Thinking holistically and designing collaboratively to embed AAA across a new program

Thinking holistically and designing collaboratively to embed AAA across a new program

This snapshot shows how RMIT’s signature active, applied and authentic (AAA) pedagogy manifests in the build of a new undergraduate program through holistic design of learning activities and assessment that: actively engage students, apply 'real-world' problems or scenarios and have authentic, meaningful purpose.

Background

The Design Approach

The College of Design and Social Context (DSC) is embracing the theme of the 2023 Learning and Teaching Festival “It takes a village” to collaboratively design the new BP354 Bachelor of Professional Communication which will launch in 2024 in Australia and 2025 in Vietnam and Singapore. 

The joint design approach began with a clear vision from leadership of what the new program should look like, based on market insight data and industry demand – which highlighted a need for a degree that built academic, digital, and technological literacies to prepare graduates for working in the rapidly changing fields of media and communication.

Associate Dean, Lisa Waller, who is leading the design of the Bachelor of Professional Communication with Senior learning and teaching (L&T) Specialist, Ruth Moeller, remarked that it is the first time in over a decade that the School of Media and Communication has developed a whole new undergraduate degree and they were excited to explore how they could leverage curriculum architecture to structure courses for the first year block, the majors (PR, Advertising and Digital Communication) and the minors, and to also draw from RMIT’s signature pedagogy to develop active, applied and authentic learning in the program‘s courses.

Strucural Design

The structural design started with the ‘foundation block project’ which involved a team of BP354 educators and L&T staff building four first year courses that developed the foundational technical skills and digital capabilities for each of the majors (Introduction to PR, Introduction to Advertising and Introduction to Digital Communication) plus one course that developed cultural literacies (Locating Knowledges) to help students understand how knowledge is constructed. Breadth and disciplinarity options were then added through the development of 15 minors, including three from the business discipline, one from the school of art and an RMIT first – a gender studies minor - which was developed in collaboration with the school of global and urban studies and driven, once again, by market insights and demand. 

A further step was to co-design pathways with the College of Vocational Education (CoVE) into the Bachelor of Professional Communication which included building a new pathway between the Diploma of Social Media Marketing in addition to pathways already in place.

Course Design

Once the first-year block and the majors and minors were established, academics from the School of Media and Communication began working with DSC’s learning and teaching specialists, learning designers and quality teams as well as subject matter experts from the Centre of Education Innovation and Development (CEID), Centre for Academic Quality and Enhancement (CAQE), Library, Vietnam and Singapore to develop new courses and re-design existing courses for each of the blocks. Together, they are taking a holistic approach, using a whole of program lens to build active, applied, and authentic curriculum that scaffolds the development of Capabilities and industry partnered learning (IPL), whilst building a strong sense of belonging across all the courses in the Bachelor of Professional Communication.

four females presenting in class

Active, Applied and Authentic spotlights

Light bulb

Active 

  • Designing learning activities to be experiential and problem based, in keeping with the practice for the School of Media and Communication which has always emphasised learning experiences grounded in real world projects and experiences.

  • Foundation block scaffolds the 4 levels of belonging - to cohort to program to discipline and to university.

  • Students are active partners in designing their learning as they work with Adobe Creative campus to co-design the learning activities that build their digital capabilities for creative communication.

Cog

Applied

  • Writing program learning outcomes (PLOs) based on RMIT capabilities then constructively aligning learning activities and assessment to the program learning outcomes to ensure scaffolded development of capabilities throughout the program.

  • Working with the CEID IPL team to build relevant, practical career development learning (CDL) assessments for learning as well as of learning.

  • Course learning activities and assessment use a range of future focused technologies from the Adobe Creative suite to build students’ digital capabilities for creative communication.

Award.

Authentic

  • Plotting out how and where IPL will occur throughout the program and how to scaffold from initial activities in the foundation courses through the minor and major courses and finally in the capstone.

  • This holistic approach allows students taking a double major to consider an internship in second year and again in 3rd year with the two internships complimenting each other.

  • Co-designing the majors with industry and providing multiple industry internship opportunities.

What technologies, spaces and foundational components supported this Snapshot?

Note that all links require an RMIT staff login.

Foundational components 

The following pedagogical foundational components helped inform the development of AAA Pedagogy in this program:

Education Teachnology and Spaces

The following tools, technologies and spaces and resources enabled and supported application of AAA Pedagogy: 

  • Tools: Canvas, SharePoint, Chat GPT, Mentimeter.

  • Digital learning spaces: Canvas, Teams Meetings, digital whiteboards.

  • Physical F2F Spaces: Studio spaces, simulated workspaces, collaborative meeting /workshop rooms, tutorial rooms

Find out more

Like to know more? Contact Associate Dean, Communication, School of Media and Communication lisa.waller@rmit.edu.au or Senior L&T Specialist, Learning and Teaching ruth.moeller@rmit.edu.au

17 April 2024

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

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