Key Research Challenges and Opportunities

Traditional method of learning and teaching (L&T) in universities that uses lectures and tutorials are proving to be less effective in engaging today’s students. One of the strategies to improve student engagement and student learning is to replace the lectures and tutorials spaces with collaborative learning spaces (CLS). Students can use these spaces to collaborate and work on assigned tasks. This paper presents the use of the CLS in a core civil engineering subject (unit) at Western Sydney University (WSU). L&T materials were developed to take advantage of the technology driven learning space. The experience of the facilitator in the development of the L&T material and use of the space are outlined. Student experiences are also discussed. The opportunities to improve student engagement and the challenges faced by both the facilitator and the students are highlighted

Sabrina Saunders-Hodge

Sabrina Saunders-Hodge is the manager of the New Entrants Division within the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen Portfolio Management and Technology Development directorate and is responsible for leading the execution of strategies required to effectively integrate portfolios of viable research (internal & external to the FAA) resulting in solutions that address key operational challenges as well as improvements for integrating New Entrants into the National Airspace System (NAS). Within this role, Ms. Saunders-Hodge has program management responsibility for the FAA’s UAS Center of Excellence as well as the execution of R&D to support both Aviation Safety and NextGen requirements for UAS integration into the NAS, wake separation standards, closely spaced parallel operations, and ground based augmentation system cost benefit studies. Additionally, Ms. Saunders-Hodge’s Division has a leading role in collaborating with external domestic and international partners, such as the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, and the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), to leverage relevant R&D to support the FAA’s goals. Over the past twenty five years Ms. Saunders-Hodge has worked in the field of satellite communications, contributed to the development of ICAO’s global plan for transitioning to future communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems for civil aviation, co-managed the oversight of FAA/European cooperative research and development initiatives, and worked on the development of operational concepts for technology enhancements within the NAS. Ms. Saunders-Hodge holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from The University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University respectively. Additionally, Ms. Saunders-Hodge is a certified Project Management Professional and a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.https://commons.erau.edu/faa-uas-bios/1008/thumbnail.jp