2013 T&L Colloquium:Blended learning and supporting engaged enquiry Blended learning opportunities that advance community-engaged L&T

Professor David Lowe

Associate Dean (Education) / Professor of Software Eng.Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies

The University of Sydney

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Community-Engaged Enquiry?

› What is community-engaged enquiry?

- Community: “A body of people or things viewed collectively… The civic body to which all belong; the public; society”

- Engaged: “actively employed or occupied; involved”.

- Enquiry: “The action of seeking, esp. (now always) for truth, knowledge, or information concerning something; search, research, investigation, examination”.

› “Seeking knowledge through active involvement with our society” ???

› What this is not:

- Community-embedded enquiry

- Community-relevant enquiry

- Community-engaged practice

› How do we involve the public in our collective search for understanding?

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How do we achieve this?

› Isolated Examples: Community connections…

- Community-connected outreach: National Computing Summer School

- Industry-linked research: Australian Centre for Field Robotics

- Public-focused advocacy: The Conversation

› But how do we systematically bring this back into our T&L

- What limits us?

- Geographic separation?

- Pedagogic philosophies?

- Physical environment?

- How do we move to more diverse (blended) learning experiences.

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Examples: Industry

› Industry placements

- Shared experiences

- UTS – Embedded reflective portfolios and Engineering Practice Review units, with strong industry collaboration

- CDU – Coogee Methanol plant

- Loughborough – Daily and weekly online “exchange” sessions

- Ulster – Live industry feeds into classes…

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Examples: Community

› Advanced Engineering Program

EWB Challenge Schools outreach

› Community dialogues

The Conversation

› ITESM (Monterrey Tech), Mexico

Extensive programs in community social service, social incubators, community embedding…

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Thank You