Refining creative and collaborative teaching skills

Lecturer:
Joanne Jakovich 

Faculty:
DAB

Project:
UTS ICQL: Positioning UTS as an innovator in collaborative and creative intelligence in learning

Keywords:
Creative intelligence, collaborative learning, multidisciplinary

In this project, Dr Jakovich is bringing together staff from three faculties to prototype new teaching methods and innovate face-to-face, collaborative learning.

What the project is about 

The experimental teaching of Creative Minds and the Entrepreneurship Lab subject has generated various innovative methods for collaborative, design-led, peer-mentored learning. Dr Jakovich is testing these methods and evolving them in different teaching contexts to further understand how innovative teaching is adopted and its influence in various face-to-face contexts. She will translate these findings into a video showcase of 10 creative and collaborative learning modules, making them available online.

Why the project is being introduced

As part of UTS's Creative Intelligence Strategy, and as new learning spaces are coming online, students and teachers are in a unique position to innovate collaborative and creative approaches to learning. So to help ensure that UTS can continue being a forerunner in improving learning and teaching techniques, she's developing methods, providing online resources and communicating findings.

How the project is being implemented  

The teaching modules are being planned collaboratively in a staff workshop and implemented in subjects in three different faculties. They will be video-recorded, followed by a student survey to ascertain the impact of the modules on learning and face-to-face time.

Overall, this process involves:

1. One three-hour co-design workshop with selected educators from across all faculties prior to Autumn 2013 semester involving:
   - Around 30 full time or casual staff, two selected subjects from different faculties and semesters, as well as u.lab subject
   - The co-design of 10 ways to innovate the delivery of 10 kinds of learning objectives in the face-to-face context
2. Defining the needs that drive modifications to refine and contextualise the modules ready for semester 
3. Video-recording the modules being taught in three contexts (approximately one hour each, total 20 deliveries over two semesters, three faculties/spaces)
4. Surveying the students in each class regarding the impact of the module on their learning and community experience (same day)
5. Collating and analysing video and survey data, drawing comparisons and highlighting findings
6. Editing the one minute videos to demonstrate the module, the comparative experience and the outcomes
7. Coordinating a staff session in best-practice creative and collaborative teaching at the end of each semester (one-and-a-half hours)
8. Ongoing dissemination through web publishing and research publication

Exploring further

UTS u.lab - Experimenting with new and innovative collaborative learning spaces
Read...
UTS Creative Intelligence Strategy
Read...
Creative Minds 
Read...
Entrepreneurship Lab
Read...
UTS u.lab blog
Read... 

Delving even deeper
Bruce Nussbaum on creative intelligence 
Read...