ASCILITE Publications

A Digital Tool for Argument Standardisation

2024-07-26T03:59:21+10:00

In PHIL1037: Critical Thinking, a first-year compulsory unit in the Bachelor of Arts at Macquarie University, mastering the structure and evaluation of arguments is an essential learning outcome. The process through which students learn to do this is argument standardisation.

The need for a tool arose from challenges in traditional critical thinking instruction, where the explicit and systematic representation of arguments is often overlooked. Dwyer et al. (2002) describe argument mapping as a visual representation of text-based arguments using a ‘box-and-arrow’ style flow-chart. Their research suggested that argument mapping can reduced cognitive load and facilitate both learning and cultivation of critical thinking skills. To address these challenges, we developed a digital Argument Standardisation Tool, taking into account feedback from PHIL1037 students and instructors.

The tool is designed to help students identify and represent the premises and conclusions of arguments while disregarding non-essential elements. It provides a workspace for students to input statements, organise them into structured arguments, and label components such as conclusion, main premises, sub-premises, convergent, or linked. Key features include free text entry, labelling, logical ordering, sharing, saving and downloading of work for future use. This structured representation clarifies complex reasoning and supports critical analysis whilst ensuring an accessible and efficient process.

The theoretical foundation of our tool is supported by research on argument mapping and cognitive science. Studies by van Gelder (2005) and Dwyer, Hogan, & Stewart (2012) highlight the benefits of explicating argumentative relationships, which our tool achieves through visual and textual representation. Gelder's emphasis on systematic skill development and practical teaching strategies guided our design to incorporate structured and iterative practice sessions. Meanwhile, Dwyer et al.'s findings inspired us to integrate visual representation techniques to clarify the logical structure of arguments and promote iterative analysis.

Key stakeholders identified critical features for the tool: a general workspace for initial text input, a structured area for building arguments with appropriate labels, automatic logical ordering, and easy error correction. The tool also allows premises to be labelled as linked or convergent, ensuring an accurate representation of argumentative relationships.

The tool was launched in Session 1, 2024. Initial feedback (n=80, representing an 80% response rate from the course) indicated high satisfaction, with an average user-friendliness and effectiveness rating of 8/10. Ninety-two percent of respondents reported an enhanced learning experience, 82% found it facilitated collaboration with peers and staff, and 48% anticipated using the tool in future studies.

Initial implementation results are promising, indicating strong user engagement and effectiveness in enhancing critical thinking skills. The next phase will be informed by continued feedback from students and instructors, to refine the tool and explore its potential applications across other disciplines within the university.

The Argumentation Standardisation Tool is a major advancement in TEL, enhancing teaching and learning of argumentation. It supports critical thinking in PHIL1037 and offers a model for future TEL initiatives in higher education. Given the broad applicability of critical thinking skills, this tool could be adapted for various disciplines, where effective argument analysis is essential.

From frustration to fulfilment

2024-08-14T19:42:44+10:00

Transaction analysis, the process of discerning which accounts are impacted (either increased or decreased) by a given transaction, is a fundamental accounting principle. While proficiency in this concept is vital for introductory accounting students, it poses a significant challenge for many. We addressed this hurdle using Excel and Excel VBA to develop a fully automated Journal Entry Learning Object (JELO) spreadsheet designed to aid first-year accounting students in grasping the intricacies of analyzing business transactions.

Grounded in cognitive load theory (CLT), our spreadsheet based JELO provides a user-friendly interface that helps students develop their skills without becoming overwhelmed. Cognitive load theory, pioneered by John Sweller, suggests that learning is optimized when instructional materials reduce unnecessary cognitive load, allowing students to allocate their cognitive resources efficiently toward understanding and mastering the task at hand. CLT distinguishes between three types of cognitive load: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane (Sweller, Ayres, & Kalyuga, 2011).

Intrinsic cognitive load refers to the inherent difficulty associated with a specific instructional topic (Sweller, J. 2010). In transaction analysis, the intrinsic load is naturally high due to the complexity of understanding the impact of transactions on various accounts. To manage this, JELO has three tiers of transaction questions. Students are allowed to progress to more complex transactions only after demonstrating proficiency with the lower levels.

Extraneous cognitive load is generated by inefficient presentation of information to learners (Paas & Sweller, 2014). JELO minimizes extraneous load through its intuitive and interactive design. By providing clear instructions, a logical interface, and eliminating unnecessary information, JELO ensures that students can focus on the essential aspects of transaction analysis without being distracted by irrelevant information.

Germane cognitive load refers to the mental effort required to create schemas and integrate new information into existing knowledge structures (Sweller et al., 2011). JELO enhances germane load by offering scaffolded and immediate feedback. This feedback is designed to reinforce correct responses and guide students through their errors with hints and explanations, facilitating deeper cognitive processing and better schema construction.

Our goal was to make skill acquisition enjoyable and, more realistically, to reduce the pain of learning transaction analysis. The JELO offers an alternative to traditional “drill and practice” methods by providing an easy-to-use, interactive learning tool that dynamically adjusts the difficulty of its questions to match the student's skill level. This adaptive learning approach ensures that students are continually challenged just enough to promote learning without becoming overwhelmed.

Additionally, JELO's feedback mechanism aligns with CLT principles by providing immediate positive reinforcement and corrective guidance. By doing so, it helps students build confidence and competence in transaction analysis, leading to a more effective and engaging learning experience.

By incorporating principles of cognitive load theory, JELO ensures that students are neither under-challenged nor overwhelmed. This careful balancing of students’ overall cognitive load facilitates a more effective learning environment, fostering both proficiency and satisfaction in mastering transaction analysis.

It doesn't need to be so stressful!

2024-07-26T03:59:42+10:00

The rapid development of the online delivery in higher education has resulted in a proliferation of research. Key in this work are two critical streams: how to support diverse students in online learning spaces, and the need for greater theorisation to guide educators on the optimal design of such pedagogies. In this study we bring these two streams together by harnessing the lens of self-determination theory (SDT) to explore the experiences of medical students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in their online learning experiences. In doing so, we contribute key theoretical and practical knowledge on supporting innovative, inclusive online learning spaces for our increasingly diverse student cohorts.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Studies indicate that the prevalence of ADHD in higher education settings is significant, and medical students are not exempt from this trend with self-reported prevalence suggests it could be as high as 24% (Emmers et al., 2017; Njuwa et al., 2020; Sedgwick-Müller et al., 2022). The nature of medical education, characterised by heavy workloads, time pressures, and complex material, can further pose unique challenges for individuals with ADHD affecting academic performance, professionalism and overall well-being (Im & Tamarelli, 2023). The literature implies that motivational alterations, particularly focusing on internal motivations, exist in people with ADHD, acting as mediators between environmental and social contexts and outcomes including behaviour and performance. Thus, what is the key in this issue is how students are supported to develop and enact their SDT to foster optimal engagement and ultimately their well-being and inclusion (Morsink et al., 2022).

In this presentation we will present our findings of semi-structured interviews with medical students diagnosed with ADHD (n=10). Specifically, our study will organise results in relation to the three dimensions of SDT including: student autonomy, competence and relatedness. Findings include the students’ perceptions of the challenges related to flexible delivery, and how greater choice also at times led to barriers around their study decision-making (e.g., to attend lectures, to study asynchronously). Through our presentation we will further provide recommendations on strategies to create inclusive, autonomy-supportive online learning spaces for ADHD students in higher education settings.

Designing-in WebGIS Tools for digital learning terrains in Natural Environments

2024-09-19T14:09:50+10:00

Authentic learning environments (Herrington et al., 2014) have been widely acknowledged in creating engaging, meaningful and deep learning experiences, including for “novice” first-year undergraduate students (Roach et al., 2018). Natural Environments (ENVS10001) is a first-year undergraduate subject (unit) that aims to deliver foundational understanding of earth systems and processes to support studies in agriculture, natural resource management and civil engineering. One main obstacle to facilitating understanding in this domain is the unfamiliar scales of the landscape processes and phenomena (Resnick et al., 2017). Natural Environments has been using the granitic geology dominated landscape of Glenrowan in northeastern Victoria (Australia) as an authentic case study.

In this presentation we explain how and why we re-designed authentic learning aligned tutorial interactions by integrating student-driven navigation of WebGIS tools such as Geoscience Australia and NatureKit portal to: (a) enable students to build understanding of how geology, geomorphology and ecology interact to result in the dynamic landscapes in the environment; (b) equip students with fundamental and valuable knowledge and skills in accessing free and publicly available datasets useful in their academic and future professional work; (c) demonstrate the authenticity of the curricular content to establish higher levels of learner engagement. The current learning design where dynamic control and interaction with spatial data is central, is just one iteration in the series of previous designs that moved from non-digital to static-digital resources in the learning environment.

Generally, an anchored instruction aligned approach (The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1990) was adopted. Prior to the tutorial, students attended two one-hour lectures explaining the structure of the earth, plate tectonics, and global-scale structural (volcanic and tectonic) landforms. We wanted students to develop an understanding of how, over “unfamiliar” geological (time) and spatial scales, geomorphological processes operating across different rock types resulting from geological processes (e.g. granite pluton emplacement amongst sedimentary rocks) result in the landscapes observed presently. During the class, with tutors as guides, students worked in groups and learnt how to use the Geoscience Australia portal to explore the Glenrowan region, centered around the Warby Ranges and the surrounding plains. Professional instructional videos developed in collaboration with the University of Melbourne Learning Environments media team were used to demonstrate how to use the portal to find geological and geomorphological information. Students were guided in the use of Google Earth to visualise terrain in pseudo-3D and using elevation transects.

The spatial correlation of landform patterns and elements with different surface and subsurface geologies was key to unlocking students’ abilities to explain the “why” and “how” of landscape evolution, albeit at the basic level. Students had mostly positive experiences and learning outcomes shown in the post-subject survey (n = 30; scores of 4.6 to 6.0 for 12 questions on 7-point Likert scale) and comments. Technical issues encountered due to simultaneous class access to the portal, and gaps in explaining specific functionalities and their potential for further understanding, were highlighted. The authors acknowledge the strong support for this work through the University of Melbourne’s FlexAP programme.

Time Efficient & Cost Effective Online teaching tool with iConcepts in Orthodontics for DDS students @ UoM

2024-09-19T15:05:15+10:00

Background

Traditional teaching methods in Orthodontics include plaster models and photos which have been used for decades, however due to the nature of being static still images its difficult for 3-Dimensional (3D) changes in Orthodontics teaching, which has posed immense challenges as the learner is unable to clear concepts on the different planes that affect the final tooth positions not to mention the protracted treatment time ranges from 12 months (simple cases) to 36 months (complex cases). In 2024 with variety of platforms such as videos, 3D animations, interactive changes in face and teeth can be added to teaching tools for Orthodontics.

Furthermore, orthodontic movements can pose difficulty in understanding the changes particularly in growing children adding to the 4^th dimension. At UQ (Naser-ud-Din, 2015) and internationally (Bridges, 2015) provided experience with creating online teaching modules highlighting its strengths of flexibility, ease of access on demand and global presence. UQ developed SBLi -Scenario Based Learning interactive for Postgraduate Orthodontic students who found it highly engaging, with self-reflective and self-assessment elements useful. (Khoo et al., 2023; Naser-ud-Din, 2016). Generally simulations can be expensive to create (Kröger et al., 2017) and it’s essential to explore cost effective simulation teaching tools with industry partners for authentic learning experience.

Aims

There is a gap in the dental education sector, particularly with emerging CADCAM (Computer Assisted Design and Computer Assisted Manufacture), which can be used to enhance the learning of core concepts in biomechanics with the aid of 3D simulated online learning. This is reflected particularly for the university students in undergraduate courses who need to feel confident and clinically ready on graduation as Dentists. Thus, greater expectations to be aligned with current technological processes in dentistry. Over the past 5 years, in particular, there has been exponential improvements by the industry providing 3D simulations for treatment planning and patient communication, commonly referred to as the GPS for smile transformations. The aim of this presentation is to highlight the time efficiency and cost effectiveness of the learning tool in sync with contemporary demands in Orthodontics to provide authentic learning platform that prepares the clinician for real patients.

Material & Methods

Currently the CAD CAM technology provide 3D simulations as open access to general public and doctors portal which can be utilized for teaching core concepts related to biomechanics foundations for student learning, engagement and self-assessment. This project envisages to create a novel forum encompassing education revolution as massive changes in delivery will occur with speed and efficiency internationally with onlinelearning demands. Hence, robust online presence with an interactive textbook such as iConcepts in Orthodontics under the banner of UoM to assist students in Doctor of Dental Surgery at MDS shall pave the way to learning needs for the future.

Results

The purpose of iConcepts a digital interactive online textbook is to create lifelong learning opportunities in safe space for visual, auditory and kinesthetic with quizzes for interactive learning of concepts without pressure in class learning and feeling judged by peers. Interactive 3D Orthodontic learning directly translates into clinical applications for various orthodontic cases. In the past decade CAD CAM has become clinically relevant particularly with Clear Aligner Therapy adding to higher precision and patient satisfaction. Moreover, it is imperative to have Long Term Retention (LTR) (Irvine, 2020) of learning new tasks. It is essential that students in dentistry are aware of the digital workflows and have clinical preparedness on graduation as it’s the future and certainly here to stay.

Both qualitative and quantitative data on student experience shall be collected and analysed to seek out the best practices and processes for instruction of delivery in Orthodontics for DDS cohort in particular and lifelong learning for all ages in general encompassing time efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Conclusion

The current iConcepts is developed by the author with Apple Education and prototype is being assessed with MSc Data Science cohort at UoM. Furthermore, it is refined by Master of Science Software Engineering students at UoM.

Future Recommendations

Novel teaching tools shall be marketed to developing universities internationally assisting the dissemination of information a flagship for UoM and revenue generation for department of Education at UoM. In future there will be more and more demand towards interactive concepts clarification (Poblete et al., 2020) and self-assessments hence iConcepts provides that ideal platform. Such technologies will become more prevalent in the future particularly with AI and translated into different languages/ sectors of education. Various faculties that showcase start to finish particularly lengthy/complex outcomes can benefit with timelapse videos and 3D CADCAM for clarity and comprehension for the entire process such as patient journey throughout treatment in Orthodontics.

Examining students’ learning experiences in hybrid environments

2024-09-19T14:35:57+10:00

In the aftermath of the pandemic, a generation of students who are comfortable with learning online and prefer having the autonomy to decide how they want to learn – in-person or remotely – has emerged. Hybrid learning, where teaching instruction is given to students in different spatial settings at the same time, is a modality that has the potential to deliver stimulating learning experiences to support diverse learning needs. The experiences in various forms of learning – in-person, fully online and hybrid – have exposed students to various modalities of learning and access to resources. However, the absence of physical presence and the lack of feedback from remote students has caused lecturers to be uncertain of the effectiveness of hybrid lectures and tutorials. Thus, understanding students’ learning and their considerations when determining their preferred modality will provide lecturers with clear strategies for supporting students. This qualitative study aims to examine students' learning experiences in a research-intensive public University in New Zealand university. The study was guided by the following questions: (i) What are students’ perceptions of learning in a hybrid environment?; and (ii) How do students learn in hybrid environments? In-depth interviews with 15 students who have experienced hybrid education in a research-intensive public university in New Zealand was conducted using a descriptive case study. Three categories that described students’ considerations and dispositions towards learning in hybrid environments, and how various conditions and resources within their learning environment influenced their behaviours emerged.

Preliminary findings found that students’ dispositions towards learning were critical factors that contribute towards their behaviours in a hybrid environment. Unlike traditional conceptions of teaching and learning, hybrid education requires students to be active participants in their learning and take charge of their own learning in aspects such as deciding how they best learn. Despite minimal social and physical interaction with lecturers and their peers, students found hybrid learning to be effective. Interviews with students who had experienced hybrid education highlighted perspectives that differed from previous studies. Remote students showed willing and drive to excel in their studies despite being disconnected from their peers in the physical spaces, and did not feel that they had less of a learning experience. This finding echoes that of Zhong et al., where social presence was not found to be significantly related to learning persistence. Students found having immediate access to information and lecturers to be more important than whether they could communicate and interact with other in-person classmates.

The study recommends strategies lecturers can employ to improve teaching practices in hybrid environments. This includes ensuring all materials are digitally captured synchronously and having a student partner to monitor questions or teaching assistant to address questions the chatroom will help remote students greatly. Further analysis of the current data will take a closer look at how students’ dispositions play a part in students’ engagement levels and their behaviours in hybrid environments.

Responding to AI

2024-08-01T01:58:06+10:00

The influence of artificial intelligence “has enormous implications for higher education” (Bearman, Ryan & Ajjawi, 2023, p. 369). Those of us teaching in the higher education sector have felt this profoundly: after the rapid uplift in digital teaching and learning practices in response to COVID 19 we are required, yet again, to respond to a new set of challenges brought about by the impact of AI. As an example, chatbot technology is calling into question the reliability of the traditional essay as a valid assessment tool (Stokel-Walker, 2022), requiring significant critical reflection and reevaluation of assessments from teaching academics to ensure course learning outcomes are met.

This presentation outlines how a teaching specialist academic working in an initial teacher education (ITE) programme at a South Australian university carried out one such redesign. The focus of the re-design was a ‘unit/year plan’ assessment task for a final year curriculum specialization topic. The redesign aligned with the two guiding principles from TEQSA’s Assessment reform for the age of artificial intelligence (Lodge et al., 2023). The first of these guiding principles: ‘Assessment and learning experiences equip students to participate in a world where AI is ubiquitous’ (p. 2) points to the importance of educating students around AI use relevant to their learning. The second guiding principle: ‘Forming trustworthy judgements about student learning in a time of AI requires multiple, inclusive and contextualised approaches to assessment’ (p. 3) underscores the ongoing necessity for universities to have effective means by which to measure student learning outcomes, especially in accredited courses. The redesign of the assessment task both acknowledged the potential of AI for use in the professional space, and simultaneously sought to ensure assessment validity through the inclusion of an interview with the pre-service teachers.

Overall, the redesign of the assessment task incorporated three components. Firstly, a brief introductory module about discipline-specific uses of AI was incorporated into the online course content. Secondly, pre-service teachers were ‘permitted’ to utilise available AI platforms in the creation of their planning task. Thirdly, the assessment process was adapted to include an oral presentation (Gulikers, Bastiaens & Kirschner, 2004) conducted as a panel interview in which each pre-service teacher could provide evidence of the pedagogical perspectives underpinning their plan and subsequently demonstrate the successful achievement of topic learning outcomes. The purpose of the panel interview was to assist assessors in forming a judgement about pre-service teachers’ pedagogical understanding and application, in line with relevant criteria from Matheis and John’s Comprehensive Authentic Assessment Model (CAAM) (Matheis & John, 2024).

Autoethnographic reflections on the first delivery of the redesigned assessment are provided, including alternative approaches for future iterations. The learnings from the teaching initiative outlined in this presentation contribute to the growing discussion about how we can develop the capacity of our pre-service teachers as skilled and critical practitioners who can utilize AI as a valuable tool for their ongoing professional practice.

Enhancing productivity with custom GPTs to support curriculum development

2024-09-19T15:12:59+10:00

At the Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, we develop a range of postgraduate and professional development courses designed to upskill the healthcare workforce in digital transformation. Our course development is informed by the ADDIE framework (Branch, 2009). During the design stage, we leverage the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework by Wiggins and McTighe (2005). UbD uses a backwards design process that starts with the outcomes in mind that constructively align with the assessment and learning activities. This process can be challenging for subject matter experts (SMEs) with little pedagogical training (Cho and Trent, 2005; Michael and Libarkin, 2016), particularly in designing topic-level learning outcomes using Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom et al., 1956); outlining key understandings, the big ideas and their practical applications (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005); and separating what learners should know from how that knowledge will be applied. Consequently, substantial hours are dedicated to 1:1 coaching sessions to ensure effective development of learning outcomes and content. Our driving research question is how can generative AI improve our efficiency of working with SMEs with little pedagogical knowledge?

We therefore integrated ChatGPT into the curriculum design process (Conrad and Hall, 2024). However, instead of using a standard instance of ChatGPT that relies on effective prompt engineering by the user, we iteratively developed two custom GPTs (Bloomify and UnderstandMe), using OpenAI’s GPTbuilder. These GPTs constrain and customise ChatGPT’s output without requiring coding knowledge. The build process starts by explaining to the GPTbuilder what you would like your custom GPT to help with, followed by iterative prompting about specific functions, behaviours, and additional materials to constrain the GPT’s responses. Bloomify translates unrefined topic aims from SMEs into three bloomified learning outcomes across three Bloom’s levels for the SME to consider, iterate and improve upon. UnderstandMe uses the topic outcome created by Bloomify and helps the SME conceptualise the big ideas, key understandings, and the practical application of the knowledge they will learn in the topic. This approach keeps the SME at the centre of the process, rather than offloading the entire curriculum design process to ChatGPT, which was described by Conrad & Hall (2024).

Early results of implementing the GPTs are promising. We observed a significant boost in efficiency, enabling us to complete twice as many UbD templates per hour of coaching. This suggests that GPTs could offer a substantial improvement in time efficiency and offer a simple way of reducing the cognitive burden of the backwards design process for SMEs and learning designers. These time savings are then reallocated to other aspects of the course development process providing the opportunity for richer collaboration between SME and learning designer. We have provided links to both GPTs, both of which are discipline-agnostic, to support the broader learning design and academic community through the backwards design process within their respective disciplines. Further evaluation of these tools will focus SME perspectives of using the GPT during collaborative course development and to investigate how these tools will influence the social norms of course design in the future.

Assuring and Improving Learning Outcomes

2024-09-19T14:15:55+10:00

Universities have a responsibility to measure and assure graduate learning outcomes ("Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards)," 2021; TEQSA, 2017). However, while assuring learning outcomes is a priority across the sector, many universities fail to collect meaningful data on student achievement of these outcomes (Martin & Mahat, 2017). Some institutions are investigating technologically enhanced processes to improve the efficiency and accuracy of learning-achievement data (Burrack & Musselwhite Thompson, 2021; El Marsafawy, 2022). Over the past four years, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business School has made substantial enhancements to assurance of learning (AoL) practices, leveraging learning management system (LMS) functionality and data visualisation software to create a streamlined process, which better facilitates the continuous improvement of programs. This work is of particular interest to academic and professional staff involved in collecting and reporting on student achievement data, in program continuous improvement and evaluation, or in leveraging technology-enhanced learning analytics.

The UTS Business School’s AACSB accreditation necessitates the collection, tracking, and reporting of student achievement of program-level learning outcomes (AACSB, 2020). Each program identifies subjects to "develop" and "assure" learning outcomes, with student achievement measured within specific assessment tasks and collated for program-level analysis. This process can be administratively complex, and historically involved multiple manually collated spreadsheets. This represented a substantial time cost for the faculty and often resulted in unreliable data. It was, for example, common practice to report overall subject marks rather than the specific learning outcome to determine achievement level, resulting in assessment practices that diverged from the recommended standards of constructive alignment (Biggs, 2014).

In 2021, faculty T&L and central learning technologies teams commenced a pilot using LMS tools and the interactive data visualization tool PowerBI to streamline data collection, collation, and visualisation. Canvas Outcomes set up at the faculty level allows for centralised achievement-data collection, which, when linked to student and program information in PowerBI, can be used to obtain program-level insights. Beyond administrative efficiency, the project was also designed to improve and foreground the constructive alignment (Biggs, 2014) of measured learning outcomes. The revised process requires the embedding of learning-outcome-aligned assessment criteria within rubrics, resulting in improved constructive alignment and data transparency.

The initial pilot was evaluated using Human Centred Design (IDEO.org, 2015) methods, which concluded the new system was an improvement on previous processes. Since the pilot, the faculty has completed a full rollout to over 60 subjects and 20 programs.

Once this foundational AoL process was in place, program and subject-level continuous-improvement projects could be built upon it. Previous reporting methods had limited usefulness to Program Directors and were no longer fit for purpose due to changes in AACSB requirements. Reporting processes were therefore adjusted to focus on continuous improvement of key program metrics. In the new process, Program Directors and teaching teams review program data to identify curriculum or student-experience improvements that will enhance student achievement of learning outcomes. For example, a master's program identified that a high percentage of students were falling below expectations in two outcomes. Investigating the causes identified a need for substantial changes, with new subjects taking assurance responsibilities, and revisions to the program's overall assessment strategy. Recent data shows significant improvements in the target outcomes.

This presentation will outline these updated technology-enhanced AoL processes demonstrating how the collected data can be used to improve university programs and the student learning experience.

Making Human Learning Visible in a World of Invisible Generative AI

2024-07-26T02:51:28+10:00

The growth of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Higher Education (HE) challenges us to think differently and creatively about learning and assessment in order to prepare graduates for their futures (Dawson, 2023) This presentation will argue that the very strength of GenAI is also its Achilles’ heel. Anyone can access, garner and generate data rapidly, but human beings have never had a greater need for scrutiny and evaluation of this output. Our graduates will need to have a transparent understanding of how they are learning in terms of the critical choices they make, the information or knowledge they engage with, and where machine learning ends and theirs begins (Okolie et al, 2022). The future of assessment in HE must go beyond simply measuring knowledge acquisition and instead focus on capturing and evidencing students’ capacity for critical thinking.

We will highlight some preliminary findings and early impacts of work underway at the University of Bath (UK) and University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), who are working collaboratively to ensure students develop holistically, excel in critical thinking, and gain the confidence and skills to use GenAI effectively to advance their ideas and learning (Osborne, 2024).

This will be structured in three parts:

Part one (Reviewing): We will outline work during academic year 23/24 by academic staff to review all their assessments against a three-fold categorisation model of permitted GenAI usage. From September 2024, all assessments clearly signal to students the extent to which GenAI is permitted in each assignment.

Part two (Guidance): We will showcase resources that support staff to rethink assessment design that embeds GenAI in ways that are authentic, valid and robust (Upsher et al, 2024). We will also present resources that support students to consider how they might use GenAI ethically, and to develop their AI literacy skills and critical thinking.

Part three (Examples): We will present initial findings from an internal project that is engaging with national and international employers, in-house world-leading AI researchers and our own students that highlight creative approaches to harnessing GenAI as a tool to reinforce and support (rather than replace) human learning.

We conclude by suggesting that HE has always promoted critical thinking and the rigorous investigation and examination of the production of knowledge. We need graduates who can critically engage with their learning, and assessments that capture and evidence this. The only way to do this effectively is to put people at the start, middle and end of our assessment journey.

Leveraging TikTok and Technology-Enhanced Peer Assessment

2024-09-19T14:23:08+10:00

Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is a crucial element of contemporary higher education. This Pecha Kucha explores innovative TEL strategies to enhance student engagement and self-directed learning.

This abstract outlines a technologically innovative education design in an Australian university’s commerce course. Within this course, students created TikTok videos to promote awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The selection of TikTok as the social media tool of choice was informed by its demographic alignment, with 36.7% of its users aged 18 to 24 (Statista Search Department, 2024). The efficacy of short-form video content in fostering engagement, particularly among higher education students, is well-documented (Wong, 2023; Perez et al., 2023). Moreover, Khechine et al.’s (2020) research shows that the adoption of social media tools in education promotes the value of enjoyment and interest in performing an activity, thereby fostering intrinsic motivation - a critical determinant of effective learning (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Students also engaged in peer assessment of their TikTok videos, which centred on the creation of TikTok content tailored for first-year students. Given that the assessors themselves belonged to the first-year cohort, they were deemed to possess an inherent understanding of the target audience. Thus, they were best positioned to evaluate whether TikTok videos communicate the information clearly and stimulate audience’s interest and engagement. Peer assessment is reflexive and allows students to apply learning by assessing in the current context (Bloxham & West, 2004). Li et al. (2020) suggest peer review of assessment leads to significantly improved assessment performance. It also promotes ownership and accountability, encouraging self-directed learning (Ryan & Deci, 2020).

Qualtrics, a technology platform, was employed to collect and collate evaluation scores to facilitate the peer assessment process. The peer assessment used Qualtrics with rubric sliders, thereby emulating the evaluative framework typically employed by instructors. This approach adhered to best practices in TEL (Chernikova et al., 2020). Qualtrics also provides additional advantages, including streamlining score collection from large student groups and efficiently generate descriptive statistics to examine whether students give higher scores to their own groups compared to others, and whether there's more variability in scores for their own group versus peer groups (Bloxham & West, 2020).

Promoting UN SDGs using TikTok successfully supported TEL and enhanced self-directed learning. The course engagement score has increased by 9 basis points from the previous teaching period. Some examples of student feedback included: “Rehearsing for the video and interviewing students was fun and insightful.” “I was genuinely curious about the university’s sustainability approaches.” “TikTok makes learning about real-life UN SDG efforts approachable.” “Watching other students' TikTok videos was interesting.” Feedback from the teaching team also suggests the quality of the videos were well-reflected in the peer assessment scores.

This Pecha Kucha presents an innovative education design that leverages TikTok and peer assessment to boost engagement. It provides a valuable model for academics seeking to integrate TEL strategies within their disciplines, like performing arts and medicine (Nicolaou et al., 2019; Cheston et al., 2013).

Exploring the Needs of Facilitators of Microcredentials

2024-09-19T14:26:11+10:00

Microcredentials are a significant development as a higher education offering with potential for addressing learner, industry, and government needs (Varadarajan, Koh & Daniel, 2023). As a type of shortform learning, microcredentials can be taken as individual short online courses to upskill for industry, with some available for credit towards a degree in higher education. These emerging offerings are relevant to technology enhanced learning in their online design and in the pedagogy of shortform learning. In the context of the broader issues of graduate outcomes and diversity mandates (Australian Higher Education Standards Framework, 2021) microcredentials are affirmed as part of the promise of solutions in higher education with the release of the Australian Qualifications Framework Review 2019 (Noonan, 2019), National Standards Framework for Microcredentials 2021 (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2021) and The Australian Universities Accord final report (Department of Education, 2024). Other broader issues high on the agenda are quality assurance and the student experience (Australian Higher Education Standards Framework, 2021). As progress is made towards microcredential offerings becoming business as usual, research is needed to ensure practice and improvements are shared between universities as they too begin or increase their offerings of credit bearing microcredentials.

Facilitators of microcredentials are often experts whose industry experience is valued in higher education by learners and government, given the focus on the importance of graduate employability (Department of Education, 2020). Yet, the experience, perspectives and professional learning needs of the facilitators of microcredentials are not extensively addressed in the literature. This research will investigate the experiences and needs of facilitators of microcredentials, many of whom may not have the traditional prerequisites for being an academic or educator in higher education. This work engages facilitators as participants for insights into the ways higher education institutions could better support their contribution in the unique context of microcredentials as credit-bearing shortform learning.

This study is situated in practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in a university context with substantial online microcredential offerings facilitated by industry professionals. Much resourcing has gone into the learning design of the microcredentials in this context, optimising the technology enhanced learning potential of the online offerings (synchronous and asynchronous). This study has arisen from practice in the work of moderating microcredential assessments. It explores current facilitation and feedback practices within the technology enhanced learning context of microcredentials. This study aims to explore the research question: What further support is needed for facilitators of credit bearing microcredentials?, by investigating the priorities for professional learning support to facilitators, particularly in relation to curriculum and assessment practices. The research design is a qualitative study (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005) involving semi-structured interviews (Bearman, 2019) with facilitators of credit-bearing microcredentials. This project advances the call for further research into microcredentials (Che Ahmat et al., 2021; Selvaratnam & Sankey, 2021) and will inform future practice in supporting facilitators with the broader benefits of enhancing quality assurance and the learner experience.

This Pecha Kucha presents the practice context and initial findings identifying the priorities for professional learning needed by facilitators, specifically on feedback and ‘assessment for learning’ practices in credit-bearing microcredentials.

Student use of Generative AI

2024-09-19T15:14:42+10:00

Despite the potential and challenges of generative AI (GenAI) in higher education, there remains a significant gap in empirical research to guide strategic decision-making. Current studies are often conceptual or small-scale explorations of staff and student experiences, ranging from analyses of the potential advantages of GenAI, through to expressions of serious concerns about risks for higher education (e.g. Chan & Hu, 2023). Large-scale and comprehensive, data-driven investigations remain rare, however. In particular, there is a need to explore the experiences of students, to better understand what they know, how they are using GenAI, why they are using it, and their attitudes about the use of AI in their studies, by their educators and in their future lives (e.g. Lodge et al., 2023; O’Dea, 2024).

This Pecha Kucha reports on the second phase of a multi-institutional collaborative project. The project’s overall research question is ‘How do university students make meaning about GenAI in relation to themselves as learners?’ The first phase involved focus groups at each university, followed by a large-scale online survey. The analysis of the focus group data informed the design of a cross-sectional survey to explore students’ perspectives on GenAI on topics such as knowledge and access, use and usefulness, and attitudes.

The survey development was an iterative and significant undertaking. Current literature was unable to provide a comprehensive picture of student use and attitudes. Given the rapidly changing GenAI landscape, we were also aware that student experience and attitudes are contextually dependent and may also evolve quickly. Whilst valuable, existing studies have not connected the varied dimensions of the student experience we seek to investigate.

While keeping these studies in mind, this project used a grounded thematic approach to build its own survey instrument, beginning with 4 focus groups of 11 scholars to identify the key issues which needed to be explored within the Australian university context. This stage was followed by iterative development of the survey, in which over 200 suggested edits were provided by 17 scholars as well as a reference group of Deputy/Pro-Vice Chancellors. When completed, the survey was piloted by undergraduate students.

The anonymous online survey was conducted in the second half of 2024 at four Australian Universities located in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. Human Research Ethics Committee approval was granted at each University prior to conducting this study.

The data is currently being collected. To date, the survey has been completed by 8,340 students. The Pecha Kucha will present key descriptive data on selected components of the survey including student knowledge and access, GenAI literacies and skills, perceptions of use and usefulness, and motivations and barriers for when they choose to (not) use GenAI. We will present findings of the whole sample, as well specific equity groups who may have experienced disadvantage or under-representation. For example, preliminary analysis already indicates significant differences in the ways in which international students use and trust generative AI. The findings will provide an evidence base to inform policies and practices that leverage GenAI's benefits while mitigating its risks.

Digital Literacy and Support Available for Academics at a University (Pilot Study)

2024-10-03T14:56:24+10:00

Without a doubt, technology is an integral part of the education sector in the 21st Century (Scull et al., 2020). In addition to being a subject matter expert in their specialist area of knowledge, academics are expected to possess digital capabilities that will allow them to deliver current and state of the art curriculum to their students (Newland and Handley, 2016). Digital literacy is defined as ‘those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society’ (Jisc, 2014). Incorporating digital literacy into a suitable continuing professional development (CPD) series may ensure the training and development of the academic workforce (Matthews, 2021). The importance digital literacy as a form of continued professional development (CPD) was most evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when all academics had to shift their teaching to an online environment (Antonopoulou et al., 2021). Many academics had to do a crash course in digital literacy to be able to create suitable online learning environments.

Digital literacy can be indicative of teaching success and the development of professional identity in the fast-evolving education sector (Mardiana, 2020). Current literature shows that in addition to prior education and qualifications, experience with digital teaching technologies is a major influence in the development of digital literacy, which may impact their professional identity (Watts, 2018). Incorporating digital literacy into CPD and using a suitable model such as Kennedy’s model for CPD may improve the digital literacy of academics. A study conducted by Butson, 2019 revealed that newly appointed academics felt left behind due to the fast pace of technology in their workplace. Another study conducted by Sanchez and colleagues (2021) also demonstrated teachers experiencing low self- perception of their digital literacy skills during their employment. Hence, “being component” in workplace technologies is strongly connected to the construction of professional identity (Avidov-Ungar and Forkosh-Baruch, 2018).

Therefore, it can be suggested the role an institution plays in developing digital capabilities of academics is important not just for successful and efficient delivery of high-quality teaching, but also for the well-being of the academics in the workplace and to develop the professional identity. Also, understanding the baseline digital capability of its employees and whether additional support is required to develop digital literacy can provide invaluable insight in professional development of an academic during its employment at an institution.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the self-perceived digital literacy of academics employed at a university and the support they have received in developing their digital literacy during their employment. The aims also include to identify support that staff require to build their DL and how Kennedy’s 3 lens of CPD may assist in improving DL programs at universities (Kennedy, 2014).

Spaces, Pedagogies and Technologies

2024-09-19T14:27:09+10:00

23 Things International (23T) is a 14-week, online, self-directed course for doctoral researchers, supervisors and early career researchers. It provides the basis of engagement with 23T to promote building academic and research networks, increase familiarity with resources underpinning research, and establish professional profiles. The programme, first launched in 2020 as a collaboration between UK and NZ universities, initially attracted 250 participants. In 2021 the collaboration grew, and it attracted 400. The following years, 2022 and 2023, the number of collaborating institutions grew again, reaching about 550 participants. This year there were more than 1000 participants.

Adopting a socio-technical framework (Bostrom & Heinen, 1977), this paper draws on end-of-programme evaluation data from participants in 23T, delving into perspectives on whether and how they connected with peers during this course. Within a broadly interpretive approach (Erickson, 2012), the analysis involved the refinement of major and common ideas (Mayring, 2000) held by participants.

Two themes emerged from the 2020 to 2023 end-of-programme evaluation:

opportunities to network with the diversity of peers need to be better engineered in; and
explicit pedagogical guidance is required to develop deeper partnerships among participants.

Apart from grouping participants into pods based on research interests, the course includes mechanisms of support, including an engagement mentor and live networking events. However, the networking and partnership opportunities were still viewed as insufficient by participants, and the number of participants attending live events was low (average of 5 per session). One of the participants commented, “Given the lack of engagement I found within my pod, I would have preferred a much bigger facilitated session for discussions and sharing of ideas”.

While it is argued that intentionally designed spaces, pedagogies and technologies can lead to enhanced learning and teaching experiences (Dron, 2023), many 23T participants did not agree. Not only was engagement in the created spaces lower than hoped, it seemed that the digital learning and teaching pedagogies (e.g., the creation of communities of practice via pods) were not as effective as intended either. The design of the spaces has been revised over the last 4 years, yet outcomes appear to be similar. The adoption of ‘proven’ pedagogies found in the literature was also in vain. The integration of digital technologies into networking and partnership opportunities seems limited.

Given that the participants of 23T are in their highest qualification status, we face a conundrum about why the spaces, pedagogies and technologies within the programme appear to be not interconnected when it comes to networking and partnership opportunities as we enter the so-called “post digital learning spaces of higher education” (Lamb, et. al., 2022). We now think that building digital literacy prior to the commencement of the programme and providing explicit digital literacy support during the programme might be a key to addressing this conundrum. It is hoped that this development will increase future participants’ understanding of the networking opportunities built into the course and stimulate them to engage actively and with purpose.

What makes this online course tick?

2024-09-18T12:16:31+10:00

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999; 2010) is well-established, widely accepted, and practical framework. It highlights social, cognitive and teaching presences in effective online learning communities. 23 Things International (23T) is an online, flexible course for research students and early career researchers. The course is self-directed and promotes the building of academic and research networks, familiarity with resources underpinning research, and establishing professional profiles. It was first implemented in 2020 and has been refined annually to better meet needs of participants. One of the features of the programme is the ‘pod group’ arrangement. Participants are connected to each other in groups (the pods) based on research interests. The size of the pods is kept to about ten, so to facilitate manageable and meaningful communication and discussion of topics within the programme.

Each year, 23T participants have reported pleasing satisfaction levels. Using the CoI, this investigation examined possible reasons why. The study aimed to: (a) identify practices and structural mechanisms that seem to underpin the experienced success of 23T; and (b) articulate plans for more targeted evaluation-review-development.

Data sources included:

annual reports (2020-2023) on the course containing integrated analyses of participant evaluation data;
the outline and structure of 23T, showing the fabric of the course, how it is organised and arranged and how it implemented;
facilitators’ knowledge and experiences of conducting 23T.

Data were organised using a simple matching process (Garrison et al, 1999). CoI elements were matched with practice examples from implementation, and evidence from the data. Positives, negatives, possibilities and conclusions were drawn about gaps and potential.

Examples of evidence drawn the from the data sources about the 23T programme include:

Teaching Presence: including the use of prompts built into the material presented online and the facilitators’ spoken and written interactions with participants through live activities and through blogs (boosting authentic participant application of their learning);
Social Presence: pod groups and how they were arranged and supported;
Cognitive Presence: range of topics covered and the participant activity surrounding the topics.

To build on theoretical work investigating 23T (Stein, Sim & Rose, 2023), this study is helping us to pinpoint concrete elements that seem to be influencing online course effectiveness and enabling identification of ways to strengthen 23T’s future flexibility and attractiveness. This is pertinent because of the uniqueness of 23T, namely, that it is online, flexible and self-guided and has no formal assessment expectations and does not provide formal credit. Gauging what counts as effectiveness and success is quite different therefore from award courses normally offered by higher education institutions. Similar application of the CoI using our matching approach may be helpful for others in different contexts and settings who are planning and/or implementing online courses.

TEL Pedagogies: Gamification – Grammar Guru

2024-09-19T14:29:10+10:00

The Centre for English Communication (CEC) developed and launched Grammar Guru (GG), a browser-based game application, as part of Singapore Management University’s (SMU) TEL initiative in 2023. GG is used as part of CEC’s blended learning resources, which complements our core curriculum module for undergraduates, Writing & Reasoning (WR). GG is an upgraded iteration of Power Grammar 1.0, a basic grammar game developed by students several years ago. GG is an effective TEL tool for teaching grammar as it uses gamification to make learning engaging and caters to the needs of learners with different language proficiency levels.

GG improves student engagement through gamification. Gamification is the application of game design, techniques and elements in non-game contexts and activities (Deterding et al., 2011, p. 1). Research shows gamification is highly effective in increasing student engagement, attention, motivation, creativity, digital literacy and performance level (Barua & Bharali, 2023; Fernandez-Antolin et al. 2021; Skritsovali, 2023). GG includes elements such as points, leaderboards, hints, and non-playable characters (NPC) to teach grammar in a professional, corporate context. By contextualizing grammatical and linguistic forms in sentences and paragraphs, GG helps students achieve greater competence and fluency in their English language abilities. The gamification elements make learning more interactive and enjoyable which improves students’ knowledge retention and application. A primary quantitative study conducted by CEC established that “the positive correlation observed suggests that the higher level a student played, the higher the student’s English language proficiency”. CEC is currently conducting a qualitative study to gather students’ feedback.

GG also addresses the requirements of learners with diverse language proficiency levels by varying the difficulty of questions. These questions include sentence and text correction, matching, re-arrangement, true/false, fill-in-the-blanks and multiple-choice questions. Players work their way through eight levels that comprises Junior and Senior Intern, Junior and Senior Management Trainee, Junior and Senior Middle Management and Junior and Senior Director. Perez (2020) and Langendah (2016) highlight how certain game elements such as storytelling, challenges, progression, and feedback can boost student drive and learning. The gamification elements in GG have a similar effect, motivating learners of different proficiency levels. GG’s interface is designed to be simple and intuitive. Regardless of students’ socioeconomic background or gaming aptitude, they would be able to navigate it effectively.

One challenge GG faces is striking a balance between entertainment and education. Limited game development funds result in limited game design features and less engaging gameplay for students, especially in comparison to commercial games with substantial budgets that offer high entertainment value through advanced graphics and intricate storylines. Furthermore, as CEC instructors are not game design experts, we have limited knowledge that restricts our capacity in designing and maintaining GG. Currently, CEC outsources game design and maintenance to a third parties. This results in instructors not being able to directly make changes to the game questions and content. Moreover, the process of retrieving relevant data for analysis is tedious and time consuming.

Despite these constraints, thoughtful and strategic approaches can create valuable TEL resources that improve student learning.

Building Bridges

2024-09-19T14:31:13+10:00

One of the major challenges faced in learning design is fostering effective collaboration between Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and learning designers (LDs) in the implementation of new pedagogies and learning technologies (Gottler, 2023). This area of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) practice is still emerging in nature, with an acknowledged need for more examples of effective approaches (Pollard & Kumar, 2022; Tay et al., 2023). The importance of this collaboration is amplified by the fact that both SMEs and LDs share a key stakeholder—the learner. To ensure the learner benefits fully, both parties must work together seamlessly, drawing on their complementary skills to deliver a learning experience that is both meaningful and impactful (Pollard & Kumar, 2022).

This presentation serves as a case study, showcasing the processes used by the Institution’s LD team to build positive collaboration with SMEs to integrate new pedagogies and learning technologies in the development of asynchronous mathematics modules. In particular, this project involved the integration of two learning design principles, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) (CAST, 2024; Mayer, 2024), that were foreign to the SMEs, and learning technology that had not been used previously at the Institution in the form of lightboard video recordings.

In the initial stages of this project, the Institution’s LD team encountered many of the issues previously reported in literature regarding working with SMEs, such as ambiguity of roles and tasks, power struggles between SMEs and LDs, and SME resistance to the use of new education technology and pedagogies (Chen & Carliner, 2020; Tay et al., 2023). To overcome these issues and to ensure the success of the project, a new approach was developed that prioritised clarity, communication and the common goal of building an excellent learner experience.

The new approach drew on research into the factors that facilitated or hindered the relationship between SMEs and LDs, and included the following core principles:

Mutual respect: LDs worked to build an environment where the expertise and time commitments of both SMEs and LDs were acknowledged and valued (Tay et al., 2023).
Shared commitment: Processes were introduced to ensure that project goals were well defined and that a shared vision for the learning modules was established to foster a strong investment in the project's success (Chen & Carliner, 2020). In particular, we placed the learner experience at the centre of decisions regarding module design, by setting the student as the core “stakeholder” in design workshops.
Common language: Steps were taken to establish a common language between SMEs and LDs by defining terms and processes to facilitate clear communication (Gottler, 2023).
Empowering expertise: Both SMEs and LDs were empowered to contribute their unique skills to the project and given autonomy to make decisions during the design and implementation process (Chen & Carliner, 2020). For example, we acknowledged the expertise of our SMEs in classroom teaching and chose to record teaching videos without a formal script, yet based on an agreed scope and examples.

This presentation will expand on how these principles were enacted practically to foster a strong partnership between SMEs and LDs characterised by effective communication, positive relationships and a strong sense of ownership of the project. The presentation will conclude by illustrating how this collaborative approach ultimately led to the successful completion of the project within constraints such as competing priorities and firm deadlines.

Exploring the relevance of Universal Design for Learning implementation in the post-secondary landscape from the perspective of sustainability

2024-07-26T03:09:47+10:00

This presentation showcases findings from a Canadian study which was carried out through 2023-24. This project explores an innovative facet of the momentum around sustainability within higher education, one that goes beyond the focus on environmental and operational preoccupations and concentrates on social and pedagogical sustainability. It examines the way the introduction of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to a campus, through the creation of a cross-discipline community of practice, can (i) empower faculty to develop sustainable accessible practices within their own classroom, (ii) significantly reduce the reliance of the campus on accessibility services and reduce the pressure felt by these services, (iii) successfully integrate accessibility and inclusion within institutional strategic thinking around sustainability. The presentation synthesizes findings from a qualitative action-research project which examined perceptions and experiences of 14 stakeholders with different status and toles across the campus. The study adopted a phenomenological approach to data collection and analysis (Holland, 2014) and explored the participants’ own constructs in relation to the overlap between UDL and sustainability.

Accessibility in the higher education has thus far been addressed through a medical model approach focused on retrofitting. In a nutshell, teaching and learning is designed for the ‘traditional learner’ and support services take on the task of supporting students who experience barriers in this design, with remedial, targeted services outside the classroom. The demographics of higher education, however, have changed widely over the last two decades, and retrofitting approaches are no longer sustainable. The volume of demand is growing exponentially, wait times increase, and the cost of Accessibility Services increases in a way that becomes unmanageable within most post-secondary campuses (NEADS, 2018). Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can address many of these strains on resources. Indeed, UDL is an emerging model for the management of diversity in the classroom which equips instructors to remove the majority of barriers to access to learning and support the needs of most diverse learners within the classroom itself (Al-Azawei et al., 2016). The literature highlights that most of the needs of diverse learners can be addressed with ease within the classroom itself once inclusive design and UDL are adopted and integrated as a mindset, across institutions (Baumann & Melle, 2019; Dalton et al., 2019). UDL can therefore address some of the concerns over the sustainability of current disability service provision models.

The need for a sustainable lens in this area is therefore tangible and pressing. Accessibility services, student services personnel, and faculty are all painfully feeling first-hand the inability of the current structure to meet the needs of diverse learners and to address the volume of service requests. UDL has the potential to address this strain on support services and to re-empower faculty to create inclusive provisions within the classroom space. A practical example of this would be the considerable pressure placed on accessibility services to digitalize printed material or to seek alternate versions of PDFs that are shared in class but are not accessible with reading software. This is an example of costly, repetitive use of resources that can be solved sustainably by empowering instructors to use the UDL principles in their class design and not rely on print only or on non-accessible digital documents. This has immediate resource and funding implications. UDL integration represents a clear example of sustainable transformation: an initial focus on professional development with faculty leads to a reduction in spending and resources that are non-renewable (Fovet, 2017). The presentation showcases the wider implications for UDL development across the sector.

Artificial Intelligent Branching Simulations (AIBS) in Critical Care Neonatal Nursing

2024-08-14T18:53:17+10:00

Roleplaying, simulations and branching scenarios are among the most authentic, critical and effective educational experiences, though have seen limited adoption due to the expense of creating, staffing, adapting and sustaining them over time (Davies, 2013). The new generation of large language models have made possible new affordances that enable delivering scenario based roleplaying experiences more sustainably. This Pecha Kucha charts the development process, frontier technology and the positive outcomes of an artificial, intelligent branching simulation (AIBS) a in critical care neonatal nursing simulation.

Critical care disciplines and nursing have a tradition of using expensive in-person simulations and labor-intensive, high-stress scenarios to prepare students for the workplace (Jefferies, 2020). After such training, nurses undergo rigorous, high pressure in-person evaluations, such as the ANSAT (Ossenberg, Mitchell & Henderson, 2020), which they must pass in order to practice. Foundational reading about nursing practices and reviewing practice manuals is a step towards passing such evaluations, but these more theoretical learning practices don’t constructively align with the situational, authentic skills that are demanded in practice. With few learning experiences that can scaffold towards critical in-person evaluation, students often report high levels of anxiety and that they feel inadequately prepared for in-person evaluation, sometimes failing and leaving their studies and aspirations entirely (Cornine, 2020). Mindful also of an industry wide shortage of critical care nurses, there is a clear need to find bridging solutions that can affordably and effectively prepare trainee nurses for demanding in-person workplace evaluations.

This Pecha Kucha charts the development of AIBS that was designed to bridge a learning gap between more theoretical training methods and high stress in-person training evaluations. The increasing popularity of conversational agents powered by large language models on web-based platforms like Character.ai (Sarkar, 2024), suggests that students might find a chatbot an approachable, engaging and an increasingly familiar experience. Initial tests directly prompting ChatGPT and Claude.ai both showed promise, but also raised some issues around reliability which mandated more direct and qualified oversight of teaching staff. A technical solution was required as an intermediary between the students and the LLMs that enabled ‘human-in-the-middle’ (Mollick, 2024) oversight. After an extensive review, the educator created tool ‘Cogniti’ was selected due to it’s ability to provide a seamless, pretrained scenario chat experience, while also enabling student account integration, data governance, supervisor oversight and privacy controls.

The prompts used to instruct the Cogniti AI agent were developed using the RTRI prompting framework (Lui 2023, Hardman, 2023). By separating parts of the scenario into sequential chunks, each with a series of ‘expected responses’ it became possible to create and align an improvisational prompting script that resembled a sequence from a typical hospital procedures manual and that aligned to the prescribed ANSAT placement evaluation framework (Ossenberg, Mitchell & Henderson, 2020). Allocating specific roles to the AI agent and to the trainee nurse within a framework of expected responses enabled the narrative to resemble an authentic interaction, but within a safe environment. Prompting the AI agent to progress the narrative under specific conditions and to provide structured feedback to students, enabled a cohesive educational experience that was able to address specific gaps in student knowledge of neonatal practice and procedure. Staff and student feedback demonstrated positive results in terms of engagement, satisfaction, academic performance and student well-being.

Bridging Cultures, Advancing AI

2024-09-26T21:00:15+10:00

In an era where generative AI (AI) is reshaping education at breakneck speed, how can institutions keep pace while also ensuring authentic learning? Our international Community of Practice (CoP) offers a compelling answer. Spanning Australia and Vietnam, this unique collaboration has not only navigated cultural differences but leveraged them to create a rich tapestry of AI integration strategies in HE. From unexpected synergies to challenging assumptions, our journey offers crucial insights for educators worldwide grappling with AI's transformative power.

Established in April 2023, our CoP has grown to approximately 500 members drawn from multiple campuses across Australia and Vietnam. This cross-cultural collaboration aligns with Wenger's (1999) Communities of Practice theory and demonstrates a novel approach to harnessing global collective intelligence in HE.

Our CoP has critically examined the impact of AI on HE, exploring its transformative potential and challenges in teaching methodologies, learning experiences, and assessment practices. Our discussions have extended to the ethical and environmental considerations of increased AI adoption in education, aligning with the growing need for sustainable technological integration in academia.

Key outcomes of the CoP include:

Development of AI-integrated curriculum frameworks and co-creation of staff training materials, enhancing institutional readiness for AI integration;
Design and implementation of innovative learning tools, such as AI-generated interactive personas, enhancing student engagement and outcomes;
Facilitation of research collaborations, resulting in both publications and multiple conference presentations;
Exploration of AI-enabled learning analytics for personalised learning, with initial implementation across different cultural contexts; and
Amplification of public awareness about AI in Southeast Asian education, as evidenced by extensive media coverage in Vietnam.

Our CoP's activities, including monthly expert-led meetings and weekly newsletters, have catalysed significant advancements in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) research and practice. The initiative's success aligns with the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) and social learning theory (Bandura, 1977), supporting contextualised AI integration in pedagogy and andragogy across diverse educational settings.

Our CoP has overcome significant challenges, including sustaining engagement across time zones and sourcing diverse expert speakers, through dedicated leadership and strong institutional support. The CoP's impact led to its official recognition and the formation of a cross-school steering committee, further amplifying its influence and demonstrating its strategic importance to the institution.

This presentation will share key insights from our journey, including strategies for fostering engagement in a remote, cross-cultural CoP focused on rapidly evolving technology. We will discuss successful AI-enabled pedagogies implemented by CoP members, how challenges were addressed, and the impact of diverse cultural perspectives on AI adoption. A key lesson learned is the importance of balancing AI integration with maintaining academic integrity and authentic assessment in the rapidly evolving landscape of educational technology.

By sharing our experiences, we aim to provide a model for other institutions seeking to harness collective intelligence in shaping the future of AI in HE, while addressing critical issues such as appropriate AI use, systemic approaches to programmatic assessment, and the process of learning and teaching in an AI-enhanced environment.

Data-Driven Teamwork

2024-09-20T15:59:51+10:00

Group assignments are a staple in higher education, providing opportunities to enhance collaboration and communication skills. However, we frequently encounter grievances related to group work as coordinators of large STEM units (800 students). Our student survey identifies work ethic and communication discrepancies between group members as barriers, often leading to uneven workloads, dissatisfaction, and diminished collaborative learning (Bacon et al., 1999). Common mitigation strategies to address work ethic discrepancies, like group charters and peer evaluations, often prove ineffective, since they could be ignored if not properly followed up or enforced (Chang & Brickman, 2018).

Another barrier to group productivity lies in the team formation process itself. Traditional team formation methods – self-selection, random assignment, or instructor-led grouping – each present inherent limitation. Self-selection often results in homogenous groups susceptible to "groupthink" (Janis, 1982), limiting the diversity of thought essential for creative problem-solving. Random assignment, while seemingly impartial, can lead to imbalanced skillsets and an uneven distribution of workload (Bacon et al., 1999). While instructor-led grouping might seem ideal, it is logistically impractical within large cohorts (Decker, 1995). Computer-aided team selection offers a promising alternative. Its automated process streamlines team formation, generates diverse teams, and allows instructors to focus on teaching, despite concerns about increased workload (Cavanaugh et al., 2004).

To address these group work challenges, we have developed a multi-pronged strategy integrating computer-aided team selection with a comprehensive follow-up and feedback framework. Our goal is to transform group work from a source of anxiety to a rewarding learning experience.

Our approach combines technology with strategic interventions:

Computer-aided Team Formation: We utilise Gruepr, an open-source team selection software (Hertz, 2021), to generate groups based on student preferences including work styles and meeting preferences (Cavanaugh et al., 2004). Gruepr integrates seamlessly with our learning management system, Canvas.
Structured Communication, Collaboration, and Proactive Monitoring: Regular temperature-check surveys deployed through Canvas allow students to rate their group's progress and workload distribution. This data enables early identification of potential issues. To encourage group dialogue, the aggregated and anonymised outcome is shared with team members
Facilitating Peer Feedback and Communication through SRES: The Student Relationship Engagement System (SRES), a learning analytics tool (Liu et al., 2017), was used to communicate aggregated peer feedback to individual group members, encouraging constructive dialogues regarding group progress.

Our evaluation compared student performance, feedback, and complaints from the current year to previous years, alongside an estimation of staff workload. Preliminary findings demonstrate a reduction in staff time spent on group formation using Gruepr's automated grouping, highly contingent upon accurate survey design. Complaints, though still reported, were less severe, suggesting that regular temperature checks promoted proactive communication. Importantly, student feedback provided valuable insight, with many groups identifying the need for increased in-person interaction and improved scheduling strategies to accommodate diverse commitments. Our presentation will elaborate on these results, showcasing both successes and challenges, and propose a refined workflow to further enhance collaborative learning experiences.

Harnessing AI

2024-08-01T02:40:37+10:00

Integrating digital tools in education is essential for innovative teaching and learning (Msafiri et al., 2023). However, their mere availability does not ensure effective implementation. This presentation explores the development of an AI-powered chatbot designed to assist academics and learning designers in effectively using digital tools. Guided by the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model and the Teaching Enhanced Learning Accreditation Standards (TELAS) framework, this project aims to bridge the gap between tool availability and effective usage.

Effective implementation of digital tools begins with human factors, precisely the vision and expertise of educators. To achieve this, the TPACK model highlights three critical domains: technological knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). These domains are critical to the effective and successful implementation of digital tools in the teaching-learning ecosystem. Our AI-powered chatbot leverages the TPACK model to connect educators’ pedagogical and content knowledge by conducting a needs assessment based on user-provided inputs and recommending suitable tools for enhanced teaching and learning.

The chatbot interacts with users through precise, conversational inquiries, gathering detailed information on course titles, learning objectives, students' expectations, delivery methods, interaction types, desired tool functionalities, and accessibility considerations. This comprehensive approach ensures the chatbot provides well-informed, contextually relevant responses and resources to the users, thereby enhancing instructional effectiveness. By offering continuous support through our self-enrolled teaching support Canvas site, the chatbot ensures educators have access to assistance when needed, making it particularly beneficial for busy academics and learner designers. This then breaks the traditional barriers of time and place and offers users flexibility and real-time quality digital tool solutions.

The chatbot knowledge base is built from a comprehensive tool document that maps each available tool at the [university name] to the TELAS framework. This framework sets rigorous standards and criteria for evaluating the quality of online environments, making it ideal for assessing tools across critical domains, including the online learning environment, learner support, learning and assessment tasks, and learning resources. By configuring this quality resource, the chatbot empowers educators to develop a deeper understanding of effectively integrating technology into their teaching practices for a successful learning experience

Additionally, the chatbot provides real-time solutions on available tools, supporting continuous professional development and helping educators stay updated with the latest digital tools for their teaching needs. It offers use cases and knowledge base articles, addressing fragmented knowledge, time constraints, and technical expertise gaps, making it a valuable resource for newly recruited learning designers or academics to easily familiarise and induct themselves in the digital tool space. It offers quality assurance in tool usage by employing the TELAS framework. Moreover, the user data collection can provide insight for organising tailored training and support for academics.

In conclusion, this presentation demonstrates the practical application and benefits of our AI-powered chatbot to improve digital tool integration in education. Using the TPACK and TELAS frameworks, the chatbot provides personalised support, helping educators seamlessly incorporate technology into their teaching and offering real-time recommendations to address digital tool challenges. It helps both new and experienced educators enhance their teaching, combining technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge for effective learning.

Strengthening social presence and connectedness in 100% online courses through CONNECT

2024-09-19T15:23:23+10:00

Over recent years, higher education has seen a significant shift toward online courses. Factors driving this change include digital technology ubiquity, diverse student populations, workforce demands, and the increasing need for more flexible learning environments (Serrano et al., 2019). However, while online course enrolments are rising faster than on-campus courses, retention rates remain lower (Australian Government, 2021). Evidence suggests that online education can negatively impact students’ sense of connection, leading to feelings of isolation and disempowerment (Roddy et al., 2017). This is also reflected in the Australian University Mental Health framework (Orygen, 2020) which emphasises creating supportive online learning environments that promote student well-being. The Australian Universities Accord (Australian Government, 2024) calls for universities to embrace TEL. However, given that research has shown the need for more professional development (PD) and support for online educators (Ahern and Biedermann, 2022; 2023), innovative, evidence-based strategies are needed for organisations to build capacity in online teaching. Drawing on a comprehensive review of literature, the authors developed CONNECT: a framework to enhance social presence and connectedness in online learning (Ahern et al., 2024).

Grounded in research underpinned by Garrison et al.’s (2000) Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, the principles of Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2018) and leveraging TEL, this framework offers educators a roadmap for nurturing a sense of community that positively influences student well-being, engagement, and overall success. Key components of the CONNECT framework are:

C - Communication is responsive and supportive

O - Optimal online presence

N - Nurture educational and professional growth

N - Networking opportunities fostered

E - Engaging communities of learning

C - Contemporary and authentic content

T - Timely and effective feedback for learning (Ahern et al., 2024).

The study follows a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of CONNECT in guiding teaching staff to use evidence-based strategies to promote belonging and connectedness in online education. In phase one, CONNECT was implemented within a 100% online postgraduate (PG) subject. This presentation will showcase online teaching strategies used to apply all elements of CONNECT as implemented in phase one. Phase two, also showcased, involved creating and releasing an online short course as professional development for teaching staff across two PG online courses at the authors’ university: Master of Nursing (MN) and Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education (GCDE). After these implementation phases, the third phase will measure the effectiveness of CONNECT across the two PG courses. Data will be collected via (i) a student survey and (ii) a staff survey. Data analysis will compare the experimental group (participants enrolled or teaching in MN or GCDE) against the control group (participants not enrolled or teaching in MN or GCDE). Data will be collected from students and teachers across Australian universities offering 100% online courses. We hypothesise that by implementing CONNECT, the study will (1) Show improved student satisfaction in the experimental group and (2) Add to the body of evidence to inform and support teaching staff to develop strategies that can help build connectedness and social presence in online learning.

Students as collaborative partners

2024-09-19T15:22:14+10:00

In contemporary society, Artificial Intelligence (AI) pervades numerous facets of our lives and is likely to impact many sectors and professions, including education. Tertiary-level students in particular face challenges regarding the use of AI for studies and assessment, including limited understanding of AI tools, as well as a lack of deep critical engagement with AI for learning (Shibani et al., 2024). To respond to emerging developments in generative AI, the recent Australian Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) report suggests tertiary-level learning and assessments be designed to foster responsible and ethical use of AI (Lodge et al., 2023). This involves the development of AI literacy among students to engage with AI in critical, ethical ways that aid their learning and not hinder it.

Our project aims to narrow the AI literacy gap among students from diverse study backgrounds by providing foundational knowledge and developing critical skills for practical use of AI tools for learning and professional practice, in collaboration with students and academics as part of a Students as Partners (SAP) initiative. Staff bring expertise in AI critical engagement and students bring practical, first-hand experiences of learning in this collaboration, supported by the university’s SAP program.

Building on the current UNESCO recommendations for the use of generative AI in education (UNESCO, 2023) and prior theoretical frameworks on AI literacy (Chiu et al., 2024; Ng, et al., 2021; Southworth et al., 2023) we target key skills that higher education students should develop to meaningfully engage with AI. By creating accessible and engaging resources, such as instructional videos and comprehensive guides on generative AI applications like ChatGPT and ways to prompt for enhancing learning, we introduce existing AI tools and teach students to use them effectively, promoting a hands-on learning environment.

Using learning design principles, the developed curriculum will be presented in an AI Literacy module on a Canvas site, with supporting instruction workshopped with student participants for evaluation. Student cohorts recruited from diverse disciplines will pilot and assess the effectiveness of the program, and qualitative methods such as focus groups and interviews will be used for evaluation of our intervention and continuous improvements. Findings will inform tertiary students’ current level of AI literacy and the effectiveness of interventions to improve key skills beyond their disciplinary knowledge, better preparing them for life beyond university. Indeed, the implementation of similar AI literacy courses has demonstrated statistically significant improvements in AI literacy and understanding of AI concepts amongst university students (Kong, Cheung, & Zhang, 2021).

Our approach underscores the importance of relational engagement in higher education with students as partners (Matthews, 2018) and participatory design with students in a topic that is significant in the current age of AI (Laupichler et al., 2022). The course's flexibility to be accessed directly or embedded into other curricula ensures scalability and broader impact, solidifying the validity of our multifaceted approach. Through utilising relevant research methodologies and learning design principles, we endeavour to create an AI literacy course that is robust, accessible, educational, and engaging to use by tertiary-level students from diverse study backgrounds.

Designing platforms for digital object-based learning

2024-08-14T19:32:34+10:00

Over the last decade, object-based learning programs have become a staple of museum collections. These programs encourage and allow patrons to engage with a series of curated objects, offering educational experiences through tactile exploration. Naturally, they are focused on having their audience engage with the physical objects themselves (Chatterjee & Hannan 2016). Applying museological practice and object-based learning in the digital context requires not just presenting digital replica of physical objects, but scaffolding their presentation and platform with purpose, intent, and understanding of the strengths and pitfalls of digital delivery (Beetham & Sharpe 2013; De Kluis, Romp, & Land-Zandstra 2024). As such, digital object-based learning platforms and programs purposefully designed for remote learning and online delivery fill a unique niche in the higher education space and are beginning to come into their own.

At Macquarie University, objectbasedlearning.com (an initiative of the Faculty of Arts and stewarded by its Learning Design and Production team) was relaunched in late 2023 following an extensive redesign, with learning designers, academics, and students now working together to provide new remote learning opportunities and experiences for the classroom. This presentation introduces the audience to the refurbished website, explains the ethos behind its redesign with an eye to evolving learning spaces and remote learning, and explores the site’s current and future applications and projects as a case study for designing digital object-based learning.

The site was designed with future utility and outreach at its core, offering flexibility in how it presents and categorizes digital objects, and a site layout which reflects the needs of its target audience – schoolteachers. The NSW Stages 5 and 6 Curriculum informs the website’s design, determining how objects are grouped, how users navigate the site, and what information and metadata is prioritized, developed, and displayed. Since its relaunch, the website has been utilized in schools and faculties in NSW to deliver object-based learning experiences and classes. While it is too early to publish on outcomes of the project, early feedback has been positive, and new teaching initiatives have developed around the platform. In 2024, student interns at Macquarie were challenged to develop educational materials, lessons, and workshops which took advantage of the potential of technology-enabled object-based learning. These artefacts were designed to give students a unique object-based learning experience, removing the boundaries of physical distance, financial constraints, and fragility of objects. Moreover, student interns involved in the photogrammetric scanning of objects for the website were themselves enjoying an object-based learning experience, engaging with their materiality and learning how best to present the object in a digital environment.

Games: The WD-40 of Learning

2024-08-14T19:27:45+10:00

The educational landscape has undergone a paradigm shift in recent years, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid transition to remote learning environments, while ensuring educational continuity, may have inadvertently compromised the development of essential soft skills necessary for in-person interactions, such as communication, collaboration, and teamwork—skills that are vital for success in the workplace (Knight et al., 2021).

While games have long been used in education (Conney & Darcy, 2020; Pagel et al., n.d.; Yuan et al., 2020), this study explores the potential of modernizing traditional game-based learning by integrating digital consoles and physical games into contemporary business classroom settings. This approach leverages the inherent appeal and engagement of games (Conney & Darcy, 2020; Hunicke et al., 2004), while fostering the development of critical soft skills. Building upon established frameworks for evaluating educational games, we explore the effectiveness of collaborative games in promoting positive learning experiences.

Studies have shown that GBL can enhance motivation, knowledge retention, and problem-solving skills (Lester et al., 2023). Furthermore, collaborative games, by their very nature, necessitate effective communication, teamwork, and strategic planning among players (Pagel et al., n.d.). This project delves deeper into this aspect, investigating the potential of collaborative games to specifically address the regression of soft skills observed in the post-pandemic era.

The initial pilot phase of this research focused on Pico Park on the Nintendo Switch and the Team 3 board game as potential collaborative games to cultivate soft skills. Using the MDA Framework (Hunicke et al., 2004), a well-established educational game evaluation tool, we assessed the games' ability to foster desired soft skills. Both games require effective communication, coordination, and strategic thinking, which are essential for fostering teamwork, collaboration, and problem-solving. Additionally, their accessibility and diverse formats (digital and physical) offer opportunities for students to practice soft skills in different learning environments, ultimately contributing to the research's goal of investigating the effectiveness of collaborative games in promoting positive learning experiences.

The pilot involved approximately 50 students across three classes of the same course. Anonymous open-ended feedback was collected from participants using a survey questionnaire adapted from Conney and Darcy's (2020) design, which was based on the Kirkpatrick Four Level Evaluation Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 1959, 1994). Participants were asked to provide their perceptions of the games, what they learnt, and the potential impact on their future group work. Preliminary findings from the pilot data are promising. Students found the games "fun", "different learning", “useful”, “refreshing”, "amazing", "engaging", "excellent for communication" and more (n=50). 98% of students (n=50) felt more confident in their ability to collaborate with others after playing the games and nearly 95% (n=50) indicated that it helped them identify potential teammates for their group assignments. Anecdotal evidence from academics and students corroborates the quantitative results, reporting increased motivation, improved team dynamics, and a more positive overall learning experience, suggesting that these activities significantly improved teamwork skills. To compliment this qualitative feedback, academics (n=3) observed a decrease in group issues and an increase in grades of around 5% for the major group assessment, bringing the average up from 60% in previous semesters to 65% in the trial period.

This research aims to contribute to the existing literature on educational games and soft skills development. By demonstrating the positive impact of collaborative games on student engagement, teamwork, and soft skill development, we hope to encourage further exploration and implementation of this approach in classrooms. The findings of this pilot study highlight the potential of games to not only revitalise traditional pedagogy but also exhibits how technology can be used to address the critical need of fostering essential soft skills in a post-pandemic educational landscape.

Gen AI and student perspectives of use and ambiguity

2024-08-01T03:03:48+10:00

Advances in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) have created uncertainties and tensions in higher education, particularly concerning learning, equity and quality. Despite emerging empirical research, much current policy is based on assumptions about how and why students are using GenAI.

This Pecha Kucha reports on 20 online focus groups involving 79 students from four Australian universities. Each focus group represents a mix of disciplines and levels of study (including undergraduate and postgraduate). We conducted reflexive thematic analysis, adopting a relational view of AI (Bearman & Ajjawi, 2023) that supports a nuanced examination of how AI uses are enacted, understood, and contested within educational settings.

Our study shows that students use GenAI in diverse and complex ways and their beliefs about GenAI contain ambiguity, contradictions, and tensions. In this pecha kucha we focus on five interrelated tensions, identified across participants, and selected as particularly significant and challenging for educators. The salience of these tensions varied across participants but, together, they paint a complex picture of student engagement with GenAI.

Tension 1 is between student perceptions of AI in terms of enhanced efficiency and concerns about academic integrity. Students reported that GenAI tools could speed up writing, editing, summarising, and simplifying complex materials. However, many also feared that short-cuts and efficiencies could lead to accusations of cheating.

Tension 2 is between widespread adoption of GenAI tools and ambiguous policy around acceptable use. Many students used a diverse range of GenAI tools, yet a number of participants voiced uncertainty about allowable use of GenAI in assessments. A perceived lack of clear and detailed guidance from universities created confusion and anxiety, and the development of personal rules to avoid accusations of academic misconduct.

Tension 3 is between empowerment and dependency. AI tools were sometimes seen as reducing inequalities (e.g. for international students or those requiring language support). On the other hand, some students expressed concerns about becoming dependent on GenAI tools where tasks were made too easy, undermining learning and skill development.

Tension 4 is between access and equity. Closely related to tension 2, here, the reduction of barriers to academic writing and accessing educational resources is contrasted with concerns around exacerbating inequalities due to variation in access and support. These concerns are amplified through diversity of engagement, beliefs of students and educators around acceptability, and contextual pressures (e.g. fear of being left behind, time pressures, the perceived stakes of assessment).

Tension 5 is between beliefs about deepened engagement with learning materials and reduced quality or accuracy of GenAI output. Some students reported that GenAI tools could provide useful perspectives on resources or simplify complex texts. However, many voiced frustration that GenAI tools sometimes provided incorrect information, required verification or “missed the point”, which could lead to significant additional work.

These tensions highlight areas where students need additional support and guidance. The overlaps and entanglements of these tensions make their navigation in higher education particularly complex. These findings suggest practical implications for educators, policymakers, and institutions. For instance, to better support students, institutions should continue to develop clear, context-sensitive guidelines that resolve ambiguities around acceptable use (Tensions 1 and 2) and provide concrete strategies to balance the benefits of efficiency with concerns over academic integrity and dependency (Tensions 1 and 3). Additionally, efforts should be made to ensure equitable access to GenAI tools and support (Tension 4) while helping students critically assess the quality of AI-generated content (Tension 5).

Flipped Learning with Generative Artificial Intelligence

2024-07-26T09:12:43+10:00

This study explores the complex process of integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into a flipped classroom. Employing Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) narrative inquiry framework, the study collected data from class observations and semi-structured interviews with a lecturer and six English-majored undergraduates before, during, and at the end of a 15-week British Literature course. Bhattacharya’s (2017) inductive analysis model was used to inform the thematic narrative sub-approach. The findings revealed both challenges and benefits associated with using GenAI for flipped learning while highlighting its impact on students’ self-regulated learning and teacher self-efficacy.

This presentation retells stories from the participants’ lived experiences in a GenAI-enabled and flipped classroom. Exemplary learning resources are showcased to demonstrate how GenAI tools can effectively and efficiently facilitate flipped learning. The insights gained from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential of GenAI in transforming educational practices and enhancing the flipped learning experience.

Indigenous Pedagogies in Digital Learning

2024-09-20T15:48:38+10:00

YarnPods are an innovative digital learning tool designed to integrate Indigenous knowledges and perspectives into higher education curricula. Featuring First Nations' voices and stories through yarning podcasts, YarnPods enable teachers to authentically embed Indigenous knowledge within their disciplinary contexts. Drawing on Indigenous pedagogies such as storytelling, knowledge sharing, and dadirri—deep listening, which refers to “a deep contemplative process of listening to one another in reciprocal relationships” (Ungunmerr-Baumann et al, 2022) - YarnPods offer educators a transformative teaching approach. This approach shifts the narrative from learning about to learning from, with, and for Indigenous peoples, histories, culture, and Country. By creating culturally safe spaces for dialogue, reflection, and shared learning, YarnPods also address the concerns of non-Indigenous educators, helping them navigate the complexities of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into their teaching practices without fear of misrepresentation or 'getting it wrong’.

My Gamilaroi heritage—along with my deep connection to Country and inherent ways of knowing, being, and doing passed down from Elders—has profoundly influenced the design of the YarnPod concept and emerging framework. The framework provides a structured, respectful, and culturally sensitive approach to engaging with Indigenous subject matter experts and serves as both a resource for educators and a model for interaction. Built around five core elements, the framework emphasises active listening and reciprocal learning. After consulting with a local Dharug Elder and scholar in a yarning circle, we determined that these elements should be connected by interwoven lines, symbolising the rivers of shared knowledge that flow during a yarn.

At the heart of the YarnPod framework are ethical principles, carefully shaped through consultation with Indigenous Elders and scholars within my institution and community. In adherence to AIATSIS ethical guidelines (2020), YarnPods safeguard Indigenous intellectual property while ensuring cultural safety of guests, students, and educators. Indigenous guests are invited through established networks and community connections, and before recording, written consent is obtained for both the recording and distribution of the YarnPod. A verbal caveat in each episode clearly states that the knowledge shared remains the intellectual property of the knowledge holders and is shared with their consent for educational purposes.

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) (2018) informed the introduction of YarnPods to educators, encouraging deeper understanding through experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting—mirroring traditional Aboriginal pedagogies. “Cultural experts such as Elders hold knowledge in the traditional stories, in the ceremonies, and in the practices; teaching is by mentoring and learning is by doing and application” (Hogue, 2016). This promoted higher level learning by enabling educators to develop understanding through experience and reflection, and global research based on ELT supports the cross-cultural applicability of the model. During this process, educators were provided with audio-only exemplars and resources allowing them to hear and practice deep listening and reciprocal dialogue, assisting to reduce anxieties associated with incorporating these pedagogies into their teaching practices.

From a Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) perspective, YarnPods demonstrate the potential to decolonise education by embedding Indigenous voices and storytelling traditions into the curriculum. By aligning with Indigenous oral knowledge systems, YarnPods provide a scalable and adaptable model that can be applied across various disciplines, making them a valuable tool for integrating Indigenous perspectives authentically within higher education. Podcasting, as a digital medium, enhances flexibility, accessibility, and engagement by connecting learners to Indigenous stories and voices through tone, inflection, and the intimacy of spoken word. YarnPods are embedded within the Learning Management System for students using the Echo360 platform, offering closed captioning and downloadable transcripts to support a wide range of learners. The result is a versatile learning tool that allows students and educators to access Indigenous knowledges in remote, hybrid, and in-person settings.

To date, YarnPods have been embedded into 17 units across six different disciplines in the Faculty of Arts, reaching more than 2000 students. Along with the YarnPod recording, students are provided an audio-clip to introduce the concept, an episode notes page detailing references and a glossary of terms, and a reflective space with prompts tailored to the content of the yarn, where they can critically examine their own perspectives and reflect on their learnings.

The research behind YarnPods investigates their effectiveness as a pedagogical approach for embedding Indigenous knowledges into curricula. Initial findings through reflections, surveys, and one-on-one yarns indicate that YarnPods enhance students' understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture and perspectives, while educators report that YarnPods provide a culturally responsive teaching resource that alleviates concerns of misrepresentation. Future developments include scaling YarnPods across additional faculties and introducing assessable student podcast activities, contributing to a deeper evidence base for YarnPods as an innovative digital learning tool.

The successful integration of YarnPods highlights the importance of culturally sensitive design in educational resources, showcasing their potential as a powerful digital tool for embedding Indigenous perspectives. Positioned at the intersection of emerging technologies, pedagogical innovation, and Indigenous knowledge-sharing practices, YarnPods provide a culturally responsive and technologically advanced platform that fosters reciprocal learning relationships and meaningfully addresses the challenges of decolonising education.

Scaling Oral Assessment Authentically

2024-09-19T15:10:17+10:00

The rise of AI and related threats to academic integrity in a post-pandemic academic environment where most assessments are not invigilated forces universities to revisit the question of how to conduct safe and fair assessments (Dawson, 2022). As invigilated exams and online proctoring have fallen out of favour with university administrators due to cost, space or privacy concerns, oral assessments have found renewed interest (Newell, 2023). These are effective in measuring students' knowledge whilst verifying that the responses truly belong to the student (Joughin, 1998). Though there are many established variations of oral assessment, from viva voce thesis defence to interactive orals (as widely conducted in Law and Medicine), they usually emphasise authentic live interaction between student and assessor. However, the sheer scale of some undergraduate programs (as common in Business Schools) along with the integrated nature of business curriculum requiring marking expertise from different graders makes truly interactive oral exams unfeasible. As a response, a large first-year undergraduate Business course (with student enrolments of between 500-1200 per term) at a G08 institution implemented an authentic recorded oral assessment, which mimics job interview practice.

Students were recorded for a set time period while they responded to questions verbally with the resulting video and transcripts being later marked. We utilised an asynchronous, remotely invigilated oral assessment (Baird et al., 2022) for the final exam to improve academic integrity and to further embed transferable skills that is industry relevant whilst increasing student employability. The new assessment format was named ‘Live Recorded Video Exam (LRVE)’. The invigilation process for this exam was conducted on a one-on-one basis where one invigilator checked each student in their groupings. The invigilators were provided with a procedural checklist to follow to be consistent within all the groups. The process involved the invigilator calling the student into a Microsoft Teams channel, verifying the student’s identity, checking their immediate surroundings, sharing the screen of the device that the student was using, providing a password verbally for the student to access the exam questions and then to start the recording for invigilation purposes. Once the recording commenced, the invigilator would leave the meeting room and allow the student to complete the exam independently by articulating their responses. The graders had access to both the video recording as well as the captioned transcript to mark the exam and check for any student misconduct.

Students were informed about the exam format through different channels from the teaching team as well as innovative student-led initiatives. They were given various opportunities to prepare throughout the term within established class structures and practice mock sessions.

Out of 542 exams, none were reported for violations of academic integrity and the rate of special consideration applications was lower. This is, in part, due to potential problems being rectified during the student check-in process. Surveys conducted after the exam showed the LRVE format was well-received by markers and student representatives in part because of its flexibility, offering a complement to traditional viva voce models and demonstrating its scalability.

The Future of Feedback

2024-07-26T08:50:21+10:00

Research shows that feedback practices significantly impact key student outcomes, including performance, engagement, and satisfaction (Esmaeeli, Shandiz, Shojaei, Fazli & Ahmadi 2023). Feedback is a crucial component of learning in Higher Education (HE) and plays a vital role in developing critical thinking, improving retention, and enhancing student engagement. The importance of timely dialogic feedback in enhancing student engagement and potentially improving retention is well understood (Advance HE 2020). However, academic staff are increasingly time-poor, with reduced opportunities to provide regular in-depth quality feedback outside of that given for summative assessment (Henderson, Ryan & Phillips 2019).

Early experimentations with using Generative AI (GenAI) such as ChatGPT to provide feedback for formative assessment recognises that students will learn and work in an AI-enabled world beyond their university studies (Bowditch 2023). GenAI can be leveraged inside and outside the classroom to achieve positive student engagement and improved skill development thereby affording them the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed (Hooda et al. 2022). Engaging with GenAI for feedback purposes offers an opportunity to increase equitable access to feedback across the student cohort, to support and further develop their critical skills and learning outcomes. As Verhoeven and Rana (2023) note, “AI disruption may present an opportunity to shift the focus from assessment of learning to assessment for learning”. Utilising GenAI for feedback purposes can provide rapid, personalised learning support, and aid with planning, drafting, and revising student work. However, this adoption of GenAI for feedback must be driven and developed by the educator, keeping the human in the loop to ensure quality (Atchley, Pannell, Wofford, Hopkins & Atchley).

Our project draws on the principles of feedback literacy, current research on using AI as learning tool (Verhoeven & Rana 2023b; Tubino & Adachi 2022) and emphasises student-centred learning through dialogic feedback practices. The project draws on scholarship from Mollick and Mollick’s seven approaches to student use of AI (2023), Perkins, Furze, Roe and MacVaugh’s framework for ethical integration of AI in assessment (2024), and emerging work from Liu, Brightman, and Miller on GenAI and feedback (2023).

This presentation addresses the conference theme of Technology, providing an overview and reflection on staff development and adoption of GenAI for feedback processes for the benefit of student learning. We will showcase four use cases of the use of GenAI to design and implement feedback creation for undergraduate formative assessment across the three Colleges at the University of Newcastle. All cases engage innovation in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) practice in developing GenAI tools to support student learning via feedback. The presentation addresses the benefits and challenges of each approach.

Recognising the value of feedback in student learning, this PechaKucha is aimed at a diverse audience in HE. Our presentation will demonstrate applicability and adaptability to a range of disciplines as we explore the impact new and emerging GenAI technologies can have on HE. We will introduce the possibilities of using GenAI for feedback purposes, and encourage staff to consider experimenting with and adopting their own innovative TEL practices.

Envirocare

2024-09-19T15:08:06+10:00

In Higher Education, and across Australia, there is a persistent disparity in the understanding of Indigenous knowledges and histories (Bodkin-Andrews et al., 2022; Page et al., 2020). Therefore, as part of their indigenous strategy Universities Australia calls upon universities to commit to ensuring all students encounter and engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content (Unviersities Australia, 2017). The challenge for educators and universities is navigating how to implement this within the curriculum for multifaceted reasons, including the variance between Eurocentric curricula and Indigenous ways of knowing (Cooper et al., 2024). Approaches that bringing the voice of First Nations Australians into university learning, to allow Indigenous peoples to represent themselves in this process, are vital. However, to date there are limited models of how to do this while balancing the cultural load and workload for First Nations peoples (Bodkin-Andrews et al., 2022). As one method, Envirocare has been developed as a digital learning space aimed for bringing into Australian university curricula Indigenous cultural intelligence.

The project aimed to create equitable, open-access Technology Enhanced Learning that supports culturally appropriate content delivery and assessment methods nationwide. The concept emerged from collaborative efforts involving Deakin University and the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. This was guided entirely by collaborative partnerships with First Nations rangers and educators through interviews to bring authentic and relevant voices to leaners (Dahl et al., 2004; Keddie, 2012). Thus, Envirocare represents a milestone in open education practice with digital learning spaces. The project underscores the importance of collaborative, culturally informed approaches in educational innovation, aiming to enhance student learning experiences and promote broader community engagement.

Envirocare can be accessed by web address at any time, and from any device with internet connection. As learners enter Envirocare, they are immersed in the content and challenged to examine their own positions, fostering their cultural intelligence, including what they think about First Nations ways of knowing, doing and being and whether they have thought about how they think about science before. Through reflection, and engaging in deep listening, they identify what might be feasible for future actions and choose a way forward. The resultant digital learning space enables educators to incorporate learnings into university curricula, with modular content that is adaptable for various educational levels.

This presentation will reflect on the project's evolution, the significance of building trust with 9 different people from different communities and the value of inclusive content creation processes. Through sharing methodologies and outcomes, this Pecha Kucha presentation encourages similar initiatives, advocating for respectful integration of Indigenous knowledge into educational frameworks. The presentation will showcase the project journey to emphasise this emerging digital learning space and how it might influence the sociocultural norms of higher education.

The effect of hybrid classes on extrinsically motivated students

2024-09-19T15:06:58+10:00

Emerging from the Covid19 pandemic, many higher education institutions rapidly improvised teaching students in a hybrid mode that concurrently combined online and in-person instruction. The varied engagement results from students and staff prompted many institutions to reconsider this hybrid approach (Raes et al., 2020), with opinions of both students and teachers divided on the merits of returning to an in-person classroom. While some studies (Peng & Wei, 2021) noted success at the ‘juggling act’ of supporting both an in-person class and an online class simultaneously, more studies found the emerging technology, split focus, resourcing and unfamiliar instructions to be a disengaging classroom experience (Aagaard et al, 2023). A lack of clear and quantitative evidence has been noted as a key issue with many of the studies of hybrid learning (Raes et al, 2020). The improvised nature of many pandemic teaching responses and the many variables that may confound engagement results, prompts a more considered and deliberate re-examination of hybrid learning which takes into account the motivational needs of students.

If a student is motivated to attend a hybrid classroom, their subsequent evaluations of the experience seem likely to be related to their initial motives, expectations and reasons for attending. The lens of Self Determination Theory (SDT) offers a range of insights into the type of motivation felt by students and enables the disambiguation of whether a student is motivated intrinsically or extrinsically (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Intrinsic motivation being characterised by an internal locus of control –arising spontaneously from within. Extrinsic motivation conversely is characterised by an external locus of control – motivation is controlled by outside factors and compulsions that a student feels they ought to follow. Deci and Ryan’s Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) offers us additional insights into three descriptive sub-types of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation – autonomy, relatedness and mastery. The idea that an unfulfilled need for personal relatedness in some students might relate to levels of student engagement online and in-person was hoped might explain some of variable engagement responses from students.

This presentation tells the story of how hundreds of students responded to a synchronous concurrent hybrid classroom intervention across four weeks of an otherwise online subject. Utilising high-quality hybrid learning technology available at the time, the advanced Class.com interface and a well-adapted pedagogy the journey of students with differing motivational needs was explored using the lens of Deci and Ryan’s (2017) IMI. Through regression modelling, network analysis and a broad analysis of associated demographic factors it was found in particular that low ATAR students with extrinsic motivation were more disengaged by the hybrid classroom environment, in comparison to other motivational subgroups. Contrary to expectation, students with a motivational need for relatedness were not found to respond differently to hybrid learning compared with other motivational subgroups. Recommendations for future iterations of synchronous concurrent hybrid classrooms and research are offered.

Rethinking content design for Small 3cp Units

2024-08-14T18:59:25+10:00

A new early childhood course at the University of New England (UNE) has been developed with a combination of 3cp and 6cp units. The 3cp units were developed with consideration to the UNE early childhood student cohort. Research on current early childhood students indicated that they are working full time alongside their studies in early childhood environments, and they can find the transition from TAFE to University difficult. The course was designed so that students started their degree with the 3cp units, with the aim to build their confidence and competence in academic skills, and include relevant and practical content that could be applied within their early childhood context. The purpose of this pecha kucha is to provide an example of practice in development of smaller credit point units across a whole course.

The learning design team and early childhood team at UNE worked collaboratively on the new course design. As the early childhood team had a full-time teaching load while content development was also a priority, early childhood researchers were engaged to write content. We wanted to design the 3cp units with a consistent approach across the course and with a similar pedagogical flavour. Traditionally, we also noticed that when creating unit content and assessment, content writers often focused on the ‘hours’ model of developing to 150 hours per unit (for a 6cp unit). The challenge was to consider the right amount of content for 3cp units for our student audience. We needed to shift thinking from the ‘hours’ model to ensure that the development of 3cp content was led by the learning outcomes and assessment requirements, with content being scaffolded into this, also known as backwards design (Davis et al., 2021).

McEwan et al. (2023) identify that in academic development and curriculum design, it is necessary to provide a balance between theory and practice. So, we developed a guidance note for staff who were writing content, and a corresponding template in which to develop the content. The guidance note encouraged staff to think differently from the hours model, and encouraged content writers to think practically about the various tasks they were asking students to complete. For example, we researched average reading speeds in online environments and how this may impact the length of time to read and comprehend topic notes.

We also developed a consistent structure for content within the 3cp units that we thought would be reasonable. This was the starting point for content writers to develop content. The benefit of this is that most 3cp units have approximately the same amount of content and number of topics, aiming to create a consistent student experience. We are currently conducting research to determine the effectiveness of the 3cp units, and if they are targeted appropriately for students to help them transition from TAFE to University, and if they find the workload too much or too little. This research may also be relevant for the development of other short courses in higher education institutions.

Constancy Amidst Change

2024-07-26T08:36:38+10:00

Using a scholarly personal narrative, I share about my first year pretending to be a deputy director, responsible for ‘faculty training’ under the Center of Open and Digital Teaching and Learning in an open university. My reflections over time in storied form as part of teaching and learning with colleagues (Ingersoll, 2018) aim to illuminate what constitutes our ongoing and best practices within the institution’s so called Open and Distance eLearning programs or ODeL (Alfonso, 2014). I branded a series of faculty learning activities as “T&L Convoes” to bring to the fore topics worth talking about, like an online version of stories we would normally share over ‘merienda’ or breaktime. Focused group discussions were undertaken to interrogate how faculty members learn best, and their current practices which seemed to work as examined through the lens of teaching presence, an element of the Community of Inquiry framework by Garrison et al. (2000). I also inquired about what else they would like to learn, hence topics for the T&L Convoes tackled assessment for student success, managing large-sized classes, doing synchronous live classes and faculty-tutor dynamics. As I reexamined recorded sessions (stored data) of our T&L Convoes, I found myself taking a critical stance, asking whether we as an open university and champions of ODeL are in fact contributing innovative teaching practices or do we simply come across as such because of the technologies we choose to enhance our practice. Findings which constitute our best practices boiled down to engagement of active and independent learning through course site features, use of direct or explicit instructions, facilitation of critical discourse, timely feedback on submissions, and intentional learning community-building efforts (Villanueva & Eacersall, 2024). I also highlighted shared issues among faculty members which to my mind were seemingly a blast from my past as a newbie higher education faculty, fifteen years back. These concerns were related to a sense of disconnectedness, grading/marking assignments, finding time for research and publication as well as work life balance. I resolved to no longer pretend but sustain these worthwhile engagements with fellow faculty members by banking on social presence and cognitive presence. These “T&L Convoes” may be optimized to trigger curiosity and exploration alongside other peer-learning activities which should comprise a wholistic approach to faculty development experiences. Grounded on constancy of purpose (Dye, 1991), I choose to persevere in order to drive this reflexivity further on to ascertain whether there will be integration and resolution to all we say and do as faculty members within our ODeL programs. The importance of a personal and reflexive approach to determine peer-learning sessions with colleagues is affirmed as an optimal way to make a needs-based, just-in-time learning happen, versus the so-called ‘in-service teacher training’ residential universities are accustomed to undertaking. Effective use of technology enabled us to operate as colleagues learning from each other’s practices, equally reinforcing the communities of practice (Wenger, 2000) as a supreme pedagogy we shall continue to own up to amid the ever-changing landscape of open universities.

Responding to Generative AI

2024-10-21T17:53:27+11:00

There are few technologies which have such great a potential impact on the design and delivery of tertiary education, as found with Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI). Student’s deep learning and the integrity of student assessment in particular is impacted by this emerging technology. This presentation will report on a three-cycle action research project to redesign assessments for effective learning in an Australian university Health Science (HS) faculty.

Cycle 1 reviewed assessments using an innovative appraisal tool for assessments which was designed by the presenting HS academics that aligned recent Gen-AI and academic integrity guidelines from Australian institutions (Lodge et al., 2023a; Monash University, 2023; Flinders University, 2023; TEQSA, 2022; Torrens University n.d.). The tool was reviewed and improved for use in Cycle 2, which involved reviewing the remaining 16 HS subjects and designing a team-based strategy for implementing assessment reform. Cycle 3 involves implementing identified strategies for redesigning assessments across all HS subjects. We will report on the action-research methods used, including the development and use of the assessment appraisal tool, as well as the Cycle 3 early findings from the HS subjects assessment review. Results from the subsequent strategic assessment design will be presented using example assessment improvements based on the study findings.

The findings highlight the need for a unified approach to assessment reform, and the potential benefits of systematic, team-based approaches to address emerging technologies. Action-research methodologies such as this one, employed with subject coordinators' involvement and training in evaluation, encourages pro-active subject quality improvement as well as scholarly thinking among university academics. This approach may be relevant to all academics interested in actively creating assessment reform amid the transformative education environment precipitated by the use of Gen-AI.

A Framework for Using GenAI to Support Student Engagement in Interdisciplinary Learning from Self-determination Theory

2024-07-07T22:49:02+10:00

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an interdisciplinary field, including mathematics, sciences, psychology, linguistics, sociology, and engineering (Bisconti et al., 2023; Chen, 2020; Zhuang et al., 2020). The development of its technologies requires experts from various disciplines. In education, generative AI (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT and Dall-E facilitate interdisciplinary learning by breaking down barriers between disciplines and enabling students to see connections across different disciplines, resulting in a more holistic understanding of complex concepts. The tools enable students from different disciplines to collaborate on projects by combining their diverse knowledge and skills (Chiu, 2023, 2024; Chiu et al., 2023). For example, in STEAM education, students who are weak at coding can develop simple applications by asking GitHub Copilot, which generates specific code suggestions including variables, classes, and methods based on their situations. Those who are poor in art designs, can ask t Dall-E to generate visuals, fostering an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, students can use the tools to complement the knowledge gaps they have because they have instant access to information and resources related to other disciplines (Kusters et al., 2020; Peters et al., 2023). Students become more adaptable, open, flexible, and innovative in their thinking. These enhance critical thinking skills, creativity, and problem-solving skills in students. This interdisciplinary learning using AI also fosters a sense of curiosity and a willingness to explore new ideas, which are essential skills for success in the AI era, better preparing students to address real-world problems and excel in a variety of disciplines.

Most related current studies focus on how GenAI affects assessment and essay-based assignments (Chiu, 2024; Xia et al., 2024). However, student engagement in using GenAI tools in completing interdisciplinary learning remains unclear. Student engagement is a multi-dimensional concept generally considered to include behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic components (Chiu, 2021; Fredricks, 2011), which can be explained by self-determination theory (SDT) through needs satisfaction (autonomy: feel having choices; competence: feel capable; relatedness: feel relevant) (Chiu, 2021; Ryan and Deci, 2020). This mixed-methods study investigated how GenAI tools engage students in interdisciplinary learning from SDT perspectives. The two main research questions are: RQ1: How is needs satisfaction related to student engagement in interdisciplinary learning? RQ2: How do GenAI tools satisfy students three SDT needs?. The participants were 310 university students from various academic major backgrounds (sciences: 72; engineering: 78; social sciences: 79; art: 76; others: five). All of them attended a 3-hour workshop on how to use GenAI in completing a project under the topic of sustainability. The participants tried different GenAI tools, and discussed how they completed the project. A questionnaire with validated itemswas used to examine how GenAI tools satisfy their needs for competency in a sustainability project (RQ1) (Chiu, 2024). Three iterative cycles of group interviews were conducted with randomly selected 30 participants to understand the roles and affordances of GenAI in interdisciplinary learning (RQ2). The quantitative findings suggested that during interdisciplinary learning, GenAI can satisfy student needs by fostering classification and generalization skills (grouping knowledge), encouraging unpacking model and solution skills (revising thinking), and providing alternative intelligence (inspiring with new ideas). The qualitative findings from this study were used to propose a framework for using GenAI to support interdisciplinary learning. The framework also visualizes the roles and affordances of GenAI in the learning.

Old meets New

2024-07-18T09:19:54+10:00

Virtual reality (VR) has been used for various experiential purposes in tertiary education. This technology is valued for its capacity to simulate experiences close to real-life, for example, providing virtual hands-on experiences (e.g. Agbonifo et al, 2020; Pande & Jepson, 2025) or interactive vision of focal locations (e.g. Dobricki et al, 2021). Despite three decades since VR was recognised at a rudimentary point of development (Moore, 1995), it is not yet broadly used in higher education despite potential to do more to facilitate situated learning (Schott & Marshall, 2021).

As an immersive technology, VR offers an avenue for engaging learning through situated Indigenous storytelling. VR has recently proven valuable for transporting school students to Australian Indigenous places otherwise not easily visited and experienced (Education Group, 2024), while a university VR initiative enables delving deep into history to experience the Australian Indigenous landscapes of pre-colonial times (Morse, 2024). VR Indigenous experiences can be valued for their fidelity, especially when created by mob such as Brett Leavy’s virtual songlines (Hardy, 2020). Nevertheless, there are noted global cultural issues, such as risks in adopting a Eurocentric approach and falling short of the fidelity required for Indigenous storytelling (Tubby, 2022). In Australian contexts, ongoing concerns include what can be shared online compared to what is sacred (Yarn Marketplace, 2024), and the need for engaging Aboriginal community to ascertain cultural protocols for designing interactive technology (Loban, 2022).

This poster introduces a work-in-progress innovation project at RMIT University, on designing an immersive VR storytelling experience for university practitioners to engage with local Indigenous perspectives. The project aims to contribute to cultural capability growth, and to develop responsible practice in action, and thus navigate the terrain for creating innovative and culturally respectful learning spaces through technology.

For contributing to cultural capability growth, the projects’ VR resource enables university staff to experience culture and ways of learning in innovative and engaging ways, to broaden their understanding of local Indigenous perspectives (the Kulin Nation and surrounds) and equip them with the cultural intelligence to underpin effective and empathetic interactions that value Aboriginal perspectives.

For responsible practice in action, the project sought a culturally respectful way to learn through community consultations, to inform this and future project processes. The development of the resource was made possible through the efforts of a diverse team from different cultural backgrounds working towards creating a culturally safe environment, including with Indigenous staff members who actively contributed individual personas for the pilot. Development beyond the pilot extends this approach “With mob”, via “respectful partnership” (AIATSIS, 2022) with local Aboriginal community. Consultations respectfully seek guidance, permissions, and potential further Indigenous personas to enrich the resource, and advice on how the VR experience is shared and “the types of tasks” it is used for, given these are complex and “because each facet of culture can simultaneously influence a range of processes” (Littlejohn & Margaryan, 2006, p.270). The project will continue to champion Indigenous culture and refer to community guidance on reusability in other contexts (such as student-facing).

A new solution to an age-old problem

2024-08-16T08:02:02+10:00

Feedback is an essential component of good teaching that can help students to understand how they can improve their performance (Sadler, 2009). However, feedback often reaches students too late in their learning process to make such guidance actionable, failing to promote dialogue between students and teachers. Historically, and according to a long study in Australian universities spanning over two decades, feedback has been an area of low student satisfaction (Baik et al.,2015). According to a major national poll in the UK, student discontent with feedback is a major concern for most UK higher education institutions (Deeley et al. 2019). Similarly, in the UK, Murphy and Cornell (2019) and Evans (2013) found a misalliance between what students expect and what is provided in feedback.

In this study, I explore the effect of an innovative synchronous approach to delivering students’ timely, actionable feedback called ‘FastFeedback Questions’ (FFQs) (Elnashar, 2018). FFQs are a formative feedback tool that places focus questions within each PowerPoint slide, which are projected but not in slide show mode, so students can see the questions beside the content. Students receive a version of the slides without answers before the lecture. During the lecture, the instructor engages students interactively with the questions, verifying answers in real-time on the slides. Through a structured, guided process, students engage in critical reflection on the knowledge and skills they have acquired. They are encouraged to assess the quality of their current understanding of the material introduced in lectures and are shown how their progress aligns with expectations. By identifying gaps between their present state and where they need to be, students are supported in developing their evaluative judgment, equipping them for future learning opportunities. (Tai et al. 2018).

Integrated Systems Anatomy and Physiology (ISAP) is a complex subject delivered across a large, multi-campus, number of students (n) = 650, where students must comprehend and remember concepts and techniques within a mass of detailed content (Hattie, 2012). FFQS were used in ISAP after modification to suit this cognitive recall unit where a slide of information was followed by a slide of focus questions. This study used a cross-sectional survey design (Creswell, 2019) to understand whether the FFQ method is effective in an online lecture. Measures include pre and post student satisfaction data (from the university-wide standard survey; questions relating to feedback), pre and post exam scores, a student questionnaire (n = 79) with supplementary three focus groups. Ethical approval for the study was granted by the participating University’s HREC.

Findings indicate that the students were more engaged and motivated to answer the FFQs. Furthermore, FFQs increased the student final exam mark by 10% on average. From the questionnaires, students reported that the FFQs assisted their understanding, and motivation to reflect on learning. From the focus group, students reported that FFQs increased their self-confidence when their responses to the FFQs were correct, and they recommended FFQs be used in other units.

Future studies on FFQs in additional units are planned over several years to understand if they are relevant to other STEM content, and to explore if FFQs produce similar outcomes.

Challenging dominant perspectives of digital literacy in Western higher education

2024-07-25T15:18:03+10:00

The 21st-century work environment, for which universities prepare graduates, demands multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary competencies infused with digital literacy skills essential for sustainable employability (Baruch & Sullivan, 2022; Gürbüz, Bakker, Demerouti et al., 2023). Our increasingly digitalised society reinforces the need for learners to acquire digital competencies as part of their education (Gutiérrez-Ángel, Sánchez-García, Mercader-Rubio et al., 2022). Digital literacy, defined as the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate, and create information safely and appropriately through digital technologies, is still an evolving concept (UNESCO, 2018).

With the mandate to produce graduates capable of performing to expected standards in ever-changing work environments, higher education institutions continuously define the digital competencies of their graduates and how to develop them. This involves ongoing discussions about what students should learn to be digitally competent (curriculum), how they should be taught and supported (pedagogy), and the associated progression in learning (assessment) (Ilomäki, Lakkala, Kallunki et al., 2023). However, Western perspectives on learning and teaching in higher education often dominate these discussions. Given that most students in Australian universities come from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, there is a need to address this gap in the literature by considering alternative perspectives on curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments for digital literacy in higher education.

This study presents findings from a critical integrative review of the literature (Whittemore & Knafl, 2005). The aim is to identify alternative perspectives in defining the digital competencies critical in preparing students for diverse socio-cultural work environments. To achieve this, a well-known meta-framework of digital literacy (Tran, Jung, Unangst et al., 2023; Martínez, Sádaba and Serrano-Puche, 2021) will be used to map digital competencies identified in global literature, exploring and challenging the concept of a digitally competent university graduate in today’s diverse world. The integrative review will also identify teaching and learning approaches (pedagogies) for developing students’ digital competencies from socio-cultural perspectives, as discussed in the literature (Mahn and John-Steiner, 2012). Peer-reviewed articles, reports, and e-book chapters will be searched in global literature, with inclusion criteria focusing on keywords such as digital literacies, digital competencies, socio-cultural learning theory, teaching pedagogies, curriculum design, and learner support. Databases will include ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science. Relevant data will be extracted using an Excel sheet, and thematic and interpretive analyses will be employed to synthesise the data critically.

The findings will provide insights into how socio-cultural differences influence the valued aspects of digital literacy and how they are taught or assessed in higher education. This research will also offer critical insights into how teachers can inclusively support diverse students, considering unique ways to recognise prior educational experiences, learning preferences, and needs. The final output will be a conceptual framework for teaching and learning digital literacy in Western high education from socio-cultural perspectives. Ultimately, this research aims to provide a much-needed international perspective on what it means to be a digitally competent graduate in Australia and globally.

Guiding Educational Designers in partnership with Gen AI

2024-07-29T21:42:30+10:00

The journey to becoming an Educational Designer (ED) can be daunting – creating many feelings, the most popular of those being imposter syndrome (Pingo et al., 2024). These feelings, although mostly not validated, create subjective hindrances to participating in and contributing to the field (Sage & Sankey, 2021).

This poster explores a partnership with Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) as a way to provide a scaffold for anyone new to the field. To do this, one of the author’s own journey to becoming an ED is used as an example to create a blueprint of how to navigate new terrain. By partnering with GenAI (i.e., ChatGPT), the authors use an emic lens to survey a journey through three distinct eras (Beals et al., 2020). These eras evolved from the intersection of professional, personal and environmental influences and captures a newcomers’ introduction to the field situated in the professional space of higher education.

The narrated data captured via subjective reflections of lived experiences, are transcribed and then partnered with ChatGPT to be thematically analysed. The authors then engage an etic lens to objectively use media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, videos, etc.) to illustrate the journey using the themes to gain more meaning towards personal agency for the profession (Méndez, 2013).

This autoethnography creates great insight into how a newcomer can uniquely and individually create a self-serving map to increase a sense of belonging by partnering with a non-human intelligence tool. Using ChatGPT reduces the feelings of being judged – the feelings associated with imposter syndrome - yet creating a path that may not be seen without such an intervention.

By leveraging human-influenced algorithms almost like a mentor, GenAI can identify patterns and themes in the narratives that might be overlooked by human analysis – a symbiosis of autoethnography and GenAI (McNally et al., 2022).

Adopting autoethnography as a method to navigate professional, social and cultural terrains, via an emic and etic lens of lived experiences, personal vignettes and introspection provide the qualitative inputs to be examined and interpreted (Beals et al., 2020; Méndez, 2013). The second step in this research involves the use of GenAI as a tool for analysing and interpreting this self-reflective data (Boulus-Rødje et al., 2024). This research strategy holds relevance for educational designers and the wider community of third-space professionals, particularly those who may be new to the field or navigating a career transition. It will demonstrate the potential of GenAI as a tool for interpreting and applying autoethnographic data in a practical, actionable way.

The insights generated could inform the development of GenAI-driven tools and resources that support educational designers to develop their professional identity. By highlighting the value of transferable skills and experiences through a resulting blueprint, the mapping of the imposter-syndrome-like feelings among third space professionals could be mitigated. This will allow for transformations of self-perceptions to aid in the recognition of one’s unique contributions to confidently engage with the profession and the field.

The Learning Wave

2024-07-15T21:53:07+10:00

Today’s learners are immersed in engaging virtual activities such as video games, social media, and streaming services. These platforms set high expectations for user engagement, providing experiences that are user-centred and intrinsically motivating. Online learning must now compete with these digital environments for learners' attention, necessitating a transformation in its approach to increase retention and satisfaction.

The Learning Wave is a novel Learning Experience Design framework that addresses this challenge by two key psychological theories: Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Flow Theory. SDT, developed by Deci and Ryan (2000), posits that intrinsic motivation is driven by three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Flow Theory, introduced by Csikszentmihalyi (1990), is a highly functional state helping learners boost their academic performance through immersion in the activity and provides incentives for personal growth (Rodriguez-Ardura & Meseguer-Artola 2016).

By applying these theories, The Learning Wave generates learning experiences that positively impact learning behaviour through enhanced engagement and motivation. The framework applies strategies from digital and serious games, combining them with storytelling techniques and instructional design models to create a modern pedagogical approach to the design of online courses.

At its core, The Learning Wave utilises a three-phase pattern: learn, reflect, and challenge. This structure enables learners to progressively build understanding, review and reflect on their learning, and apply their knowledge and skills to real-world scenarios. The framework employs Semantic Waves (Maton, 2013) as a construction methodology, ensuring a thoughtful progression of the learner from basic understanding to advanced application of concepts, and facilitating the creation of Flow states by gradually increasing complexity to match learner skill development.

Complementing the learner experience is the use of storytelling. By incorporating narrative elements, the learning experience is enriched with contextual depth, diverse perspectives, and emotional engagement, factors known to enhance retention and application of knowledge (Landrum et al., 2019). This approach also supports the relatedness aspect of SDT, fostering a sense of connection to the learning material.

As a visual tool, The Learning Wave allows instructional designers to map out the entire learning experience, illustrating how learners progress through different phases. It incorporates a series of learning moments, points of reflection, and challenge events, charting the learner's journey from novice to competent problem-solver. The framework's flexibility accommodates both high-level designs and intricate, complex experiences.

The Learning Wave has been incorporated as the foundational pedagogy in the development of twelve postgraduate microcredentials at Western Sydney University, with qualitative and quantitative feedback showing learners are motivated and more confident with the knowledge and skills they are developing. Further analytics, articles, case studies, and publications are forthcoming.

This poster presentation demonstrates how The Learning Wave framework transforms online learning. It showcases the 3-stage pattern, alignment with storytelling techniques, and process of gaining strategic knowledge through information deconstruction and reconstruction. It highlights how this approach, grounded in educational theories and modern engagement techniques, can enhance learner motivation, improve knowledge retention, and lead to more effective online educational experiences in our digital world.

Metahuman

2024-08-16T07:48:36+10:00

In contemporary education, there is a growing recognition of the importance of preparing learners with essential soft skills and the ability to engage in safe-to-fail tasks. Introducing the concept of failing safely and practising complex conversational skills in a controlled, virtual environment is crucial for students to effectively apply these skills in real-world situations (Korhonen et al., 2023).

Our project, titled Metahuman, introduces an AI-powered simulation-based learning experience where learners interact with 3D virtual humans in real time. These virtual humans serve as guides and facilitators, simulating diverse interpersonal scenarios encountered in professional settings. This approach is rooted in simulation-based learning, where learners can explore and engage in various scenarios without the risk of real-world consequences (Chen & Lu, 2022). The Metahuman is designed with dynamic personalities that emotionally respond to learner input and feature realistic voices; these adaptive, simulated environments have been shown to foster critical thinking and professional conversation skills (Ruokamo et al., 2023).

One application of Metahuman is within the healthcare sector, where nurses (learners) can practise screening a patient (Metahuman) for Tuberculosis in a virtual clinic. Nurses learn to navigate complex patient scenarios, building their skills and confidence in a controlled setting. This experience highlights how simulation-based learning can enhance competence and preparedness for real-world challenges, as discussed by Wu and Yu (2023).

Central to the Metahuman experience is an AI-driven mentor that delivers contextual feedback in real time, aligned with specific learning objectives and competency frameworks. These frameworks and objectives provide safeguards for how the Metahuman interacts with learners, ensuring that the scenarios presented are both relevant and educationally sound. Robust prompts designed by educators and learning designers govern the interactions between learners, the Metahuman, and the AI mentor. This structured interaction enables learners to receive personalised guidance, enhancing skill acquisition and reflective practice. Automated transcripts of these interactions capture learning outcomes, providing evidence of learner progress and foster continuous improvement (Niu et al., 2023). These transcripts serve as valuable resources for self-reflection and feedback for both learners and educators, and allow learners to deepen their understanding of the skills practised in the scenarios (Wu & Yu, 2023).

To further support the educational process, Metahuman includes prompt and virtual human templates that allow for rapid development of diverse scenarios. This flexibility enables educators to tailor learning experiences to specific needs, making it easier to integrate Metahuman into various educational contexts.

The platform’s accessibility through web browsers, without requiring additional installations, supports cost-effective scalability and broad adoption across different settings. This ease of access ensures that Metahuman can be integrated into diverse learning environments without significant technical barriers (Chen & Lu, 2022).

This poster presentation will showcase Metahumans key features and functions, emphasising its potential to revolutionise soft skills education through safe-to-fail learning environments. The presentation will also provide insights from current implementations across the health, business, and marketing sectors, highlighting user feedback and outcomes. By aligning with well-established concepts such as simulation-based learning, Metahuman positions itself as a pivotal tool in the future of education, contributing to the ongoing discourse on educational transformation and digital innovation.

Supporting Peer Feedback at Scale

2024-07-12T16:40:06+10:00

Schneider et al. (2017) conducted a systematic review of 38 meta-analyses investigating 105 variables linked to student performance. They reported peer assessment is the most influential factor in explaining students’ achievement. The benefits are even more significant when combined with self-assessment as students' meta-cognitive capacity is exercised as they calibrate their level of understanding and confidence to that of their peers (Power & Tanner, 2023). Assessing a peer digitally has been shown to be more effective than in-person settings (Li et al., 2020). Winstone & Boud (2022) recommend improving students’ learning by focusing on providing and receiving high-quality feedback rather than on grades.

Despite the potential of technology to help students assess each other, there is sparse research in commerce studies, let alone on large-scale subjects, where technology use is essential to leverage students’ learning and encourage interaction, which otherwise would be limited. Such a study can shed light on students' learning and engagement benefits. Technology can also aid in creating a structured learning environment, with students being required to complete multiple tasks throughout the semester and engage with the platform repetitively, reinforcing improved curriculum retention (Schwerter et al., 2022).

Our project involved implementing five tasks (a practice task and four assessed tasks) in a large-cohort first-year finance subject at a leading Australian university. The tasks contributed 15% to each student’s final mark and utilised the Feedback Fruits platform (integrated with Canvas LMS). For each task, students scanned their handwritten answers to two questions, uploaded them into the platform as a PDF file, completed self-assessment and reviewed a randomly assigned anonymous peer using a rubric designed to mimic the rubric used to mark final exam questions. We configured the system so that students had at least one week to upload their answers and another week to complete the self-assessment and peer review.

Statistical analysis of the Feedback Fruits analytics files, which include completion rates and performance, involved regression analysis and propensity score matching and indicates a significant positive relationship between platform engagement (measured by time spent on the platform, provided comments length and task performance) and final exam performance, even after controlling for a student’s finance aptitude. The study also involved an end-of-semester survey and focus groups to capture students’ perceptions. Students indicated the positive learning benefits they gained from reviewing their peers, being reviewed, and reflecting on their performance. Furthermore, we found a high correlation between the number of comments and the average number of words per comment students left themselves and those left for their peers. The innovation of our research is in the scale, continuous use of the platform throughout the semester with multiple access points per task and better exam preparedness by simulating exam conditions utilising rubrics and handwriting requirements.

This poster describes the project’s implementation process map, including task setup, timelines, and the support provided, which is the technical part of the bigger project. We review fundamental mechanisms to improve participation and the quality of the reviews. In addition, the poster presents the challenges faced and offers practical steps to overcome them.

Instilling pedagogy through the Shepherding process

2024-07-25T15:28:51+10:00

Research on sessional teachers in legal education is underrepresented in the literature (Blackham, 2020). In law schools, sessional teachers are employed to develop and deliver bespoke intensive-based subjects at postgraduate level and are often classifiable as ‘outside industry experts’ (OIEs); this cohort has been described as atypical of sessional academics across the sector in many ways (Cowley, 2010). This poster presentation seeks to add to this area of knowledge, by presenting something of an auto-ethnographic snapshot of a ‘shepherding process’, implemented at MLS, from Educational Designers’ point of view.

‘Shepherding’ is a collaborative initiative for new subjects proposed to be taught at the MLS, enhancing curriculum design outcomes and pedagogical capabilities of new subject coordinators (most of whom lack formal training in teaching), as well as facilitating connection to the wider teaching and learning community and support services. When a new subject is proposed, would-be lecturers are usually not yet employed by the school. Having pitched an idea for a subject with the school, they work with an Educational Designer to refine a new subject proposal to be reviewed by a curriculum committee. As such, the shepherding process and the final deliverable of the new subject proposal form also forms part of the candidature process for prospective subject coordinators. Grounded in co-design principles, shepherding facilitates the integration of instructional design theories, particularly constructive alignment and backwards design, into the subject development workflow from the outset.

The educational designer’s role is central to shepherding and begins with the collaborative formulation of subject intended learning outcomes (SILOs), development of an assessment regime and comprehensive subject mapping, with the aim to establish constructive alignment. Additionally, the shepherding process includes guidance on designing course content within the LMS, providing a structured and accessible online environment for students. In helping guide a new subject through to acceptance and by being a singular point of contact with new lecturers, the educational designer forms an ongoing relationship which can also help with ensuing curriculum development.

Hitch et al. (2017) and Hattam et al. (2024) have both argued that sustainable and targeted professional development of sessional staff is a critical factor for increasing engagement and feelings of connection with their institution and to their roles, and that where this is lacking the consistency and quality of student educational experience can be undermined. Cowley (2010) argues for the creation of school-level programs of support for law schools, specifically aimed at OIEs, in lieu of one-size-fits-all programs at the institutional level. Because of the nature of the OIE cohort and subject delivery timelines, there is a limited window of opportunity to work towards ‘acculturating casual staff to the new student-focused learning agendas’ (Kift, 2003 cited in Cowley, 2010), towards improving student learning outcomes.

By providing targeted support for OIE teaching staff, the shepherding process has represented a significant advance in MLS’s instructional design and curriculum development process, enhancing the alignment, consistency and quality of subject design. By aligning teaching practices with established instructional design theories, the process enhances the educational experience for both instructors and students.

More than a repository

2024-07-12T18:01:16+10:00

The value of a university degree is increasingly under scrutiny, with concerns that technologies such as ChatGPT will diminish the need for distributed scholarly content. The challenges created by technology can also become opportunities, under the right circumstances (Dempere et al., 2023). In this project, we leveraged the emerging Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) to create a chatbot, to enable, rather than diminish, students’ learning. Students enrolled in a capstone research unit of Master of Advanced Practice (by coursework) are required to conduct a research project. Common challenges encountered by students include identification of project topic, digital literacy skills, research methodological knowledge, and research writing skills (Ginns et al., 2009; Li et al., 2019; Qasem & Zayid; 2019; Stagg & Kimmins, 2014).

It is imperative to guide students to decide on an area of research that not only matches personal interest but also has clinical relevancy and significance. Delaying the identification of a feasible topic can cause students to experience anxiety and distress related to fear they are unable to complete their project on time (Qasem & Zayid; 2019; Li et al., 2019). This project explored two aims: (1) to harness GenAI (Chatbot) for scalable student learning, and (2) to enrich students’ university experiences by providing a scaffolded research-focussed learning opportunity.

The project was guided by the active digital learning pedagogy consisting of student-centredness, formative feedback, constructive alignment and flexible infrastructure (Røe et al., 2022). Using a mixed-method approach, the project had four stages. Stage 1 collated and synthesised former students’ project topics (Year 2014 to 2023). Stage 2 created, tested, and tuned a GenAI topic-bank/chatbot based on the collated 252 project topics from Stage 1. To achieve this, we collaborated with an AI Experience Strategist to create the project topic-bank/chatbot using Azure open AI (GPT-4 with AI Search) via the reactive Amazone web server Amazon. The chatbot was then tested and tuned to ensure consistency search outcomes. Stage 3 implemented the chatbot on the 1^st day of semester by posting the link with user guide as learning resource for students, who enrolled into the capstone research project unit. Stage 4 evaluated the chatbot’s usability and effectiveness using a 9-item self-developed survey based on the active digital learning pedagogy (Røe et al., 2022) and a 11-item Bot Usability Scale (BUS) (Borsci et al., 2023). The BUS scale consists of 5 domains focusing on students’ perception of accessibility to chatbot functions, quality of chatbot functions, quality of conversation and information provided, privacy and security, and time responses. Two open-ended questions were used to narratively explore students’ overall experiences and suggestions to improve the chatbot.

Our findings showcased students’ early engagement with the unit by interacting with the project topic-bank/Chatbot. This ameliorated the challenges described above, whereby students practised search skills by entering key concept as “prompts” of their area of interest for the prospective project topic. These prompts included specialty, population and/or main concept/variables. Search results of the chatbot facilitated students in identifying project topic and improved overall unit satisfaction and learning experience.

Ask Me

2024-07-08T20:15:07+10:00

In this poster, we share ongoing research into the use of realistic AI-generated avatars for education in a large Australian business school. These highly realistic avatars have been used as educational presenters to provoke critical discussions on ethical AI by immersing students in text-to-video technology (Vallis et al., 2024). From this initial study, an emergent typology for avatars in educational media has been developed, to help educators design for teaching and learning based on learning purposes and modes of delivery Britton & Vallis, 2023; Vallis & Britton, 2024). Such practical, theoretical guidance in designing, developing, and deploying AI in education is much needed (Dawson et al., 2023). Drawing upon learnings to date, we further explore synthetic media designs for effective and ethical use in education. The poster presents three use cases of synthetic media with QR codes to demonstrate their application and to facilitate discussion at the conference. An additional fourth QR code will be added to gather participant feedback on which use case they found most compelling and educational, as well as their reasons for their preferences.

The first use case explores short video presentations, where synthetic media offers students a choice of accents, voices, and faces to present educational content (Dao et al., 2021). This approach aims to free teacher time for more learner guidance and communication, potentially enhancing learning outcomes. Video-based learning can enhance student engagement and understanding by providing flexible, interactive, and visually stimulating experiences (Sabli? et al., 2021).

The second use case is ‘Ask me’, a trial of a realistic avatar that answers frequently asked questions. Multimodal AI, like GPT-4o, with integrated voice, video, and audio capabilities, can simulate real-world scenarios for educational scenarios with engaging and realistic experiences (Mollick & Mollick, 2023). Future use cases may include specific learning activities such as role-play and rehearsal.

Multimodal feedback on student progress is presented in the third use case. A lifelike digital representation of a teacher has been designed to closely mimic a real human teacher’s appearance and expressions. Simple video feedback, generated based on student interactions with university systems and combined with a teacher’s text, is sent via email to enhance engagement. This trial is designed to augment feedback, rather than replace interaction between students and teachers (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2023).

By presenting these use cases, we aim to provide practical insights and stimulate discussions on the ethical and effective use of synthetic media in education. Our preliminary findings indicate benefits to using AI-generated avatars, if the ethical implications and the quality of human-AI interactions are carefully considered in the learning design (Vallis et al., 2024).

Utilizing Virtual Reality Tours in Language Learning

2024-07-18T09:02:45+10:00

Virtual reality (VR) has been recognized as a revolutionary technology in education, providing a multitude of benefits that enhance learning experiences and outcomes. By immersing students in interactive and engaging environments, VR can make abstract concepts tangible, foster deeper understanding, and accommodate diverse learning styles. With VR, students can be fully engaged in dynamic and stimulating environments, which can transform abstract concepts into concrete experiences. This immersive approach can promote a deeper grasp of the subject matter. An example demonstrated how VR may engage students and foster interactive learning by enabling them to investigate intricate systems and surroundings that would be unfeasible or inconvenient (Freina & Ott, 2015). In addition, VR was shown to provide affordances that are believed to enhance learning, such as the first-person experience and the sense of being present in a particular location, also known as presence or spatial presence (Mikropoulos & Natsis, 2011). Although these advantages have been documented, the implementation of this technology has proven challenging or unfeasible for many teachers and learners due to financial constraints.

VR photos and videos, which are commonly referred to as 360-degree media, have become readily available resources that can be utilized to create low-cost immersive experiences for people who are learning. Researchers have claimed that previous research has demonstrated the usefulness of these tools in boosting spatial presence and interest among participants in virtual reality tours that were conducted as part of one-off investigations (Petousi et al., 2023). However, these findings need to be supported by research over extended periods of time in a variety of educational settings to gain an understanding of the intricacies and limitations of this technology-based instructional approach.

This poster describes two initiatives in which VR tours have been integrated into language learning settings. The first initiative employed a design-based research methodology to assess the efficacy of VR tours among online learners in France and Japan while the second initiative is an ongoing project that focuses on teaching the Filipino Language in a Japanese classroom using blended learning.

This poster showcases the results of research conducted as part of the initiatives. The findings demonstrate the positive impact of virtual reality tours on student motivation and highlights the role of various factors, including instructional material, learners' personal traits, and the physical environment in which they engage in online learning, in addition to spatial presence and technological novelty. Moreover, this poster presents information regarding the process of improving the tours and lessons, as well as the platforms and technologies that were utilized to address concerns regarding usability and sustainability.

MAVR in the Metaverse

2024-08-26T07:10:48+10:00

Extended reality (XR) technologies, which include virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), are gaining significant attention from educators for their potential to transform teaching and learning in higher education. According to recent research, XR offers immersive and interactive experiences that enhance student engagement and provide unique opportunities for experiential learning (Merchant et al., 2014; Radianti et al., 2020). In response to this growing interest, various professional organizations have developed virtual communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) to support educators in integrating XR into their curricula.

One notable example is the Mixed, Augmented, and Virtual Realities in Learning Special Interest Group (MAVR SIG) of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT). Founded in 2017, the MAVR SIG was created to support language educators interested in adopting XR technologies for language learning (Hawkinson, Mehran, & Alizadeh, 2017). The SIG provides a platform for educators to share their experiences, exchange ideas, and collaborate on research focused on XR in education. This community of practice is instrumental in advancing the integration of immersive technologies in language education, aligning with the broader global trends in educational technology (Ferdig et al., 2020).

The MAVR SIG facilitates knowledge sharing and professional development through a variety of events, including research presentations, workshops, symposia, and webinars. Recent workshops have highlighted the pedagogical applications of XR, such as immersive language learning environments, AR-enhanced vocabulary instruction, and the use of VR for cultural immersion. These events not only promote the use of XR in education but also encourage educators to critically assess the affordances and challenges of these technologies in teaching. The positive impact of this community of practice has been evidenced by a growing number of members outside of Japan including the Philippines and Turkiye . Based on interviews from international members, the lack of local groups that support research and collaboration related to immersive technologies for teaching and learning encouraged them to join the Japan-based group.

A particularly noteworthy initiative by the SIG is its regular series of events hosted on the Metaverse platform, Frame (https://framevr.io/). Frame offers an immersive and customizable virtual environment where members can meet, interact, and collaborate in real time. The platform’s features, such as virtual rooms, collaboration tools, and generative AI functions, enable educators to experiment with new teaching approaches and test platform capabilities. By leveraging these tools, educators can enhance their teaching practices, receive feedback, and refine their approaches to using XR in language learning.

Looking ahead, the MAVR SIG is poised to expand its impact by increasing the number of events, deepening collaborations with educational institutions and professional organizations in Japan and globally and exploring novel applications of XR in both language and interdisciplinary education. As the community continues to support educators and drive innovation, the MAVR SIG is well-positioned to lead the integration of XR technologies into teaching and learning practices worldwide.

Internationalisation in First-Year Computing

2024-07-25T15:54:10+10:00

Higher education institutions have responded to the growing demand of internationalisation by embedding global citizenship and intercultural competency as key graduate attributes within their curricula. These attributes shape the learning outcomes (LOs) and assessment criteria (UTS, 2023), guiding students to acquire the necessary skills to thrive in diverse global environments (Wong et al., 2022). LOs are pivotal in understanding how internationalisation is incorporated and prioritised within the curriculum, reflecting the institution’s commitment to preparing graduates with these key competencies.

This study seeks to evaluate how internationalisation is integrated into computing education curricula, with a focus on the potential of graduates’ design decisions to foster an environmentally sustainable and equitable world (Shultz & Jorgenson, 2009). The first phase of the study examined the LOs for five first-year units across three Australian universities to assess the initial introduction of internationalisation to students. The data for this study was sourced from publicly available information on university websites, including curriculum details, course descriptions, and associated documentation outlining the LOs. These LOs typically provide an overview of the educational goals for a course or unit, highlighting the primary skills and attributes students are expected to develop. However, they may not fully capture the specific pedagogical approaches or assessments used to achieve these outcomes.

The analysis involved a comprehensive review of the available curriculum, course descriptions, and associated documentation to understand how internationalisation is integrated into the LOs. Each identified LO was systematically analysed to identify codes related to internationalisation. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to derive themes from these codes, representing the forms in which internationalisation appeared in these units.

Out of the 15 units examined, 46.7% (seven units) did not include any LOs related to global citizenship. Therefore, the themes derived from the analysis represent the remaining 53.3% (eight units) across the three universities:

Ethical/Moral/Legal Obligations: Six out of eight units referenced moral, legal, ethics or ethical behavior in professional practice.
Thinking Skills: Seven out of eight units required students to demonstrate analytical, and critical thinking skills as part of the learning outcomes.
Diversity of People and Places: Three out of eight units mentioned diverse cohorts of people or places, emphasising the importance of understanding, and engaging with diversity.
Working with People: Four out of eight units included the need for students to work effectively with others, highlighting teamwork, leadership, and conflict management skills.
Communication Skills: Four out of eight units stressed the importance of effective communication, requiring students to convey complex information appropriately in various formats.

While LOs provide a valuable starting point for assessing the presence and emphasis of global citizenship attributes within the curriculum, they may not fully capture the depth of internationalisation efforts. Exemplary practices are those that explicitly and comprehensively incorporate internationalisation concepts, as evidenced by detailed LOs. These practices are identified through the presence of key attributes such as ethical obligations, thinking skills, diversity, teamwork, and communication. By highlighting these attributes, the study aims to showcase effective integration methods that could serve as models for other disciplines.

Affinity spaces

2024-07-25T17:45:27+10:00

This poster (Padlet ‘Collaborative reflection on AI’) showcases a professional development approach that uses Padlet as an affinity space (Gee, 2004; Honeychurch, 2023) for educators to collaboratively explore and reflect on their experiences with Generative AI (GenAI) in education. Following Vallor’s distinction between ease of creation (a key affordance of AI) and challenges of creative expression (a solely human capacity), we found that Padlet was an accessible tool for creating virtual affinity spaces, and that the Padlet format offers a visual representation of a collaborative method of co-creating that ASCILITE attendees can interact with, using a range of multimodal creation tools, including AI-based features available in Padlet (image creator, text-to-speech, and a poll creator). This poster may function as a catalyst for conference attendees to reflect on their own position in this rapidly developing space, and as a model of practice that educators can adapt to their own contexts to design GenAI-integrated learning experiences.

Educators need novel ways to make sense of the changing nature of education with GenAI (Vallis et al., 2023) and advance both research and practice in technology-enabled learning. Drawing on a paradigm for academic development that is centred on the notions of construction and co-construction as a process of learning (Pimmer et al., 2016, p. 495), this inquiry used Padlet to provide an affinity space for this sense-making. Affinity spaces differ from communities of practice in having a flat hierarchy instead of a periphery of less experienced practitioners around a core of experts; people enter an affinity space as interactants (“affines”), rather than members (Gee, 2005).

In this inquiry, a Padlet provides a “portal” (Calder et al., 2021, p. 448) to an affinity space, a space where contributors who have varying levels of (GenAI) expertise can bond around a shared endeavour (for a comparable use of Padlet to house a ‘thinktank’ for a scholarly project in teaching and learning, see Coleman, 2023). The Padlet serves as both an interactive platform for educators to engage with various perspectives on generative AI in higher education and a model for future learning activities. The aim is to facilitate knowledge sharing and community building around GenAI in education: as Timperley (2008, p.19) states, “participation in a professional community with one’s colleagues is an integral part of professional learning that impacts positively on students”.

The collaborative aspect of this inquiry sparked conversations, introduced collaborators to new tools, and stimulated reflection. It encouraged a patchwork of contributions in a variety of formats to provoke more perspectives. It allowed expression of sociotechnical imaginaries about GenAI (Costello, 2024; Dishon, 2024), including themes of “overwhelm to excitement”; “creative potential to concerns of control”; and perceptions of GenAI from “uncanny to real”, and demonstrated that sharing creative practices in a virtual space allows educators to develop new knowledge about their experiences, concerns, and insights about integrating AI into their educational practices.

Focusing the Juggernaut

2024-08-16T07:15:20+10:00

Education technology (EdTech) is at the forefront of many universities' desires to improve, evolve and better the student experience. From learning management systems to hybrid capabilities, many processes are updated to ensure relevance in the face of challenges and modern trends (Josué et al., 2023). These updates can be small and incremental but can also come in the form of large-scale, institution-wide EdTech rollouts. Due to the scale and the diversity of our institutions, this is fraught with issues including aligning technology with pedagogy, ensuring digital literacy and training for educators (Bower, 2017), and infrastructure adequacy (Al-Busaidi and Al-Shihi, 2012). Universities invest heavily in resources to address challenges and promote sustained EdTech adoption (Deacon et al., 2022). Strategic and flexible educators, sometimes with differing perspectives from their institutions, can leverage these resources to achieve their individual educational objectives.

This case study, situated at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), involved one such large scale EdTech adoption in the form of an institutionally wide digital assessment platform, Inspera^TM, with a view to streamline and enhance the online assessment experience. This had a significant impact, reaching approximately 67 courses and 8.8k students in its first 3 terms of piloting, and to aid this implementation UNSW deployed multiple resources in the form of dedicated staff, in-depth training and central support for high stakes exams. With many educators already using other forms of digital assessment, the adoption was not uniformly accepted, creating friction and causing some to reject the platform. It also created opportunities for others. Wanting to uplift a newly inherited course, Dr Megan Kalucy saw Inspera^TM, and the resources associated, as an ideal opportunity to improve student experience and reduce educator workload.

With the support of the implementation team, Dr Kalucy adopted Inspera^TM for specific in-course assessments, reaching approximately 300 students. Paper-based, short-answer, invigilated assessments, which were administratively inefficient and suffered from delays were replaced by weekly multiple-choice-question (MCQ) quizzes in Inspera^TM. Automated marking, immediate feedback, and broader content coverage resulted in an overall improved experience for both staff and students, which was reflected in improved student feedback and reduced workload.

This work investigates sector wide issues focusing on the research question of how educators can leverage collective EdTech resources to achieve individual goals. It addresses two key challenges; achieving widespread institutional adoption of EdTech and helping educators with increasing workloads find the time and resources to update their courses. A mixed-methods approach was used, employing a case study methodology comparing student satisfaction data, before and after, to validate the improvements made to the course through the adoption of Inspera. Qualitative data from staff and students was used to inform, implement and revise these improvements. The study found that technology adoption in the educational landscape is not exclusively dependent on knowledge of advancements, but more significantly about leveraging the resources available (Oyetade et al., 2020). Here, the universities adoption of Inspera employed strategies such as training, hands-on support, as well as platform and student support, lowering the energy barrier for improvement to Education Focused staff. These resources were deployed practically and with a focus on educators, increasing the number of early adopters and the uptake of Inspera across the university. This case study also shows that the diverse needs of various disciplines need to be considered for uniform EdTech adoption, as a ‘one size fits all’ approach is often ineffective.

Enriching Educational Landscapes

2024-07-25T17:54:06+10:00

As an arts educator, I spent a month in Bhutan engaging Bachelor of Education students in project-based learning activities aimed at enhancing creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. These activities served as a dynamic capstone to their theoretical literacy unit. I documented students' collaborative efforts and creativity through photos and videos, which have been transformed into eBooks. These resources are now integrated into courses at my Australian university, enriching learning experiences for our culturally diverse student body with authentic examples of cross-cultural project-based learning. The eBooks showcase student outcomes and offer reflective analyses to inform future teaching practices, inspiring innovative and collaborative learning strategies globally.

Moreover, these resources contribute to the university's commitment to global education and cultural diversity, demonstrating how experiential learning can transcend geographical boundaries and enrich the educational journey of students promoting global citizenship.

To address a broader audience within Bhutan, and globally, the lesson plans and resources I developed to deliver the project-based learning activities, are now available on the Artist in Residence Education Program website. This provides an opportunity for any educator to access and adapt these materials to their own contexts.

Teaching in Bhutan highlighted how factors like collectivist culture, religious beliefs, and the Gross National Happiness Index support traditional teaching practices and how complex it is to break down traditional teaching practises and encourage valid creative ways learning.

The students greatly enjoyed the new activities and even requested additional lessons. It was rewarding to see them realise their potential for creativity and innovation in teaching, enhancing their approach to learning and self-perception as future educators.

In conclusion, understanding sociocultural norms in Bhutan offers a wealth of insights that can inspire and inform academic approaches to teaching in countries with traditional forms of education and limited access to resources.

Integrating Multimodal Generative AI Technologies in Postgraduate Marketing Education

2024-07-12T17:18:09+10:00

While industry practices evolve rapidly, marketing education in Australia and New Zealand faces challenges in keeping pace, particularly regarding the adoption of current marketing technologies (Harrigan et al., 2022). Generative AI, exemplified by systems like ChatGPT and DALL·E, has demonstrated benefits for learning (Baidoo-Anu & Ansah, 2023). However, despite its potential, there remains a dearth of practical guidance on effectively incorporating these technologies into marketing courses. This gap persists even as general frameworks for responsible and ethical AI use, such as the Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools (2023), emerge. As the demand for graduates with generative AI skills grows in the job market, educators must explore innovative pedagogical approaches to bridge this gap.

This academic poster presents an innovative application of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the context of teaching digital marketing at the postgraduate level. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between academic theory and industry practice by encouraging educators to integrate AI tools into their curriculum through experiential learning pedagogy (Kolb, 2014), characterized by a learning process whereby knowledge is created through hands-on experiences. The poster exemplifies how various types of GenAI technologies — specifically text-based, image-based, and video-based — can enhance teaching content, tutorial exercises, and assessments within the digital marketing course.

The poster showcases examples of how these GenAI tools are integrated in the course content, to guide students in generating innovative ideas for using AI in marketing to gain a competitive edge:

Text-based GenAI: Tools like ChatGPT and Gemini can automatically generate search keywords for search engine marketing. By integrating text-based GenAI tools with established marketing technology (MarTech) tools such as Google Ads and Google Ads Keyword Planner, students engage in practical exercises that combine AI-generated initial ideas (e.g., search keywords) with further analysis (e.g., search volume, click-through rates, and bidding costs) using established MarTech tools. This hands-on approach enhances their learning experience and prepares them for real-world applications.

Image-based GenAI: Platforms such as DALL·E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion enable the creation of custom images for display advertising, enhancing visual communication in marketing materials. Through experiential learning activities, students can explore ideas, seek unusual combinations, and inspire creativity faster with image-based GenAI tools, resulting in a greater variety of display ad materials.

Video-based GenAI: Applications like Sora and Synthesia facilitate the production of short video clips suitable for social media marketing (e.g., YouTube Shorts, TikTok). By engaging in dynamic content creation exercises, students learn to streamline content creation, reduce manual work, and save both time and budget, thereby gaining practical skills in social media marketing.

By incorporating these GenAI technologies through experiential learning pedagogy, educators can enrich the learning experience, foster critical thinking, and prepare students for the evolving landscape of digital marketing. Future research can study the use of GenAI in marketing education using theoretical frameworks such as the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (Venkatesh et al., 2016).

Chinese university EFL learners’ essay revision and perceptions of the feedback

2024-09-17T12:00:12+10:00

Revising is an important part of the writing process, especially when writing in a foreign language (FL). FL learners who routinely revise inadequacies in their texts after receiving feedback tend to develop better writing skills than those who do not (Boubekeur, 2015). To help FL learners achieve a desirable revision quality in writing, providing various types of feedback about their writing is of great importance (Lee, 2017). However, as providing detailed and high-quality writing feedback to individual students requires a considerable amount of time and effort on FL teachers, it is not always practical in FL instructions (Myer et al., 2023). In particular, in the context of College English teaching in China, where an English teacher normally teaches 60 to 80 learners, it is not always feasible for English teachers to provide writing feedback to every student on a regular basis. The recent development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) such as ChatGPT may either supplement or complement teacher feedback in helping Chinese learners of English as a FL (EFL) revise their English writing (Escalante et al., 2023). The present study aimed to compare: 1) the effect of teacher versus ChatGPT feedback on Chinese university EFL learners’ English essay revision; and 2) Chinese university EFL learners’ perceptions of teacher versus ChatGPT feedback in terms of usefulness and ease of use.

A quasi-experiment was conducted among 73 Chinese university EFL learners. The students came from two intact College English classes (n=36 and n=37 respectively) taught by the same English teacher. A pre-test of essay writing task found that the two classes did not differ on English writing proficiency (F(1, 71)=0.17, p=.68, ?²=.05). One class received teacher feedback whereas the other class received ChatGPT feedback on narrative essay writing. Students were required to revise their essays using the feedback they received during one English class. Upon completion of the essay revision, they were surveyed about their perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of the feedback by filling out a Likert-scale questionnaire. The results of one-way ANOVAs showed that students who received ChatGPT feedback obtained significantly higher scores of their revision than their peers who received teacher feedback (F(1, 71)=8.74, p<.01, ?²=.11). However, students in the teacher feedback class perceived that the feedback was more useful (F(1, 71)=6.50, p<.05, ?²=.08) and easier to use (F(1, 71)=14.36, p<.01, ?²=.17) than those in the ChatGPT feedback class. To encourage students to use ChatGPT feedback in helping them revise their English writing, it is important to foster positive perceptions of the ChatGPT feedback. Some useful strategies may include: 1) teacher modelling how to use ChatGPT feedback for students, to make students familiar with the format of ChatGPT feedback, which may enhance students’ positive perceptions of ease of use. 2) guiding students to explore different aspects that ChatGPT feedback can cover, which may foster students’ positive perceptions of the usefulness of ChatGPT feedback. The present study only adopts quantitative methods, future research may use semi-structured interviews to provide a rich description of Chinese EFL learners’ experience of using teacher and ChatGPT feedback in their English essay writing.

Data-Driven Teamwork

2024-08-26T07:05:07+10:00

Computer-aided team selection offers a promising alternative. Its automated process streamlines team formation, generates diverse teams, and allows instructors to focus on teaching, despite concerns about increased workload (Cavanaugh et al., 2004).

Our approach combines technology with strategic interventions:

Computer-aided Team Formation: We utilise Gruepr, an open-source team selection software (Hertz, 2021), to generate groups based on student preferences including work styles and meeting preferences (Cavanaugh et al., 2004). Gruepr integrates seamlessly with our learning management system, Canvas.
Structured Communication, Collaboration, and Proactive Monitoring: Regular temperature-check surveys deployed through Canvas allow students to rate their group's progress and workload distribution. This data enables early identification of potential issues. To encourage group dialogue, the aggregated and anonymised outcome is shared with team members
Facilitating Peer Feedback and Communication through SRES: The Student Relationship Engagement System (SRES), a learning analytics tool (Liu et al., 2017), was used to communicate aggregated peer feedback to individual group members, encouraging constructive dialogues regarding group progress.

Our evaluation compared student performance, feedback, and complaints from the current year to previous years, alongside an estimation of staff workload. Preliminary findings demonstrate a reduction in staff time spent on group formation using Gruepr's automated grouping, highly contingent upon accurate survey design. Complaints, though still reported, were less severe, suggesting that regular temperature checks promoted proactive communication. Importantly, student feedback provided valuable insight, with many groups identifying the need for increased in-person interaction and improved scheduling strategies to accommodate diverse commitments. Our poster will elaborate on these results, showcasing both successes and challenges, and propose a refined workflow to further enhance collaborative learning experiences.

Optimising Healthcare Education with Design-Based Theory

2024-08-10T13:46:22+10:00

Introduction

In complex, and socially dynamic educational systems, traditional research methodologies often fail to connect with everyday practice, creating a need for “usable knowledge” when solving individual and collective education problems (Design-Based Research Collective, 2003). Traditional methods are effective, but do not necessarily uncover the nature of changes to student thinking during an education experience. With this, Design-Based Research (DBR) is a proposed solution that emerges as a pivotal methodology in educational research, as it aims to integrate theories of learning with practical experiences. Seen as a systematic yet adaptable approach, DBR integrates iterative cycles of analysis, design, and evaluation in collaboration with researchers and practitioners within authentic educational settings, (Harrington, 2012; Wang & Hannafin, 2005).

This (poster) presentation will describe how DBR was utilised to create a learning environment to improve learning experiences within healthcare education. An analysis of the problem highlighted that healthcare students experienced high levels of anxiety during high-fidelity simulation when asked to perform and treat simulation manikins (Aiello et al., 2023). In part, the main issues relate to a lack of environmental authenticity, resulting in under-stimulation and performance anxiety resulting in over-stimulation. This relates to the Yerkes Dodson stress performance curve and suggests that too little or too much arousal results in poor performance (Yerkes, 1908). The hypothesis therefore was to design a solution for peak performance by increasing environmental authenticity and managing anxiety.

Method

The hypothesis is conceptualised as a ‘design solution’ rather than an intervention. To provide an authentic learning experience virtual reality environments were developed, and to aid performance anxiety, the centering technique was used. Centering is a visualisation technique that teaches participants to focus on the here and now, reduce negative thoughts, and lower anxiety. Virtual reality scenarios were provided prior to each simulation and included a ward-based environment (nurse students) and a rescue helicopter (paramedic students).

The study involved 35 Master of Nursing Science, Entry to Practice student nurses at the University of Melbourne and 33 Bachelor of Health Science, Paramedicine students at Auckland University of Technology and industry experts within nurse and paramedic education. All data was collected for each cohort iteratively in 2023 and 2024 to evaluate and develop the design. Data collection included using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory as a pre-test baseline to measure general and long-standing anxiety for each participant. Within-test heart rates was recorded on a Polar H10 chest strap to measure an objective physiological response to stress. Post-test participants completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2R after each simulation to understand subjective anxiety and several focus groups were completed to gain further insight into experiences and perspectives.

Discussion and Conclusion

This presentation outlines the design characteristics used to support student learning within healthcare education settings. Design-Based Research offers a robust framework to develop and refine educational practices through iterative design and implementation cycles. Early results suggest that both virtual reality and the centering technique impact healthcare learning and the implementation of this approach could lead to long-term resilience and build confidence that maximises potential.

Transformative Assessment Review

2024-09-10T06:06:56+10:00

The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education and the workforce necessitates that students acquire critical competencies, including digital literacy, data integrity, and ethical AI use, to navigate an increasingly AI-driven world. Equally, academic staff must be upskilled to effectively guide students in the ethical and practical applications of AI. This project examines how a private higher education (HE) institute has modified its Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) to incorporate an AI competence dimension, improve HE assessment and foster students’ competencies. This new dimension complements the existing QAF elements—Intellectual Quality, Significance, and Student Support to ensure a holistic approach in preparing students for AI-integrated academic and professional environments.

This project’s framework and innovative tools, such as the enhanced QAF and an AI-driven Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) assessment review tool, support educators in adapting curriculum and assessment design, and empower them to integrate AI competencies seamlessly into the curriculum. The development of these tools drew upon established frameworks, particularly the QAF (Gore et al., 2009) and the AI Assessment Scale (AIAS) by Perkins et al. (2024), which categorises AI usage across five levels, guides assessment reviews and ensures consistent standards for AI integration in student work.

A trial, conducted across selected disciplines at the institute, involved academic staff as assessment reviewers and utilised the GPT tool to streamline the assessment review process by aiding in feedback provision, coding, and suggestions for improvement. Evaluation of the tool includes qualitative and quantitative methodologies, gathering academic feedback on usability, clarity, and effectiveness, as well as comparative studies to assess review time and quality before and after GPT integration. Usability testing evaluates workflow compatibility, while academic performance data provide insights into the tool’s impact on student outcomes. Initial results on the tool’s success in enhancing assessment alignment with institutional goals and fostering a comprehensive understanding of AI competence were also examined.

Developing and implementing these tools has presented challenges, including the complexity of aligning them with diverse curriculum needs across disciplines, the time investment required for staff training, and the necessity of continuous updates to keep pace with AI technology. Addressing these challenges has been crucial to ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of these solutions.

This digital poster provides insights into the project, covering its development process, trial outcomes, challenges encountered, and future directions for integrating AI competence in higher education assessments.

Collaborative co-design to reimagine teaching practices in hybrid spaces

2024-08-15T08:02:45+10:00

Following the Future Made in Australia Act, which prioritises quality and equitable education (Albanese, 2024), there is a pressing need for regional universities to provide equal educational opportunities for students regardless of their geographical locations. Furthermore, as outlined in the Australian Universities Accord Final Report, advances in pedagogy are required to fulfil the potential of high-quality online and hybrid learning modes, as well as deliver teaching which supports more diverse student cohorts (Australian Government, 2024). Hybrid learning spaces have the potential to bridge educational disparities by offering accessibility and flexibility to both regional and metropolitan students, allowing them to pursue their education without compromising their other responsibilities (Lightner & Lightner-Laws, 2016). However, significant adjustments to traditional face to face student engagement activities are crucial to the success of hybrid teaching and learning (Gamage et al., 2022). University teachers often have preconceived ideas about these spaces and lack the time, skills, and knowledge to adapt their teaching practices effectively (Bøjer & Brøns, 2022; Raes et al., 2020). Additionally, students struggle to adapt their learning approaches in these spaces, leading to limited engagement and interaction with teachers and peers (Raes et al., 2020). Effective implementation requires support for both teachers and students to reimagine their routines, practices, and expectations in teaching and learning (Bøjer & Brøns, 2022; Fawns et al., 2022; Gamage et al., 2022).

To address this challenge, a research project was conducted that involved four phases: (1) Co-design workshop, (2) Resource development, (3) Data collection, (4) Analysis and outcomes. The first and second phases will be discussed in this poster presentation. In the first phase, the research team participated in a collaborative co-design workshop to develop a professional development (PD) module and practical guidelines for teachers. Collaborative co-design is a participatory process where designers and users work together using co-design tools, techniques, and scaffolds to provide expert perspectives on a problem (Bøjer & Brøns, 2022; Sanders and Stappers, 2007). In this process, researchers, teachers, and students collaborated to generate ideas and knowledge for the content of a PD module and the practical guidelines. The workshop was theoretically grounded in Moore’s (1989) three types of interactions and Radcliffe’s (2009) Pedagogy-Space-Technology (PST) framework. The active involvement of teachers and students allowed the research team to explore challenges between learning spaces, technology and teaching practices, focusing on student agency and engagement. Crucial to co-design, the research participants interchanged roles during the workshop, shifting between users, designers, and facilitators depending on individual creativity and expertise in specific areas (Bøjer & Brøns, 2022; Sanders and Stappers, 2007). The design solution of a PD module and practical guidelines was developed and provided teachers with strategies for effective hybrid teaching, addressing both technological challenges and appropriate pedagogies. The future direction of this project is to examine the effectiveness of hybrid learning and teaching by exploring the engagement between teachers and students online and on campus. The findings advance pedagogy by promoting equitable engagement for online and on-campus students, ensuring consistent learning experiences and bridging geographical gaps.

Exploring spatial influences in feedback for international students

2024-08-09T16:42:49+10:00

Space is a significant factor for teaching and learning (Goodyear & Carvalho, 2019), but it is comparably underexplored in the higher education (Ellis & Goodyear, 2016). Learning spaces have become hybrid in the post-pandemic period in higher education with physical locations having digital extensions and vice versa (Ellis & Goodyear, 2018), which allows more flexible study modes and access to richer study resources. In addition to having material properties which physically promote or prevent student engagement, space is also a social product with relational and structural aspects, which could shape social relationships and moreover, reflect or promote existing inequalities amongst students (Wong, 2024). Space may therefore impact on students’ learning experiences, including within feedback encounters.

Feedback is a significant aspect of students’ learning experiences in higher education. It is well acknowledged that feedback is important for students’ learning and graduate outcomes (Hattie & Clarke, 2018). Feedback encounters, such as supervision meeting and placements, could provide valuable feedback opportunities with the characteristics of immediate and frequent dialogues. However, spatial factors could affect these feedback encounters positively and negatively (Gravett, 2022). For example, many students perceive academic office as a scary space to seek feedback (Gravett & Winstone, 2019) while in comparison, online discussion boards are perceived as more flexible and equitable spaces for feedback engagement (Zhou et al., 2023). Since little is known about students’ experiences of feedback spaces and how spatial factors affect feedback, it is important to explore students’ feedback experiences in the hybrid feedback spaces.

International students are a cohort for whom feedback spaces are particularly important. They often experience relocation to the new learning spaces in different cultural contexts, and are likely to be unfamiliar with material and social perspectives of the spaces (Dai et al., 2018). Therefore, they might feel disrupted and anxious at the initial stages of their feedback encounters, which could lead to the effectiveness of these valuable feedback. Since international students make great social and economic contributions to Australia, to promote more equitable feedback experiences for those students, it is important to understand their feedback experiences in the feedback spaces, to inform co-design of inclusive and supportive feedback spaces.

This poster will offer an overview of preliminary findings of a review study. The review has two research questions: 1. How has space has been incorporated as part of existing feedback models in higher education, across situated, hybrid, and digital learning situations? 2. How do feedback models account for the particular situations of international students? This work has implications for future theoretical and empirical studies about feedback and feedback spaces.

This research has the potential to enrich theoretical understandings of feedback and space research in higher education. Findings from this study could also enrich the literature regarding international students and provide practical strategies for supporting international students’ acculturation. In addition, the study could give implications to education institutions about how to create inclusive and supportive hybrid learning environments, which could significantly enhance the student experience and learning outcomes.

Innovative Digital Learning

2024-08-01T18:09:59+10:00

This poster highlights the effective use of learning technologies like animation, generative AI tools, and immersive reality to create digital learning and assessment artifacts for university nursing students. The purpose is to deliver a high-quality digital learning experience aligned with the university's pedagogy and education plan. It also showcases accessible, inclusive digital artifacts and early evaluations of their impact on learning.

Animation technology is at the forefront of creating engaging educational content. By using animation, complex concepts can be shown in a visually appealing and easily digestible manner, making learning more engaging for students (Liu & Elms, 2019). It also allows for dynamic storytelling and the illustration of abstract ideas, which can be particularly beneficial in concepts that are challenging to visualize (Rasmusson & Bourne, 2017).

Generative AI plays a pivotal role in developing scripts for these educational animations. Leveraging AI, we generate content tailored to learners' needs and optimized for clarity and engagement. Though AI-generated, our academic team thoroughly edits and revises the scripts to be clinically representative of the topic covered. This AI-driven script development ensures efficient collaboration with academics, resulting in accurate, relevant, and pedagogically sound material. (ProQuest LLC, 2024).

Using cutting-edge animation and generative AI technologies can create impactful nursing education materials that boost student engagement. (White, Huang, & Campanale, 2023) and facilitate learning outcomes (Huang et al., 2020). These activities are anchored in the university’s signature pedagogy—active, applied, and authentic—immersing students in educational content and inspiring them to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world scenarios presented through animated learning activities. In addition, immersive reality technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), further enhance the educational experience. By incorporating AR and VR as additional resources to complement the animations, we create immersive environments where students can interact with the material in a hands-on manner. This not only can make learning more engaging but can also help students better understand and retain complex concepts through experiential learning (Tene et al., 2024).

A digital learning developer collaborated with the academic team to create an augmented reality-based artifact for nursing students. Integrated into Canvas our institution’s learning management system this artifact presented difficult topics in three dimensions with the aim of effectively explaining concepts and enhancing student engagement.

While animation and immersive technologies can boost engagement, they can also present inclusivity and accessibility challenges for some students. To facilitateinclusivity and accessibility, we followed digital accessibility guidelines and universal design principles (Ismailov & Chiu, 2022). We evaluated tools like animation, AR/VR, and interactive modules for accessibility, offering alternatives when needed. This approach accommodated diverse learning preferences, making education accessible and inclusive for all students. The environmental impact of adopting these technologies is a significant consideration. Digital tools can reduce the need for physical materials and decrease travel-related emissions, making education more sustainable.

The early assessment of the digital learning materials, incorporating animation, AI, and immersive learning technologies, reveals promising results in enhancing student engagement. These materials cater to various learning preferences reflecting insights from the academic team.

A risk-based approach to mitigating the Gen(AI) challenge to assessment integrity

2024-08-15T07:40:12+10:00

In the evolving landscape of higher education, emerging technologies such as Generative AI (GenAI) present both opportunities and challenges. The rapid increase in access to, and sophistication of, GenAI poses significant challenges for our institution and the wider sector (Bearman & Luckin 2020, Bobula 2024, Chan & Hu 2023). The most immediate of these challenges is the increased risk to the existing approaches used to assure that students achieve the stated outcomes of their learning experiences. Director of Higher Education Integrity Unit, TEQSA, Dr Helen Gniel argues ‘We are entering an age where institutions can no longer ensure the integrity of every single assessment, and it makes sense to think at that bigger level […] what are the mechanisms that you have in place to be confident that an individual has demonstrated the learning outcomes to receive that degree’(TEQSA information request: AI risk mitigation, webinar, 21 March 2024). While higher education institutions are exploring opportunities to realise the potential benefits of GenAI, our immediate focus is on mitigating these risks. This poster describes institutional Programmatic Assessment Security Project (PASP) at the University of Newcastle (UON), a pioneering four-stage initiative designed to address academic integrity risks associated with inappropriate uses of GenAI in summative assessment (Lodge 2024). Academic integrity risks in this context refers to the potential for students to engage in academic misconduct by using GenAI tools in ways that violate institutional policies or ethical standards for assessment. These risks pose a threat to the validity and reliability of summative assessments, potentially compromising the integrity of academic qualifications and the learning process itself.

Led by the central teaching and learning support unit, in collaboration with the Artificial Intelligence Working Group (AIWG) a group of expert practitioners and academic stakeholders at UON, the PASP aims to secure assessments across a program of study, assuring student attainment of program learning outcomes. This innovative approach aligns with the sector’s focus on programmatic assessment and supports compliance with regulatory requirements, including TEQSA’s mid 2024 request for institutions to submit a detailed action plan to mitigate the risks that GenAI poses to the integrity of awards (TEQSA 2024).

This poster showcases exemplary innovation in practice through the PASP, advancing research and practice in technology-enhanced learning (TEL). The PASP employs a risk-based approach, identifying seven risk factors for inappropriate student use of GenAI in assessment tasks. The first step in this project involved Course Coordinators completing an Assessment Reflection Survey, guiding them to reflect on individual assessment tasks in relation to these risk factors. The survey data were then used to compile an understanding of the varying levels of assessment risk across the institution’s programs. The PASP will deliver a defined series of secure assessments, delivered at key moments across a program of study to assure student attainment of program learning outcomes. This poster provides insight into UON’s contemporary and agile approach to TEL and assessment redesign, with potential for staff at other institutions to adopt similar responses.

Authentic feedback

2024-08-09T16:35:58+10:00

Authentic assessment calls for authentic feedback (Dawson et al., 2021). Authentic feedback promotes the development of capabilities that transfer effectively from university to the workplace. I showcase an innovative process to improve the feedback on an assessment task that simulates a real-life scenario to undergraduate finance students at the University of Sydney. Authentic feedback inspires students to engage in higher-order thinking, decision-making and problem-solving to resolve the feedback comments (Molloy et al., 2020). I schedule a series of pre-submission classes that are dedicated to debating the assessment task and required standards with students. Feedback can motivate students to evaluate their own work and incorporate the insights for better quality performance. I focus on developing students’ understanding of the criteria that concern practitioners. The impact of the process to deliver authentic feedback is reflected in students’ perceptions of the extent to which they were guided by helpful feedback on their learning.

The context is an undergraduate third-year elective unit, Bank Financial Management, which the University of Sydney Business School offers to students as part of its Bachelor of Commerce program. The objective of the unit is to expose students to the management of financial risks in banks. The unit’s assessment includes a group assignment on cybersecurity preparedness. The assignment is based on a case prepared by Korinek and Allayannis (2022). The case is framed from the perspective of the chief information officer of a mid-sized financial institution that has experienced a massive and unprecedented cyberattack in which $450 million of customer funds were stolen. The objectives of the assignment are for students to recognise the frequency and tremendous costs of cyberattacks, devise an incident response plan to cyberattacks and understand the cyber regulatory regime in which corporations operate. The unit attracts more than 500 enrolments per year.

I deploy strategies for students to engage productively in the kinds of feedback practices that take place in the workplace. The grading rubric describes qualities sought by employers. The pre-submission classes provide opportunities for students to debate the issues with their instructors and peers and to develop practical solutions. The instructions require students to write a business-style report and to treat a bank’s managers as their target audience for the report. The process relies upon the Canvas learning management system. The feedback is delivered through a series of discussions between students and educators. The feedback process has contributed to improvements in students’ impressions of the assessment task and the quality of the feedback itself.

This poster fits within the conference theme of technology enhanced learning (TEL) pedagogies. To deliver authentic feedback, the instructors augment face-to-face teaching with TEL including through video recordings, video conferencing and online discussion forums. I outline the opportunities and threats to educational quality posed by using TEL applications to generate authentic feedback.

By presenting and analysing an example from university teaching in finance, I demonstrate implications and issues arising from Dawson et al.’s (2021) framework for authentic feedback. Dawson et al.’s framework contains the five elements of realism, cognitive challenge, affective challenge, evaluative judgement and enactment. I apply the framework to a feedback process as a way of identifying its authenticity and guiding its adjustment in a more authentic direction.

Riding the wave

2024-08-27T06:48:50+10:00

Our aim in developing the Taipapaki process was to enhance teaching and learning at the University of Canterbury by providing purposeful and productive professional development, while modelling good pedagogical practice in the online environment. Taipapaki combines traditional face to face coaching and support, with a technology enhanced flipped approach to providing background and essential elements for the development of a successful course.

Underpinned by adult learning theory (Knowles, 1990), the Taipapaki process design allows for flexible, self-directed learning and enables a lecturer to build on their existing understanding and experience, at a time and pace that works for them. Characteristics of effective professional development, as recommended by Cordingley et al. (2015), Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) Hertz et al. (2022) and Richardson & Díaz Maggioli (2018), have been incorporated into Taipapaki. The recommendations implemented include: a well aligned, needs based approach that shares models of effective practice, involves the practical application of learning, opportunities for peer collaboration, reflection, coaching and support, and it is of a sustained duration.

As well as engaging lecturers in enhancing their understanding, the Taipapaki process supports them in implementing what they learn into their current practice. It begins with a lecturer identifying a course to re/design and enhance. The chosen course then becomes the context for their professional development. Having a specific course to focus on enables lecturers to practically implement their new skills, and that practice supports them in applying those same skills in other courses they teach. Taipapaki provides seven ‘waves’ of learning, each focused on a specific area of course design and development. While all the waves encourage and support lecturers in the effective use of technology in their teaching, this becomes more evident in the waves which focus on ‘Course structure and visual design’, ‘Active learning’, and ‘UDL, content and technologies’. All waves involve the participating lecturer in enhancing their understanding of the topic through online resources and examples of good practice, applying their new learning with support from a team of experts, and reflecting on the results of their enhanced practice.

The implementation of the Taipapaki process has been gradual. Following discussions with Heads of Faculty, to establish the most effective means of engaging their staff, lecturers who had expressed an interest in re/designing a course were identified and offered the opportunity to participate. To increase the collaborative learning elements of the process, all members of a course teaching team, or sometimes department, were encouraged to participate as a group. The flexible, learner centred nature of this initiative, and its practical application were emphasised, but the perceived lack of available time for professional development was often the greatest barrier to engagement.

The Taipapaki process has now been made available to lecturers in all faculties, and feedback from those participating has been very positive. The implementation and uptake of Taipapaki across the University of Canterbury has been constantly evaluated. Academic Developer observation and informal staff feedback have led to the addition of more targeted invitations to participate, and additional course support for those who engage in the process. Research is currently being undertaken which targets the staff experience, to further refine a means of encouraging lecturer participation.

Qualitative curriculum mapping of technological skills

2024-08-09T16:40:05+10:00

Most programs in higher education promise to develop some sort of technology or information literacy in their students (Oliver & Jorre de St Jorre, 2018). This may include the ability to use specialised tools in their field or to think critically about the use and development of modern technologies. However, it is not always clear how these skills are actually developed within study units or subjects (Bone & Ross, 2021; Oliver & Jorre de St Jorre, 2018), which are often offered as separate modules within a program.

On the other hand, curriculum mapping has become a popular method for tracking skill development throughout educational programs. However, mapping can sometimes result in box-ticking exercises (Bone & Ross, 2021; Spencer et al., 2012), focusing on whether skills are present or absent in different subjects, based on the description of learning outcomes and the topics covered across individual subjects.

Approaching curriculum mapping as a qualitative inquiry (Spencer et al., 2012) can help bridge the gap between formal descriptions of learning outcomes at the program and subject level, and the actual learning activities that students engage in. By following a progressive model of curriculum design (Knight, 2001), a qualitative perspective on curriculum mapping aims to identify skills development beyond their mere presence or absence. Instead, it seeks to explore how students are introduced to these skills, the range of opportunities they have to practice them at different levels of complexity, and how different activities connect to one another. Additionally, by combining multiple sources of information such as document and artifact analysis, interviews, and more, the mapping process can help uncovering barriers and enablers for curriculum reform that may not be apparent through simple box-ticking exercises.

This poster will present an excerpt of a qualitative curriculum mapping project, focusing on how specialised data analysis tools are taught in two biology majors. It will highlight the challenges of fully integrating these tools across subjects to provide students with progressive opportunities for practice. Based on this specific case, this poster will provide examples of the type of information that can be collected and the kind of questions that can be addressed through a qualitative curriculum mapping process, depending on the particular needs of each program and the technological skills to be incorporated.

Women Leading in the Third space

2024-07-26T16:18:59+10:00

As Third Space educators, we work at the "interface between professional and academic activity" (Whitchurch, 2013, p. 55). Career progression in the Third Space is less defined and structured compared to traditional academic progression. This lack of structure and definition, paired with women being more likely to move into Third Space roles, contributes to women being underrepresented in senior leadership roles in university settings (Denney, 2021). Being in this less understood space may also result in feelings of isolation and disconnect, particularly with the rise of remote work. This adds to the difficulties of staying abreast of the complexity of higher education, continuous evolution of technologies (generative AI), and diverse student needs. These factors demand that practitioners continually update their expertise and career profiles.

LinkedIn is a platform for professional networking, collaborative learning space for career development, and supports over one billion users with features such as LinkedIn Learning, versatile profiles, and AI-driven career advice (LinkedIn, 2024). For Third Space professionals, it provides valuable opportunities to network, share achievements, and build personal and professional brands (Loganathan, 2023; Rycraft, 2018). A LinkedIn profile is a valuable job seeking tool and requires meaningful interaction and engagement. Challenges in using this platform include experiencing anxiety and imposter syndrome, resulting from comparisons with others (Marder et al, 2023). Women are less likely to leverage LinkedIn for promoting themselves, for example under utilising the summary field (Altenburger et al, 2017). Therefore, our team, focused on leveraging this platform to address these challenges to support the growth and leadership of women in the Third Space.

This poster presents an interactive autoethnographic study as described by Chang (2008), to engage in self-reflective practice and connections, to examine how LinkedIn can enhance our professional identities as women in leadership roles within higher education and the Third Space. Conducted as part of the ASCILITE Community Mentoring Program for Women in Professional Leadership, we aim to support each other in career progression, reflective practice, and cross-university connections. Our approach was informed by Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice theory, which underscores the role of professional networks in fostering learning and growth, and the conceptual frameworks for Professional Identity (Bulei & Dinu, 2013) and Third Space capabilities (Henry & Boreland, 2024). This study involved self-assessment of LinkedIn profiles, best practices, and refining our approaches based on internal reflections and community feedback.

Our initial findings indicate that regular engagement, thoughtful content curation, and active participation in professional groups significantly enhance visibility and networking. Well-developed LinkedIn profiles are personable and linked to ePortfolios. Mentorship and community support are vital in shaping strategies, fostering solidarity and collective growth.

Our poster will present a conceptual framework for optimising LinkedIn to build professional identities for women in leadership within the Third Space. We aim to provide valuable insights for aspiring women leaders, helping them navigate the evolving educational landscape and build supportive professional communities.

Navigating the Virtual Environment

2024-08-23T08:29:30+10:00

In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, the intersection of learning spaces and technology presents unprecedented opportunities to enhance student experiences. This poster highlights the effective use of 360-degree technology to create immersive digital learning experiences across various STEM disciplines in an Australian University.

This poster demonstrates the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in virtual laboratory tours. Our 360-degree virtual tours embody UDL's core principles (Meyer et al., 2014) by offering multiple means of engagement through immersive experiences, representation via diverse media formats (textual overlays, audible descriptions, graphical elements, and interactive hotspots). By adhering to digital accessibility guidelines (Ismailov & Chiu, 2022), it ensures that our virtual laboratory inductions cater to a wide range of learning preferences and needs, potentially enhancing the effectiveness of STEM education for diverse student populations.

Traditional induction processes are often delivered face-to-face, facing challenges like time constraints, safety concerns, and limited accessibility. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the need for flexible, remote learning solutions (Rapanta et al., 2020). 360-degree virtual tours overcome barriers by immersing students in a digital environment, allowing them to become familiar with procedures before entering physical space (Tan & Tan, 2021). This technology also supports dynamic learning environments, enhancing teaching effectiveness and student engagement (Christopoulos et al., 2018).

The effectiveness of 360-degree virtual tours has been demonstrated across various areas, from hospitality education to construction safety training (Pham et al., 2018; Patiar et al., 2017). Virtual tours offer numerous benefits, including cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and enhanced engagement. They also support authentic, experiential learning without time or location constraints, potentially improving knowledge retention and attitudes toward learning (Cardona et al., 2023).

A key benefit of 360-degree technology is its web-based implementation, making experiences accessible across a wide range of devices and operating systems. While implementation may require some initial investment in hardware and expertise, the availability of consumer-grade tools and simple workflows makes adoption increasingly feasible for educators (Tan & Tan, 2021).

This poster outlines the process of developing, implementing, and evaluating 360-degree virtual tours. The development phase began with the implementation of virtual tours in ten laboratories with large enrollments. Using specialised cameras (Insta360 X3), we captured spherical photographs of these laboratories, allowing students to virtually explore as if physically present. To enhance interactivity and educational value, we integrated various elements such as hotspots, videos, and quizzes using SharePoint Space and H5P platforms.

The implementation phase involved incorporating these virtual tours into the online laboratory induction process. We seamlessly integrated the tours with existing course management systems to ensure easy access for students.

For evaluation, we focused on qualitative assessment methods to gain insights into student experiences and perceptions on aspects such as ease of navigation, perceived realism, and overall utility of the virtual tours. This assessment was conducted through surveys and informal discussions, offering valuable feedback on the virtual tours' effectiveness in preparing students for physical laboratory work.

Orthodontics Simulations as Teaching Tools

2024-07-26T12:19:50+10:00

Traditional teaching methods in orthodontics employ static photos posing immense challenges as the learner is unable to conceptualise the changes in different planes that affect final tooth positions in the upper and lower jaws following treatment. Furthermore, the protracted treatment time of orthodontics ranges from 12 months (simple cases) to 36 months (complex cases) thus adding yet another dimension “patient growth” especially children often referred to as 4th Dimension of Time. Previous work at UQ with SBLi (Scenario Based Learning interactive https://youtu.be/PUIanIl5CFc?si=vDf8JwFjHixtzol7) (Naser-ud-Din, 2015) has shown that creating online teaching tools incorporating multimedia to address the concepts of dynamic change and is impactful for student learning on demand with global accessibility. Online asynchronous learning have three key strengths: firstly, flexibility for updating with contemporary software by learning designers and academics; secondly, ease for formative assessment for large cohorts and thirdly, international presence for potential commercialization. Feedback at UQ for postgraduate orthodontic students was overwhelmingly positive as students found interactivity highly engaging and appreciated the self-regulated aspect of it akin to that found in other publications (Hakami, 2021; Khoo et al., 2023; Naser-ud-Din, 2016). However, simulation creation is expensive (Kröger et al., 2017) and thus, it is essential to explore cost-effective teaching tools that are sustainable with the dental industry partners and easily translated into clinical practice. With advent of 3D simulations in Orthodontics, current literature is limited (Ho et al., 2022; Karanth et al., 2024; Sipiyaruk et al., 2023) and future best practices will require initiatives to enhance teaching recommendations. Moreover, LEAN an essential component for success in major industries who observer consistent success such as in aviation, and other professions have added value of efficiency, effectiveness, convenience and comfort. Hallmarks to improve outcomes and safety.

The aim of this project is to complete 5 essential orthodontic chapters for the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) students at MDS in (years 2-4) by introducing 3D simulations for orthodontic treatments start to finish; embedded in H5P teaching assessment tool. At present, limited number of such modules have been created with original clinical cases by the primary investigator (SN). Interactive online digital assets are valuable and need to be based on sound principles of Heutagogy for self-directed learning. Furthermore, LEAN foundation creates effectiveness and efficiency of delivery of core content. Essentially this project is aligned with Advancing students education strategy 2023-30 of the UoM P-9 “remove barriers to innovation and forge new partnership models between professional and academic”. At the time of writing there is lack of integrated 3D simulations for education in Orthodontics, thus addressing a gap to create interactive learning environments that are translated to clinical practice in dentistry. Thus utilizing in future CADCAM (Computer assisted Design Computer Assisted Manufacture) with efficiency and confidence for the graduate learner. The CADCAM tech is now widely incorporated by industry partners in dental technologies into mainstream Dentistry providing precision and speed. Refinement of these three modules will pave way as huge potential for commercialization under the banner of UoM with InnovateEd in near future. Moreover, the LEAN will assist in providing future sustainability.

Transforming STEM Education with Design Thinking

2024-08-09T15:27:38+10:00

This poster showcases the Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) pedagogy designed for a health discipline course at an Australian University. The use of the design thinking process for problem-based learning was implemented to enhance first-year students' creative and digital skills. Collaboration with the industry partners enabled an authentic learning experience.

In the post-COVID era, students are more diverse, demanding, discerning, and inclined towards flexible learning to shape their educational experiences. To meet these evolving needs, we adhered to digital accessibility guidelines and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, promoting inclusive education. A student-centric approach to TEL pedagogy is essential for delivering authentic and connected learning experiences (Ní Shé, 2022). In our health course, we designed interactive content using HTML5 Package (H5P) to create engaging learning materials and activities in health course modules. This included multiple-choice questions, interactive text, images, and videos, providing opportunities for students to answer questions, solve problems, and explore content knowledge. This also included formative feedback and opportunities for students to test their understanding.

Additionally, design thinking was incorporated to allow students to test their understanding of the health applications, solve ‘wicked’ real-world problems and create human-centric solutions (Brenner et al., 2016). In a three-week course module, Week 1 presented an open-ended real-world problem, designed and developed in collaboration with an industry partner, to help students understand user needs and pain points. Later in the week, students defined the problem by narrowing the scope down and identifying characteristics of the user persona. In Week 2, students ideated multiple responses to the defined problem, utilising problem-solving skills and creativity (Jia, Jalaludin, & Rasul, 2023) to think critically and brainstorm the appropriate solutions using Miro, and then created a low-fidelity prototype to meet the user requirements. In Week 3, students applied their knowledge to test the solution against user needs, constructively aligned with the industry practices.

Through the experience of design thinking to solve open-ended, real-world problems, we employed problem-solving learning pedagogy to develop an iterative process of group work (Dam?a & Wittek, 2020). Academics acted as facilitators rather than traditional lecturers, providing support and resources as needed, but allowing students to take the lead. Students took responsibility for their learning by collaborating to explore design thinking and refining their solutions as they gathered information and feedback from various sources, integrating their own disciplinary knowledge as jigsaw pieces (Calkins & Rivnary 2022). For the purpose of authentic assessment, we designed challenging activities that required students to apply design thinking in problem-solving. The assessment tasks focused on both the process and the final solution, as well as the reflective component, including self-assessment and peer assessment. Students increased their effort towards this problem-based assessment because it held more real-life relevance and allowed them to apply their knowledge and skills in practical contexts.

Empowerment and connection

2024-07-26T12:23:35+10:00

This poster showcases a case study of an Australian higher education institution’s artificial intelligence (AI) literacy staff development program. It offers practical suggestions to ASCILITE attendees on how to empower academic and professional staff to navigate the unknown terrain of generative AI collaboratively and responsibly.

Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, higher education institutions have been grappling with its impact on assessment, teaching and learning, and the world of work (CRADLE Blog, 2023) -culminating in the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) Request for Information (RFI) about how institutions will engage with AI and secure course integrity (TEQSA, 2024).

Effective institutional responses to TEQSA’s RFI are predicated on staff at all levels rapidly developing their AI literacy in order to conceptualise and implement the curriculum and assessment changes required. AI literacy is generally accepted to include understanding of AI tools and how they work, discussion of ethical and societal implications and critical evaluation of their outputs, and competency in integration of AI ethically and effectively into daily practice (Chan & Colloton, 2024; Hibbert, Melanie et al., 2024; Hillier, 2023). This poses a significant challenge for institutions because of rapidly evolving AI tools and the diverse capabilities and starting points of large staff cohorts, including among third space support staff responsible for implementation.

ECU's evolving strategy for building organisational capacity in AI literacy is outlined in this poster. The approach, which aligns with ECU’s Framework and Guidelines for Ethical and Productive Use of AI (Edith Cowan University, 2023), is designed to empower and enable staff. It intentionally incorporates connectivist and constructivist learning theories, informed by Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning (Fink, 2013) and Miller's Pyramid (Miller, 1990). This meant (a) providing essential foundational knowledge about AI, (b) developing practical skills through hands-on experience and exploration, and (c) fostering collective capability through sharing and collaboration. These efforts complemented initiatives to support student AI literacy through similar impactful interventions (Sullivan et al., 2024).

In 2024, ECU implemented the following activities to support academic and professional staff:

“AI 101” Canvas site: Covers how AI works, ethical and societal considerations, and AI in learning and teaching.
“Explore AI” workshops: Focused on practical exploration of AI tools that generate both text and images, as well as ethics, research and assessment.
“AI Digest” Viva Engage Community: Provides regular updates about AI.
Generative AI tools: A series of tools for trials e.g., custom chatbots and image generators.
Workshops co-designed with Schools: Explores generative AI in discipline-specific ways (including arts, humanities, business, law and performing arts)

Despite currently being voluntary, these initiatives have received strong engagement and positive feedback to date. For example, all respondents to the Explore AI Session feedback forms said they would recommend the sessions to colleagues. 331 academic and professional staff have engaged with the AI 101 Canvas site so far, spending a median of 3 hours and 5 minutes in the course. 74% of the 50 respondents to the AI 101 evaluation form stated that their confidence levels improved after completing the course.

ECU continues to iteratively improve its AI literacy offerings and expand staff engagement, collectively making sense of generative AI and its effects as an institution.

Finally, a Researcher Development and Education Skills Framework for an Open University

2024-08-26T05:10:43+10:00

While there is an ongoing advocacy for transformative higher education through a collaborative research culture in a national university system (Almores, 2024; Cubillan, 2024), there lacks an explicit and unified framework for researcher development of valuable skills and competencies to inform its typology of research training, supervision and mentoring (Villanueva, 2024). We propose a researcher development and education framework to benefit open and distance elearning programs, or ODeL programs situated in the national university’s Open University constituent unit with a wide reach of students locally and in Southeast Asia (Alfonso, 2019). The framework is a by-product of our sustained intellectual and intertextual networking, engagements with an international network of researchers in doctoral education and consultations with teacher-researchers and other stakeholders in an open university. The framework is underpinned by the identity-trajectory theory, self-determination theory and the community of inquiry for learning community building in harnessing positive research student experiences (Villanueva & Eacersall, 2024). Key areas of the framework are namely, research as a personal and scholarly practice, a reflective practice, a collaborative practice and a technology-enabled practice. Surrounding these key areas are shared values of: (i) excellence, rigor and creativity; (ii) agency and wellbeing; (iii) sense of community, social responsibility and service to others; and, (iv) integrity, agency and future-ready. Further validation of the framework was conducted through focused group discussions across three faculties of study. Collaborative reflections among faculty members and research students were undertaken to further define specific research competencies as well as mindsets. A natural outcome was the conceptualization of three courses pilot-test the application of the framework in varied learning spaces for a range of learners within the Open University unit.

MyPORTAL Course 1 is a formal course for graduate-level students crafting their personalized learning plans for selected research-related outputs while ASCEND Course 2 is non-formal short course for professional research staff and students to navigate their academic writing and research with the use of Generative AIs. WORKSPACE Course 3 is a self-paced micro-course as an opportunity for faculty members to spend dedicated sensemaking on current practices in mentoring and research supervision. These courses are meant to operationalize intentional learning alliance and community building to harness researcher identity development and sense of agency among research students in ODeL programs. Further research is recommended in launching these courses and towards the creation of graduate research support teams with researcher development specialists and volunteer research trainers and learning designers. The teams are meant to go beyond administerial functions to ensure exemplary pedagogy and practices, benefiting both research supervisors and their students. The study all the more highlights the Open University’s unique identity as a progressive driver of innovation and within a dominant residential-based university system’s seeking to translate the transformative education rhetoric into actual practice at the program and course levels. Finally, we lay our claim of an ODeL research culture that is truly open, collaborative and future-ready.

Enhancing feedback capabilities with the peer feedback module

2024-08-23T08:42:00+10:00

Feedback has a powerful impact on student learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Although it has now become an essential component of higher education courses, learning how to receive and provide feedback can be difficult, as evidenced by dissatisfaction in student surveys on a global scale (e.g., MacKay et al., 2019). Carless and Boud (2018) argue that for feedback to be effective, students need to develop their feedback-related capabilities.

To enhance student feedback capabilities, feedback should be viewed as a complex process that has the potential to enhance learning and which emphasizes student agency (Niemienen et al., 2021). Peer feedback offers a range of opportunities for promoting student agency, where students practice constructing, delivering, and receiving feedback (Nicol et al., 2014). In the shift to hybrid and digital learning contexts, such opportunities are frequently mediated by technology, which may require different or additional capabilities to traditional teacher-led feedback practices.

A small body of work from the peer feedback literature has focused on what specific capabilities students need during the feedback process. For example, Han and Xu (2020) argue that the literacy needed for peer feedback includes cognitive readiness (making judgements and taking action) and social-affective readiness (appreciating feedback and managing affect). To expand on this, peer feedback has been conceptualized as entailing a cognitive aspect (knowing what to critique in the work), a critical thinking aspect (such as judging work), and a socio-emotional aspect (considering emotions and the social climate) (Cheng et al., 2023).

With the understanding that feedback literacy can be developed over time (Malecka et al., 2022) and a recent focus on developing interventions to improve feedback skills (see Little et al., 2024), this poster presentation details the creation and development of a feedback literacy intervention which contains an online module to develop peer feedback skills. To participate in the intervention, students are required to reflect on their feedback literacy levels using a recently developed feedback literacy behaviour scale (FLBS) (Dawson et al., 2023). Following this, participants engage in a student-led, self-paced online module nested within the University’s learning management system. Each sub-module targets different peer feedback capabilities which have been categorized into five dimensions, including domain knowledge, using evaluative judgement, crafting and delivering the feedback message, managing the socio-emotional environment, and using motivation. After participation in the online module, students complete an organic and pre-existing peer feedback activity before assessing their feedback literacy levels once more through the FLBS (Dawson et al., 2023). A smaller sample of students are involved in focus groups, where insights into how the module has the potential to influence feedback capabilities are discussed. Participants also bring along student work to highlight how their feedback capabilities have been used.

Through this intervention, learners may develop better feedback practices (including general feedback literacy). Crucially, they may also learn how to provide effective and helpful feedback information to their peers, which is one of the key requirements for moving beyond university and into the workforce.

“Summarise.” “Elaborate.” “Try Again”

2024-08-17T05:31:47+10:00

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way students learn and complete assessment. Conservative estimates suggest that more than 50% of university students are using AI in their studies (Higher Education Policy Institute, 2024). In particular, students have reported the benefits of using AI for real-time, personalised feedback (Chan & Hu, 2023).

AI like ChatGPT are large language models, and as such their output should not be confused with knowledge on any given topic. As students are completing more of their studies off campus and without direct supervision (Lodge et al., 2023), feedback literacy - the ability to seek out, evaluate, and apply feedback to a task or process (Carless & Boud, 2018) - is critical. This study employed a self-regulated learning (SRL) framework to investigate how students are using AI for feedback (Pintrich, 2000).

In individual sessions, psychology students completed a screen recorded, 25-minute essay, using AI to enhance their work. Following a questionnaire capturing AI experience and trust, perceptions of task difficulty, and feedback literacy behaviours, participants were asked to discuss how they used AI to complete the task while watching the essay screen recording. Essays were graded blindly and interview recordings were transcribed. While this study was predominantly exploratory, we also expected better essay performance to be associated with greater feedback literacy skills.

A multiple regression found feedback literacy to be a significant predictor of essay performance (? = .46, t(25) = 2.56, p = .017). A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of interview transcriptions identified four themes (and 10 subthemes) of AI use: feed forward (initial requests to AI), feedback (requesting AI assess own work), feedback evaluation (evaluating AI output), and AI avoidance (deliberately not using AI). Less than 20% of participants explicitly asked AI for essay feedback. Most feedback requests were instead for more “line level” language improvements. Upon receiving feedback from AI, all but one participant evaluated the accuracy or usefulness of AI content at least once. Requests to “expand,” “summarise,” “elaborate,” and “try again” directly enacted the user’s evaluation upon the AI output. Interestingly, half the participants also expressed active attempts to avoid AI. Many cited concerns that they “could just accidentally, subconsciously, just write it [the essay] the same” as AI.

These findings are consistent with existing research demonstrating the positive effect of feedback on academic outcomes (Wisniewski et al., 2020), and the conceptualisation of feedback literacy as a sophisticated toolset required for feedback evaluation (Carless & Boud, 2018). Generative AI created a context of co-regulation between student and machine. Participants used generative AI to: outsource cognitively intense activities, motivate task completion by corroborating understanding, and enable and encourage help-seeking behaviour.

The results of this study highlight the need for educational institutions to foster student feedback literacy skills that encourage thoughtful and carefully considered use of generative AI tools. Without SRL skills grounded in self-efficacy and a motivation to learn, AI operated more like a student than a student tool.

Using a behaviour-centred approach to successfully design with and implement new or existing technology enhanced learning (TEL) pedagogies.

2024-07-05T13:49:30+10:00

Educators have come to rely on the use of technology enhanced learning pedagogies as a means of achieving better student learning. As such, the application of TEL pedagogies has grown to address a range of teaching and learning challenges, despite a mixed body of evidence documenting its effectiveness. A behaviour-centred approach can improve the likelihood of effectiveness of such pedagogies by targeting the design of TEL to the specific behaviours educators want to see their students perform during learning. This approach takes into careful consideration the nature of the challenge that TEL is destined to address, the specific preferences, motivations and needs of students, the method of implementation, as well as the measurement of impact. In this workshop, we offer a range of practical and theoretical tools drawn from the behavioural sciences and encapsulated in an evidence-informed framework of behaviour change–the BehaviourWorks Australia Method–to demonstrate that the efficacy of TEL pedagogies can be optimised via a rigorous process. The Method has been tried and tested across hundreds of industry projects, and can be applied equally as effectively in the context of education, with the purpose of successfully designing and implementing new or existing technology enhanced learning pedagogies.

Making impact within emerging frontiers

2024-07-07T23:43:57+10:00

The field of educational technology is full of interesting and innovative new ideas and research. However, sometimes the impact of this work is limited by the way it is presented to the community. Presenting educational technology research and practice to what is usually an interdisciplinary audience that can incorporate people in many different roles is challenging, and opportunities to receive feedback on the best ways to communicate this work are not always readily available. The aim of this half-day, face-to-face workshop is to expose participants (both researchers and practitioners) to effective strategies for the design and delivery of presentations that increase engagement with and impact of their work. In this interactive session participants will have the opportunity to workshop their own presentations reconsidering structure, visual aids, interactivity, and delivery. Facilitated by a workshop team with many years of experience presenting educational technology research and practice across a range of interdisciplinary conferences and professional learning venues (plus some theatrical experience), and drawing on key literature on effective presentation design and delivery, this workshop will be a safe space for participants to explore different and creative ideas to deliver the outcomes of their work in memorable and impactful ways.

Learning Design isn’t a profession (yet)

2024-07-08T20:51:39+10:00

This symposium aims to identify key barriers and opportunities in developing learning design as a recognized profession through three provocative discussions. The first provocation challenges the distinctions among learning designers, instructional designers, educational technologists, and similar roles. The goal is to explore the potential for a unified professional identity. The second provocation addresses the lack of official recognition for learning designers, examining sociological theories of professionalization, the implications of formalizing the field, and possible next steps. The third provocation asks what could and should be included in a formal education pathway. As a starting point this provocation will include the comparison of curricula from Monash University, Queensland University of Technology, and University of Technology Sydney. Attendees will engage in lively discussions and contribute insights to advance the recognition and development of learning design as a profession.

The Virtual University as a Frontier for Navigating New Learning Spaces, Pedagogies, and Technologies

2024-09-23T15:59:35+10:00

We explore the practical and strategic considerations essential for establishing and maintaining a successful virtual university. Building on core concepts from the book, Technology Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University (Sankey et.al., 2023) we highlight the need for strategic approaches to online and digital education. This panel discussion will cover governance, the virtual environment, stakeholder support, the alignment of learning theory and practice, and the preparation of educators for online teaching. It will explore the necessity of collaboration to leverage digital opportunities and mitigate risks. Additionally, the panel will address the transformative impact of artificial intelligence and gamification on online learning and consider academic integrity and student engagement along the way. Our discussion will emphasise the importance of adaptive leadership and robust quality processes. While our focus is on the development of a virtual university, the topics we present are relevant across all aspects of digital education and e-learning, especially as universities adapt to an evolving educational landscape.

Scaling-up technology-enhanced authentic learning across a university-wide curriculum innovation program

2024-07-25T17:52:05+10:00

Authentic learning, enhanced by technology, is a curricular, pedagogical and assessment design approach that has been widely adopted in higher education and has led to positive educational outcomes. Building authenticity into learning activities, approaches and assessments can engage students with real-world problems, issues and analysis and allow them to connect to their discipline. These potential benefits are pronounced within placements, internships and work experience activities; however, these are commonly, and necessarily, enacted at smaller scales. Scaling up authentic learning activities can connect students in larger cohorts to disciplinary practices and enabled through technological affordances; however, implementing these projects requires a considered and collaborative approach across educators, designers and developers. This panel will discuss several initiatives in technology enhanced authentic learning implemented at scale, including inherent challenges and opportunities, and will be of broad relevance to university educators and third-space professionals.

Authentic learning can have significant benefits across a range of disciplinary contexts, but embedding authenticity into subjects and courses at larger scales can be challenging. Utilising the affordances of educational technologies can allow a scale-up of activities and assessments that are embedded in real-world contexts, using authentic datasets, documents and video media, or through virtual reality or simulations, but present their own challenges in implementation at scale that encompass not just technical aspects, but also factors relating to academic knowledge and capacity, institutional practices, and sustainability.

Scaling-up innovative technologically enabled educational practice is not a simple, linear endeavour where, given sufficient resources, success is guaranteed (Bone 2022). Epistemic adjustments and shifts (Tsai et al., 2013) by teachers, as well as having a reasonable level of Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) (Saubern et al., 2020) are involved. Furthermore, educational settings are dynamic and multi-faceted, and learning itself is a complex socio-cultural process (Sabelli & Harris, 2015). These mean that each “scaling-up” endeavour in the university setting is not only challenging, but also distinct in its features though the objectives may be similar – for example, aiming to create positive learning experiences and outcomes for a large cohort of students through a set of technologically enhanced learning innovations.

The University of Melbourne’s Flexible Academic Programming (FlexAP) was a strategic initiative that aimed to (i) enhance the quality of teaching, learning and assessment; (ii) improve students’ learning experiences by offering flexible, additional study options (e.g. online/hybrid); and (iii) effectively utilise the University’s infrastructure and resources. To support the first aim, FlexAP provided funding and expert support to academics who wish to innovate within a single or set of subjects. As a part of the broader FlexAP project, the Foundational Curriculum Stream (FCS) supported subjects with over 200 enrolments, or clusters of subjects with a common focus of curriculum improvement that collectively enrolled >200 students). These projects received access to up to $40,000 of funding for academic time relief and support from the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) and Learning Environments (LE). The FCS supported projects in three priority areas, with the Authentic Learning priority area seeking to improve the authenticity of student learning experiences by creating opportunities for authentic, real-world activities and assessments, in collaboration with external partners and practitioners as required, using models that are scalable to large cohorts.

This panel discussion brings together academic teaching and “third-space” staff who have worked on FCS projects in the past two years, to discuss key questions that reflect on our diverse experiences and learnings across different disciplines and learner groups, and highlight the new terrain in higher education that needs to be traversed. This panel discussion will be facilitated by an academic developer and held in a hybrid-enabled venue to serve online participants; a dedicated assistant for online participants will be appointed.

Supporting students to develop artificial intelligence literacy

2024-07-12T16:57:06+10:00

This panel explores strategies for supporting students in developing artificial intelligence (AI) literacy within higher education. The aim is to address the gap between technology-enabled learning and teaching activities and student adoption. Research highlights fundamental differences in how students learn and their learning conditions, impacting their ability to effectively incorporate digital technologies. The evolving definition of AI literacy emphasises awareness, ability, and social impact. Panelists include Associate Professor Jason Lodge (The University of Queensland), Professor Margaret Bearman (Deakin University), Associate Professor Tim Fawns (Monash University), and Dr Paula de Barba (Monash University). Topics covered include evaluative judgment, the dynamic nature of AI literacy, and self-regulated learning. The panel format includes presentations and audience-driven discussions, emphasising the need to balance students’ capabilities with their learning environment.

Navigating university-OPMs

2024-09-19T21:55:33+10:00

This panel focuses on the second theme of the conference, that is TEL Pedagogies: What can we learn from examples of success and failure in designing with and implementing old and new pedagogies enabled by technology? It explores Online Program Management companies' (OPMs) role in higher education partnerships to design and deliver spaces for online learning. Utilizing key theoretical frameworks such as Resource-Based View (Barney,1991; Kero & Bogale, 2023; Prahalad & Hamel, 1990; Wernerfelt, 1984) and Holon IQ’s Higher Education Digital Capability Framework (2020), the panel empowers universities to identify strengths, gaps, and strategic opportunities for collaboration. Barney (1991) suggests that by posing inquiries related to value, rarity, imitability, and organisation (VRIO), insights regarding competitive advantages, sustainability, and capability gaps can emerge, facilitating strategic decision?making. In the context of OPMs and university clients, VRIO offers a framework to comprehend the competitive advantage and sustainability of educational partnerships. Through discussion and debate the panel aims to challenge sociocultural norms, address challenges in transitioning to online formats, and propose effective partnership strategies.

Navigating AI and inequality in HE learning spaces

2024-09-09T15:17:57+10:00

This panel will explore different dimensions of AI and inequality as it pertains to teaching and learning in higher education. It will ask what injustices AI will bring to HE, and how these can be addressed. It will also consider how AI itself can be used to help resolve existing inequalities in HE.

Interventions to improve students’ feedback literacy

2024-07-25T18:30:16+10:00

Feedback literacy has been identified as a key capability to promote in higher education, such that individuals can make the most of the imperfect feedback situations they find themselves in, both within their studies and the world beyond – work and life inclusive, and increasingly digital. Recent attention has turned to interventions that can improve student feedback literacy. These have largely been context-specific and focused on particular feedback opportunities that have been created within a unit or module of study. However, the enacted components of feedback literacy as established by Dawson et al (2024) are relatively generic, and so it may be possible to support the development of students’ feedback literacy more generally. This symposium will welcome debate on the level of tailoring of feedback literacy interventions, and offer insights into interventions which may improve students’ feedback literacy regardless of context, building on psychological theories of health behaviour change.

Exploring Design-Based Research as a framework for addressing pedagogical problems faced by higher education

2024-08-05T15:44:00+10:00

Design-Based Research presents a pragmatic approach to addressing both pedagogical problems and innovations within a rigorous framework that aims to build transferable practice. This panel discussion will explore four examples of implementing DBR in various higher education contexts and draw participants into a discussion of how they might apply DBR to address identified pedagogical problems or innovations in their own contexts.

Why DBR?

This panel discussion is a focal point for exploring how design-based research (DBR) in higher education in 2024, can address pedagogical problems brought about by the global pandemic and the explosion of generative artificial intelligence use in assessment and learning (For examples).

In a period of continuous disruption in higher education, flexible and ethical research strategies that embrace unexpected influences in teaching and learning is paramount (Cochrane et al., 2023), leading to a new generation of educational researchers embracing DBR. Furthermore, practical examples demonstrating students as partners in curriculum design to inform ‘what works’ in practice are essential for researchers to gain confidence in adopting research-teaching-practice methods of inquiry (Bakker, 2018; Cochrane & Munn, 2020). Understanding how the processes and outputs of DBR can meet these needs is crucial to alleviating both business and educational tensions about timing, funding, resources, and workload planning (Cochrane, 2022; McKenney & Reeves, 2019; Reeves & Lin, 2020).

At the core of DBR is the opportunity to explore pedagogical problems or innovation through four phases: problem analysis, develop solutions to the identified problem, explore and evaluate the impact of the design in iterative interventions in real learning situations, leading to the development of transferable design principles and theory building (McKenney & Reeves, 2019) Various research methods can be applied to progressively ask participant perspectives, including students, teachers and learning designers, on appropriate approaches or technologies to solve an identified problem (McKenney & Reeves, 2019).

The intended outcome of this panel discussion is to collaborate with participants in implementing DBR in higher education in response to specific pedagogical problems identified by the participants. Beginning with a brief background to DBR followed by four examples to stimulate discussion on its application in broader contexts to address identified problems in curriculum design.

Relevance to Higher Education

The relevance of debating the role of design-based research in higher education in 2024 is to stimulate discussion for how this pragmatic research approach informs ‘what works’ in situated learning contexts to develop cutting edge design principles and theory that can be transferrable (Galvin & Cochrane, 2023). The methodological framework of DBR invites students, teachers, and learning designers to collaborate from the conception of a design artefact or educational approach to solve a learning problem through to iterative stages of delivery. Following a new normal in higher education where change is inevitable, and fast-paced, research design that does not shy away from the progressive and ‘messy’ elements of educational settings to improve real time learning is essential. Finding a balance between naturalistic and interventionist research methods to explore this complexity is a way forward that DBR can provide. It is acknowledged that greater understanding for the value of DBR and how to plan practical stages with multiple participants is needed for teachers, researchers, and leaders in higher education to confidently adopt this approach (Haagen-Schützenhöfer et al., 2024). Opening discussion with peers models the collaborative ethos of DBR and opens potential connections and networking avenues to establish and generate knowledge for DBR in higher education.

The Panel Members

The panel will be comprised of project leaders from four DBR projects: Clinical reasoning development, interdisciplinary engineering education, biomechanics, performance anxiety. These projects were introduced in a concise paper for the ASCILITE 2023 conference (Cochrane et al., 2023) and the authors are in the process of collaborating on a full journal article analysing these DBR projects (Cochrane et al., 2024) that should be published in time for the ASCILITE 2024 conference.

References

Bakker, A. (2018). Design research in education: A practical guide for early career researchers (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203701010

Cochrane, T. (2022). A Design-Based Research Framework to Guide Curriculum Design. University of Melbourne. https://doi.org/10.26188/61efc1d462de2

Cochrane, T., Galvin, K., Buskes, G., Lam, L., Rajagopal, V., Glasser, S., Osborne, M. S., Loveridge, B., Davey, C., John, S., Townsin, L., & Moss, T. (2023). Design-Based Research: Enhancing pedagogical design. In T. Cochrane, V. Narayan, E. Bone, C. Deneen, R. Vanderburg, K. MacCallum, & C. Brown (Eds.), ASCILITE 2023: People, partnerships and pedagogies (pp. 351-356). ASCILITE. https://doi.org/10.14742/apubs.2023.489

Cochrane, T., Galvin, K., Buskes, G., Lam, L., Rajagopal, V., Glasser, S., Osborne, M. S., Loveridge, B., Davey, C., John, S., Townsin, L., & Moss, T. (2024). Design-Based Research in Higher Education: Evolution and examples. Studies in Higher Education, In preparation.

Cochrane, T., & Munn, J. (2020). Integrating Educational Design Research and Design Thinking to Enable Creative Pedagogies. Pacific Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (PJTEL), 2(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjtel.v2i2.58

Galvin, K., & Cochrane, T. (2023). Design-based Research: An ethical framework to address pedagogical problems and innovation[Poster]. AARE2023, University of Melbourne. https://doi.org/10.26188/24514738.v1

Haagen-Schützenhöfer, C., Obczovsky, M., & Kislinger, P. (2024). Design-based research–Tension between practical relevance and knowledge generation–What can we learn from projects? EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(1), em2378. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13928

McKenney, S., & Reeves, T. (2019). Conducting educational design research (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315105642

Reeves, T. C., & Lin, L. (2020). The research we have is not the research we need. Educational Technology Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09811-3

Deepfakes, sextortion, and virtual lovers

2024-08-09T15:22:25+10:00

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has taken higher education by storm since late 2022 and offered new opportunities and challenges for educators and learners alike. Yet dominant literature to date has emphasised the challenges of assessing effectively in a post-plagiarism and post-truth era, and the new technological affordances offered. Yet, the costs of generative artificial intelligence stemming beyond academic integrity breaches and student cheating are not well understood. In this panel, we discuss the emerging trends of Generative AI that extend beyond student learning but are nested inside the learning environment - from the emergence of AI-generated content to the side effects of extended use of AI on relationship formation, student social skill development, and social anxiety. We will in particular explore how this is occurring in the high school context and its subsequent applicability to university learners’ loneliness, isolation, and wellbeing. The panel offers a thought-provoking discussion with three academics in three different disciplines and universities, and a student partner with experience in AI usage.

Navigating the Generative AI Response

2024-07-22T11:26:26+10:00

How have universities responded to the impacts of Generative AI on the education sector? This panel session aims to provide an informative reflection of how four universities have navigated the generative AI response through innovation, ethics and regulation. By sharing their unique perspectives and strategies they will discuss and debate the importance of a multi-faceted approach to GenAI in higher education. The session will conclude with audience engagement through a Q&A on best practices, potential synergies, and future directions for integrating generative AI responsibly and effectively within academic contexts.

Go Your Own Way

2024-08-01T17:15:36+10:00

In this panel, we share insights from LSE100 (London School of Economics) and Leading in a Post-Crisis World (University of Sydney Business School). These multidisciplinary programs engage students in collaborative problem-solving across diverse backgrounds and skill sets. Our challenge lies in integrating these varied perspectives into a cohesive classroom experience. To address this, we employ digitally enhanced practices, including media-rich course materials and a flipped lecture structure. These approaches connect students across disciplines, allowing them to select content relevant to their learning goals. Additionally, we explore video and digital storytelling as assessment tools, fostering student confidence in emerging technologies. Attendees will witness embedded video technology examples and receive basic training for digital storytelling using accessible tools like smartphones. We argue that these tools can be used by a variety of educators and will demonstrate easy ways to bring them into a program of study.