School:
Unit:
Mode:
Context:
Academic:
Student profile:
Students enrolled:

Health Sciences
HLSC628 Simulation Design and Delivery
Multi-mode
Graduate certificate in healthcare simulation education
Dr Steve Guinea
mature age, teachers at tafes, health science academics, technicians.
small enrolments

In this case study Dr Steve Guinea discusses the blended learning delivery of simulation programs in the context of healthcare education.

Highlights:

Experiential learning
Integration of online learning and intensives
Tools for interactivity

Hear about Dr Steve Guinea’s experience.

ACU Case study: Experiential learning intensives (HLSC628)
Many thanks to the Faculty of Law and Business for the use of their Pop-up Studio equipment to record this interview.
Length: 7 mins.

Unit design

The unit’s design was influenced by the work of David Boud in the area of experience based learning.

Experience based learning

EBL is based on a set of assumptions about learning from experience.

These have been identified by Boud, Cohen and Walker (1993) as:

experience is the foundation of, and the stimulus for, learning
learners actively construct their own experience
learning is a holistic process
learning is socially and culturally constructed
learning is influenced by the socio-emotional context in which it occurs.

Cited in (Andresen, Boud and Cohen, 1995, p.1).

Online learning strategies

Strategies were put in place to familarise students to online learning. This included the creation of a comprehensive orientation module covering:

Module learning outcomes
Navigating the unit
Strategies for online learning
Introductory activity
Introduction to some of the tools of the unit
Webinar access info
Overview of the unit

Structure

Format	Time	Type
Synchronous online webinar	1 hour weekly
Asynchronous online modules		Including readings, content, videos, reflection, collaborative activities
Face to face intensive workshop	2 days	Day 1 - relationship building, revision of concepts covered in previous weeks, summarising those. Day 2 - peer assessment.

Assessment

Assessment task	Length	Weighting (%)	Description
Needs analysis	1500 words	30%	Students consider an issue within their own work setting where simulation-based learning might be of benefit. They develop a needs analysis framework and then implement the strategy. This forms the basis of assessment two.
Designing a simulation plan	2500 words	50%	Students develop a simulation learning plan.
Online collaboration	1000 words	20%	Students collaborate with a fellow students in the development of an evaluation strategy for a simulation program.
Delivery of simulation	20 mins	Hurdle	Delivered at the workshop

The above assessments may have been designed before the latest update to the ACU Assessment Policy. See Assessment Policy for up-to-date advice on designing your assessments.

Scroll through these pages to see a recreated example of the Orientation Module in this unit.

Technology

This is a list of some of the major tools used in this unit.

Tool	Rationale	Resources
Adobe Connect	The webinars are run using Adobe Connect. It’s recommended to encourage students not to use mobile devices for connecting, as these can create echo effects.	See LEO guide: Live classrooms. See also Lynda's "Adobe Connect Essential Training"
Kaltura	Steve uploaded videos using Kaltura.	See the eLearning 101 webinar, Embedding Kaltura and YouTube videos in your units See LEO Kaltura guide
Padlet	Is a virtual whiteboard that allows students to easily add content. These were embedded in activities within modules.	See https://padlet.com/ Here is an informal introduction to Padlet, Collecting Student Ideas Using Padlet (Paperless classroom 2013).
Thinglink	Thinklink is a tool that allows you to create images with embedded pop-up links/text.	See https://www.thinglink.com/
LEO Lesson	LEO Lesson was used at the tool to create online modules.	See LEO guide for Lesson activities
Technologies related to simulation practice	Such as: Simulated practice environments; Manikins; Monitors; Recording systems. Here is a video about simulation at ACU. ACU \| Healthcare Simulation Education (2014) Length: 1 mins.

Support

These are examples of the kinds of support the academic staff building this unit drew on.

eLearning advisors
Faculty educational designer

Student feedback

"Mixed mode of delivery, allowed for more interactions among participants and lecturer."
"The small interactive group in our drop in session was really good, instead of everything being online only."
"Flexible mode of study which allowed for feedback and interactions among lecturer and participants."
"Weekly webinars/ conference calls. Fantastic for group interaction and discussion."
"(Students learnt) creative ways to deliver content (from HLSC628 for their own job role)"

Lessons learned

consider the impression you want your unit to portray, the look and feel
set aside a lot of time to put the unit together
consider engaging with an educational designer
consider what can be delivered online and what is face-to-face, how to best use that time

Next time

Steve would like to focus on the following for future iterations of the unit:

Wants to integrate more experiential activities
More two-way communication
Gamification and interaction
More videos that demonstrate key concepts