SaMnet
Science & Mathematics network
of Australian university educators
YOUR ACTION-LEARNING PROJECT PLAN
Welcome to your role as a ‘SaMnet Scholar’
SaMnet is a new national network that brings together university academics to collaborate on
national issues in university science and mathematics education. It is working co-operatively
with discipline networks and universities to develop educational leaders, to foster and spread
best practices, and to promote cultural change in science teaching and learning at universities.
SaMnet has been conceived to provide a coherent voice on policy related to university science
and mathematics, and it represents a source of expertise for science faculties in areas such as
curriculum review.
To support more frequent and productive communication and
collaborations, SaMnet is coordinating regional and online meetings as well as a national website.
For 2011 to 2013, SaMnet will focus on (1) learning and teaching standards for science and
mathematics, (2) dissemination of more effective and efficient approaches to laboratory exercises
and inquiry learning, (3) effective use of learning technologies and new media, and (4) leadership
training for science and mathematics lecturers.
Collaboration
SaMnet is currently funded by a leadership grant from the Australian Learning and Teaching
Council / Office for Learning and Teaching (DIISRTE). It will work closely with the new Discipline
networks:
VIBEnet: Vision and Innovation in Biology Education
Charlotte Taylor (USyd), Pauline Ross (UWS), Sue Jones (UTas), Liz Johnson (La Trobe)
Chemistry Discipline Network
Madeleine Schultz (QUT)
Australian Mathematical Sciences Learning & Teaching Network
Dann Mallet (QUT)
CUBEnet: Collaborative University Biomedical Education Network
Phil Porronik (RMIT), Yvonne Hodgson (Monash), Janet Macaulay (Monash), Susan Howitt (ANU),
Peter Thorn (UQ), Louise Lutze-Mann (UNSW)
Physics Education Network
Margaret Wegener (UQ) Les Kirkup (UTS), Manjula Sharma (USYD), Johan du Plessis (RMIT),
Marjan Zadnik (Curtin), Anna Wilson (ANU)
Inquiry Learning Fellowship Project
Les Kirkup (UTS)
SaMnet Action-Learning Projects
SaMnet offers a model for collaborative teaching and learning initiatives -- the action-learning
project for which we accepted your Expression of Interest (EOI). The team undertaking each
project are supported by advice, peer review, and leadership training from SaMnet. SaMnet will
assist project team members to disseminate their work and to publish in scholarly teaching and
learning journals. In its first two years, SaMnet will work with at least 25 action-learning
projects across Australia.
SaMnet leaders:
Manjula Sharma (USyd), Will Rifkin (USyd), Stephanie Beames (QUT)
Assisted by: Matt Hill, Alexandra Yeung, and Helen Georgiou (USyd)
Steering Committee:
SaMnet of Australian university educators
Sue Jones (UTas), Cristina Varsavsky (Monash), Andrea Crampton (CSU), Marjan Zadnik (Curtin),
Brian Yates (UTas), Liz Johnson (La Trobe), Kelly Matthews (UQ), Simon Pyke (Adelaide)
Contact: Email: samnetaustralia@gmail.com Web: www.samnet.edu.au
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Action-Learning Project Plan pro forma
Send completed plan to SaMnetAustralia@gmail.com by 10 June 2012.
Focus of your effort: (a) Emphasis on changing how a collective teaches; (b) Rationale and
evidence for why the change is needed; (c) Potential for impact on applicant, teammates, school,
faculty, and discipline.
Pro forma: This form has been ‘pre-populated’ with information that you provided in your
Expression of Interest. You just need to fill in the blanks, e.g., designating 3 other team
members. Feel free to ask SaMnet for assistance.
1. Project title: A tool to assess the effectiveness of Slowmation
animations in promoting deep learning in a tertiary education setting
2. Applicant team details
Each team needs the expertise/‘skill set’ of all of the following.
Not every team member must be from the same university.
2.1 Innovative (or junior) academic* - Sees the change that is needed
Name:
E-mail:
.edu.au
Discipline:
Faculty:
2.2 Senior Academic* - Understands the challenges of creating change
Name: Karma Pearce
E-mail: karma.pearce@unisa.edu.au
Discipline: Health Science
Faculty: Pharmacy and Medical Science
2.3 Educational developer, Academic staff developer, or equivalent** Knows cases beyond the faculty and relevant concepts from the literature
Name: Dr. David Birbeck
edu.au
Department: Research and Scholarship
Development
E-mail: David.Birbeck@unisa.
Role: Lecturer Academic
2.4 Associate Dean (Education) or equivalent** - Has faculty–wide insight and
knows priorities
Name: Prof. Esther May
Discipline: Health Sciences
Education
E-mail: Esther.May@unisa.edu.au
Faculty: Dean: Health and Clinical
* If the ‘senior academic’ is the one with the innovation, select a junior academic to mentor
in the proposed change initiative.
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SaMnet of Australian university educators
** Need assistance in finding someone for a role (e.g., staff developer)? Leave a blank for that
role. Make a note in Section 7. We will help to identify someone for you.
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3. Project Scope (the collective being addressed)
3.1 Target Degree programs, Years of study, and Disciplines
It is envisaged that the 'tool' will be applicable to any discipline or any degree program
at any level. It will be trialed in a 4th year undergraduate Pharmacy class.
3.2 Number of Colleagues in your dept/school/faculty you aim to influence: The Slowmation
activity has been in the first instance has been focused around health literacy and
communication of a health message to the lay public. This type of activity has the potential to be
incporporated into all programs within the Division of Health Science because effective
communication of the scientific message to the lay public is a key learning outcome for all these
students. The Dean of Clincal Ediucation within the Division is part of the project team and is so
supportive of the activity that she has donated 6 IPods to be offered as prizes for the best
student team to develop a Slowmation animation the first time this activity is offered as a class
activity. ***
(***Keep a list of names, and refer to it to assess progress.)
4. Project Description (rationale and evidence)
4.1. Aims - What you want to change (e.g., nature of lab work in second year)
As yet, there are no published criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of slowmation
animations. This project aims to develop a set of criteria to determine and measure whether
slowmation animations can effectively promote deep learning in a tertiary settng.
4.2. Innovation - Alternative you propose to implement (e.g., exploratory labs)
To develop and validate the tool to facilitate the evaluation
4.3. Rationale - Why this change is needed (e.g., failure & dropout rates)
Activities such as slowmation can be perceived as 'fun' but may not be accepted
as a strategy to promote deep learning without objective evidence.
4.4. Precedent - What previous cases, and literature, say about how to embed this change
There are currently no tools reported in the literature.
It is anticipated the tool will be trialed in a 4th year Phamracy nutrition and therapeutics
class - this subproject will be entitled, 'Cartoons and Pharmacists: A strategy to promote
health literacy'.
5. Outcomes (potential for impact)
5.1. Quality - Expected outcomes if successful (e.g., higher pass rates)
Slowmation animations are a relatively new tool to engage students in learning.
It is anticipated that the development of a set of metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of
slowmation animations will determine where slowmations are best used in a tertiary
setting to promote deep learning. This should ultimately result in higher pass rates, but
more importantly a deeper understanding of key theoretical concepts within the courses
in which this strategy is used.
5.2. Causal factors - Why you anticipate these outcomes (e.g., students/staff more engaged)
We anticipate that students will engage more deeply with the material and the student
focused activity.
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SaMnet of Australian university educators
5.3. Scale –
(a) Number of subjects and number of students in each subject affected (small scale is fine,
as is large scale; we want to know that your plans fit the scope of your effort) In the
first instance the activity will be trialed on 100 students enrolled in a 4th year Nutrition
and Therapeutics Pharmacy course.
(b) Number of staff (including sessional) directly involved, and in what roles
Dr. Karma Pearce will be delivering the activity in class. Prof Esther May and Drs. David
Birbeck and Karma Pearce will be providing input into the design and assessment of the activity
and the design of the evaluation tool.
5.4. Evaluation –
(a) Data that will be used to indicate improved student learning (e.g., final exam marks,
increased progression/retention) We are still working on this - We hope we can
develop a tool to evaluate deep learning using this approach.
(b) Data that will be used to infer impact on yourself, teammates, school, faculty
(e.g., numbers attending a departmental seminar, number using a new approach)
The results of this activity will be presentated at the UniSA Divisional (Health Science)
Teaching and Learning Colloquium to be held at the City East Campus in the first instance. It is
anticipated that 250 internal staff will attend the Colliquium.
5.5. Dissemination –
(a) Who could benefit from a published case study on your proposed effort?
Providing every tertiary program within Australia has an innovative academic willing to
trial slowmation animations, this teaching strategy has the potential to be incorporated into all
tertiary programs and hence impact on all tertiary students at some point in their education.
(b) How you will engage the faculty, university, discipline (e.g., committee report,
conference presentation)
The Dean of Clinical Education is part of the project team and will help disseminate the
results of the study to senior Management. She also chairs the Divisional Teaching and Learning
Committee (of which both Drs Pearce and Birbeck are members).
6. Project Implementation
6.1. Capabilities – Capacities you and others need to institute the change, clear roadblocks, etc.
(e.g., persuasive ability)
Traditionally within the tertiary sector, 'fun' has not been seen as a critical element in
the promotion of deep learning. This project aims to contribute empirical evidence in support of
the role of fun in the learning process. To take this research into practice requires not only
publication data but leadership in the development and subsequent promotion of innovative
teaching strategies using fun as a critical element.
It would also be useful to form a community of like minded academics who are using similar
teaching stratagies to promote student engagement and learning within their courses.
6.2 Community of practice – Which SaMnet ‘community of practice’ seems most relevant to
supporting your effort, and why?
(a) Learning and teaching academic standards
(b) Learning in laboratories & inquiry learning
(c) New media, ICT’s, and communication X
(d) Other area of focus
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6.3. Timeline – Main activities planned for each time period
(a) January-June 2012 (any work to date?) Assemble the project team and design the
activity (Slowmation animation as a vector to promote the communication of diet disease
relationships to the lay public with a focus on Health Literacies).
(b) July-December 2012 Trial slowation animations in a 4th year Pharmacy course using
Health Literacy as a focus for the activity and develop the first iteration of the assessment tool.
(c) January-June 2013 Refine the assessment tool.
(d) July-December 2013 Once the acitivty and the tool has been sucessfully developed
Professor Ieva Stupans has offered to trial both the activity and the tool at the University of New
England where she is the Program Director for the Bachlor of Pharmacy program.
7. Comments or Questions

Identify aspects of your plan where you need help - e.g., assistance in assembling your team,
fitting your project to the headings provided above, identifying relevant precedents. We can
assist you in completing the plan before, or after, the due date.
Bloom's and SOLO taxonomy have both been used to assess surface vs deep learning. It is unclear whether
either of these approaches (or others) would be suitable to determine the applicability of slowmations to
promote deep learning in a tertiary setting.
• Assistance from SaMnet would be sought to network with other academics within the SaMnet network
using innovative animations or videos to promote deeep learning. (Will you are already doing a great job
of facilitating this!)
• Guidance and assistance on where to disseminate and publish for greatest impact would be appreciated.
• Assistance is also sought in developing skills in driving innovation and developing networks and
communities to support innovation.
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FAQ’s
0. Submitting the plan
Plans are limited to 4-6 pages, and text must be in 11pt or 12pt font in the fields provided.
Microsoft Word is preferred to PDF, as it is easier for us to comment on your plan.
More than one plan may be submitted from any individual, team, school, faculty, or university.
1. What counts as an Action-Learning Project / ‘change initiative’?
The Action-Learning Projects are ‘change initiatives’ in that they are a way to address a problem that
you see in your school or faculty. That could be a high dropout rate for majors or heavy emphasis on
final exams. An action-learning project can also be a way to disseminate a teaching strategy that you
have developed or means to implement a new curriculum. For example, do you have a method for
improving feedback to students that ought to be used more widely?
What we are not counting as a ‘change initiative’ is an experiment in teaching that you are not
planning to embed more broadly within your school or beyond. A change initiative takes an idea – an
invention – and turns it into an ‘innovation’ – something that others are taking up.
2. What if I have already started the effort?
It is fine if you have already started. These action-learning projects have been conceived to support
people to do things that they want to do anyway, and to learn through this pursuit via our support.
You are welcome to apply to SaMnet for assistance with a project that is already internally funded.
SaMnet will also support a project funded by the ALTC fellowship in inquiry learning (c/- Les Kirkup)
or a curriculum mapping effort with Beverley Oliver, to name two of many examples.
3. Can I use a smaller team for the project?
SaMnet Action Learning Projects call for teams involving people with different kinds of expertise.
Assure that you have the range of expertise requested. A team made up of two mid-career science
academics is unlikely to have the capacity that is required. You are welcome to involve someone from
another university. You can also use someone who is engaged in other SaMnet action-learning
projects or other ALTC/OLT-type projects. Need help gathering a full complement of team members
with suitable expertise? Note that in your submitted plan, and SaMnet will assist.
4. Why publish a case study?
Publications are a way for energy invested to improve teaching to ‘score points’ in research. Having
sufficient publications for promotion can be a hurdle for teaching-focused academics.
SaMnet has arranged for two, Australian-based journals to accept case studies on attempts to drive
change in a school, a faculty, or more broadly. These publications can be descriptive; no particular
knowledge of change management literature is required. You will need research ethics clearance for
recording, analysing, and publishing what colleagues and students say during your change initiative.
SaMnet can assist you in preparing your research ethics submission.
A journal article on your action-learning project/change initiative enables you to rationalise investing
a portion of your research time in the effort. Recording the case study also forces you to reflect. That
is essential for adult learning. Case studies provide much needed data for academics with knowledge
of the literature on driving change in university teaching. They will analyse the cases, citing your
work, to create further publications that will inform the efforts of others. Collectively over time we
will have sufficient understanding of our Australian context to systematically influence decisions and
effect change.
5. What if my Action-Learning Project has limited success?
Null or negative results are viable options. SaMnet action-learning projects are not premised on a
promise of 100-percent success. However, it is important to avoid ‘reinventing the flat tyre’, failing in
a way that experienced hands (and the literature) would readily predict.
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SaMnet of Australian university educators
Our action-learning projects are meant to increase your understanding of what it takes to lead change.
You can learn to connect with the right people in the right way and to successfully navigate university
politics. You can also learn through reflection on new experiences.
The outcome of your effort is meant to be an increase in the capacity to drive change for you and your
teammates. The record of what you tried, what worked, and what failed to work informs others who
face similar challenges.
6. Can you provide support funding in small, unmarked bills?
SaMnet provides support in the form of leadership development training, coaching, networking, and
mentoring in both management and publication. There is no funding provided by SaMnet for teaching
relief or research assistants. A SaMnet initiative is meant to be part of your weekly investment in
research or administration.
You will be rewarded with increased capability to persuade and lead. You will gain an internal sense
of accomplishment. You will become part of a larger community, a movement to improve university
teaching in science and mathematics in Australia. You will earn ‘points’ with publications. You will
also contribute toward lifting the profile of academics who apply their intellect to improving teaching,
a key objective of SaMnet.
7. How often should the team meet?
You will need to determine the frequency of team meetings. Consider the scope of your change
initiative, your timeline, and the availability of the individuals involved. An exchange of e-mails once a
month is not enough. Meeting twice a week could be too much.
Your whole team does not need to gather at every meeting, unless you find that to be particularly
productive. However, it makes no sense to keep one team member on the margins, including them
just to satisfy our criteria. Each team member’s expertise is useful and should be fully utilised.
8. How are the change initiatives selected for SaMnet support?
Your expressions of interest were assessed, and your plan will be scrutinised, in terms of how likely
the action-learning project is to boost the capacity of team members to lead change (items (a) & (c)
listed at the top of the application form). Would the project stretch your capacity in dealing with a
range of stakeholders? We are also looking for projects that address areas of need locally and across
the sector (items (b) & (c)). For example, one might address laboratory learning in tight financial
times or learning standards when catering to a more diverse student body.
SaMnet has a target to support 25 change initiatives for 2011-2013. We can support more actionlearning projects if the demand is there. Your expression of interest was assessed by a member of the
SaMnet steering committee, and your plan will be scrutinised by another member of the steering
committee. Feedback on all plans will be provided. You will also be assigned a ‘critical friend’, a
member of the SaMnet steering committee who has a keetn interest in your project. That person will
review the feedback with you and will add their own thoughts. They will contact you periodically to
discuss hurdles, strategies, and progress.
9. How important are the leadership development workshops?
The leadership development workshops provide insight into how to understand and persuade others,
i.e., how to lead change. They include opportunities to reflect on how your project is going and to
compare notes with others. They are essential for adapting insights from the study of organisations
to suit the Australian academic context. You will adapt and create insights that others can use.
Round 1 of these workshops has occurred in selected capital cities in February and April 2012.
Missed it? We will find a way for you to ‘catch up’. Another round will occur in February 2013.
Online, video-conference meetings, and some face-to-face meetings, are planned for May and August
2012 as well as for July 2013. Project teams should plan to be represented at the Australian
Conference on Science and Mathematics Education in late September 2012 and late September 2013,
for pre-conference workshops and potentially presentation in the conference proper. Additional
opportunities for project participants to gather or present locally, online, and nationally will be
highlighted.
10. Why me?
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SaMnet of Australian university educators
The culture of teaching in university science and mathematics needs to change. Many people have
developed new and more effective ways to teach and assess. The ALTC and its predecessors have
funded more than 40 projects across the disciplines of science and mathematics. These sorts of
individual initiatives now need to gain traction locally, in your university, to instil sector-wide change.
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