SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS
Teaching and
Learning Forum
15 NOVEMBER 2013
Forum Objectives
 Exchange teaching experiences amongst SARE staff
 Discuss what teaching techniques work well, and what does not
work well
 Draw generic lessons and draft guidelines for SARE staff
Program:
 Three 10-minute presentations: teaching first year students (JF),
block teaching (AM), new technologies and learning from high
scoring units (MK)
 Discussion on T&L issues
 Review of key lessons
The University of Western Australia
Large class teaching
reflections and changes
November 2013
An introduction to first year teaching
A recap on first year teaching
- An academic that cares
- Formative assessment structure
- Options to miss an assessment
- Student don’t follow through on requests
- High demand on staff
- Lots of student support options
- Student review of teaching
- Screen recordings are effective (Coursera)
Equitable treatment of students
Group sample size: 36 – 58
Common assessment v Tutor assessment
Equitable treatment of students
Group sample size: 36 – 58
Common assessment v Tutor assessment
Table1. Mean mark by tutor (percentage)
Assessment
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
Benchmark
67
61
62
62
59
61
Equitable treatment of students
Group sample size: 36 – 58
Common assessment v Tutor assessment
Table1. Mean mark by tutor (percentage)
Assessment
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
Benchmark
67
61
62
62
59
61
Tutor mark 1
66
52
89
64
54
67
Tutor mark 2
80
57
84
68
69
61
Lessons from first year teaching
- Weekly email communication
- Formative and summative assessment
- No avoiding time consuming assessment
- 45 minute teaching block?
- Direct assessment drives learning
- Initial impressions matter
- Life long learning resources (recordings)
For discussion: teaching first year
- Requirements in later year units?
- Level A or teaching only role ?
- Internal or cross school co-ordination
- Research v Teaching trade-off
- Infrastructure limitations (rooms, LMS)
- School maths resource page
Block Teaching -ARE
AMIN MUGERA.
Block Teaching Committee Meeting
 Definition and scope of BT
 Supportive infrastructure - cost and time
• Pre-recorded lectures
 Flexibility - scope of BT
 Timing/enrolment - when to teach
The University of Western Australia
Traditional Teaching Schedule
ECON3300 – Agricultural Economics and Marketing
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13 Weeks
3 hours per week of lectures
Total lecture hours = 39
1 hour tutorial per week for 12 weeks
Total contact hours = 51
The University of Western Australia
ECON5510 – Applied Demand and Production Analysis
AGRI4402 – Agricultural Economics
 5 teaching weeks : Wks 33, 35, 37, 39, 42
 Two blocks of 3 hours per teaching week
 Total contact hours = 30
Feedback from Students
 Limited teaching time – give more contact hours
 Timely feedback for assignments
 Clash with other units
 Not enough time to catch up with readings
 Provide online resources (lectures)
The University of Western Australia
ENVT4405 – Development in Rural Areas
5 hours
4 weeks
10 hours per week
40 contact hours
The University of Western Australia
Feedback on Block Teaching
Major complains
 Many contact hours per week
 Not enough time to keep up with readings
 Clash with other classes
 Long hours- draining, ineffective
 Not enough time to get feedback
Positive feedback
 Student interaction through group activities
The University of Western Australia
Block Teaching
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Assumption – student self directed learners
Time to learn and understand
Time for feedback
What can and cannot be BT
The University of Western Australia
Cornell College
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One course at a time
18 class days
Time: M, T, W ; 9-11; 1-3
Total contact hours = 72
8 blocks per year
Liberal arts and sciences
• Training not for vocational or professional
skills
 Video 1
 Video 2
The University of Western Australia
New technologies
and
Learning from high scoring units
Assist/Prof Marit E. Kragt
The University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia
Democracy
The University of Western Australia
Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning
 CATL BITEs:
• Online in-class polling (student response systems)
• Online mark-up of student assignments
• Online interactive tutorials (PowerPoint based products)
• Online interactive tutorials (Stand alone products)
 Teaching with technology workshops:
• Teaching with technology – an introduction to eLearning
• Designing a technology – integrated unit/curriculum
• Enhancing assessment / learning / teaching with technology
 Curriculum development: Blended and online learning
The University of Western Australia
How do students react?
 Fun
 Flexible
 Modern
 Interactive
 Makes you more approachable
 Invites questions
The University of Western Australia
Interviews with high scoring (>3.5)
units’ co-ordinators
Neil Foley – Policy & Governance (EART4412)
Natasha Pauli – Environmental Management (ENVT4404);
Environmental Policy & Planning (PLNG2203)
Andrew Williams – Micro-economics, prices & markets (ECON1101)
Veronica Huddleston – Regional Development (EART3327)
The University of Western Australia
Lectures
 Always show how concepts are applied in the real world. Theory may be
frontloaded (first two or three weeks) with lectures including a lot of practical
applications
 Include many (current) examples – e.g. through newspaper cuttings,
internet sites, articles from The Economists etc. Never journal articles….
 Stories to show how the lecturer applies the learned material in, e.g.
research, consultant work, government, etc. (varying with your background)
 Lectures are updated every year to reflect current state of knowledge,
current examples and current literature
 Lecture slides always include a lot of pictures and images
 Make lectures relevant to students’ world (e.g. future work-place, local area,
related to their courses)
 Online material to introduce the essential mathematics and The
calculus
University of Western Australia
Labs and tutorials
 Visit tutorials at least once a semester
 Timely posting of material – either at the start of semester or at least
one week prior to the tute
 At the start of the tutorials – go through concepts and questions that
were received about last week’s material
 Tutorial participation or exercises as part of the assessment
The University of Western Australia
Resources and assessment
 Three of the units did not have a prescribed text but were based on
lecture notes and supplementary readings
 Assessment predominantly focussed on application of theory
 Assessment a combination of reports, essays (e.g. of field trips or case
studies), quizzes (true/false, MC, open-ended) and a final exam
 One co-ordinator used peer-marking of quizzes as learning approach
(these are then re-marked by the lecturer)
 Students appreciate (a) detailed descriptions of the what is expected in
the assignment; (b) early availability of the assessment descriptions;
and (c) timely and plenty of feedback notes on their work
The University of Western Australia
Communication with students
 Unit outlines and LMS websites are extensive  Most information
directly in unit outline. Post additional materials well in advance
 Interaction with students through online LMS forum (Questions can
be de-identified!! and are answered by lecturer in the forum)
 Sending student emails can go through Calista – this will have all
up-to-date enrolments
 Andrew communicates with students through a Facebook page
 Knowing students’ names makes a difference. Students like informal
and personal interactions
The University of Western Australia
Lessons
 TIME  All these co-ordinators put at least 2 days per week into
teaching, more in the preparation stages of semester
 PERSONAL ATTENTION  Interact personally with the students
(directly, through emails, or through Facebook) – e.g. knowing
student names, and caring for your students
 CLARITY  assessment guidelines and early posting of lab/tutorial
exercises
 RELEVANCE  Significant emphasis on real-world applications.
How does the theory/concepts apply to the real world, and the future
workforce?
The University of Western Australia
Teaching resources on the School website
The University of Western Australia