Teaching and Learning Conference 2021

Transitioning to COVID-normal: Developing a new ecosystem for learning

The conference explored the question: What will teaching and learning look like once the majority of the population has been vaccinated and when most staff and students, including international students, are able to return to campus, albeit with significant modifications in place?

Academic and professional staff involved in teaching, learning and assessment from across the University shared scholarly and evidence-based approaches that could contribute to developing a new, unique Melbourne experience. It was also an opportunity to draw on the experiences and successes of the Flexible Academic Programming initiative at its mid-point and recent, successful projects funded by Learning and Teaching Initiative (LTI) grants.

The conference focused on evidence-based approaches for enhancing and optimising student learning. We considered the shift in the balance of blended teaching, learning and assessment towards online and to different forms of in-person education, reflecting the greater confidence and competence of teachers (and students) with digital methods. We also considered the development of University policy on teaching, learning and assessment during the first half of 2021, including plans for Semester 2, 2021 and beyond.

The themes of the conference were:

• Assessment and feedback
• Dual delivery and what next?
• Engaging students
• Innovation in online teaching and learning

Delivered wholly online, via Zoom Meetings, the conference was for all University of Melbourne academic and professional staff involved in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching, learning and assessment. This includes, but was not restricted to University teachers, curriculum designers and developers, educational technologists, librarians, student administrators and support staff. The format included plenary sessions in the form of keynotes, panel discussions and shorter parallel sessions where staff highlighted effective practices.

Conference Committee

• William Locke (Chair), Melbourne CHSE
• Sophie Arkoudis, Melbourne CSHE
• Marilys Guillemin, MDHS
• Deborah Jones, Learning Environments
• Angela Paladino, FBE
• Kate Tregloan, FABP
• Robyn Hodge, Melbourne CSHE
• Cathleen Benevento, Melbourne CSHE

Enquiries

melbourne-cshe@unimelb.edu.au

Click below to download a full list of presenter abstracts for the parallel sessions.

Presenter abstracts

Day 1: Tuesday 1 June

9:30am

Plenary: Setting the scene

Professor Jamie Evans
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education)

Jamie is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) at the University of Melbourne and Professor in Electrical and Electronic Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. In his PVC role Jamie leads whole-of-University approaches to education programs and development in key areas of the Academic and Student Life portfolios. This includes leading the advancement of Discovery Subjects, Capstone Subjects, Breadth Subjects, Work-Integrated Learning programs, and Co-Curricular opportunities for students. His role also supports the professional development of academic staff and recognition of staff through awards and grants.

Jamie will introduce the Conference themes and how they fit with the Advancing Melbourne 2030 strategy.

12:00pm

Plenary: 2019 GEM Scott Teaching Fellows in conversation with Professor William Locke

The GEM Scott Teaching Fellowships are designed to raise the profile of teaching, and the recognition of teaching excellence across the University. The Fellowship will allow staff to further develop their understanding and practice in University-based teaching, learning and assessment and will ask them to share this more broadly across the University.

2019 GEM Scott Teaching Fellows, Associate Professor Gavin Buskes (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology) and Associate Professor Meredith McKague (Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences), will discuss with Professor William Locke their projects and experiences of undertaking a Fellowship. Below are the descriptions of each Fellow's project.

Associate Professor Gavin Buskes

This project took a strategic approach to re-imagining a large, first-year subject for students interested in engineering that, in addition to providing an introductory experience of engineering through project-based learning, simultaneously addresses the issues of transitioning to university, lack of social engagement, cohort-building, and the curriculum structure recommendations of the FlexAP initiative.

The outcome of the project is the creation of an engaging, collaborative, supportive and cohort-building experience for first-year students enrolled in the first-year engineering program, through:

• Development of a project-based curriculum delivered through small-group active teaching workshop classes and embedding of academics and teaching assistants in these classes to provide an immersive experience for the students.
• Creation of a suite of self-paced skills modules to run in parallel with subject teaching and learning activities to assist with developing skills relevant to the project and more general, transferrable skills. The modules can be chosen on a needs basis and involve teaching and learning activities that are facilitated by senior students and clubs.
• Development of teamwork, feedback and peer-based review activities throughout the duration of the project to build a sense of cohort.
• Tracking of student engagement and identifying those at risk of performing poorly academically early on through participation in the active-learning workshop classes and involvement in the skills modules.

The project was partially delayed due to a consolidation of the first-year engineering teaching program and further delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The subject will run for the first time in semester 2, 2021.

Associate Professor Meredith McKague

This project was entitled, "Using computer-supported problem-based learning to promote the development of evidence-based reasoning skills and socially shared regulation of learning amongst first year undergraduate students." The project addressed the two priority areas of building cohort and connection among students, including international students, and enhancing first year teaching, learning and assessment experiences that framed the inaugural GEM Scott Fellowship. I addressed these two key areas by exploring the potential educational applications of a computer-supported collaborative reasoning platform called SWARM. The SWARM platform was originally designed to enhance the quality of reasoning amongst teams of intelligence analysts. My goal was to explore how SWARM’s unique interface and the process of ‘swarming’ that it enables might be applied to the development of meaningful and engaging problem-based learning projects for culturally diverse groups of first-year students (van Gelder, et al., 2018).

I collaborated with the designers of SWARM and with the Attorney General’s Department to pilot the platform with teams of analysts working to solve realistic intelligence problem scenarios. My experience co-designing the exercise, seeing the platform in action, and talking with analysts about their experiences using the platform were invaluable for informing my thinking about how to design computer-supported collaborative problem-based learning projects for students. Additionally, the Fellowship enabled me to conduct a review and synthesis of the literatures on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), collaborative problem-solving, and socially-shared self-regulated learning (SSRL) so as to distill the key social, cognitive, motivational and technical elements that must be considered when designing engaging real-world problems for collaborative student work in large first-year cohorts.

The Fellowship provided richly rewarding opportunity that has deepened my understanding of both the potential for designing truly meaningful and engaging computer-supported collaborative learning experiences and of the significant challenges that must be met to achieve effective design and implementation, including needs in the areas of training, resourcing, and investment in technology. The Covid-19 year in which the bulk of the work was conducted presented its own challenges (impacting planned overseas travel experiences), but also provided a compellingly real opportunity to experience how computer-supported collaborative learning activities might support diverse groups of students learning asynchronously from distant locations across the globe.

van Gelder, T., De Rozario, R., & Sinnott, R. O. (2018). SWARM: Cultivating evidence-based reasoning. Computing in Science & Engineering, 20(6), 22-34

Day 2: Wednesday 2 June

2:00pm

Plenary: Student Representative Panel

Rashika Bahl, Graduate Student Association
Jennisha Arnanta, UMSU Education Academic Officer
Putri Shafira, Vice President, Education and Welfare, UMSU International

The panel of student representatives will discuss the findings of the following recent surveys of students about learning and teaching during the pandemic.

UMSU International: International Student Survey 2020

The International Student Survey (ISS) 2020 Report by the Education and Welfare Departments of UMSU International was generated to enhance our understanding of the experiences of the current International Students enrolled in the University of Melbourne across all degrees and levels. The ISS 2020 focuses on nine different areas: UMSU International Awareness and Perception, University Experience, Academic Experience, Health and Safety, Cultural and Climate, Work and Employment, Financial Situation, Exchange and Study Abroad. Since COVID-19 pandemic has been impacting everyone without exception, the ISS 2020 includes feedback from international students about the impact of COVID-19 on various aspects.

Graduate Student Association (GSA):

• Student Resilience Project: aims to better understand graduate students’ emotional, physical and social wellbeing at the University of Melbourne. Demographic of participants: Graduate students, with an almost equal split between domestic and international students. Report from 2021.
• Subject Cancellation Survey Report: collected information on the delivery mode and availability of subjects offered for graduate coursework degree in response to concerns raised about 2021 subjects being offered in an online-only format. Survey ran from Thursday 10 December 2020 until Friday 15 January 2021. Demographic of participants: Graduate students, with an almost equal split between domestic and international students. Report from 2021.

4:30pm

Plenary: Professor Raoul Mulder in conversation with FlexAP subject coordinators

Professor Raoul Mulder
Faculty of Science

Raoul is the newly appointed lead for Melbourne CSHE’s contribution to the University’s Flexible Academic Programming (FlexAP) initiative. He will lead a discussion with Subject Coordinators, Wayne Coetzee, Rachel Colla and Lara Mossman, who have been involved in some of the successful early projects.

Wayne Coetzee
Faculty of Business and Economics

Wayne is a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Accounting, and is focused on creating authentic teaching and learning practice for students. Wayne was the recipient of the Faculty of Business & Economics 2020 Deans Award for Excellence in Teaching and has been with the University of Melbourne since June 2019.

Rachel Colla
Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Rachel (MPsych, MAPP) is a dual recipient of the MGSE teaching excellence awards in both innovation in learning design and inspiring students to learn. She has been teaching wellbeing science in higher education, business, and sporting contexts for nearly two decades, focusing on the nexus between research and practice. Prior to her work in organisational settings, Rachel worked as a psychologist in the education sector, promoting flourishing for individuals managing psychological distress and mental illness.  She teaches into the undergraduate breadth subjects, Professional Certificates and Masters of Applied Positive Psychology programs run through the Centre for Wellbeing Science.  Her current research focuses on a systems approach to hope theory and purpose, as well as building wellbeing through learning design and pedagogy.

Lara Mossman
Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Lara holds a BSc (Hons) in Philosophy with Computing, a Master of Arts in Philosophy with Historical Studies, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP). She is a Lecturer at the University of Melbourne, teaching into the undergraduate breadth and postgraduate programs run through the Centre for Wellbeing Science. She is an innovative curriculum designer, playing key roles in the design and redevelopment of numerous subjects in the Centre. Lara has also developed an online training program for youth football coaches as part of her PhD research. Lara writes for the Player Development Project and Football Federation Victoria’s Coaching Resource website.