IMAC Education

The principle objectives of IMAC Education work are:

In the university sector:

Reduction in student attrition at all levels, but particularly first year.

Producing higher quality graduates, and greater retention through higher degrees by improvements in student learning skills and university engagement.

Ongoing professional development of academic staff in teaching and learning issues, particularly new and sessional staff.

Leading best practice in the development of objectives, assessment techniques, and teaching approach through ongoing Teaching Community development of academic programs in information technology, engineering and science.

Providing a verifiable structure and process for the development of quality undergraduate teaching and assessment.

Maximising the value to the discipline area of other university support services.

Increasing the number of quality students attracted to the university by developing a student-centred quality teaching profile for the university in the wider education community.

Adding value to the general research prestige of the university, and raising the profile of the university nationally and internationally, by developing a reputation for research in improving teaching and learning.

While running the Centre for Learning And Teaching in information Technology, Engineering and Science (LATTES) at Swinburne University these principles were translated into the following specific goals.

1. Provision of support and information for students directly.

1.1 A priority will be to develop a space for students that can become a Help Room/Resource Centre/Meeting space. Promotion of Learning Communities is facilitated by having a Student Space appropriate for meeting and working with peers.

1.2 Promotion of Learning Communities (LCs) amongst students. Strong research evidence exists to support the value of Learning Communities in promoting quality learning, and in improving student retention. The Centre for LATTES will work with students to promote and support the formation of LCs, and with staff to promote activities within teaching situations that will encourage LC formation and use. This will have particular value for international students, in assisting their engagement with the university; and with Australian students in building understanding and involvement with the international students.

1.3 Resources and training in Learning Skills. Most students are unaware of their own learning methods, and have a limited range of learning skills available. Via the Student Space, and through specific workshops and support networks (physical and electronic), Centre for LATTES will directly assist students in the development of learning strategies that improve the quality of their learning. This material has already been used in specific commercial offerings to VCE student, and in the Monash first year Education undergraduate degree subject “How Learners Learn”, and has proved effect. In the future an elective subject with academic credit may be offered at Swinburne.

1.4 Orientation program enhancement. Social and academic transition are both critical factors in retention and quality learning. The Centre for LATTES will contribute to the development of Orientation programs that address these student needs, building on the extensive work done at Monash university, with which the Centre for LATTES has strong links.

1.5 A student site on the Centre for LATTES website will provide subject information links, discussion groups to promote Learning Communities, links to university resources, advice on learning strategies, and an anonymous feedback page on which students can make public comment about their concerns, praise or questions, and where staff can respond equally publicly (already an effective medium at Monash FCIT).

2. Professional Development (PD) pathways for staff.

2.1 All staff involved in teaching will have the opportunity to participate in an 2 or 3 day introductory workshop about learning issues prior to the start of each semester, and then participate in a supported Teaching Community for the subject they are involved in.

2.2 Teaching Communities will be encouraged in all large intake undergraduate subjects, particularly first year subjects. Centre for LATTES members will be available to assist in setting up Teaching Communities, and participate in TC meetings if invited.

2.3 Centre for LATTES will run regular workshops and seminars on relevant teaching and learning issues (including assessment methodologies and development), in collaboration with Learning and Teaching Services and other professional bodies, to act as a stimulus for Teaching Community discussion and action, but with a clear information techology, engineering and science contextualisation.

2.4 An Undergraduate Teaching Certificate is available for postgraduate students or other part-time, fractional or sessional staff teaching into the scope of influence of the Centre for LATTES. This will be issued by Centre for LATTES after the staff have:

participated in the full introductory workshop

participated for two semesters in an active Teaching Community that is properly accredited by Centre for LATTES

have contributed to the full range of Student Space activities, and

have the nomination and support of two suitable established staff.

This will certify that the person is a trained and experienced undergraduate teacher with an awareness of students’ learning needs.

2.5 It is proposed that Staff who have developed experience in Teaching Communities, and who have contributed to the introductory workshops, can seek a Certificate in Teaching Community Leadership. This advanced certificate will accredit the person to start and run Teaching Communities, and will acknowledge the person as being well informed about the issues of learning and teaching relating to undergraduate education, and with knowledge and experience in managing the professional environment of at Teaching Community. This will be issued by consensus from the Centre for LATTES members.

2.6 Centre for LATTES would also assist staff in developing a portfolio of teaching as part of any promotion application.

3. Quality assurance in Teaching.

3.1 Quality assurance requires a clear and verifiable procedure for ensuring reflection on practice, the introduction of new ideas, and the evaluation of current practice against realistic objectives. Centre for LATTES can provide a structure that is on the cutting edge of professional development models in education. Quality can be not only improved, but verifiably seen to be improved. It is a genuinely decentralised model that has a proven effect in other contexts.

4. Research in learning and teaching in Engineering and Science.

4.1 Action research into teaching practice is both an important method of professional development for the staff member concerned, as well as an increasingly highly regarded research area in its own right. Centre for LATTES will assist staff in researching their own teaching practice; particularly in the areas of research methodology, linkage with other relevant literature, interpretation of results, and in publishing and promoting outcomes. Centre for LATTES will also initiate its own research program and seek the participation of staff as contributors to larger scale research.

4.2 There is potential for Ph.D. research work to be conducted within the Centre for LATTES.

4.3 Application for external grants for teaching related research and staff development is an important aspect of the Centre for LATTES activity.

4.4 The web site will not only provide a communication point for staff interested in such research in and outside Swinburne, but will be an access point for a wide range of useful information. Teaching resources, teaching approaches, exemplars of practice, links to other organisations, and a forum for discussion will all be available through this site.

4.5 By collating, cross referencing, and sharing the individual action research work of scholars the Centre for LATTES will build a research community that will foster higher quality research, and hence greater understanding of, and skill in, teaching at all levels. Compilation will also allow for meta-analysis of individual research work that may lead to more substantive and broad ranging insights.

4.6 Centre for LATTES will act as a focus for research into the learning and teaching of Information Technology, Engineering and Science within Swinburne, and will make linkages with other bodies involved in such research to foster exchange of information and personnel, and to build the standing of Swinburne as a research centre in this area.

4.7 Centre for LATTES will host seminars and conferences for outside audiences to promote the research achievements of the Centre and further the understanding of issues affecting Learning in Information Technology, Engineering and Science. Special interest papers will be released regularly both internally and externally when appropriate. There is already a surfeit of “regular newsletters” within and between universities.

5.Course development facilitation.

5.1 The process of building and maintaining top quality, integrated degrees that respond to a rapidly changing demand in industry and society is enormous. Centre for LATTES will assist this process by working with the current School working groups, and by sponsoring regular Major Teaching Communities (similar to the Engineering Teaching Community that rewrote the first year engineering program) in such areas as:

First Year to Second Year transition;

Sequence and skill development in course;

Preparing for, and integrating IBL experience into other years etc.

These special purpose Teaching Communities will meet at a yearly retreat and identify the key outcomes required and assist in the appropriate planning of objectives, teaching approaches, and assessment structures. By sharing the knowledge developed within the Centre for LATTES all staff engaged in this ongoing subject development process will benefit from the total community knowledge, while the opportunity for groups to plan and communicate in a framework dominated by the need to improve student learning would benefit all courses.

Structure of the Centre for LATTES.

Centre for LATTES will be embedded within the information technology, engineering and science disciplines, with all involved staff being primarily academics involved in teaching and research in discipline areas. The aim is to provide a level of networking that will allow better use of larger scale university structures, such as Learning and Teaching Services and the QED group, while ensuring that hard earned knowledge about education in the disciplines is shared, developed and used by the people who need it most. A limited number of staff act as coordinators and organisers of Centre for LATTES.

In recognition of the extra coordination required to maintain a viable centre the position of Research Assistant exists. The appointment, Meaghan Walsh, is responsible for:

Work with the Centre Director and the Centre staff to design and establish education research projects, in particular the methods for collection of data and data processing. Networking with academic staff on behalf of the Centre is a particular requirement.

Conduct research data acquisition as required (in particular through focus group interviews, multiple case study projects, and individual interviews), and process such data in ways that maintain confidentiality of sources.

Develop and maintain the Centre for LATTES website.

Maintain a database of all research activity being conducted by Centre for LATTES. Negotiate Centre support teams according to need, and the available expertise of Centre for LATTES, and assist in developing applications for funds to support any specific research needs.

Plan and manage all internal Centre activities such as the introductory training workshops, seminars, and general workshops.

Plan and manage external Centre activities, including seminars, colloquia and conferences.

Organise a roster for the Student Space (when available), and ensuring it is adequately resourced.

Maintain a register of all staff involved in the proposed Certificate of Undergraduate Teaching, ensuring all necessary information is collected. Similarly maintain records of any staff seeking to qualify for the proposed Advanced Certificate.

Assist in the development of material for publication, and in promoting such material.

Seek out appropriate intellectual resources and ensure distribution, or other awareness-raising of their content.

Develop and maintain an academic library specific to the needs of the Centre for LATTES.

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