“There’s nothing standard about standards”: Exploring tensions between two standards documents in higher education

Quality in education at the tertiary level is constantly questioned, and increasingly “professional standards” are offered as the solution to the perceived decline in quality. Foucauldian archaeological analysis of teacher graduate and geography graduate standards in Australia is conducted, revealing tensions between the different document sets. Teacher graduate standards reflect two discourses (one of knowledge and understanding, and one of skills) that are anti-intellectual and based on jargon and formulaic prescriptions. In contrast, disciplinary standards give primacy to geography as an intellectual inquiry such that its knowledge and understanding, skills, and concepts lead to progressively higher order thinking in graduates.

Formalising the vernacular: Social media skills in higher education

This paper discusses the issue of social media skills using a literacy framework. Firstly, it argues that social media skills are a form of vernacular, or ‘everyday’, literacy and articulates the issues associated with trying to formalise these skills within the curriculum. Secondly, it calls for greater explicit attention to social media skills within higher education, by arguing that social media literacies are a part of new literacies. It evaluates QUT’s “Create a Better Online You” suite of social media resources in light of this framework, and discusses the role of libraries in addressing social media skills.

Designing for user engagement: The ALTC exchange for higher education

The Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ascilite) has recently completed research to inform development of the ALTC Exchange, a new online service for learning and teaching in Australia. The research investigated resource identification and contribution, engagement with the repository and user community, and associated peer review and commentary processes. This article focuses on the data obtained and recommendations developed for engagement of potential end users. It reports a literature review and findings, including an international perspective on the ALTC Exchange, with specific focus on prospective user needs, contexts of use and policies necessary to facilitate engagement of the higher education sector with the ALTC Exchange

Uptake and use of electronic information services: trends in UK higher education from the JUSTEIS project

Urquhart, C., Lonsdale, R.,Thomas, R., Spink, S., Yeoman, A., Armstrong, C. & Fenton, R. (2003). Uptake and use of electronic information services: trends in UK higher education from the JUSTEIS project. Program, 37(3), 167-180. Sponsorship: JISC

Teaching and learning technologies in Higher Education: Applied behaviour analysis and autism.

Professionals on both international and national levels who work with children with autism are expressing the need for graduate-level training in applied behaviour analysis. The implementation of effective instruction in higher education for professionals working with children with autism and their families is a complex undertaking: the learner needs to acquire an understanding of the principles and procedures of applied behaviour analysis and also adapt this knowledge to the learning prerequisites of individuals with autism. In this paper we outline some current thinking about adult education and blended learning technologies and then describe and illustrate with examples emerging possibilities of multimedia technology in the development of teaching materials. We conclude that synergies between graduate-level curriculum requirements, knowledge of adult learning, and communication technology are necessary to establish comprehensive learning environments for professionals who specialize in autism intervention.

Engaging the Senses: Object-based learning in higher education

The use of museum collections as a path to learning for university students is fast becoming a new pedagogy for higher education. Despite a strong tradition of using lectures as a way of delivering the curriculum, the positive benefits of ‘active’ and ‘experiential learning’ are being recognised in universities at both a strategic level and in daily teaching practice. As museum artefacts, specimens and art works are used to evoke, provoke, and challenge students’ engagement with their subject, so transformational learning can take place. This unique book presents the first comprehensive exploration of ‘object-based learning’ as a pedagogy for higher education in a broad context. An international group of authors offer a spectrum of approaches at work in higher education today. They explore contemporary principles and practice of object-based learning in higher education, demonstrating the value of using collections in this context and considering the relationship between academic discipline and object-based learning as a teaching strategy.

The future of bioscience fieldwork in UK higher education

Fieldwork is an important and often enjoyable part of learning in Bioscience degree courses, however it is unclear how the recent reforms to Higher Education (HE) may impact the future funding of outdoor learning. This paper reports on the findings from a recent survey of 30 HE Bioscience practitioners from across the UK. Their current level of fieldwork provision and factors affecting this provision in the future were explored. The data showed that the level of fieldwork had remained similar over the past five years and this was set to remain so over the next academic year and also into the next five years (when it may even increase). Funding of fieldwork was under review in most institutions due to the increase in student tuition fees and it was found that in some cases the cost of compulsory fieldwork will be subsumed within the overall course fee. Many influencing factors were discussed, but the most frequently raised topics were that of the development of employability skills during fieldwork and its importance in attracting and retaining students. Both topics are high on the agenda of HE institutions going forward into the new funding model, suggesting that fieldwork will remain a central part of the Bioscience curriculum.

Action research in higher education : the advancement of university learning and teaching

This thesis aims to contribute to the improvement and advancement of university learning, teaching, and staff development; to integrate educational theory and the practice of university teaching; and to contribute to the establishment of a new, emerging paradigm in higher education. The strategy towards achieving these aims comprises (1) an alternative research methodology in the interpretive, non-positivist paradigm; (2) an integrated framework drawing on a variety of previously unrelated theories to form an alternative model of university education; and (3) reference to the dialectical relationship between educational theory and teaching practice and their integration through action research in higher education. The thesis is not so much a critique of the traditional paradigm and of existing functionalist-structuralist approaches to higher education, but more a development and clarification of an alternative, dialectical, human action approach to higher education. The original contribution of this thesis to the theory and practice of higher education lies in the development (1) of an alternative model of university education based on an integration of previously unrelated domains of theory; (2) of a theoretical model of professional development as action research (the CRASP Model: Critical attitude, Research into teaching, Accountability, Self-evaluation, Professionalism); and (3) of action research projects in higher education. Action research is research by the university teachers themselves into their teaching practice, i.e. into problems of the curriculum and student learning. The case studies included in and appended to this thesis show that in one educational setting at least it was possible to improve and advance university learning and teaching through action research. The evidence for this advancement is provided in a number of previously published case studies compiled in the Appendix.

Australian higher education institutions transforming the future of teaching and learning through 3D virtual worlds

What are educators‟ motivations for using virtual worlds with their students? Are they using them to support the teaching of professions and if this is the case, do they introduce virtual worlds into the curriculum to develop and/or expand students' professional learning networks? Are they using virtual worlds to transform their teaching and learning? In  recognition of the exciting opportunities that virtual worlds present for higher education, the DEHub Virtual Worlds Working Group was formed. It is made up of Australian university academics who are investigating the role that virtual worlds will play in the future of education and actively implementing the technology within their own teaching practice and  curricula. This paper presents a typology for teaching and learning in 3D virtual worlds and applies the typology to a series of case studies based on the ways in which academics and their institutions are exploiting the power of virtual worlds for diverse purposes ranging from business scenarios and virtual excursions to role-play, experimentation and language development. The case studies offer insight into the ways in which institutions are transforming their teaching for an unknown future through innovative teaching and learning in virtual worlds. The paper demonstrates how virtual worlds enable low cost alternatives to existing pedagogies as well as creating opportunities for rich, immersive and authentic activities that would otherwise not be feasible or maybe not even be possible. Through the use of virtual worlds, teaching and learning can be transformed to cater for an unknown future.

Dual sector education : Tafe and higher education collaborate in construction management

Curriculum collaboration between TAFE (vocational college) and universities in Australia has had a chequered history. Attempts to collaborate on curriculum development and delivery have mostly been at the margins of articulation and educational pathways. This study examines a pilot project in dual sector construction management education conducted at RMIT University over a two year period. The study demonstrates the challenges with mutual curriculum development between TAFE and higher education in Australia, and demonstrates the methods utilised to overcome these challenges. The results of the projects reveal that the benefits to students in hands-on experiences, theoretical knowledge gained and practical demonstrations were invaluable and worthy of ongoing research and development. The paper also raises critical questions about flexibility and mobility in educational institutions in Australia.

Inside higher education

This section of the proceedings report provides details of the issues discussed in the theme Inside Higher Education. This theme explored the experience of university from the inside for students and staff, including pedagogy, the first year experience, orientation programs and curriculum. Much ground was covered by both the equity practitioners and the academics who contributed. However, several common issues emerged across the sessions. Inevitably not everything covered in this theme can be reported, but what follows is a synthesis of the main issues and the presenters who raised them.

Finding common ground: enhancing interaction between domestic and international students in higher education

A feature of Australian Higher Education over the last 10 years has been the increased numbers of international students. This feature has been perceived to have great potential for enhanced learning for all students – both international and domestic. Yet, student surveys and research clearly indicate that there is very little interaction occurring between domestic and international students. This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which university teaching can promote interaction between students from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Using an innovative video-analysis methodology, the research found that academics engage in a variety of activities to encourage interaction between student groups. In order to assist academics in planning interaction, one of the main findings of the study was the development of ‘The Interaction for Learning Framework (ILF)’, that identifies key dimensions for curriculum design that can be used by academics to inform ways that they can enhance interaction between diverse student groups within teaching and learning contexts.

The new higher education reality: what is an appropriate model to address the widening participation agenda?

Along with the massification of higher education comes a need for new models to support the success of greater numbers of diverse students. A greater proportion of these students are ‘non-traditional’ in terms of preparedness, socioeconomic status  and geography. This paper introduces an Associate Degree model designed to support this new higher education reality of broader student cohorts, thin regional markets and cross-sectoral collaboration. Background literature on challenges facing the higher education sector and its prospective students is presented, with a particular focus on regionality. An argument is made for the role of curriculum and pedagogy as enablers of non-traditional student success. This is supported by the results of a mixed-methods exploratory study. This Associate Degree model was attractive to students and institutes. Students experienced similar levels of challenge, workload and progress to their traditional peers. While technology was essential for the success of the model, it played a supporting role to the relationships and multiple modes of learning it facilitated. This article provides insights for institutions seeking to address the broadening participation agenda.