M.+Peer+review+of+learning+activities+and+the+portfolio

Comments by Dr. P:  Hi this was my first Wiki experience. I too have avoided exploring new technology and I enjoyed the adventure. The clear explanations and amusing reflections captured my interest and I found them relevant and pertinent. The site was understandable, the intent and purpose were clear and a pleasure to experience.
 * 1. Peer comments on the portfolio.** **Please see also comments included througout the Wiki .**

Comments by Dr K:

Katrina approaches on line teaching in the same way she does with on campus classes- always seeking ways to keep student's attention and providing active learning expereinces. P.S can you teach into my course next year?

Comments By Dr. S:

Hi Katrina, I think your wiki is fantastic! There is so much information there about how you teach and why, as well as discussion of information that influences your teaching philosophy. If I did not already know you, I would have a good idea of how you teach and your beliefs about education. Even though you describe yourself as not technological, your embracing of the technological tools in your resources woudl suggest that you are willing and able to use them - with perhaps a little assistance as required. The main thing is that you are not afraid of new ways of doing things, even if they are technological. Your embracing of innovative teaching practices is also evident in your wiki. I know the excuse 'because we have always done it that way' is not one you will use. I also liked your weekly blog reflections on the UC course. That was a nice touch.

Kind regards.

....If there is an out of the box method for delivering teaching Katrina will find it! I enjoyed the quirkiness of the YouTube presentations in this wiki. Whoever thought you would embrace technology without kicking and screaming but I see you are fast becoming the campus techno guru. I have also watched Katrina in action and she has the ability to engage students in some much unexpected ways- the “dance” which is still talked about quite some time later… and let’s not get started on the rhyme for the rights of medication administration. It is the unique approach that she takes to the learning activities that makes the task enjoyable for the students and therefore the learning that occurs does is not onerous. Keep making it fun!.... Comment by Mel.

= = Comment from Susan: Thanks Katrina, it is good to see lecturers taking so much time to ensure their MC quizzes are so well aligned with course outcomes and learning objectives and that they are meaningful for students and do enhance their learning. I fear there are instances of lecturers using MC quizzes because they are easy to mark (Moodle does it for you), but I wonder about the depth of learning that occurs in these instances where students are not required to engage with the information, to apply it in different scenarios/contexts, to demonstrate that they have a deeper understanding of it. Most people can find and present information, but it is what we do with it/how we use it that is important. Susan.

=Comment by Pen= Hi Katrina Your Wiki is great, very informative and your teaching philosophy is clearly defined. Incorporating wikis into assessment in tertiary is ideal as high schools are utilizing them more now too so more students will be familiar with them as we progress. Well done!

**2. Peer collaboration - developing a course and subsequent evaluation methodology** Peer evaluation does not appear to be a frequent practice within university teaching (Baume 2011)- particularly on online courses. Two colleagues (one internal and one external to the faculty) were asked to view the Moodle site prior to it becoming live. These peer reviewers were assigned a student role in Moodle and asked to access the NURS11153 site to determine if they could readily ascertain the teaching modules, content of any randomly selected module, access the assessment and resources sections of the site. These peers were selected on the basis that I could trust them to deliver an unbiased view as is the practice suggested by Baume (2011).This feedback occurred one month before the Moodle site became live leaving enough time to implement address any deficits (Bruner cited in Ramsden 2003). This process was entirely for my benefit again as Baume (2011) and TLC (2011c) suggest it is necessary to know who the evaluation is for. The external peer indicated that as much effort appears to be directed to obtaining feedback and evaluation and a great deal of emphasis on rating a teacher based on student feedback. The external colleague indicated that there was a degree of sophistication in the feedback process as the development of the e-survey questions was underway. This colleague indicated that some of the ideas could be transferred to their own course however there was no obligation to obtain feedback to such extensive degree. This point illustrates the undertaking of feedback as a mandated requirement rather than for any real improvement in the quality of teaching, resource or course development. The most striking comment for my colleague was “how many hours do you spend developing feedback resources – is it more or less than on the overall course?……at week 12 how do you find time to analyse the feedback data?..., do you get workload allocation for this?” This point illustrates the component of Budget discussed earlier. I was fortunate that this colleague was involved in the development of an actual feedback process and was uniquely positioned to then look at the mapping of the evaluation plan depicted in this assignment which they concurred was an accurate tracking of the information presented at our pre-term meetings.

Further comments by the internal faculty peer pertained to how I would address the issue of student’s adopting a “pack mentality” where their marks were lower than they had anticipated and this was then attributed to poor teaching - the blame the teacher mentality? Within my faculty, there appears to be an obligation of the coordinator to provide justification for all negative feedback- to this end, my approach is to then seek activity reports to ascertain how much engagement had occurred by the student with the course material. This is also problematic as some students would download the resources rather than use them on line- it was however, easily identified if the student had not even opened the resource. Students can also indicate that they viewed material on a group member’s computer. Interestingly marks for quizzes where usually lower than average for students who also scored lower on the assessment item 2 (essay). Baume, D 2011 Monitoring and evaluating teaching by David Baume viewed 5 November 2011 at [] Ramsden, P 2003, Learning to Teach in Higher Education, Routledge, London. TLC 2011c, Quality enhancement viewed 5 October at [] = =

= = **3. Learning activity (a) Range of Movement Dance** **Brief**: Conduct an application of theory activity embedded within a three hour segment of a residential school telecast to multiple campuses. **Learning outcome:** on completion of the session students will be able to identify major joint types, articulate and demonstrate their correct range of movement. **Background detail:** Students will first complete a pre-test to obtain an indication of their individual stage of learning. Students were expected to have prepared for the session by undertaking some pre-reading. The pre-test was designed for the student to self-assess the extent of their existing knowledge. Students then viewed a pre-recorded lecture of one hour duration that details the theoretical concepts for the range of movement module for anatomy. After the presentation a further review of the pre-test was conducted and a progress mark recorded. The application session was then conducted. The embedded session ran for 30 minutes and composed of an active learning session where they were instructed in learning a range of motion dance and a Human Body song. A post-test was then conducted to assess the extent of learning that was achieved through the unusual method of instruction. Student feedback was collected at the conclusion of the morning session. **Duration:** max.45 minutes for the task (embedded within a three hour session). **Target audience**: a group of 40 first year students of anatomy and physiology. Students were either Bachelor of nursing or science undergraduates. Age ranges 16 years to 52 years. **Background information**: this residential school was conducted during the morning session on day five of a six day residential block. **Peer assessment comment:** Facilitation of Learning Activity: // (i) // **// The overall delivery as well as the execution of the range of movement “putting it all together” activity //**//. // // Katrina proficiently delivered an entertaining activity for students in Anatomy and Physiology, whereby she summarized the range of joint movements in a dance. Katrina’s delivery was enthusiastic and encouraging, whereby all students were encouraged to participate in learning the dance as well. Katrina appeared confident and proficient in her delivery of this information. // // (ii) // **// How did it link outcomes with the required student learning? //**// Students were required to learn the range of joint movements for their assessment task in Anatomy and Physiology. The conventional approach requires that student’s rote-learn a number of written descriptions (sometimes with diagrams) that explain joint movement. A lot of students find this task very difficult because it is hard to visualize movement from a static image in a textbook. // // (iii) // **// Did it align with institutional practices //** // Students were actively engaged with Katrina and with the subject matter when undertaking the activity. Katrina was demonstrating her commitment to making this university the most engaged university in Australia. By encouraging students to learn by doing, Katrina was facilitating an active learning activity, which is recommended by the OL&T. // // (iv) // **// Did it take into account specific student learning needs? //** // Katrina presented students with an entertaining and engaging alternative to the traditional approach to learning joint movements. A dance was an appropriate way to capture a cohort of exercise science, nursing and occupational health and safety students, whose chosen career paths may be divergent but whose needs are similar. This approach translated into greater student recall in a recent assessment task than other areas of similar material that had been taught in a more traditional manner. // // (v) // **// Any general students comments: //** // Some students loved the idea of doing a dance, even before they had participated in the activity. At first, the remainder of the students said that they felt silly engaging in such an activity, but happily conceded that it was very beneficial to their learning once they participated. Following the activity, the students said that they really enjoyed themselves. //
 * // In learning by doing (especially in a comical way), students appeared more likely to understand and recall the range of joint movements. //**

=**// 4. Teaching resource: //**= **Learning activity (b): Role Play** **Brief**: Conduct an application of theory activity embedded within a two hour segment of a residential school. **Learning outcome:** Students will be able to actively participate in a simulated environment reflecting an assessment of a client with a mental health condition. Students will be required to assess affect and effect and other non-verbal aspects along with verbal responses and collaboratively, develop a written regional write-up. Conduct a role play as a character Bell a 40 year old woman with a mental health condition (depression and generalized anxiety). Bell has been separated from her husband for nearly 12 months. She has two teenage sons who have recently gone to live with their father. Bell has been employed in a retail position with the same employer for the past 10 years. Bell now lives with her mother and it is at her mother’s insistence that she has presented at the community mental health centre. Her mother is concerned that Bell is not her normal happy self and has concerns about her mental health having recently found a large quantity of sleeping medication in Bell’s possession. Students are to undertake a mental health assessment of Bell. My assigned role was Bell and I was required to portray the above character including personal behaviours and articulated responses. This is a simulated environmental role play activity. **Duration:** 1 hour **Target audience**: 87 second year Nursing and Social work students. Age ranges 18 to 65 yrs. All students have undertaken the foundation course of Health & Behaviour conducted over the previous term. (I was the coordinator of the previous term’s course. I was dressed in character to deflect from previous association with students may have held with me and to improve the realism of the simulated environment.) **Peer assessment comment:** //Psychiatric Consumer: Residential School// //Activity: role play//
 * //Peer Feedback about ‘Bell’ (Katrina) role play//**
 * 1) //Did this methodology of learning and teaching contribute to building student knowledge? YES//
 * //The role play allowed for students to be spontaneous and contribute openly to the learning environment. The student feedback suggests that there was a greater understanding of mental health assessment. The simulated environment revealed the importance of interviewing skills and/or techniques to obtain consumer information.//
 * 1) //Did this methodology of delivery enable the student to be engaged and interact? YES//
 * //The 40 minute role play engaged the students for the whole time. There were not any moments of emptiness or without discussion. A number of students asked more than one question and overall more students interacted with the role play than at any other time of the day.//
 * //Students also continued their discussions over the break which followed the session before recommencing the in-class feedback session. Katrina returned and mixed with the students over the break in an informal setting and students continued to offer points of view. The change however was in the way the students spoke with Katrina (now in her role as lecturer) in contrast to the questions asked of her (in character) as Bell. The objective of removing the teacher/student barrier in role play situations was also achieved. In my experience this is often an obstacle to the true effectiveness of role play. Costume, props and a theatrical ability to remain in character are key requirements of this activity.//
 * 1) //Were the concepts covered in previous sessions communicated through the role play? YES//
 * //The role play was designed to demonstrate what a mental health assessment is. During the role play assessment notes were being written on the whiteboard. At the end of the role play the students were able to read the information that had been generated. From this information students than wrote a summary formulation about the person (Bell) in the role play. This highlighted the method of data collection that is an essential part of a mental health assessment. The role play certainly demonstrated how to handle or manage a MH assessment.//
 * //This was an excellent strategy to “bring it all together” for the student. Each student could bring individual levels of skill to the activity and created an open forum for contribution.//
 * 1) //Do you consider role play is an engaging delivery method? YES//
 * //The role play actively involved the students more than many other parts of the residential school. The role play allowed for some cognitive development and reinforced the concepts associated with mental health assessment. Learning objective 1 (understanding MH assessment) Learning Objective 2 (application of MH theory) were achieved and a good level of student insight was generated.//
 * //The large class numbers presented the only difficulty of the activity. Even so, the presenters were able to continue the activity and remarkably, kept the flow continuing and managed to engage the 80 students present. The character roles were maintained throughout the session and at no point in the activity did the lecturers revert to a teacher focused mode of delivery. The entire activity remained student centred and driven. This was the most effective use of role-play that I have observed within any large group environment.//