Course Coordinators’ workshop

1. Course Coordinators’ workshop Dale Holt & Stuart Palmer Institute of Teaching and Learning

2. Our approach • Part 1: Developing Course Coordinators: meanings of role and practice (Dale) • Part 2:Thinking about course (quality and) improvement (Stuart)

3. Overview of role and work of Course Coordinators • National teaching and learning imperatives • National leadership focus • Perspectives on quality teaching at the course level • Deakin leadership focus • Designing courses • Producing courses • Teaching courses • Evaluating courses • Dealing with students • Dealing with other academic leaders/managers • Working on academic advisory boards • Dealing with, developing and rewarding staff involved in course • Marketing courses

4. National imperatives • Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) • Teaching and Learning Performance Fund (TLPF) • Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

5. AUQA Deakin (2004) AUQA recommends that Deakin University communicate to students more effectively the nature and aims of the Deakin Advantage and assist them to document the discipline-specific and generic skills they are developing throughout their course

6. Teaching and Learning Performance Fund (TLPF) indicators • Graduate full-time employment (GDS) • Graduate part-time or full-time study (GDS) • Graduate generic skills (CEQ) • Graduate good teaching (CEQ) • Overall graduate satisfaction (CEQ) • Student progress rates • Retention

7. TLPF discipline groups • Science, Computing, Engineering, Architecture and Agriculture • Business, Law and Economics • Humanities, Arts and Education • Health

8. Deakin external teaching and learning review (2007) Our analysis of data from the CEQ and the GDS highlighted the magnitude of the gap between Deakin’s performance and that of other universities on two key indicators: graduate further study and graduate satisfaction withgood teaching. These outcomes relate to studies completed in 2004 and there are significant signs of positive trends in related internal indicators since that time which may feed back into improved LTPF outcomes for the University.

9. CEQ Good Teaching scale • Question 1 – The staff put a lot of time into commenting on my work • Question 3 – The teaching staff normally gave me helpful feedback on how I was going • Question 10 – The teaching staff of this course motivated me to do my best work • Question 15 – My lecturers were extremely good at explaining things • Question 16 – The teaching staff worked hard to make their subjects interesting • Question 27 – The staff made a real effort to understand difficulties I might be having with my work

10. Carrick Institute developments • National Fellowships • Grant projects • Discipline-based initiatives • Teaching awards • Carrick Exchange

11. Carrick leadership capacity building • Institutional leadership • DVC/PVC • Deans • Associate Deans, T&L • Heads of School • Associate HOS, T&L • Program/Course Coordinators • Academic development directors • Disciplinary and cross-disciplinary leadership

12. National focus through Carrick Leadership Grants • Scott (2006), University of Western Sydney, LearningLeaders in Times of Change (all roles) • D’Agostino (2006), University of Queensland, Closing the Gap in Curriculum Development Leadership • Improving the leadership capacity of academic coordinators in postgraduate and undergraduate programs in business, University of South Australia • Building academic leadership capability at the course level: developing course coordinators into academic leaders, Curtin University of Technology • Cultivating the roles of Associate Dean (T&L) and Course Co-ordinator, Queensland University of Technology • Enhancing the student educational experience through school-based curriculum improvement leaders, Murdoch University

13. Scott (2006): Leadership role course coordinator • 103 Course Coordinators in 513 learning & teaching leader respondents • Major focus of role: Working on student matters, identifying new opportunities, developing learning programs, scholarly research (8) • Most satisfying aspects of role: assisting students & teaching, implementing a new curriculum, building staff morale & skills • Least satisfying aspects of role: dysfunctional systems & administration, dealing with difficult staff & inertia, managing complaints • Key influences shaping role: rapid changes in technology, dealing with local university cultures

14. Scott (2006): Leadership role course coordinator • Indicators used to judge performance: high quality graduate outcomes, positive user feedback, producing significant improvement in learning and teaching quality

15. Scott (2006): Leaders’ learning priorities overall • Successfully implement new initiatives • Establish a collegial working environment • Bring innovative policies and practices into action • Produce significant improvements in learning and teaching quality • Improve student satisfaction ratings

16. D’Agostino (2006), Course Coordinator’s primary duties • marketing the program; • course and program planning advice; • careers advice; • practical support and guidance for current students; • management and administration of the major/program; • alignment of the major/program to faculty-wide policies and practices, especially in relation to quality control; • strategic management of the major/program and for proper student administration; • development of curriculum for the major/program • oversight of pedagogy for the major/program and its relation to content and outcomes

17. D’Agostino (2006), Course Coordinator’s required capabilities • comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of program structure and course choices, especially in relation to first year; • good understanding of students’ career goals and of their career prospects, especially as they may be enhanced by work in the program/major; • knowledge of School, Faculty, and University approval processes, evaluation cycles, strategic directions, and operational goals; • knowledge of operational issues associated with course scheduling and class timetabling; • information about the content and pedagogy associated with the individual courses which make up the major/program; • knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy for the discipline and the program

18. D’Agostino (2006), Course Coordinator’s specific capabilities • good communication skills; • good people management and negotiation skills; • empathy; • a sound knowledge of… discipline, school, faculty, and university strategic goals, operational imperatives, procedures, and policies… especially in relation to approvals, scheduling, and evaluation.

19. D’Agostino (2006), Points of reflection • Curriculum ideologies:The idea of curriculum ideologies was considered too crude to reflect the internal diversity in content and pedagogy even within a single discipline • Disciplinary mythologies:need to understand and to work to dispel the mythologies of the disciplines, especially in relation to “false positives” (attractive but false pictures) and “false negatives” (unattractive but false pictures) • Destinations vs horizons:some programs, students are tracking towards a pre-identified and specific destination; in other programs, there is no typical concrete destination, but, rather, a horizon of potential opportunities. • Generational issues? It was suggested that there might be generational differences that affect the ways in which students understand their teachers and vice versa. This perhaps reflects the point that university culture is something that many students have to acquire more or less as they would a second language.

20. Uni SA investigation: Vilkinas, Leask and Rogers’ mapping of the relevant initial conditions for program directors (2007)

21. Uni SA investigation: Vilkinas, Leask and Rogers’ mapping of the relevant initial conditions for program directors (2007) Those interviewed said that it was a very complex role being an academic coordinator. They said that the academic, managerial and administrative activities within their role were intertwined. Because of the other demands placed on them, academic leadership had low priority. It was difficult to provide leadership in their programs because they had no authority, they had role and time conflicts and they had minimal control over resources (p.8)

22. Deakin quality framework: attributes of excellent courses Sound Academic Quality • Courses of study of the highest quality, informed by scholarship and research • Presence of excellent, highly qualified teachers who foster effective learning • Provision of active learning experiences that integrate the content of disciplines with relevant problem solving and skill development • Courses supported by the highest quality learning resources and contemporary technologies • Courses that explicitly develop graduate attributes • An appropriate relationship between the course and the University’s and Faculty’s plans and policies, particularly the Teaching and Learning Plan Demonstrated Relevance to Students • Courses of contemporary relevance, responsive to students’ educational, personal and career goals • Enduring nature of the program (viability/sustainability) Evidence of External Recognition • Learning experiences enhanced by relevant partnerships with industry, government and professional bodies • Acceptance of the course and its graduates by the local, national and international community

23. Carrick teaching excellence award criteria applied to courses • Courses which encompass…approaches to teaching that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn • Courses with…curricula and resources that reflect a command of the field • Courses which encompass…approaches to assessment and feedback that foster independent learning • Courses which…respect and support for the development of students as individuals • Courses which embrace…scholarly activities that influence and enhance learning and teaching

24. Who are we? What should we be? Deakin’s Review of Teaching and Learning says… Becoming Australia’s premier university for scholarship and research that inform pedagogical practice and institutional management of flexible and mixed mode education • as evidenced by the achievement of quantifiable national and international peer recognition for Deakin’s work in this field.

25. Deakin teaching and learning review: course coordinators 1 In short, the research is clear: the most effective student experience occurs when educational settings are designed and delivered so that learning is holistic rather than segmented, and when opportunities are created for active student involvement. The links between the quality of teaching and the total student experience – which embraces everything from classroom instruction to student support services ‑ are also well-understood by institutions making significant strategic changes to improve student outcomes. Two themes that might be considered as priorities to draw together expertise and generate a community of practice are transition and capstoneexperiences, and employability.

26. Deakin teaching and learning review: course coordinators 2 Once it may have been assumed that students would naturally form peer support groups, make regular informal contact with teaching staff and involve themselves in a broader student experience. It is now clear that lecturers and course designers need to create learning experiences that enable, indeed compel, students to engage actively in the learning process and to develop informal social learning networks. New strategies are needed to encourage students to become more connected with each other and with the University to enhance their overall student experience.

27. Deakin teaching and learning review: course coordinators 3 • Recommendation 12 • Course and unit co-ordinators should be acknowledged and supported in their roles and should be encouraged to introduce local innovations that are consistent with University policy and planning and which enhance teaching, learning and the student experience. Possible measures include: Small targeted funding through ADTLs for course-specific initiatives to enhance the student experience or temporary research assistance for course development;

28. Designing courses: Toohey (1999), beliefs, values and ideologies • Traditional or discipline-based approach – design based on logic of structure of knowledge of discipline itself • Performance or systems-based approach – systems approach with clearly defined goals, objectives, processes and measurable outcomes • The cognitive approach – acquire conceptual structures & thinking processes of discipline

29. Designing courses: Toohey (1999), beliefs, values and ideologies • Experiential or personal relevance approach – importance of personal relevance and learning from experience • The socially critical approach – seeks to develop a critical consciousness directed at present societal ills and motivation to alleviate them

30. Relevant Deakin policies • ACADEMIC ADVISORY BOARDS - OPERATIONAL POLICY • ACCREDITATION, RE-ACCREDITATION, REVISION AND DISCONTINUATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION COURSES - OPERATIONAL POLICY • ASSESSMENT (HIGHER EDUCATION) - OPERATIONAL POLICY • ATTRIBUTES OF EXCELLENT COURSES - OPERATIONAL POLICY • ATTRIBUTES OF EXCELLENT COURSES – PROCEDURE • ATTRIBUTES OF EXCELLENT TEACHING - OPERATIONAL POLICY • EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING - OPERATIONAL POLICY • FIRST YEAR AT DEAKIN - OPERATIONAL POLICY • INTERNATIONAL AND CULTURALLY INCLUSIVE CURRICULA - OPERATIONAL POLICY • ONLINE TECHNOLOGIES IN COURSES AND UNITS - OPERATIONAL POLICY

31. References Vilkinas, T., Leask, B. and Rogers, T. (2007). Developingthe leadership capability of academic coordinators, in Enhancing Higher Education, Theory and Scholarship, Proceedings of the 30th Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) Annual Conference [CD-ROM], Adelaide, 8-11 July.