Learning is best when it is shared: Do videoed case scenarios support interprofessional learning in an allied health neuroscience unit?
Dr Natalie Berg
The unit, ALHT210: Neuroscience for Allied Health, is but one example of how interprofessional education (IPE) is being embedded into the second year of undergraduate allied health programs at Australian Catholic University. One challenge in delivering an interprofessional unit such as this, is to engage students with content that they may perceive has limited relevance to their discipline presently, but is paramount to their ability to provide collaborative client centred health care in the future (Bogossian et al., 2023).
The purpose of this action research project is to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of four ‘pilot’ videoed case studies in facilitating interprofessional learning in ALHT210. Each case study incorporated short, recorded interviews with people living with a neurological condition and allied health clinicians who provide interprofessional assessment and management to this clinical population. In the first action research cycle, five teaching staff participated in two online focus groups discussions, reflecting on the effectiveness of the videoed case studies for student learning, and proposing modifications for implementation in the second iteration of the unit in 2024.
This presentation will discuss how a thematic analysis of these discussions have contributed to (i) evidence informed revisions of the videoed case studies, and (ii) the scholarship of IPE design, specifically utilising videoed case studies (co-developed with clients, families, and clinicians) to connect student learning with clinical practice. Plans to evaluate the recommended revisions to the ‘pilot’ videoed case studies, in the second research cycle, from the perspectives of students, will also be outlined.
Bogossian, F., New, K., George, K., Barr, N., Dodd, N., Hamilton, A. L., Nash, G., Masters, N., Pelly, F., Reid, C., Shakhovskoy, R., & Taylor, J. (2023). The implementation of interprofessional education: a scoping review. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract, 28(1), 243-277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-022-10128-4
ACU Thrive: A year in review
Ms Cath Emmerson and Ms Kate Lowe
In 2023, ACU piloted a first-year undergraduate teaching model founded on transition pedagogy (Kift, 2015) across four large courses: Physiotherapy, Nursing, Nursing/Paramedicine, and Education. This initiative was titled ACU Thrive. As the dust settles on the academic year, it’s timely to review ACU Thrive. This presentation will overview why ACU Thrive was initiated, the work that was involved, and the preliminary outcomes of Semester 1 and 2 for 2023.
Academics directly involved in the delivery of ACU Thrive will present about their experiences, as well as share broader outcomes related to the initiatives. These outcomes will include SELT data, LEO engagement data, Echo360 data, success rates, and retention rates. Commentary will be offered about the successes of the work, as well as the opportunities for future innovation and improvement. The presentation is an opportunity for the ACU community to hear more about ACU Thrive, as well as receive first-hand anecdotes from those who were involved.
Kift, S. (2015). A decade of transition pedagogy: A quantum leap in conceptualising the first year experience. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 2(1), 51-86.
Post Placement workshops to increase preservice teachers’ self efficacy in professional experience
Dr Michelle Gorzanelli
The Post Placement Workshop (PPW) project is an innovative initiative responding to pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) self-identified needs via meaningful deconstruction of their professional placement experiences. In response to current stressors on Australian education systems such as an acute teacher shortage (Caudal, 2022) and significant numbers of early career teachers leaving the profession (Hogan et al., 2021), this presentation details the value and need for post placement workshops in Initial Teacher Education (ITE).
The project builds on previous research around post-placement interventions in the Health Sciences (Billett, 2019). The PPW project is supported by an ACU Teaching Development grant. It connects ITE PSTs with new graduates and experienced educators with a focus on addressing PSTs’ self-efficacy, resilience, and teacher identity. The purpose of the PPWs is to identify current issues that impact PSTs on placements and provide them with a realistic appreciation of the standards required in their respective industries (Jackson, 2015). Through professional conversations and active learning processes, PSTs receive advice for negotiating unanticipated situations, strategies for identifying strengths and goals, and scaffolding purposeful reflection on a range of self and peer experiences.
Results indicate that PPWs evidence a range of tangible and meaningful impacts on end users. The translation of findings is applicable to all disciplines that incorporate WIL placements (Cain et al., 2019). The presenters will provide an overview of the project and key elements in successfully delivering PPWs both in person and in hybrid mode using ACU’s Hyflex technology. They will present a summary of the data collected to date through pre-and post- surveys and interviews and present a conceptual framework which explains how PPWs promote mutually beneficial collaborations with key end-users and a Mission-aligned contribution to society.
Billett, S. Augmenting post-practicum experiences: Purposes and practices. In S. Billett, J. Newton, G. Rogers, & C. Noble (2019). Augmenting health and social care students’ clinical learning experiences outcomes and processes, 3-26. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05560-8
Cain, M., Le, A. H., & Billett, S. (2019). Sharing stories and building resilience: Student preferences and processes of post practicum interventions. In Billett, S., Newton, J., Rogers, G., & Noble, C. (Eds.). Augmenting health and social care students’ clinical learning experiences: Processes and outcomes. Springer, pp. 27-53. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-05560-8
Caudal, S. (2022). Australian secondary schools and the teacher crisis: Understanding teacher shortages and attrition. Education and Society 40(2), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.7459/es/40.2.03
Hogan, J. P., & White, P. (2021). A self-study exploration of early career teacher burnout and the adaptive strategies of experienced teachers. The Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46(5), 18-39. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2021v46n5.2
Jackson, D. (2015). Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies in Higher Education 40(2), 350-367. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.842221
A collaborative approach to course development and delivery in Canvas
Dr Renata Cinelli, Dr Nicki Brake and Ms Holly Kavanagh
In the contemporary tertiary context, there has been an observable shift towards more flexible, more asynchronous, more online education. As recently as four years ago (pre-Covid), the majority of ACU units available in the discipline area of Health and Physical Education were offered in a face-to-face, on campus, synchronous mode of delivery. This “traditional” mode of teaching suits Health and Physical Education due to the nature of the content, the ability of the educator to model physical education pedagogy, and ease within which a learning community can be established. It is known that both curriculum design and delivery are important components in effective teaching (Khalil & Elkhider, 2016). Similarly, establishing a learning community is known to support retention and engagement in learning (Stone, 2017). This becomes increasingly important in the online environment, given retention is known to be at least 20 percent lower in online study compared with face-to-face units (Stone, 2017). In this presentation we will share our approach to curriculum design and delivery that took place while building our online facilitator capabilities and establishing and fostering a learning community in a fully asynchronous Health and Physical Education course in CANVAS. We worked with the explicit goal of fostering a learning community and building confidence in the Health and Physical Education discipline. We’ll outline the challenges we faced, solutions found, and how we effectively divided the workload to maximise feedback and interactions with students.
Khalil, M. K., & Elkhider, I. A. (2016). Applying learning theories and instructional design models for effective instruction. Advances in Physiology Education, 40(2), 147-156.
Stone, C. (2017). Opportunity through online learning: Improving student access, participation and success in higher education (pp. 1-85). https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2017-03/apo-nid94591.pdf
Virtual simulated patient cases in undergraduate health science curriculum
Ms Carolyn Gates
The suspension of face-to-face learning during the Covid-19 pandemic increased the demand for online curriculum without sacrificing the realism and connection required to prepare healthcare students for clinical practice. Virtual patients are interactive digital simulations of clinical case presentations. The effectiveness of virtual patients in healthcare education, and comparison to both traditional and digital education methods have been described in the literature1. The aims of this project were to design, deliver and evaluate three virtual simulated patient cases and to pilot a framework for virtual case development within the School of Allied Health. Three existing cases studies from a second-year physiotherapy unit were chosen to be developed into virtual patient learning packages using Articulate 360 software. Short videos featured simulated patient actors speaking directly to camera as if they were interacting with students. Through the virtual patient videos and linked online learning activities, students could practice their clinical reasoning skills by working their way through patient assessment, analysis of pathophysiology and patient problems, treatment planning, communication with a clinical educator, and documentation. Activity descriptions and learning outcomes were included in a pre-briefing at the commencement of the case and students were instructed to immerse themselves in their role of the physiotherapy student responsible for the care of the virtual patient. A self-guided reflection activity at the end aimed to assist students to consolidate their learning. Student perceptions of the usability and content were evaluated via online survey, and usage tracked via the learning management system. Virtual simulation cases could be developed and applied using alternative software for other disciplines.
Kononowicz, A., Woodham, L., Edelbring, S., Stathakarou, N., Davies, D., Saxena, N., Tudor Car, L., Carlstedt-Duke, J., Car, J., & Zary, N. (2019). Virtual Patient Simulations in Health Professions Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Digital Health Education Collaboration. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(7), e14676. https://doi.org/10.2196/14676
Pursuing a dual career pathway (sport and studies) at ACU: Are stakeholders aligned in their understanding and support of student-athletes?
Dr Justine Stynes and Dr Ann-Marie Gibson
Every sport season, every year, we hear about retired athletes who have experienced depression, anxiety, substance use, social, family and occupational problems. All too regularly we hear of retired athletes who have died by suicide. Media reports are supported by research that the retired athlete is ‘vulnerable’ to mental health struggles (Rice, 2016). Resources have been identified that could support athletes in the lead up to and during retirement such as positive coach-athlete relationships, financial support, and career planning and education (e.g., Park, Lavelle, & Tod, 2013). Creating an environment that supports these types of resources would be most effective if all stakeholders (e.g., athletes, coaches, sporting organisations, and educational institutions) are aware, engaged and aligned.
As a university we have an opportunity to support the wellbeing of student-athletes through the Elite Athlete and Performer Program (EAPP). The aim of this TDG project was to explore the learning experiences of students in the EAPP and whether there is alignment with how stakeholders (e.g., academic staff, industry) understand the challenges of a dual career pathway. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered to understand stakeholder perceptions of student-athlete experiences of studying at university. This presentation will describe the project and resultant learnings that the team hope will be used to promote understanding of the factors that facilitate engagement and retention in tertiary studies. This could afford both tertiary and sporting institutions the ability to implement programs to support dual-career athletes, connecting learners (e.g., students), community (e.g., academic staff), and industry (e.g., sporting organisations). Specific strategies that can be implemented by academic staff to support student-athletes in their academic studies will be discussed.
Park., S., Lavallee, D., & Todd, D. (2013). Athletes’ career transition out of sport: A systematic review. Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6(1), 22-53.
Rice, S.M., Purcell, R., DeSilva, S., Marwen, D., McGorry, P.D., & Parker, A.G. (2016). The mental health of elite athletes: A narrative systematic review. Sports Medicine, 46(9), 1333-1353.
Restarting the heart: paramedic student views on integrating gender identity and sexuality in health curricula at ACU
Assoc Professor Georgia Clarkson
Stakeholders influence decisions around program content. Mirroring population trends, stakeholders are predominately cisgender and heterosexual. Resulting curriculum is produced though predominantly heteronormative and cisnormative lenses. This may not include perspectives and experiences of LGBTQI+ people. This can mean student clinical practice needs in relation to interactions with the LGBTQI+ community are overlooked. Specific learning needs of LGBTQI+ students may also be neglected. Student views on how LGBTQI+ people and perspectives might be integrated in curriculum, benefits of such inclusion and the risks involved in maintaining the prevailing silence on the needs of this community are important, especially the perspectives of students within the LGBTQI+ community. This study aimed to examine student perspectives on LGBTQI+ content in paramedicine curriculum.
This research reports qualitative data within a broader mixed methods research project exploring LGBTQI+ presence in ACU paramedicine curriculum. An initial survey of students indicated that questions around LGBTQI+ student inclusion in curriculum and student or practitioner safety were questions that required further exploration. From the survey pool of 187 respondents, fourteen students were interviewed.
Students responded to five questions and four key themes were identified through a process of inductive and deductive analyses. These themes were: silence is unsafe, there is a need to ‘normalise’ the LGBTQI+ community through representation in curricula, developing knowledge and skills in communication protocols for engaging respectfully with LGBTQI+ people and community, inclusion of LGBTQI+ content in a safe and open learning context is the responsibility of all teachers.
Leonard, W., Lyons, A., & Bariola, E. (2015). A closer look at private lives 2: Addressing the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Australians. https://apo.org.au/node/53996
Transforming professional learning - evaluation and evolution of the GCHE
Dr Susan Brooman-Jones and Assoc Professor Alison Owens
Professional development is essential to improving quality learning and teaching in higher education. Comprehensive, formal professional development programs can foster positive changes in teacher’s practices and enhance student learning (Ginns, Kitay, and Prosser 2010). Ongoing evaluation of the impact of these programs is a critical part of the quality assurance cycle (Owens et al, 2021). As academic developers we see ourselves as both learners and educators on a journey with our students/ colleagues. Critical reflection and evaluation of our own practices and programs is key. In this presentation, we reflect on the evaluation and evolution of the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (GCHE) at ACU.
The GCHE aims to develop teachers as tertiary educators by enhancing participants' capabilities in learning and teaching. Academic staff are encouraged to critically reflect on their practice with an aim to improve student learning. We share our findings from two research projects investigating the impact of the GCHE. These studies examined the lived experiences of graduates to explore the GCHE’s influence on academic practice (Owens et al, 2021) and professional identity (Daddow et al, 2023). Participants in both studies report making significant changes to their teaching, including the adoption of student-centred approaches, reflective practice, and scholarship (Owens et al, 2021; Daddow et al, 2023). In reflecting on the GCHE’s positive impact, we also saw an opportunity to extend this influence and evolve. To conclude, we share how we are approaching the work of decolonising the GCHE curriculum as an example of this evolution.
Daddow, A., Owens, A., Clarkson, G. & Fredericks, V. (2023). The precarious academic: professional development and academic identity in the neoliberal university. International Journal for Academic Development, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2023.2246443
Ginns, P., Kitay, J. & Prosser, M. (2010). Transfer of Academic Staff Learning in a Research-Intensive University.” Teaching in Higher Education, 15 (3): 235–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562511003740783
Owens, A., Daddow, A., Clarkson, G. & Nulty, D. (2021). What is the Price of Excellence in Learning and Teaching? Exploring the Costs and Benefits for Diverse Academic Staff
Studying Online for a GCHE Supporting the SoTL. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 9 (1): 161-179
Student Panel: Student perspectives of learning at ACU
Carissa Hickman, Victoria Vartuli, Remy Carlon, Thomas Cummins, Mani Nafisi and Matthew Smith
Revitalising First-Year Science Laboratories: A Holistic Approach to Enhancing Student Engagement and Laboratory Skills Development
Dr Douglas Jackson
Engagement and attendance challenges are common in university courses. This presentation addresses a first-year discipline-specific unit that faced declining attendance and disengagement, particularly in laboratory classes. Instructors noted a lack of fundamental laboratory skills in first-year students, attributed to an overload of learning activities.To address these issues, the laboratory classes were completely redesigned to prioritise a scientific mindset and technical skills, building upon relevant published literature [1,2]. Activities tied to lecture content were removed, creating more time for skill development. The initial three weeks focused on fundamental laboratory skills, followed by scaffolded skill development and assessment.
Implementation followed a structured approach. Each session began with a brief pre-laboratory talk, highlighting a specific skill and safety guidance, followed by hands-on skill acquisition with personalised feedback. The approach resulted in increased engagement, active participation, and significant skill improvement among students, effectively tackling attendance and engagement issues. This emphasises the benefits of prioritising skill development and a scientific mindset for first-year university students in laboratory classes.
Holmes NG, Olsen J, Thomas JL, Wieman CE. Value added or misattributed? A multi-institution study on the educational benefit of labs for reinforcing physics content. Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2023 May 22]; 13(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13.010129
Pavlova IV, Remington DL, Horton M, Tomlin E, Hens MD, Chen D, Willse J, Schug MD. An introductory biology research-rich laboratory course shows improvements in students’ research skills, confidence, and attitudes. PLoS One [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2023 May 22]; 16(12). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261278
Legal Capabilities of Chat-GPT as an Effective Supplementary Tool for Legal Education
Dr Juan Diaz-Granados and Assoc Professor Brendon Murphy
The presentation shows the results of a research project aimed at verifying whether Chat GPT is an appropriate supplementary tool for learning law. Chat GPT is promoted as capable of explaining and contextualising legal concepts, clarifying and simplifying complex legal terminology, and translating and checking the pronunciation of legal vocabulary. The problem, however, is that these are untested assumptions, and we tend to ignore if these capabilities are appropriate supplementary tools for learning law at all. The presentation, therefore, identifies the positive aspects of this new technology (if any) as well as those aspects where Chat GPT falls short or needs improvement.
The presentation is based on an empirical study based on legal categories. Using specific concepts from the main areas of law –– such as the concepts of stare decisis, voir dire and volenti non fit injura –– the project compared Chat GPT outputs against verified sources of law to determine the adequacy of these outputs. The project also compared GPT-3.5 results with the outputs of GPT Plus (GPT-4), the paid version of Chat GPT. The presentation will give educators and students a better understanding of what capabilities of Chat GPT, if any, can be used as a supplementary mechanism of learning and understanding law – including translation and pronunciation functions with the potential to assist international students significantly.
Decolonising the Law Curriculum
Assoc Professor Alison Owens
Embedding Indigenous Knowings and Perspectives in the curriculum of university contexts is an ongoing and iterative project with twofold aims of improving opportunities and outcomes for Indigenous Australians and educating all students and staff to develop their cultural capability and contribute towards social justice. Decolonising curriculum requires critical listening and engagement of Indigenous and decolonial scholarship (Galloway, 2018; Russ-Smith 2019).
This presentation outlines the eight key themes found as a part of a literature review and Teaching Development Grant project and seeks to highlight the wider transformative and relational process of decolonising curriculum. The presenters will reflect on how the process of the literature review itself called for decolonial transformation of educators, not just curriculum, to offer other educators an insight into the process of decolonising curriculum across the academy and how this can be embedded into teaching and learning practice.
Galloway, K. (2018). Indigenous Contexts in the Law Curriculum : Process and Structure. Legal education review, 28(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.6469
Russ-Smith, J. (2019). Indigenous social work and a Wiradyuri framework to practice, in B Bennett and S Green Our Voices: Aboriginal Social Work (2nd Edition). London: Red Globe Press: 103-116.
Connecting pre-service teachers with the profession through SimLab
Dr Matthew White
SimLab is an immersive platform that gives Pre-service Teachers (PSTs) the opportunity to experience, practice and improve their teaching and communication techniques in a simulated environment. Mixed-reality simulated teaching environments have been shown to help prepare PSTs for real life classroom contexts and have been recognised as effective in assisting PSTs to translate theory into practice (Ledger et al. 2019; Scarparolo & Mayne, 2022). During a simulation, the PST is presented with a scenario which plays out through real-time interactions with one or more student 'avatars' who are controlled by professional actors. Simulations facilitate experiential learning and allow students to experience challenging situations in a secure environment. SimLab is particularly relevant to PSTs as it provides them with opportunities to deescalate situations that they are likely to experience on placement or when they begin teaching.
In semesters 1 and 2, the SimLab experience was offered to cohorts of Education PSTs studying in New South Wales. This presentation will provide details of the scenarios encountered by the PSTs, and the student avatars who presented realistic opportunities for the PSTs to practice their managing difficult behaviour approaches. We will also provide insights into the PSTs’ perceptions of how valuable they found the sessions, what they learned from the experience, and suggestions on how to integrate the experience into courses in the future.
This presentation also has relevance and implications for other discipline areas, including medical and health professional courses, management training and legal professional simulation. and practice-based courses, where creating a positive environment and encouraging experimentation are promoted.
Ledger, S., Ersozlu, Z. & Fischetti, J. (2019). Preservice teachers’ confidence and preferred teaching strategies using TeachLiVE virtual learning environment: A two-step cluster analysis. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 15(3), 1-17.Scarparolo, G., & Mayne, F. (2022). Mixed-reality simulations as a tool to enhance parent-teacher conferencing in initial teacher education. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 38 (5), 72-86.