News & Events
2009 Engineering Learning Unit Seminar Series
Date/Time/Location |
Seminar / Workshop |
Wednesday, 15 April 10.30am Theatre A2, Old Eng, Level 1 |
Preparing Future Engineers as Change Leaders Dr Norman Fortenberry Dr Fortenberry is the Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship in Engineering Education (CASEE) in Washington DC (http://www.nae.edu/NAE/caseecomnew.nsf/weblinks/NFOY-66MSE2?OpenDocument). He is acknowledged as a world leader in engineering education research with his finger on the pulse of worldwide trends. Consequently, his visit is a great opportunity to get a global perspective on these trends.
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Tuesday, 9 June, 2009 11.00 am Theater C1, Eng Block C, Level 4 |
The Peer-Assisted Study Scheme: An example of peer learning in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce Sanchia Draper The Peer-Assisted Study Scheme (PASS) was introduced in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce at The University of Melbourne, almost ten years ago. The program has successfully utilised peer learning principles in small, subject-specific groups. Learning outcomes for student participants include a deeper understanding of subject material and improved academic self-confidence. This presentation will also review some outcomes of 2008 survey research that investigated the value B.Com students ascribe to peer learning practices and will consider how peer learning practices might add value to different teaching and learning contexts. This seminar will be of interest to academic teaching staff interested in student peer learning and who are considering applications in subjects in which they teach. Presenter bio: Sanchia Draper is the Student Programs Coordinator in the Teaching and Learning Unit, Faculty of Economics and Commerce. Sanchia coordinates the peer mentoring programs and is a supervisor of the Peer-Assisted Study Scheme (PASS). She has undertaken research into students’ perceptions of peer learning practices and is the Associate Editor of The Australasian Journal of Peer Learning. |
Tuesday, 2 June 11.00 am Lecture theatre A1, Old Eng bld 175, Level 1 |
Learning from and with peers: Useful tools for student peer support Ass. Prof. Harald Sondergaard Melbourne School of Engineering I describe and demonstrate my use, in third year computer science classes, of online tools for student peer assessment and feedback. The pedagogical philosophy behind their use will be outlined and will hopefully provide a basis for discussion. I suggest that modern online peer support tools are useful because they increase the amount of timely, formative feedback offered in a class, they help the development of certain higher-order cognitive skills, and, properly aligned with an overall assessment strategy, they can help build a stronger learning community. |
Thursday, 18 June 11.00 am Lecture theatre A1, Old Eng bld 175, Level 1 |
What experiences do students value in the development of their oral presentation skills? Meg Rosse Head, Language and Academic Skills Unit, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, LaTrobe University An individual or small group project is a common element in a capstone subject, with the culmination of the project work typically being a written report and a presentation of the work to classmates and lecturers, and often members of relevant industries or professions, etc. The ability to deliver an effective presentation is prominent on lists of graduate attributes, but the development of effective teaching practices to develop such skills has received little attention in the scholarship of teaching and learning. In this research, which is the first stage of a larger study, we asked students about their experiences in developing their presentation skills. Eleven students (from the class of 17) were interviewed immediately after giving their final talk in an environmental engineering capstone subject. They were asked 11 questions which covered four main areas: their experiences and opinions about what has influenced their development of presentation skills in this subject (7 questions); their experiences of giving presentations and of receiving instruction in presentation skills in other subjects in their course (2 questions); their opinion on what constitutes a successful 4th year presentation (1 question); and their view about the importance of competence in presentation skills in the workplace (1 question). Initial impressions of the transcribed data suggest an enormous diversity amongst the students. They differed widely in their understandings of how a person develops competence in giving a technical presentation, and in their views about the helpfulness of the instruction they had received, both in this subject and also, to some extent, in other subjects. Some students gave far more weight to factors outside the university classroom: their own maturity, and their life experiences, such as going on student exchange, and working in part-time jobs and internships, etc. In the other two areas explored in the interview – what constitutes a successful talk and the importance of presentation skills in the workplace – there appeared to be more unanimity. After the analysis of this data is completed, future stages of the study will include analysis of interviews with the teachers and a detailed discourse study of the students’ final presentations. The larger project should help inform the definition of exactly what component skills we can fruitfully teach (and measure!) in the classroom. Lectopia audio visual recording available at: http://harangue.lecture.unimelb.edu.au/Lectopia/Lectopia.lasso?ut=648&id=71087 |
Thursday, 2 July 11.00 am Lecture theatre A1, Old Eng bld 175, Level 1 |
Self-guided field trips Presenter: Dr Graham Moore Melbourne School of Engineering Abstract: The Bachelor of Environments is one of seven new or substantially revised degrees offered at the University of Melbourne and one of the pathways to study engineering. Providing opportunities for students to undertake field trips while studying first year subjects in the Bachelor of Environments is one of the more challenging issues for subject designers. How can large cohorts of students gain practical exposure to various aspects of the environment? Although this is typically done using traditional site visits and fieldwork with a high staff/student ratio, our goal has been to use action research to design and develop resources to enable small groups (3 or 4) to make self-guided visits to sites close to campus. The students are guided by multimedia resources to examine and interpret aspects of the site that relate to their on-campus learning. One critical issue in the success of these activities has been a proper risk assessment and provision for immediate assistance if required. The outcome of this research is a framework to provide a safe, active learning experience by way of self-guided field trips that is suitable for implementation with large classes. An example from a Masters course will also be discussed Graham Moore is an academic in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has taught various aspects of design to agricultural and environmental engineering students since 1985. His educational research interests lie in enhancing the campus experience of learning engineering with web based tools for information sharing and creative thought. He obtained the Faculty of Engineering Teaching Award in 2006. Lectopia audio visual recording available at: http://harangue.lecture.unimelb.edu.au/Lectopia/Lectopia.lasso?ut=648&id=71678
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Wednesday 22 July, 12.20pm – 2.00pm (refreshments from 12.00 noon)
RMIT University (see main blurb) |
Assessment, as if learning really mattered Presenter: Professor David Boud University of Technology, Sydney Venue: RMIT University, Swanston Library 360 Swanston St, Melbourne Building 8, Level 5 Library Seminar Room 1 Jointly hosted by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and SET College L&T Seminar Series, RMIT University Assessment communicates a powerful message to students about what we value. If what we assess doesn't correspond to what we value, we have a problem. The session focuses on the importance of assessment for learning and the distorting effects of not putting learning first when designing assessment activities. It will discuss ways of thinking about assessment that promotes students' capacity to learn during and after the course. Presenter bio: David Boud is a Professor of Adult Education in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science at the University of Technology Sydney and is a Senior Fellow of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. He has written extensively on teaching, learning and assessment in higher education. Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term was published in 2007. His new assessment website, <www.assessmentfutures.com> has recently been launched. Inquiries: Rosemary Chang, Engineering Learning Unit, rchang@unimelb.edu.au Please RSVP by Friday 17 July to Brenda Krenus (e-mail: brenda.krenus@rmit.edu.au) Phone: 9925 9714
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3-4 August Venue: t.b.c. |
1st Year Workshop Those invited to attend: 1st year program co-ordinators and others teaching 1st year. This workshop is a collaboration with the Notre Dame University. |
Monday 10 August 9.00am – 5.00pm
Venue at University of Melbourne, t.b.c.
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National GAP (Graduate Attribute Project) symposium You are invited to participate in one of five national symposia on graduate attributes being held across Australia in July - August this year, as the final phase of the ALTC funded National GAP (Graduate Attributes Project) scoping study. There is no charge to participate in the symposia and lunch will be provided. The GAP symposia are open to anybody who is interested in the topic of graduate attributes and this invitation is being sent to staff at all 36 participating universities. These events will build on the two GAP network events held last year to support the dissemination of the GAP discussion papers and initiate further collaborative work on this topic. The program will include opportunities for participants to:
As well as registering for the event, we encourage you to also consider preparing a poster describing some of your own work on the topic of graduate attributes. These are simple to prepare using a powerpoint slide and we will arrange printing and laminating of your poster – which is yours to keep after the event. The posters are a way of sharing your work nationally (they will be used at other GAP symposia in other states) and also internationally –they will be used at similar events in Scotland later this year and we hope they will form the basis for future collaboration. If you have any questions about the symposia please don’t hesitate to contact the project research assistant (Kate Thomson) k.thomson@usyd.edu.au You can also inquire to the Melbourne hosts, who are Richard James (CSHE) and Roger Hadgraft (Engineering Learning Unit). Draft program and registrations: http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/projects/nationalgap/networkevents.cfm |
3 September Venue: t.b.c. |
Engineering education research methods workshop Presenter: Dr Lesley Jolly Sponsor: Australian Association of Engineering Education AAEE The aim of this workshop is to help engineering academics to do better research about their teaching and learning and to make better use of that research to advance their career, especially when it comes to tenure and promotion. |
Seminar inquiries:Roger Hadgraft