Contextualising learning for a real-world university: how an inverted curriculum in the first year can help better student retention

An identified issue within higher education is the high rates of student attrition after the first year, especially in the STEM disciplines. To address this issue, it is essential to reexamine and redesign the first year curriculum to engage and retain the students' interests while also scaffolding their learning experience. This session reports on an initiative based on the principles of the “inverted curriculum” within the Bachelor of Technology (BIT) course at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) that began in 2009 and has resulted in a reduction in first-year attrition rates from 18% in 2008 to 10% in 2009 and 2010 despite a growth in student intake of 15% to 40% in the past two years. We present the process and methods that helped achieve this and initiate a discussion on the innovations that are possible within this concept of inverted curriculum and how it can be implemented.

Building intercultural competence one “Patch” at a time

This paper describes a program called Patches that was implemented to assist a group of Australian and Malaysian pre-service teachers to enhance their intercultural competence through their involvement in a series of reciprocal learning activities. Each learning experience was considered a “patch” that eventually created a “quilt of intercultural learning.” The purpose of this study was to enhance the intercultural competence of domestic and international students through organized intercultural activities, through a series of reflective writing sessions, and mutual engagement on a common project. The effectiveness of the Patches program was analysed in accordance with Deardorff’s elements of intercultural competence. The qualitative findings indicate that both cohorts of preservice teachers showed elements of intercultural competence through participation in the program, with both groups reporting a deeper appreciation and understanding of how to communicate more effectively in intercultural contexts.

Increasing learners’ satisfaction/intention to adopt more e-learning

Purpose: E-learning is an organisationally risky investment given the cost and poor levels of adoption by users. In order to gain a better understanding of this problem, a study was conducted into the use of e-learning in a rail organisation. Design/methodology/approach: Using an online survey, employees of a rail-sector organisation were questioned about their use and likelihood of adoption of e-learning. This study explores the factors that affect the way in which learners experience and perceive such systems. Using statistical analysis, twelve hypotheses are tested and explored. Relationships between learning satisfaction, intention to adopt and the characteristics of e-learning systems were established. Findings: The study found that e-learning characteristics can buffer the relationship between learner characteristics and intention to adopt further e-learning in the future. Further, we found that high levels of support can compensate individuals who are low in technological efficacy to adopt e-learning. Research limitations/implications: The cross-sectional design of the study and its focus on measuring intention to adopt as opposed to actual adoption are both limitations. Future research using longitudinal design and research employing a time lag design measuring actual adoption as well as intention are recommended. Practical implications: From a practical perspective, organizations can focus on the actual content and authenticity of the learning experience delivered by the e-learning system to significantly impact how employees will perceive and use e-learning in the future. Low technological efficacy individuals tend not to adopt new technology. Instead of changing individuals’ personalities, organizations can implement supportive policies and practices which would lead to higher e-learning adoption rate among low efficacy individuals. Originality/value: The study integrates technology adoption and learning literatures in developing enablers for e-learning in organizations. Further, this study collects data from rail employees, and therefore the findings are practical to an industry.

Curriculum design and higher order skills : challenging assumptions

This paper is based on an Australian Learning & Teaching Council (ALTC) funded evaluation in 13 universities across Australia and New Zealand of the use of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) projects in first-year engineering courses. All of the partner institutions have implemented this innovation differently and comparison of these implementations affords us the opportunity to assemble "a body of carefully gathered data that provides evidence of which approaches work for which students in which learning environments". This study used a mixed-methods data collection approach and a realist analysis. Data was collected by program logic analysis with course co-ordinators, observation of classes, focus groups with students, exit survey of students and interviews with staff as well as scrutiny of relevant course and curriculum documents. Course designers and co-ordinators gave us a range of reasons for using the projects, most of which alluded to their presumed capacity to deliver experience in and learning of higher order thinking skills in areas such as sustainability, ethics, teamwork and communication. For some students, however, the nature of the projects decreased their interest in issues such as ethical development, sustainability and how to work in teams. We also found that the projects provoked different responses from students depending on the nature of the courses in which they were embedded (general introduction, design, communication, or problem-solving courses) and their mode of delivery (lecture, workshop or online).

Games for change and transformative learning : an ethnographic case study

This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of how serious games/games for change function as learning frameworks for transformative learning in an educational setting. This study illustrates how the meaning-making processes and learning with and through computer gameplay are highly contingent, and are significantly influenced by the uncertainties of the situational context. The study focuses on SCAPE, a simulation game that addresses urban planning and sustainability. SCAPE is based on the real-world scenario of Kelvin Grove Urban Village, an inner city redevelopment area in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The game is embedded within an educational program, and I thus account for the various gameplay experiences of different school classes participating in this program. The networks emerging from the interactions between students/players, educators, facilitators, the technology, the researcher, as well as the setting, result in unanticipated, controversial, and sometimes unintended gameplay experiences and outcomes. To unpack play, transformative learning and games, this study adopts an ecological approach that considers the magic circle of gameplay in its wider context. Using Actor-Network Theory as the ontological lens for inquiry, the methods for investigation include an extensive literature review, ethnographic participant observation of SCAPE, as well as student and teacher questionnaires, finishing with interviews with the designers and facilitators of SCAPE. Altogether, these methods address my research aim to better understand how the heterogeneous actors engage in the relationships in and around gameplay, and illustrate how their conflicting understandings enable, shape or constrain the (transformative) learning experience. To disentangle these complexities, my focus continuously shifts between the following modes of inquiry into the aims „h To describe and analyse the game as a designed artefact. „h To examine the gameplay experiences of players/students and account for how these experiences are constituted in the relationships of the network. „h To trace the meaning-making processes emerging from the various relations of players/students, facilitators, teachers, designers, technology, researcher, and setting, and consider how the boundaries of the respective ecology are configured and negotiated. „h To draw out the implications for the wider research area of game-based learning by using the simulation game SCAPE as an example for introducing gameplay to educational settings. Accounting in detail for five school classes, these accounts represent, each in its own right, distinct and sometimes controversial forms of engagement in gameplay. The practices and negotiations of all the assembled human and non-human actors highlight the contingent nature of gameplay and learning. In their sum, they offer distinct but by no means exhaustive examples of the various relationships that emerge from the different assemblages of human and non-human actors. This thesis, hence, illustrates that game-based learning in an educational setting is accompanied by considerable unpredictability and uncertainty. As ordinary life spills and leaks into gameplay experiences, group dynamics and the negotiations of technology, I argue that overly deterministic assertions of the game¡¦s intention, as well as a too narrowly defined understanding of the transformative learning outcome, can constrain our inquiries and hinder efforts to further elucidate and understand the evolving uncertainties around game-based learning. Instead, this thesis posits that playing and transformative learning are relational effects of the respective ecology, where all actors are networked in their (partial) enrolment in the process of translation. This study thus attempts to foreground the rich opportunities for exploring how game-based learning is assembled as a network of practices.

Work integrated research higher degree studies : experiences, benefits, barriers and coping strategies

Attributed to the changing social, political and economic landscape of the ‘knowledge economy’, Australian universities are under pressure to produce researchers that have a variety of skills which meet the demands of an increasingly diverse job market. As a consequence, the Australian PhD now includes a range of doctoral degrees. This paper reports on the experiences of two PhD students engaged in an informally managed research higher degree program described in this paper as a Work Integrated Research Higher Degree (WIRHD). Their learning process shares the attributes from both the traditional PhD program and professional doctorates. However, because of the blended nature of the learning contexts, what students need to manage within the WIRHD is much more complicated than the established RHD programs. An exploratory case study approach exploring experiences, benefits, barriers and coping strategies was conducted with the view to develop a preliminary integrative framework that attempts to explain the various contexts that influence the learning experience of WIRHD candidates. The paper concludes with some recommended strategies for helping WIRHD candidates to manage the challenges associated with their learning process.

Good practice for safeguarding student learning engagement in higher education institutions : Final Report 2012

The project 'Good practice for safeguarding student learning engagement in higher education institutions' commenced in late 2010 as a Competitive Grant with funding provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. The project is now overseen by the Office for Learning and Teaching within the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. The project was completed in December 2012. The project was lead by QUT and comprised of the project team: Professor Karen Nelson, (project leader), Ms Tracy Creagh, (project manager) and Adjunct Professor John Clarke. Commencing in late 2010 the project invited a total of eight institutions across Australia and New Zealand (including QUT) who had either: existing programs and activities that monitored student learning engagement (MSLE); were in the early stages of implementing MSLE programs, or; who were piloting MSLE activities. As well, the project involved an advisory group and project evaluator comprising of academic and professional staff across two additional universities.

International students’ experiences of informed learning : a pedagogical case study

This case study explores the theory and practice of informed learning (Bruce, 2008) in a culturally diverse higher education context. It presents research findings about learning and teaching in a postgraduate unit of study entitled Personalised Language Development, an elective in the Master of TESOL and TEFL programs at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). This unit aims to enable international students to extend their disciplinary knowledge of English language teaching, their academic and linguistic fluency and awareness of their own information using processes. The paper outlines the case study research approach; describes the design and implementation of the unit; demonstrates how informed learning principles and characteristics underpin the unit design; presents findings about the international students’ experiences of informed learning through their reflections; and finally the paper discusses the implications of the findings for educators, including the potential transferability of informed learning across higher education disciplines.

Using real-time authentic online learning scenarios to teach criminal intelligence

Criminal intelligence is an area of expertise highly sought-after internationally and within a variety of justice-related professions; however, producing university graduates with the requisite professional knowledge, as well as analytical, organisational and technical skills presents a pedagogical and technical challenge to university educators. The situation becomes even more challenging when students are undertaking their studies by distance education. This best practice session showcases the design of an online undergraduate unit for final year justice students which uses an evolving real-time criminal scenario as the focus of authentic learning activities in order to prepare students for graduate roles within the criminal intelligence and justice professions. Within the unit, students take on the role of criminal intelligence analysts, applying relevant theories, models and strategies to solve a complex but realistic crime and complete briefings and documentation to industry standards as their major summative assessment task. The session will demonstrate how the design of the online unit corresponds to authentic learning principles, and will specifically map the elements of the unit design to Herrington & Oliver’s instructional design framework for authentic learning (2000; Herrington & Herrington 2006). The session will show how a range of technologies was used to create a rich learning experience for students that could be easily maintained over multiple unit iterations without specialist technical support. The session will also discuss the unique pedagogical affordances and challenges implicated in the location of the unit within an online learning environment, and will reflect on some of the lessons learned from the development which may be relevant to other authentic online learning contexts.

Using real-time authentic online learning scenarios to teach criminal intelligence : presentation

Criminal intelligence is an area of expertise highly sought-after internationally and within a variety of justice-related professions; however, producing university graduates with the requisite professional knowledge, as well as analytical, organisational and technical skills presents a pedagogical and technical challenge to university educators. The situation becomes even more challenging when students are undertaking their studies by distance education. This best practice session showcases the design of an online undergraduate unit for final year justice students which uses an evolving real-time criminal scenario as the focus of authentic learning activities in order to prepare students for graduate roles within the criminal intelligence and justice professions. Within the unit, students take on the role of criminal intelligence analysts, applying relevant theories, models and strategies to solve a complex but realistic crime and complete briefings and documentation to industry standards as their major summative assessment task. The session will demonstrate how the design of the online unit corresponds to authentic learning principles, and will specifically map the elements of the unit design to Herrington & Oliver’s instructional design framework for authentic learning (2000; Herrington & Herrington 2006). The session will show how a range of technologies was used to create a rich learning experience for students that could be easily maintained over multiple unit iterations without specialist technical support. The session will also discuss the unique pedagogical affordances and challenges implicated in the location of the unit within an online learning environment, and will reflect on some of the lessons learned from the development which may be relevant to other authentic online learning contexts.

E-learning 2.0 experiences within higher education : theorising students' and teachers' experiences in Web 2.0 learning

This study explores and evaluates students’ and teachers’ experiences when using a range of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education teaching and learning. It contributes to our understanding of how Web 2.0 learning communities are constructed, experienced and the nature of the participation therein. This research extends our knowledge and understanding of the Web 2.0 phenomena, and provides a framework that can assist with improving future Web 2.0 implementation.

Curriculum renewal in legal education

This project investigated ways in which the learning experience for students in Australian law schools could be enhanced by renewing final year legal curriculum through the design of effective capstone experiences to close the loop on tertiary legal studies and better prepare students for a smooth transition into the world of work and professional practice. Key project outcomes are a set of final year curriculum design principles and a transferable model for an effective final year program – a final year Toolkit comprising a range of templates, models and specific capstone examples for adoption or adaptation by legal educators. The project found that the efficacy of capstone experiences is affected by the curriculum context within which they are offered. For this reason, a number of ‘favourable conditions’, which promote the effectiveness of capstone experiences, have also been identified. The project’s final year principles and Toolkit promote program coherence and integration, should increase student satisfaction and levels of engagement with their experience of legal education and make a valuable contribution to assurance of learning in the new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) environment. From the point of view of the student experience, the final year principles and models address the current fragmented approach to final year legal curricula design and delivery. The knowledge and research base acquired under the auspices of this project is of both discipline and national importance as the project’s outcomes are transferable and have the potential to significantly influence the quality and coherence of the program experience of final year students in other tertiary disciplines, both within Australia and beyond. Project outcomes and deliverables are available on both the project’s website http://wiki.qut.edu.au/display/capstone/Home and on the Law Capstone Experience Forum website http://www.lawcapstoneexperience.com/. In the course of developing its deliverables, the project found that the design of capstone experiences varies significantly within and across disciplines; different frameworks may be used (for example, a disciplinary or inter-disciplinary focus, or to satisfy professional accreditation requirements), rationales and objectives may differ, and a variety of models utilised (for example, an integrated final year program, a single subject, a suite of subjects, or modules within several subjects). Broadly however, capstone experiences should provide final year students with an opportunity both to look back over their academic learning, in an effort to make sense of what they have accomplished, and to look forward to their professional and personal futures that build on that foundational learning.

Bridging the gap between tertiary education and work : situated learning in accountancy

In professions such as teaching, health sciences (medicine, nursing), and built environment, significant work-based learning through practica is an essential element before graduation. However, there is no such requirement in professional accounting education. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory qualitative case study of the implementation of a Workplace Learning Experience Program in Accountancy at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia. The interview-based study documents the responses of university students and graduates to this program. The study demonstrates that a 100 hour work placement in Accountancy can enhance student learning. It highlights the potential value of the application of sociocultural theories of learning, especially the concept of situated learning involving legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991). This research adds to a small body of empirical accounting education literature relating to the benefits of work placements prior to graduation. The effectiveness of this short, for credit, unpaid program should encourage other universities to implement a similar work placement program as a form of pre-graduation learning in professional accounting education.

Work integrated learning: Exposure to professional practice : expectations and challenges

Prior to graduation engineering students are expected to provide evidence of relevant experience in the workplace. This experience is expected to provide opportunities for exposure to the profession and to help students develop confidence, skills and capabilities as emerging professionals. This investigation considers the expectations and challenges in implementing WIL programs in different contexts. While this will inform the next iteration of engineering course development at QUT the issues and interventions described provide useful insights into options available and engineering curriculum design more broadly. This comparative analysis across three phases highlights expectations and challenges including stakeholder responsibilities, expectations, and assessment. The study draws on the findings of a 2005 investigation into the purpose and provision of WIL and findings of a 2012 Faculty review of the current WIL model. The enhancement of WIL through a series of developmental phases highlights strengths and weaknesses of various models. It is anticipated that this investigation will inform course development decisions on a whole-of-course approach to WIL that improves student engagement and learning experience. The importance of WIL is not disputed. However with industry expectations, increasing student numbers and cohort diversity the ways in which students and industry currently engage in WIL are not sustainable and more creative, flexible and engaging approaches are needed.

Objectifying the Subjective : Assessment and Feedback in Creative Arts Studio Learning and Teaching

This paper examines the Assessment and Feedback aspects of Studio Teaching as Creative Arts pedagogy. Prompted by USQ’s newly offered Bachelor of Creative Arts (BCA), the author has developed an Assessment Matrix specifically designed to satisfy a number of imperatives, including: • ‘objectifying’ the subjective aspects of creative practice as assessable coursework/research • providing the means by which accurate, detailed, personalised and confidential feedback may be provided to students individually • providing consistent, accurate, meaningful assessment records for student, lecturer, and institution • ensuring consistency, continuity, and transparency of assessment processes and records to satisfy quality audits • minimising marking and assessment time, whilst maximising assessment integrity and depth • requiring only basic level skills and knowledge of a computer application already in common use (Microsoft Excel) • adaptability to a range of creative courses ‐ across disciplines This Assessment Matrix has been in development (and trialled) since January 2009.