Taking advantage of the new collaborative spaces

Lecturer:
Bronwyn Holland 

Faculty:
FEIT

Project:
Learning to use collaborative environments for 'block mode' sessions in an engineering subject 

Keywords:
Collaborative pod spaces, online interactivity, flipped learning, multi-disciplinary learning 

Teaching in the School of Information, Systems and Modelling, Bronwyn Holland wants to introduce interactive technologies and use the new collaborative pod classrooms as a way of enhancing the already ‘flipped’ design of a block mode subject (Interrogating Technology: Sustainability, Environment and Social Change).

What the project is about

“Previously, having to timetable parallel streams of diverse activities such as lectures, tutorials and small group work in a one day block was a nightmare. The new flexible, collaborative space solves this problem for a large cohort. We can hold seminars and invite guest speakers as well as do group work at different scales.”

In 2013, Ms Holland and her teaching team, Tega Brain and Mahira Mowjoon (both engineers), are running the subject’s block sessions in one of UTS’s newest collaborative learning space, CB06.04.40. Using those practices to inform their thinking, the project team intends to develop teaching and learning strategies that take advantage of the numerous collaborative classrooms in the new FEIT Broadway Building, opening in 2014.

Why the project is being introduced

As the subject is taught in block mode, with only two and a half days of class contact on campus over the semester, the teaching team recognised how important it was to make that face-to-face time in class as engaging, productive and effective as possible. So they looked into ways of enhancing students’ learning of concepts and perspectives that extend the engineering curriculum, increasing students’ sociotechnical literacy and confidence.

How the project is being implemented

The subject is being enlivened through developing preparatory tasks and online resources to enable more intensive and productive face-to-face sessions in the collaborative classrooms.

To prepare for the collaborative learning that occurs during these block sessions, students work through individual tasks in their own time and at their own pace in the weeks prior to coming on campus. As teaching staff develop such tasks and resources they cumulatively build the range and depth of online support for future student cohorts.

When students come on campus, the idea is to maximise opportunities for interaction around subject themes, objectives and assessments. Indeed, the nature of feedback during those interactions enables students to progress their assessment tasks and understanding of concepts more quickly, rather than being in sessions where they are ‘waiting for something to happen’, perhaps because they are unable to explore and evaluate the ideas for themselves.

In the collaborative classroom, the teaching team can introduce the themes and objectives to the large group, have guest spots on specific topics and then move seamlessly to group work where students are working collaboratively at different orders of scale (for example, in groups of 30, 10, 3). Students can move in and out of parallel groups and whole group interactions with the technology supporting them to engage with, share and test ideas within groups and between groups.

Challenges and considerations

• Filming and documenting content for the online resources proved to be more complex than expected.
• Taking a flexible and planned approach to teaching can support moving easily between students learning in small or medium sized groups to sharing in the whole class sessions.
• Reflecting on the experience of the new learning space this semester, Ms Holland says the spaces have encouraged her teaching team to try out new ideas so as to enhance their students' learning:

“I’m enthusiastic about these new spaces coming live and the potential for them to support experimental teaching approaches by virtue of their design, high-level and supported technical facilities and attractive ambience.”
 

Exploring further
UTS. (2012). Future Spaces Now
Curtin University. A brief introduction to designing collaborative activities
Delving even deeper
Clifford, M. (2012). Facilitating Collaborative Learning: 20 Things You Need To Know