integrating curriculum, pedagogy & graduate attributes
DESCRIPTION
Presentation by Dr Madeleine Mattarozzi Laming of the Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, to the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at the University of Wales, Newport, on Friday 5th March 2010. Introduced by the CELT Director, Professor Simon Haslett.TRANSCRIPT
“What would happen if we took everything we know about how people learn and put it into our
classes, what would it look like?”George Kuh, Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education at Indiana University, speaking at the 7th Enhancement Themes Conference in Edinburgh, March 3rd 2010
That’s what I’m trying to find out.
Integrating Curriculum, Pedagogy & Graduate Attributes
Dr Madeleine Mattarozzi Laming
Overview of the model
• A learning & teaching model that integrates– Tinto’s learning communities – Wenger’s idea of communities of practice
• to address issues of pedagogy and curriculum simultaneously– Increase student engagement– Improve understanding – Model effective strategies – Make progress towards achievement of the graduate
attributes & professional standards
Overview of Australian higher education• 39 universities, including 2 private
– 2007: 1, 066,0959 total enrolment, 72.4% domestic, 55.2% female– 2007-2008 2.3% increase in domestic commencing enrolments
• Growing diversity in the student population since 1960s driven by – expansion of the tertiary education sector – immigration
• Policy reforms in 1980s accelerated trend by establishing special entry schemes of preferential selection for “non-traditional” students:– Indigenous, women & ethnic minorities
Bradley Report
• March 2008 Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, initiated a Review of Australian Higher Education chaired by Prof. Denise Bradley– 1998 Australia ranked 7/30 OECD countries in
terms of proportion of 25-34 years olds with degree-level qualifications
– 2008 it had slipped to 9/30 • fears that a shortage of qualified personnel
would undermine the economic growth & community well-being
New policy direction• Bradley recommended 40% of all 25-34-year-olds
should have at least a bachelor-level qualification by 2020
• recognised that there were insufficient school-leavers to meet that target
• recommended that 20% of cohort be low SES applicants
• particular groups should be encouraged to enrol:– “… those disadvantaged by circumstances of their birth:
Indigenous people, people with low socio-economic status, and those from regional and remote areas”
(Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008, p xi)
New approaches• Bradley Report also recommended
– greater collaboration between the technical and adult education sectors,
– extension of bridging courses from vocational to professional courses
• Also recommended universities examine their own practices– courses should be relevant & engaging – teaching and learning should be sufficiently engaging &
supportive to ensure that students completed their course of study
Overview of Australian Catholic University• publicly funded university in the Catholic tradition • formed in 1991 from the amalgamation of four
Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia – 2 campuses in Victoria: Melbourne & (rural) Ballarat
• long tradition of accepting students from a very wide range of social & cultural backgrounds
• very strong links to Indigenous community• a number of alternative entry programs including
non-year 12 access scheme & Clemente
Students at Australian Catholic University• largest faculties are education & nursing• offer 3 pre-service, undergraduate education
courses– Bachelor of Education (Primary)– Bachelor of Early Childhood & Primary Education– Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts (Secondary)
• Prerequisite entry score is from middle band– 70-76/100 on Melbourne campus
• c.f. typical scores of 85-87 Arts, 94-98 Law, 98+ medicine
Our students are already …
• likely to be first in their family to enroll at university
• likely to have come from a non-English speaking background
• likely to come from low-middle SES families• likely to travel long distances to attend their
course
ACU Melbourne campus catchment area
New approaches to learning & teaching• Beginning in 2007 new approaches to learning
& teaching were tried• Shared learning & assessment tasks• First year B.Ed students took concurrent units
in maths and learning• Staff drew explicit links between content of both units
• students kept journals in which they reflected on how they learned maths: problem solving strategies, learning styles, memory techniques …
Shared learning & assessment # 1
Assessment Task Three: Analysis of Factors Affecting Learning
As the semester progresses, make notes on a weekly basis about your progress as a learner in the Self Improvement Plan in EDMA103. Focus on the ways that you are going about improving your knowledge and understanding. Give detailed examples of the ways in which these activities help you to improve, for example:• “I am now using visual cues to help me memorise key information.”• ““It’s easier to understand complex information if I discuss it with other people.”There are 2 compulsory questions that you must answer every week: 1. What breakthrough have I made this week? 2. What helped me to make this breakthrough? Other questions you need to consider:• Are there particular aspects of learning that you don’t enjoy or that make you anxious? • How are you dealing with this situation?• How do you know when you have learned something?In Week 11, you will submit your diary for assessment together with a report on the factors that have affected your learning.
More developments in learning & teaching
• Collaborative learning introduced in 2008• Online groups were added in 2009
Collaborative Learning # 1 & 2
Learning Teams
Procedure• Students were assigned to
learning teams in Week 1 & gradually introduced to collaborative tasks
• Online discussion groups were set up by Week 3 and students encouraged to use Blackboard to exchange ideas and work on assignments
Tutorial activity1. In your learning teams,
compare the listed activities for the VELS standard you have been given with the supposed conceptual abilities of the children at the same level. How consistent are they?
2. In your learning teams read “Cross-cultural perspectives on Piaget’s theory” (McInerney & McInerney, pp 58-59). Compare and contrast the views in this reading with the chapter from Harris.
Graduate Attributes
• diversity of the student population is not an excuse for reducing quality
• ACU has developed a set of graduate attributes to ensure that the quality of teaching remains high and that graduates are employable – ACU Strategic Plan – ACU Learning and Teaching Plan 2009-2011
ACU courses enable graduates to be:Ethically informed and able to:1. Demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for
human diversity.2. Recognise their responsibility to the common good, the
environment and society.3. Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making.Knowledgeable and able to:1. Think critically and reflectively.2. Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to
the discipline and/or profession.3. Solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international
perspectives into account. Skilful and able to:1. Work both autonomously and collaboratively.2. Locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information.3. Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English
language and visual media.4. Utilise Information and Communication and other relevant
technologies effectively.
Professional Standards
• according to the Standards of Professional Practice issued by the Victorian Institute of Teaching graduating teachers must demonstrate– professional knowledge including knowledge of
how students learn – professional practice including the ability to use a
variety of teaching styles to engage students– Professional engagement including the ability to
reflect on their performance and improve
Meanwhile …• At the Ballarat Campus, Trish Young established
Tertiary Learning Communities (TLCs) program in 2008– 1 hour seminar focusing on academic skills &
issues relating to transition – also a social networking program – Close collaboration with Student Support
Services & case management for some students
– nursing students were included in TLC in 2009
Next Step …
• to develop an integrated model that would address address issues of curriculum & pedagogy concurrently
• provide additional support for students through their first year
• accommodate university graduate attributes• begin work on professional standards (maybe)
Theoretical underpinning
Reorganising the Curriculum
• Tinto (2003) outlines three types of learning community that are progressively more complex:– Linked courses– Freshman interest groups
• Cluster courses
– Co-ordinated studies
• all forms of learning community have led to improvements in students’ community engagement, engagement with their studies & academic success
Linked courses
• simplest version of the learning community model
• units forming the pair share common themes or support each other in some fashion
Tinto (2003)
Freshman writing History
Freshman Interest Groups
• units may also be linked to an interdisciplinary interest or discussion group
• In US colleges, this is usually led by a teaching assistant
Tinto (2003)
US History
Freshman Interest Group
Political Science
Writing
Cluster Courses
• an alternative version of the previous model consists of similar or related units linked to each other and to an interdisciplinary seminar
Tinto (2003)
Political Science
US History
Freshman Seminar
Co-ordinated Studies
• the most complex version of the Tinto’s (2003) learning community model
• individual units may continue to exist on the timetable, but explicit links are drawn between the content of the units which are taught by an interdisciplinary team
Communications
History
Writing
Reorganising the Classroom
• drawing on developments in cognitive psychology and social theory Lave and Wenger (1991) proposed a model of learning as a social relationship.
• situated learning asserts that learning relies on appropriate social engagements which provide a suitable context for learning.
• Learning occurs through engagement with a community of practice; a group of people brought together by joining in common activities
Becoming through doing novice teachers learn to become teachers by
participating in learning and teaching practices and through using the language of learning and teaching (Lave & Wenger, 1991)
their identities as teachers are formed through belonging to a community of learner/teachers-teacher/learners (Wenger, 1998).
Putting the models together
Integrated Model in Semester One
Contexts for Learning & Development
Children’s Literature for Literacy
Tertiary Learning Community (TLC) Seminar
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
Integrated Model in Semester One • Explicit links are made between the content of both
units • e.g. what family/cultural features should you keep in mind
when selecting children’s literature for a particular group?• topics addressed in the TLC Seminars are applicable to both
units• learning teams are established in the Contexts unit, but
members are encouraged to discuss topics & share ideas relating to both units
• graduate attributes are embedded in the learning outcomes & assessment tasks of both units
Integrated Model in Semester Two • TLC seminars do not continue• learning teams are maintained in class and online• staff continue to make explicit links are made
between the content of all units including field experience
• graduate attributes are embedded in the learning outcomes & assessment tasks of both units
Professional Experience 1
Exploring Mathematics 1
Linguistics for Literacy
Understanding Learning
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
OnlineCoP
Some Questions • does it make a difference?
• model is a work in progress and has not been fully evaluated
• preliminary results indicate majority of students recognised a benefit from shared learning & assessment
• NB: some did not, or resented the approach• all students benefited from social networking• Ballarat students benefited from academic skills
support
Some Questions
• what about the staff?• In some respects staff attitudes have been a
bigger barrier; “it’s my unit…”• has required a lot of time & energy to set up • also strong support from Head of School
• The School of Education is introducing e-portfolios in 2010; what role should they play in this approach to learning & teaching?