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Teaching and Learning at RMIT
Support for TeachingThere is a range of teaching support available to you at RMIT. The Academic Development Group can provide expertise and support on developing sustainable curriculum designs, understanding learner centred teaching, interpreting student feedback data and providing professional development opportunities. If you would like to discuss one or all of these issues or if you would just like to talk generally about good learning and teaching, contact Rae Subramaniam (revati.subramaniam@rmit.edu.au) Alternatively you can contact the T&L co-ordinator in your school, ask your program coordinator for details. Teaching and Learning StrategyRMIT’s Teaching and Learning Strategy – 2003-2006 (Pdf 59.4 Kb) is a key document which you should take the time to read closely. RMIT’s mission, as the strategy states, is to provide professional and vocational education and training to individuals and enterprises on a local, regional and international basis. The aim of the strategy is to provide a framework for staff so they can optimise graduate employment, ensure graduate capability and improve the quality of teaching at RMIT. The Teaching and learning strategy describes the role of teachers as designing, monitoring and assessing learning experiences, and facilitating learning by responding to the needs of individual students while acknowledging the different learning needs of a diverse student group. The emphasis is on facilitating learning. As a facilitator of learning, the current Teaching and Learning Strategy lists a number of principles and approaches it expects you will incorporate into your teaching practice. They are:
In December 2005 the University Council approved RMIT’s new Strategic Plan, RMIT 2010: Designing the Future. The final draft will available online in the near future. The Teaching and Learning Strategy will be reviewed during 2006 to align it closely with the new Strategic Plan and you will receive information about the review process and its progress at various times during the year. What are the Boyer Scholarships?RMIT has adopted the Boyer scholarship model as a guide to integrating teaching, learning and research. The Boyer Scholarship Model is based on Ernest Boyer’s book, Scholarship Reconsidered (which you can borrow from the RMIT Library). The two arms of RMIT’s core business –Learning and teaching and research and innovation – are underpinned by an integrated approach to scholarship. Boyer identified four scholarships. They are:
Boyer’s Scholarship Model provides a means for supporting the links between teaching and research and for integrating elements of both within the learning and teaching experiences of staff and students. Taking this approach to your teaching means that you can situate your own practice in a scholarly (or research oriented) context and your students have opportunities to put theory into practice. What is learner centred teaching?Your teaching is learner centred when you want your students to enjoy their learning at RMIT, to experience learning as a transformative experience, and to develop a love of learning that sustains them throughout their careers. Learner centred teachers focus on facilitating authentic and challenging contexts and knowledge that will assist students to acquire new knowledge and provide a satisfying experience for them. As a sessional teacher you are an important member of a group of discipline experts who are providing our students with valid learning experiences that will fulfil their needs as learners. As teachers we need to design and implement teaching strategies that take into account student choice, appropriate assessment tasks, attendance modes, credit transfer, recognition of prior learning, time and location issues, and appropriate use of technologies.
What is a capability driven curriculum? (HE)Capability Driven Curriculum Resources
At RMIT we are designing our Higher Education programs and courses to maximise the capabilities that a student will develop over the timeframe of their degree. Capabilities can be generic (such as a focus on excellent communication skills) and specific to your discipline (such as a particular technical skill for graphic designers or architects). Capabilities are driven by the program context, meaning you and your program colleagues are required to identify and reflect on both generic and specific capabilities, and then to plan for preparing your students for professional practice. At RMIT this identification and reflection is informed by involving all stakeholders, particularly industry partners, in program design and renewal processes to ensure that what we teach to our students corresponds with what industry needs from our graduates. Building a precise profile of capability requirements prompts teachers to revisit frequently questions such as these:
When we write our course guides, our focus is on integrating the development of the capabilities we expect our students to achieve with course content and with the assessment tasks we set. This way we can evaluate over time whether a student has achieved a capability. In addition to the capability profile for your program, RMIT has endorsed the development of the following capabilities for each graduate in every program:
Graduate capabilities comprise those attributes that will enable our students to deal competently, professionally and personally, with unknown futures. RMIT graduates leave us with the capacity to apply their experience, knowledge and skills base to the analysis and effective management of real-world problems. Graduate capabilities are the end result of what our students have experienced and developed to deal with an unknown future using current knowledge and the capacity to discern relevant aspects in real life multifaceted situations. What are Units of Competency (TAFE)?TAFE provides competency-based training and each TAFE qualification is made up of Units of Competency (often referred to just as competencies). Each Unit of Competency (UoC) is described in some detail in the endorsed training package from which it is drawn. There are four dimensions to a competency: task skills, task management skills, risk management, and job/role environment skills. A UoC describes the skills and knowledge that industry has indicated are required to perform effectively in the workplace. But the description of a UoC in a Training Package does not specify how a UoC should be delivered or assessed. It is up the professionalism of RMIT’s TAFE teachers to determine the best means of delivery and assessment, drawing on their own experience, frequent input from industry, and the outcomes of regular validation and moderation of their assessment practices. Training package qualifications are awarded when a student is assessed as competent in each of the UoC that make up a qualification – the emphasis is on what a student can do; Training package qualifications are flexible. They can be customised to suit the needs of a particular enterprise and the pace at which they can be completed is a matter for negotiation between teachers and students – the negotiation frequently involves a student’s employer; Because Training Packages are nationally endorsed, a Unit of Competence completed with one TAFE provider (public or private) is recognised by other TAFE providers – competence is recognised by all employers, irrespective of which TAFE provider completed the assessment; If a student can already do what a Unit of Competence requires they have a right to receive Recognition of Prior Learning – there is no need to learn again what you already know how to do. UoCs can be delivered and assessed on the job, in simulated work environments, through block release for training, in classroom settings – increasingly they are delivered through a mix of these strategies, and on the job training is now a common emphasis. Students are assessed on their performance against the competency standards. For the student, the outcome of a competency assessment is that performance is evaluated as either Competent, or Not Yet Competent. What is Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)?You may have students in your class, who have other qualifications, or who have extensive work experience. These students may ask if they can apply for RPL. This is commonplace at RMIT. There are established procedures for RPL and you should refer the student to the Program Leader. Students require evidence of previous awards, and work experience before they can apply so you could ask them to gather this evidence before they approach the Program Leader. The intention of the RPL policy at RMIT is to recognise and provide credit in RMIT programs for skill and knowledge acquired through study towards formally recognised qualifications; courses provided by professional bodies; work, and other forms of practical and life experience. Policy and other information regarding RPL can be found on the RMT Corporate Governance website, under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Credit Transfer CopyrightThe Copyright Act allows members of an educational institution to reproduce, and communicate, a reasonable portion of print and graphical works for the educational purposes of the institution. Education purposes are defined as:
There are limits on how much you can copy from a book, for example. More information on copying limits and regulations can be found on the RMIT web page Educational Copying of Print and Graphical Works A comprehensive list of copyright questions and answers is provided on the Copyright Management Service Website If your question is not answered, please call or email Anne Lennox, anne.lennox@rmit.edu.au Telephone: 9925 5708. |
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