Team Teaching For Biology - Craig Franklin

This case study discusses a first year biology course that has been running at the University of Queensland since 1999. Since this time Craig Franklin has played a leading role in the development and design of the course, developing an enthusiastic team-approach to course coordination. This case study outlines his innovative approach to the management of full-time and sessional teaching staff and describes how a significant part of the course assessment is built into the teaching and learning process. His use of innovative teaching methods and resources is also outlined.

UPDATE: 2004. The second PDF is part of the 1st year Biological Teaching team's submission for the Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) for the institutional category of Large Class Teaching in 1st year. The team was named as a finalist in 2003.

Flexible Assessment In A Business Course - John Asafu-Adjaye

This case study is most interesting for its use of flexible assessment, incorporating web-based activities. The complexity of the course content and the diversity of the student body mean that failure rates in the course were once quite high. However, with the introduction of flexible assessment, the failure rate has decreased. A brief overview of the course's organisation is followed by a detailed description of the flexible assessment program.

Managing Multiple Assessment Methods With 1000+ Chemistry Students - Lawrie Gahan

This case study describes a very large course at the University of Queensland where a variety of assessment techniques are used. The assessment is spread over the semester and requires students to build on their practical and theoretical knowledge. The course builds assessment into the teaching and learning process by allowing students to work collaboratively (on Computer Managed Tests) and yet is efficient (80% of it is semi-automated) and objective. A brief overview of the course's organisation is followed by a detailed description of the assessment schedule.

Focussing On Learning Processes In Health Science - Craig Engstrom

This case study describes a course at the University of Queensland in which students are required to work interactively through the use of web-based materials such as bulletin boards, quizzes etc. and lab sessions that require students to cooperate in collecting and understanding course-related data. Students in this course have 5 contact hours per week (lectures and labs), and are able to attend around 4 Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) to get help with the statistical component of the course. A brief overview of the course is followed by a description of how the assessment tasks are built into the learning process to encourage higher-level thinking.

Managing A Large Team Of Tutors In First Year Psychology - John McLean

This case study describes a large first year Psychology course at the University of Queensland in which the course coordinator takes an enthusiastic team-teaching approach to lecturing, tutoring and course coordination. The course also employs a Course Administrator who assists in managing both the students and the large team of tutors. A brief overview of John's teaching modes and assessment is followed by a description of his coordination and team teaching practices.

Reflections On Large Class Teaching In The Social Sciences - Rabiul Islam

Dr Rabiul Islam is a Lecturer of Psychology in the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies at Charles Sturt University. Rabiul specialises in large class teaching techniques and the use of online facilities for enhancing the effectiveness of both face to face and distance education teaching. This case study describes his approach to and philosophy regarding large class teaching.

Student-Centred Learning And Critical Thinking In A Large Business Course - Tracey Harrison-Hill

This case study explores the problem of passive learning within large class settings in a large Consumer Behaviour class at Griffith University. According to the author, Dr Tracey Harrison-Hill, the problem of developing a critical thinking ethos and creating an engaging environment for learning has been ongoing. This account provides the background to the problem, discusses the initiatives that were developed and reviews the effectiveness of the initiatives in creating an active learning environment within a large class.

The Use Of Feedback In The Organisation Of A Large Class - Tracey Harrison-Hill

This case describes a very large course, Introduction to Marketing at Griffith University, which traditionally included multiple-choice exams at mid-semester and end-semester and a group report. In previous years, the group project was fraught with problems that often required intensive student consultation, conciliation and arbitration to remedy. Furthermore, the quality of reports was quite poor with, in many cases, evidence indicating that students were working as individuals rather than as a team. As such, the course was restructured to increase flexibility, align assessment with learning goals, build generic skills and create an environment that fostered students becoming involved in their own learning through the use of feedback.

Large Classes Heavy On Content: A Case From Pharmacy - Paul White

This case describes a professional course at Monash University in which the conflict between content and understanding has been a significant issue. To overcome the problem of "getting lots of students to engage with lots of content", Paul describes his use of a variety of teaching approaches, in-class activities and assessment techniques to encourage student interest in a complex subject matter.

Using Posters And Presentations With Large Classes Of Health Students - Janet Brown

In this case study, Jan describes how she teaches second-year nursing students at The University of New England to develop professional knowledge, skills and attributes through a clever teamwork strategy. In this strategy, students explicitly consider the characteristics of successful team members and are required to practise professional communication skills throughout the unit by planning, organising and presenting an end-of-semester conference to which family, friends, key health personnel and clinical supervisory staff are invited. This conference offers the students the opportunity to showcase their work.

Teaching Teams In First Year Biology: Facilitating The Transition From Research Student To Teacher - Joanne Smissen

In this case study, Joanne describes how she and her colleagues at Deakin University have developed a team approach to tutorials and practicals that also provides a clearly defined structure whereby postgraduate research students can progress through levels of increasing responsibility as they accumulate teaching skills and experience. She outlines how the training program is run and how tutors are provided with academic and peer support. She also describes the tangible benefits of the training program for postgraduate students, first-year Biology students and for Deakin University alike.

Coordinators of Large Units: A Staff Development Program - Queensland University of Technology

This document describes the Queensland University of Technology's Coordinators of Large Units (CLUs) program that is jointly run by the Teaching and Learning Support Services (TALSS) and Human Resources. The $20,000 program aims to support CLUs in the teaching, student learning, management and leadership aspects of their role. The CLU program also acknowledges the significant contribution made by sessional teaching staff to the delivery of large units and the concomitant need to provide professional development opportunities for CLU's that enhance their skills in managing large teaching teams from both a pedagogical and administrative perspective. This document describes the activities and outcomes of the program in 2002.

Managing and Resourcing Large Classes: A Resource Paper for University Managers

This resource paper written by Dr Linda Hort from Australian National University discusses issues (and the politics) of managing and resourcing large university classes from the point of view of a university manager: that is, a Head of School, Head of Department or Dean.