The level of flexibility needed will depend on the particular needs of your cohort.

Explore the following examples of units in which the designers have addressed the need for flexibility:

Time

Are all your students enrolled on-campus full-time? Or are some off-campus or part-time? How can you adjust delivery times to maximise accessibility?

Strategies:

  • Facilitating synchronous sessions outside of standard 9am–5pm work hours
  • Scheduling online sessions at realistic times for students located in different time zones.
  • Wherever possible, aim to record these synchronous sessions so that students who are unable to attend can catch up in their own time. Most online meeting tools have a recording feature.

Location

Are students from remote locations, interstate or overseas?  How can you make learning accessible to them?

Strategies:

  • Combining online study with face-to-face intensives (e.g. blended learning)
  • Allowing students to participate in face-to-face sessions remotely (where possible)
  • Designing assessments so that students can participate in group work remotely

Learning material access and assessments

Postgraduates and adult learners appreciate respect for their autonomy, self-regulation and professional competency.

Strategies:

  • Allowing for topic choice within authentic work-based projects (to allow students to link their learning to their  professional contexts)
  • Avoiding weekly back-to-back due dates for tasks, as these can make it harder for postgraduates to schedule with competing priorities. (Note also ACU assessment policy suggests units should be limited to a maximum of three assessment items.)
  • Making all assessments and content accessible at the beginning of the semester; avoid having content hidden (unless there is a sound pedagogical reason to do so). This allows postgraduates to plan their semester around competing priorities and also meets their need for autonomy.
Page last updated on 28/02/2020

Learning & teaching

Please contact the Learning and Teaching Centre for professional development, resources and advice for your learning and teaching needs at ACU.