Associate Professor Gail Wilson

This research examines the design and delivery of a new Foundations of University Teaching Practice (FUTP) program delivered through asynchronous online modules. The freedom to choose defines the new momentum of openness in distance and open learning. University teaching staff expect quality resources to support their professional development within the reality of limited time for learning and a desire for increased accessibility. Openness and increased access bring both opportunities and challenges. This paper uses mixed methods to examine the FUTP from the perspectives of both the designers and the academic staff who participated in the program. Using personal reflections, focus groups, a survey, and interviews, we explore those opportunities and challenges within the context of the design and delivery of the program and report on the findings. Our research confirmed the value of openness and increased access to professional learning in higher education.

As a consequence of the continual adoption of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) online and blended learning have become commonplace activities in higher education. While TEL can provide many benefits for learners, many staff struggle to develop the skills and understanding necessary to design, develop and deliver high quality learning in these environments. Peer review of teaching and learning is acknowledged as a powerful professional learning tool for online and blended learning environments that can be utilised to assist staff to develop their skills in relation to teaching and learning. Peer review can be particularly powerful in recognising and addressing specific areas for professional learning about one’s teaching practice. However, staff can find such approaches judgmental and fo‐ cused on metrics and show reluctance to participate in such activities. There is also a view that once a development task such as peer review becomes formal‐ ised, the meaning of development is changed lessening the benefits of engage‐ ment in the process. This paper reports on a work in progress relating to a funded Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) project in two uni‐ versities that piloted a reciprocal ‘learning conversation’ approach to peer review. This approach encourages the development of an ongoing dialogue around teach‐ ing and learning that goes beyond an exchange of facts and ideas and creates an opportunity for mutual and reciprocal learning – a collaborative as opposed to a developmental model of peer learning. The paper provides a definition of peer learning, examines the literature in relation to peer review of online teaching, and provides a rational for exploring “learning conversations” as an approach to peer review. It outlines the project features, processes, and progress to date. A second paper will report on the project’s deliverables and evaluation findings.

A dramatic, pedagogical shift has occurred in recent years in educational environments in higher education, supported largely by the use of ubiquitous technologies. Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the design of new learning spaces, often referred to as ‘‘Next Generation Learning Spaces’’ (NGLS) and their impact on pedagogy. The traditional idea of ‘‘classroom’’ now incorporates the use of both physical and virtual space. Increasing availability of digital technologies has enabled access by teachers and students to a wider range of communication and information that can now be incorporated into the formal learning process. This change has meant a greater focus on the design and use of flexible learning spaces, more use of blended learning approaches and more personalised, individualised learning opportunities for students. While many such classrooms have been built and used in universities globally, only a few formal studies have been reported on how these spaces are used by both teachers and students. This article focuses on a pilot study of the use by academic staff and students of a next generation learning space - the Pod Room - and makes recommendations for further research into the effectiveness of new learning spaces in universities.

Encouraging faculty’s adoption of and innovation in learning and teaching with technologies continues to be a critical challenge for those responsible for faculty development in today’s higher education institutions. This chapter examines current practice in Web-enhanced faculty development to promote Web-enhanced learning in university teaching. It begins by locating faculty development with the context of workplace learning and professional learning. Faculty development is seen as a continuum of formal and informal learning experiences offering a range of options. Critical questions are offered to assist the planning and implementation of faculty development to address the need for new learning models and pedagogy for the 21^st century, followed by an overview of learning perspectives which dominate the design of faculty development to support adoption and widespread use of new technologies. Specific frameworks used to design faculty development to support Web-enhanced learning are explained and illustrated – technology adoption, skills acquisition, scholarly engagement, and the use of resources to support faculty learning. This chapter concludes with a summary of implications for faculty development practice.

The Preparing Academics to Teach in Higher Education (PATHE) project was a three-year project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC). The project‟s main aim was to produce a framework for foundations of university teaching programs. Specific objectives of the project included the promotion of sector-wide sharing of understandings of foundations programs, the generation of evidence-based information, the development of resources and models of successful practice, the identification of areas for further development, and a contribution to the scholarship of higher education teaching and learning. The project was well supported by the Australian higher education sector, primarily through the Foundations of University Teaching Colloquia, a network of foundations teachers who meet on an annual basis. The chosen methodology was a distributed model that involved 26 staff across 19 universities. Each of the four stages to the project has produced its own set of outcomes. These outcomes are summarised in this report and reported more substantially in the appendices.

A dramatic, pedagogical shift has occurred in recent years in educational environments in higher education, supported largely by the use of ubiquitous technologies. Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the design of new learning spaces, often referred to as “Next Generation Learning Spaces” and their impact on pedagogy. The idea of “classroom” now incorporates the use of both physical and virtual space. This change has meant a greater focus on the design and use of flexible learning spaces, more use of blended learning approaches and more personalised, individualised learning opportunities for students. While many such classrooms have been built and utilised in universities globally, only a few formal studies have been reported on how these spaces are used by both teachers and students. This article focuses on a pilot study of the use by lecturers and students of a technology rich next generation learning space – the Pod Room – and makes recommendations for further research into the effectiveness of new learning spaces in universities.

This chapter reports a collective study of research–based evidence of experiences of academic staff adopting ICT-facilitated education and transitioning to blended learning practices in a regional Australian university. It analyses seven dimensions of blended learning environments that these teachers create and provides a valuable framework for practitioners, researchers and policy makers seeking to understand the transition to blended learning. This chapter examines ways of analysing and defining blended learning environments (BLEs) by focusing on the scope, nature, and purpose of the blend adopted by individual faculty across their courses. The chapter provides case examples of BLE dimensions and their basis for a professional development model to support staff in their transition to blended learning environments and can be used in successful institutional adoption of blended learning practices.

This study reports on recent doctoral research focused on six academic staff working in early blended learning environments in campus-based contexts at a large Australian university. The case-based research reports on how information and communications technology (ICT) was used by each of these staff, all early adopters of new technologies, to enhance their face-to-face teaching, and how this use contributed to an understanding of blended learning in higher education. Across the cases, seven dimensions of blended learning environments were identified, Overall, the study enhances understanding of the nature, purpose and scope of early blended learning approaches in a university setting, and highlights the importance of academics' use of resource-based learning to create blended learning environments across a range of courses. The study also establishes reasons why these teachers embraced the use of ICT in their on-campus teaching, and provides insights into how each perceived their teaching role.

This paper explores the importance of interaction in the online teaching environment and the important role of staff development in developing teacher presence online. Professionally developing staff to use information and communication technologies is viewed from the standpoint of diffusion of innovation, moving from early adopters to mainstream majority, and targeting staff development at this latter group. Approaches to staff development using information and communication technologies are described, and recommendations for staff development for online teaching are made.