Professional Awareness

Name: Rosanne Crouch

Field or discipline: Nursing
Program: Bachelor of Nursing
Year level: 2-3
Class size: 30
Activity type: Presentation

Aim: To have the students become aware of their own profession when compared/contrasted with another health profession.

Description: This was a group activity that I participated in as a student involving four students interviewing a professional from another health discipline. We were required to contrast and compare this professional’s health discipline with our own discipline. The interview was video-taped and a presentation was given to the rest of the class.

This task helped the students to be aware of other health professionals’:
· Academic requirements
· Legal requirements
· Work requirements

Application: There were some issues with the access to, and knowledge of using equipment. The small time frame available also made this task difficult.

I am not able to recall who the lecturer was who developed this task but as a participant, I believe it was a very valuable and engaging experience.

Group Learning Through Role Playing

Name: Dr Sukhbir Sandhu

Field or discipline: Business
Program: Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business
Course: RUASB
Year level: Post-Graduate
Class size: 20
Activity type: Role Play

Aim: Helping participants understand the constraints of various roles and also in identifying the topic issues.

Description: This task involves two people engaging in a role play. One person plays the role of the CEO and the other as a Risk Officer. The person acting as the risk officer is required to identify two major risks posed by sustainability issues for the organization in the chosen sector. The risk officer then has to make a case of how he/she believes the organization should deal with each of those risks. The other participant acting as the chief executive officer is required to accept one recommendation, reject the other and explain why.
The organization can be chosen from any of the following sectors

• energy
• transport
• resources
• agribusiness
• manufacturing
• real estate
• financial services
• any other sector of particular interest to your group

This activity also helped the participants to understand that group activities can be enjoyable

Application: The co-ordination was initially a challenge, but it addressed the graduate qualities of lifelong learning, working autonomously and collaboratively and effective communication. It also proved to be very engaging and enjoyable.

Sketch to Model from an Abstract Brief

Name: Steve Kelly

Field or discipline: Art, Architecture and Design
Program: Interior Architecture
Course: Design Communication 2A
Year level: 2
Class size: 60+
Activity type: Sketch to model from an abstract brief

Aim: The aim of the course is for students to utilise one of a series of journal articles to create an abstract brief. The students’ perceptions of this theoretical article formulate into a conceptual hand-drawn sketch before commencing the primary element of the course namely a digital modelling.

Description: In the past the courses in digital technologies have placed an emphasis on technical teaching rather than the integration of taught skills across other streams within the program. Instead of simply teaching computing techniques and skills as was done in previous years, students were required to develop their model from an initial hand drawn perspective to reinforce and integrate drawing skills taught in first year. Students were given a choice from three journal articles and asked to develop a brief from which they would eventually model in 3D digitally. The final presentation hardcopy was compared with the original perspective sketch and helped demonstrate the different results and outcomes possible.
Among other things three outcomes where observed.

• The project developed a real-life employment scenario without making the stages or progression obvious to the students until near completion.
  


• The use of a journal abstract to develop a brief challenged the majority of students but allowed others to show high levels of articulation and comprehension.
  
  
• This task required the teaching staff to be capable of reinforcing sketching/drawing skills as well as digital modelling skills. A crossover area often neglected.
  

As the task was primarily a modelling project, resources and marks were focussed on this component, but incorporation of skill-sets from other areas of the course enabled students to develop a real-life example and a portfolio piece at an early year level.

Benefits: Enabled students to develop a concept and think creatively before developing a digital model. This mirrors a real-life situation.
The students were encouraged to avoid focusing on the end result until the modelling stage.
It is very easy for digital outcomes to be fluked because of the nature of the types of technologies being used. The process of theoretical perception, conceptual design and interpretation guides the students away from this result and towards resolving their own design intentions by using the software.

Application: Student engagement and real-life experiences.

Feedback on Teaching and Learning

Name: Helen Larkin
Field or discipline: Occupational Therapy
Program: Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, Deakin University.
Year level: 3rdClass size: 60 (but can be used for any class size)
Activity type: Feedback - Informal

Description: Several times during the semester at the end of the lecture I ask students to spend 5 minutes writing down 3 thoughts about the unit or their learning so far. I usually ask them for three specific responses and use a variety of questions for this and vary them throughout the semester. Students are asked to respond to questions such as:

• Something they have learned so far
  
• A problem they are having
  
• Something they “still don’t get”
  
• Something that has surprised them
  
• Something that they want to learn
  

In the space of 5 minutes you can have 60 pieces of feedback, given anonymously as students leave the lecture theatre. This provides quick, really useful feedback on how students are feeling about their progress. Usually done for the first time in about week 3, it provides information about how students are feeling about the unit so far and allows you to quickly identify and address, any concerns rather than wait until the end of semester when the formal student evaluations are released.

Application: This technique of acquiring feedback could be used in any discipline.