“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?