7 research outputs found
Supporting organizational change: Fostering a more flexible approach to course delivery
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) adopted a flexible delivery policy in 1996. The main objective of the policy was to develop a more studentācentred approach to teaching and learning, since QUTs student population is predominantly partātime, āmature ageā, already in employment, and very diverse in cultural and academic background For many staff, the policy was threatening: staff were uncertain where they might begin to adapt their traditional faceātoāface teaching approaches to overcome the limitations associated with time and place, and they were fearful that their teaching role and academic expertise might be superseded by a technological alternative. They lacked confidence to incorporate appropriate and relevant technologies in an innovative and effective way to support student learning objectives. This paper focuses on the implementation of QUTs policy. It highlights the role of a central services department, Teaching and Learning Support Services (TALSS), in providing training and fostering cultural change across the university. The implementation was guided by a model of flexible education and a set of principles underpinning a āwhole of organization approach to flexible delivery. Strategies for supporting innovators, sharing experience across disciplines, coāordinating and focusing the support of educational developers, and embedding staff development processes are outlined The success and limitations of the organizational change strategy are summarized as ālessons learnedā to inform ongoing institutional policy and procedures
Supporting organizational change: fostering a more flexible approach to course delivery
In Australia, as in the UK, the political, economic and technological contexts within which higher education operates are shifting. Many commentators (e.g. Tiffin and Rajasingham, 1995; Oblinger and Rush, 1997) have predicted that the outcomes for teaching and learning environments will be as shattering to the 'bricks and mortar' universities as the longpredicted tectonic plate shift which will swallow San Francisco