Boud, D.

Deem, R.

Kift, S.

Lawson, R.

Lee, N.

Wilson, K.

English

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195students, alumni, industry and community as key partners inthe curriculum design process.This paper articulates preliminary findings of participatoryaction research (Bradbury and Reason 2008; Kemmis andMcTaggart 2005) that is exploring how design thinkingapproaches (Brown and Wyatt, 2010) are informing thepractices of curriculum transformation. The participatory actionresearch methodology is supporting a collaborative systematicapproach to this inquiry, which aims to simultaneously developunderstandings about curriculum design practice andimplement improvements to practice.Through the research, design thinking strategies (Kimbell,2011; Design Thinking Toolkit 2nd ed, 2012) have beenadapted to assist curriculum teams: to reframe curriculumchallenges informed by building empathy and understandingof stakeholder needs; to take risks in reimagining curriculumpossibilities; to open up thinking to potential curriculuminnovation; and, to use prototyping and testing of curriculumsolutions to inform choices in the curriculum design. Theambiguity and complexity of the changes facing highereducation are requiring curriculum team members to applydifferent mindsets and ways of thinking to their curriculumpractices and requiring participants with different skills tocontribute to the curriculum design process. Findings fromresearch to date on the application of design thinkingstrategies shows a change in focus from problems to theexploration and prototyping of constructive, creative andhopeful solutions (Brown and Wyatt, 2010). It also showsacademics willingness to build deeper engagement withstakeholders (students, industry and consumers partners) in thedesign process, which is leading to greater empathy andunderstanding for stakeholder needs in design solutions.Session J2Panel SessionWHOLE OF DEGREE CURRICULUM DESIGN:TRANSITIONING STUDENTS IN, THROUGH ANDOUT OF HIGHER EDUCATIONSally Kift1, Keithia Wilson2, Romy Lawson3, David Boud4,Nicolette Lee5, Rosemary Deem61 National Senior Teaching Fellow Deputy Vice ChancellorAcademic, James Cook University2 National Senior Teaching Fellow & Australian UniversityTeacher of The Year Portfolio Leader Student Success andRetention, Griffith University3 National Teaching Fellow Director of Learning, Teaching &Curriculum,University of Wollongong 4 National Senior Teaching Fellow Foundation Director CentreFor Research Assessment and Digital Learning, DeakinUniversity/University of Technology Sydney5 National Senior Teaching Fellow Executive Director Learningand Teaching Centre For Collaborative Learning and Teaching,Victoria University6 Vice Principal Education, Royal Holloway & Bedford NewCollegeCurriculum design is multifaceted, trying to meet a range ofexpectations for the students, universities, industries,professions and regulatory bodies. In order for it to be trulyeffective the curriculum has to be designed in a holisticmanner that provides scaffolding throughout the degree toengage students with learning using integration andsequencing (Kift, 2009). This whole of degree approachremoves the silo effect of developing units of study in isolation,requiring collaboration between academics from across thewhole degree (Lawson, 2014). This practice is seen to bebeneficial for curriculum design in the majority of contextsglobally. However, this is a change of mindset for manyacademics who have engaged in curriculum design in the past,where common practice has been to individually develop andteach units and so a change management processes has to beimplemented to provide support during the curriculum designapproach. Taking Kotter’s (2002) change management model,participative leadership is key to the success of these culturalchanges.Whole of degree curriculum design has many benefits for thedifferent stages of transitioning into, through and out ofuniversity. Good practice for transition pedagogy is to providestudents with explicit and consistent assistance to move fromtheir earlier context to their new context (Kift, 2009). Duringthe first year it is crucial that this holistic approach is adoptedto ensure shared ownership and contribution. Convening therelevant stakeholders who, in partnership, design andimplement a first year orientation and engagement programensures conscious attention is given to designing “transitionfacilitative” learning environments (Wilson, 2009).Whole of degree design creates a curriculum map to showstudents how they will progress throughout their degree. Thisfacilitates making degree level learning outcomes and thestandards for each stage of the degree explicit, showingstudents where and how they will be introduced to knowledgeand skills that will then support them to further developtowards their degree level learning outcomes. This overview ofexpectations allows students to make judgements about theirability as they progress, “a necessary skill for lifelong learning”(Boud, 1995, p.11), as well as allowing for scaffolded feedbackso that students can foster optimum success.Capstone experiences can be used to assist in the transition ofstudents from their university studies to the workplace; atransition “out” that can be as demanding as the transition“in” to university in the first year. They are also beingincreasingly used as a device to put whole of degree learningtogether to assess whether graduates are work ready in theirchosen disciplines (Lee, 2014). Therefore designing effectivecapstone experiences requires an understanding of transitionpedagogies and a commitment to a holistic curriculumframework that carefully positions skill acquisition andexperiences from the first to the final year of study, andbeyond (McNamara et al., 2011; Van Aker and Bailey, 2011).This panel is compiled of a range of experienced scholars fromAustralian Universities, each who have developed practices atthe grass roots, and then gone on to work at national andinternational levels to influence practice in the highereducation sector. They will explore curriculum design fortransition from an authentic perspective providing examples oftheory in practice that they have unpacked through scholarshipof teaching and learning. Participants will be providedopportunities to share good practice as well as discuss theircontexts as well as new ideas for curriculum design.ReferencesBoud, D. (1995) Enhancing Learning through Self Assessment.London, Routledge.Kift, S. (2009). Articulating a transition pedagogy to scaffoldand to enhance the first year student learning experience inAustralian higher education: Australian Learning and TeachingCouncil.Kotter, J. P. (2002). The heart of change: Real life stories ofhow people change their organizations. Boston: Harvardbusiness School PressLawson, R. (2014). Curriculum design for assuring learning -leading the way. OLT Final Report.Lee, N. (2014). How can we prepare university students for the

Whole of degree curriculum design: Transitioning students in, through and out of higher education

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Whole of degree curriculum design: Transitioning students in, through and out of higher education

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