Conference Theme and Sub-themes
We welcome submissions related to the conference theme, Enhancing Learning Experiences in Higher Education,
and the following sub-themes:
- Transition and the first year experience
The first year of university is a critical stage to induct students to the academic discipline. Existing research on first year experience (FYE) suggests that first year students’ integration into the academic and social communities at university impacts greatly on their persistence in their undergraduate program as well as their intellectual, social, and emotional well-being. Current efforts to improve FYE have however focused mainly on issues of academic transition and study skills improvement. This conference strand recognizes that student engagement is influenced also by how well students understand the discipline and how they feel being integrated into the university community. It therefore welcomes papers which address key issues of transition, induction, and integration of first year students.
- Literacy across the curriculum
Academic literacy has assumed an enormous importance in recent years as countless students around the world must now gain fluency in the rhetorical conventions of their disciplines to understand their courses, to establish their careers and to successfully navigate their learning. A growing body of research shows language to be at the heart of academic practice, yet literacy is often understood as simply decontextualized knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. This conference strand recognizes that language is embedded in the epistemologies of individual disciplines and that it should be taught as an integral element of disciplinary pedagogies. It therefore welcomes papers which address key issues of language, learning, and teaching within and across the disciplines.
- Experiential learning and co-curricular
How can students be facilitated to realize the interconnectedness between academic fields and the real world, and to take responsibility for themselves and their community? Experiential learning offers great potential for promoting such important educational goals. Internships, capstone experiences, field work, practical projects, and service learning are but a few examples of an extensive range of experiential learning opportunities. Whereas co-curricular activities for developing students’ abilities of applying knowledge in real-life problem solving are often arranged by educators in higher education institutions, lots of enriching learning experiences that engage students with the ‘outside world’ are also organised by students themselves.
- Outcomes-based approaches to student learning (OBASL)
OBASL is an approach to programme and course design, teaching and learning, focused on what the students are expected to learn and to do, rather than what the teacher expects to teach and do. The focus is on explicit statements of what students will be able to do at the end of the programme or course – stated as Learning Outcomes – and how the students will learn it (Teaching and Learning Activities) and be assessed (Assessment Procedures and Standards). Proposals within this theme may share ideas on approaches to the design, implementation and evaluation of OBASL.
- Assessment and feedback
What we assess, how we assess, and the standards we apply to our assessments of student learning is of continuing concern in higher education, as well as issues of feedback and student experiences of feedback. With the introduction of outcomes based approaches to teaching and learning, and the continuing concern over standards of assessment in higher education, there are increasing pressures on institutions, faculties and teaching staff to change and adapt their assessment practices to changing situation. This strand seeks papers which describe, analyse and critique assessment practices and feedback issues in higher education, and provide evidence based descriptions of innovative assessment and feedback practices in higher education.
- Diversity and multicultural experience
To enhance students’ adaptability to the globalised world, higher education institutions need to expose students to multiple cultures. This might be facilitated through a diverse campus where students interact with staff and students from other ethnic/cultural backgrounds, through academic and general education courses teaching different languages and cultures, or through cultural immersion via exchange studies or overseas internships that confront students directly with values, social norms, communication and behaviours of members of another culture. Whatever the form, such learning experiences provide students with opportunities of developing capabilities for cross-cultural communication, intercultural understanding and a sense of responsibility as global citizens.
- Enhancing learning through technology
This theme examines how contemporary Information and Communication Technologies create opportunities for Universities to enhance learning, teaching and assessment. Tools such as blogs, social networking environments, mobile technologies and learning management systems, interactive visualization empower teachers and students to publish and distribute digital media, collaborate within their own social networks, interact and otherwise engage with content and each other. However, availability of tools alone is not sufficient condition for enhancement of teaching and learning. Successful integration of the tools in the university teaching and learning requires strategic learning design approaches. Learning designs need to carefully consider suitable tools as well as intended learning outcomes (and educational aims) and activities as well as facilitation of learning through continuous interaction and feedback. The theme invites presentations that discuss suitable learning designs and provide recommendations leading in enhancement of teaching, learning and assessment.
- Learning communities
For curriculum innovations to achieve the intended learning outcomes, students need to be integrated into effective learning communities, which have been defined as the ‘social, interactive and collaborative character of the student experience of university life’. There are two phases to the development of effective learning communities. The first phase is the assimilation into one or more student communities to a sufficient extent that students feel integrated into university society. The second phase requires disciplinary-based learning communities which effectively promote intended learning outcomes. Contributions under this theme could include initiatives to promote coherent classes groups which address disciplinary needs or studies of students’ participation in co-curricula activities.
- Continuing education and professional development
Acquisition of skills should be seen as a continuing process during the career of a university teacher and is part of the lifelong education to which members of all professions aspire. As part of the promotion process at many universities, teachers are required to demonstrate how they have sought to enhance their knowledge and skills as educators and this can be achieved through engaging in continuing education and professional development. While such engagement in professional development activities is also proof of a university teacher’s interest and motivation, it may also provide an opportunity for teachers to network with peers and contribute to building a supportive university learning community.
- Problem-based learning (PBL)
PBL is a student centered, tutor facilitated learning strategy which is adopted in many types of courses and increasingly implemented as a core learning format in diverse curricula. There is evidence that PBL enhances self directed learning, improves problem solving and communication skills and fosters learning through team work. It has been shown as well as suggested that many issues impact on the quality of PBL. These include the role of PBL in a hybrid curriculum, the role of tutors, background of students (academic, cultural and social), the nature of learning material used to drive PBL, how difficult incidents are handled within PBL, assessment of students and tutors performance, the special circumstances of PBL for students in clinical years of professional courses e.g. dentistry and medicine, the relevance of PBL in interdisciplinary learning, and nature of faculty support. Contributions are welcome on any of the above themes and related ones linking PBL to students' learning.
- Postgraduate student experiences
Research on postgraduate education has focused on different types of students (modes of study, types of degree, methods of inquiry, ethnical backgrounds, years of study) and encompassed many elements of student experiences (e.g. transition to postgraduate education, institutional/departmental support, peer support, assessment of postgraduate work/theses, supervision, skill development, attrition, satisfaction). In demand of continuing education and lifelong learning opportunities, postgraduate education will grow in variations to cater for the diversity of learners. Researching into the learning experiences of postgraduate students will hence become increasingly challenging. This conference strand welcomes papers which address key issues of the development and diversity of student learning experiences in postgraduate education.
- Generic skills in higher education
Generic skills refer to skills that are ‘transferable’ in nature, which include a range of soft skills such as communication, teamwork, initiatives, problem-solving, self- and time-management, and lifelong learning that can be applied across different academic and occupational disciplines. Given the growing demands from employers regarding these attributes, higher education institutes have been striving hard in developing students with all these transferable abilities. This sub-theme of the conference invites contributions that focus on research and practice on the delivery and assessment of generic skills, and alignment of generic skills in relation to learning outcomes.
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