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Vol. 2 No. 2 (2005)

Published: 1 June 2005

Articles

  • Editorial 2.2

    H. Carter

    It is a pleasure to see papers covering such a broad range of teaching and learning issues being submitted to the Journal. Some of these might challenge our conceptions of what constitutes teaching and learning practice but where possible we try to be inclusive of these ideas. Welcome to the second issue of volume two of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice.

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  • Learning and Language: Supporting Group Work So Group Work Supports Learning

    T. Mylett, R. Gluck

    This paper reports on developments in teaching and learning for first year employment relations students at the University of Wollongong based on creating conditions of learning informed by Vygotsky’s ‘zone of proximal development’ theory. Essentially, this meant emphasising collaborative learning (group work) in the lecture theatre and in assessment tasks to provide opportunities for students to ‘learn the language’ of employment relations. The paper also considers collaboration between an employment relations discipline lecturer and an learning development discipline lecturer that helped identify the objectives for teaching and learning (the desired attributes of a Wollongong Graduate, ethical concerns about how students’ may affect one another in group work, and developing knowledge and skills to equip students to be effective in employment relations practice) within a particular task environment (characterised by an organisational imperative to ‘do more with less’, and students’ beliefs that lectures have the purpose of didactic information delivery) simultaneously with teaching. This paper offers readers a case study of the application of a teaching and learning theory that may stimulate reflection on their practice.

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  • Teaching Research Method Using a Student-Centred Approach? Critical Reflections on Practice

    J. Barraket

    This article presents a reflective case study analysis of an attempt to enhance student learning through the introduction of student-centred teaching methods in a masters-level social research methods subject. The introduction of a range of specific techniques, including case study teaching, problem based learning, groupwork, role-play and simulation, is reflected upon. The article concludes that the re-orientation of the curriculum toward student-centredness in this case had a positive effect on student performance, learning experience and subject evaluation. In particular, the use of student-centred techniques facilitated a strong social context for learning, and provided students with a common experiential framework from which to explore the technical aspects of the curriculum. However, the analysis also found that students continued to place value on more formal teaching methods, and that the value of student-centred techniques in this case rested in the way in which they were integrated with more didactic teaching practice.

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  • Providing a Discipline-Based Higher Education Qualification

    L. Webster, P. Mertova, J. Becker

    This paper highlights the growing need for the provision of discipline-based flexible online courses for teachers in Higher Education as well as acknowledging the significance of interdisciplinary cooperation in this endeavour. It describes the approaches taken in designing and delivering these courses and discusses some of the challenges inherent in developing, implementing and evaluating such discipline-based Higher Education courses, through examining the Graduate Certificate in Law Teaching (GCLT) Course in the Faculty of Law at Monash University, Australia.

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  • The COERSEA Model for Interactive Presentations

    T. Koppi, E. Pearson

    A commonly accepted theoretical paradigm in the research and practice of effective learning and teaching is constructivist. Researchers and practitioners in the higher education community attend educational technology focused conferences to share their findings, seek feedback and collaboration, or challenge. Although researchers may espouse constructivist methods in their learning designs, this model is not adopted in their presentations. Often a more traditional transmission approach is used with the presenter inflicting many content heavy slides on an increasingly passive audience. The COERSEA model (context, outcomes, engagement, resources, support, evaluation, alignment) comprises seven principles that can be applied to the design of any presentation be it a lecture, seminar or conference paper. The model compliments current trends in online learning design and represents a constructivist approach to presentations that engages participants in a shared learning experience. The model has been successfully applied to a number of topics and contexts at conferences, seminars and workshops.

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