ALTC+Dabblings

On page 2 Innovations dot point: It has a very relevant statement for us: "...emphasis may also be given to the creative application (teacher development workshops?) of existing innovations in learning and teaching in higher education". I think seeing as we have such a short time to write this, lets stick to our idea of "Training the Trainer" as a way of transforming higher education and in particular with the ultimate intent of helping students with the development of self efficacy and hence supporting their transition from high school to uni, then either post grad study or to the workplace and ultimately to build the skills of genuine lifelong learning.

We can write the application with a bit of a historical emphasis of how we got to be where we are: e.g., L & T grant for JiTT etc.... and mentioning the ripple effect that has had on informing our teaching and learning in a much broader aspect through the opportunities that various technologies have provided us with. etc....... We can outline the effectiveness that this initial EPLE approach has had in different contexts and how we now what to "Take it To The Street" (TiTTS LOL)!

Some thoughts/words to help frame our intent from our meeting:Please build on these.


 * Keys to unclock........ for transformative learning.
 * Six? ingredients for the creation/building of transformative learning environments.
 * Transforming learning environments by building self efficacy through the use of technology ? is this what we want to achieve?
 * Transforming the teacher through............or for........
 * Portals to ........ "This sounds science fictionish and unleashes opprotunities.. has a good ring to it for me.."
 * Tools for......
 * Ripples .....
 * Supporting teacher to...........
 * Survival guide to ............
 * Building ..........
 * What about passion?

PROJECT OUTCOMES & RATIONALE Deep and meaningful learning experience for students, achieved by better engagement (through interaction) ... Have to identify student needs & respond to student diversity. Socially

eg "Just a TASTE - come and try new ways of becoming a more effective teacher"; what about "TASTE Tips for better student outcomes". Subheaders - 1. EPLE 2. Feedback 3. Community of Inquiry 4. Constructivist (Student-centred)
 * TASTE: TOOLKIT for ACHIEVABLE STRATEGIES for TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS**
 * 1) - wikis 3,4
 * 2) - blogs 3,4
 * 3) - crash courses 1,2
 * 4) - quick bite (no checkpoints) 1
 * 5) - interactive online modules (checkpoints) 1,2
 * 6) - peer instruction 3,4
 * 7) - feedback loops (also including integrated formative assessment) 2,4
 * 8) - student generated content (in f2f settings) 3,4
 * 9) - real-life learning tasks (ie. 'authentic assessment'), simulation & scenario based learning .... 2,3
 * 10) - multiple choice assessment (ie tech-based or simple f2f) 2
 * 11) - self-check 2,3,4

  **Approach ** The objective is to ‘train the trainer’ (rephrase) The well established three-step quality assurance strategy of ‘Measure, Manage and Monitor’ (reference) has been extended for this initiative to a six-step process to also include ‘Motivate, Mentor and Maintain’. These steps encapsulate the major actions required in the mentoring process of other academic staff so that they are not only trained, but their skills are maintained. **Measure. ** Target strategic courses, i.e. high impact (class size, cornerstone, etc.) or problematic. Measure student outcomes such as average grade and failure rate to identify courses requiring attention. Student perceptions expressed via surveys regarding critical factors including adequate feedback. (student feedback, class size, student diversity, attrition etc.) - assess the need for transition towards more blended models (or, more negatively, to see what's wrong with the course); check the course profile (retention, grade outcomes, SELTs, measurable engagement or ???, student backgrounds, student underlying knowledge) .... also ask students what the issues are **Motivate. ** Courses may be volunteered by pro-active academics who wish to adopt new strategies and assistance. However, some courses may be identified by others, such as the Head of School. In such cases, the academics may be resistant to change, therefore the core project team must work with the academic to ensure it is a positive, collaborative and non-threatening process. Minimum performance requirements – promotion, SELT, CEQ, etc. **Manage. ** Management relates to addressing the specific problems in each course (i.e. using the ‘right tool for the right job’ based on the four main strategies of EPLE, feedback, community of inquiry and constructivist) and also managing the workload of the academic being worked with. In other words, strategic topics within the curriculum would be targeted and changes must be sustainable and would be rolled out over time (i.e. do not change the way the entire course is presented in a single year). CUSTOMISE manage the issues, manage/stage a transition to alternative ways of operating, eg. not convert whole course at once but focus on particular topics, work through options in respect of technologies, systems, pedagogical needs (eg as derived from the 'measuring' exercise, by determining what are the critical topics, where students don't achieve critical understandings or outcomes, or where students are in need of more detailed feedback). **Mentor. ** Collaborate with academic and teach skills (hands on). One-on-one, step-by-step etc. support and guidance. **Monitor. ** Develop customised special student surveys (student-to-teacher feedback) to determine their perception of the new teaching strategies. These surveys can be at the end of the course and also during (e.g. online survey open during entire semester) to accommodate a strategy of continual improvement (subject to the consent of the academic involved). Compare grade statistics (assessment outcomes: average grade, failure rate, retention, etc) before and after implementation of the mentoring process. Student focus groups… - outcomes of assessment, retention, SELTS (with special/tailored questions), student focus groups, student outputs (posters, publications, wikis/blogs??) **Maintain. ** As this process must be sustainable in the long term, the role of the core teaching team would reduce to act as an advisory role in the second year rather than in a hands-on capacity in the first year. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-style: none none solid; border-width: medium medium 1pt; display: block; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dissemination ** <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The process of training other academics is in itself the primary form of dissemination. In addition, four other main pathways will be used. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Workshop. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Collaborative sessions. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seminar. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (i) by mentee to other staff in their school; (ii) by core team - Examples of best practice. Customised to the needs of each discipline, school, faculty and/or institution. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Publications. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Research publications (including between mentors and trainees), reports, etc. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Website. **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Include research publications (by core team and those in the open literature summarising the teaching strategies used in this initiative), exemplars, step-by-step guide, student testimonials, FAQ, advice, etc.

- run customised workshops for people in particular disciplines - will have a web site of strategies, exemplars, advice etc., but it's more than just accessing web sites

__

**Value/Need for Project**
Larger class sizes with highly diverse student cohort Students need feedback, engagement etc. ..... might relate to first year experience and attrition rates .... need to make students part of the community ....

The issues facing the sector as a whole: (need literature and statistics for evidence)
> //students, concurrent with the reduction in recurrent resources."// (Franklin and Peat 2000) > // "The future for many Universities will see a continued migration away from a traditional school leaver //// undergraduate mix, and the rise of diversified delivery models, enabled by e-learning technology. E-learning //// has matured into a core element of the learning mix.... and move away from the core campus model" // Deloitte Report 2009.
 * Most programs across the sector nationally are experiencing a marked increase in student numbers with little matching increase in teacher numbers and/or resources. " //..... issues arise from the increasing number and diversity of//
 * [[file:10.1.1.17.510.pdf]]// What makes us different to what these authors have done?? So why should we get funded for this? //
 * Enable educators to maximise the use of available resources and social learning tools that require minimal expense to implement and can be customised to the needs of the educator, student and program
 * The student profile is becoming much more diverse as students enter higher education through non traditional pathways resulting in a student cohort with different learning styles and levels of pre-existing or assumed knowledge bases. The time spent with students needs to take into account the reinforcement of basic concepts for those with minimal preexisting knowledge and the ability to challenge those with more advanced understandings
 * The difficulty of transition from high school to higher education, or from the workplace to higher education, for first year students is accentuated when programs are delivered in traditional methods which foster anonymity and fail to provide crucial formative feedback mechanisms
 * The development of a community of inquiry, (even in large class cohorts), fosters a sense of belonging and collaboration that eases the sense of alienation that many first year students experience
 * The development of research skills through group work, peer evaluation and self assessment ???
 * The development of effective team work skills through active learning strategies .....
 * Maximise the effectiveness of the time students have to spend with their teachers, particularly within large student cohorts through effective prelecture engagement activities both face to face and online
 * Assist in the development of a deep and meaningful student learning experience that fosters the application of knowledge and critical thinking skills
 * Encourage and motivate higher education teachers to become more effective educators and self reflective practitioners
 * Provides a mechanism by which students can develop life long learning skills through the implementation of constructivist learning approaches that promote the students' level of confidence as the learning becomes meaningful, engaging, tailored to their needs and more relevant to 'real life' contexts.
 * Maximise e-learning potential.... look at this quote from: