4 posts tagged “professional development”

This video is an extract from a workshop that was facilitated by Diana Ayling and Hazel Owen with the Business Department at Unitec NZ. The workshop was part of an initiative initiated by the Business Department to revisit the programmes that they offer students, and the learning experience. Formal and informal sessions focussed on aspects such as:

• Course design and lesson planning
• Facilitation of learning
• Assessmenta
• Evaluating teaching and learning

A sense of the dynamic discussions that have been ongoing is captured, as well as a feelings of excitement, seeing potential, anxiety, and concerns around pragmatic issues.

The extract features discussion around the results of the ICTELT survey that participants had completed before the session, as well as dialogue around blended learning in general, and what a course that uses the ICTELT design mindmap as a foundation may feature.

(If you would like to find out more about the work that underpins some of the workshop and the ICTELT mindmap, please feel free to visit the ICT Enhanced Learning and Teaching wiki.

If you are involved in any sort of academic support or, on the other hand, are a faculty member who is working at an institution where new technologies are becoming a focus, you may well find this podcast created by Gerry Bayne (EDUCAUSE) on April 15, 2009, of interest.

One of the key points made is that it is all about the learning and teaching, and very little to do with the tools. The blurb on the site advises: "In this forty-two minute podcast we feature a conversation from the ELI 2009 Annual Meeting. Participants in our lively roundtable discuss their experiences with introducing new technology to faculty, approaches to digital literacy, and ways to think about teaching with (or without) technology". Sometimes thought provoking, and well worth a listen:

ELI In Conversation: Introducing New Technology to Faculty

Access the Mp3 file by clicking here.

Abstract: "The success of students is of central concern for tertiary institutions globally and in New Zealand. When learners are unable to meet the literacy and numeracy demands of their programmes, they struggle to achieve the learning outcomes necessary to graduate, and tend not to reach full potential in their community.
To improve the quality of teaching and learning at Unitec NZ, staff is beginning to employ an integrated approach to teaching courses, thereby assisting students with literacy and numeracy challenges. Professional development is essential to engage staff in the process of refocussing and revisioning the experience offered to learners.

The Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI) is working closely with staff to design and provide contextualised workshops in direct response to needs identified by each school for their specific learners. This paper describes one such initiative for Automotive Engineering staff, where a range of literacy and numeracy related tools were showcased in two collaborative and interactive workshops. Eleven literacy and numeracy support tools, sourced from a variety of places, were chosen to exemplify best practice. The presenters will give an overview of the workshops and the thinking/theory behind them (including the iterative cycle of evaluation and improvement of the workshops in response to participant feedback). A demonstration of key workstations with the associated handouts / interactive tasks will be available for trial by conference participants who will also be asked to evaluate each tool/workstation in a feedback form."

Please cite as: Please cite as: Owen, H, & Schwenger, B. (2008). Student Success; Increasing student success through effective literacy and numeracy support. Paper presented at the EIT Teaching and Learning Conference, 2008, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

"Students' learning experiences and study success can be significantly enhanced through a combined approach that embeds Literacy, Language and Numeracy skills enhancement explicitly into discipline content. An essential aspect of this approach is the provision of academic professional development that is engaging and helps staff review their methodology in a supported and sustainable manner.

This paper describes stage one of a pilot research study and ongoing initiative between one of the vocational disciplines (Automotive Engineering, which is part of the Unitec Applied Technology Institute) and the Academic Development Unit at Unitec New Zealand. At this stage, using a 'tradeshow approach', fifteen Literacy, Language and Numeracy related tools and strategies, as well as mini-demonstration teaching sessions, have been chosen as a way to introduce and discuss effective practice in collaborative and contextualised professional development sessions.

The findings from a pilot study around the tradeshow approach, including the iterative cycle of evaluation and improvement in response to participant feedback, are shared. The study has helped identify and evaluate how this new capability building approach has assisted with supporting and motivating discipline specialists in their initiatives to embed and add value to students’ learning experiences and study success."

Describing a number of key strategies and tools, this paper will discuss the results of the study as well as lessons learned and associated implications.

Please cite as: Owen, H., & Schwenger, B. (In press). Supporting academic development to enhance the student experience. In. Darwin: The Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA).