Conference presentation
Developing a culture of enquiry and dialogue among first-year students: A Trojan horse approach
SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Online, 10/11/2020 - 12/11/2020)
10/11/2020
Metrics
5 Record Views
Abstract
In the information-rich, post-truth world, it is vital that university graduates are able to think critically about real-world issues and to develop informed and respectful responses in professional, academic and personal contexts. This necessitates developing students understanding of the nature of knowledge, including recognising their own and others biases and limitations, and equipping them with the ability to respectfully articulate and justify their views. Additionally, students need to be information literate to identify, evaluate, and effectively use information in their studies. There is increasing recognition of the need to position these practices not merely as academic skills , but as core, foundational aspects of units and programs (Bury & Sheese, 2016; Wingate, 2006). Researchers at SCU argue that these academic practices should be embedded in first-year units; and yet, they have found that only 59% of first-year health science educators embed teaching these practices into their unit (Munn et al., 2016).
This presentation outlines a novel approach to introducing first-year students (from various disciplines) to foundational academic practices. It also touches on some of the challenges experienced by the unit design team, including working towards a synergy between content and academic practices. Two units are in development for six-week (intensive) offerings: A Culture of Enquiry and A Culture of Dialogue. These units guide students through a series of real-world topics ranging from climate change and alternative energy, to the role of arts in society, immigration, vaccination, and contemporary Indigenous cultures. While exploring these topics, students are introduced to critical thinking, biases and heuristics, digital and information literacy, academic integrity, and the conventions of academic writing.
This Trojan horse approach to embedding academic practices into first-year units was chosen to engage diverse cohorts in meaningful dialogue that connects academic practices with lived experiences and important social issues and contexts. At the same time, this approach aims to facilitate an epistemological shift wherein students are empowered to question, critique and offer responses to real-world issues, rather than to accept knowledge as uncontested facts (Wingate, 2006, p. 463). The multiple identities of our students, their families, peers, and Australian residents are also recognised and honoured, to advance intersectionality in education. In this way, diverse cohorts can be guided towards respectful recognition of experiential and ideological differences and equipped with the tools to articulate their views via cogent and respectful dialogue at work, at university, and as citizens of an increasingly complex world.
Details
- Title
- Developing a culture of enquiry and dialogue among first-year students: A Trojan horse approach
- Creators
- Elizabeth Goode (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityJohanna Nieuwoudt (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityThomas Roche (Author) - Southern Cross University
- Conference
- SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Online, 10/11/2020 - 12/11/2020)
- Identifiers
- 991013139612202368
- Academic Unit
- Office of the PVC (Academic Quality)
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference presentation
- Local Fields
- Evidence Based Practice - SoLT