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2024: ASCILITE 2024 Conference Proceedings

 

 

The proceedings of the 2024 ASCILITE Conference: Navigating the Terrain: Emerging frontiers in learning spaces, pedagogies, and technologies.

T. Cochrane, V. Narayan, E. Bone, C. Deneen, M. Saligari, K. Tregloan, & R. Vanderburg (Eds.), Navigating the Terrain: Emerging frontiers in learning spaces, pedagogies, and technologies. Proceedings ASCILITE 2024. Melbourne.

University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

December 1-4 2024

ASCILITE2024 Conference Website https://2024conference.ascilite.org/

 

Published: 23 November 2024

Full Issue

ASCILITE Conference - Concise Papers

  • Understanding TVET students’ self-regulated learning and online participation on a blended course

    Tsoi Kern Choy, Choon Lang Gwendoline Quek

    The purpose of this research was to investigate students’ perceived self-regulated learning and participation in a blended environment. A shorten Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was administered to 63 first-year students at a Singaporean Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Trace data was collected from the learning management system to gain insight into students’ online participation. The survey show that students were extrinsically motivated, used rehearsal strategy the most, but scored the lowest in critical thinking. Trace data revealed that students primarily accessed group activity worksheets, and spent the most time on quizzes. Positive correlations were found between time spent on resources and organization, elaboration, as well as critical thinking.

    Read article: Understanding TVET students’ self-regulated learning and online participation on a blended course

  • Using LLMs to support teacher reflections on using questions to deepen learning and promote student engagement

    Aman Abidi, Farhan Ali, Choon Lang Gwendoline Quek, Ruilin Elizabeth Koh

    While much attention has been focused on improving student outcomes, there is growing interest in supporting teachers' reflection on their teaching practice using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) technologies. This paper examines the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 to automate the analysis of secondary school teachers' teaching practice in Singapore, specifically within the context of one of the teaching areas identified by the Singapore Teaching Practice model: using questions to deepen learning. We aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of LLMs in analyzing classroom lessons in this teaching area. The methodologies employed in this study included the collection of classroom data and their analysis, both manually and using LLMs. Specifically, this involved transcribing the classroom lessons and analyzing each question using LLMs, with the results compared to a ground-truth dataset created through manual analysis. The findings suggest that LLMs are effective in providing, forming the basis for future teacher reflection and the potential for automated self-reflection tools in Singapore schools.

    Read article: Using LLMs to support teacher reflections on using questions to deepen learning and promote student engagement

  • Media and Immersive Technologies in Higher Education: UNSW Present and Future

    Brian Landrigan, Graham Hannah

    Media and Immersive experiences in higher education provide students the opportunity to engage with course content in ways that were not previously possible. The Media and Immersive team at the University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW) was created to support academics in developing innovative solutions and to foster engagement from students with new forms of content delivery. This paper will outline the affordances and challenges of media and immersive applications at UNSW and examine the possibilities that artificial intelligence and open educational resources offer in overcoming some of the barriers to widespread adoption.

    Read article: Media and Immersive Technologies in Higher Education: UNSW Present and Future

  • Evaluating the Impact of an AI Critical Friend on Student Research Proposals, Critical AI Literacy, and Transparent Collaborative Assessment Practices

    Tim Gander, David Parsons

    This paper presents a work-in-progress report on an innovative approach to integrating generative AI capabilities into the assessment process, focusing on research proposal development. Specifically, the study explores the impact of incorporating an AI-powered "critical friend" that provides targeted feedback and guidance to students as they craft their research proposals. The aim is to evaluate how this AI-powered support system affects students' critical AI literacy, the quality and transparency of the collaborative assessment process, and, ultimately, the strength of the final research proposals. Through a mixed-methods approach combining surveys, focus groups, and analysis of student work and interactions with generative AI, the researchers seek to uncover key insights on the benefits, challenges, and ethical considerations of leveraging AI to enhance the research proposal development experience. The findings from this study will contribute to the growing body of literature on the role of AI in academic assessments and provide practical recommendations for educators and institutions looking to responsibly integrate these emerging technologies.

    Read article: Evaluating the Impact of an AI Critical Friend on Student Research Proposals, Critical AI Literacy, and Transparent Collaborative Assessment Practices

  • Variations of Australian university teachers’ conceptions of teaching with GenAI: A phenomenographic qualitative study

    Feifei Han, Henry Cook, Robert Ellis

    The recent emergence of GenAI (GenAI) has generated significant interest and intense debate in higher education learning and teaching. Under this scenario, researchers and policy makers have begun to gain an understanding of what factors may influence university teachers’ acceptance and use of GenAI in teaching. Research has shown that how teachers conceptualise teaching shape their pedagogical approach to some degree. Using a phenomenographic qualitative research design, the study examined variations of Australian university teachers’ conceptions of teaching with GenAI via semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was conducted to identify themes prior to a second pass inductive analysis, enabling the researchers to compare and contrast perspectives. Three qualitatively different conceptions were identified: 1) GenAI is used in teaching to develop students’ understanding, critical thinking, and reflection; 2) GenAI is used in teaching to reproduce learning and teaching artefacts; and 3) GenAI are just tools, only having limited applications in teaching. Of the three categories of conceptions, only the first category was student-centred/learning-focused conceptions, which aimed to use GenAI in teaching to support students’ learning and understanding. This work will provide educators with a framework to utilising GenAI in the classroom to support student-centred learning.

    Read article: Variations of Australian university teachers’ conceptions of teaching with GenAI: A phenomenographic qualitative study

  • Fostering professional capacity for blended teaching and learning: A case study exploring the affordances of collaborative unit redesign

    Audrey Statham, Brandi Fox, Alison Leedy

    Blended learning (BL) in higher education (HE) has for decades been considered a transformative way for universities to reach a wider range of students, increasing equity and availability to meaningful learning experiences. However, there is little in the BL literature around teaching academics and instructional designers’ experiences and perspectives on BL. This case study explores collaborative redesign through the reflections of a team comprising an academic Unit Chair, Learning Designer, and a Sessional Lecturer. It illustrates how a collaborative BL redesign process strengthened a unit that in 2022 had been deemed to be unsuccessful, and built educator capability through professional learning (PL). The result was a pedagogical and learning shift, which led to the unit’s successful delivery for online and on campus students in 2023. The findings have implications for BL and insight into collaborative design team experiences offering value to the academic community at large and foregrounding the value of pursuing a ‘ground-up’ collaborative BL redesign model.

    Read article: Fostering professional capacity for blended teaching and learning: A case study exploring the affordances of collaborative unit redesign

  • Sell not, TEL not: Minimising uptake failure of Technology-Enhanced Learning pedagogies - a pilot study

    Kerry Bond, Ritesh Chugh, Colleen Ryan, Katrina Johnston, Margaret Flanders, Michelle Vanderburg, Roslyn Clapperton

    An interdisciplinary group of researchers designed an innovative mobile application (app) to support bioscience language proficiency among pre-registration nursing students. The app's design, which incorporated features for audition and speaking prompts, was a key factor in its effectiveness. The same pedagogical approach was applied to alternative topics within the unit in Moodle, the university’s learning management system (LMS). The intervention in both forms (IC) was trialled and evaluated in a pilot study with two consecutive student cohorts in 2023 (n1=631, n2=218). Student access to each form of the condition was measured via technology-provided user analytics. The intervention condition (IC) uptake was higher in its LMS form compared to the app form. However, there were more initial attempts of the standard condition (SC) than the IC overall, indicating a tendency towards novelty avoidance. This article highlights and discusses the challenges of implementing novel technology-enhanced learning (TEL) approaches, focusing on students as stakeholders. Recommendations are proposed to improve user uptake of TEL approaches by focusing on strategies to enhance students’ perceptions of the TEL’s utility. A consistent ‘sales pitch’ to students as stakeholders is suggested.

    Read article: Sell not, TEL not: Minimising uptake failure of Technology-Enhanced Learning pedagogies - a pilot study

  • Engineering Students’ Adoption of Generative AI: The Role of Social Influence and Cognitive Processes

    Mazen Abdulwahab Asag, Md Abdullah Al Mamun, Mahbub Hasan

    Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Bing CoPilot, and similar models, bring changes in how students interact and search for knowledge online. Researchers are increasingly interested in exploring the factors that influence this change in student interaction with generative AI. This study examines the factors that influence students' intention to use generative AI in the context of a Bangladeshi engineering university. As part of a larger study, this research reports initial findings from pilot data. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the study examines the role of social influences and cognitive processes in AI adoption of students. Using a quantitative research approach, the study reveals that factors such as social influence, student image, job relevance and perceived usefulness significantly influence students' intention to use generative AI. While male and female students have similar attitudes towards the use of generative AI, local students significantly differ from international students in perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and result demonstrability of generative AI tools. These observations can guide educational institutions to integrate generative AI models in the learning environment and offer more interactive and personalised learning experiences for students.

    Read article: Engineering Students’ Adoption of Generative AI: The Role of Social Influence and Cognitive Processes

  • Navigating Digital Transformation: The Role of Mentorship in Facilitating Learner Agency

    Khushbu Tilvawala, Saima Qutab, Lahiru Gunasekara, Josephine Lee

    This paper outlines the design and implementation experience of a mentorship-based teaching approach for a third-year undergraduate Information Systems on Digital Strategy and Transformation. In its first iteration in 2021, the course struggled with a lack of engagement between staff and students, and overwhelmed students at the end of the semester. The mentorship-based teaching approach was trialled in the second iteration of the course to encourage learner agency and improvement in the students’ learning journey. Implementation of mentorship-based teaching resulted in a higher overall course satisfaction rate and improved staff-student engagement. The application of the mentorship model has been continually fine-tuned each semester since its implementation in 2021. The experience from this design and implementation serves as a case study to incorporate mentorship into the curriculum to facilitate learner agency. Educators may apply a similar process and framework to design a mentorship-based teaching strategy regardless of discipline.

    Read article: Navigating Digital Transformation: The Role of Mentorship in Facilitating Learner Agency

  • Future Direction of Engineering Education in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era: A Constructivist Perspective

    Chun-Chuen Billy Chan, Lauren Kark

    This study investigates the future direction of biomedical engineering education in higher education. It examines the perceptions of learning activities, modes, and styles among a group of biomedical engineering students at an Australian university. The survey findings reveal that both traditional and progressive pedagogies are preferred by the respondents. This paper concludes that traditional face-to-face lecturing maintains its value in biomedical engineering education.

    Read article: Future Direction of Engineering Education in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era: A Constructivist Perspective

  • Preparing students for success: From pedagogical foundation to personalised online learning journeys in mathematics

    Nikolai Alksnis, Maryam Rahou, Phuong Tran, Samantha Sterling

    With increased demand for skilled professionals in science and technology, universities are broadening entry requirements resulting in students entering these specialised degrees with potential knowledge gaps. This presents an opportunity to uplift student capability through personalised learning journeys, enhancing their university readiness. This report details the Monash College's new maths uplift program, which uses skills analysis tools and self-assessment processes to determine “where students are” on their learning journey, both at entry to the Monash College and through to their first year of university. Mapped to the maths requirements of their chosen degree, this program comprises three key components: (1) a comprehensive Teaching and Learning progression that maps the learning trajectory via six core domains of mathematics, (2) a set of skills analysis tests aimed at different entry and exit points in mathematics, and (3) a large set of self-paced online learning modules recommended to students based on the outcomes of their individual skills analysis tests. The three key components work together to provide a tailored educational experience supporting students towards their destination degrees. This paper reports on the development of this uplift program and presents preliminary findings indicating positive impacts on student preparedness and engagement.

    Read article: Preparing students for success: From pedagogical foundation to personalised online learning journeys in mathematics

  • Students' perceptions of using artificial intelligence in tertiary education: A phenomenographic study

    Jainaba Jaiteh, Mahbub Hasan, Azharul Karim, Md Abdullah Al Mamun, Md Shahadat Hossain Khan

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly influencing various aspects of teaching and learning in tertiary educational institutes. This concise paper presents the preliminary findings of an ongoing research that aims at exploring university students' perceptions of the use of AI in higher education settings. Phenomenographic framework has been adapted as the methodological guide for this research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among students of an international university to capture students' perceptions. Findings revealed that university students possess diverse perspectives on the use of AI in higher education settings. Four qualitatively distinct categories of perceptions of AI emerged from the interview data. It is found that university students perceive the use of AI as a) an essential academic aid, b) a facilitator of personalized learning, c) an inhibitor to critical thinking, and d) an ethical challenger. Findings have pedagogical, administrative, and ethical implications for developing AI-driven technology-focused policy that facilitates diverse student needs.

    Read article: Students' perceptions of using artificial intelligence in tertiary education: A phenomenographic study

  • Developing Online Tutorials Through Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL): The Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) Model

    Lingqi Tan, Peter Reimann

    The Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model facilitates complex learning, while Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) offers a robust framework for collaborative acquisition of knowledge and skills. This study investigates how a collaborative environment, integrated within the 4C/ID framework, can enhance the effectiveness of online tutorial development by learning designers. Employing a qualitative approach, we explored the underlying mechanisms of the design process. Preliminary findings suggest that integrating PAL with 4C/ID improves the quality and engagement of online educational content. This research suggested the potential of collaborative strategies in instructional design, proposing a model that could be beneficial for enhancing future educational practices.

    Read article: Developing Online Tutorials Through Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL): The Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) Model

Showing 53–65 of 92 articles