SOTL - Learning in the Digital Age Seminar 4

Presented by: Bert de Groef & Sylvia Grommen,

Topic: Power of the personal: development of 'flipped light' for a large heterogeneous 1st-year cohort.

In order to improve the student experience and expand our graduates’ skill set, we rethought the teaching method of AGR1AAS by taking advantage of the rich possibilities that digitally-enabled and authentic learning offer. We chose to design the subject using a flipped learning model, so that after studying content actively at their own pace, students would be able to engage with the practical aspects and real-life challenges of agriculture by applying their conceptual understandings to hands-on or scenario activities. A real-life context provides a better understanding of the relevance of learning a concept, and this increases motivation and engagement. Moreover, the subject design allowed us to cater for a growing student number (from 245 students in 2012 to 420 in 2016) but also extend our regional offering of agricultural sciences, with our subject now available on 5 different campuses (Bundoora, Bendigo, Wodonga, Mildura, Shepparton). Because of the flexibility of this model, we were able to tailor theory and applications in this subject to suit students’ interests and create a relevant and rewarding learning experience for all, while at the same time training students in critical thinking and creative problem solving right from their first year at university.

Presented by: Katherine Legge

Topic: A four-phase blended learning model to support academics in pedagogical redesign of the curriculum.

Blended learning is often interpreted simply as the combination of face-to-face and computer-mediated learning. Indeed at La Trobe, the initial definition of Blended Learning was that ‘at least 25 % of the students’ workload delivery must be on-line’. This simplistic idea left many academic teaching developers without the detail and certainty they needed to develop learning designs that both address the university’s blended delivery expectations and meet their students’ learning needs. It was within this environment that a colleague and I developed a four phase blended learning model to support academics to transform their subjects. While the La Trobe definition of Blended Learning has advanced (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/ltlt/curriculum/blended) the model continues to provide a strong base in the transformation of subjects toward a format that places emphasis on the pedagogic strategies that guide student learning activity. In this presentation I will introduce the model and show some examples of subjects that have successfully transformed using it.