Reconceptualizing the curation of prescribed learning resources in an immersive block teaching model

Abstract

The presentation will describe how the curation of prescribed learning resources has been reconceived as an enabler of an immersive block teaching model. Contemporary higher education curriculum relies on high quality learning resources to engage students, to encourage them to adopt deeper learning approaches (Gledhil et al., 2017) and to support students’ academic adjustment to university (Owusu-Ageyman & Mugume, 2023). Little has been written about learning resources and reading lists within the digital transformation of higher education in the post-pandemic environment. The presentation will showcase a new way to position prescribed learning resources accessed as an integral feature of constructively aligned pedagogy within an immersive teaching model. Through the lens of an institutional case study at Southern Cross University, the presentation will show how prescribed learning resources delivered via integrated reading list technology are an enabling element of an innovative, student-centred, university-wide curriculum renewal project. At a time of increasing student expectations of teaching quality, academic, educational design and library staff need to review whether reading lists of learning resources are fit for purpose (Brewerton, 2014) and consider the cognitive load placed on students by reading (Barile et al., 2022). The presentation will outline the evidence-based, policy-led approach adopted by Southern Cross University and will demonstrate how learning resources and reading lists can contribute to student success. Prescribed learning resources and reading lists are now seen as pedagogical tools within the immersive teaching model, providing a variety of media-rich learning resources aligned to unit learning outcomes. Reading list parameters ensure that a manageable volume of learning is implemented, reducing cognitive load and barriers to participation. The approach to reading lists taken by Southern Cross University to empower immersive teaching practices provides a refreshed model for the use of prescribed learning resources in unit and curriculum design, development, and delivery.