Connections in Learning and Teaching

Community site for the Connections seminar series

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Rescheduled: Exploring Threshold Concepts NOW: 2nd December, 12-1.30pm

Posted by on November 22nd, 2009 · Events, Exploring Threshold Concepts

This will be the second seminar in the ‘Exploring Threshold Concepts Series’.

The aims of these sessions are twofold –

  • firstly to showcase research that is being done into the area of threshold concepts at UNSW
  • secondly, to provide the opportunity for participates to discuss their own research – or potential research – into this area with the view of supporting the development of abstracts for the  International Thresholds Symposium 2010 hosted by UNSW

The session will be facilitated by Jan McLean, Learning & Teaching at UNSW.

Time: 12.00-1.30pm
Location: Learning and Teaching Workshop, Level 4 Mathews Building
Light lunch will be provided by L&T@UNSW with support from the ALTC.

Please register online at http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm
For further information please contact Erin Withers at e.withers@unsw.edu.au or phone x58636.  You can read more about the Connections in Learning & Teaching Seminar series here.

Write-up: Showcasing Teaching: Using Online Role Play in Teaching, 11th November

Posted by on November 15th, 2009 · Events, Resources, Showcasing Teaching

Using Role Play in Teaching
Presentations by John Shepherd & Alison Rutherford

John Shepherd and Alison Rutherford shared their experiences of using online role play to effectively engage students and “increase their understanding of human interaction, social dynamics and systems involving human activity” (Shepherd, 2009 in presentation).

Key features of online role play include:

  • Students carry out authentic tasks in an authentic context
  • Students inhabit and interact within their roles
  • Situations are authentic and problem-based
  • Collaborative learning and reflective thinking

John presented an example of Middle Eastern politics online role play, where the aim was for students to develop an understanding of the complexities of Middle Eastern politics.  Alison presented a cross-disciplinary (Public Health and Mining Engineering) online role play based on real events related to a mine in Indonesia.

  • John’s slides on the ‘Middle East Politics’ online roleplay can be downloaded here: OnlineRolePlaySlides.
  • Alison’s slides on the ‘Buyat Bay’ online roleplay can be downloaded here: Buyat_Bay_showcase1.
  • A repository of role-plays can be found at: http://www.uow.edu.au/cedir/enrole/
    • The “roleplay search” link gives you a list of role play descriptions, with contact info for the designers if you want to follow up.
    • The “resources” link leads to documents covering aspects such as design and assessment.
  • John Shepherd of UNSW is happy for you to contact him with questions about online role play and/ or to help you set up an online role play (NB. From February 2010 a better online role play system will be available).  His email address: jas@cse.unsw.edu.au
  • Alison’s email address: a.rutherford@unsw.edu.au

For further information on the Connections Seminar Series please contact Erin Withers at e.withers@unsw.edu.au or phone x58636.  You can read more about the Connections in Learning & Teaching Seminar series here.

Write-up: Exploring Threshold Concepts: Using Threshold Concepts to Generate a New Understanding of Learning & Teaching Biology, 28th October

Posted by on November 15th, 2009 · Events, Exploring Threshold Concepts

The first of the ‘Exploring Threshold Concepts’ seminars was held on the 28th October.  Noel Whitaker (Faculty of Science) and Chris Hughes (Faculty of Medicine) presented the ALTC funded project they are involved in: ‘Using Threshold Concepts to Generate a New Understanding of Teaching and Learning Biology’, which is a collaboration between UNSW, USyd and UWS.   For further information see the project website at http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/thresholds_in_biology/Index.html.

Noel and Chris explained how the project started by surveying academics to identify the Threshold Concepts in Biology.  Through this work with academic colleagues they identified 3 key TCs: Scale; Hypothesis testing; Biological language.  The research project then explored learning and teaching interventions related to ‘Scale’. You cand download the full presentation, including results and conclusions, here: LLMUniservePresentation_28th Oct.

Upcoming: Researching Learning & Teaching: Research Design & Analysis- Capturing Individuals’ Perceptions of their Development as Learners, Wednesday 18th November, 12-1.30pm

Posted by on November 15th, 2009 · Events, Research, Researching Learning and Teaching

Many of us are interested in investigating the impact of our teaching and courses upon student’s understanding, capability and/or views of learning. This area can, however, be difficult to research. In this session Jacqui McManus will discuss research she has undertaken that studies change in capability, and within this highlight the use of phenomenographic analysis to capture student’s understanding of a phenomenon.
In addition, time will be allocated to allow you to discuss and  explore aspects of your own research. We  encourage you to think in advance about questions or areas you would like to discuss with others and to bring them along.

Time: 12.00-1.30pm

Location: Climate Change Research Centre, Level 4 Mathews Building
Light lunch will be provided by L&T@UNSW with support from the ALTC.

Please register online at http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm

For more information please contact Erin Withers on ext 58636 or e.withers@unsw.edu.au

Write-up: Researching Learning & Teaching: Mapping Areas of Interest, 21st Oct 2009

Posted by on November 11th, 2009 · Events, Research, Researching Learning and Teaching, Uncategorized

The first ‘Researching Learning & Teaching’ session was held on 21 October and was facilitated by Jan McLean, Learning & Teaching. The session involved group discussions about the research into learning and teaching people were undertaking and/or interested in, including workplace learning; embedding skills; and informal learning. A full list of themes can be accessed 21st October_Research themes.pdf. Areas of overlap were identified and ideas were shared and explored. Issues of methodology and research design were also discussed.

In addition, the group identified what they would like future seminars in the series to address:

• Methodology: how to research learning and teaching

• Opportunities for informal discussion and sharing ideas

• Feedback to the library so it can help support academics with their research into learning and teaching

• A reading group: discussing reactions and interpretations of papers/ books

• Discussions about how to get published: identifying journals, conferences

Finally, Jan shared some useful resources for academics interested in research teaching and learning.

The next Researching Learning and Teaching seminar will be held on the 18 November and will include a presentation by Jacqui McManus, Learning & Teaching covering: research design ideas for capturing individuals’ perceptions of their own development as learners; an example of a study into change in student capability; and phenomenographic analysis – capturing people’s understanding of a phenomena.

Time: 12.00-1.30pm

Location: Climate Change Research Centre, Level 4 Mathews Building

Light lunch will be provided by L&T@UNSW with support from the ALTC.

Please register online at http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm

Upcoming: Showcasing Teaching- Using Online Role Play in Teaching, Wednesday 11th November, 12.30-2pm

Posted by on November 9th, 2009 · Events, Showcasing Teaching

Using Role Play in Teaching
Presentations by John Shepherd & Alison Rutherford
This will take the form of presentations with opportunity for questions and discussions.  The session will include an example of online role play used in a simulation of Middle Eastern politics.

Time: 12.30-2.00pm
Location: Learning & Teaching Commons, Level 4 Mathews Building.

Light lunch will be provided by L&T@UNSW with support from the ALTC.

Please register online at http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm

For further information please contact Erin Withers at e.withers@unsw.edu.au or phone x58636.  You can read more about the Connections in Learning & Teaching Seminar series here.

Upcoming:Talking about Teaching, 4th November, 12-1.30pm

Posted by on October 28th, 2009 · Events, Talking about Teaching

Teaching as a Global Scholar at UNSW: Adaptations and Insights Gained
Discussion facilitated by Colina Mason and Felicity Rawlings-Sanaei

Drawing on the experiences of academics who have taught in diverse cultural settings, this seminar will explore the extent to which one’s educational and cultural background impacts on three domains of learning and teaching: classroom practice; discipline knowledge and teacher-student relationships.

This seminar is aimed at providing an opportunity for conversations and sharing ideas and strategies around teaching.  This seminar will be informal in structure and take the form of talking about teaching as “work in progress” rather than a presentation of finalized teaching cases.

Time: 12.00-1.30pm
Location: Climate Change Research Centre, Level 4 Mathews Building
Light lunch will be provided by L&T@UNSW with support from the ALTC.

Please register online at http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm

For further information please contact Erin Withers at e.withers@unsw.edu.au or phone x58636.  You can read more about the Connections in Learning & Teaching Seminar series here.

Upcoming: Exploring Threshold Concepts, 28th October 12-1.30pm

Posted by on October 21st, 2009 · Announcements, Events, Exploring Threshold Concepts

This will be the first seminar in the ‘Exploring Threshold Concepts Series’.

The aims of these sessions are twofold –

  • firstly to showcase research that is being done into the area of threshold concepts at UNSW
  • secondly, to provide the opportunity for participates to discuss their own research – or potential research – into this area with the view of supporting the development of abstracts for the  International Thresholds Symposium 2010 hosted by UNSW

The session will be facilitated by Jan McLean, Learning & Teaching at UNSW.

In this first session Noel Whitaker and Chris Hughes will discuss the ALTC funded project they are involved in ‘Using Threshold Concepts to Generate a New Understanding of Teaching and Learning Biology’ which is a collaboration between UNSW, USyd and UWS. For further information see the project website at http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/thresholds_in_biology/Index.html.

Time: 12.00-1.30pm
Location: Climate Change Research Centre, Level 4 Mathews Building
Light lunch will be provided by L&T@UNSW with support from the ALTC.

Please register online at http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm
For further information please contact Erin Withers at e.withers@unsw.edu.au or phone x58636.  You can read more about the Connections in Learning & Teaching Seminar series here.

After this, the next ‘Exploring Threshold Concepts’ session will be held on 25th November.

Write-up: Showcasing Teaching: Using Case studies in Social Sciences, 14th October 2009

Posted by on October 19th, 2009 · Research, Resources, Showcasing Teaching

The first Showcasing Teaching session that took place on Wednesday, 14 October, focused on using case studies.

Christopher Walker from School of Social Sciences and International Studies presented the way The Social Science and Policy Case Studies course uses structured case studies to teach policy theory and its application. The course is structured around 3 consecutive case studies, each lasting 4 weeks and culminating in a role play where student groups present their analysis of the issues, including the group representing senior public officials response to the policy problem. Christopher explained the rationale, the process and the issues involved in organising the whole course around case studies. The presentation was followed by a fruitful discussion about applying case studies in different disciplines and contexts, such as medicine, business, postgraduate courses, etc.

Christopher shared some of study materials that he uses at the course and his recent journal article:

Walker, C. (2009). Teaching Policy Theory and its Application To Practice Using Long Structured Case Studies: An Approach that Deeply Engages Undergraduate Students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(2). 214-225.

This session has been recorded. The video recording will be posted to this blog soon.

UNSW students

UNSW students

Upcoming:Researching Learning and Teaching: Mapping areas of interest, Wednesday 21st October, 12 – 1.30pm

Posted by on October 13th, 2009 · Announcements, Events, Research, Researching Learning and Teaching

The first session of Researching Learning & Teaching seminar series will focus on discussions around the scholarship of learning and teaching and on identifying areas of interest and topics that participants would like to explore in future sessions.

Researching Learning and Teaching sessions will offer opportunities for those investigating aspects of teaching and learning to present and receive peer feedback on their ideas and papers. In addition, it will provide a forum through which we explore current thinking and research drawing from recent conferences and journal articles.

1070 HOLY COW-UNSW markdonaldsonphoto 28-7-06

Location: Climate Change Research Office seminar room, Level 4 Mathews.

Light lunch will be provided by L&T@UNSW with the support from the ALTC.

Please register online at http://www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm