 1990's (Russell-Bowe, 1993; Temmerman, 1993, 1997; Gifford 1993; Richards and Killen, 1993) reveals the issues faced 20 years earlier remained unresolved. Again, the recognised inadequacy was partly attributed to pre-service teacher training. University tutors and lecturers constantly encounter students with low music self-esteem and self-concept, poor motivation and general reluctance to participate and engage in the activities. Anecdotal evidence supports that a majority of the students experiencing discomfort in music classes had unfavourable music experiences as students themselves in their schooling, thus perpetuating the cycle of teachers lacking music teaching confidence in the classroom. Teacher trainers must establish a program and delivery that identify and cater for the needs of the students with differing backgrounds and experiences, while acknowledging the variety of attitudes and opinions about their own abilities. Simultaneously, the programs must be sufficiently generic to accomplish the broad goals over a limited period of time, yet break the cycle of music as a 'specialist activity' and provide positive, obtainable objectives for the students. The proposed study disseminates results of surveys of pre-service teachers and offers suggestions for implementation in a University structure.
Why we are failing to prepare scientists and engineers for the 21st century
Ian Lowe, Griffith University
Keynote speaker
Much university education in technical areas is fundamentally inadequate in two ways. It is still based on the out-dated model of transmission of a fixed body of knowledge, and so doesn't prepare graduates for the real world of rapid change. It is also overwhelmingly a narrow technical education, and thus deficient in equipping graduates for the complex world in which they need to cope with issues of sustainability, social impacts, cultural differences and political questions. Fundamental changes are needed to discharge our responsibility to those we are educating.
Curricula and Literacy....The Struggles
Sue McIntosh,
Central Queensland University
General stream Applying learning in context
The delivery of curricula can appear to be in a state of tension where the social construct of it (Joshua, 1997) and the underlying cultural, social and political ideologies of the discipline it seeks to impart can seem at times, to be in direct contrast to the changing patterns of society at large. While curriculum documents are necessary guidelines about what is to be taught, what is vital is that the interpretation of these documents reflects the needs of those who are to be educated.
Often narrow definitions of what it means to be literate underpin the delivery of curricula and some deliverers of programs perceive literate people to be those who are knowledgeable in the discipline. They value having control over the content and the learning environment. This has been criticised by those who hold a more constructivist understanding of critical literacy.
In order to address the tension between curricula and literacy issues, a wider view of literacy as defined by constructivist and transformative theories needs to underpin the methods and techniques of delivering curriculum. Furthermore, there needs to be a paradigm shift where those who deliver units of study see themselves as facilitators of language, literacy and learning rather than primarily as disseminators of pre-determined knowledge. Literacy in its broadest sense would therefore drive the curriculum with facilitators at the helm to assist students to become confident in the way they handle and record this information. In this way students would be encouraged to become competent accessors, users and creators of the world's information (Goodman, 1985) within the context of the discipline they serve to perpetuate.
Problem Based Learning experiences with Genetics and Society
Lynette McLean,
University of New England
Science based stream Applying learning in context.
Problem-based learning (PBL) has been used as a teaching strategy for several years in such fields as medicine, engineering and architecture. At UNE this has been implemented in a science-oriented unit Genetics and Society presented to students majoring in Psychology or Sociology with a minor in Human BioScience. The author has used this approach to present a holistic view of genetics and its impact on individuals and society. It revolves around case studies that encourage the students to work in teams to investigate a series of situations. These cover various genetic concepts integrated with other biological, psychological and sociological aspects related to the situation. The use of PBL with internal and distance education (external) students will be discussed. The change of the mode of presentation of the knowledge aspects of the unit required changes to the entire unit package including movement away from the traditional assessment portfolio. This has led to students taking away from their studies a broader understanding of genetics and the recognition of a growing list of life-long learning skills.
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Fostering active learning in science by teaching problem solving strategies
Catherine McLoughlin,
University of New England
Rowan Hollingworth,
University of New England
Science based stream
Most tertiary teachers would agree with Gagne's (1980) statement that the central point of education is to teach people to think to use their relational powers and to become better problem solvers. To achieve higher order thinking outcomes, curricula in science must be organised so that learners gain exposure to different problem types and are given opportunities to encounter and analyse problems, generate solutions and test and refine solutions. If students are asked only to rote learn facts, figures and formulae it is unlikely that their learning will encompass more than recall of facts, rote learning and memorisation. We argue that teachers of science must utilise ill-structured, real world problems as a basis for improving learning, and that effective pedagogy in science includes the provision of support for learning problem solving processes. In this paper we discuss the difficulties students may have with different kinds of problems and suggest teaching and support strategies that can enable staff to prepare students to solve authentic problems. In addition, a summary of findings from recent research on characteristics of competent problem solvers will provide evidence that many of the skills demonstrated are both teachable and learnable- leading to the recommendation that effective learning in science centres around developing students' problem solving capacities.
Enhancement of student learning through better assessment practices for second year biology students
Noel Meyers,
Queensland University of Technology
Sally Clarke,
Queensland University of Technology
Science based stream Assessing students' work
Since the work of Marton and Salj‡ in the mid 1970s, there has been considerable focus on student approaches to learning (for example, Biggs, 1987 & 1999; Boud, 1989, Ramsden, 1992; and McMahon (1999). Students adopting a deep approach to learning characteristically exhibit an explicit intent to develop their own understanding of material, rather than an understanding imposed by an external authority. Therefore, to succeed at getting students to develop their own understanding we provided the opportunities for second-year biology students to take responsibility for the processes and quality of their learning through a mix of formative and summative assessment practices including:
Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) in a First Year Biology Teaching Curriculum - How It Is Done
Valda Miller,
The University of Queensland
Gwen Gregg;
Barbara Kelly,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream
There has been continued positive response to the student centred, active and collaborative learning of the PASS program, now successfully incorporated into the majority of 1st year Biology subjects at the University of Queensland. A five year accumulation of feedback from students and PASS Leaders in the form of personal communications, written reports and focus group questionnaires has allowed us to improve the presentation of the program so that it best addresses the needs of the students. Methods successful in getting the best results for understanding, leading to retention, recall and ability to apply the more complex parts of the lecture content, are used extensively by Leaders during PASS sessions. During this report, some of these techniques will be actively demonstrated to you, followed by a discussion on the reasons for their efficacy. The continued popularity of the PASS program is indicated not only in continued high student attendances but also in evidence based on the first year students' academic results.
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Moving From Mission To Action: How A Small Project Team Responded To The Challenge Of Moving A Traditional Degree Program Into A Web Enhanced Curriculum
Marion Mitchell,
Griffith University
Gail Dacey;
Margaret McAllister,
Griffith University
General Stream Beyond the classroom
This paper illustrates and describes our experience of how a small project team set about implementing a vision for a web enhanced nursing degree program. We had the opportunity to translate what was a traditional nursing curriculum into one which was web enhanced. This meant we could construct a mission with strategies which would support individual subject development within the context of a coherent curriculum. Our mission was to: enhance the craft of teaching and learning so that multiple ways of knowing were stimulated; assist teachers and students to establish a learning environment which was engaging, inspiring, and motivating; augment the ways students learn by using technologies; increase accessibility for those who could be disadvantaged or have special needs; and facilitate connection between students, faculty and global resources. Our intention in this paper is to share our insights of how principles were transformed into practical, imaginative, and effective teaching and learning web-enhanced strategies.
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Problem-based learning: Combining Enthusiasm and Excellence
Gabriel Moëns,
The University of Queensland
Featured speaker
There is already a voluminous literature on problem-based learning (PBL). In this paper, I propose to discuss how PBL, as a teaching method, facilitates the pursuit of enthusiasm and excellence among university students, especially law students. In particular, I will discuss three issues. First, what is problem-based learning? Second, how is PBL applied in academia? Third, how could PBL be applied to the study of law in order to promote enthusiasm and excellence in legal education?
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The development of work based projects for 2nd year Occupational Therapy students: A winning outcome for students, the university and clinicians
Monica Moran,
The University of Queensland
Libby Gibson, Kryss McKenna, Desleigh de Jonge,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Beyond the classroom / Applying learning in context
Occupational Therapy clinicians may not have sufficient time to develop patient resources. Equally problematic for Occupational Therapy educators is sourcing appropriate real life, self directed learning opportunities for students at an early stage in their professional development. A cooperative approach between OT educators at The University of Queensland and Brisbane based clinicians was developed to address these issues. As part of a 2nd year OT subject, Human Performance within biomechanical and systemic frameworks, clinicians were asked to submit ideas for the development of patient related resources that could be shaped into small group projects to be independently completed by 2nd year students over the course of one semester. During class time, students were provided with information on writing, developing and evaluating patient resource material. Small groups of students were allocated projects to complete and were able to meet regularly with a university tutor. At the end of the semester student groups were evaluated by the tutor and the clinician. A total of 23 projects were completed. Feedback from clinicians was overwhelmingly positive, with most wanting to be involved to a greater extent next year. Students reported high levels of satisfaction with this style of learning.
The poster/paper describes the process involved in developing this activity, the resources developed by the students, the evaluation process and some of the comments from clinicians. It goes on to examine some of the limitations with this style of learning activity and how the activity can be further refined to overcome some of these limitations.
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Towards active learning: replacing content-driven lectures using a constructivist approach
Paula Myatt,
The University of Queensland
Michelle Dale,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Beyond the classroom
Many lectures in biological science represent a primarily transmissive environment. Lecture environments offer unidirectional discourse and student learning is dependent almost entirely on the student's ability to absorb the knowledge that is transmitted.
In an effort to enhance student learning, and maximise teacher-student interactions, a flexible learning approach was trialed.
The new learning environment involved two lectures previously given as traditional lectures. These were transformed using print material for student-directed learning (Learning Guide), with exercises designed to encourage student interaction with the content. The scheduled lecture timeslot was used to engage the students in learning activities, constructively aligned with the learning aims.
Student and teacher responses to this flexible learning approach were qualitatively evaluated and the results will be discussed.
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Designing a multidisciplinary preclinical subject on the ecology of disease using alignment models
Peter O'Donoghue,
The University of Queensland
Science-based stream Learning in context
An action learning project was conducted to design a new level 3 undergraduate subject on the ecology of disease for students in biological and biomedical sciences. It was envisioned by stakeholders as a holistic interdisciplinary subject consolidating preclinical concepts and incorporating analytical tools. Goals and objectives were identified through needs assessments, core content through concept mapping, resource issues through components analyses, desirable graduate attributes through outcomes analyses, and best teaching and learning practices through procedural analyses. A constructive alignment model was then used to link curriculum objectives with relevant instruction activities and assessment criteria addressing skills, attitudes, concepts and knowledge. Teacher and student expectations were reconciled through class questionnaires, personal interviews and focus groups to maintain unity of vision in the multidisciplinary environment.
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Don't drink the water and don't eat the food: Master of Public Health students prepare to undertake group fieldwork projects overseas
Jane Paterson,
The University of Queensland
Ken Rouse; Joan Bryan,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Applying learning in context
Since the Master of Community Nutrition (MCN) began in 1979, around 300 students from 20 countries have graduated. The Master of Tropical Health (MTH) Course began in 1987, and around 200 students from 35 countries have graduated. The MCN and MTH courses are now closely integrated and known as the Master of Public Health (MPH) (Community Nutrition or Tropical Health). The masters program consists of two semesters of coursework in Brisbane and one semester of fieldwork overseas where the knowledge and skills learned in Australia are applied in context. The culminating experience of group fieldwork undertaken overseas is a unique feature of this MPH program.
'Fieldwork Preparation' involves preparing groups of students from a variety of nationalities for a research project in a county other than their own. Issues such as project design, research methodology, sampling, ethics, and risk assessment, as well as group dynamics and the challenge of working in another culture and language are considered. Assessable outcomes include an individual literature review and a group seminar presentation of the research proposal.
This paper outlines some of the lessons learned from the fieldwork preparation process for a diverse group of students. The reality of preparation within the classroom for the research experience beyond the classroom and beyond Australian shores is examined.
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Nutrition courses offered beyond the classroom for the first time: Lessons learned and future plans
Jane Paterson,
The University of Queensland
Margaret Lund-Adams; Terry Coyne; Geoff Mark; Lisa Schubert; Trish Andrews,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Beyond the classroom
In 2000, the Nutrition Program at The University of Queensland offered three postgraduate nutrition courses in a flexible learning environment, for the first time. A team approach to the design, development and delivery of these courses has facilitated a successful transition from the traditional on-campus face-to-face teaching environment to one where students learn at their own pace beyond the classroom.
This paper outlines the approach taken in designing, developing, delivering and evaluating these three courses. It briefly describes the strategies used to evaluate the new courses and reflects on the effectiveness of the approaches taken. These reflections are based on the perspectives of the course facilitators and of the students who come from both developed and developing countries.
Lessons learned are being incorporated into ongoing work. The Nutrition Program is presently developing a fourth course to be offered in 2001. This will enable off-campus students to complete all the requirements for a Certificate of Public Health (Community Nutrition), a new alternative for obtaining postgraduate nutrition qualifications beyond the classroom.
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Graduate attributes: using competency profiling as a leadership strategy
Cec Pedersen,
University of Southern Queensland
General stream Beyond the classroom
Although expectations of what constitutes competent and capable graduates were reported in a number of significant reports in Australia throughout the 1990's, eg. Mayer, Finn and Karpin, there had not been any significant attempts to incorporate graduate attributes into University educational leadership. This paper discusses educational leadership theory that relates to graduate attributes in an Australian University and proposes a graduate attribute framework to audit subject content, teaching processes and assessments.
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Specific Assessment to enhance and measure specific skills
Cheryl Power,
Melbourne University
Science based stream Assessing students' work
Research has consistently shown that assessment is a main driving force in student learning with profound effects on the approach which students take to learning and the skills which they learn. In a second semester laboratory based Microbiology course for second year science students, the method of assessment was designed at the same time as the course objectives were written and the course content decided upon. The main objectives of the course were to develop in students the ability to analyse experimental results in a systematic fashion, to communicate experimental results both orally and in writing and to appreciate the value of good experimental planning and design.
These are skills frequently required and valued not only by employers but also honours and postgraduate supervisors.
Exam questions can be devised to test for these skills. The process involves selecting and editing material in published papers and writing questions which require students to comment on the procedures used, calculate and interpret the results, summarise the significant findings and relate them to other areas of study.
Copies of exam questions, and answers, written from papers will be provided. Students' results over a five year period will be examined on this and other sections of the final examination in the subject described.
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Refining the Rural Rotation
John Price,
The University of Queensland
Leone Hinton; John Birks,
Central Queensland University
Science based stream Inside the classroom / Applying learning in context / Assessing students' work
The University of Queensland commenced sending Graduate Medical Course (GMC) students to various centres in Central and Southern Queensland on an 8 week rural core clinical rotation in their 3rd year in 1999. The rotation included an orientation week at the commencement of the rotation and a debriefing week at the end of the rotation.
The orientation week aimed to provide students with an introduction to health service structures in Central Queensland, introduce concepts and practices peculiar to rural medicine, teach a number of procedural skills to enhance students' participation in the term and provide direct learning about indigenous cultural and health issues.
The debriefing week aimed to provide an opportunity for group processing of diverse experiences in order to enlarge the experience of the whole, improve students' clinical communication skills, especially those required for semi-formal case presentations, and provide a picture of the array of population health challenges presented to rural practitioners to emerge from students aggregated project work.
The current design of both the orientation and debriefing week programs will be given, together with examples of student work, and changes made through evaluation.
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Motivating Towards Motivation In Science-Learning
Chris Purcell,
Griffith University
Science based stream Inside the class room
When students enter a degree program containing science-based subjects their reasons for entry as well as their goals can be varied. It could be argued that student progression may be influenced by motivation to learn the content of science subjects they are studying. This paper will describe techniques employed which endeavour to teach science from the motivational perspective. Lecturer-driven student motivation has been utilised in an attempt to facilitate positive learning outcomes not only within the time-frame of the subject but also as a potential stimulus in driving lifelong learning. Specific strategies will be discussed along with student feedback.
A Faculty mentor program for first year science students
Frances Quinn,
University of New England
Ann Hollingworth; Robyn Muldoon,
University of New England
Science based stream Beyond the Classroom
This paper describes a one-semester Faculty mentoring program carried out in the Faculty of The Sciences. The aim of the program was to identify first-year science students at risk of failing, and to provide an avenue of help to them with the overall intention of boosting retention rates. The mentor was on the teaching staff of first year biology and was available for one day per week to assist first year science students. As part of the program a student questionnaire was administered to the first year biology students, to try to ascertain barriers to academic performance. This paper will discuss the program's activities, the findings from the questionnaire, and both the successful and unsuccessful aspects of the program, which is being reinstituted in 2001.
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Learning-in-Context (Lessons from the Undergraduate Site Learning Program)
David Radcliffe,
The University of Queensland - organiser
Science based stream Beyond the classroom - Commissioned session
Nature of SessionIssues
- Forum / workshop with a panel to introduce themes and facilitate discussion
- Series of short (5 min) papers by various speakers to provoke discussion (Papers to be based on the Undergraduate Site Learning Program)
- Small group discussion followed by sharing after each paper
- Critical summary of issues
- Graduate Attributes - developing life long learning skills
- Self-managed Learners - students as partners in learning
- Letting go of Lecturing - becoming a coach; students as adult learners
- Knowledge management - the library as an academic partner
- Flexibility - managing time and resources to facilitate learning
- Keeping in touch - maintaining effective and efficient communication
- Partnering with industry - win-win-win strategies
Background
The Undergraduate Site Learning Program This session will use the Undergraduate Site Learning Program (USLP) to trigger discussion. The USLP develops senior engineering students as self-managed learners, through a unique integration of work-based learning with a traditional university curriculum. It forms a key part of an innovative Strategic Learning Partnership between the University of Queensland and Thiess Pty Ltd.
The program is available for 3rd or 4th year engineering students. The initial cohort in semester 1, 2000 were 4th year mining engineering students. The students spend 12 weeks working in two mine sites in Central Queensland operated by Thiess, where they perform daily tasks as members of the mine staff. Their time on-site coincides with the bulk of the semester time at the university. The on-site students return to campus for the final four weeks of semester. During their time on-site, they are enrolled in the same subjects as their peers on-campus. Prior to going on-site, the students undergo a one week induction program conducted by university and company staff and an external training organization. Students apply to be on the program and are selected on the basis of a procedure including interviews involving university and industry representatives. Thus far 12 students (8 males and 4 females) have participated in the scheme. Perhaps the most significant evidence on the effectiveness of the program is the ongoing commitment to the program by Thiess to expand the program, the addition of other companies wishing to become part of the program, and the enthusiastic commitment of the students. We plan to make the program more widely available, within engineering and in other parts of the university.
Teaching Social Science in an Integrated Medical Curriculum
Paul Reser,
James Cook University
Science based stream Inside the class room
2000 saw the first intake into Australia's newest School of Medicine located at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland. The only medical program located in Tropical Australia, the JCU medical course is a six-year undergraduate medical degree. The program takes a community-oriented approach to medical education, emphasising learning in North Queensland's health and community service system. The philosophy of the approach is also one that seeks to integrate the degree horizontally and vertically building from basic sciences in the early years of the program to clinical application as the degree progresses. Along with the basic sciences (including biology, chemistry and genetics) the social sciences form an important section of the first year program. In first semester of first year, the subject 'Health in Practice' provides an examination of medicine and health care in the context of human societies, and seeks to introduce students to the role of the medical profession in contributing to advancement of the health and wellbeing of communities. This paper will look at how the subject is structurally integrated into the medical program through both content and assessment practices. How this is achieved within a student-centred approach to educational processes is discussed, and a critical analysis of the goals of an integrated curriculum versus the learning goals in a subject area is undertaken.
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How can you get students to collaborate when they won't open their mouths? - Workshopping strategies to increase learner interaction
Annie Ross,
The University of Queensland
Allison Brown,
The University of Queensland
General stream Workshop session
In the past decade in Higher Education there has been increasing focus on learners and their learning. There is a growing understanding that passive forms of learning are unlikely to lead to the best outcomes in terms of knowledge building or developing student skills in lifelong learning.
More and more importance is being placed on the need to develop learning situations that engage the students in more active ways, to encourage learners to interact with each other and to actively interrogate their learning resources.
Active learning requires learners to engage with the content in various ways - to break it down, to look for relationships between concepts and ideas, to distinguish crucial elements, to identify lines of argument, to discuss, critique and analyse, to argue a point and to justify an interpretation - in short, to construct their understanding and to really 'come to know'. Learner interaction is crucial to supporting this active learning approach.
This workshop will explore some practical strategies such as concept mapping, pyramiding and pinboarding, which can be use in the classroom to encourage learners to interact more. It will also look at ways the new technologies can be used to provide increased opportunity for learner interaction and to enable interaction between students studying on and off campus.
Mapping curriculum in nutrition undergraduate courses
Lisa Schubert,
The University of Queensland
Trish Andrews,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Applying learning in context
The Nutrition Program (NP) at The University of Queensland commenced teaching an integrated stream of undergraduate courses in 1998 as part of a new Bachelor program in collaboration with the School of Land and Food Sciences. Currently the NP are involved in coordinating or contributing significantly to teaching in a suite of six courses, including four core courses and two elective courses.
The project described in this paper involves work commenced to map curriculum in nutrition courses across the program to include nutrition-related knowledge, key nutrition competencies and generic graduate attributes. The focus of this activity is to achieve an integrated approach to developing all the skills and attributes relevant to the program.
We were interested in investigating:-
- The degree of coverage of nutrition- related knowledge and key nutrition competencies in the program when compared against a composite list of knowledge and competencies compiled by NP academic staff;
- If nutrition knowledge and competencies were being developed in a step-wise approach, and if these areas of knowledge and competencies were being reinforced appropriately;
- If generic graduate attributes were being addressed, and to what extent.
Additionally, course objectives and assessment plans were analysed to determine whether generic graduate attributes were a hidden or explicit part of the learning in these courses.
Marks - Incentive to learn or distraction from learning?
John Shepherd,
Macquarie University
General stream Assessing students' work
Assessment of students' work in higher education often involves the use of numeric marks. In some universities, a numeric grade (in percentage form) is used to summarise a student's overall performance in a course unit.
This paper reports on an approach to assessment (innovative within its context) which aimed to challenge and develop students' conceptions of learning and assessment by combining criterion based assessment with the use of letter grades (to the exclusion of numeric marks) in giving feedback on assessment tasks.
In a core second year mathematics of finance course unit with 210 students, letter grades (based on the scale: A, B, C, CQ, F) were used to provide feedback on assessment tasks. A deliberate decision was taken to avoid the use of numeric marks. This was done to emphasise that learning can be conceived qualitatively rather than quantitatively. A criterion based explanation of grades was given, based loosely on the SOLO taxonomy, emphasising a hierarchy of levels of understanding of the course unit material.
Written feedback was obtained from students towards the end of the semester's teaching, and this feedback is analysed and summarised. While students' responses to the use of letter grades (without numeric marks) ranged from strong approval to disapproval, there is evidence that many students were prompted to reconsider their views of, and approaches to, learning and knowledge.
Other matters touched on by this project include:
- reducing students' anxiety levels by allowing them to bring in to tests and exams their own one-page summaries of material they think will be helpful;
- applying the SOLO taxonomy in an applied mathematical context.
Telling our STORIES of transformation - Bridging the old to the new. What changes are necessary?
Jenny Simpson,
Central Queensland University
General stream Applying learning in context
When students gain access to university through enabling programs they not only learn and update their skills in literacy and numeracy they also transform themselves in other ways of knowing and being. They bridge the old to the new. For students to become lifelong learners for the 21st century they need to prepare for a new worldview. To do this requires a curriculum where transformative learning, embedded in the vehicles of literacy and numeracy, enables learners '... to challenge and change belief systems and behavioural patterns to meet new needs and opportunties and overcome disabilities and disadvantages' (Lepani 1995). This paper uses a model of the stages of Campbell's Hero's Journey to illustrate the transformation that students undergo within an enabling program offered at Central Queensland University. It is a model that has implications and use for the changing higher education sector in teaching and learning, particularly with the national move towards skilling for the future.
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Studio Teaching in Architecture
Peter Skinner,
The University of Queensland
General Stream Applying Learning in Context
The architectural studio teaching process has been recognised as a useful model for the creative and self-critical learning necessary to develop reflective professional practice. This paper presents the studio teaching model through the example of a specific fourth year Architectural Design program.
Educational goals and the specific requirements of the design brief for the project are seen as inextricably interrelated in a good design program. It is argued that the development of an appropriate project vehicle to stimulate enquiry, impart knowledge, teach skills and develop critical values is the key to successful studio teaching. In any educational process which aims to fit students for professional practice a layered, multivalent problem type with familiar and accessible foothills, challenging mid-slopes and distant if near-unattainable peaks is essential.
The challenge of maintaining student confidence and enthusiasm in a process with progressively advancing measures of achievement, however, is difficult. The paper looks at some of the teaching techniques needed to maintain a trusting learning environment- including site visits, building studies, lectures, drawing board tutorials, critiques and folio feedback. The studio teaching model is inherently reliant on subjective judgement and requires transparent methods to maintain accountability within the assessment process.
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Modal Preference in a Teaching Strategy
Rod St Hill,
University of Southern Queensland
General stream Inside the class room
Modal preference is one dimension of learning style that appears to have some precedence over others. This paper reports on the development of an approach to teaching a second-year economics subject, offered to both internal and external students. The strategy is built explicitly upon the foundation of modal preference. It explains the approach to modal preference developed by Neil Fleming (visual, aural, read/write and kinaesthetic) and summarises data from student surveys. The data indicate that around 40 percent of students have a preference for one mode and that the other 60 percent are bimodal or multimodal. The paper also uses comments from student surveys that illustrate how students often 'naturally' apply their modal preference in their learning. The teaching strategy is outlined and student surveys and assessment results are used to provide some evidence that the strategy has improved both student learning experiences and assessment outcomes. Finally, the paper points to some possible future developments.
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Learning context and students' perceptions of context influence student learning approaches and outcomes in Animal Science 2
Roseanne Taylor,
Sydney University
Michelle Hyde,
Sydney University
Science based stream Applying learning in context / Assessing students' work
Learning context and students' perceptions of context play key roles in determining students' learning. As well as these determinants, when students are introduced to new subjects, their previous experiences and current understanding, influence whether they adopt a deep or surface learning approach. The current study evaluated the influence of specific learning and assessment tasks on student perceptions of context and learning styles, in a compulsory animal science-based second year subject. On entry to the course students nominated field-based practical classes as the type of learning experiences they found most helpful. Examinations were rated the least helpful. Approachable and responsive teaching staff were considered important for improving learning. Three assignment tasks were set to develop independent research skills and to foster the application of physiological principles to animal management problems. Students' approaches to learning were investigated using a standard survey while the quality of student learning was measured by their ability to apply core principles to novel situations. These factors were correlated with summative assessment data. After the course 80% of students nominated assignments as the most useful learning tasks. These students liked assignments because of their: feedback value (93%), encouragement of deeper learning (85%) and encouragement of independence in learning (85%).
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Rampant Referencing: Is there no control?
Greta Thompson,
Central Queensland University
General stream Applying learning in context / Assessing students' work / Other
The efficient use of referencing should be vital in any type of academic writing. Lecturers, tutors, markers and students should be proficient in the structures and use of their preferred referencing system.
At one regional university, there is no standardisation of referencing, which leads to many problems, particularly for students. Different referencing systems are used not only by individual faculties but also by schools within those faculties and some academics even have their own personal preferences. A standard system, such as Harvard is often changed in some details to suit the whim of a particular academic.
To assist the students in a bridging course (STEPS) at our university, a referencing booklet has been developed by STEPS lecturers using the AGPS Style Guide as the major point of reference. This booklet is continually updated to include new developments, such as technology, and additions have been included to meet the particular needs of students. Two of the faculties at the university were so impressed by this booklet that they have "adopted" it as a recommended work for their students and it is now available in the university bookshop.
In my opinion a standardised system would be of great value within the teaching structures of universities as many hybrid versions deflect the learning outcomes of students. Confusion, annoyance, frustration and stress are all results of a lack of standardisation.
Although students should have exposure to a range of referencing styles, it would be advantageous to know one system well before branching out into other unfamiliar styles.
Should there be control or should we continue to leave our students to flounder in a mass of contradictory expectations?
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Building Behavioural Studies: An outcomes-driven degree for result-minded students
Sylvie C. Tourigny; Melissa Bull; Peter Kelly; Lesley Jolly; Peter Newcombe;
Amanda Cahill,
The University of Queensland
General stream
This paper analyses some of the processes structuring the development of the Bachelor of Behavioural Studies program at the University of Queensland (Ipswich) ["UQ(I)"]. This development is occurring in a new space characterised as combining 'new cutting-edge courses and state of the art technology'. At UQ(I) it is claimed that 'innovative courses' are 'being offered that will produce a new group of graduates to tackle emerging global industries'. Moreover, course development at Ipswich is supported by a Learning Resources Development Unit (LRDU) that conceives 'flexible learning' as being different to 'flexible delivery', and as 'enhancing the learning experience of students and improving student learning'.
But how do these claims manifest themselves in the real work of curriculum and pedagogy development in a brand new degree? In this paper we argue that preparing students for the new millennium requires rethinking curriculum and pedagogy from the bottom up, developing positions that are more 'flexible' than traditional degree programs. For example, Information Technology know-how is essential on the campus, and as tools for 'new professionals.' This skills acquisition, however, is only one within a range of tools we impart, and that include a range of significantly social skills of the kind Behavioural Studies graduates should properly claim as their expertise.
This flexibility may focus on the 'flexible society', but that focus remains integrated within a critical perspective on pedagogy, professionalism, and the development of critically flexible professionals. Our curriculum and pedagogy development occurs with critical eye towards the social, cultural, economic, political processes that shape the so-called 'flexible society'. Thus, claims that we are producing 'professionals for the workplace', mean that our intent is to prepare 'agents of change' rather than mere technocrats.
We are seeking to adhere to an approach to pedagogy that is innovative in its incorporation of various component disciplines. Our purpose is to rethink traditional disciplinary boundaries in ways that are underwritten by a concern to enhance student centred outcomes. In developing a new degree for students who are conceived as 'agents of change' we aim to incorporate in curriculum and pedagogy processes and practices that stimulate both a heightened awareness of critical skills, and a sensitivity to their application in a wide range of workplaces. We will illustrate this development process through a discussion of several dimensions of the strategy. The first is our matrix design, which serves as an organising framework that quite deliberately incorporates and monitors coherence. The second is the range of teaching strategies, including individual and self-learning pedagogies, problem-based learning, and case studies, as well as critical pedagogy.
We conclude by arguing the importance of vertical and horizontal Coherence as features of innovative curriculum design for flexible delivery.
Teaching calculations in Chemistry: is it possible?
Deidre Tronson,
University of Western Sydney
Science based stream
I will present a 'mock' lecture or tutorial in which audience will 'pretend' to be a class of first-year Chemistry students. I will demonstrate three different methods of 'teaching how to do' the calculations involved in solving a simple titration problem. At least one of these will demonstrate a method traditionally used in science teaching and at least one will attempt to engage the students in a self-learning approach.
I will ask the audience, in their capacity of honorary Chemistry students, to comment on the effectiveness or otherwise of each method. I will also ask the audience, in their capacity as professionals, to suggest other methods of 'teaching' calculations.
To summarise, I will offer my observations about why some approaches seem to be more successful than others. I will discuss the question "How much can we 'teach' calculations and how much do we leave the students to 'learn' in their own way?"
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Supplements to classroom teaching of genetics in veterinary science
Claire Wade,
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Beyond the classroom
To successfully inspire students to a lifelong interest in genetics seems possible only if the students approach the task with deep learning strategies. The question is raised then, of how to encourage the students to make the effort to engage meaningfully with the material? It would seem that an element of motivation must be provided if the students do not initially intend to engage with the material in other than a superficial way. During 1997 several adaptations were made to the course "Veterinary Genetics" taught to third year Veterinary undergraduates at The University of Queensland. While many of the changes were shown to be impractical, student engagement consistent with deep learning was demonstrated in newly introduced section of the course, the "Special Topic". Subsequent years have shown that the topic is an effective means of enabling students to pursue their personal interests in genetics and demonstrate their ability for research and analytical thinking.
Fundamental Skills in Physics: Embedded Learning
Margaret Wegener,
The University of Queensland
Science-based stream Applying learning in context
Student attitudes towards a subject affect their learning. For students in physics service courses, relevance is emphasised by vocational applications. A similar strategy is being used for students who aspire to continued study of physics, in an introduction to fundamental skills in experimental physics - the concepts, computational tools and practical skills involved in appropriately obtaining and interpreting measurement data.
A learning module is being developed that aims to motivate students by embedding these in the practicing physicist's activity of doing an experiment (gravity estimation using a rolling pendulum). The group concentrates on particular skills prompted by challenges such as:
- How can we get an answer to our question?
- How good is our answer?
- How can it be improved?
This explicitly provides students the opportunity to consider and construct their own ideas. It gives them time to discuss, digest and practise skills without undue stress, and therefore assists them to internalise core skills.
Design of the learning activity is approached in an iterative manner, from considerations of specific experiment characteristics, design criteria relating to theoretical predictions and knowledge of limitations, and implementation feasibility, to surveying opinions of a range of teaching staff, and demonstrating effectiveness in trials.
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Assessment in an On-Line Environment: Whither the Examination Hall?
Jeremy Williams,
Queensland University of Technology
General stream Assessing students' work
In response to the increasing demand for flexible delivery of university education, devices for on-line teaching and learning have become increasingly sophisticated. However, when it comes to the assessment of student learning, the final examination is still regarded by many as the most reliable barometer of a student's ability, not because of its inherent qualities as a summative assessment instrument, but because it is invigilated and students cannot cheat. In short, while great strides have been made in the area of flexible delivery overall, assessment practices remain quite rigid. This paper argues that appropriately designed and implemented on-line examinations can address this problem and that, in so doing, the university examination hall will become a thing of the past.
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An exploration of apathy and enthusiasm in task-focused groups: implications for task design and supervisor intervention
Alison Winkworth,
The University of Queensland
Diana Maloney,
Sydney University
General stream Beyond the classroom
Students in a professional development subject in the health sciences at The University of Sydney signed up for and worked in leaderless groups, to present seminars later in the semester. A purpose-developed Group Experience Questionnaire was completed by each student, with questions relating to perceptions of enjoyment, ease of task completion, and interpersonal negotiation with group members.
In this presentation, the most 'positive' group is compared with the group reporting the most negative perceptions. For the positive group, logistical obstacles such as trying to find appropriate meeting times and search for resources were not insurmountable. The group members enjoyed working together and experienced the seminar task as a creative challenge they relished. On the other hand, the negative group appeared to be overwhelmed by logistical factors, leading to more negative perceptions of the group task. In both cases, 'feed-forward' mechanisms seemed to be operating, as negative experiences snowballed for one group and positive experiences for the other created greater motivation to achieve. These and other results will be discussed in terms of implications for designing tasks for leaderless groups. Literature on groups suggests that judicious design and timely supervisor intervention may help offset negative experiences in task-focused group interaction.
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Improving on innovation: The evolution of a 1st year subject in speech pathology
Gail Woodyatt,
The University of Queensland
Bronwyn Davidson; Trish Andrews;
The University of Queensland
Science based stream Applying Learning in Context
A first year course in the Speech Pathology program has been in place since 1989. It was innovative then, taking a constructivist approach to teaching and learning with the students active participants in the learning process. It continues to be innovative due to a constant evaluation and revision process. The course has evolved through being responsive to student feedback, teacher evaluation, and changes within the university and the profession. Communication across the Lifespan is an experiential course, providing students with multiple opportunities to link theory with practice. Firstly, students link theories of normal communication development with their regular visits to a preschool child; and secondly, they link theories of aging with their visits to an older person in the community.
To further strengthen learning in context, students access the literature, give oral presentations, write reports, and participate in facilitated class seminars. Thus, the students fulfil the course objectives in that the students develop skills in observation, transcription, and reporting. The paper will outline the course, its ongoing manifestations, as well as discuss learning outcomes for a first year course in a four year professional program.
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