Participating in a UQ tutorial session will soon be as easy as flicking between television stations, thanks to a project coordinated by Dr Vic Galea.
Dr Galea, from UQ’s School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, has been awarded a $30,000 UQ Strategic Teaching and Learning grant, which will go towards purchasing an Audience Response System, to be used in first year biology classes from 2009.
Dr Galea is one of 35 project leaders who have received more than $1million in the latest round of UQ Teaching and Learning funding.
“The aim of this project is to develop a more dynamic learning environment,” Dr Galea said.
“Learning in our first year biology courses is often hampered by the difficulty students have in internalising new and often abstract concepts.
“While tutorial sessions have the principal function of supporting student learning by engaging students in small group discussion of topics, this rarely happens effectively.
“Tutes for this course previously contained 30 students – hardly conducive to student interaction.
“My challenge has been to develop a tutorial format that will facilitate a high level of engagement and learning.”
The Audience Response System allows students to answer multiple-choice questions by clicking a button on a handheld remote control.
After everyone in the class has locked in their response, the correct answer and the distribution of responses appear on a screen at the front of the room.
This is followed by a more detailed analysis of the question itself, allowing students to develop better learning and assessment skills.
“A commonly cited source of student disatisfaction is the lack of feedback students receive during their studies, particularly in large classes,” Dr Galea said.
“Student satisfaction should improve significantly by providing students with instant and progressive feedback on their understanding of the course and its content.
“The use of the ARS tool will empower all students with the capability to actively engage in these learning sessions, in ways which were previously not possible for many.”
This is the second time UQ has offered Strategic Teaching and Learning Grants, with 42 projects receiving a total of $1.4 million in September.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning), Professor Debbie Terry, said the grant recipients represented UQ’s dynamic and creative approach to enhancing student learning.
“At UQ we are lucky to have such a large number of teaching staff dedicated to improving the learning outcomes of our students,” Professor Terry said.
“Each of the successful applications proposed an innovative teaching initiative.
“I look forward to hearing the feedback on how students have benefited from the implementation of these projects.”
Other grant recipients included Associate Professor Julie Duck from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, who received $109,000 for a project entitled “An Institutional Approach to Tutor Training”.
Professor Caroline Crosthwaite, from the Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture, will use her $44,000 grant to investigate the effectiveness of the Engineers Without Borders challenge, a program that involves first year engineering students in developing design solutions for international development projects.
MEDIA: Dr Galea (07 3365 0282, v.galea@uq.edu.au) or Penny Robinson at UQ Communications (07 3365 9723, penny.robinson@uq.edu.au)
