Practising Inclusion: Working and Teaching for Social Justice focuses on inclusive practices in Australian higher education, and is open to academic and professional staff at UTS. It enables participants to critique institutional approaches, explore reasons for exclusion and integrate inclusion principles into their own practices.
Coordinated by Dr. Franziska Trede and co-facilitated by Dr. Melinda Lewis, this microcredential is now in its third delivery and has been praised for its comprehensive content. However, feedback highlighted that the material sometimes felt overwhelming for the average student, especially considering the short six-week duration and the number of students balancing full-time jobs. This challenge of balancing in-depth coverage with manageable content is crucial for ensuring student success in this course and others alike.
Design approaches
In our initial design meeting we asked ourselves: how can we ensure a less overwhelming and more personalised learning experience that caters to students’ needs and preferences? Leveraging insights from our past design endeavours addressing similar concerns raised by academic co-designers, we utilised diverse methods to evaluate the content and extent of learning. We worked together with Soli Le-Masurier (Senior Learning Designer) to identify 2 suitable strategies.
Rework the subject…
This strategy lessens the volume of content by reducing and streamlining, rewriting and maybe removing content entirely. Other options include voluntarily further readings, such as a ‘Want more?’ drop-down menu. This approach demands a considerable investment of effort and resources within a limited timeframe, primarily due to the comprehensive content coverage.
…or rethink navigation?
This innovative strategy shifts the focus from dictating learning content to empowering students to choose materials aligned with their interests and career aspirations. Not only does this foster alignment with students’ interests, but it also provides them with the flexibility to manage their workloads according to their preferences. This approach would also harmonise with the Quality Framework, emphasising student-centred learning and autonomy in educational pursuits.
The path to success
In collaboration with academic Franziska Trede, we decided to embrace the latter approach, naming it ‘Choose Your Own Adventure.’ We drew inspiration here from other co-design projects we’ve supported in FASS. Franziska and Melinda had identified key topics crucial for all students to grasp fundamental concepts and contextual understanding. These core topics play a vital role in assessments, while other modules are optional but recommended. As part of the initial week (O-week), students are encouraged to skim through the module overview and share their personalised learning plans with classmates on Padlet.
This approach not only aims to alleviate content overload but also empowers students to take ownership and control of their learning. This can result in increased motivation and more active participation in discussions throughout the subject, thereby contributing to a higher number of students successfully completing their studies.
In addition, to address the excessive reliance on Padlets, we decreased their usage and introducing reflective tasks. This strategy intended to strengthen the connection between students’ learning and practical real-world applications, incorporating tool-themed icons to highlight practicality and create a more hands-on and engaging learning experience.
I am receiving a lot of great feedback about the ‘Choose your own adventure’! People love it, it takes the burden of doing everything off, reduces anxiety and enhances their agency and autonomy. Thank you so much for designing this in so well. People also loved how transparently we wrote about why we are doing it this way.
Franziska Trede, Subject Coordinator
The changes made to the Practicing Inclusion course, including personalised learning pathways and reflective tasks, have been very successful in making the material more manageable for students. By allowing them to focus on topics that interest them and align with their career goals, the course has become more engaging and less overwhelming.
This design approach, which puts students behind the steering wheel, has proven to be a more resourceful and sustainable way of addressing the design challenge. Positive feedback from both students and faculty highlights the benefits of these strategies in promoting student agency, which is a core capability outcome of this subject.
Stay tuned for a follow-up blog post on learning outcomes for this microcredential, which is also an elective subject in the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning.