Mouse-trap powered cars

Name: Liz Smith

Field or discipline: Engineering
Program: Common first year - Civil, Electrical, Mechanical
Course: Engineering and Design Innovation
Year level: 1
Class size: 180
Activity type: Assignment

Description: Students, working in groups, create an innovative design model and compare their creations with their peers. This year the design brief was to make a car that was made of ordinary objects and propelled by a mouse trap. A public event to test the design and innovations was held in the Experience 1 studio, an informal learning environment for first year engineering students. Students were assessed by interview with a 'scruitineer' on the merits of their creation as well as performance - distance that the car was propelled.

One that had a good run

Scrutinisation of a air-bag design for a mouse-trap car

Application: Community and peer engagement with professional learning

Modelling Project

Field or discipline: Mathematics
Program: Bachelor of Mathematics
Course: System Modelling
Year level: 3
Class size: 30
Activity type: Project

Aim:
Use discipline knowledge; develop liaison, teamwork and communication skills.

Description:
For a course in modelling, groups of students choose a project from a list, discuss the project and agree aims with an industry partner, construct a mathematical model to represent the problem, undertake analysis, write a report and present the results.

The benefits of this activity are that it addresses several graduate qualities and allows the students to gain a sense of professional accomplishment by organising projects. It also assists the student to gain an understanding of the need to develop their own networks/contacts outside university.

Implementation:
This idea comes from personal history. I still recall the learning experience that engaging in such a project gave me. Organising the project demands a lot from the lecturer. Probably it could not be done by commencing lecturers, it requires some time to build up the connections in industry to ask them to be partners.

Problem Solving Discussion During Lecture

Name: Sue Milne

As originally suggested by Professor Vicki Waye

Field or discipline: Law
Program: Bachelor of Law
Course: Contract Law
Year level: 1
Class size: 30-80
Activity type: Problem solving discussion during lecture
Aim: Learning the principles, graduate qualities, problems solving skills, team work

Description: Mid-lecture, after discussion of a substantive topic, students are put into small groups (between 4 and 5 students) and given a set of problem scenarios. The lecturer moves between groups to facilitate discussions if required and when groups are faced with a similar difficulty, bring the discussion back to the whole class for a time, and then continue with problem in small groups.

Application: Often each group has a leader who dominates the discussion. This person however is usually articulate and has good problem solving skills. Therefore, they do provide another point of learning for other students in the group. Group dynamics need to be monitored.

Interactive Challenge

Activity type: Interactive Challenge

Aim: To provide a comfortable environment for students to apply theoretical knowledge to clinical scenarios. Provide information to students in meaningful ways. Encourage thought on subtle protocol variations between staff and departments. Discuss activities undertaken to provide feedback and facilitate self-reflection. Improve class confidence prior to placement. The student objectives were to identify areas of deficit in clinical skills and to demonstrate ability to apply theoretical knowledge to clinical practice. This task gave student simulated experience in general practice to challenge their knowledge base and help them to gain confidence.

Description: As part of preclinical session, a PowerPoint file making use of hyperlinks shows images of a skeleton (for surface anatomy) and a simulated field of view over the top in three different positions. The students are asked questions relating to the images. Selected answers link to a discussion. Some options for correcting poor choices are also discussed together with other questions and challenges. Following this 30 minute session, the class discusses the questions and the processes.

Drafting a Human Rights Bill

Name: Lori Kambitsis


Field or discipline: BUT
Program: Bachelor of Law
Course: Law, Society and Justice
Year level: 1
Class size: 20
Activity type: Drafting a Human Rights Bill

Aim: Develop graduate qualities 1,2,3,4 and 6

Description:
The class is divided into small groups and directed to draft a clause/provision that the group unanimously agree should be part of the Australian Bill of Rights. It is best to have a few suggestions clauses available, i.e. free education, right to marriage. Pre-reading is a must for students to understand the foundations of civil rights in various countries.

Preparation
Break into groups of 3 & request groups allocate positions

1. Scribe
2. Speaker
3. Timekeeper
   (5 mins)
   

Drafting – direct students to:

1. Decide upon clause
2. Note pros and cons of such clause in a Bill of Rights (10 mins)
3. Draft clause, including Exclusions, Definitions, Conditions and Sanctions
   (20 mins)
   
   

Report - Class to report at mock senior officer’s meeting:

1. Pros and cons of including the draft clause into a BOR
2. Methodology of drafting to avoid ambiguity, relevance now and into the future
3. Difficulties with this exercise
4. Which tools/resources do you require in order to complete this activity properly – (e.g. legislation access to internet, social views, economic position etc)
   (20 mins)
   

Staff role is to walk around to each group and facilitate critical thinking:

• Expose ambiguities
• Raise issues
• Support and validate good work
• Keep them on track
• Question their work, make observations etc.
  

Drafting Brief for students
You are a policy officer in the Attorney-General’s Department. You are asked to draft one clause for a Bill of Rights for Australia over the next 20 minutes.
Prepare a draft clause and be prepared to discuss, at a senior officer’s meeting, the following:

1. Why the draft clause should be included along with suggestions to overcome likely objections to its inclusion
2. How the clause is unambiguous, relevant now and will be suitable for the future
3. The difficulties you as a group experienced in undertaking this task
4. Which tools/ resources would assist to make this task easier.
   

Application
Allows students to:

• build relationships with each other by working collaboratively
• appreciate the complexity of drafting
• be aware of how social and historical underpinnings of a country can effect legislating
• realise the policy implications of legislating
• comprehend the difference between negative and positive human rights and as a result the impacts and effects on social economic and political imperatives of government when drafting legislation.
• develop written communicative and legal writing skills in particular understanding the complexity of language requirements in drafting and the need to write clearly and concisely –i.e. articulate yet plain and simple
• develop and refine critical thinking skills

Allows opportunity to facilitate student learning rather than default to a mini-lecture. It is fun and gives a taste of what the vocation of law can involve.

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.

Food Diary Analysis

Your name: Evangeline Mantzioris

Field or discipline: Nutrition
Program: Food Science and Technology
Course: Nutrition
Year level: 2
Class size: 12
Activity type: Tutorial and Computer-based practical class

Description: Students were provided with a food diary and asked to record all food and drink consumed over a three-day period. At the next tutorial, one student volunteered their diary and I analysed this using professionally-relevant software for nutritional analysis (macro and micro nutrient analysis). All students were able to observe input of data and subsequent analysis via the data projection system. After I completed the demonstration data input and analysis, we were able to discuss the implications (nutritional and health) of the diet, and together discuss alternatives to improve the quality of the diet. Students were then able to analyse their own food diaries in the computer labs (with my assistance) and duly suggest improvements to their own diets.

Application: Limited

Role-Playing Line up

Your name: Tina Jenkins

Field or discipline: Nursing
Program: Australian Registered Nurse Training Program
Course: RN: Acute Care
Year level: Non-award Professional Certificate
Class size: 24
Activity type: Tutorial

Description: The ARNTP it's a non-award professional certificate for overseas-educated registered nurses who wish to work in Australia. The activity was a role-play that commenced between two students and resulted in students being added to the activity to role-play the characters as they were integrated into the scenario. The result was a line of students in one row. The role play commenced at the beginning of this line with each role character in acting a part in this scenario. Once at the end of the line characters were swapped and the role-playing commenced in the opposite direction with the participants being gradually replaced as each new person is added to the end of the line.

The roles included;
1. Handover between the angiography RN and receiving ward RN;
2. Handover between early and late shifts;
3. Patient education- cardiac risk factors/ post-operative care/discharge information;
4. Dissemination of patient data between doctor and bedside RN;
5. Physiotherapist - patient education of chest therapy;
6. Dietician - patient education of lifestyle modifications;
7. Doctor educating patients family and significant others.

The students had a great time and were laughing and having fun while learning. We detected in an increase in English language proficiency. The activity also increased confidence in the students. It was important for the teacher to reinforce the tutorial environment as a safe environment; to develop and establish group norms; tomorrow appropriate cultural sensitivity; to set clear expectations that dissipation; and to get to know your students and assist them to get to know each other.

Application: This approach would suit disciplines where communication with the public is an expectation of the position.

Professional society meetings

Your name: Don Cameron

Field or discipline: Civil Engineering
Program: LBMI
Course: CIVE 3008
Year level: 3
Class size: 45
Activity type: Extracurricular

Description: Students are asked to attend meetings of the Engineering Professional Society and listen to speakers, take notes and prepare a short précis (marked very generously). It was an optional activity where students were awarded bonus marks (3-5%) for participation.

It can be hit or miss depending on the speaker. It's important not to expect too much understanding by the students; it is more about exposing them to the profession and the discipline. One high-level academic from the UK was particularly effective with my students. This presentation could have been pitched well above their heads to impress the rest of the audience, but it turned out to be an engaging talk on the general problems and solutions the discipline faces but the students really enjoyed.

One problem was that some students cannot attend these lectures because of the hours, so an alternative was explored this year. Students could choose to read and précis a conference paper or journal paper. However only one student took up the offer.

Application: Yes this could be applied in other disciplines

Scenario-based Learning corporate law

Your name: Not provided

Field or discipline: Law
Program: LLB
Course: Corporate Law
Year level: 2 to 3
Class size: 280, divided into 9 tutorial groups
Activity type: tutorial activity

Description: Each tutorial to was in turn divided into groups of five students. the groups of five students represented a particular stakeholder in a corporate law scenario involving an executive remuneration package that depended on cost savings generated by redundancies. The stakeholder groups included 1) the directors, 2) shareholders, 3) creditors, 4) employees, 5) regulators and 6) law reform bodies. The learning exercise was spread over three weeks.

In week 1 students were required to outline the role of their stakeholder group in corporate governance; to explain what corporate governance meant.
In week two students had to outline their stakeholders concerned in regard to the executive the reunion oration proposal and their groups legal rights and responsibilities
in week three groups needed to discuss how Law promoted or protected the group's role in executive remuneration and suggest changes in law reform.

The exercise was assessed formatively and summatively. Formative assessment - each group posted material to group discussion boards for each activity weekly. Groups compared with the answers with answers given by other stakeholders and also received formative feedback from staff. Each group was required to certify the contribution of each group member. Summative assessment consisted of a reflective journal submitted by individual students comprising three compulsory questions and other questions that reflected their role as stakeholders in the exercises.

Learning outcomes of course improves substantially but, SET results were very mixed. This suggests that great effort was required in explaining the rationale and outcomes of exercise to students. Also assessment required greater integration into formal teaching and learning program.

Application: Professional-based scenarios work well in most disciplines.

Modelling stormwater flow with MUSIC simulation software

Your name: Baden Myers
Field or discipline: Engineering
Program:
Course: Water resource management
Year level: Postgraduate
Class size: 20
Activity type: Practice-based learning, Computer pool practical class

Description: The class demographic was mostly English as another language students (17/20) most of which were from the Yellow River Conserancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, China. Students were guided through tutorial problem using the simulation software MUSIC for modeling storm water flows. The class was very practical, and conceptually simple and introductory. Some problems did arise when more complex matters had to be glossed over due to the difficulty and time limitations. I supported the session with slides and which were annotated - was important to put myself in the position of the student and try and think what I did not understand when I was using the software and what I've found daunting - and translate that into the support that you provide the students.

Application: Using computers to assist student learning through problem-solving with professionally-relevant software will always engage students.

Field trips in Environmental science

Your name: Ali Hassanli
Field or discipline: Environmental science
Program: Experience was in another Iranian University
Course: Environmental science
Year level: 2
Class size: 32
Activity type: Excursion Field trip

Description: I was a lecturer of environmental science course for undergraduate students. The course was a general course and mainly was delivered using PowerPoint and open discussion with students. For a change, which was requested by the students, we embarked on one or two field trips. The aim of the field trip was to provide students with an opportunity to see nature and become familiar with real-life subjects. Because of the University transportation and facilities it was not possible to take them but when an opportunity did arise we were able to go. In this field trip several subjects that were explained theoretically in the classrooms are able to be shown to students. The students after the field trip showed much more interest in the material and did try to become more involved with the course.

Application: I think this can be applied in other areas. Although it does take a lot to organise field trips, it is worth the investment of time to let students observe theoretical concepts in action in the field. Not only does engage the students during the trip but even after the event as well.

Nursing workshop

Your name: Kirsten Durdin

Field or discipline: Nursing
Program: IBNU
Course: Being a Health Professional
Year level: 1
Class size: 27
Activity type: Practice-based learning; Work stations; Preparation

Description: Students were prepared for the workshop by the study guide which had some multiple-choice and short answer questions about the topics. The workshop area was then split into two sections. The students move between the stations using the equipment and discussing tasks. r lecturers were available to students to clarify and challenge their knowledge e. If students g were not engaging in the activity, questions around the progression work were asked in many demonstrations provided.

Application: Students doing this type of practical work are much my engaging course and is compared to their experience in tutorials. It also benefits team work.

STELLA Simulations

Your name: DASI Systems engineering group; Contact Shraga Shoval

Field or discipline: Engineering
Program: Systems engineering
Course: Systems Engineering
Year level: 2
Class size: 20
Activity type: Practice-based learning; using simulation software

Description: Students are asked to model a complex system of their choice (airport, nuclear power station) using STELLA software. Once modelled, they then investigate the behaviour of the model and draw conclusions based on the simulations within STELLA. Students then submit of 1500 word assignment and TellUs2 feedback form. The benefits include allowing students to develop holistic approach to engineering which gives students an appreciation of complex systems and a multidisciplinary view. Various systems thinking tools and techniques are utilised.

Application: STELLA can be used to help students understand the complex systems that they need to operate in. Perhaps the students using STELLA in this course can create models of complex systems in other disciplines.

The old VITAL is dead - Long live the new VITAL

The Valuable Ideas in Teaching And Learning (VITAL) database died a long a painful death. Already sick and very confused, the home-grown database was mortally wounded by a virus in September 2008 and died. But out of the ashes arises the new VITAL - bigger better and more user-friendly blogger version.

VITAL ideas are shared in person through Student Engagement Swap Shops. Using a template, academics share their great ideas to engage students with their colleagues. The process is mediated through academic development staff member in the Learning and Teaching Unit on your campus.

In this version of VITAL you can add labels to your post to help your ideas be linked to others, e.g.

• Your discipline (e.g. Engineering, Nursing, Speech pathology)
• Teaching-research nexus
• Practice-based learning
• Service learning
• Graduate qualities
• ADRI
• Flexible learning environments
• Concepts
  

Feel free to comment on the ideas of others - sharing similar experiences and what happened if you tried the idea in a new context. Comments are moderated and as such there will be a delay before they appear.