Transcript PRESENTATION NAME - ricksnell.com.au

Innovative Teaching the Tasmanian Way
- or bringing it all into alignment
Rick Snell
Senior Lecturer in Law
University of Tasmania
December 2008
The Key Points
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The First Building Block - Passion
The Key - Alignment
Taking risks and willingness to fail
Use of reflective journals
Techniques for lecturing to large groups
Approaches to assessment.
Use of technology including Web course
My Background
• 20 years of Uni teaching (18 in law 2 as a part
time politics tutor).
• Chosen as a case study for a book on Australian
exemplary teaching practices.
• University of Tasmania Teaching Excellence
Award
• Nominated Australian Teacher of the Year
• 2008 National Teaching Citation.
– “An outstanding capacity to inspire and
encourage student learning across the
undergraduate law degree from first year to
final year students.”
Testimonials
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“Rick’s work and practice, for example, in use of reflective journals, reflects
a student centered approach that promotes deep learning that higher
education should be about.” Dr Eugene Clark, Dean, Charlotte School of
Law, Emeritus Professor, University of Canberra
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“For me, this was a "Eureka" moment, and it led me to change
fundamentally the way I teach. It is not at all an exaggeration to say that
there is a bit of Rick Snell in every single class I deliver today.” Professor
Ian Holloway, Dean School of Law, Western Ontario
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“Having taught at three different law schools...Rick is without question an
outstanding teacher.” Dr Wendy Lacey, Associate Professor University of
South Australia
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“He also recognizes that for most students, the assessment will drive the
student learning. With this in mind, Rick has sought to develop formative
and summative assessment processes that will provide students with the
opportunity to succeed to the best level that is possible for that individual,
without in any way seeking a punitive response to work that with more
appropriate feedback could simply be improved. “ Lynden Griggs UTAS
Senior Lecturer in Law
Context
• 1st year class - 400+ students - 3
campuses
• 2 and 3rd year class - 150 students.
• 4th and 5th year optional class - 20+
students
• Classes presented in Ireland (complete
unit), Canada (complete unit), New
Zealand, US and Malaysia
The 1st Building Block -
Passion
• “Rick's passion for his subject is clear to anyone
who has ever been taught by him or even had a
conversation with him! The incredible trips that
he has taken overseas to help implement or
improve FOI regimes are just a part of the
outworking of his expertise and interest. Unlike
many other 'experts' Rick never lectured in a
style that suggested he had the answer to every
question. Instead, lectures were a series of
questions and dilemmas and possibilities for us to
consider, as well as key information to get us
started in our search for our own opinions. … I
did not only learn Administrative Law in Rick's
subject, but came to see my other subjects in a
different light having applied admin issues to
them.” 2007 University Medallist
The Key - Alignment
• John Biggs - Teaching for Quality Learning at University
(A
Tasmanian contribution)
– Constructive Alignment
• A good teaching system aligns teaching method and assessment
to the learning activities stated in the objectives,
– Curriculum
– Teaching methods
– Assessment procedures
» “In aligned teaching the assessment reinforces learning.
Assessment is the senior partner in learning and teaching. Get it
wrong and the rest collapses.”
– Student-teacher relation
» Students change each year - the most changeable and difficult
to predict variable
» Described as student centered learning - but role of teacher
important
– Institutional climate
– “Norm referenced assessment is judgments about people,
criterion referenced is judgments about performance.”
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
http://www.mq.edu.au/learningandteachingcentre/images/curriculum_design.gif
Taking risks and willingness to fail
•Moving away from exam based assessment
•Taking students out of comfort zones
•Moving from the front of the class
•Experimentation - Proceeding before evidence of
outcomes
•Practice reshaped by theory
•Greatest threats
–Failure to build trust
–Student disengagement
–Heavy workload
–Overselling the benefits and/or outcomes
–The pursuit of the new and the tiring of the old
–Overcrowding content, experiences
–Misjudging workload
–Dysfunction between my unit and others (within law and university wide)
Use of reflective journals
• Used first in 2003 - optional class in Canada. Now used in
all subjects
• Originally 5% of marks now about 20%
• “Selective Reflective Journals”
• No prescription on size, content, format
• Purposes of journal
– Serve three critical purposes. First, and foremost, they allow the students to
reflect upon their own learning. Second, the journals allow me to understand
the impact upon various students of different presentation and teaching styles,
changes in content or emphasis and allows the identification of barriers or
stumbling blocks to learning (whether internal or external to the class). Third,
the journals allow students to display what (and how) they have learnt in a
variety of mediums (notes, drawings, poetry or music) which may not be fully
reflected in other work they are required to lodge for assessment.
• “The opportunity to keep a journal, is such a valuable and rare
opportunity. What strikes me most is that it has been weighted as the same
amount as the essays were. Rick obviously places a high regard on these
journals and in turn, it has meant that I have attempted, throughout the
unit, to make valuable reflections.” 4th Year student
Techniques for lecturing to large groups
• The primary opportunity for learning - scheduled, venue
• A performance
– 3 ‘take aways’ primary objective to inspire/encourage
follow up
– Tension and release
– Running schedule
– Audience
– Alternative content delivery (notes, recording)
• Interaction
– Group work - Question and Answer (minimise the
’picking on’)
– sms questions - not yet tried
– Leaving the lectern
• Video Vignettes
• Guest lecturers
– Generally unknown talent
A segment of lecture - Top and tailed
A talk show format
Approaches to Assessment
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Several pieces and types of assessment
High trust environment
No single dominant assessment task
Related to objectives of course
Criterion based
Open-ended learning tasks - allowing for
‘unexpected and unplanned’ learning outcomes
• Searching for ‘functioning’ knowledge
• My three major tasks (journal feedback)
– 1. Setting the criteria for assessing the work
– 2. Selecting the evidence that would be relevant to submit
– 3. Making a judgment about the extent to which these criteria have
been met
Use of Technology - tools rather than toys
• WEB CT (Web course tools) - supplement
– Lecture notes
– Pre-readings
– Optional or supplementary material
• E - Newsletters - Weekly or regular
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Events
Forthcoming assessment
Progress suggestions
Reading (including non-course entertainment esp first years)
Interesting questions during week
• Facebook - early days
– Connections with lecturer website www.ricksnell.com.au
– Class group
• Blogging
• Podcasting - early days
– Visitors
– Staff seminars
– Special or commissioned recorded programs - associated with topics or
readings