A blended learning model for first year science student engagement with mathematics and statistics

With the rapid decline of the enrolments in the conventional, campus-based courses, many higher education (HE) institutions around the world opt for provision of dual learning and teaching modes, most often offering fully online experiences in off-campus courses (distance education), and hybrid/ blended learning experiences in on-campus courses. This raises questions related to the quality of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and teaching experiences (Laurillard, 2009; Kirkwood, 2014). TEL is maturing and entering a normalization phase, with modes such as blended learning expected to become the “new traditional model” or “the new normal” of course delivery mode (Porter et al., 2016) within one or two years (Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada & Freeman, 2015). This normalisation shifts research paradigm from investigation of the ways the ICTs are used within educational settings to more focused analysis of pedagogical aspects impacting the design and implementation of the integrated ICTs. A rigorous, research-informed investigation is needed to scrutinise factors influencing effective integration of ICTs in the curricula, impact the integrated ICTs have on both teaching and learning, their effectiveness within current environment and the transferability/ adaptability of developed model(s) to other contexts (Kirkwood, 2014). This presentation reports on an informed inquiry investigating the effectiveness of the redesigned technology-enhanced learning and teaching environment in promoting student engagement in a compulsory quantitative methods unit for first year science undergraduates offered at a large, metropolitan university. A blended learning model was adopted including pre-lecture readings, didactic lectures, self-paced computer labs with demonstration videos, collaborative workshops, fortnightly online quizzes, and problem solving tasks based on realistic quantitative analysis. Teaching resources were highly structured and made available to students using Adaptive Release feature, a part of the University’s Blackboard Learning Management System. The Adaptive Release was introduced to foster students’ engagement and encourage students’ self-regulated learning, with focus on assisting students with resource development of management strategies. Quantitative data was collected through access logs on the Blackboard Learning Management System, social media activity within closed groups, an investigation of mathematical background at admission, workshop attendance and unit assessment results. The data analysis used statistical modelling which allowed researchers to demonstrate correlations between student’s preparedness level, engagement and success

Bringing together internal and external students on blackboard

<font size="1"><i>With the recent redevelopment of postgraduate courses in project management for the School of Civil Engineering and the Built Environment, new challenges were faced to make units more inclusive of a variety of enrolment preferences. The short term ambitions for the courses included developing units that are delivered both face-to-face, and entirely online and have the potential to be scaled to meet the growing demand for continuing professional education. To ensure that students could join either face-to-face or online offerings of the same units, the implementation team brought internal and external cohorts together on the same unit sites on Blackboard. The units are currently under evaluation but some early learnings may provide insight into new approaches to blended learning, and how these approaches have facilitated new ways of teaching and learning through tentative academic culture change.</i></font

By design: Facing the academic challenges of implementing technology enhanced learning in higher education and the example of a third year biology unit

This paper takes a design research approach to the challenge of transforming learning and teaching in higher education (HE) as it is experienced at the level of an interdisciplinary team composed of content matter experts and specialists in education. It is based on the reflections of members of the team working collaboratively to transform an undergraduate biology unit, delivered in intensive mode in parallel with a standard teaching semester to improve both student engagement and teaching staff satisfaction. The unit learning design tests 21st century active learning pedagogies in the context preparing students for their professional lives. Using semi-structured interviews and reflective inquiry the authors attempt to uncover the salient features of the process of implementing technology enhanced learning, and generate constructive design solutions. The work is situated in the scholarship of learning and teaching as it encourages "reflection-in-action" and a commitment to sharing what works in STEM teaching and learning in contemporary environments. The teaching team focus on the complex problems of preparation, attendance, and engagement in a series of intensive labs, whilst the professional staff focus on the complex problems of innovation and student engagement in higher education. A number of known and hypothetical learning design principles are integrated with the affordances of the chosen learning environment (OneNote) and used to propose plausible solutions. These solutions are used to iteratively refine the learning environment and reveal new design principles. The data shows improved staff engagement with the unit and the students through an enhanced role in the application and development of modern pedagogies. The paper emphasises the benefits of providing for and supporting the emergence of microcultures, and suggest strategies for those that wish to emulate the approach taken

Using ChatGPT as a virtual assistant in the design studio

It is broadly accepted that novice designers approach problems differently from expert designers (Cross, 2006; Cross et al., 1994). Strategies employed in the design studio to bring novices to designerly ways of knowing have traditionally used critique, evaluation and communication with peers and expert designers. With the advent of Generative AI (GAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), design educators are turning to ChatGPT as a virtual design assistant. Evidence from other areas investigating skilled work suggests that disseminating tacit knowledge via chatbots based on LLMs can benefit novices (Brynjolfsson et al., 2023). This chapter reports on ChatGPT as a virtual design assistant in undergraduate design education in the design school at an Australian university. In three units across the disciplines of Industrial Design, Visual Communication and Fashion Communication, the authors use reflective accounts of incorporating ChatGPT into their teaching practice. The authors find that design educators can think of ChatGPT as a tool that allows a conversation with the materials of an LLM. Working with students in a classroom culture that appreciates feedback can help open up conversations about ethics and academic integrity, preparing them for a world where Generative AI is pervasive

What about me? Staff perspectives on the implementation of Intensive Mode of Delivery in an undergraduate science program

Many academics are facing the challenge of poor student engagement, particularly in terms of lecture attendance beyond the first few weeks of semester, when numerous assessment items and other priorities vie for the students’ time. Some academics have found themselves addressing almost empty rooms by mid semester, despite their best efforts to offer a challenging and authentic classroom experience. This can be dispiriting, and has caused some teachers to introduce weekly in-class assessment items in an attempt to force attendance, only to compound the problem of over-assessment. This paper discusses an alternative approach to enhancing engagement, through the introduction of intensive mode delivery (IMD) in a third-year science unit at a large metropolitan university. The paper focuses on the staff experience, including the expectations, perceived benefits and challenges, the level of student engagement experienced, staff satisfaction and the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery model. The results showed that despite some identified roadblocks and perceived difficulties, the teaching team had a strong preference for the intensive model over the standard delivery mode. Although student opinions were divided concerning their preferences, the staff were impressed by the students’ greater engagement, depth of learning and almost 100% attendance. The present findings will inform the design of learning experiences that are satisfying for both staff and students, and contribute to a growing body of knowledge about flexible delivery in Higher Education

Reframing Learning via Technology : COVID-19 - Hacks and Reflections

Tutorials focused on critique and reframing for data design – looking at designs and data, learning to read data and seeing data in new, creative ways, to create visual data-based designs. As experienced designers in online learning we necessarily engage critically and experiment with technology and media, yet this is not without its challenges and dangers – as A. M. Willis attests: what we design and put out into the world has the potential to design us back. This chapter describes our experiences, insights and reflections on this rapid adaptation of teaching during the global COVID-19 crisis, where each unit coordinator discusses their unique concerns and practical design solutions. Various visual design units share a traditional on-campus delivery format where theory, principles and case studies are delivered through in-person lectures, with follow-up tutorials allowing students to apply this learning in portfolio-based assessments