WIL-fully flipping online

A novel pedagogical approach in STEM

Abstract

Work integrated learning (WIL) is becoming an important focus in tertiary education as we attempt to prepare students with graduate attributes that are fit for the real world outside academia. Developing students' employability skills during their course of study is the focus of new purpose-created WIL programs. These may be delivered in face-to-face, blended or fully online modes. When online options are chosen as the mode of teaching, and as an alternative to instructivist approaches where material is provided in passive ways, how can the learning engage the students and provide active and connected learning opportunities? The pedagogical approaches, the chosen learning design and associated assessment tasks, all play a key role. This paper reports on the transformation of twin online WIL units at an Australian university through the adoption of a novel fully online flipped learning approach through a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) lens.