2024: ASCILITE 2024 Conference Proceedings

This paper explores the implementation of Technology-Enhanced Learning pedagogies across four schools through scalable and cross-disciplinary collaboration at a Western Australian university. Using innovative support initiatives

This paper explores the implementation of Technology-Enhanced Learning pedagogies across four schools through scalable and cross-disciplinary collaboration at a Western Australian university. Using innovative support initiatives, co-created with academic and professional staff and students, our resources focus on bridging gaps in essential academic and digital literacies and fostering student agency and self-regulation. Grounded in transition pedagogy and adaptive learning, these initiatives enhance preparedness and inclusivity for a diverse cohort of students. We seek to address the lack of student perspectives on generative AI (GenAI) tools available to date, sharing recent data that reveals students' lack of confidence in using GenAI for learning and assessments. This paper explores GenAI’s role in shaping educational practice and provides recommendations to improve its integration. These insights will potentially complement the whole-of-institution curriculum transformation initiative at our university, emphasising the importance of feedback literacy and self-regulated learning in an evolving educational landscape. Our initiatives promote self-regulated and co-regulated learning, to enable students and staff to collaboratively improve the learning process and outcomes. Finally, this paper discusses the challenges encountered, offering actionable insights for institutions aiming to enhance student preparedness through collaboration.

The AI-Teacher Teaching Tasks Spectrum (AITTTS) was conceived as a way to understand the relationship between human teachers and the ever-evolving AI technologies in education. This study demonstrates how the AITTTS framework can be

The AI-Teacher Teaching Tasks Spectrum (AITTTS) was conceived as a way to understand the relationship between human teachers and the ever-evolving AI technologies in education. This study demonstrates how the AITTTS framework can be operationalised into a tangible intervention, showcasing the design models and practical applications of the AITTTS in real-world educational settings. By categorising teaching tasks into a spectrum, the AITTTS delineates the roles that AI and human teachers can play, providing a structured and nuanced understanding of their collaboration. As a result of the practical application of the AITTTS, a design model was birthed in this study. It highlights various aspects of holistic student outcomes such as positive electronic nonverbal communication (eNVC) cues, adaptive learning paths, and interactive learning responses as elements by which AI should be designed. By providing a structured approach for educators to incorporate AI tools and interventions in their learning environments, this research lays the groundwork for further exploration of the synergistic relationship between AI and human teachers in modern education. This framework can serve as a guide for educators to develop and implement AI-enhanced teaching strategies, fostering a more dynamic and responsive educational landscape.

Generative AI is increasingly used in higher education, prompting the need to effectively test, refine, and robustly evaluate its educational impact. Tools like Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) enable conversational interactions

Generative AI is increasingly used in higher education, prompting the need to effectively test, refine, and robustly evaluate its educational impact. Tools like Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) enable conversational interactions that support Constructivist learning designs: active learning strategies allowing students to engage deeply with course material through reflection and discourse. However, in our initial trials with an AI-tutors, students reported greater learning utility from non-Constructivist activities. This underscores the importance of not only developing new GPT tools but also educating students on their optimal use, designing assessments to foster appropriate learning strategies, and refining the tools themselves. We also explored self-directed learning scores but found no significant correlation with AI-tutor use-strategies, and only a slight preference for AI-tutors among highly self-directed learners. When using retrieval augmented generation (RAG) most learners could not distinguish between different large language models (LLMs) implying cheaper but refined models may be appropriate. Finally, we find AI-tutors offer a compelling value proposition to universities; student’s perceive value of the AI-tutor exceeds the associated compute costs of running the AI-tutor. Similarly, students tend to prefer AI-tutors over similarly priced teaching alternatives.

Learning Analytics systems are emerging as a powerful tool for student success, optimising curricula, and informing data-driven decisions. However, these will not be achieved without effective implementation strategies tailored to

Learning Analytics systems are emerging as a powerful tool for student success, optimising curricula, and informing data-driven decisions. However, these will not be achieved without effective implementation strategies tailored to institutional contexts. This study compares the learning analytics practices of five diverse Australian universities, offering a nuanced exploration of the similarities, differences, and patterns that characterise their adoption journeys. We will work to identify the factors that contribute to successful implementation and enhanced impact. Our findings emphasise the importance of aligning learning analytics initiatives with institutional contexts, student demographics, and unique needs, emphasising the necessity of tailored approaches that resonate with stakeholders and address specific challenges. Our intention is to provide a practical roadmap for Higher Education Institutions seeking to benefit from learning analytics, giving them the means to harness the full potential of these tools.

The unprecedented advancements of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools have generated controversies surrounding their potential for transforming educational practices, and democratising knowledge sharing, while acknowledging

The unprecedented advancements of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools have generated controversies surrounding their potential for transforming educational practices, and democratising knowledge sharing, while acknowledging risks to current educational practices. In order to understand the potential and risks of GenAI tools on educational practices, recent research point to the need to develop student and teacher AI literacy skills and to investigate the impact of GenAI integration in learning and assessment practices. In addressing the call for more research in the field, this study reports on the integration of GenAI tools in an academic assessment in a postgraduate course for pre-service language teachers at an Australian university. Data were collected from students’ reflections of their adoption of GenAI tools for planning their assessment and from qualitative surveys. Thematic analysis was employed to identify students’ perceived challenges and benefits in adopting GenAI for essay writing. Pre-service teachers recognised benefits in adopting GenAI for planning and generating ideas for academic writing but recognised the importance of mitigating risks created by inaccuracies or biases in content. The findings confirm the importance of transparency in the integration of GenAI and developing student awareness of and training in ethical use of GenAI for higher education.

This paper highlights the importance of utilizing innovative evidence-based teaching strategies that keep students motivated and engaged to support success in their tertiary academic studies. Research consistently reports that students are

This paper highlights the importance of utilizing innovative evidence-based teaching strategies that keep students motivated and engaged to support success in their tertiary academic studies. Research consistently reports that students are more likely to persist and succeed in their studies when they feel supported, challenged, and connected to their learning environment. Listening to tertiary student voices between 2021-2023 on what strategies improved their engagement and learning, this paper summarises student suggestions over six trimesters at a rural Australian university. The strategies nominated by students as supporting successful learning were the use of a flexible submission portal for assessments, clearly defined rubrics, video explanation of assessments, providing exemplars of requirements and the consistent presentation of unit content across the learning management site. By incorporating a flexible submission portal for assessments, clearly defined rubrics, video explanation of assessments, providing exemplars of requirements, and presenting units consistently across the learning management site, these were consistently the strategies students voted over three years as being most helpful to their learning. This paper emphasizes the need for universities to listen to student evaluation suggestions and prioritize effective teaching strategies as a key factor in promoting student retention, success, and overall satisfaction in higher education.

Generative AI is developing at an exponential pace, showing immense potential for reshaping teaching and learning methodologies. Designing high-quality examinations demands careful consideration, such as incorporating diverse question

Generative AI is developing at an exponential pace, showing immense potential for reshaping teaching and learning methodologies. Designing high-quality examinations demands careful consideration, such as incorporating diverse question types to assess different levels of understanding and ensuring alignment with learning outcomes. However, many university educators encounter challenges in designing effective examinations due to insufficient training. This paper outlines our work-in-progress in leveraging generative AI, specifically large language models, as a copilot in examination design. In this study, we are evaluating large language models’ performance in assessing examination questions based on four key quality criteria. Preliminary findings indicate that ChatGPT 3.5 achieved comparable performance to the state-of-the-art in classifying questions by cognitive complexity, as defined by Bloom’s taxonomy. Additionally, ChatGPT 3.5 demonstrated promising initial results across other criteria. In conclusion, generative AI shows substantial potential to serve as a valuable tool in assisting university educators in enhancing the overall quality of examination design.

New technologies like Generative AI and Immersive Reality are set to change higher education dramatically. They offer unique ways to improve learning outcomes, boost creativity, and provide better access to quality education. But

New technologies like Generative AI and Immersive Reality are set to change higher education dramatically. They offer unique ways to improve learning outcomes, boost creativity, and provide better access to quality education. But, incorporating these technologies also comes with challenges, such as ethical issues, the need for big financial investments, and environmental concerns. This paper explores how Generative AI and Immersive Reality affect higher education, highlighting their benefits and the obstacles to their adoption

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted higher education but also accelerated the adoption of technology-enhanced learning and innovative teaching practices to promote student-centred learning in higher education. Nevertheless

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted higher education but also accelerated the adoption of technology-enhanced learning and innovative teaching practices to promote student-centred learning in higher education. Nevertheless, traditional, didactic, teacher-centred approaches in university teaching are still prevalent. Specifically, Information Systems (IS) and other technology-related disciplines are expected to adopt technological innovations more readily. Moving beyond the pandemic, there is a need to reassess the current state of Information Systems education and explore technologies that have been effectively deployed to identify best practices. This study involves reviewing thirteen subjects as part of a Master of Information Systems course offered by one of Australia’s leading universities. It aims to identify innovative technology-enhanced practices that promote student-centred learning, assess their adoption levels and impact, and reflect on any difficulties hindering their adoption. We identified three innovative technology applications that effectively facilitate student-centred learning: web-based interactive content, online collaborative workspaces, and simulation games. However, we found that these technologies are primarily adopted for tutorials. Nevertheless, the use of technology has led to a notable shift from the traditional teaching approach to a flipped classroom model. The findings highlight the need for university-wide support, policy changes, and investments in time, resources, and staff training to enhance student-centred learning through the use of technology.

Demand for online higher education has grown considerably in recent years but comes with a unique set of challenges. Online students often experience lower sense of connection, which may give impetus to join student-led social media

Demand for online higher education has grown considerably in recent years but comes with a unique set of challenges. Online students often experience lower sense of connection, which may give impetus to join student-led social media groups. Use of these groups may exacerbate another challenge: the reportedly greater levels of vengeful dissent towards staff from online students, which, in on-campus students, has been linked to low procedural justice perceptions. This study explored the association between procedural justice perceptions and vengeful dissent in online and on-campus education, examining the moderating effect of student-led social media groups. A total of 127 adults (M age = 25.46, SD = 7.82; 73.22% female) who were either studying or had recently completed a degree at an Australian university in either fully online or on-campus mode (64 online; 63 on-campus) completed an online self-report survey. As hypothesised, low procedural justice perceptions were more strongly associated with greater vengeful dissent in online students and use of student-led social media groups strengthened the association in online students only. The findings represent the first to empirically explore the justice perception-dissent relationship in online learning and have several implications for policy and practice in navigating online education.

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are opening up a complex world where human and AI coexist. It is imperative to develop our understanding of human-computer relationship, and to enhance graduate creativity in order to

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are opening up a complex world where human and AI coexist. It is imperative to develop our understanding of human-computer relationship, and to enhance graduate creativity in order to ensure their competitiveness in a technology-rich word. Recent research has begun to view AI as an independent collaborator and has explored the use of Human-AI Co-Creation (HACC) to foster creativity. However, it remains unclear how HACC practices can be designed to truly benefit undergraduate creativity. The solution to this issue lies in the creation of autonomous learners who can maintain agency in their interactions with AI, aligning with the core idea of Heutagogy. Therefore, this position paper proposes a conceptual framework of HACC for enhancing undergraduate creativity, and explores how the principles of heutagogy can be mapped onto the design of HACC practice.

Learning design involves creating educational opportunities that are engaging and effective. In many countries, this process must attune to indigenous ways of being and knowing. In the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, the learning design

Learning design involves creating educational opportunities that are engaging and effective. In many countries, this process must attune to indigenous ways of being and knowing. In the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, the learning design process requires the ability to create culturally inclusive learning opportunities that are respectful of Maori culture, but also beneficial to all learners - a process that calls for deeper reflection and understanding of tikanga Maori (Maori customs and practices). This paper highlights the experiences of migrant learning designers and teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand, who work at the intersection of Maori knowledge and Western educational practices. As non-indigenous immigrants, learning designers, teachers, and educational researchers, the authors drew on autoethnography as the methodology, to analyse and reflect on their role as allies of Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. This research aims to find and share ways of reconciling principles of learning design with different ways of knowing, whilst honouring the Maori culture. The paper contributes to wider debates in education that discuss how indigenous knowledge systems can enrich modern educational practices.

In today’s increasingly competitive Higher Education (HE) market, academic jobs are more precarious than ever. The way academics do their day-to-day job is under increasing scrutiny, with their outputs measured through the rigid lens of

In today’s increasingly competitive Higher Education (HE) market, academic jobs are more precarious than ever. The way academics do their day-to-day job is under increasing scrutiny, with their outputs measured through the rigid lens of performativity and financial profit. Professional Learning (PL) is an institutional approach aimed towards achieving and sustaining high quality teaching and innovation among academic staff. The significance of PL to developing academics’ skills and fostering their professional identity has been confirmed by peer reviewed research. However, how to design and deliver PL that is meaningful to academic workforce, while empowering academics and supporting them in finding solutions to their teaching and learning problems, remains up for debate. This paper offers a conceptual way forward; arguing for a complete re-think of the predominant way of doing PL in universities in favour of placing Design Thinking (DT) at the heart of the matter. Grounded within a robust theoretical approach and scaffolded with a practical toolkit, DT can enable a nurturing environment to engage and empower academics, building their confidence and equipping them with a methodology for problem solving into the future.